Lazar's Intrigue (The Jack Lazar Series) (10 page)

“So,
where do you think they moved to?”

“It’s
hard to say. But I can’t imagine they went very far. Maybe they moved to one of
the less settled islands near there. Somewhere fairly close to the crops where
processing can be accomplished while still allowing close supervision.”

“How
about his distribution network within the United States? Can you trace
something back that way?”

“That’s
actually what we’ve been trying to do,” Sarina admitted. “And now that we’ve
just about gotten his network figured out, he seems to be reshuffling everything
again. I’ve never seen anyone with such perfect timing. As far as we can tell,
he arranged for one last huge shipment to everyone before cutting the lines off
completely. We intercepted a handful of cargo coming into Florida, Texas and
Louisiana, but we figure the majority of the drugs sailed right through. Since
then we haven’t heard of anything.”

“And
how long ago was that?”

“Oh,
a couple of weeks. Why?”

Jack
mulled over his thoughts before answering. “I think I have an explanation for
that.”

“Oh,
really?” She seemed amused but still interested in what he had to say.

“Well,
as I was rummaging through Hesterling’s office last night, I found some
documents relating to a transaction between Antonucci’s company and Graf &
Tate. It looks like he’s buying Intercontinental Trucking. I assume you’ve
heard of it?”

“Sure.
Go on.” Sarina perked up.

“Well,
what could be a better way of distributing drugs around the nation than through
a legitimate, nationwide trucking company?”

“So
how close do you think he is to doing the transaction?”

Jack
wrinkled his brow and shrugged his shoulders. “It’s hard to tell. I didn’t have
much time to examine the file, but seeing how long they’ve been working on the
deal, I suppose it could already be done.”

Sarina
stared pensively into space. “We thought the deal was dead.”

“What?”

“The
Intercontinental deal. We thought it was dead. Ben has been following it very
closely, and a couple of weeks ago he reported that the negotiations between
Antonucci and Graf & Tate had stopped. I wonder where he was getting his
information.”

“Are
you sure you can trust him?”

Sarina
raised an eyebrow and looked at him disapprovingly. “I've worked with Ben for
over seven years, Jack. The man is like a brother to me.”

“Okay,
fair enough,” he answered. “Then let’s say Ben’s information was wrong, that
his
source
was wrong, and the deal is moving forward. What now?”

“Well,
if Antonucci has in fact been moving everything over to the new distribution
system,” she followed, “it would explain what we’ve been seeing lately.”

Jack
could almost see the wheels turning in her head, and he didn’t want to
interrupt her thought process, but there was something he had to know.

“Sarina,
did you ever suspect I was part of this thing? I mean, after finding out I
worked for Benson Kohler?”

She
stared determinedly into his eyes. “Not me. But my associates were pretty
skeptical. We ran a thorough check on you, Jack, and nothing ever came up. So
as far as we could tell, your only link to Hesterling and Antonucci was an
innocent association through Benson Kohler. Besides, we’ve never made a drug
connection between Antonucci and Hesterling anyway, only social contacts and an
allegedly legitimate business relationship. You have to keep in mind that most
of Antonucci’s empire consists of regular, everyday companies, and it doesn’t
make sense for us to waste time pursuing all of them for leads.”

“Well,
it’s nice to know I’m in the clear.”

Sarina
crawled on top of him playfully and dangled her hair in his face. “Honey,” she
said in a coy whisper as she bent down to kiss his face and neck before
nibbling on his ear. “If you’re the enemy, I’m ready to switch sides.”

Jack
smiled contentedly as she continued to give him kisses. He melted into the
pillow and covers around him as if he had found a soft, serene oasis. Even the
subject at hand had momentarily lost importance, and he found himself engaged
in their passion once again.

“I
have to go,” Sarina announced abruptly as she leapt from the bed and left a
somber, teased Jack behind. She sped back to give him a final, consolatory kiss.
“Sorry, babe, but with this new information, I have a million things to do.”

