“I can do anything. Why?”
“We’ll stand a better chance of access if they know we’re coming,” he said, then laughed. “Amazingly. Alicia, I realize this is a stupid question, but would you like to be tied up?”
The Englishwoman licked her lips. “Depends. By who?”
Hibiki rose and pointed to himself. “By Yakuza!” And nodded at Dahl. “And by foreign devil enforcer looking for reward. “Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you.”
Alicia raised an eyebrow. “Then you’re no fun at all. Ya gotta take it to the limit, Dai-Dai, or you’ll never know just how much you can take. Or what you might like. Ya get me?”
Drake made a pretense at laughter but his eyes spoke otherwise. Alicia read them in an instant, reminding him how well they knew each other.
“Moving forward,” she reiterated. “Never stopping, never looking back. That’s me, right? The Girl Dynamic.” Somehow Drake knew she meant it as a title. “Look back, pause for a second, and I’m dead, right?”
“It doesn’t have to be that way and you know it.”
“Ah, and when I crash and burn who’s gonna be there to catch me? Who’s gonna manage the fallout? You?”
“If you want me to.”
Alicia stared as if she didn’t believe him. It was Dahl who interrupted their moment.
“C’mon, Girl Dynamic. We have a lot to do.”
Chika swapped whisky for water as the night grew deeper. The lights were dimmed, the music amplified, the women grew louder and the men became drunker. Chika tolerated her beau’s hand on her thigh and getting up every fifteen minutes to refresh his drink. The fetching and carrying became a welcome relief as did his frequent trips to the restroom, though she suspected he was doing more than what came natural in there judging by the powder that began to collect around his nostrils. At this rate she wouldn’t even need to use Alicia’s blue pill.
Still, the night dragged on, the hands of the clock turning far slower than they should. Well aware that there was nothing she could do until the party died down, Chika sought to hasten its windup by drawing her admirer’s attention to the rooms nearby, now with doors standing open. Those around her caught on and some of the men decided to make their parties more private.
“Little minx.” Her friend sought to whisper, but actually shouted in her ear. “Want to get me alone do you?”
Chika thought there was nothing she’d like better than to get him alone, and winked. “Ready when you are.”
“One more drink,” he said. “And… and a quick trip.” He headed off, shambling toward the restrooms under the guards’ watchful eyes. Chika readied herself. When he came back she plied him with another quick drink and then half dragged him away from the party. Thinking ahead, she chose one of the open rooms nearest the elevators and stumbled inside, turning to lock the door behind them.
Oh, oh, first problem. There’s no lock.
That meant anyone could check on them at any time during the night. But it was also a factor she couldn’t control, so she ignored it. The second thing she did was to scan the room for any obvious cameras, and found nothing. The third was to grab her man in a bear hug and swing him over toward the dresser.
“Are we dancing now?” he grunted. “You didn’t want to dance back there? On the stage?”
“Now, I’m in the mood,” she whispered, swinging him around.
“Oh.”
Together they hit the dresser, knocking over both the lamp and empty vase that sat there, breaking both. Now, at least if there were any cameras inside, they had innocently moved position. The only other place a camera might be secreted was inside one of the recessed ceiling down lighters, but again she could not affect that so ignored it.
Now, for the poseur.
He was standing on the bed, stomach sucked in, in the throes of taking off his shirt. Chika made a pretense of admiring his pecs and then turned to the in-room bar. “Drink?”
“Later. C’mere.”
Chika eyed him in the mirror. He was standing with his thumbs hooked into his pants, grinning like an evil clown on Halloween night. Carefully, she ignored his request and bent over to grab a bottle of water and a miniature whisky. As predicted, the man just watched. Chika poured his drink, added a splash of water just how he liked it and then moved to block the tumbler.
Now all she had to do was add the pill.
Damn.
Problem was, the tiny blue capsule was tucked into the waistband of her underwear. There were no toilets in this room, so no way of slipping inside. Chika took a deep breath and turned around; the smile plastered across her face slipping even as she met the man’s eyes. Luckily, he was both drunk and slightly stoned and finding it hard to focus. As he slipped his trousers down, Chika slid her own hands down the front of her skirt.
Where the hell…?
Feeling more than a little foolish she withdrew her hands, still smiling like a crazy woman, and trying to keep the pill hidden between her fingers. The man jumped down from the bed, trying to affect a dance routine but failing badly. He stumbled, caught himself by grabbing her belt, and then rose quickly, suddenly inches from her.
“Let’s have a kiss, lovely.”
Chika froze, her entire body stiffening. If she wanted anything she wanted to smash him on the tip of the nose. “No kissing,” she said. “We’re here to fuck not to fall in love.”
His eyes went wide, his face slackened. Chika turned away, using the distraction to slip the pill into the waiting whisky. Now, just one minute. One more minute and…
The door opened. A guard popped his head around.
“All well in here?”
Chika nodded quickly; her friend barely noticed the intrusion. So maybe there had been a camera on the dresser. The guards knew it had fallen over and were checking. Chika slipped her arms around the man and winked at the guard.
“We’re fine.”
He withdrew with a shake of the head. Chika reached behind, bringing the drink around and pressing it to his lips.
“Kiss that whilst I undress, lover boy.” As she twisted away, regaining a little space, she realized she had no idea how long the drug would take to work. And when it did, lover boy really should be on top of the bed. She would find it exceedingly difficult to drag his dead weight up there. Quickly, she climbed onto the bed and watched him drink up.
“Come here.”
Apprehension raced through her system. What am I going to do if this doesn’t work pretty damn quick? The man climbed up beside her, eyes rolling, but was it the drink or the drugs? Was it the pill? She tried not to flinch as his hand fell on her exposed leg. She covered it with her own, pressing hard. His other hand came around and gripped her shoulder, pulling her in.
“One kiss,” he slurred. “Just one… little… kiss.”
His head went down, body slumping across her knees. Chika felt a world of relief open up inside of her. Oh thank you, thank you! With some effort she managed to drag his comatose body up the bed so that his head rested on a pillow and then covered him over. Then she rearranged two spare pillows as best she could, making the lump under the covers appear to be two shapes rather than one.
Next, her handbag. The cellphone. She dialed a number, whispering, “Hello? It’s me.”
Dai Hibiki sounded relieved. “Hey, it’s good to hear from you. How… how did it go?”
Chika felt a little devilment rise. “Do you want the details?”
“No!”
Alicia, hooked into the same line, grunted, “I do.”
Chika let her boyfriend off the hook. “Pill worked before anything went down.” She shuddered. “Not that I could have gone through with it.” She tried to ignore the impossible choice that might have arisen, the one that included saving her sister’s life.