Goddess of Song Pt. 04

By the time Mark, Loretta, and Jeanne landed in Hong Kong, Damien and Bryan could walk around the hotel with their eyes closed. To keep Jeanne in the dark, Loretta sent Jeanne away with Mark for an errand while she met the FBI team at a different hotel. Eli helped her set up the body wire. Loretta had to have a dress custom made so that she could reveal her "assets" without giving away the hardware she was wearing underneath.

"Just make sure they don't grope you during the dinner." Eli walked around her to check for appearances, "Hold them off until after the dinner. My team and I will be listening. If things get hot during dinner, we will come help you."

With the stage set and the props ready, Loretta was sent back to meet up with the unsuspecting Jeanne. As Damien sat in the backseat with her to go back to Shangri-La, he saw her staring out the window with her face pale white. It was finally dawning on her that this was it. It was all down to her now. She had planned, trained, and rehearsed. Now she would be put to the test.

"Ettie, are you nervous?" He asked.

Loretta's face confirmed his question. "I think I just realized now that this shit is real."

He placed his hand on hers, "Just think of it as going on stage for the first time. They are audience that you need to impress. You have what it takes."

Loretta looked at him with fear in her eyes, "What happens if I get caught?"

"The FBI is there and I'm literally in the next room." Damien kissed the top of her head, "Nothing will happen to you."

Loretta was silent, then let out a chuckle. "You know, I think the wire is already turned on..."

Damien grinned, "They can listen all they want." He was certain Eli was laughing his face off.

They arrived at the Michelin restaurant. Like all their previous dinners, the security team was whisked away to a separate room while Atwan, Ho, and Loretta dined in a private suite. As David had reported, Ho showed up with an impressive entourage.

Loretta was surprised at how young Ho looked - he could not be older than 35, had a round face, and spoke in a whisper-like soft tone.

Atwan, with Asad and a second bodyguard, looked like a wimp next to Ho's mini army. The unease on Atwan's face was visible.

Sitting in the adjacent room, Mark and David were tasked with distracting Jeanne so Damien and Bryan could focus on listening to the same wire transmission the FBI team was receiving. As the restaurant staff served them the most expensive fried rice and dumplings they'd ever eaten, Damien and Bryan got to hear what Atwan was like when he talked to Loretta. David and Eli's lighthearted suggestion that Atwan was both mesmerized by Loretta's beauty and her fame turned out to be accurate. In fact, even Ho, who continued his soft-spoken tone, was trying to impress Loretta.

It was strange that the two men would be vying for Loretta's attention, but then it became clear why. Loretta was world-famous; the men were not. The men may have had money, but since OneEmirate's funds were likely pilfered, they had earned none of it. Loretta, on the other hand, had earned her fortunes solely through talent. And even before Loretta had suspected something was wrong with OneEmirate, she had been smart to let Atwan know that Atwan wasn't the only funding source she could turn to. With her wide connections, there was always bound to be another businessman, fund manager, or venture capitalist that would support her entrepreneur dream. She was now, ironically, the "cool kid".

In addition to being a famous self-made singer, Loretta was also beautiful. Her talent, combined with her beauty, made her irresistible to the two men who had likely made it in this world through deception, manipulation, and lies. It could be said that to Atwan (and now Ho as well), owning Loretta's affections would be the greatest validation to a man's ego. If a man was both rich and had the hottest girl on the planet, then he could not want anything more. The fact that Loretta played hard to get only made the prize worthier.

Bryan, while listening to Loretta expertly flirt with Atwan and Ho simultaneously without coming off as slutty, took a bite of his food and said to Damien, "I pity you. No wonder you got fucked so bad. If she wants a man dead, he's dead."

"She was not like this in high school." Damien chuckled, "I've created a monster."

As dinner went on, Loretta got more comfortable with Ho. She was worried that he would be a stereotypical mafia man, being all macho and do-as-I-say. Now that she could tell he was like Atwan - pompous on the surface and insecure underneath - she expressed frustration that Atwan had not been able to appease her concerns with regards to the validity of OneEmirate's funds. She played to Ho's ego: if he could appease her, then he was better than Atwan.

