Authors note:
Welcome to the third story in the series about the Helmsley meth empire. For those who are coming across this story without having read the others, please consider doing so. The other stories are Avengement and Evolution.
For everyone else, allow me to introduce Thea Trinidad to this world. Some of you may know her as Rosita from TNA if you've ever been unfortunate enough to watch it. lol
Okay guys, enjoy. As always any and all feedback is welcomed in reviews.
Hunter Helmsley stepped up to the podium and surveyed the large crowd in front of him as they enthusiastically applauded him. His family, friends and business associates were all assembled to celebrate the latest addition to the Helmsley empire, along with the rest of Warren City's upper class elite. Smiling out at them while he waited for the clapping to die down, he tried to drink in every second of it. Although the transition from meth empire to legitimate business had gone surprisingly smoothly, it had meant that moments of excitement had become something of a rarity, at least where business was concerned. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy conducting business at the highest level - he did - it was just that it was longer quite the thrill that running the operation in its previous form had been.
There was no doubt about the fact that he wasn't the only one who thought that way either. His niece Ronda was still technically his second in command, but the title was all but redundant now. He was the Chairman of the company simply known as Helmsley, and the managers of the many subsidiary companies that he owned reported to him. There were no threats for Ronda to deal with, no illegal dealings to supervise, no need to keep the police happy. Despite what she told him, he knew that Ronda found the new life boring. Action had always been her thing, not diplomacy. Even with his considerable efforts to mentor her, the process of transforming her into a businesswoman wasn't going as well as he had hoped. The truth of it, a truth that he was coming to accept, was that she just wasn't really cut out for it. Part of him wondered if she would have already moved on to something new if it hadn't been for the family connection.
On the face of it, it didn't bode well for the long term future of the business that the only true heiress wasn't cut out or particularly motivated to take over, but Hunter hadn't given up hope. Shane McMahon, Ronda's boyfriend, was a competent businessman and their relationship was going strong. If the worst came to the worst and Ronda continued to fail to adapt, the business could be left to her but Shane could be placed in charge of it. It was far from an ideal solution, but it would keep the business in the family, and that was an absolute must as far as Hunter was concerned.
The applause from the audience had faded away, so Hunter refocused himself on the speech he had to deliver. "Thank you," he said into the microphone which was attached to the podium. "Thank you everyone, and welcome. I'd hoped this moment would have happened long before now. It's actually been over a year and a half since I first decided that I wanted to purchase this place. That's thanks in part to the renovations taking longer than planned, and in part to my good friend Eric Bischoff over there driving such a hard bargain."
The room filled with polite laughter. Hunter had gestured to Bischoff who was standing off to the left and smiled at him, although he had considered more than once during the negotiations how practical the idea of having Bischoff turn up dead somewhere might be. Bischoff laughed along with everyone else and raised his champagne glass to Hunter, as well he might with the amount of money that he'd made from his half-assed casino. The location right next to Helmsley's Marina Heights Hotel and the building's size had been its only real selling points. They'd both known that Hunter wanted to transform the casino and together with Marina Heights create one of the most desirable attractions on the east coast, and boy had Bischoff made him pay for the opportunity to do so.
That was in the past though, Hunter told himself. This was opening night. The deal had been done and the renovations were now complete. What was once a somewhat rundown and unremarkable casino was now state of the art; so much so that it wouldn't have looked at all out of place on the Vegas Strip.
"As you know, the name Helmsley has been synonymous with Warren City for the last twenty years. If people think Warren City they instinctively think Helmsley. If people hear the name Helmsley they think Warren City. The truth is that we've grown together over the years..."
The speech had been had been delivered expertly, in Ronda's opinion. How her uncle could hold an audience in the palm of his hand like that was something of a mystery to her. She would have headed over to him to offer a congratulatory hug as he stepped off the stage, but a crowd of people were already closer to him than she was, flocking around him like awestruck fans around one of those pointless reality TV celebrities that people seemed to adore for no apparent reason. The difference in her opinion was that Hunter actually deserved the adoration. Her aunt Stephanie was by his side, doing her best not to seem irritated by the fact that she couldn't have her husband to herself.
Deciding to leave her uncle to work his diplomatic magic for a while, she turned to her boyfriend Shane, who was standing beside her. "Shall we uh... mingle for a while? Fuck, I hate that word."
