Boned2 (Mandarin Connection Book 5) Read online

  The man tried crawling back towards his car, which waited, the engine still purring.

  He died inches from the bumper.

  Calloway grimaced.

  He wasn’t pleased.

  The last-minute execution of the bagman spoiled the perfection of his lesson.

  He pushed a button next to his speakerphone.

  “Send in a cleanup crew, and sanitize the area. I want to see the video, and provide some guidance for the editors, before it is disseminated,” he said.

  He clicked off.

  A bit of judicious editing and the lesson could be saved.

  He sat back, and mentally reviewed his plans.

  The particular immediate problem had been solved.

  His message would be heard. He did not anticipate a similar episode would happen for the remainder of the fiscal year.

  He ruminated on his next problem.

  The interruption of the laundering of his drug sale proceeds through the Indian Wells project, the one that had landed him in prison for those two interminable months, had been caused by that prick Cox, and the cunt Wilder.

  He needed to find a way to repair the damage to the organization caused by those fools in Miami.

  He seethed as he remembered how King and Tanner’s carelessness had revealed to Alpha Team and the DEA how the Mandarin Connection’s Caribbean Operations were moving the product into South Florida.

  That they were dead was only a good thing for them.

  He would have had them slowly flayed alive, had he been able to intercede.

  They were lucky they had been blown up, along with their boat.

  And, what of Jonathon Reighland?

  His abuse of his authority was a real thorn in Calloway’s side.

  “Ocaba Bien”, built by Reighland’s twin brother Walter, was a true technological marvel.

  It had served as a suitable conduit for facilitating meetings between the leaders of his cartels, and as a reward to the outstanding operatives in the organization.

  But, Jonathon Reighland had over-stepped his bounds, when he went after Ted Ghent and his family.

  He was lucky that the damage had been contained, at least for the moment.

  Reighland was a problem for Calloway for many other reasons, and the repercussions of his involvement with Ghent were providing yet another constraint for laundering the funds.

  Calloway sighed mightily.

  He felt exhausted, but knew it was just a reaction to the stress of his position. He was back in control, and that meant a lot of work.

  His minions would only go so far without direction.

  All the policy and training in the world didn’t amount to much if there were no loyalty, nor appropriate mechanisms for punishment.

  He prided himself on running a very tight ship.

  This series of unfortunate events were cutting into his profit margins, but the Partners were still invested heavily.

  He’d suffered no loss of confidence from them.

  That small thing spoke volumes about their continued trust in his abilities.

  Despite the misfortune of his internment, he’d survived.

  He knew that much of that was due to preparations he’d made years earlier for just such a contingency.

  Calloway was about risk management, especially as regarded risks to HIM.

  He picked up the glass of tepid water from its mahogany coaster, which had teak and rosewood inlays.

  He sipped at it.

  It was flat.

  He set the glass down.

  The Jaeger clan were next.

  They, and their whores, were almost positioned for their doom.

  He was amazed and somewhat impressed that they had made such inroads into understanding the complexity of the Mandarin Connection operations.

  Now, as they tried to assemble the various pieces of the puzzle, he’d been lucky, yet again.

  Their individual tasks forced them to separate and thus, they lost some of their protective mantle.

  Now, fortune had smiled upon him once more.

  They were all in Singapore.

  It provided a tremendous opportunity to strike them down.

  There would be a synchronized ballet of death awaiting them all at the witching hour.

  His revenge would be harsh - each of the men would see their women die first.

  Then, he would assure that they would beg for mercy.

  And, finally - death.

  Death’s for each of them that would serve as remarkable reminders to any who would dare be foolish enough to consider crossing him.

  Calloway was not inclined to be forgiving, nor merciful.

  Suddenly, Calloway started, and then reached over to the command console on his desk.

  He pressed the button next to the speakerphone.

  “Get me Ophelia,” he commanded.

  Ophelia.

  That was an inspired choice, he thought.

  He smiled to himself.

  Yes, Ophelia would be the perfect person to coordinate the attack, and deliver the fatal blows.

  And, best of all, the Jaeger’s would die in the most shameful manner possible!

  —————

  CHAPTER TEN

  Karl, Olga and I met quickly beforehand, and had a drink in the fabulous lounge of the Marina Bay Sands.

  “You look mahvelous, dahlink!” Olga had told me.

  “Good enough to eat, hey, babe?” said Karl, squeezing Olga’s perfect ass.

  I was a teeny bit jealous, but they were all going to see a new side to Rachel Bloomberg tonight!

  Let them eat cake!

  I laughed, and Karl and Olga laughed along with me.

  We chatted about the hotel, and the view, and of course, Stephan had called Karl and filled him in on the latest Mandarin Connection stuff.

  I found it boring, most of the time.

  The last several hours had been filled with the excitement of fantasizing about all the ways in which Olga and Karl and I could fuck.

  But, then Stephan had come in and made things emotionally difficult for me, once again.

  I sipped my Mai Tai, and then Brett and Kady showed up at the bar, and we caught up.

  Brett had several days of beard on him.

  He looked pretty cool, like a very young Steve Jobs, or maybe a rock star.

