Matt could see no reason not to give this role the best performance of his life, so he did determine that the chest on Miss Brunette was a costly upgrade, while Miss Blonde seemed to be all natural.
Regardless of the close at hand distractions, Matt kept scanning the club every few minutes desperate not to get too into the mood and let down Natasha if he was needed.
At midnight Matt’s cell phone rang, but the music was way too loud for anyone to hear it.
Chapter 68
The Leopard was a good kisser and Natasha seemed to be enjoying swaying to the beat of the music in an embrace.
"Do you like my perfume?" asked Natasha.
"It is very low key," said The Leopard "what is it?"
"Let me put on some more and you can guess the fragrance" suggested Natasha.
She removed a small perfume bottle from her teeny handbag and pretended to spray some on her neck. When the Leopard leant forward and began to sniff, she reversed the bottle and sprayed a good dose into his face, while she held her breath.
Seconds later the Leopard grabbed his throat, spasmed and fell to the floor. The nerve toxin acted almost instantly.
When he awoke he was naked, on the floor propped up against the bed. He was unable to speak in anything but a whisper and could not move his limbs at all.
"Welcome back into the land of the living" said Natasha this time in Russian.
"I know you can’t really speak, so just listen. You have been a very bad boy Mr. Leopard. Buying and selling nuclear weapons is a very dangerous business. You will tell me who paid you for the weapons, and where you sent them. You will tell me the truth the first time. Do you understand?"
Natasha could see the contempt and scorn in his eyes, "Fuck you American whore, you are dead." The Leopard was able to communicate in an out of breath whisper.
"Let me explain the rules to you Mister Leopard. The nerve gas I administered will not allow you to move for one hour, but I am quite prepared to give you another shot if you do not communicate what I require. Also, I am not American, I am with Russian intelligence."
"Never, you bitch" he wheezed "I will enjoy killing you".
Natasha smiled and ran her fingers through the Leopard’s spiky hair "I am sorry you feel that way, I am trying to make this easy on you."
Natasha pulled at the hem of her purse and removed a small razor sharp ceramic knife which had failed to cause a blip on the metal detector on the way in. This certainly got the Leopard’s attention.
"There is nothing you can do to make me answer, kill me if you wish" whispered the gangster with mock bravery.
"That is not my desire, but I will be happy to fulfill your wish later if you so choose."
"Last chance to answer before pain" announced Natasha.
When there was no answer, the shiny white blade flashed and Natasha immediately removed The Leopard’s right nipple with one swipe. A stream of blood gushed and ran down his belly onto the floor.
"Do you want to tell me anything now?" enquired the Russian agent.
Mr. Leopard tried to scream with a contorted face, but nothing but a wheeze escaped his lips.
Next Natasha kneeled between his outstretched legs, and pushed the point of the knife into his groin.
"This really is your last chance, if you do not answer, I guarantee you will never father children" Natasha was losing patience.
"Ok, Ok, but I am still going to kill you, you can never hide from me" whispered the Leopard.
"Cut the theatrics. Tell me what I need to know or say goodbye to your balls."
"The weapons were paid for by a transfer to my Swiss account of fifty million dollars. One was delivered to a man in eastern Russia, the other two were sent to the Middle east."
"Keep talking quickly, I might slip with this knife. Who paid you?"
Tears were streaming down the Leopard’s face and he was well past any further resistance, and began to relate more quickly as the nerve agent dissipated.
"Where exactly did you send the weapons?"
Natasha guessed he was starting to revive. So she sprayed him again, just as she punched him hard in the stomach. He inhaled deeply this time and was back to whispering again.
"One suitcase was sent to the boatyard in Minsk. A man met my courier and he took the case. I know no more of this one. The other two cases were disguised as cases of caviar and delivered by refrigerated cargo plane to a Saudi six star Hotel called Caliph. That is all I know, please put down the knife." The Russian sobbed.
"Who paid you?" asked Natasha quietly.
"I was asked to send an invoice to The Caliph Hotel in Riyadh. It was immediately paid by a wire transfer, before I sent the caviar delivery" said Leopard.
"I will make a deal with you Mr. Leopard, I will let you live if you forget about me and my partner and get on with your business. It would be a mistake to try and cross the KGB."
Even though officially disbanded and renamed years before, most still used the old feared name.
"Of course, I have money…"
"Forget your money, sleep tight my dear" Natasha whispered in the Russian’s ear. With that she let loose with her elbow, smashing it into the Russian just below his ear. He was instantly out cold. She guessed that between the hit to the head and the gas that they had at least eight hours head start. Enough time to drive to Minsk if they wasted no time.
She smoothed out her dress and slipped out the door "Thanks for a wonderful evening Mister Leopard. You are amazing, sleep tight" she said for the benefit of the bodyguards stationed outside.
Chapter 69
Matt was enjoying the treatment of the lovely ladies in the booth. Whilst they could not communicate verbally above the noise of the music, they seemed perfectly able to communicate in other ways. But he did spot Natasha making her way down the stairs, he waved and she came over.
"Grab a glass Miss Laurence. We still have plenty of champagne left. Come and join us" suggested Matt.
"I am sorry sir, but I just got a message on my cell phone. We have a situation back at home. We need to get back to the hotel to read the emails" Natasha looked very anxious.
"One glass wont hurt" said Matt, but the daggers look he got from Natasha brought him out of his euphoria.
"No, I am really tired" said Natasha, Matt took the lead.
"Ladies, thank you for a most enjoyable evening. It was wonderful to meet you. I am sorry I can’t stay longer, perhaps another time……" he suggested as he rose.
The blonde also rose and passed Matt a business card for the bar with her telephone number written on the back.
Natasha whispered in Matt’s ear, "let’s get going in a hurry."
They made their way out past the bar. Matt settled the four and a half thousand dollar bill with his black credit card. The driver of the hummer had them seated comfortably before he pulled out into the night and put up the soundproof security screen.
Matt noticed suitcases in the back and Natasha explained before he had a chance to ask.
"The Leopard was quite co-operative in the end. One case went to a shipyard on the coast, the other two went to Saudi Arabia" explained a grinning Natasha.