"And you hate doing it too," Shane chuckled at her discomfort. "Let's just get it over with. A couple of hours from now we'll be home and free to do whatever we want."
Ronda linked her arm with his and he lead them off in the direction of a casino staff member who was carrying around a tray bearing glasses of champagne. "Is that a proposition, Mr McMahon?"
"You know it is. And you know you're not going to say no either," he grinned.
Before she could respond, she heard a familiar female voice call her name. Turning in the direction that the voice came from, she saw Warren City's former sheriff Melina Perez walking over towards them. During her time as a police officer and later as sheriff, Melina had been on Helmsley's payroll and had helped keep their dealings secret and their names clear of criminal records. Shane had been the only exception. When he'd been caught red handed in the act of burning down a warehouse belonging to a rival of Helmsley's by two of Melina's officers there was very little she could do to try and save him. He'd been lucky to only get a five year sentence, which Melina had been able to prematurely end at four and a half by pulling some strings. Ronda had no particular affection for the woman, but she did know that she personally owed Melina for that.
Then there was the fact that Melina had somehow successfully buried any evidence on Helmsley before the FBI had showed up in Warren City and started digging. She'd had to quit her job as sheriff and end her relationship with Seth Rollins, who was one of Helmsley's inner circle, but they'd all stayed out of jail. Maybe that was what this was going to be about; the favours being called in somehow?
"Hello Melina," Ronda smiled then leaned in for the polite exchange of pecks on the cheek. She was starting to get used to gestures like that, which she would have rather avoided. "How have you been? Haven't seen you since you quit the police."
Another woman approached them and stood beside Melina, smiling a greeting at Ronda and Shane prior to being introduced. The new arrival was younger than Melina and possibly younger than Ronda also. She had long black hair and a dark skin tone, possibly Mexican if Ronda had to guess. What she found most noticeable was that the woman could only be five feet tall at the most. It pained her to think it, but the woman was damn sure attractive. It made Ronda instinctively want to dislike her.
"Ronda, Shane, allow me introduce a friend of mine, Thea Trinidad."
Greetings were exchanged and Thea added her congratulations on the opening of the casino.
"Ronda, we were hoping to sit down with you and discuss a uh... business proposition," Melina said.
Slightly raising an eyebrow, Ronda added sarcasm to her question, "'A uh... business proposition?' What's that supposed to mean?"
"Sit down with us and we'll tell you, won't we?" Thea replied. There was a slight bite in her tone that no one outside of Ronda's family had used with her since she'd left the army, mainly for the simple reason that no one dared.
"Go ahead," Shane said lightly, noting the slightly taken aback look on his girlfriend's face. "I'll go get myself a drink. I recognise a few familiar face-lifts, so I'm sure I can find someone to talk to." He pecked Ronda on the cheek and left her to it.
"Okay," Ronda decided, studying Thea with interest. "Your smart mouth bought you the chance to talk. Speak to me like that again..." She let the look in her eyes complete the threat. "Follow me."
As she lead them out of the conference room and towards an office that would be perfect for a private conversation, Ronda wondered what kind of business proposition an ex sheriff and a friend of an ex sheriff could possibly have to make to her. What did they think would interest one of the higher ups of such a powerful and wealthy business? There was only one way to find out.
Pushing the office door open and walking in, she saw one of the casino's staff members sitting at the desk, in the middle of a phone call. Ronda had no idea of his name, so she simply gestured to the open door and ordered, "Out. I need the room."
"I'll call you back," the man said into the phone, so quickly that whoever was on the other end probably hadn't been able to understand. "It's all yours, Ms. Helmsley." He stood and hurried out of the room. Ronda didn't dignify him with a response. Melina had been last of the three to enter, so she was best placed to push the door closed behind him. Meanwhile, Ronda took the seat behind the desk and gestured for her visitors to be seated in front of her.
"I should be out there celebrating with my family right now. Instead I'm sitting here, so why don't you get to the point and tell me what this is all about?"
A smile broke out on Melina's face as he took her seat. "It's kind of about that actually."
"About what?" Ronda narrowed her eyes.
"The way you talk to people. You're no businesswoman. You're no casino manager. I know enough about you to know that this change in the way your family make their money must bore you."
