Assassin Affairs (34 page)

“Tell
me what you both remember about the encounter. You need to do a
little reconstruction of the event for Uncle Alexei.” He liked
to call his female trainees nieces.

“We
went inside to intimidate everyone and make them believe Carlotta
Carboni had sent us. There was a poker game in progress.”

“Okay,
and then what happened?” he asked.

A little
perplexed by the request, Kristie said “That's when I noticed
that gangster Sonny Sinclair there. He's the one who tried to rape me
when Karlee came in and saved me. I fired a couple rounds into his
crotch before we left. We already told you about it.”

“Do
you remember anyone else there besides the men playing cards?”

“No,”
said Kristie.

“Wait
a minute!” interjected her sister. “There was someone
else there! One of the men had a bimbo with him. Kristie, don't you
remember that little redhead that was there making snacks in the
kitchen?”

“Oh
yeah, she was a nobody, just one of the guy's girlfriends.”

“Uh
huh, and where was this harmless little tart when you had the drop on
all those nasty men?” asked Alexei. “Was she behind you
by any chance?”

“Probably.
We totally ignored her, focusing on the men.”

“Never,
never judge a book by its cover, girls. I thought I'd taught you
that, Karlee. Shame on you!”

“You've
lost us, Alexei. What are you talking about?”

“I've
pieced together a few facts that have subsequently come to my
attention, ladies. One of the other poker players was a New York
mobster named Charles Cicero. That little harmless, redheaded bimbo
was his most accomplished hit-woman. She had come to see him and
collect a large payment due her and her group from a recent hit.
Since they're also friends, she accompanied him to the game.
Apparently while you two were so busy harassing the men, she had time
to not only get out her pistol, but also attach the silencer. Had you
turned around, you would have seen it pointed right at you.”

Both women
displayed a look of disbelief. “No way!” they responded.
“How do you know this?”

“Her
name is Renée. From what I'm told, she grew up subjected to a
childhood of sex-abuse by her step-dad. When she witnessed you put
two rounds into Sinclair's crotch, you won her favor and she decided
to spare you and let you finish out your play. Her boss Cicero didn't
mind as he and Sinclair were more adversaries than friends, so he
subtly nodded his okay.”

“How
in the world do you learn these things, and what does this have to do
with our missing sister?”

“Renée
is a rather unique individual, as you might now surmise,” said
Alexei. “She was so impressed with you two that she became
determined to get to know you. She's been putting out feelers ever
since that night to find out who you are.”

“Maybe
she's involved with Kacey's disappearance,” said Karlee. “Maybe
that's her play to meet us. Have these feelers of hers reached out
and felt you, Alexei?”

“Yes,
twice, in fact. One of her associates is named Laura. Laura trained
under me for a year before you came along, Karlee. She and I were
also lovers, just like you and I were. Laura approached me some time
ago on the subject on Renée's behalf and I feigned ignorance.
That's when I learned all these details.”

“You
did say twice.”

“Do
you remember that operation we did with the CIA a while back, the one
where you worked with an agent named Pepper?”

“Yeah,
we remember her,” the sisters said in unison.

“Well,
it seems little red, who incidentally graduated sigma cum laud, and
her gang have gotten their tits-in-the-proverbial-wringer.” He
chuckled at his own male humor. “Their last op to kidnap a
Laotian princess went south on them over in Thailand, thanks to
Pepper. Faced with a lifetime in an Asian prison or working for the
CIA due to no outstanding arrest warrants, they made the obvious
choice. This all happened within the last twenty-four hours and
they're still incarcerated in the Royal Palace there.”
“So
this Renée now has Pepper contacting you about us?”
asked Karlee.

“You
are quick. I won't say anything to anyone without your approval, and
I'm definitely not saying to become friends with any of these women.
On the other hand, it's my opinion that they're in a position to help
you. Renée has a Colorado cabin, and extensive criminal
contacts, including gun-runners and New York crime families. Laura
gained the status of top-assassin on the west coast, another
associate named Ashley did her Master's Thesis on made-men and
hit-men, focusing on both Sinclair and Cicero. Ashley is so good at
tracking, she located Renée who is more elusive than you two.
In other words, it's only a matter of time until they find you
anyway.”

