Arctic Fire (38 page)

“What’s this?” Marilyn asked.

“It’s the sign-off sheet for the iceberg
inspection.”

Chapter Forty
One

“Tick-tock,” Mallory said as she walked into
Cain’s office, looking at her watch.

“What was that?” Cain asked.

“Nothing.” Mallory muttered as she walked by and
started rummaging through her desk.

“Is everything okay?”

“It will be soon enough.”

Cain was puzzled by her response, but didn’t
pursue it.

“Listen Nigel,” Mallory continued,” if you don’t
mind, I need you to wine and dine Gabe tonight, work that old Cain
charm on him to see if we can do this the easy way and have him
sign off on the inspection.”

“I’m good,” Cain smiled, “but I don’t think that
even I can persuade Gabriel to sign.”

“We’ll you at least need to try. Ah, here it
is.” Mallory said, taking a small card out of her desk and shoving
it into her pocket.

“You’ve got that look,” Cain said, looking at
his assistant suspiciously. “I’ve seen it before; you’ve got
something up your sleeve.” Mallory just looked at him and
smiled.

“What time would you like me to work this
miracle?”

“You know me all too well,” she said innocently.
“If everything goes according to plan, between six and seven-thirty
should do fine.”

“Do I even want to know?”

“Do you?”

Cain thought about it for a moment, “Not
really.”

“Good choice. If anything changes, I’ll let you
know.” She smiled and turned, disappearing out the door.

“Tick-tock.” He said quietly as he watched her
leave.

Robert Thornton looked
up in surprise and
suddenly grew very nervous as he saw Mallory walking through the
office door.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Is the Senator in?”

“Yes, but you can’t go in there. He’s finally
calmed down and he’s stopped yelling and throwing things.”

“I’ll be in there less than a minute.”

“But...” Thornton started to protest but Mallory
shoved him aside and went in, locking the door behind her. When
Williams saw her, his eyes sprung open, first in fear then in rage.
He started to reach for something on his desk to throw at her but
there was nothing left. Before he could utter a sound, she
spoke.

“I’m sorry, Senator Williams, for my actions
earlier today; there is no excuse for my behavior other than my
passion for my work, something I’m sure you can understand. I come
waving a white flag and I bear a peace offering.” She paused to
read his expression. He was still angry but he was still Pug
Williams so the gesture of a peace offering held him at bay for the
moment.

Mallory slowly walked over to the desk and laid
down a room cardkey. “I have someone who would like to meet you.
She is a
very
big fan. She also understands the meaning of
discretion and knows that there may never be another opportunity
like this for her to be able to see you and spend time with you.
She’s also asked me to tell you that she is a little shy about all
this and not to be alarmed when you enter the room and find it
dark.

“This is a small iceberg, so timing is critical
in order to assure discretion for both parties. Please arrive
promptly at 7:00.”

“Who is it?”

Mallory smiled coyly. “I’m not going to tell
you, though you could find out if you really wanted to, but then
that would spoil the anticipation wouldn’t it? Trust me, you won’t
be disappointed. And, to anticipate your next question, no this is
not a trap or a set up. The offer is genuine and she is real.”

She bowed slightly as she backed toward the
door. “Again, my apologies and I hope this will mend some of the
fences I tore down.” Mallory left the office and walked passed a
stunned Thornton who expected World War III to start. After Mallory
left, he rushed into the office half expecting to see the senator
lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Instead, he was sitting
quietly at his desk wearing a strange smile.

Chapter Forty
Two

“Thanks for asking me out for drinks.” K.D.
said, sitting at the bar in the Crystal Palace, sipping on a rum
and coke. She was looking down through the acrylic ice counter top
of the bar at a prehistoric fish frozen in the ice. It was about
two feet long with tiny eyes and an extended jaw with razor sharp
protruding teeth and a tail like an eel. She smiled to herself. She
didn’t know why, but it reminded her of her high school drama
teacher.

“The boys aren’t the only ones who need to
unwind after a tough day at the office.” Mallory replied.