"Very perceptive," Ronda grunted. "And you're going to fix that somehow, are you?"
"We're going to make you an offer that would do exactly that." Thea said.
"Who the hell are you anyway?" Ronda demanded, bordering on aggressive.
"A business associate of Melina's. We're starting up a new venture together, but we need a third partner."
It was almost reluctantly that Ronda admitted to herself that she was intrigued by this unexpected turn of events. "Cut to the chase, Thea. I might be no politician, but I'm also no idiot. I can tell that Melina must have told you what she knows about me, which is a big risk on her part. If things went wrong here today, she knows what the consequences might be for her. That must mean that she's almost certain I'll want a part of this new venture. So, cut the shit and tell me what kind of business are we talking about here?"
Thea flashed her brilliant smile again. "Straight to the point; not that I expected otherwise. Okay Ronda, let's get into it. I have a contact who is able to get freelance work, contracts, which pays big, and I do mean big, money. We're talking about kidnapping and assassination. From what I hear about your past record with Helmsley and your military background, you seem to be a perfect fit to complete the three person team I want to put together."
Inside, Ronda was buzzing. The idea sounded perfect to her. The money was no consideration for her; it was the chance to get back out there doing the things she enjoyed that had piqued her interest. The jobs would presumably be relatively short too, a week or so at a time she imagined, and they were also likely not to be too frequent, which would allow her to keep up with Helmsley business too. The only doubt really was in trusting Melina and even more so Thea, who she knew nothing about. Again though, she couldn't imagine how it could be a setup. Melina knew perfectly well that if she did something like that and got her sent to jail then Hunter would make sure it was the last thing she did, and she'd be taking Thea with her. The decision was inevitable before Ronda made it.
"Alright, I'm interested. I know about Melina, obviously, but what about you, Thea? What's your background?"
"Similar enough to yours for our purposes."
It was obvious that was the only answer Ronda was going to get. She could see military in Thea's demeanor and here it in the way she spoke. "And I'm also going to be wasting my time if I ask who your contact is, am I right?"
"For now, yes. Melina doesn't know that either. However, my contact has said that they will be willing to meet with you both if we successfully complete the first contract they give us. Of course, I consider that to be a when, not an if."
Nodding, Ronda said, "Alright. I can't just walk away from this place though. My uncle has just given my boyfriend and I the responsibility of managing this place, so I can't be away on the other side of the world half the time. Nor do I want to be, honestly. How frequent are these contracts going to be?"
"Not frequent," Thea assured her. "One every couple, three months, something like that I'd imagine. Does that work for you?"
"Yeah," Ronda smiled for the first time. "Okay, I'm in. I assume you have the first contract already?"
"My contact does. I don't have details as I haven't been able to go back and say that I have you on-board and my team is ready. I'll do that tonight and get in touch."
Ronda nodded and stood up, bringing the discussion to a close.
"You've not asked about the money," Melina pointed out, surprised.
"I assume we'll be splitting it equally, three ways?" Ronda asked.
"Absolutely," Thea nodded. "I've worked out a deal with my contact..."
Ronda held up a hand to silence her. "I'm not really interested. You both know you didn't approach me because I need the money. Look at this fucking place, for a start. Just pay me my third. Whatever. I know neither of you would be stupid enough to try and fuck me over."
Ronda's two visitors stood and shook hands with her. Going into business with Melina Perez, she thought. Who would ever have imagined that?
"Oh!" Thea exclaimed. "I almost forgot. My contact is also in the business of information. They passed some on to me, and I decided to take action on it. Let's say a sign of good faith from me, and a demonstration of what I can do."
Looking confused, Ronda asked, "What are you talking about?"
"The way I hear it, before you shut down your lab, someone was stealing from you. I can give that person to you. I'll call you tomorrow and let you know when and where."
Failing to discover the identity of the person who'd had the nerve to steal meth from the Helmsley lab was something that had seriously pissed Ronda off for a long time. Now, out of the blue, she was being promised the culprit being served to her on a silver platter. Cracking her knuckles, she began to think of ways in which she could make whoever it was wish they'd never even heard the name Helmsley, before she killed them.
"You know I'm going to kill them, right?"
The brilliant smile appeared again. "Hopefully the first of many we'll do together. I'll call you."