Assassin (2 page)

Antonio watched his cousin's face fall as he realized he had just lost his prized possession. He knew better than to argue about it, too. Antonio grinned.

"Well, that was pleasant. And... What was your name?"

"Erica Raineri, but everyone calls me Rain," she replied.

"Well, Rain, you'll be hearing from one of my people very soon. Goodnight, Cousin," he added to Franco, and then left, with Eduardo trailing behind him.

They reached the crime lord's personal limo, and Eduardo made sure to open the door for Antonio. He waited for the man to get settled before closing the door and getting in on the other side. Antonio hit the intercom switch near his right arm.

"Cruise Seventh Street. Stop at the first tall brunette you see," Carlotti ordered his driver.

"Yes, Sir," the driver replied.

It had been months since Carlotti had picked up any women from that area, so it was unlikely that the current streetwalkers would remember him. Even if he was recognized, Carlotti wasn't too worried about it. He'd just try another neighborhood.

In less than half an hour, the driver had pulled them over in front of three women: a short redhead, a medium-sized blonde, and a tall brunette. Antonio rolled down his window and grinned at the young women.

"Good evening, ladies," Antonio offered charmingly.

"Hey baby," returned the redhead warily.

"Nice ride," said the brunette as she practically climbed through the open window.

The blonde just smiled shyly. She was probably new.

"I seem to have gotten lost and my driver hates to ask for directions. Would you like to help me find my way?" Carlotti asked the brunette who seemed ready to jump into his lap.

"Sure baby," the brunette replied, but the redhead pulled her back and gestured for them to walk a few steps away so they could talk.

"We'll be right back," the redhead told him snidely.

Antonio almost lost his charming smile at the complete disrespect she was showing towards him, but he'd learned long ago that patience was a virtue. Waiting for others to make mistakes had kept him ahead of his rivals for many years.

The redhead glanced back at the handsome man sitting in the limo and then focused on her dark-haired friend.

"Shel, you can't possibly be thinking of going with that guy," the redhead started.

"Why not? Look, he's obviously rich, Joni. We'll make a fortune!" Shel said enthusiastically to the redhead.

"Yeah, he's rich, which means if he's gotta come here to get some pussy, then there's somethin' seriously wrong with him. Think about it," Joni implored.

"Oh, come on. This is just like in Pretty Woman. What if he falls in love with me and we live happily ever after? You want me to pass up a chance like that?" Shel asked.

"Maybe Joni's right, Shel. I just get a weird feelin' about 'im," the blonde said quietly.

"You get a weird feelin' about everyone, Gina," Shel derided the girl. "Come on. We could make enough money to not have ta work for a week. Come on," Shel pleaded.

"Nah, girl. I'm not goin'," Joni said decisively.

Gina shook her head in negation as well.

"Fine," Shel said harshly, trying to hide the hurt of having both her friends turn against her. "See if I come back here to help you guys when I'm off livin' the high life."

Shel turned on her heel and stalked over to the limo. She dropped her angry expression and put on her best come hither look.

"Hey baby. My friends have a prior engagement, but I'm all yours," she said seductively.

Antonio smiled and opened the car door for the woman to get in. She deliberately brushed against his legs and pretended to lose her balance, partially falling into him and grazing her hand over the hard bulge in his pants.

"Oops, sorry," she said unapologetically.

Antonio grinned as she settled into his lap. He hit the intercom switch.

"Take me home," Carlotti ordered.

Eduardo did his best to disappear into his seat a few feet away from the amorous couple, as the two got to know each other a little better physically. Almost an hour later, the car stopped and the engine cut off. The driver side door opened and closed, and a few moments later, the door next to Carlotti opened.

"We're here, Sir," the driver told him.

"Good," Antonio said, as he stepped out of the limo and then helped the young woman out.

"Oh my God! Look at this place! This is where you live?!" Shel said excitedly, as she finally got a look at the enormous mansion illuminated by numerous floodlights.

As Eduardo hopped out of the other side of the car, Carlotti turned to his bodyguard and driver.

