Chapter 3
Later that night, the 'executive' group was back in The Winged Lion, except this time they wanted to be noticed by Chris, who frequently wandered around, asking people about service and meals, without appearing like they wanted to be noticed. Each of them was equipped with a small container of their choosing, full of a substance, to impersonate cocaine. When they got their drinks, they each carefully poured some of it in their drinks, doing it just obviously enough to be noticed by Chris, but looking like they were trying to do it secretively. They pretended not to notice his attention as they quietly talked about the fact that they were 'running low' on the stuff. And, as they expected, Chris thought exactly what they wanted him to, and came over. He seated himself in the booth next to Jack without even asking.
"You guys might want to keep it down. Somebody might hear you, like me. Its ok." he assured them. "I can get what you need. I'm Christopher Storn. I heard that you're running low."
"That's right." Jack said cautiously, giving Chris the once over.
"I'd think that you guys of all people would have a reliable supply line." He said half suspiciously.
"We did, up until two weeks ago." Jack told him, and at his uncomprehending look he told the story that they had fabricated just for this occasion. "Our supplier was just about caught. We had to take care of him to make sure he wouldn't talk."
"Who was your supplier?" Chris asked, not fully convinced.
"We got our stuff directly from Jared Hopkins." Jack said and was pleased to see Chris' eyes widen in surprise, and was forced to take a sip of his wine to hide his smile. Jared Hopkins had been on the FBI's watch list and when they had taken his gang down two weeks ago, he had fled, and seemingly disappeared off the face of the planet. Everyone knew that fact, but what everyone didn't know was that his body had been found two days ago, a victim of suicide. "We've heard that you can take his place."
"Me and my boss. Yeah, you've heard right." Chris said, an appreciative note in his voice showing that he clearly believed that they had killed Jared, when in truth, they hadn't actually touched him. Their team hadn't even been in on the investigation, seeing as they had been tied up on another case.
"We also heard that Alexander's coming into town." Bobby said, clearly going for confirmation.
"Yeah, he just called and said that he'll be here tomorrow." Chris told them, clearly starting to trust them. "You know him?"
"Not personally, but Jared said that he did order from Shiva quite a bit. Tara here has confirmed that." Jack told him, trying to solidify Chris' trust in them.
"Good." Chris said, smiling amiably now. "Alexander's stuff is the best." Jack smirked and nodded, not wanting to say anything that could spoil the mood, also afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would start laughing and ruin everything. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow then."
"We'll be here." Myles confirmed, smiling. Chris shook hands with them and then headed off to Gary's office, to tell him the news no doubt. "That went well." Myles commented, and then they started chatting about random subjects until their food came. Jack kept an eye on his watch and promptly at 6:00 pm, the pianist came out. Tonight she was wearing a midnight blue gown that was constructed of a plain, dress and a full length velvet coat that was adorned with an elegant silver pattern. He was glad now that he had read the report on this place fully and now could discern what type of fabrics were velvet or silk. The cape part seemed to float out behind her like a river at night, with moonlight glinting off the surface. It was like a new style medieval dress, without all of the layers, and the lines of the dress were a little more modern. Personally, he though that it was much prettier and more tasteful than the older dresses. It was much simpler so that it didn't detract from her looks or hinder her playing. In fact, it accentuated them quite a bit. Her hair was caught up in an elegant twist with the pieces that were too small to stay up curling along her brow and cheeks. She was wearing a pair of white gloves that seemed to make her hands melt into the keys, making them one. She played a new set of songs this night, and a couple caught Jack's attention. The first song that she played was Rachel's Waltz. He had heard it once at a show where a band that played Celtic songs had played. The other was a song, which, from the lyrics, he knew was a happy song although it sounded sad. What are the odds? He thought, her playing the Mingulay Boat Song. I never thought it possible. He liked the song mostly because it was about going home, plus, listening to it was relaxing. Yet the way she played it, it sounded more like a love song than a sorrowful song, and Jack liked that. Here was a beautiful lady who could turn a song into something more beautiful than it was meant to be.
She definitely has talent, Jack thought as once again they left before the music was over. That night the beautiful pianist and her song haunted his dreams, not that he minded in this case.