“They will try again. They have too much invested in her and they want her to pay off. They won‟t just let her go because of one setback. It‟ll be fine for a few days. Maybe even a week but then they will try again and maybe next time, I‟m not there” Kim said almost sounding defeated. She looked at Matt and said “I have an idea but I need your help.” “Anything” Matt said. Kim looked at the laptop and asked “Can you program that thing to make a large number of transactions?” “Sure” Matt said, “The only risk is that when you do the transactions they can be traced to an IP address and internet provider. I can make the money disappear by moving it around a couple of hundred times and fragment it into many different accounts before bringing all the small accounts back together but the first few transactions will be traceable and dangerous.” “Perfect” Kim said, “What about bank accounts? Can you create those in someone else‟s name?” Matt nodded “Easy, I would need an existing account or some ID though.” Kim dropped the wallets on the table and said “I need you to set it up so I am going to have to enter an account number. Then I want you to create a fake account in the name of Jake Juliano and transfer thirty million dollars into it. Then you need to transfer five million dollars from the new account into the account that was entered into the computer. After that you need to transfer one million dollars from the new account into five new fake accounts that belong to the people whose driver‟s licenses are in those wallets, you will have to create those account too. Finally, I want you to make the rest of the money disappear. It needs to become untraceable. Spend as much as you think is necessary but make sure it cannot be traced. And I want all of that to happen within 5 minutes after I enter Jake‟s account number and it all needs to happen from this laptop. Finally it needs to remove any evidence of the automated sequence from this computer” “What are you planning?” Annie asked. Kim gave her a serious look and said “I have to stop this and not just for Ally. They will destroy many lives and I need to stop them. I don‟t want you involved anymore than you already are.” “I can have it ready by the day after tomorrow” Matt said. “Thanks” Kim said and started packing her bag. “What are you doing?” Annie asked. “I‟m leaving, this could get ugly and I appreciate all the help but I couldn‟t bear if anything would happen to either of you” Kim responded with determination. She hugged them both and tried to hold back the tears. Why couldn‟t anything just be easy? Why did it all have to be this hard? “Do you want me to drop you off anywhere?” Annie asked. Kim shook and said “No thank you, I can find my way. I‟ve been getting good at that” They smiled at each other and Kim turned and left into the night. At the end of the path she yelled back “I‟ll see you in two days” then she walked around the corner not looking back. “I love you” she whispered wishing she would be able to say it aloud. She thought about getting the Honda but was not comfortable with driving around and didn‟t want to unless she had to. Also she couldn‟t afford to get pulled over or be in an accident. She walked towards a worse neighborhood and found a hotel that looked like it wasn‟t too particular about identification and rented a room. They asked for a form of ID and she just responded she would pay two weeks in advance. This seemed to make an ID totally unnecessary. She paid cash and went to her room. On her way to the room she passed a few couples all seeming to be in a good mood even though the girls were clearly faking it to keep the men happy. Kim recognized it immediately and couldn‟t help but wonder how many of these girls were doing it because they had chosen to and how many had been tricked into this life? She got to her room and immediately locked the door and put the chain on it. The room was anything but pleasant but it would do. The bed was made but Kim elected to sleep on the couch. She turned on an episode of Law and Order on the TV to drown out the noises coming from the other rooms but it didn‟t help much. She was tired though and still shaken up from the events of the night. She had been happy to prevent Ally from getting raped but it had torn open some very deep wounds that she had tried hard to forget about. Finally she didn‟t have to hold it back and she cried herself to sleep. The next morning she didn‟t wake up until almost noon. She showered and got dressed then went out for something to eat. When she came back she asked for a phone book and the hotel manager produced one with a thick layer of dust on it. The hotel was quiet now. There was nothing going on and it was clear that the time from eight pm until three am was the busy time. She thanked the manager and took the phone book which he insisted on being brought back as soon as possible as if it was a vital tool to his business. In the phonebook she found the pages for limousine services. She called a few but none would make a reservation without a credit card. Then she tore a few pages from the book and put them in her pocket and called a cab. The cab arrived twenty minutes later and she directed it to the first limousine service on the list. There they gave her a weird look when she requested a limo for two nights from now. They showed her the options and Kim opted for a black stretch Hummer H2 limo. She also made sure that there were no markings like the name of the limo company on it. The rental for four hours would come to a little over eight hundred dollars. She paid and requested a pickup a few blocks from the hotel she was staying at. She didn‟t want to be seen being picked up in that thing leaving a hotel like that. Then she returned to the taxi and had him drop her off by her old apartment. There was the Honda. She got in and moved it a little and then just sat there keeping an eye on the apartment. She sat there for a few hours and was getting hungry, but she didn‟t want to leave until she was sure Ally would be ok. A few minutes later the passenger door to the Honda opened and Kim just about jumped out of her skin and she started looking for the gun. Before she knew it, Annie slid into the passenger seat with a big bag of very good smelling Chinese food. “What are you doing here?” Kim asked still recovering from the shock. “I thought you might like some company” Annie said with a smile. “You shouldn‟t be here” Kim snapped but then calmed down, smiled and continued “But I‟m glad you are.” “I brought some food” Annie said. “Great, I‟m starving” Kim said with her mouth watering. They ate and Annie asked what she was planning. “Tomorrow I‟m going to visit Jake” Kim said. Annie gave her a wide eyed look. “Is that a good idea?” Annie asked with a mouth full of rice. “I have to, I‟m going to pay him to leave Ally alone” Kim responded. “But what will stop him from hurting you after you give him the