Chapter Three
The morning dawned much too early, and Stephanie rolled over looking out the window as the first rays of sunlight filtered into the room. The eerie encounter from the night before had kept her awake until the wee hours of the morning, and plagued her even still.
Coffee, that's what she desperately needed if she was going to get through this day. She looked over at the phone Nikko had given her like it was a big hairy tarantula. She knew they'd get precious few minutes notice on the meet. Not that she really blamed him. It's what she would do too.
Stephanie understood the stakes, and the need for secrecy. That didn't make her feel any better about working with him, but a part of her couldn't help but admire him. Maybe even like him, just a little. She had to admit she wasn't quite over Nikko holding a gun to her head. Granted, he'd helped free her and Ranger from the rebel camp, so she guessed that bought him a little goodwill.
He'd also persuaded Akerman to set up a trust for Olivia that ensured she'd get all the help money could buy, so all in, it seemed his good qualities outweighed the bad. If you overlooked the fact, he was a shameless flirt that seemed to enjoy toying with her and saying outrageous things to try and shock her. Stephanie smiled at the thought. Clearly Nikko had never met a Jersey girl. One that had spent years navigating the male dominated world of K&R. Stephanie didn't rattle quite so easy. Still, she had a feeling not many women ever told Nikko no.
Stephanie padded into the bathroom and took a quick shower. She threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and headed downstairs.
Jack was in the kitchen making breakfast, whistling. She really didn't know how the man could be so happy all the time or where he'd learned to cook. She was grateful for both.
He gave her an easy smile and pointed to the coffee he had already brewed. Stephanie mumbled a thanks. She needed at least one cup of coffee to be functional this morning. Sleep had been elusive, and what she did manage to get, was plagued with dreams that were just out of reach of her memory. The only thing that remained was the ominous feeling.
Halfway through her second cup, she felt human enough to join the conversation. Luca had wandered down and he and Jack were talking about weapons and extraction points. Just another day at the office, and what a glorious office it was. Stephanie couldn't imagine sitting around looking at spreadsheets or reading HR memos. She barely suppressed an involuntary shiver. If she hadn't met Nick, she probably would have ended up wearing panty hose and making coffee for some half-wit that liked to leer at her ass.
"Once we get Ashley, we are going to need to be wheels up or across the border asap. Novak has eyes everywhere." Jack said to no one in particular.
Stephanie looked at Jack and nodded. "I imagine Nikko has that covered, but just the same, I think we should have a back-up plan. Or two." Stephanie told them.
"Novak will have contacts at the airport. He runs enough guns he has to have them on the payroll." Luca pointed out.
"We could drive to Germany or we could cross to Austria and then fly out." Jack responded.
Stephanie gave a negative shake of her head and pointed at the map. "Here. That's our back-up plan. In fact, we have two. I look so much like her I can be a decoy."
Jack and Luca looked at her for a minute and then broke into big grins.
"You scare me sometimes firefly." Jack laughed.
"And that's why they call her the legendary firefly." Luca gave her a warm smile.
Stephanie realized just how lucky she was to have them as teammates. The three of them had found each other, and developed a bond of trust and mutual respect. None of them had meshed well with the other teams for various reasons, except maybe Jack. He had probably fit in the best, but often clashed over tactics. Most of the other teams liked to go in fast and hard. Jack preferred finesse. If he could get in and out without a shot fired, he considered it successful. Jack might be ex-Delta force, but he much preferred brains to brawn.
Luca was an excellent negotiator, but his inability, or lack of interest, in connecting with people made him a bit of a pariah. Luca didn't care what people thought and he never minced words. Stephanie found that refreshing, others found him callous. Luca mainly kept to himself, and that led to whispers, rumors, and distrust with some of the other teams. Stephanie thought it was unfair, but apparently the rest of the world wasn't that different than the Burg. You were either in the club or you weren't and gossip was king. Stephanie's problem was much simpler. She was a girl and she wanted to be in charge. That left her the odd man out, literally and figuratively. So, they'd found each other, gravitated together and their trust and team dynamics had meshed. Three little misfits against the world, had the single best track record at Praetorian and arguably in the industry.
"And we all know why they call you viper." Jack pointed out to Luca and gave a companionable laugh.
"What I can't figure out, is why they call you lucky." Luca volleyed back to Jack. "You still owe me twenty bucks from poker."
"Guess that just means I'm lucky with the ladies." Jack winked at Luca.
