Page 49 of Need to Know

“Oh, yeah, cool, give it a try,” I suggested, pleased by this turn of events. Erika rested her cigarette on a window ledge, and then using her fingers instead of the powder compact, she leaned in and gently applied the makeup to my face. I’d taken Ibuprofen to dull the pain, so felt nothing.

“It’s not exactly the right shade for your skin tone,” she said, her cheeks rosy as she patted the concealer on my face, “But it dulls the bruise a bit. What do you think?” She turned the compact’s mirror so I could see. She was right. It had taken some of the bright colour from the bruise, even if it wasn’t perfect.

“Thanks, it looks great,” I gave her a wide smile and saw how she almost vibrated with pleasure.

“Shit, what time is it?” I asked in a sudden anxious tone.

Erika checked her phone, “Twelve-forty-five.”

“Fuck, I’d better go in.” I extinguished the cigarette on the wall. “Thanks, I’ll save this for my break. I owe you a drink! See you in there!” Without a backward glance I hurried towards the main entrance to the building. I hadn’t even given Erika a fake name. I stealthily tossed the cigarette in a bin outside the venue.

On entering the foyer of the Axica Conference Centre, I paused and checked my phone while covertly surveilling the security process for the delegates. Security looked tight, with airport style metal detectors, along with security staff ready to wand, or pat down any delegates who set off the alarm. To my right there was a table for delegates to collect their ID’s, and behind the table was a staff-only door with a badge entry system for employees. A couple of young men wearing white shirts, black trousers and Palace Catering vests were deep in conversation about football as they passed me. Each man swiped his ID and then entered through the staff door. Telling myself I belonged here I strode confidently towards the door, not making eye contact with anyone. I swiped Erika’s card and passed through the door, then let the ID card drop on the floor outside the door before it closed. I didn’t want to get the woman into trouble for losing her ID. I strode down a hallway following laughter of the two of men in front of me. The scent of coffee and the funk of a mixture of cooked foods made a sickly aroma. I passed several closed office doors before I came to a large communal break room where uniformed staff chatted and ate their lunch before the rush to serve the delegates. The men had stopped here to have their pick from the complimentary lunch selection on the counter. No one noticed me and I didn’t go in. Further down the hall was a door for the men’s restrooms. I pushed through the door to discover a huge bisected room. In one half was a line of lockers and benches, and the other was a bathroom. As I was alone, I took the opportunity to search for a vest and tie to complete my disguise. Once I had the disguise in place, I’d befriend someone else and walk with them to get access to the venue floor, then it was just a case of finding the events office and attempting to get access to the delegate database.

A toilet flushed and I realized I wasn’t alone. I pulled open an unused locker and hid behind the door, peeking out as a man stepped up to the sink and washed his hands. What the hell was he doing in the staff bathroom? I closed the locker door and strode toward the man.

“Oi! I want a word with you,” I growled inhabiting the no nonsense character of Aden Baker. Jorgen looked up into the mirror and seeing me striding up behind him, his eyes grew as wide like a startled deer. He tried to make a break for the main door but I was quicker and beat him to it, blocking his exit. He held his wet hands up and backed away. I never thought I was scary, but Hugh appeared terrified so I guess I must be a bloody good actor!

“W…what do you want…my shift starts in a few minutes…someone will come looking,” the Swede warned as he continued to step back into the bathroom area.

“Who are you working for? Why did you plant that credit card on my friend?”

“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about…you’re crazy man. Go before I start shouting…I will shout…they will come…you will be sorry, the security guards have guns and everything—” he threatened, but the bob of his Adams apple gave him away.

“Go on then…do it!” I said full of bravado. Hugh’s eyes darted around looking for an escape. Then all of a sudden, he pivoted and rushed into a toilet cubicle, slamming the door, not quickly enough though, because I barged in before he could slip the lock, forcing him back to sit on the closed lid of the toilet. I pushed the door shut then locked it. Dragging Hugh up by the tie I pushed him against the wall.

He automatically put his hands up, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, he made me do it, I couldn’t turn down that much money,” the Scandinavian man said in a pitiful stream.

“Who made you do it?” I snarled, as I pressed against him chest-to-chest, trying my best to look menacing. “Who do you work for?”

“P…P…Palace Catering,” the blond man stuttered.

“No, who do you work for?”

“I swear, this is my job, I’m a waiter. Look, I don’t want trouble…I’ll tell you everything, just go easy man…don’t hurt me.” I nodded and loosened my hold on his tie. He took a deep breath before revealing,

“A few days ago this man came up to me at an event I was working. He asked if I wanted to earn some extra cash. You’ve got to understand, everything is so fucking expensive…we all need extra, you know, so I thought, yeah, what the hell. He showed me a photo, of you…and your friend. All I had to do is follow you, just to see what you were doing, and when I got a chance, I was to plant a credit card on him. The man said he’d pay for a night at a five-star hotel and that he’d leave instructions at the reception desk. I thought it was…strange…but he offered to pay me ten thousand Euros for the day. Do you know what that money will do for me? I couldn’t turn that down…ten thousand Euros, man…you gotta believe me!”

“What event were you working when you met him?”

“It was at the Institute of Technology, an AI start-up event.”

“Was the man who approached you Chinese?”

“No, no, American. He was older, handsome, silver hair, close cropped beard.” That description sounded like Nate’s soon-to-be ex-husband!

“How did he contact you afterward?”

“No contact. I don’t have his number, don’t even know his name. He left an envelope for me at the hotel with instructions. There was a second envelope when I checked out. I didn’t stay the night—got too scared. I picked up the second envelope when the job was done. Someone was following me for the whole fuckin’ day, man! It freaked the hell out of me!”

“His name?” I pressed. “What’s his name?”

“I told you, no name. He said that there would be no trouble. He said your friend was expecting the card…but I had to be circumspect. Waiters gotta be light on our feet. I thought I could do the exchange in the park, but I didn’t get a chance so I followed you to the club…jumped in a taxi and asked it to trail yours. Look, what are you gonna do man? I can’t lose this job,” he whined.

I glared at Jorgen for a moment. If this man was a spy, he was a really fucking bad one. I mean, for a start, who would choose a name as memorable as Hugh Jorgen?

“You’re in a lot of trouble, Hugh!” I warned. “I suggest you get your ten thousand Euros and take a short holiday!” Jorgen was trembling with fear and I felt a little shitty for making him scared. “Now, close your eyes and count to five hundred before you leave the bathroom.” I gave him a light slap on the cheek, the way I’d seen so many macho men do in Mafia movies, and then I unlocked the cubicle door, closed it, and got the hell out of there.

For all the high-spec security measures for delegates, the security for staff was a joke. Getting out of the conference centre was as easy as getting in. There was no badge terminal on the inner door of the staff door, just a big red button that would release the door lock. I stepped through and headed across the foyer for the main exit. The rush of adrenaline at completing my mission was heady. I got the information I needed and hadn’t broken a sweat. Nate was going to be so impressed.