  Kady looked radiant, and her love for Brett showed on her face.

  We chatted and had another drink.

  A while later, Brian Cox and Kim Wilder strode in, looking a bit tussled and jet-lagged.

  “That’s some jet you’ve got there, Brett,” said Brian.

  “My pleasure, Brian!” he said.

  Brett gave Kim an evil wink, and she blushed to the clavicle.

  She ran up and snuggled close in to him, as he wrapped his well-muscled arms around her and gave her a big, wet kiss.

  “Hey, there, Brett! Leave some for me!” said Brian, grinning.

  Kim pecked Brett’s stubbled cheek, again, and then went back to Brian, and kissed him hard.

  “There’s always going to be some more for you, lover,” she whispered, but loudly enough so everyone nearby heard.

  She gave his crotch and ass a good squeeze, oblivious to anyone who cared to watch.

  He returned her caresses with fervor, and soon they had found a booth in which they could continue, mostly in private.

  I guessed they had officially became members of the Mile-High Club on the flight over.

  I made a mental note to ask Kim about it later.

  We all moved over to where an attendant was ready to escort us to the main dining room.

  It was immense, and looked out over the sprawling city.

  The air up here was crystal clear, and you could see out over the metropolis and off to the hills beyond on one side, and the bay on the other.

  It was all so dreamy.

  Stephan walked in, and everyone stood to follow him to the dining hall.

  “Derek and Megan wi
ll be joining us for dinner,” said Stephan.

  “Captain Spalding and Derek have been surveilling the various targets of interest for us while we inspected the corporate filings for the various shells set up by Reighland during the Ocaba Bien venture,” he added.

  Brett and Brian seemed interested, so they all compared notes while enjoying some beers.

  Again, boring stuff to me, so I tried to engage Kady and Kim in some girl talk.

  On the way to the dining hall, I thought I saw Sylvia in the kitchen, but I looked again, and she was gone.

  Well, maybe she’d found this job while we were still out at sea.

  That last gig with Karl probably soured her on yachts for a while.

  I unconsciously looked for Quint, but was relieved to note there wasn’t a feline around for miles.

  —————

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  We’d entered the hall, and the wonderful aromas made me instantly salivate.

  It was delicious!

  And, gorgeous!

  All the tables were inlaid with exotic woods, such as teak, mahogany and rosewood.

  There were a billion flowers, and the servers stood around, immaculate and impeccably well-mannered.

  “Greetings, everyone!” said Stephan, from the head of the largest table.

  We were all seated at this table, alongside Stephan.

  There were Derek, Megan, Brett, Kady, Brian, Kim, me, Stephan, Karl and Olga.

  The finest goblets, and China dishware, and expensive silver, and all the trappings of wealth were laid out, and the courses were mind-boggling!

  I felt like a Princess, at the dinner of the King, with the full Court in attendance!

  We ate, and Captain Spalding was introduced, along with Admiral Decker.

  Black Dog operatives were deployed around us, and we ate while waiting for the others to arrive.

  The Alpha Team, and the Ghents were delayed by traffic.

  The food was heavenly, and I was finally able to relax.

  Stephan and Karl and Derek engaged in more boring Mandarin Connection stuff.

  Lucky for me, this meant we girls could catch up on some juicy gossip.

  Kim told us some very funny, dirty stories about some of the celebrities she and Brian had interviewed.

  Meg told me that Kim had told her that a famous female singer had recently been seen with an equally famous actor, in Paris.

  That was no big thing, but the fact that the two of them were stark naked, and running down the Champs de Elyse, was indeed news.

  Apparently, streaking was making a comeback.

  “It’s fun, too!” Kim chimed in, from her seat next to Brian.

  Brian was trying to listen to the other men, but we were apparently drowning it out with our laughter.

  “Excuse me, Meg, do you mind switching with me, for a bit?” he asked Megan.

  “No problem, lover!” she winked at him.

  “Thanks, babe!” he said, giving her a squeeze as he went by.

  Now, what was that about? I wondered.

  Was I missing something here?

  A man came in and interrupted Stephan.

  He spoke quietly to him, and Stephan looked like he was concentrating, and then nodded his head.

  “Tell them I will be right there,” he said.

  “Karl, Derek, let’s go. He’s here,” he told the other men.

  “Excuse us, ladies. Brian, Brett, our man has arrived. We’ll go fetch him, and get him situated in his room, then be back to start the conferences,” said Stephan.

  Brian and Brett indicated they were good, and the other men left the hall with Captain Spalding.

  Who the heck were they going to go get?

  Probably Kevin.

  Oh, god!

  Did Stephan think I still wanted to sleep with Kevin?

  I mean, Kevin is a cool guy, and handsome, and all that.

  But, compared to the Jaegers?

  —————

  What the hell goes through guys’ heads?

  I wondered for like the millionth time in my life.

  —————

  A woman came into the hall, poked her head in and out, for like a second.

  I could swear it was Sylvia.

  Why had she changed into a black spandex suit?

  —————

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Stephan, Derek and Karl enter the hall, along with several Alpha Team and Black Dog operators.