They all knew that wasn't the case. While Jack probably did just fine with the women, it wasn't where he'd gotten his nickname. In fact, Stephanie had never really seen Jack pick up a woman. For all she knew, he was married with ten kids somewhere. No, Jack had been shot six times and left for dead. That's why they called him lucky, but no one much spoke about that, because that was bad luck.
Stephanie moved the conversation back to the planning. "We'll take the Noah's ark approach and go two-by-two. That's four groups, and not even Alexi can keep up with everybody, even if he does manage to spot all four."
"What do we know about this other team?" Luca asked cautiously. "I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but if they are a bunch of gung-ho cowboys, it may not work."
Stephanie knew what Luca meant was if they refused to take orders from a woman it could put them all in jeopardy.
Stephanie just shrugged. They'd deal with that if they had to. It wouldn't be the first time she'd wrangled a bunch of pissed off assholes.
"What do we know about Nikko?" Jack asked, his tone serious and assessing.
Stephanie scrunched up her nose for a minute. "Nick vouches for him and he did rescue me in Colombia." He could also be downright charming, when he wasn't pressing the barrel of a gun to her head, but Stephanie decided she'd keep that to herself.
Luca grimaced. "Yeah, but do you trust him?"
Stephanie thought about it for a minute. Did she trust Nikko. Wasn't that a loaded question. "Yeah, I do. At least on this." Stephanie was surprised to find that was true.
They spent the morning making arrangements and going over every little detail and then doing it again. By noon Stephanie was beginning to wonder if Nikko had thought better of their deal and gone with another plan.
The little bat phone chirped and they all looked at it with varying degrees of wariness. Stephanie looked at the message.
"We've got a location. Meet in thirty minutes."
Jack, Luca, and Stephanie headed out, after all, they had a date with the devil.
When they got to the address, Stephanie gave a silent inner sigh. Another underground pub. She was beginning to wonder about Nikko. She supposed underground meant it was less likely anyone could ease drop on the conversation, but all these slightly dungeon like places were starting to get on her nerves.
When they got down below, Nikko was there along with two burly looking men. One had long, shaggy brown hair, and bulging biceps. He looked like a man that enjoyed violence. His companion was about the same height, but less muscular. He had short cropped dirty blond hair and seemed more reserved. Neither would be winning any beauty prizes. Both of the men were eyeing Stephanie, Luca, and Jack. Sizing them up. Stephanie figured a measuring contest was just on the horizon. Lucky her.
"This is Wayne." Nikko gestured to the one with the shaggy brown hair. The obvious alpha of the two. "And Howie." Nikko gestured to Wayne's companion.
Nikko introduced Stephanie, Jack, and Luca.
They both stepped forward and shook hands with Luca and Jack. Howie shook hands with Stephanie, but Wayne just ignored her.
"Which one of you is the famous firefly?" Wayne asked Luca and Jack as he looked between the two of them.
"That would be me." Stephanie said dryly.
Wayne's glance flickered over Stephanie and he laughed. "No really, which one of you."
Neither Jack nor Luca said anything. They just stood there; arms crossed. Stephanie, Jack, and Luca had done this dance a dozen times.
Wayne turned his attention back to Stephanie. "Be a doll and go fetch those beers will you." His head gestured to the bar. "We have some business we need to discuss."
Irritation washed over Stephanie. She hadn't slept well and now this asshole was plucking her last nerve. Stephanie forced herself to remain calm even though she really just wanted to punch him. She opened her mouth to set him straight, when she felt Nikko move in behind her. His body skimmed hers. He put his hand on the nape of her neck, and instinctively she stepped back into him.
Stephanie immediately froze at the contact. Shit, she must be crazy or more fatigued than she thought. Clearly her rational brain was not in charge. She registered his body was all hard, unforgiving muscle. There was nothing soft or comforting about him. Yet his warmth seeped into her and for just one instant she felt protected. Just like at the rebel camp, inexplicably his touch calmed her. Nikko was making his alliance known, and she could tell by the flash of wariness that flickered over Wayne's features he hadn't missed that fact.
Wayne was staring at her with hard eyes and a skeptical expression. Probably reevaluating her and replaying everything he'd ever heard about firefly, trying to decide if it was true or if they were all paying some monumental joke on him. Stephanie clenched her jaw to keep from saying something unprofessional. Stephanie gave Wayne a look like he was something she had found on the bottom of her shoe.
A moment passed and she realized she was still pressed against Nikko. Her brain screeched out of neutral, her scrambled neurons reconnecting and screaming for her to run. What was wrong with her? Nikko must have used some voodoo spell to short-circuit her brain, that was the only logical explanation. Of all the dangerous people in the room, he was by far the most dangerous. One didn't trust the devil, everyone knew that. Stephanie went to step away, when she felt the hand on the nape of her neck tighten ever so slightly in warning. Stephanie went completely still, suspended by his force field.