“Here, here!” K.D. said as they raised their
glasses in a toast.

“This must be a little bit different work than
you’re used to back home?” Mallory asked.

“You can say that again. We don’t get many
exciting projects, though we did do a little work on the implosions
of the Kingdome and then some work on Qwest and Safeco Field.

“Oh, I almost forgot, I’ve arranged a little
surprise.”

“Really?” K.D. replied, not trying to hide her
excitement. “What is it?”

“It’s not a what, but a who, and I don’t think
you’ll be disappointed,” she winked. “Schedules are tight and there
are more snooping eyes and ears on the barge than at grandma’s
quilting bee, so timing is everything.” Mallory looked at her
watch. “It’s 6:00 now. We’ll hang out here for another twenty
minutes then you head back to your place and be there at exactly
6:30.”

“This is kind of exciting.” K.D. said.

“Here, let me freshen up our drinks, I’ll be
right back.” Mallory grabbed both their glasses and headed toward
the bar. She looked backed and smiled at K.D. who was in her own
little world, thinking about what the evening had in store for her.
The bartender refilled their drinks, and while no one was looking,
Mallory took a small vial out of her pocket and poured it into
K.D.’s drink.

Mallory glanced at her watch as she returned to
the table and handed K.D. her drink. “Bottoms up.”

K.D. was feeling woozy and a little light headed
when she reached her door. With her head spinning, it took her
three tries to swipe her keycard though the lock. With the door
open, she staggered into the room like a drunken sailor on leave.
She couldn’t understand why she was feeling this way; she knew she
hadn’t had that much to drink. She saw a flash of movement out of
the corner of her eye and started to call out Gabe’s name. She
wanted to apologize to him for being this way, for ruining his
surprise; but she never got the chance. The last thing she saw
wasn’t Gabe’s face, but a dark blur swing toward her head, then a
sharp pain in her temple. Then darkness.

Marilyn Talbot strategically placed the brass
candleholder she had just hit K.D. with on the floor beside the
bed.

“Pick her up and throw her on the bed,” she
said.

Tony Roberts felt like throwing up as he looked
down at his lifeless coworker. “I-I didn’t sign up for this,” he
said, his voice trembling.

Marilyn calmly walked over to him then shoved
him hard, pinning his neck against the wall with her left forearm
and grabbing his crotch in a death grip with the other.

“Listen lover boy, you were all hot to trot when
the lights were down low; now it’s time to pay the piper. You’re in
this now just as deep as I am and I can’t do this alone.”

She loosened her grip, going from terminator to
temptress. “Listen, Tony we’re making a lot of money here, a lot of
money. Just think of the freedom we’ll have with this money, think
of all the things we can do together. She leaned forward and kissed
him hard and passionately, but even while kissing him she knew it
was a lie; she was already getting bored with him.

Tony struggled as he dragged K.D.’s body to the
bed, then picked her up and tossed her on it. He straightened up
and rubbed his lower back. “They make this look so easy on
television.” Marilyn ignored his comment and tossed him a small
package.

“What’s this?”

“Pantyhose. Lay her out on the bed and tie one
hand with it to the bed post, then rip open her blouse.”

“What?” he nearly shouted. “I can’t do
that.”

“You’re pathetic,” Marilyn said as she shoved
him out of the way and ripped her shirt. “Now tie up her hand you
idiot.” She shoved him in the chest then went back over to the
table and pulled a small vial out of her bag and hid it under the
cloth napkin that was sitting beside a bottle of champagne and two
glasses.

“What is that?” Tony asked, seeing her hide the
vial.

“It’s GHB. It’s a date-rape drug; that’s why
we’re doing all this. The wine, tying her up, the torn blouse,
we’re making this look like a plan that went horribly wrong. Now
hurry up, we don’t have much time.”

Marilyn walked over and laid one of the chairs
at the table over on its side then tipped over one of the lamps
beside the bed. She looked at it for a moment then decided to stomp
on it, breaking it into pieces. She stepped back and studied the
room for a moment, like an artist studying her canvas. Putting on
the finishing touch, she filled one of the champagne glasses half
full, then knocked it over.