“What
do you want, Alexei?” asked Karlee. She was still indebted to
him for her year of training.

“Pepper
needs a favor. She needs to get the respect of her new recruits.
Although she captured them, they feel it was just dumb luck. Renée
mentioned her interest in meeting you two as a test. I owe Pepper;
you owe me. Go to Thailand and meet with Renée for me, and
we'll call it even between us, Karlee, plus Pepper will owe the pair
of you a favor,” offered Alexei. “One more thing that
will be of some interest to you both.”

“What's
that?”

“Like
with you two, Renée just reconnected with her dad after twenty
years. He's CIA and, unknown to her until now, was in one of those
Asian prisons all that time, just getting out last year. All of them
are at the Royal Palace there, where Princess Lei is about to marry
the Prince. It's as good a place as any to start in your search for
Kacey. Because some of the names on your list are connected with an
anti-government militia, you might be able to persuade Pepper to make
finding them the girls' first CIA operation. From what Laura has told
me, they're a tight-knit, highly skilled group, but they could turn
on you on a dime. One time, Ashley pushed a young man off a hi-rise
balcony just to impress them. If you follow this path, be very
careful.”

“All
right, Alexei. It sounds like our best bet. They've got skills and
contacts we could use. Having the CIA behind us, too, would be sweet.
Tell Pepper to expect us forthwith.”

The sisters
sent their parents home in case Kacey tried to contact them, and then
they departed for Thailand.

It was well
past midnight when they reached the Royal Palace and reconnected with
their one-time op-partner.

“Pepper,
what are you thinking? You should just throw away the key with this
bunch!” declared Karlee.

“Renée's
dad is CIA and we owe him. She's a master manipulator and has
influence over this group similar to the way Charles Manson did with
his. There's a lot of young talent in that room. If we can cultivate
and properly mold it, reprogram them, we'll have some top skills in
the service of our government. We've frozen all their assets and
threatened them with RICO confiscation to discourage them from taking
flight. It will all be slowly released back to them like a
profit-sharing program. The youngest one, Julie, has the least to
offer and has some potential murder charges looming, but we wanted to
keep the group together. I've interviewed each individually at
length.”

She led
them to the darkened library where the five ladies were still kept
under guard, but in a comfortable manner. All five were asleep on
cushy sofas. Pepper quietly pointed out which one was Renée.

“Do
you recognize her, Karlee?” Kristie asked in a hushed tone.

“Yes,
she was definitely there that night, sis. Do you think we were really
that close to being shot in the back? She looks so sweet and
innocent.”

“Yeah,
I think so, and in the back of the head is more likely. She's not the
harmless darling she appears to be. I'm never making that mistake
again! Do we really want to wake her up?” she asked in a
whisper.

“We
do have a lot in common, sis. But for the grace of God, there go we.
Be nice, we're unarmed and outnumbered.”

The two
sisters hesitantly sat on the sofa next to the petite redhead, Karlee
turned on an adjacent table lamp, Kristie nudged Renée.

“Who
are you? What do you want?” she asked groggily.

“We're
told you've been looking for us.”

“You
do look familiar,” said Renée as she sat up.

By now, the
others were stirring.

“They're
movie stars, silly. They were in that film with my mom,” said
Jessie.

“Who's
your mom, kid?” asked Kristie.

“Joanna
Jennings.”

The sisters
looked over at Pepper for confirmation. She nodded.

“We
never actually met her. They always filmed around her. Does she know
what you do, kid?”

“Not
exactly, but my step-dad trained me and Ashley, so she's gotta
suspect.”

“I
haven't been looking for any actresses,” Renée said
dismissively, lying down again.

Kristie
made a gun shape using her fingers, pointed at the woman's crotch,
and said “Bang, bang,” her way of saying she was the
mysterious shooter.

Renée
bounced right back to her sitting position. “No way!” She
stood up and faced them, eying both suspiciously. The other four
joined her.

“Which
one of you is Laura?” asked a curious Karlee.

