Chapter 18
“I already feel like I need a shower,” murmured Dani as she stared at the front of The Hideout.
“Wait till you see the inside.” Casey’s voice came over the comm. “You’ll feel like you need to disinfect in carbolic acid.”
After meeting that afternoon so Indi and Brooke could bring everyone up to speed on the Reflex meeting, the entire team had decided that the Forrester sisters having a drink at The Hideout, since they were unknowns in the area, would allow them to scout for intel without raising suspicion.
When Indi had announced her intention to join them, she’d given Bryn a slow smile when the APS twin had reminded the Infinity operative that Reflex was aware of what she looked like.
“Clearly, you haven’t had the opportunity to do the whole ‘master of disguise’ thing at APS, have you?” she’d inquired with a twinkle in her eye.
But Kelly had squealed and punched her fists in the air, then had given Piper a high-five.
“Chick infiltration! Yasssss!” Rapidly, she’d explained to Infinity that she had routinely changed her appearance when she was with the CIA, but had only had the opportunity to do so once at APS thus far.
Moaning, however, she’d growled playfully, “These bitches get all the fun, I swear,” as the room had snickered.
“You’ll never know it’s her, I promise,” Shaelyn had said. “She does this for us a lot. Reflex will have no clue the woman they’ll see will be India.”
Riley had given Shaelyn a reassuring look. “Trust me, you would have never recognized Kelly either if you would have seen her, so we are quite aware of how effective this can be. If you’re comfortable with Indi going in, then we’re comfortable.”
Dani had scrunched her brows together. “Please tell me this isn’t one of those white-ass redneck bars that lives to hassle a Black sister. Gah. That’s all we need.”
Jaime had shaken her head no. “Although the Hideout is predominantly white, Black and Hispanic folks do go in there on a fairly regular basis. Racial incidents are surprisingly rare, believe it or not. Moreover, it’s not like the most upstanding, law-abiding society types hang out in that bar: people are there to drink, shoot pool, score drugs, and do whatever other sleazy shit they can get away with.
The only comments you’ll get are the usual creepy dude annoyance idiocy. ”
Now, the Infinity crew prepared to go into the Hideout, Indi all but unrecognizable in a short, spiky neon-red wig, her lavender eyes hidden by hazel contact lenses.
Kelly and Piper had hooted when Indi told the crew a diminutive North American Arms NAA-22S .
22 Short revolver was securely concealed at the small of her back under the vintage hippie blouse she had on.
“A tiny .22 like this one is not exactly my preference, but that slug isn’t going to feel very good banging around in someone’s skull,” she’d winked in her quiet way.
“For an op like this one, it’s perfect. Besides, Dani and Shae have more firepower on them since they’re dressed in dull, boring clothes and can hide their weapons better.” Dani thumped Indi in the arm in retaliation before sticking up her middle finger.
“We’ll be right outside. Our comms are on the same frequency now, so both teams can communicate with each other, plus Shae has a spy camera in the medallion around her neck,” Casey said.
In addition to Kelly and Piper, Jaime, Casey, Drew, and Riley were there on behalf of APS.
“Our faces are too well-known for us to go in with you, because every lowlife asshole will scatter if they see us, but we’ll be outside for backup if necessary. ”
Shaelyn nodded, then blew out a deep breath. “Okay, sisters. Let’s do this.” The Infinity operatives headed for the front door, a loud burst of sound escaping from the bar as they opened it and went in.
“I should be there, not at home.” Blake’s disgruntled voice came over the comm. “Brooke is fine, although she’s still pissed as hell. As I see it, I owe those Reflex motherfuckers an ass-kicking for upsetting her. Sitting on my ass at home isn’t going to help matters any.”
“Cool your britches, super stud.” Dani modulated the tone and timbre of her voice so it essentially sliced through the noise of the bar through her comm.
“You can rip their nuts off when the op is over, even though I’m fairly certain Brooke will beat you to it.
” She looked around the bar, keeping her expression impassive.
“Sweet merciful Jesus, this place is nasty. Remind me to wipe down my beer bottle thoroughly before I open it. No telling what’s been crawling on it. ”
“Speaking of nasty…targets at twelve o’clock.
” Casually, the operatives glanced at the four men sitting at a table at the far end of the bar, all but hidden from view.
“The table right next to them needs to miraculously come available. The three dudes taking up space and oxygen there have to go bye-bye so we can get closer to Reflex.”