Satisfied, she began looking in her bag, and
then patted her pockets, “Do you have the knife?” She asked.

Tony nodded, then reached into his pocket and
pulled out a red Swiss Army Knife. “Who are we setting up?” he
asked.

Marilyn grinned wickedly. “The man who owns that
knife.”

Senator Harlen “Pug”
Williams walked
confidently but quietly down the hallway, his mind overflowing with
curiosity and lust. Mallory was right, the thrill and mystery of
the unknown heightened his anticipation but this wasn’t his first
rodeo and he was no fool by taking Mallory’s peace offering at face
value.

Although he had Bobby do most of the work on the
computer, he was pretty handy with the keyboard, a fact that he
liked to keep to himself, and with a little digging he was able to
verify the name on the cardkey. As he opened the file and checked
the registration, he was surprised at who it was. At first, he had
thought it might have been a bored socialite or even that young
blonde reporter, Tab, Tabby, whatever her name was, but it
wasn’t.

Looking at her registration picture she was not
the kind of woman who usually did things like this, but sometimes
the quiet ones were the most passionate. The more he looked at her
picture, the more his lust grew and best of all, he knew Mallory
had not set him up, that this was the real deal. After all, she
wouldn’t want to expose their little rendezvous and risk tarnishing
the reputation of their golden boy.

As he casually strolled, he had several
well-practiced, polished, and believable reasons why he was walking
alone in this part of the barge at this time of night. As he
rounded the corner he saw the door and his heart skipped a beat.
Would the encounter be met with wild abandon, would it take on the
form of shy flirting or would he have to woo her and overcome any
hesitation or second thoughts? Oh, the thrill of the hunt!

He came to the door and looked at his watch;
7:00 on the dot. If nothing else, he was a punctual man. With a
lustful grin, he opened the door and quickly stepped through,
closing it behind him. As promised, the lights were off and he
stood there for a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness.
“Hello?” he said quietly.

“I’m over here.” He heard the sound of a soft,
feminine voice calling him. With eager anticipation, he took one
step forward then felt a powerful hand grasp his mouth and pull his
head back. Before he had time to react, he felt a sharp pain
penetrate his chest, then another and another. He felt the hands
release their grip and he crumpled to the floor.

As he lay there gasping for breath, he knew he
was dying. The last thoughts he had were not of his wife or family
but of disappointment because he would never become president and
he died wondering who would fill his vacant seat in the Senate.

Marilyn turned on the lights and looked at the
Senator lying on the floor. She bent down and ruffled his hair,
untucked his shirt a little and undid his belt buckle. Then she
stood in front of the senator’s body, held up the knife and dropped
it. “That should do it.”

She looked over at Tony. “You don’t look as
queasy this time. Easier second time around, lover?”

“Not easier, just different because I didn’t
know him.”

“Yeah, well you can drown your sorrows while
baking in the sun on the deck of a 150 foot yacht floating in the
blue-green waters of the Mediterranean.”

A slow smile crept to Tony’s face. “I wanna
drive.”

Marilyn reached up and patted him on the cheek,
“Of course you can. Now let’s double-check the room and get out of
here. I have to get back to my room and call George; I want to
check on my cats, I think Bubbles has worms.”

Chapter Forty T
hree

Pike was feeling good about himself as he walked
down the hall. Professionally, his career was probably shot. He had
just said no to the richest man in the world and he had no doubts
that if he wanted to, Cain could ruin him. But he was also grateful
to Cain for helping him realize that money can’t buy everything,
especially integrity, self-esteem, self-respect, and a clear
conscience knowing that he did the right thing for the right
reason.

On the flip side, his personal life was looking
better and better. He had also discovered that while you could go
through life alone, what was the point? People were what mattered,
not the almighty dollar. Easy to say now while he still had two
nickels to rub together but a principle he knew was true. He wasn’t
afraid anymore.