Page 72 of Need to Know

“I have it here,” Nate announced. “The chips are safe and intact,” he stated matter-of-factly. I knew it was bullshit and he was performing for my button camera.

“Very clever. I am impressed,” Dr. Mai admitted. “Give it to me. Give me my Téng hú,” she demanded, her small slender fingered hand held out. I kept my eyes on Roux. His face had taken on a look of rapacious determination. He was almost fevered with the need to see the chips. Nate drew a card from his pocket and held it up. Then all hell broke loose.

Oliver Roux roared unintelligibly as he bound up the steps to the balcony. Nate was shoved aside as Roux lurched to grab the card. The credit card flew from Nate’s grip and amid the shouts; Lolita darted across the balcony after the ball of light refracted by my watch. Oliver Roux was about to pluck the credit card from the air, but he tripped over his cat, and stumbled with his arm outstretched; his fingertips a centimetre from the credit card. He tried to correct his balance, doing a strangely graceful pivot, but he was a big guy moving too fast, too recklessly. Momentum and greed pushed him forward. He lost the fight with gravity. With that Oliver Roux tumbled over the penthouse balcony. It all happened so fast, that I couldn’t quite believe what I’d seen. We were seven floors up, and the fall seemed to go on for an eternity. Nate and I stared at one another in helpless disbelief as Oliver Roux’s extended scream of “Arrrrgggghh,” drew out. His terrified wail was audible until there was a final, terminal thud.

The silence stretched as all who witnessed the events on the balcony tried to process what just happened. Apart from shock, my initial callous urge was to laugh. I wondered then, if I was an awful person. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut any longer and broke the silence.

“Did he just, like, slapstick himself to death?” I asked rhetorically, recalling Roux’s insatiable lust to possess the chips, his greedy lunge for the card, and the comical trip over his cat which led to a graceful pirouette to try and prevent the inevitable. Lolita had tried to follow her daddy and she was now wedged between two balustrades, unable to pass through because of the harness with the wooden spoon. I picked the cat up, petted her brow, and then set her down. She darted into the lounge. I reached a hand out and pulled Nate to his feet. Dr. Mai was ashen-faced, Agent Szi stood in the doorway the hand holding his gun limp, his face unreadable. Amber’s knees had given way, and she was slumped at an awkward angle, like a discarded doll, crying. I let go of Nate’s hand and edged to the balcony, daring to take a look over. I grimaced as I saw that Oliver Roux had landed on the roof of the surveillance van, his head a mass of bloody pulp and his limbs splayed at unnatural angles. Agent Porter had stepped out of the van and she was looking up at me. I waved. She lifted both of her hands, as if to say, what the fuck?

I cupped my hands together and hollered “Dinosaur!” in a sing-song. And with that, Nate burst out laughing and then clasped a hand over his mouth. I led him off the balcony and into the lounge. We slumped together on a couch. This nightmare was over. Roux, for all his wealth and supposed power, had gone the way of the dinosaurs—officially extinct!

Around us chaos continued, Amber’s crying, the trussed-up bodyguards roaring to be set free, Rivera shouting, “What happened, what the fuck just happened?” Dr. Mai was berating her men in staccato Mandarin. The door to the suite burst open and Agents Deveraux, Mackey, and Lopez strode in. We all exchanged looks of dismay. This wasn’t the plan. Roux was supposed to be arrested. The agents had heard everything via our button cams. Deveraux rushed straight through to the balcony and took a look over. He didn’t look for long, returning to stand in front of us, his expression grim.

“We’ve got to get you out of here,” he said sternly.

“I’ll guard the scene,” Lopez said decisively. And so, we followed Deveraux and Mackey back to our suite. As I opened the door for our penthouse, behind us the unit of GSG 9 tactical officers swarmed out of the fire exit door wearing full body armour, brandishing weapons. They rushed for the Superior penthouse.

****

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Nate

With all of the comings and goings from law enforcement we’d left our suite door ajar. This is how I heard Agent Lopez calling, “Mam, you can’t be here. This floor is an active crime scene, how did you get up here?” And then the ear-splitting response,

“I don’t know who you think you are, young man, but I’m here to see my client, Nate Linden. I’ve been on a plane for eight hours and if you don’t let me see him right now, there’ll be hell to pay.” Jack let out a hysterical little laugh and I eased up off the couch and sauntered to the open doorway.

“It’s okay, Agent Lopez,” I pacified, “She’s with us. Good to see you Roz,” I said.

“Nate, oh my gahh’d. I was so worried. What the hell is going on? The place is swarmed with cops…come here, you need a hug,” Roz threw herself against me and even though it seems she was the one in need of a hug I obliged, pulling her in. She eased back and looked at me sternly.

“Are you okay? Your face, your lip,” she fussed.

“Jack got it worst, a few bruises, nothing a little makeup won’t fix. Come in, come in, we have a room for you for tonight,” I said as I took a hold of the pull handle of Roz’s huge case and dragged it into the suite. Jack was waiting in the hall and he moved in to greet Roz. She pulled him in for a squeeze. It surprised me, as my agent was not a hugger.

“Is Luce here too?” Jack asked.

“Lucy’s flight was delayed, last I heard she’ll be here in about an hour,” Roz revealed as we moved together into the lounge.

The taskforce team, Baumann, Delort, Porter, and Deveraux were on the couches. Before the interruption we were being debriefed and getting the story straight between all agencies.

Special Agent Hadley Porter stood and offered her hand,

“Ms Appelbaum, we spoke earlier. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to go to your room. We’re in the middle of a need-to-know conversation and you can’t be here. I’m sure you understand.”

From the scowl on Roz’s face she did not understand. I took her arm and guided her down the hall. “It’s okay, I’ll take you to your room so you can freshen up,” I said, pulling Roz’s case into the first guest room.

“Are you in trouble? Do you need a lawyer? I can make a few calls, find someone here who can represent you,” Roz suggested as we stepped into the lovely en-suite guest room with a view over the square.

“I’m not in trouble. I have to get back to the conversation. I’ll knock when law enforcement has gone.”

“I’m not happy about this, Nate, not one bit. Tell me one thing, why is there a crime scene team up here? Did someone die?”

I pondered for a moment, and then figured it would be best that she heard it from me. “You cannot say a word about this…it will be all over the news soon enough, but…Oliver Roux fell off his balcony,” I revealed.

“Oh,” Roz exclaimed, a hand flying to her mouth. “You didn’t push him, did you? You’ve always hated him.”

“No, he did it to himself,” I stated. I headed toward the door, then I turned and mimed zipping my lips. Roz nodded, understanding now what a messy business this was.