Adriana looked into the mirror. She looked like a stranger to herself with the new hairdo. The long, black dress flowed around her legs about halfway down her calves. At the top, the fabric wrapped around her chest, just under her arms, leaving her upper chest and neck accentuated by a string of pearls hanging loosely atop her skin.
“You really are quite striking,” Monique said from just inside the doorway.
Adriana turned her head but offered no smile at the compliment. “Thank you. I don’t typically enjoy wearing things like this, though necessity calls for it on occasion.”
“Yes. And this time is certainly a necessity.” Monique padded slowly across the floor and stopped close. She took a piece of the skirt’s loose fabric in her hand. “I would have gone with a shorter bottom, though.”
“There’s a reason for that. I want the security guards’ eyes up here.” She pressed her fingers to her chest. “That way,I can hide what I need to down here.” She raised the skirt and revealed a garter belt on each leg, overlapping a pair of thigh-highs. Her tools were clipped snuggly against the leggings.
“Good thinking.”
Adriana arrived at Monique’s rental condo the night before, after the harrowing altercation with the four gangsters. The Dutch woman acted almost surprised when she showed up on time. They decided to go over the details of the operation the following morning. Traveling had exhausted Monique, and she wanted sleep. Adriana was still running on a little adrenaline from the shootout, but she knew she needed some rest as well.
Waking up the next morning in one of the condo’s guest rooms, she was shocked to find she’d slept for nearly eight hours, something that almost never happened. I guess I was more tired than I realized.
After a breakfast of eggs, beans, tortillas, and fruit, they moved into the massive dining room where Monique had taken the liberty of setting up a series of papers and a map on the long table. For the next two hours, they pored over information, the layout of the mansion and property, routes in and out, and characters Adriana would need to remember. The most important of all was Espinoza.
She’d already studied up on him during her flight from Europe. A little refresher never hurt, though. She also saw a picture of Jorge Sanchez. Adriana had held off telling Monique about the previous night’s incident, but she thought it might be prudent to fill her in on the details.
“You killed four of his men?” She pressed her finger on Sanchez’s image. Monique was clearly not happy about this bit of news.
“I didn’t have a choice. They put a gun to my head and threatened to rape me. It was let them do it or kill them. I chose the latter — as I’m sure you would have if you were the one in my shoes.”
Monique drew in a long breath and sighed. She understood and agreed. She would have done the same. That didn’t change the fact that things would be considerably more difficult. “Security will be significantly higher as a result of this. You do realize that, yes?”
“It crossed my mind. But Espinoza knows you’re coming, right? Your invitation is still good?”
“As far as I know. Even something like this wouldn’t cause him to back out on a party or his guests. Besides, you said you killed some of Sanchez’s men, correct?”
Adriana nodded.
“Well, then we might be okay; if they were working directly for Espinoza, that would be a completely different story.” She crossed her arms and stared down at the floor. “These men are very egotistical, and it’s important that they always appear to be strong and infallible. If word got back to Espinoza that some of Sanchez’s men were killed out on the road to Ameca, it could lead to some serious questions as to his selection process and leadership. Sanchez has worked too hard to come across as weak now.”
The last statement gave Adriana an idea.
“It sounds like you just created the diversion we’ll need to escape.”
Monique frowned. “How do you mean?”
“If we can make Espinoza aware of the issue, it could cause a rift between the two. Throw a little gasoline on the fire and watch the mutiny begin. A little fight between drug dealers could be just the cover we need.”
“And you could get away while they quarrel,” Monique finished the thought. “That’s not an entirely awful idea. But how do we drop the news to Espinoza?”
“Leave that to me.”
Eight hours later, Adriana and Monique stared at their reflections in the mirror. “I have no doubts you will pull this off,” the Dutch woman said. “You have a good plan, and your idea about getting Sanchez and Espinoza angry with each other is a stroke of brilliance.”
Adriana had been waiting to say something and now she figured was as good a time as any. “The van Gogh,” she said. “Is that why you agreed to work with the man who took my father? That was your price?”
Monique tilted her head to the side and feigned confusion. She shook her head. “Why, whatever do you mean?”
“This whole thing was set up by the man who took my father. He knew you were the one with the connections to Espinoza. And he knew Espinoza would be having a party and you’d be invited. He knew all of this,and you agreed to play along, provided you got something in return.”
Monique looked around. She’d brought two guards with her, but they were in the other room, just far enough away that they couldn’t hear a whisper. She lowered her voice. “You act as if I had a choice.”
“Didn’t you?”
“No,” she shook her head slowly. “I am wealthy, and in Amsterdam I have a certain amount of influence, but the man who took your father is far more powerful than I. He has connections in nearly every government in Europe, probably even in the United States. He’s secretly one of the wealthiest men in the world, which is why you’ll never see an article about him in Forbes. He prefers to keep those details from the public eye.”
“Who is he?” Adriana crossed her arms.
Monique’s head rolled to one side and back to center. “No one really knows. He’s a ghost in some ways. I believe he’s Belgian, but that’s based purely on his accent. I’ve actually never seen his face.”
Adriana narrowed her eyes, dubious to the explanation. “So you’re telling me that you set up this whole thing for a guy that you’ve never met?”
The Dutch woman’s tone grew more serious. “I didn’t say I’ve never met him. I just wouldn’t know it. I’m certain that I have met him on more than one occasion, but in legitimate circumstances, places where we were talking about business or politics, a dinner party, or some other event. But if I did meet him, I didn’t know it at the time, and if you asked me to pick him out of a lineup, I could not. He is both in the public eye and not, keeping his identity a total mystery. Do not be fooled, though. He is extremely powerful and has many under his control.”
“Including you.” Adriana prodded.
Monique snorted. “And you as well. We are all pawns in his little game.”
“Sometimes, pawns can become kings and queens.”
Another laugh escaped Monique’s lips. “Good luck with that, my dear. For now, know that I did not have a choice in any of this. Yes, I am being compensated with a painting I’ve long desired to be in my possession, but he would have forced me to do this one way or the other. I’m fortunate that there is something of value I can take away.”
“Convenient.” Adriana didn’t attempt to hide her contempt.
“Yes, it is convenient,” Monique agreed, “but there’s no point in arguing over it now. We are here, and we have a job to do. If we fail, there will be no place either of us can hide. Do you understand that?”
Adriana said nothing. She just stared into the mirror.
“And your father will most assuredly die,” the blonde added.