"Be back here in a few hours. You'll have a delivery to take to the docks," he said cryptically, as he glanced at the woman.

The driver nodded solemnly.

"We'll be ready, Sir," Eduardo said quietly.

Carlotti turned back to the woman, who was still gawking at the gigantic house.

"Come on. I'll give you a tour," Antonio offered.

They went in through a massive front entrance, and Carlotti took them up a staircase that curved around both sides of the main lobby and up to the second floor. After a somewhat lengthy walk down several hallways, they stopped in front of two large white doors with solid gold doorknobs.

Carlotti pushed open one of the doors and led his guest inside his large office before closing and surreptitiously locking the door behind her.

"Wow. This place is amazing! What do you do for a living?" Shel asked curiously.

"It's not important," Carlotti dismissed.

Antonio stepped forward and forcefully brought the woman's lips to his own. Shel managed to push herself away from him after a few moments of struggling.

"Whoa, slow down, Romeo. We got all night, right?" she questioned a little uncertainly.

"Shut up," Antonio ordered and moved forward again.

Shel took a few steps back, and Carlotti grinned when he saw the fear in her eyes. Shel suddenly realized her friends' suspicions had been right.

"Um, you know, maybe you should just take me back to..." Shel began, but Carlotti's lightning fast backhand sent her spinning to the floor.

"I said shut up!" Carlotti yelled, completely unconcerned about being overheard.

When the extravagant mansion had been built, Carlotti had requested the best soundproofing available. It kept the noise of his sexual encounters from being detected by anyone outside the room, so he could enjoy the screams of his victims without worrying about who might hear. Though Carlotti had complete confidence that his staff would never betray him, he didn't want an overzealous bodyguard interrupting him because he thought Antonio was in danger. It ruined the mood.

Shel tried to crawl away from the maniac, as she felt her right cheekbone begin to swell painfully. She wasn't sure, but she thought he might have broken the bone.

"You better crawl your ass back over here, bitch," Carlotti said menacingly, as he watched the woman trying to get away from him. "Or do you need to be taught a lesson in obedience?" Carlotti grinned at the thought.

Antonio lunged forward and yanked the woman back up by her hair, so they were face to face.

Shel looked into the cold eyes of the man she'd briefly hoped would save her from a life of prostitution and began crying in despair, as she realized her fate had been sealed the moment she'd climbed into the limo. Panic flooded her body, and she struggled to get away, but Antonio was much stronger than she was.

"No! Let me go!" Shel screamed in terror.

Carlotti smacked her across the face again, causing her lip to split and a gush of blood to pour from the cut.

"Why? We got all night, right?" Carlotti mocked her, as he tossed her cruelly against his desk.

CHAPTER 3

"SPECIAL AGENT DAWSON speaking," came the voice through the phone.

"You are way too formal, Ronny," Rain smiled into the mouthpiece.

"Rebecca? You're not supposed to report in for another two weeks. What's going on?"

"Fuck, Ron, you know I hate that name."

"Well, I thought Special Agent Raines was too formal for your tastes," Ron teased her.

"That's why I make everyone call me Rain. Just because I'm not there to slap the shit out of you right now doesn't mean I won't later," she warned, a feral grin causing her teeth to sparkle white in the dim light of the alley.

"Fine, Rain, just tell me why you're checking in so early?"

"I just got a ticket to the inner circle," she said, and waited for the information to sink in.

"What do you mean? How?"

"Carlotti liked my style, so he's sending me for some kind of training."

"Training? Wait, when did you meet up with Carlotti? I thought you were working for Rossi? They haven't had contact with each other in over a year."

"Yeah, well, some meeting came up with Spinella. He's dead, by the way. Unfortunately, they didn't actually talk about what they were talking about, though Carlotti admitted to having knowledge about some Senator's death. Senator Stone. It sounded like he hired the hit, but that's all inference, totally useless," she relayed her latest information before continuing. "Anyway, I'm supposed to wait to hear from one of Carlotti's people. And I don't know what the training is, but it sounds like it's gonna be a lot more intense than the bodyguard type stuff I've been doing," she commented.

