3 Focusing on the prize.
1086 Words
Finally!
Larissa thought as she walked into her room. She closed the door halfway, since Teresa was sleeping on her couch. She wanted to be able to her hear her if she woke up. Teresa had a problem of sleep walking when she was stressed out. When they were kids they caught her trying to get out of the window. She almost fell from the second floor. Larissa knew she was safe in her apartment, se removed the keys from the door and her windows didn’t open. But she wanted to be safe than sorry.
She groaned as she slumped down on the bed. She dropped her phone next to her. Teresa took forever to fall asleep. She kept complaining about her life, and the dreams she used to have. Larissa sighed feeling sorry for her. But now she was tired, because she spent the better part of the night listening to her friend and not reading through the papers.
She gave the papers a side eyes, and groaned again. What could he possibly have put in the pile of papers that she needed to know? Larissa asked herself.
She skimmed through the papers, not really feeling like giving them a deep read. Bruce Tak wasn’t her case anyway. Alexei Malkovich was. He was the guy she needed to collect data on. Larissa reached for her laptop on the bedside table. She dropped the paper on the bed, and flip the laptop open.
Her commander said that Tak was seen with Malkovich. Bruce didn’t seem like the kind to associate with a man like Malkovich. If he was easily spooked by some stalker in his house, there was no way he would associate with a hard core criminal like Malkovich. There must have been a reason why they were seen together. Maybe it was at some event, and her bosses just got the wrong idea.
Well, there was one way to find out.
Larissa clicked through her laptop running a search on all the events Bruce Tak attended in the last year. Malkovich was known for throwing high profile parties. That’s how he moved his drugs – his clients went to his parties and bought the stuff. Most of them smoked at the venues. They didn’t carry the stuff with them. That made it hard for the DEA to pin anything on him, because he didn’t actually move the stuff himself. He didn’t have runners or dealers. It looked like he just provided the place for people to have a good time. Any drugs found at the parties were for recreational use. There was never an amount they could use to convict him.
Larissa clicked through tabloid sites, blogs and social media accounts looking for the evidence. But all she found were pictures of Bruce Tak with his arms wrapped around models, actresses and random women at clubs. There was no trace of him being seen with Alexei. She fished out a notepad from her bedside table drawer and made a note of that.
But surely there was some trace of it somewhere. Her commander wouldn’t say that they were seen together and then there was nothing.
Did the information come from another sting operation? Larissa asked herself as she stared at another picture of Bruce Tak wrapped around yet another model. She ground her molars, and clicked out of the sight.
The man didn’t know how to keep his hands to himself. Or understand the concept of monogamy. How many girlfriends did he have anyway? So far she’s seen five different women with him. He was really redefining the word playboy.
Aggg…Larissa wished she didn’t have to associate with him.
She shook her head as she stared at her notepad.
If it was from another sting operation, then it meant their meeting was private. Something the paparazzi didn’t catch wind of. Would he really get involved with Alexei Malkovich the most wanted criminal in the world? Almost every agency in the world was investigating him. Larissa thought over and over about what could be happening.
She rubbed her eyes, feeling tired. She yawned. Maybe it was time to sleep, she thought as she closed her laptop and gathered the papers. She’ll read them tomorrow, she decided as she placed them on top of her laptop on the bedside table.
Her phone dinged next to her. She picked it up and stared at the text. It was from an unknown number.
Who would text at this hour? It was past midnight.
Unknown number:
Bring me the signed contract and NDA tomorrow morning. Our schedule starts with breakfast at Monaco café. Come early, and look like a woman Bruce Tak would date.
What the f**k?
Larissa read the text three times before it made sense. She reached for the papers and looked for the contract and NDA.
More thick ass papers. What the hell?
Larissa stared at the contract and the NDA. Was he writing a book or something?
She wasn’t going to read through all that. Larissa reached for a pen in the drawer, and skimmed through the contract and NDA. As long as there was no touching or kissing when it was unnecessary she was fine.
She signed the contract and NDA and put them to the side. He said something about a schedule. Larissa went back to the text.
Breakfast at Monaco café. Wasn’t he taking things a little too far? That was some expensive café frequented by the rich and famous. The paparazzi camped there day in and day out. She wasn’t ready to be seen with in yet.
Fuck…this was getting really complicated too soon.
And what the hell did he mean she must look like a woman Bruce Tak would date?
Did he mean those women she saw him with on the tabloid sites, and blogs? Huh…
Larissa gritted her teeth. She dropped her phone on the bedside table and switched off the light. She didn’t even bother to respond to him, because she knew she might say something she might regret, and end up somewhere very cold.
God, she hated her commander right now. She placed her pillow on her face and screamed.
Fuck…she thought as she dropped it on the bed, and stared up at the dark ceiling feeling like the life she has worked hard for was coming to an end. But then she thought of bringing in Alexei Malkovich. And she knew there was no turning back.
Focus on the prize…focus on the prize, she told herself.
- Writer