  Looking through the doorway, I can see Captain David Spalding behind them in the hallway.

  And, sure enough, there’s Kevin.

  —————

  Behind Kevin, there’s a guy standing off to the side, who looks a lot like Bone.

  For a moment, that old feeling is back.

  I sigh.

  No use trying to stir all that up again.

  He’s gone.

  I am getting used to it by now, at least.

  Still, there’s always going to be that little place in my heart that only he could fill.

  —————

  Captain Spalding comes into the room next, and after him is Kevin Mitchum.

  I’d recognize him anywhere.

  To my complete surprise, I find my thighs do loosen up a bit.

  He’s quite a man.

  Rugged.

  Handsome.

  He’s smoking a cheroot cigar, and carrying a large bourbon and Pepsi, if I am any judge of what a man drinks.

  At least, that’s what he liked on our abortive cruise.

  I sigh, inside.

  He’s eminently fuckable, all right.

  I guess Stephan is a pretty good judge of people, after all.

  I resign myself to knowing I am probably going to have to thank him, tomorrow.

  After I fuck Kevin’s brains out, tonight.

  His black Drover’s hat, (It’s not a cowboy hat! He always insisted…) is raked on his head at an angle.

  He’s dressed impeccably, with only a slight bulge near his right-hand waist.

  If I remember correctly, that’s where he always has his Kimber .45.

  We’d talked about all sorts of stuff on that cruise!

  Why am I so fixated on guns, suddenly?

  Kevin walks over when he sees me.

  I stand, as he pulls back my chair, and give him a big hug.

  “Rachel, how good to see you!” he says, smiling easily.

  He hugs back, careful not to burn me with the cheroot.

  A server walks up next to him, carefully maneuvering an ashtray underneath his hand.

  “Here, son, let’s all get more comfortable,” he says, as he puts the cheroot out.

  The servant walks away, taking the smoking remnant away.

  Kevin looks around, and takes a big gulp from his drink.

  “Rachel, may I have the pleasure?” he asks.

  I lean toward him, and he grabs the back of my head, and gives me a big kiss, which is actually pretty hot.

  I kiss him back.

  I feel a nice tingle.

  Warmth rushes around inside me, and I feel giggly and bubbly of a sudden.

  “Kevin, you’re such a tease!” says Kim.

  “Well, I see you two have…uh…met,” says Megan, smiling.

  “I think maybe more than just met, don’t you?” teases Kady.

  Brett and Brian rise and the men all shake hands.

  “I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Mitchum,” Brett says.

  “My condolences on your brother,” he adds.

  Kevin nods.

  “Thank you, son,” he says.

  “Kevin, good to see you again,” says Brian.

  Derek comes over and shakes Kevin’s hand as well.

  “Damned glad you made it, Kev!” he exclaims, giving Kevin a bear hug.

  “Derek! You old son of a bitch! Hadn’t heard you were actually going to be here!” he said, with feeling.

  The two men caught up for a few minutes.

  �
��The rest of the Alpha Team will be here momentarily,” announced Stephan.

  Oh, good!

  Now I could really feast my eyes on all that SEAL beefcake!

  —————

  An elegant man and woman were escorted in by an attendant.

  The woman was in a wheelchair, the attendant pushing her, but seemed otherwise fine.

  “Dammit, Ted! I wish you’d stop babying me! I’m fine!” she scolded.

  “Sarah, now you know the doctors said you need to give that leg a rest,” Ted says.

  “Dad! Mom! Over here!” shouted Kady.

  “Hey, Dad! Mom still got you pushing her around in the chair? I thought she was out of it?” Brett asks.

  Brett seems puzzled.

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake! I tripped, is all,” Sarah says.

  “What? How?” Kady asks.

  Ted chuckles a bit.

  “Yeah, you ‘tripped’ all right,” he laughs.

  “Your father was… making love with me,” Sarah says, not a trace of remorse or embarrassment in her voice.

  “He was doing a very good job of it, too!” she confided to us girls with a wink.

  Kady blushed, and the rest of us laughed.

  “Apparently, maybe too good?” said Kim.

  She laughed, and Sarah nodded, knowingly.

  “You know how it goes, darling. One second your almost there, and the next, only a toy will get you over that edge!” she says.

  “Ted was doing just fine, but, you know, that happened. Well, so I got up and I went to retrieve…an item… and slipped on the floor in the bathroom,” says Sarah.

  “Yeah, next thing you know, we’re in the hospital, trying to explain how she ended up with a sprained ankle!” says Ted Ghent.

  “And, of course, her doctor is all worried, since there’s been a bit of concern from the bullet wound,” he adds.

  “Oh, shush, you! You make it sound like I stood around, waiting to get shot!” Sarah says, mockingly.

  I get that feeling again, like when I think of Om and Moms.

  And Stephan, damn it all.

  Kevin has disengaged from Derek and sits down next to me.

  Ah, so that’s why the chair next to mine was empty!

  Clever, clever Stephan.

  We make some more small talk, and that’s when all the Alpha Team arrive.

  All those hunky men!