"I know this is what we've all been waiting for, but..." Dawson hesitated.

"What."

"Well, you've been sounding more and more like, well, like one of them. 'Bodyguard type stuff'? I don't even think that's proper English. You've been undercover for three years..."

"So, what are you saying? You think I've forgotten who I am? My name is Rebecca Raines. I am a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I am investigating one Antonio Carlotti under the fictitious name Erica Raineri in an attempt to gain evidence concerning illegal acts that come under the heading of 'organized crime,' which comes under the jurisdiction of the Criminal Investigative Division of the FBI, the division that I happen to work in. I know where my loyalties lie, Dawson," Rain finished.

"I'm sorry. I had to bring it up. It's happened before."

"I know. Look, don't worry about it. I'm fine. I'll check in at the regular time."

Rain clicked off her phone and slipped it into her long black trench coat. She needed to go home and get some sleep.

It was midnight when Case finally crossed state lines. She pulled over at the third truck stop she came to and brought out her cell phone. She hit the first memory button and waited.

"Doc," a deep voice came on the line.

He sounded a little impatient.

"Case, here. It's done. Package was delivered. Unfortunately, the receipt for delivery was lost due to a fire."

The plastique had destroyed the gun, as well as most of the hotel room, taking care of any useful evidence, including matching the bullet to the rifle. The explosives themselves would be traced back to an international supplier that would be an effective dead end.

Doc entered the information into his computer. The light from his monitor cast eerie shadows over his strong features. He smiled at the code phrases they were forced to use whenever they spoke. There was no way to tell if the smile ever reached his eyes because of the white computer screen image that was reflected from the lenses of his wire rim glasses.

"That's too bad." Case heard the clacking of a keyboard being used and then Doc came back on the line. "Payment for delivery has been rendered. I'll be in touch," he said, just before line went dead.

She closed down the phone and walked into the diner and ordered a breakfast plate. Two eggs, two pancakes, three strips of bacon, and four pieces of buttered toast with a little packet of grape jelly on the side. She sipped at her root beer and tried not to think about anything in particular.

She finished her meal and paid the check, then went to the back to use the restroom. Before leaving, she pulled the surgical gloves from her jeans pocket and dropped them into the metal trashcan. She walked out to her truck and got in. Once she was on the road again, she turned on the radio and found a station with music she knew and started singing along. After an hour though, she realized she was getting too tired to drive and pulled into the first motel she could find.

She brought her tote bag in with her and then collapsed onto the bed. After a couple minutes, she got up, placed the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, and undressed before turning on the TV. She flipped through the channels, letting the TV settle on a news program that seemed to be repeating from earlier in the evening. As soon as she recognized the stage and the crowd, though, Case grabbed up the remote again.

She flipped the channel and was happy to see that the porn station was part of the cable package that came with the room. She settled into the bed and tried to exhaust her libido. It really was an excellent diversion and she finally conked out just as the sky was beginning to lighten.

CHAPTER 4

CASE WAS GLAD she'd remembered to put the Do Not Disturb sign on her door, when she finally woke at three in the afternoon. She sat up and looked around the motel room. Images from the previous day's work flashed through her mind, but she refused to pay attention to them and they finally subsided back into her subconscious.

She pulled out her little black laptop and booted it up. Then she hooked it up to her cell phone and dialed her account. She checked her various e-mailboxes, deleting the junk mail as she went along, and answered the few messages that she deemed worthy of a reply.

Two of the e-mails were from colleagues. They were 'delivery boys' like her and she'd worked with both of them at different times, but where she had a boss, they were both freelancers. She envied them. At least they could pick and choose their assignments. Working for Antonio, she lacked that particular luxury.

Davey was just checking in, wondering what she was up to and when would be a good time to get together and 'shoot the shit.' Davey always used such colorful expressions. She told him she'd look him up when she was in his area again.