Some women would have taken offence at my concern. Chelsee didn’t; she seemed flattered. She leaned down and held my stubbled face in her smooth, cool hands. “Tex, I can take care of myself. Not that I wouldn’t enjoy having you take care of me.” Her lips pressed against mine, soft and moist. I kissed her back.
I left Chelsee’s apartment, still uncomfortable about leaving the box with her. She had assured me that she would put it in a safe place, and make sure no one ever saw it or knew about it. I had to trust her, but I didn’t have to feel good about it.
The first part of my plan was finished. I’d made my bet and was ready to show my hand. I guided my speeder onto Chandler Avenue and landed at the kerb in front of the Ritz. Two of the Feds’ thugs were on the corner, huddled together over a single flame, lighting both of their cigarettes. I stepped out the speeder and walked straight toward them. “Evening, gentlemen.”
They looked up from their smokes and stared at me like I was a fanatic passing out religious pamphlets.
“It’s me! Murphy! The guy you been waiting for!”
The two goons seemed stunned for a moment, then moved simultaneously, each one grabbing an arm.
“Oh… you caught me. All right, I give up.” I was half carried, half dragged to a speeder on the far side of the street.
The two thugs shoved me into the back seat, and one of them followed me in. The other jumped into the driver’s seat and fired it up. I turned to the stone-faced Fed on my left and gave him off he a big smile. “So… where we goin’?!”
Chapter Ten
“Please, Mr Murphy, make yourself comfortable. D you smoke?” I nodded. “Would you like a Nat Sherman?”
Ah, Nat Sherman. Tobacconist to the world. “I’d love a Nat Sherman, thank you.”
I leaned forward and extracted a cigarette from the case the NSA man held out to me. He was seated casually with one leg up and on the front of the desk. His face was hard, his hair cut short and severe. He produced a lighter and lit my Nat Sherman. I leaned back and looked him over. Dark blue suit, neatly pressed. Dark red tie over a starched white shirt. As he leaned back, I caught a glimpse of burgundy suspenders, which matched his brilliantly shined wing tips. I didn’t like the look of him.
“Do you know where you are?”
I drew in on my Nat Sherman and savoured the quality tobacco taste. “In your office?”
His smile said I’m going to enjoy killing you. “That’s correct. Do you know who I work for?”
“Can I have three guesses?”
The man stood up. As he walked around the chair behind the desk, I noticed the name Jackson Cross displayed on a brass nameplate. He sat down in the chair like he belonged there and looked up at the two thugs standing behind me. “This guy’s a joker, isn’t he?”
Cross shifted his gaze back to me. “Don’t dick with me, Murphy. If you don’t give me straight answers, I’m going to pull out my gun and shoot you in the face. And I’d really rather not have to bring it someone in tonight to clean my office.”
His voice was calm. My left eyelid started to twitch.
“I’d guess that you work for the NSA.”
Cross leaned back in his chair. “Give that man a cigar. Now for the big question. Do you know why you’re here?”
“No idea whatsoever.”
“Well, let me refresh your memory. Do you remember the other night? Up on the roof? The man you threw off the roof was one of our agents.”
“I didn’t throw him off the roof.”
“Your actions contributed to the death of an NSA agent. There is also the small matter of interfering in an NSA investigation. Either charge wins you an all-expenses paid, lifetime trip to Pelican Bay.”
Pelican Bay was the new and improved Alcatraz, a place I’d never cared to visit. “All I did was try to save a girl from being murdered. How was I to know that an NSA investigation was going on?”
“Tell me how and why you were involved.”
If this had been a police interrogation, I would have told them to stick it. This, however, was not the police. Everyone knew these guys were above the law and could kill people whenever they felt like it. I decided to play along, as far as they knew. “The girl at the Fuchsia Flamingo hired me to find out who had left her a couple of twisted notes. I kept an eye on her place and saw your man in her apartment. When I got to the apartment, your agent hightailed it. I followed him to the roof, and he tried to shoot me. We struggled; he went over the side.”
Cross picked up a pencil and tapped it on the desk. After a few moments, he looked up at me. “The agent was staking out the Fuchsia Flamingo. We’ve known for some time that high-level drug dealings have gone on in the club. A delivery of euphoria was brought there on the night in question. Our agent was in the girls’ apartment waiting to make a bust. The girl’s life was never in danger… at least not on our account.”
The NSA man was lying through his teeth. He sounded convincing, but his eyes and body said something else altogether. “Well, maybe what you say is true. All I know is that it didn’t appear like that, and I stand by my actions.”
Cross stared at me for what seemed like five minutes. “Tell you what you know about Thomas Malloy.”
“Who?”
“You heard me.”
“I don’t know anyone named Thomas Malloy.” Well, that was true. I’d never met him.
He continued to stare me down. I’d never liked so well in my entire life. I hoped it was well enough.
“The euphoria our agent was attempting to confiscate was in a small metal container. It hasn’t turned up. I think you’ve got it. Where is it?”
“I’ve never seen anything remotely like that.”
Cross clapped his hands together and smiled. “Well, I guess that will be all, then.” he motioned to the two men behind me. “You can take him now. Make it clean. Get back here as soon as you’re finished.”
I felt four large hands on me. They were actually going to kill me. “Hold on! I’ve got the box!”
Cross waved the goons off. He folded his hands on the desk and looked at me serenely, his eyebrows raised expectantly. “So you do have it. You should have said that in the first place. Why don’t you tell us where it is?”
“Will you cut me a deal?”
“What do you have in mind? I have to warn you, I usually frown on compromises.”
I had to be careful. These guys wouldn’t hesitate to kill me. I had a decent hand; now it was time to raise the stakes. “Look, I didn’t ask to get mixed up in this business. I’m a small-time PI, living from case to case. It may not be much of a life, but I’m not ready for the Big Finish yet. All I want to do is get out of your hair and keep doing the things people do when they’re alive.”
“So you’ll trade me the box if I promise to let you go, no strings attached?”
“Yeah, that’s basically it.”
Cross was quiet for a minute. I personally didn’t think I was asking for a whole lot. Finally, he nodded. “I’ll cut you loose in exchange for the box. Where is it?”
I didn’t want to push my luck, but I wasn’t going to go soft either. “I’d prefer to deliver it on my own.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“Why should I trust you?”
“Look, you bastard, I could shoot you right where you sit,” he said more calmly than the words implied.
“Yeah, but then you wouldn’t have the box. And I guarantee you’d never find it.”
Cross sat back and assessed the situation. Apparently, getting this box was his first priority. I wondered what was in it. It sure as hell wasn’t euphoria. “How and when will you deliver it?”