money” Annie asked concerned. “I have a plan, but I could use your help tomorrow” Kim said with a smile. “What do you need?” Annie asked. “I need to hang out with my best friend, go shopping, get our hair and nails done. You know stuff we should have been doing for the last four years but couldn‟t” Kim said. Annie looked confused and perplexed but said “Ok, I can call in sick tomorrow.” Chapter 36: The night was uneventful and the next morning Annie picked Kim up at her hotel. When Kim got into the car Annie gave her a look. “What?!?” Kim asked. “You‟d rather stay here than with me” Annie scolded her. “Yes, when I‟m here you won‟t get hurt!” Kim shot back. “Where to?” Annie asked, “You are the girl with the plan.” “I told you, shopping. I need to look fabulous for my date with Jake” Kim said with a devious smile. “You know, last time I helped you get ready for a date with that slime it didn‟t go too well” Annie said. “This time the roles are reversed and I know his little secrets and he doesn‟t know mine” Kim said with the same devious smile. “Just promise me to be careful” Annie begged her. Kim nodded. They arrived at the mall and Annie asked what look they were going for. “In control, rich and sophisticated, almost a business like look but still sexy as hell. I want him to know what he is missing out on” Kim said. They shopped for about two hours and finally settled on a tight black skirt that came to a few inches above the knees with a matching blazer, a black leather belt and a bright red silk blouse. They bought some stockings and black leather high heels to match. And to make it all complete an expensive leather oversize purse. “Ok, that should do it” said Annie, “It looks great.” “I need some jewelry” Kim said, “I need to ooze money.” They went to a jeweler and bought a matching set of diamond earrings, bracelet and necklace. Then Kim asked to see diamond engagement and wedding bands. Annie gave her a puzzled look and as the clerk walked away to get the bands Kim whispered to her “I married rich. How else can I afford to buy Ally from him?” Kim picked out an engagement band and matching wedding band that fit so she wouldn‟t have to wait for alterations. The total came to almost twenty thousand dollars which made Annie‟s jaw hit the floor. Kim didn‟t even blink. She was shocked by the amount but she needed to pull off a great performance later so she might as well start practicing now. She dropped a stack of the bills on the counter and said “This should be twenty thousand” as coolly as she could manage. The clerk gave her a shocked look and stared at the money for a moment. “I don‟t trust banks” Kim defended quickly. The clerk showed the money to a colleague and they checked the bills to make sure they were real. Then they checked her out. The stack of twenty thousand dollars netted fifty two dollars and twenty five cents in change. They picked it up and left. Next they drove downtown and found a salon. In the salon they both got their hair styled and their nails done. Annie protested for a minute but Kim insisted that she get her hair and nails done too. Kim had her hair straightened and colored a darker shade. She showed the stylist the picture in Gabriella‟s passport and said she wanted it the same way. When the stylist was done it was a perfect match. The only difference with her and the picture was her nose and the skin tone. For her nails she chose a blood red to match the silk blouse she had bought. Then she had her makeup done and several hours and five hundred dollars later they were outside again. They had a late lunch and found their way back to the car. “Are we done now?” Annie asked jokingly. “Almost, we just need to go to the gym first” Kim said. Annie started the car and was about to ask Kim if she was serious but though better of it, by now she had figured out that Kim was on a mission and she had it all worked out to the last details but for the life of her she couldn‟t figure out what they needed at the gym. “Any gym in particular?” Annie asked. “This one” Kim said as she handed Annie a page from the phone book. “What do you want there? It‟s a total muscle fest. Plus, shouldn‟t we have gone to the gym before we had our hair, nails and makeup done?” Annie said getting slightly annoyed with Kim‟s secrecy. Kim was smiling; she was playing with Annie and loving every minute of it. When they got to the gym Kim went to the reception where a tall blonde that was way too muscular to still look feminine greeted her. “I need some personal trainers” Kim said. “More than one?” the girl asked. “Yes, two” Kim said, “And they need to be bodybuilding experts.” The girl looked Kim over with a doubting glare then asked “When?” “Tonight, I‟ll pick them up at seven and drop them off at ten at the latest” Kim said. “The trainers work here and don‟t travel” the girl said annoyed. “I only need them to take a ride with me. I‟m planning a prank on a friend and I need some muscular company. I‟ll make it worth their while” Kim explained. The girl went into the office and two very muscular men walked out. Kim would have guessed their necks were larger than her waist. “What do you want?” asked one of the men slightly annoyed thinking he was having his chain yanked. Kim explained that they were planning a prank on a friend and she needed a muscular escort to pull it off. They would be picked up a little after seven and would be back before ten, probably much earlier. One of the men started turning around and walking away when the other asked “What‟s it worth to you?” “Double your rate if you dress up” Kim said with a confident smile. “Our rate is seventy five an hour” the other man said. “Three hours that‟s two hundred twenty five dollars, double that is four fifty. Let‟s even it out to five hundred each and you can keep it all even if we get back early” Kim said as she did some quick math and dropped a thousand dollars on the counter. “What do you want us to wear?” they asked. “Black suit with a t-shirt underneath and dress shoes, is that a problem?” Kim asked. The men looked at each other still surprised and then both shook their heads. “We aren‟t going to get in trouble over this, are we?” one man asked. “Nope, all you do is take a ride and stand by the car while I visit a friend” Kim said. Both men shrugged and took the money. “See you at seven” Kim said as she left the stunned trio behind. “You are nuts” Annie scolded Kim, “I‟d never have the guts to do what you are doing.” Kim shrugged and said “After some of the things I‟ve been through this is easy, but I am nervous about meeting Jake. I hope I can stop myself from beating the crap out of him.” But she knew she had to control herself for Ally. They went back to the hotel and Annie got the laptop out of the trunk of the car and gave it to Kim. At six thirty she headed to the corner where Kim had agreed to meet the limo. She was still wearing her normal clothes as the new clothes might attract