Chapter 4
6pm.
"I'm sorry Ma'am, we closed at 5:30." One of the waitresses greets Estel at the door of Benitos as she tries to enter.
"It's ok, she's with us" Adam answers the lady who is holding a mop in one hand.
"Sure, come on in!" The waitress answers.
"Thanks Carla" he replies.
Estel follows Adam through the empty restaurant with it's chairs now folded over the tables all the way to the back of the venue.
"How come your team gets special treatment here then? My cops never even get this far and you know this place is a police favourite".
"Well a few years back, Ax and I prevented this place from being burned to the ground. The previous owners who were the parents of the current owners owed the syndicate a substantial amount of money. They came after them and we saved them. The rest is history".
"You're quite the community hero aren't you"
"Well, if you put it like that…" he proudly grins.
"Tell me, was that one of your vigilante acts also?"
"Well, you're the one who came here off duty. So it looks like you're finally one of us" he smiles.
He leads her to a large room at the back of the restaurant containing an electrical switchboard with four laptops all wired around it.
"Whose that?" Estel queries when she notices a balding brown haired guy with glasses sitting behind the set up.
"Oh that's Luca. He's one of Max's cousins and one of the best hackers in this city. He's been helping us track the twins' whereabouts and anyone they may be communicating with".
The hacker gives Estel a very brief nod before he gets back to work.
"Speaking of which, where is Max?" Estel queries when she greets Sammy, Cherry, Floyd and Shiva who are already sat around the table.
"He's currently at the airport waiting for a flight to London" Sammy answers her.
"Is everything ok over there?" She asks, concerned.
"We're not sure" he shrugs. "But with the twins now back here, we need to be extra cautious especially if they're working with the CIA".
"I picked this up earlier today, they were having lunch together at Rose Brasserie in Central District." Floyd explains whilst placing several black and white photos on the table for her to see.
"Have you been able to run any checks on these two men?" She asks.
"The first agent was relatively easy to identify. His name is Bob Silver, been in the CIA business for over 20 years."
"And the other guy?"
"Nothing. No records, nothing in the database. It's like he's a ghost" Floyd replies.
"I know who this man is," Estel claims with certainty and concern in her voice.
"Who is he?" Adam probes, keen to find out some answers.
"He goes by the name of Orson Briggs and he is a very dangerous man."
"How come we ain't ever heard of him then?" Cherry asks.
"He's not from Wood Oak City and he operated here a long time ago before any of us became cops. He is what the CIA call a 'floater'. Which means someone who is very high up in the rankings close to the boss but is also an individual involved in espionage, political assassinations, spying, you name it. He's done it all!"
"And how do you know all this?" Shiva cautiously asks.
"Because I used to work for him before I became a cop. In fact my family back in Columbia and in Sweden were in business with this man. I just had no idea that he moved here to Wood Oak".
"What? Were they in the drugs trade? I know from your background you were locked up for 5 months after being found in possession of drugs…" Shiva digs deeper.
"Yeah and that was a big mistake a very long time ago. I was covering for a friend and it all went wrong. Once I had served that sentence, every cop in Sweden knew my name. I would have been a liability to Briggs if I'd had carried on working for him as a spy".
"So what stopped him from killing you?" Cherry asks.
"He owed my family a lot of money. My father knew many journalists, if anything had happened to me, this man's name and identity would have been released immediately to the public. They cleared the debt and he's left me alone ever since, remaining hidden from all records."
"You were a spy?!" Cherry glances at her with disgust on her face.
"Yes, but that was a long time ago".
"How the fuck can we trust you?"
"I changed everything! Don't you think I would have already given up Leon to them when I had the chance a year ago if I was on this man's side?"
Adam takes a deep exhale before sitting down next to her at the table.
"How dangerous is this man?"
"Briggs wants power and he won't stop until he has what he wants" Estel replies, staring intently into his eyes.
"Do you know anything about his family or the people he's currently working with?" Floyd asks.
"His wife of thirty years, if they're even still together. Her name is Sarah Briggs and she has no idea whatsoever. She couldn't have any children so he has no offspring as far as I know. Even his wife doesn't know his darkest secrets, it's just a double life with her as far as he's concerned".
"Luca, find out anything you can about Sarah Briggs!" Adam orders. "I also want a 24 hour watch on the concert venue in the lead up to Washi's show next month. Anybody, even spectators to other events who go in or come out of that place is reported to me, understood?"
"Understood," he agrees.
Once their meeting is complete and the others have dispersed, Adam decides to walk with Estel to grab something to eat before going home.
"You know, in the last hour I've learned more about you than I have learned in the past 10 years" he remarks.
"You know me, I'm not one to share my personal life. Only when I need to" she abruptly replies.
"I just don't get it".
"Get what?" She asks, avoiding his eye contact.
"Why Briggs didn't kill you when you were done working as a spy. For anyone involved in espionage, you would have been a liability".
"I told you, he owed my family money back in Sweden".
"That's irrelevant" Adam shakes his head "I might not be an expert is espionage but I'm not stupid".
"You'd better come upstairs then". She answers, glancing around before leading Adam up to her apartment.
"This is nice…" he says, having never seen where she lives or what she has in her place. From the outside, it looks like a run down derelict building. But on the inside, the apartment is plagued with security cameras on every corner, heavy lifting equipment for training and an armoury of weapons. All situated within a clean, modern living headquarter high above the city.
"I'm guessing you don't have many visitors then…." Adam says, noticing how empty the fridge is.
"Beer?... Sorry I forgot you don't drink" she replies, taking a can out of the fridge before sitting on the couch with her feet up on the coffee table.
"So why did Briggs spare your life then?" Adam questions whilst sitting down next to her.
Estel takes a long sip from her can before answering him.
