Chapter 2
Face opened the side door to the van and Amy got in, perching herself between Face and Murdock. She had come straight from the office as soon as Hannibal had phoned her.
"Afternoon," she said smiling at them all. "Well, the golden beaches of California huh? Santa Monica. You guys really do get some tough cases."
"What'd ya find out, kid?" Hannibal asked smiling at her, ignoring her sarcasm.
Amy opened up her notebook, although she didn't really have to. There wasn't much to report. She'd out found plenty, but nothing that would interest the team or that they didn't already know. But she wasn't going to complain, the guys had asked her to meet them, so she was thrilled to be out of the office. This might be the perfect opportunity to get her scoop.
"Carlos Flores is a shrewd businessman, Hannibal. There wasn't anything extraordinary about him. His company buys and sells smaller companies. It's as simple as that really." Among her research Amy had managed to find an interview Carlos Flores had done for the business pages of the LA Courier a few months back. It had been on the lines of a successful businessman in LA and had given some personal information as well as the business details the section liked to report on. It had been very useful and of interest to her, so she shared what she needed to with the team.
"Usually the company isn't doing so well. His company comes in, buys it up, turns it around and sells it off making a tidy profit. All legal and above board. Most are slow projects, not something that happens over night. Some companies even get liquidated. Not pleasant, but totally legal. He even made it into the business pages a few months back for how he turns companies around and sells them on," Amy continued. She raised her eyebrow to the last bit. "The guy is worth a few million by all accounts. But I couldn't find any dirt. He's clean."
"Well, I think he's the one squeezing those companies so that they don't do so well," Hannibal responded.
"Yeah, then he comes in and looks like he's doing them a favour, " Face added, "by buying them out."
"Well if he is, he's doing it very well. Because there is no dirt. All of his business transactions are legit, gone through the books." Amy looked at them. "Are you watching him now?"
"Yeah, care to take a peek?" Face smiled handing her the binoculars, and she peered out on to the beach to where Face was pointing. Amy spotted the guy instantly as she recognised him from the pictures she'd dug up. He was in his early forties and had quite dark features and was taller than she imagined. He had short black wavy hair with some flecks of distinguishing grey starting to show and dark olive skin. 'Not bad,' she thought to herself, admiring the man's handsome features.
"So who's our client, and why do they think Mr Flores is the problem?" Amy asked handing back the binoculars to Face.
"Our client is Mr Joseph Keaton, of Keaton Hardware Supplies, and in the last six months his business has been suffering. Mr Flores' company has stepped in and isn't really taking no for an answer in the attempt of a buy out. Our client has been experiencing even more bad luck with his business recently, since Flores has offered to buy out his company but Keaton can't prove it's linked to him," Hannibal explained.
"So you've been hired to prove that it is," Amy replied.
"Something like that. We need to dig up the dirt." Hannibal puffed at his cigar.
"Can't the police help?" Amy asked. "If he's sure Flores is crippling his business?"
"The police aren't interested in a fall in sales, Amy, they want to see crime," Face responded. "If they can't see a crime, then they're just not interested."
"But how are we going to help? He looks clean, right, Hannibal?" Amy turned from Face to Hannibal.
"So it seems, so we need someone to go in and get close to Flores, so that we can lay the bait to find that dirt." Hannibal grinned at her, although she didn't quite notice its implications.
"So, Face is going to go in, is he?" Amy asked.
"No, kid, we were thinking you might do it." Hannibal grinned at her.
"Huh? Me?" Amy instantly looked at Hannibal and was unnerved by his smile, and then around to Face and Murdock, who were also both grinning at her. BA was the only one not showing any expression on his face. "What, I'll go in with Face?"
"Sweetheart, if I could do it, I would." Face put on his charm, placing his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "But apparently, I'm not his type." He pointed to the bikini-clad women surrounding the man in question.
"Not on my own," Amy fretted. "Surely?" She gave a nervous laugh; they had to be kidding her.