Damien and Bryan listened as Ho, in his gentle and quiet voice, said he would make the call. "The OneEmirate fund is partnered with the Chinese government with an emphasis to support the 'One Path, One Road' agenda. I am friends with the head of the construction company that is now paving the road to Belarus. Your idea of developing technology to educate illiterate children in developing countries could fit well with the agenda to bring growth to the new silk road. You don't need to worry. Atwan was not being very open with you and it was my fault for holding him back. Please email me your proposal after dinner tonight and I will gets things going."

Damien and Bryan looked at each other. This was it! The information that the FBI had been looking for: solid proof that Ho controls the OneEmirate fund. Even better was his admission to ties with the Communist Party. Now the FBI would have lots of leads to follow.

As far as Damien was concerned, Loretta had done her job. He did not want her to go down the road with Ho. It was now time for retreat.

Loretta ended the dinner with a sincere thank you to Ho. Throughout dinner, Atwan had been quiet. Damien and Bryan were now concerned that Atwan may be humiliated, which would not bode well for the rest of the night.

Ho left with his security team first, then Atwan with his two bodyguards. Atwan hugged Loretta and whispered into her ear. Loretta smiled back at Atwan, but said nothing.

Bryan drove Loretta and Damien in one car, while Mark, David, and Jeanne were in another.

Damien's cell vibrated. He looked at the text from Eli.

"Rhodes says you can take off the wire now." He said to Loretta.

"Thank god!" Loretta closed her eyes.

She turned to have her back against Damien so he could unzip her dress. She lifted her messy locks as he slipped down her dress and reached around to unhook the mic in the front. Turning the wire off, he kissed her bare neck, "You did very well, Ettie."

Loretta's defense crumbled. "I don't want to go back to the hotel." Her voice was trembling, "He sickens me!"

Damien shot a glance at Bryan, who was also looking at him. The only reason they were not dashing away to the airport right after dinner was because they needed to keep Ho and Atwan's suspicions down. If Loretta simply slept with Atwan that night and then went back to the US, all would be well. Secretly, she had confided to Damien that she had promised Atwan sex because during the Vancouver trip, she had still been incredibly angry at Damien for ignoring her on the night they busted the stalker. It was an act of revenge that was childish, and now she regretted it.

Instead, now Loretta would have to get out of her conundrum in a circuitous fashion. She was petrified that she would either fail the FBI, or herself.

Damien put his arms around her, "You promised you would do this. Follow the plan and everything will be fine."

Loretta turned around to face him, her beautiful face strewn with fright, her bare chest heaving heavily, "I'm sorry I made this so complicated. I should have never said...I would...sleep with someone...that I didn't want to..." She started crying.

Damien hugged her lightly so as to not ruin her makeup that was nevertheless getting smeared by tears, "I know you can do this, Ettie, I'll be right there with you."

They arrived at Shangri-La. Loretta quickly cleaned herself up. Jeanne met them at the lobby to bring Loretta to Atwan's suite. As soon as the women left, Bryan and Damien moved into action.

They went down to the parking garage. The brunette actress - the high-end escort from Vancouver - was waiting for them.

"Ready?" Damien asked.

The brunette gave him a sultry smile, "Anytime." She was enjoying every bit of the excitement.

They took the staff elevator upstairs to Atwan's suite floor. The staff elevator exited at a corridor that was perpendicular to the suite door. The brunette peered over the corner, came back and wrote on her cellphone: yup, two guys at the front door. It had to be Asad and the other bodyguard.

They went back down to the garage. There, they waited for a while, until Damien received the text from Loretta: She had gone into the shower. Atwan was waiting in the bedroom and Loretta had instructed him to close the bedroom door so he wouldn't hear much sound coming from outside the suite.

The brunette parted ways with them to take the guest elevator from the lobby, which would get her back on the suite floor from the opposite direction. Damien and Bryan went up the staff elevator again. They waited at the corner for a few minutes. Then, they heard the guest elevator open, and the brunette actress could be heard talking to the bodyguards: "I'm here to see Mr. Atwan."

Asad's voice expressed surprise, "Mr. Atwan did not ask you to come tonight."

"That's what you think." The brunette's voice was silky and seductive, "I know who else is inside. She asked me to come to give Mr. Atwan an extra surprise..."

