The Plagues of Pandora

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Excuse me, my dear, but I think we can double your money.” Stone exited the room whilst speaking, then locked eyes on to her position. “What are you doing?”

Lauren turned from the window, empty glass in hand. “Admiring the view, Mr. Stone. Would you like to do the same?”

She struck a pose with the lights of DC shining behind her, the handcuffs hanging from her belt and brushing her thigh, the jacket now fully unzipped.

Stone indicated the bag containing the tricks of her trade. “Want to do both of us at the same time? That’s five grand for you.”

It took all the years and every ounce of Lauren’s experience to affect a lascivious smile. “Nightshade would be pleased with that.”

Stone advanced, followed by Bell. Lauren noticed a wide smile replacing the sick look coating his face. “Round two?” he asked.

“The final round.” Lauren couldn’t help but return the smile.

Hours later, Lauren walked away as the two tired, sore men shrugged into luxurious dressing gowns. Seeing another opportunity she swigged from a champagne bottle, draining it dry so that they would think she’d consumed more than an entire bottle that night. The three sat and talked quietly, now breaking out the Bourbon, Stone with his typical conceited reserve, and Stone with his open charm. Lauren had to admit that together they made a very complex team. What did that mean for the rest of the Pythians?

Feigning exhaustion, she mentioned leaving and then sleep, taking a full double-shot of Bourbon and pretending to pass out right there on the couch. The ball was in their court. They would either make her comfortable, call her a cab, or take some kind of advantage. Lauren was covered in every way, she could always feign waking up. Not only that but she believed Bell would protect her honor.

A warning tone went off. Are you mad?

Probably. How else could I have survived this long?

In any case, the need for information now came before anything else, including her dignity and, above all, she abhorred the idea of ever seeing Stone again in private. Her debt to Jonathan was paid. The general was a monster, straight from his own mouth.

“The girl is passed-out drunk,” Stone said matter-of-factly. “So I guess she doesn’t get paid.”

Bell grunted. “Don’t be any more of an ass than you already are. A diversion like her for men like us? She’s gold. You should encourage her, not drive her away.”

“Perhaps. But in any case, we have a little more to discuss before retiring. Let her sleep it off awhile.”

Lauren heard movement, felt a pat on the rump from Stone’s heavy hand, and then footsteps crossed to the lounge. A door closed. Fear gripped Lauren’s soul as she opened her eyes and rose. She was standing so close to the edge she felt herself teetering. If Stone found her this time she could very well be dropped off the outside balcony.

Lauren wavered. It was only when the snippets of information she’d already uncovered flooded back that she felt galvanized to move. Pythians… factory… weaponized… plague!

Damn, if only she had backup.

Placing her ear to the door, and ensuring her route back to the couch was free, she resumed her earlier role of… the thought crossed her mind that she’d played so many roles tonight there was a chance she’d forget her own identity. But then voices filled her head.

Stone was in full flow, “… London, Paris and Los Angeles remain our three areas of necessity… the freshest graves.”

Lauren recalled from Kinimaka’s briefing earlier that the SPEAR team already knew the Pythians were highly motivated by those three particular cities — something about mercenaries being recruited and offered ridiculous money to await instructions at the one of their choice. SPEAR had garnered the information from mercs that had later declined the Pythians’ offer. Hearing Stone say it now only confirmed what they already knew.

Then Bell said, “As you know, General, I don’t have to work. I’m available to oversee any of those cities, if required.”

“I’m aware that you don’t work, Bell. That fact is clear in your vitality alone.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Not at all.”

“Ah. Silly me.”

“Look, Bell. Why would you even want to oversee those operations? Do you forget that I organized them personally?”

“You mentioned a while ago that the three plague pits are the most important part of your operation. Doesn’t it just make sense to have a leader oversee each one of them?”

Stone didn’t respond for a while. Lauren imagined he was considering Bell’s words. The information she had already collected was enough to get her killed. At least twice. As much as she wanted to stick around and learn more, Lauren began to wonder if she might have pushed her luck just about as far as it could go.

Nevertheless, her allegiance to SPEAR and Jonathan kept her ear glued to the door.

“My commanders in the field will do just fine,” Stone eventually said. “They’re all vetted and most importantly they’re all ex-military Special Forces. I doubt that a newly rich builder could hold much of a candle to them.”

“Self-made.” Bell stood up to the general for the first time. “I earned every penny of it. Can you really say the same, Bill?”

“I’m not sure that I understand.”

“I meant your authority. The power you wield. Earned it on the field did you? Or was it some kind of Harvard hand-me-down?”

Nothing was said for a moment and Lauren, concentrating hard, missed her cue. Of course she should have imagined the egotistical general storming out, all bluster and self-righteous anger. She might then not have lost everything in his murderous hands.

Stone pushed open the door so hard it struck Lauren and propelled her backwards into the room. At first the look on his face was a Polaroid moment, utter disbelief and shock, but then surprise turned to absolute rage.

“You bitch! You goddamn bitch. I knew you were too fucking good to be true!”

“I was just… I was just coming in to fetch you.”

Stone swung at her, missing. Bell was at his heels. “Wait. Wait! She could be telling the truth.”

Lauren backed away toward the door. Stone lunged and stuck her chest with an outstretched hand, knocking her off balance. As she fell he pulled out a walkie-talkie. “Get in here!” he screamed. “We have a big problem.”

Lauren struck the wall, the impact smashing the breath from her body. She exhaled with a cry. Some kind of instinct kicked in. She remembered when the Koreans had sent a brainwashed soldier to silence her back in New York and how she had fought tooth and nail with that killer, eventually sending him over the balcony. That same fire, that same voice, rose within her now, ordering her to stand and fight, to make an account of herself. Quickly, she rolled and bounced to her feet.

Just as the hotel room door burst open.

Men rushed inside, weapons drawn but held down by their sides to escape corridor CCTV. Lauren saw the whisker of a chance and leaped forward immediately. Once that door was closed she was dead.