"I'm sorry Wayne. Turns out I won't be needing you after all." Nikko said, his voice even and devoid of any emotion.
Wayne cut his eyes between Nikko and Stephanie for a moment and then shrugged. "Sure man, no problem. I'll see you next time." Wayne might be a jackass, but he wasn't stupid enough to tangle with Nikko.
"I'll make sure you're compensated for your time." Nikko said easily, clearly dismissing them.
Wayne and Howie left, and they all stood suspended for a minute absorbing the new development. Stephanie pulled out of Nikko's grasp and turned to look at him.
"Why did you do that?" From Stephanie's standpoint that left them without a team, and that didn't bode well for a successful extraction.
"They were a liability. Wayne was never going to take direction from you, and Howie does whatever Wayne says. He's not the brightest bulb in the pack." Nikko seemed entirely unconcerned.
"I've dealt with this before. We could have worked it out." Stephanie asserted. Irritation at his nonchalance fluttered over her, causing her stomach to clench.
"No." Nikko's voice was adamant. "I'm not taking that chance. Wayne would have tried to upstage you or do the opposite of what he was told. It would put you and your team in danger, not to mention Ashley at risk. The stakes are too high. We'll figure something else out."
"So why not just have them take the orders from you?" Stephanie challenged.
Nikko gave her an odd look. "Because, Stephanie, we agreed you would have full operational authority, and despite what you seem to think, I'm a man of my word."
Stephanie opened her mouth to say something and then just closed it. She realized she'd insulted him. They stared at each other. The air around them crackled with tension. Neither were used to having their decisions questioned. A thousand things warred through her mind. All the angles, all the things that could go wrong, all the reasons she shouldn't trust Nikko. But that was the thing, her gut was telling her something different.
Jack cleared his throat. "I can call Santos. We all worked well together in Colombia."
Stephanie looked at Nikko. "Your call," Nikko responded. His face betrayed nothing, but Stephanie sensed the subtle shift, the tension in his body.
Stephanie felt alternately hot then cold at the thought of possibly seeing Ranger again, and so soon. She hadn't processed anything, let alone what she felt. She couldn't quite quell the thrill of anticipation that pulsed through her.
"We're going to need a two-man team." Her voice came out clear, even though her knees felt like they were about to buckle.
"Agreed." Jack said. "I'll make the call."
"It will take a few hours for them to get here, but it should still give us time since we won't have the phone data until tonight." Stephanie told the room, her mind already refactoring the plan.
She trusted Santos and he would have no problem taking orders from her. It made the operation easier, but if he brought Ranger, it could make everything else exponentially harder. She'd have to manage to keep her hands off of him and her tongue in her own mouth.
Nikko nodded. He handed her a pendant. "Use this to clone the phone. When you get close just press down and hold it for three seconds. That starts the process. You'll need to be close to Alexi for about two minutes."
Stephanie's lip curled back. "How close?"
"Very." Nikko shrugged.
Stephanie sighed.
"One more thing. You only get one shot at it. Once it is used, the pendant will fry its own circuitry making it useless. A signal will emit during the two minutes it is transmitting, but then it will go dark. If Alexi picks up the signal, they will think it is just an anomaly."
"That's a small window without any room for error." Stephanie could hear the concern in Luca's voice.
"Then don't fuck it up." Nikko replied like the answer was obvious.
Stephanie could see Luca's ire rising so she positioned herself between Nikko and Luca.
"What time is the wine tasting?"
"Nine." Nikko's response was smooth but she could tell by the subtle shift in him he knew Luca was on edge.
Jack stepped back in. "They'll be airborne within the hour."
"Who's they?" Stephanie asked and braced herself for the answer.
"Ranger and Santos." Jack confirmed. "Ranger is closer. He'll be here sooner."
Stephanie felt some unnamed emotion drift through her. Anticipation, unease, lust. All of the above. In roughly ten hours or less she'd be face-to-face with Ranger.
Nikko was studying her, and she did her best to look bored. Nikko didn't miss much, and she was pretty sure he hadn't missed the Ranger angle.
"I've got to go make myself presentable." Stephanie told no one in particular.
Nikko went over to the bar and picked something up and held it out to her. It was black and had beads on it.
"What's that?" Stephanie eyed it like it was a rattlesnake.
"Your dress for this evening."