"Go!" Damien whispered to Bryan. They dashed out of the corner, each shooting a taser at one of Atwan's men. Both bodyguards were facing the brunette and had their backs against them. Damien hit Asad in the butt cheeks while Bryan hit the other man in the leg. Both fell forward with the actress darting back just in time to not get knocked over. Bryan cuffed the two men while Damien searched their pockets for the room key. He found it in Asad's pocket.

Bryan turned to Damien, "I'm all good here. You can go in now." Then he said to the brunette, "Thanks very much for your help, miss."

The brunette looked at both men with clear lust in her eyes. Seeing that Bryan looked very uncomfortable, she giggled, then walked up to Damien and kissed him on the cheek.

"Come see me when you're back in LA. My offer still stands." Then she sauntered away.

Damien opened the suite door. The living room was empty. The bedroom doors were thick as they were designed to block out noise. Atwan had clearly heard nothing.

The bedroom door was not something he could kick down, nor did he want to have to pay for damages later. Instead, Damien walked up to it, and knocked.

As he expected, he heard Atwan respond in Arabic, "What is it?" He sounded annoyed but not surprised that his bodyguards may interrupt him for urgent reasons.

He opened the door and walked in. Atwan's face turned from surprise to anger, "What are you doing here!?" He shouted in English.

Damien reached into his pocket and threw the stash of cash on the floor, "I changed my mind."

The bathroom door swung open. Loretta came out in her bathrobe.

"I'm sorry, Lufti, but I can't do this."

Atwan looked at Damien, then Loretta, then the cash on the floor.

"I know this is not about the hooker." He snarled, "This is about Ho, isn't it!"

Damien sighed relief inside. This was what they wanted Atwan to think. The escort was supposed to be a poor excuse; they wanted Atwan to think that Loretta wanted to climb up to Ho. This way, Atwan would be bitter, but he wouldn't think Loretta was getting out of the deal.

"Stay where you are." Damien stood by the bedroom door while Loretta passed by him to leave the suite. He rested his hand by his hips where his gun was, but was pretty sure his verbal threat was all that was needed. So far, everything was going according to plan.

Atwan stared at Loretta's back, then muttered something in Arabic.

Damien's expression changed. He charged forward and punched Atwan in the nose, knocking him back onto the bed with blood splattering onto the sheets. Loretta stopped in her tracks and looked back in shock.

"I've heard enough of your insults by now." Damien growled, "Say one more word and I'll send you to the afterlife!"

Atwan put his hand over his bleeding broken nose and looked at him in horror and disbelief.

"I know Arabic, you dumb ass." Damien wanted to follow up with: And for the record, I get to fuck her, you don't, but stopped short of saying it.

Loretta came back into the room. "What did he say?"

Damien didn't feel like translating, but then he remembered Loretta was an expert in revenge. "He called you a whore and said he's going to rape your ass."

Loretta's eyes grew wide. She stared at Atwan, then, picking up one of her high heels off the floor, strode up to the bed and slapped him hard with it across his already bloody face.

"Fuck you, asshole!" Then she stormed out of the room.

Bryan was waiting for them outside. He had removed the weapons from Atwan's bodyguards but kept them cuffed. They left through the staff elevator and drove out of the hotel. Mark, Jeanne, and David were already at the airport, where a private jet was waiting for them on the tarmac. They were flying back to LA on the same day.

Jeanne was beyond confused and irritated, "What in the world is going on?!"

Once the plane took off, Loretta finally spilled the beans to Jeanne. Jeanne nearly fainted.

"Oh my fucking god!" Jeanne motioned for David to fill up her glass with booze as she desperately needed it, "So you're telling me you may have to testify in court...please tell me it's not going to affect the world tour scheduling!"

"Right, I knew that was what you were going to say." Loretta rolled her eyes. Jeanne sure had her priorities right!

"Imagine Mike Faye hearing about this! He hates changing schedules!"

As they flew through the evening sky above the clouds, the team finally settled down. Everyone was exhausted and soon drifted to sleep. Everyone except Loretta.

After two hours of sleep, Damien woke up to find Loretta, who was sitting next to him, staring out the window. The humming inside the plane was deafening but calm.

"Ettie, are you still worried?"

"No, not really worried. I feel safe in the air." Loretta sighed, "I just keep replaying what had happened tonight in my head. I guess it's all the adrenaline."

Damien looked around. The whole team was spread across the plane and they were at the very back end. As far as he could tell, everyone else was asleep.