"I'm here and alive, that's all that matters right?" She says looking intently at him with her blue eyes.
"Right…" Adam replies. The tension and breath between them starts to intensify until Estel suddenly and unexpectedly leans forward to kiss his lips.
Very quickly, one thing leads to another where the pair continue to passionately kiss on the way to the bedroom. It's really a moment of madness and Adam knows that he'l regret this by ruining their friendship by the time this is over, but what the hell? If this feels right in the moment, then it's right.
The two of them lie down side by side in the dark, staring up at the ceiling feeling a mixture of content emotion as well as asking themselves 'what the hell just happened here?'
"Do you regret sleeping with me?" Estel boldly asks, breaking the silence.
"No. But we may have just made things between us complicated, if you know what I mean".
"I get it. You're not looking for a relationship and neither am I. We have a good friendship going on, but there's chemistry there too and I am attracted to you".
"I know what you mean" he grins, looking up whilst resting on the pillow with his hand behind his head.
"Nothing wrong with friends and benefits," Estel laughs, showing Adam a fun and cheeky side to her that he has never seen before.
"I feel you. And I don't regret spending the night with you" he replies, glancing back at her.
Estel briefly gets up out of bed to bring her can of beer in from the living room.
"Damn girl! Your one badass you know that?" Adam grins at the site of her holding the can in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
"I couldn't waste a good beer and leave it to go flat….. I'm sorry" she responds, feeling slightly guilty at drinking in front of him.
"It's ok. Seeing other people with alcohol really doesn't bother me anymore. But…"
"But what?" She raises her eyebrows.
"But you still haven't told me why this agent or spy, whoever Briggs is…. The real reason why he spared your life?"
She sits up with the sheets covering her chest and body before switching on the bedside lamp.
"He was in love with me, even though he was already married to Sarah. I was his best assassin and he would have done anything for me. As soon as I got arrested, it broke his heart because he understood exactly what he needed to do."
"Shit, that's pretty fucked up".
She pulls down the sheet then turns her body towards the light, revealing a long scar extending from the middle of her sternum all the way down to her stomach.
"After that night, he swore that if I ever talked, he would kill me. And that this scar would be a constant reminder of that."
"I'm sorry…" Adam replies, feeling sick to his stomach.
"After that night, I never saw him again. Rumour was he'd left America for good then went to live in Asia. He must have come back some years later to patch things up with Sarah but who knows, this was well over 20 years ago. During our relationship, I was only 17 at the time whilst Steffan was almost 40."
"Steffan!? But I thought his name is Orson?"
"He has many names. But no, that's the name that people in America know him here as. I was the only one from our team who knew his real birth name back in Sweden. He was so secretive though, it was easy enough for him to lead a double life and disappear whenever he wanted to".
"Can you tell me anymore about him and what he did?"
She takes another long gulp of her beer and puff of her cigarette. "Yeah but know that, if this identity of his ever gets out, my life would be in a lot of danger. It's been almost 15 years since I joined the police force, and in that time this man has never appeared on our radar. Only those he trusted knew his birth name".
"I understand," Adam nods.
"He was very close with my family in Sweden, which was his own birthplace. When we met back there for the first time, Steffan convinced my parents that I'd have a better life in America. His empire and business was already established here, growing all the time. He had his own network of spies like myself who were there to kill off anybody in power and any journalist who threatened his criminal organisation. We covered up at least 20 assassinations of politicians and journalists".
"If this guy was as powerful as you claim, he definitely would have had some runnings with the old syndicate. I'll conduct a search on both the name he goes by and his birth name. What was his real surname by the way?"
"Visser".
Her revelation makes Adam almost jump out of the bed in shock. His heart palpitations and his palms start to sweat as he looks at her in disbelief.
"What's wrong Adam? You look like you've seen a ghost…."
He immediately reaches for his cell phone in his jacket pocket on the floor, but the battery is dead.
"I need to make a call right away!" He frantically says.
"Do you know this man?"
"Just give me your fucking phone! Please!" Adam shouts, almost losing his cool this time.
As soon as Estel hands over her cell phone, Adam hastily dials a number, but there is no answer on the other end of the line. "Shit!" He complains.
"Are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on?" She demands.
"When Axel went to prison ten years ago and you started helping us, did you not think about doing any background checks on him or any of our team?"
"I did! And the only person out of you all who flagged up red was Blaze because of her family's old criminal organisation. The rest of you had a fairly normal background on record and a normal upbringing."
"No, not him….. Shit! This is so fucked up! Axel killed Visser in Asia years ago…."
"He clearly didn't! That was definitely him in the photograph, just much older now! And why would Axel have been involved with him in the first place?"
"Visser tracked him down after his parents died, then he took him to Asia to fight. This all makes sense now! The empire and criminal organisation your referring to is the old syndicate! Before Mr X ran the show, Visser was the boss. He would have needed espionage and the politicians on his side for it to work. We even handed over to the Government the signed documents with all of his assets….. That clearly was a big mistake!"
"What signed documents?"
"The ones that we used to get Axel out of prison! Fuck!"
"Why would he have signed all assets over to one of his fighters?"
"Because Visser was his biological father! If what you're saying here is true, and I mean that is the nicest of ways, I have to get through to Axel and show him these photographs that we have".
"Oh my God! I wish I knew about this sooner! On file, Axel's parents are listed as Evan and Amber Stone."
"Yes but that's just on file! Shit, we have to find this man!"
Adam once again reaches for Estel's cell phone.
"Max, it's me. Have you boarded the flight yet?" Adam asks with panic in his voice.
"No, it's delayed for another three hours! What's wrong?"
"Estel and I are coming with you to London. This is urgent! We'll explain once we get to the airport…"