"It's the size of a dish towel, Nikko." Stephanie snapped.
Nikko gave her an unapologetic look. "It's the kind of thing Alexi likes."
Stephanie yanked the dress away from Nikko. "Fine." She hissed.
She saw a ghost of a smile play across his face, and she narrowed her eyes at him. He was having way too much fun at her expense.
Jack and Luca were staring at the floor. It was clear they were trying not to laugh.
Stephanie shook the dress at them. "You two, one of these days you are going to have to be the one to go undercover as strippers."
"Ms. Plum." Nikko's velvet voice drifted over her and she turned to face him.
A scrap of black material was dangling from his finger. "The rest of your outfit."
Stephanie snatched the scrap of lace off his finger. "You're an asshole Nikko."
His shoulder tilted up in an insolent half-shrug. "It is one of my better traits." He told her blandly.
Their gaze locked, and a beat went by. Stephanie pursed her lips in an effort not to smile at him. She was finding it impossible not to like him.
"Can you give us a minute?" Stephanie said to Jack and Luca.
"I'm sorry I offended you." Stephanie told Nikko after they left. "I didn't mean to imply I didn't trust your word."
Nikko held her gaze and gave her a wry smile. "Don't worry. It comes with the territory."
"It just seemed to be an easy fix. I'm used to that sort of thing."
"You shouldn't have to be though, now should you, love." Nikko gave her a questioning look.
Stephanie gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "No, but that's just life."
"I suck at a great deal of things in life, women being at the top of that list." Nikko told her. "But I'm not going to let them disrespect you. You've worked just as hard, if not harder, to be here. You're good at your job, which is why I want you on my team. Muscle is a dime a dozen. Someone with your ability to plan an operation is worth their weight in gold. It was an easy choice."
A beat went by and Stephanie was stunned, and flattered. "Still, it means a new team, and possibly a delay. I wouldn't have blamed you."
"That's all true." Nikko conceded. "But I wasn't going to risk you."
OK. That was weird, and touching, and kind of awkward. She really wanted to ask him why, but the question stuck in her throat.
"Thank you." She really couldn't think of anything else to say.
Nikko nodded.
"How am I going to get into the wine tasting?"
"You're my date. Apparently, you're my type too." Nikko grinned at her.
Stephanie gave a derisive snort. "Lucky me."
Nikko opened his mouth to reply. "Don't even say it." Stephanie warned.
Nikko held up his hands.
"Wait, you're invited to the wine tasting?"
"Of course. I'm an international arms dealer after all." He gave a breezy wave of his hand, like everyone knew that.
Stephanie processed that revelation for a minute. "Am I ever going to know who you really are?" She finally asked.
"I'm anything you want me to be Ms. Plum." Stephanie chewed on that knowing it was probably true. She wasn't going to get any more out of him so she let it go.
"But how do I end up with Alexi if I'm with you?"
"Well, since you're my flavor of the week. I'm going to gift you to him and take my leave, because well I'm bored."
"Seriously." Stephanie huffed out. Nothing like being ditched publicly by the prince of darkness to cheer a girl up.
"My attention will be, let's just say diverted. But you have to get him interested in you for this to work." Nikko warned.
Stephanie's lip curled back in disgust. Nikko gave her a palms up gesture.
"Don't worry, I'll figure something out to get his attention." Stephanie gave him a Jersey worthy eyeroll.
"Men underestimate women, especially beautiful ones. Use it to your advantage."
Stephanie gave him a questioning look. "That sounds like experience talking."
Nikko gave her a humorless smile. "Let's just say I learned that one the hard way. I even have the scar to prove it."
Stephanie gave an inelegant snort. "I see."
"I'll pick you up at eight forty-five." His gaze travelled over her. "You may want to spend some time getting ready. Hair, make-up, waxing. You know that sort of thing."
Stephanie gave him the death glare.
"Bimbo slut remember." Nikko laughed. "I like you just as you are. You're intriguing, but Alexi has a particular taste."
"Small IQ and big tits." Stephanie asked sweetly.
"Something like that." Nikko confirmed.
Stephanie blew an errant curl out of her face. "OK, well off to get ready."
Nikko pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to Stephanie.
"What's this?"
"She's expecting your call and will help you with whatever you need."
Stephanie blew out a breath. "Alrighty then. One bimbo slut coming right up."
Nikko's rich laughter followed her out of the room. Stephanie was pretty sure she was in over her head, and this night had disaster written all over it, but hey at least she'd have nice nails and a bikini wax. Those things made for a better-looking corpse.