Jack
sat up in bed and watched as she darted back and forth between bedroom and
bath, throwing herself together as if she had performed the act at full speed a
million times. He called room service as he spectated, giving orders for
coffee, fruit, pastries and eggs although it was apparent she would be gone
before breakfast arrived. Sarina prepared herself in less than fifteen minutes,
and Jack was amazed that she looked no less beautiful for it.

“How
will I be able to contact you?” she asked, grabbing the purse that reflected
the weight of the .45 automatic it housed.

“Aren’t
you going to have some coffee?” Jack posed to her, knowing full well she would
decline. “It should be here any minute.”

“Where
can I reach you?” she asked again with a scolding smile.

“I
don’t know where I’ll be, so just call my cell number. I’ll get a new one today
since Hesterling and his merry band of thieves took mine away last night.”

“Will
do.” She stopped to look at him before she left and appeared to be studying the
way he had strategically draped the bed sheets over the more interesting parts
of his anatomy. She shook her head slowly as if admiring the prize she had
acquired, the sexual energy beaming through her expression, and she leaned over
to give him another noncommittal kiss.

But
Jack apprehended her as she bent over, in full recognition of her weakness, and
he toppled her onto the bed.

“Hey!”
she screamed.

Jack
gathered her head in his hands and began to kiss her. Hard.

Though
seeming to acquiesce for a moment, she managed to get free, back on her feet,
and slowly backed away from him, pointing her finger in a scolding manner.

“You’re
a bad boy, Jack. Another few seconds of that and you’d have had my clothes off
again, and then we’d have a big mess, and…stop!”

She
pulled the gun from her purse to warn him away as he attempted to leave the bed
and approach her.

“I’m
not looking at you,” she said, pretending to cover her eyes, but Jack could see
that she was peering through her fingers at his full erection.

“I’m
leaving now,” she stated assertively, apparently drawing upon every ounce of
self-discipline she could muster. “I…I have to go… Bye.”

The
door closed behind her, and Jack stood there with his hands on his naked hips. He
was disappointed his attempt at one more round had failed, but he was still completely
satisfied with a night’s worth of lovemaking he would probably never forget. His
whole body tingled, and the sexual energy of this exotic woman echoed
throughout his being. Indeed, it would be difficult to think of anything but
how and when he would get her into bed again.

It
seemed reasonable to conclude that they had some sort of relationship now,
despite their prior belief in the implausibility of such a thing. The question was
how to define it. Was it just sex? Or were they heading toward something
bigger?

A
knock came to the door, and Jack wrapped Sarina’s damp towel around his waist
before gripping the doorknob and ushering the room service waitress inside.

The
charming young woman set up the breakfast for two while scanning the room,
apparently looking for the other half of the party. Jack had often been called a
pretty boy because of his GQ looks, occasionally leading people to suspect he
was gay, so maybe she was curious whether his suite mate was a man or a woman.
Then again, she seemed to have difficulty keeping her eyes off Jack’s bare
upper body, which may have meant she was making sure no one caught her gawking.

Jack
passed over a ten before rushing her out the door, as it was time for him to
begin his own unsanctioned investigation of Antonucci’s world, and he needed to
move quickly if he expected to keep up with Sarina.

Thinking
of the tasks ahead of him, Jack ate as much of the food as he could stand. There
were so many arrangements to be made such as protecting his money from Hesterling
and Antonucci, who wouldn’t hesitate to use their influence to freeze it. He knew
his securities and real estate holdings would be safe, but he felt it would be
wise to consolidate his cash into his offshore account—a safe haven protected
against third-party access or manipulation.

God
only knows what happened to his beloved Aston Martin, but Jack knew he couldn’t
go back for it now. He would rent something inconspicuous for the remainder of
his time in Los Angeles, which would be short. He would no doubt be leaving
soon, although for where he didn’t know. But with a few phone calls, he hoped
his destination would become clear.