"We'll be watching you, Amy, every step of the way." Murdock placed a hand on her knee as he spoke, trying to reassure her.
They weren't kidding her.
"I don't know guys. I wasn't really expecting this. I know I said I wanted to be more involved, but in the sense that I'd be tagging along for the ride," Amy replied nervously. "No, no I don't think I can do it. Not on my own. I've never done anything like this before. Surely Face will be with me on this one?"
"I can't get close to this one, kid. And besides, you're the only one who'll suit a bikini." Face grinned at that thought.
"A bikini!" Amy snapped and looked nervously at the four men. "That's why you want me here, coz I'm the damn skirt!" Amy's furious eyes landed on BA last. He looked straight back at her.
"Don't look at me, little mama, I ain't getting involved," BA responded to her disapproving look. "This is your decision. But I'll watch your back, you be sure of that."
"Thanks, BA." She calmed momentarily then turned her attention back to Hannibal.
"I'm still not sure I can do it, Hannibal," Amy said, scowling at him. She still couldn't quite believe what they were asking of her.
"Sure you can, kid."
"Oh, come on, there must be another way," Amy argued. "A bikini! You want me to go out there like one of those bimbos?"
"Amy, sweetheart," Murdock was trying a reassuring tone. "If you look closely, he's not really interested in those girls. But with you, you'll hook him in. Unfortunately, you just need to be wearing a bikini for the heavies to let you get close."
In the last month, Amy had wanted to get more involved in the team's ventures, feel the jazz again like she had in Mexico, but not like this. She hadn't been expecting this. Surely Hannibal would have another plan? She smiled smugly at them; she knew at least one good reason why she wouldn't be able to do it.
"Well, I can't do it," she grinned. "I haven't got anything to wear." Tugging at the collar of her grey suit jacket, implying she didn't have a bikini.
As soon as she said the words, Face confidently pulled out from behind his chair a pink boutique bag and handed it to her with an equally smug smile on his face. Her own confident expression dropped.
She looked inside the bag. The guys watched her face; it instantly displayed shock at its contents or at least the lack of them. She then looked back at the four faces staring at her.
"It won't fit," Amy protested. "You don't know my size!"
"You're kidding me, right?" Face replied, a little too confident for Amy's liking now. "That's the right size." He said as he pointed to the bag she was holding.
She still wasn't sure what to say. Face tried his persuasive charm on her.
"Amy, you're the only one who can do this for us. We all have to use our assets in ways we dislike from time to time. If I could sweet talk Flores, out there," Face pointed in the direction of the beach, "then I'd be doing it already."
"But what if he wants…" Amy wasn't quite sure how to put it.
"-Hey, all we're asking for is a couple of dinner dates. You're a lady. He'll understand that." Murdock quickly reassured her by winking at her. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. And we'll be watching out for you the whole time."
"But I can't compete with those girls." Amy pointed out of the side of the van towards Carlos Flores and the women that surrounded him. "What if he doesn't even notice me?"
"Amy, you're an intelligent young lady," Murdock grabbed hold of her hand, "and extremely beautiful. Those girls won't stand a chance."
"Thanks, Murdock. You're really sweet," Amy responded sarcastically, not believing a word he was saying. "But I thought Face was supposed to be the charmer on the team." Face just grinned at Murdock as she spoke.
"So you'll do it then?" Hannibal smiled at her.
"Do I have a choice?"
"Yeah, you have a choice, kid. I'm not going to make you do something you don't want to do. But you said you wanted to be on the team, so here's your chance," Hannibal replied. "You can go back to your office if you want, and I'll have to find someone else to help us." Hannibal didn't know her that well yet, but he knew she was stubborn. He'd seen that when she had insisted on going to Mexico with them.
Amy rolled her eyes. If this was how she was going to have to prove her worthiness to be on the team, then she would. Did she have much of a choice? The stubbornness in her kicked in, as Hannibal had hoped, she would use this opportunity to show them.
"On one condition." She smiled confidently trying to hide her nerves. "I get to print the story."