"Want me to fuck you so you can relax and sleep?" He casually suggested.

"What?!" Loretta was first shocked, then she looked around and asked, "How?!"

"Just sit on top of me. I can switch seats with you if you want to keep looking out the window." Damien was nonchalant about it, "We could also use the bathroom, but someone may have an urgent need to pee given all the alcohol we've consumed."

"You're crazy!" Loretta exclaimed. But her eyes indicated she was turned on.

"I have little regard for privacy when it comes to fucking." Damien now focused on trying to get an erection. It was actually not difficult at all. He just had to think of how much he had wanted to strip Loretta of her bathrobe and enter her in front of Atwan a few hours ago, and he was ready for action.

Loretta changed seats with him. Once he sat down, she lifted the handle bar up to get more space, then straddled him. She was wearing a cotton dress that made it very easy for him to reach underneath the fabric and start groping her voluptuous ass. He got a good sleep cycle in and was now enjoying the unplanned intimacy. They had flown 15-hours from LA, spent a stressful day in Hong Kong, and was now on another 13-hour flight back. That was more than 24 hours of him not getting to be inside her and it was getting too much for him.

Admiring the pretty sight before him, his hands went from her behind to the front and cupped her full breasts. He rubbed her nipples through the fabric with his thumbs, feeling them hardening from excitement. He pulled down her dress and took a nipple into his mouth. Loretta threw her head back and moaned.

"You should probably keep it quiet." Damien kindly reminded her as he removed her panties. Still tasting her breasts, he grazed a finger between her legs. Her slit was hot and wet, just the way he liked it. Now he was fully awake with blood rushing to his manhood.

"This isn't fair..." Loretta groaned and tried to keep her voice down. They worked together to pull his jeans down below his knees. His erection jumped out. Holding his shaft with her warm hands, Loretta slowly guided herself down onto him. She let out a huge sigh.

Damien enjoyed the feeling of her tight pussy enveloping him. The moment was especially sweet after hearing how Loretta had played Ho and Atwan like they were puppets at the dinner, and now he got to one up on Loretta and get a kick out of her trepidation. Loretta moved up and down with his hip movements. She furrowed her brows and bit her lips to restrain herself from crying out. It was a turn on for him to see Loretta, who was usually vocal, struggle to keep quiet. Her body tensed and convulsed silently, the heavy breathing and whispery groans drowned out by the engine white noise.

"Are you feeling less anxious now?" He admired her delicate features and asked.

Loretta opened her eyes and whispered, "I can't think right now."

"Then it's working."

Loretta gave him a faint smile, "You're a crazy guy, you know that?"

"I'll take that as a compliment." Damien leaned in and started nibbling on her breasts again.

He felt her body stiffen as she grabbed his arms hard, her pussy tightening and she let out a muffled squeak. He lifted his hips to continue the movement to wait for her to complete her orgasm. She swallowed hard and opened her eyes, staring at him in that post-high oblivion. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Are you going to be able to come in this position?" She asked him quietly.

"Are you kidding me?" Damien pulled her in for a kiss, "I can come anytime."

He proved his point by coming inside her shortly after. After helping him clean up, Loretta snuggled next to him and promptly fell asleep.

Damien was about to close his eyes again when he saw movement up front. Bryan passed them by on his way to the bathroom. His evil grin to Damien read: I know what you were doing, you sneaky bastard!

Damien felt no remorse. Bryan got to go home to his wife every day when Loretta was punishing him months earlier. Bryan also didn't have to suffer hearing two men go after his own wife knowing full well what they were thinking in their heads. This would be the last time he would be willing to pimp his lady out to the FBI.

With a content smile on his face, he adjusted his position in the comfortable seat and fell asleep once more.

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CHAPTER 9

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It was a November day in Los Angeles that Damien walked into the house to find Loretta sitting on the kitchen counter. She was munching on a bowl of fruit and reading a printed script.

It had been three months since the Hong King trip. Earlier in the week, Eli had updated them that charges had been filed against Joseph Ho. Lufti Atwan had become a cooperating witness. In return for his cooperation, the FBI would let him walk free. Jeanne was not happy that now she had to deal with Eli to figure out court dates, but Mike Faye, upon learning of the incident, was surprisingly accommodating.