“Is
Barry Levin available, please?” Jack asked of the executive secretary to Graf
& Tate’s Chief Financial Officer.

“I’ll
check. May I say whose calling?” She performed her job well, and no one knew it
better than she.

“Yes,
my name is Jeff Dansbury,” Jack responded smoothly. “I’m an industrial real
estate broker with Harcourt Benson in Chicago.”

“One
moment.”

Jack
knew from experience that good public and business relations would be an
important part of Graf & Tate’s corporate restructure plan. Levin would
take the call.

“Hello.
Mr. Dansbury, is it?” The voice was friendly and responsive.

“Yes,
and please call me Jeff.”

“What
can I do for you?”

“Well,
I heard a little rumor that you found a buyer for Intercontinental. That should
look pretty good on your next quarterly statement. Can’t hurt cash flow
either.”

“Well,
um, Jeff,” Levin answered, showing more apprehension than Jack would have
expected. “I hope you can appreciate that it’s not appropriate or even legal
for me to discuss such a deal, if in fact it exists, before the details have
become public knowledge. If that’s what you are suggesting.”

“Oh
sure, sure,” Jack replied. “I wouldn't even think of asking you to reveal any
of the details. Actually, this may sound a little odd, but I’m more concerned
with what the buyer plans to do with the company after he acquires it than I am
with the specifics of your transaction.”

“Even
so, I hope you can understand that the information you’re referring to is
proprietary, and disclosing it could reveal details about the acquisition that
must remain confidential.”

“I
wouldn’t dream of compromising your position, Barry. I agree it’s very important
to be careful about how information is disseminated. For that reason, I think
it’s appropriate for me prove to you that I’m not some stock market junkie
who’s in it for the kill. In fact, I’m already close enough to the transaction
to know most of the information you’re concerned about telling me.”

“Go
on...”

“Well,
for example, your buyer is Antonucci World Enterprises, which is being
represented by Gerald Hesterling at Benson Kohler in Los Angeles, and the sale
is due to close within the next few days.” Jack continued to speculate as far
as he felt comfortable. “Several of Antonucci’s businesses are already
beginning to integrate their shipping needs through Intercontinental’s network
under a hold harmless agreement. Should I continue?”

“What
exactly do you want? Seeing that you know so much about the transaction, I’m
curious why you’re calling me at all.”

“Well,
Barry, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Antonucci is going to need a
hell of a lot more industrial space here in Chicago if he’s going to start
shipping his own products through the Intercontinental system, especially if he
plans on basing his international operations here. And at the risk of appearing
immodest, I think I’m the best commercial broker for them to work with. But I’m
having a hard time figuring out whether I’m looking at a six-figure commission or
just barking up the wrong tree. If there’s anything I hate, it’s wasting time,
and I thought you might be able to shed some light on the situation.”

Levin
exhaled as if he were deciding whether answering Jack’s question was even
necessary. It probably seemed reasonable enough. After all, everyone was
entitled to make a living.

“I’ll
tell you what, Jeff. I’ll answer your question, but not directly. It’s
apparently no secret that Antonucci’s subsidiaries are tying-in to
Intercontinental’s trucking system, whether or not his company intends to buy
it. And if it’s helpful, I can tell you the deal is being structured so all international
shipments from Antonucci’s companies as well as Intercontinental’s established
contracts to the Northeast and Midwest will continue to be routed through
Chicago. Naturally, since Antonucci will be adding to Intercontinental’s
standard magazine and newspaper shipments, it has become necessary to expand
the Chicago warehouse facility and offices. But I’m sorry to say they have
already signed for some auxiliary space near O’Hare that will tie-in with the
existing facility for the time being. So there isn’t a pressing need to
relocate the operation or to lease any more space. Hell, they may never do it. So,
hypothetically, if the transaction you’re suggesting were to take place, and
Antonucci took control of the whole trucking company, your guess is as good as
mine what he would ultimately do with it. But it wouldn’t make much sense to
restructure things any time in the near future? Fair enough?”