“I
am,” said another harmless-looking woman, this one petite
build, with short brunette hair.

“Alexei
sends his regards,” she said.

“That
bastard! I knew he was lying. So you've been to that old castle of
his?”

“He
was just being discrete, hon. He wouldn't tell us much about you
either, and yes, we both have, Kristie's husband and sister-in-law,
too. We all fought off a terrorist attack together. I spent a year
training there,” said Karlee.

Then Ashley
spoke up. “We crossed paths when I was doing my thesis research
on Sonny Sinclair. Uncle Peter got me into the film-shoot at his
estate.”

“Peter
the producer?” asked a sister.

“Yeah.”

“Geez.”

“I'm
feeling left out,” pouted young Julie. “You all have
stuff in common 'cept for me.”

“We
didn't come here to patronize you. We're looking for a missing person
and Alexei indicated you might be able to help,” said Karlee.

“Sorry,
we're under house-arrest,” said Renée. “I mean
Palace-arrest.”

“We
might be able to work something out,” interjected Pepper. “It
involves something of interest to the CIA, an anti-government militia
in the Colorado foothills.”

“Oh,
I see,” said Renée. “Pepper knows that we've all
shared a little cabin up in those foothills, everyone but Julie. I've
had run-ins with gun-runners. It ended badly for them,” she
bragged, continuing to eye both sisters with a great degree of
interest. “Who is this missing person?”

Kristie
pulled out the photo their dad had given them. The group passed it
around. Julie, the youngest and newest addition to the group, was
last as usual.

“Oh...oh
my,” she said. “I don't feel left out anymore. I know who
this is!”

“No
you don't!” exclaimed the sisters in united disbelief.

“Feeling
an unfamiliar sense of empowerment, Julie asked “What's in it
for me?”

“That's
just bullshit, kid. We're wasting our time here,” said Karlee,
getting up to leave.

Renée
pushed her back down onto the sofa. “Julie doesn't bullshit,
sweetheart. Shut-up and listen.” She nodded for the kid to
continue.

“Her
name is Kacey!” Julie proudly showed off.

Both
sisters' mouths dropped open with the stunning revelation. The room
grew silent, waiting for the next shoe to drop.

“Of
course, it's going to cost you for more,” said a cocky Julie.

Although
the sisters had been told that Renée was a master manipulator
a la Charles Manson, what they didn't realize was that she was every
bit as deviant sexually. She had introduced the entire group to the
bisexual lifestyle, and each was strangely devoted to her. Julie
could have asked for a break to go visit her parents, but instead
wanted to do something to win Renée's favor.

“What
do you want, Julie?” asked Pepper.

“We've
all been hearing how Renée spared their two lives at that home
invasion. I think they should each give her a thank you kiss to
express their appreciation, a French kiss!”

Renée
perked up at the suggestion. The sisters looked over at Pepper for
some support. Pepper merely shrugged her shoulders, sat in a nearby
chair, and turned on another table lamp.

“What's
the big deal?” asked Ashley and Laura, showing Renée
their support. “It's just a frigging kiss!”

Flustered,
but willing to do such a simple thing for help finding her sister,
Karlee showed signs of giving in and inched closer to Renée.

Sensing an
element of control, Renée seized the moment and added,
“naked.”

The others
turned on a few more of the table lamps, then positioned themselves
to comfortably observe the performance.

“You
want our help badly enough to have come all the way to Thailand,”
Renée pointed out. “Julie isn't asking much. It's just
us girls here, and you know you are alive solely due to my good
graces. The sooner you get it done, the sooner you learn about this
Kacey girl.”

Both
sisters began unbuttoning their tops. The five prisoners and Pepper
looked on intently. The tops dropped to the floor, shoes came off,
skirts were unbuttoned.

“Underwear,
too,” said Renée with a wry smirk.

A moment
later, a nude Karlee sat next to her on the large sofa. The two
exchanged a passionate French kiss. Renée extended her hand to
Kristie who then joined them, sitting on the other side. As everyone
was distracted with the kissing, Julie mischievously gathered up and
hid all the clothing.