Chapter Seven

"Oh Chip," Belinda moaned in his ear as they made-out on the couch in her bungalow; she had moved fast and Chip couldn't shy away from her obvious attraction. Hell, even if she wasn't a suspect he needed information from he wouldn't have shied away from her blatant advances. She was tall, blonde, beautiful and getting hotter by the minute as their kissing and petting was quickly moving to a full sexual encounter.

Her hand was currently giving him plenty of attention and he had responded by finding his way into her blouse as they continued to fuel the erotic moment with deep passionate kisses while he leaned over her, trailing ravashing kisses down her neck.

"Oh you've got me so hot," she whispered in ecstasy. "Take me to the bedroom," she said blatantly as she encouraged his decision along by stroking his jeans.

"I thought you'd never ask," he said with a sexy grin as he helped her stand with a slight pull of her hand. She stood in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck kissing him deeply and excitedly as Chip scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom. The two engaged in a heated expression of unbridled desire as they satisfied their longing several times over as the night wore on.

~~0~~

Stasio had dinner surrounded by a table of cooing ladies, he had of course dressed for dinner appropriately, his leather pants replaced with a tuxedo. He wore a cummerbund with no tie and his ruffled shirt was still left open four buttons down, which the ladies didn't seem to mind at all, even at the dinner table. Harry was slightly tickled at how intrigued the women were with Stasio, he wasn't sure why they felt so free to throw themselves at him but he kept his cover and indulged them with plenty of flirting, producing an ample amount of giggles at the table. But the highlight of the evening came when Stasio was coaxed into singing with the band playing in the background, his deep baritone voice and the Polish accent adding excitement as he took to the stage and crooned Moon River. The ladies sighed and swooned and then clapped wildly as he bowed with a flamboyant sweep of his arm; he was quite sure that if the social situation had been different several socialites would have thrown their panties on stage!

~~0~~

Lee took a walk needing some fresh air after he and Trina had parted so awkwardly. He knew that Harry was wining and dining with the socialites and by the dark windows in Chip's bungalow he figured Chip was having an interesting night as well; it seemed he was the only one without a date tonight. He laughed inwardly at the thought, knowing that both Chip and Harry were engaging in their said activities for the mission's sake. He returned to the bungalow having only been gone for twenty minutes and was greeted immediately with a gun whip to the back of his head as he fell hard.

"Don't move Mitchell," he heard as his assailant pressed a knee into his back and a gun to his neck. His brain was beginning to clear from the unexpected knock on the head when he felt a needle jab and the contents injecting into his arm. He started to struggle but the knee pressed harder and the butt of the gun ever deeper until he started to feel a bit fuzzy. Immediately he recognized the effects of the truth serum. He began to sink deeper into his cover as he'd been trained how to beat most truth serums. He knew that a truth serum didn't actually "make" you tell the truth, but rather lowered the threshold for the release of information and as such he could fight the effects and actually only release the information that his cover might give. It was tricky and took a massive amount of concentration as he felt the knee in his back release its weight, his assailant sure that the effect of the drug was now in full control.

"Now Mitchell, suppose you tell me why you were sneaking around the Facial Salon today?"

"Don't know what you're talking about," he slurred.

"Wrong answer, try again," he said turning Lee over and belting him in the gut, the pain lowering his resistance.

"You took something. Why did you take the vial?"

Lee delayed speaking, working to stay in cover as Ronald got impatient and delivered another deep jab to his gut.

"Just looking for something to sell, I swear," he breathed out playacting he was stealing drugs from the Spa to sell whenever possible.

"And just what would you need with sodium thiopental?" Ronald probed.

"I don't know what it is, I just sell it to my contact," Lee countered finding that his ability to stay with his cover was getting easier as the interrogation went on.

"Where's the vial?"

"Sent it out already... with the mail," he said careful to keep this part of his answer still within his cover, it was a fine line he played as bits of the truth could accidentally come out in a moment of confusion.

Ronald sat back, trying to decide if he believed Lee and then leaned back over, speaking darkly in his ear.

"You're into something dangerous, Mitchell. Stay out or I'll eliminate you," he threatened and then threw another punch into Lee's gut. The punch was deeper and meaner causing Lee to roll into the pain as he grunted.

"Too bad you won't remember any of this in the morning, but my warning still stands, Mitchell. If you get in my business again, I'll kill you," Ronald promised standing and adding a kick to Lee's side for good measure. Ronald opened the door just a crack, checking to make sure the way was clear and then slid into the darkness. Belinda had effectively kept Mitchell's friend busy all night, making sure he didn't show up and interrupt the interrogation. Mitchell would wake the next morning bruised and hurt, but having no idea of how he had gotten into such a condition. Ronald smiled as he slipped into the dark night, silently patting himself on the back for being so clever.

~~0~~

"Ughh," Lee groaned out as careful hands turned him over on his back.

"Lee, are you alright?" Trina asked as Lee wrapped his arms around his mid-section.

"Trina, what are you doing here?"

"I saw Ronald sneaking about and I was curious what he was up to," she admitted.

"So much for staying out of the mission," Lee breathed out, his eyes glassy and his voice slurred.

"What's wrong, Lee?"

"Truth serum," he answered quickly, more quickly than he should he realized, but he felt safe and had let down all his concentration.

"Help me up..."

"Only as far as the bed," she said taking control of the situation.

"I was hoping to get you in there, but not like this," he said losing himself to the drug now that his attacker was gone and the wall he had erected to protect his information was gone. Geez Crane, get it together before you say something you'll really regret, he thought as she helped him stand and he nearly doubled over.

"It looks like it was more than Truth Serum," she noted as they walked to the bedroom with Lee leaning heavily on her shoulder.

"He took some potshots at me," Lee said filling her in as she helped him stretch out on the bed.

"Trina...?"

"I'm still here Lee."

"Get Chip Richards, he'll know what to do," Lee breathed out as his head fell to the side and his eyes closed with the darkness.

Trina slid off his shoes and placed a blanket over him then glanced out the window at the dark bungalow next to Lee's. She'd have to wait until Chip returned, until then there was nothing to do but sit tight.