“On it.” Dani pressed through the noisy crowd, pushing her way to the back, with Shaelyn and Indi at her heels.
“Sorry. Sorry. ‘Scuse me. Sorry.” When she was parallel to the table they wanted, Dani bent over as if she was scratching her knee and, with her other hand, lobbed a mini plastic shot glass of whiskey she had unobtrusively swiped straight into the lap of one of the men sitting there, immediately turning her back. With a yell, the man jumped up, staring at the dark stains spreading on the crotch of his pants as Dani turned back around like she hadn’t been paying attention until the commotion started.
“You fucking moron! Look what the fuck you did!” he screamed at one of the other men sitting at the table, clawing at his crotch, his face beet-red. “I’m going to fucking kill you, you dickhead!”
“Me?! You’re the only one at the table drinking whiskey, asshole!
” The guy whom the man with a lapful of whiskey had accused of spilling his drink also jumped up, along with the third man, as he stuck his finger in the first guy’s face.
“Can I help it if you can’t handle your liquor, dick?
! For all I know, your drunk ass pissed your pants. ”
Screaming, the man swung at the dude who had been taunting him, missing because of his inebriated state, which sent him into a fury.
The three men began to holler and curse, brawling, fists flying everywhere, until three enormous bouncers showed up to drag them out of the bar by the backs of their necks.
Unnoticed by the crowd, the Infinity operatives casually claimed the seats that had been vacated and calmly sat down, waving at the harried server while pushing the abandoned glasses to the side.
Brooke, who had put in her comm and fired up the live stream just in time to view the altercation, couldn’t stop laughing, along with the rest of the APS crew.
“I don’t give a fuck what they tell us. Infinity is not going back to Tallahassee,” she whooped.
“Ever. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had this much fun.
At the very least, there had better be frequent road trips back and forth in our future because that shit was hilarious. ”
“Fucking save us all,” Blake muttered, smirking, as Brooke smacked her in her hard abs, then flipped her off before focusing on the live stream again.
Indi had positioned herself so she was the closest to Rob Kilgore.
Fortunately, the tables were so close together there was barely any room to walk between them, allowing Infinity to sit directly adjacent.
Shaelyn sat opposite the Reflex table, giving the APS team an unimpeded view of the four men through her spy cam.
Acting like an oblivious, brainless party girl, Indi touched the hearing amplifier in her other ear as she wiggled in her seat like she was into the music, mouthing the words, the other two operatives doing the same.
Now, the conversation surrounding them was more easily heard and much clearer, the background noise almost cancelled by the amplifier.
“Cash in advance? Instructions via text from an unknown burner phone? Almost every single grunt we’ve talked to tonight can’t tell us dick about what’s going on, only that they’ve pulled out of our job because this other one is a way better deal,” snarled Jack.
“Someone is looking to either get their legs broken or find themselves with a bullet to the brain. What the fuck?”
Rob coolly took a sip of his beer. “It’s a damn shame but clearly there’s nothing for it, Jack. You aren’t going to persuade these dumb fucks to turn their backs on more money, so you may as well look at choosing a different path.”
Snorting, Thom said, “What different path, asshole? We have equipment and product lined up in four separate microbreweries with no fucking way to extract it now. The hell I’m walking away from it either because it’s a damn good haul.
“Odd, though, that the laundromat isn’t cleaning as many clothes. Not like usual. It’s like this whole fucking area is cursed. There has to be a way to hire another crew fast without giving anything up so we can finish this job and get the fuck out of here.”
Suddenly, Indi giggled as the server brought them their drinks, leaning over the table as she confided to Shae and Dani in a loud, carrying voice, “So, Horace or Henry—or whatever his name is—said this guy told him there were plenty more jobs where this one came from. I guess whatever it is, it’s paying a lot more than anything else around right now.
He’s really excited, says it’s easy money for easy work. ”
“Did he tell you anything else?” Pretending to sip her beer, Dani affixed a bored look on her face.
“Silly, of course not. Well…not that I really remember since I tuned him out when he was droning on. But he told me not to worry my pretty little head over the details, which was just fine with me. Horace—Henry, whatever—is gonna buy me one of them fancy diamond bracelets with his cut, he said.” Indi giggled and wiggled again.
“Not that he won’t expect some you-know-what in return for his generosity, but thank God he’s a minute man…
if you know what I’m sayin’.” The women chortled, Shae coughing as though she had taken a swallow that had gone down the wrong way.
“Excuse me.” Almost without warning, Clay was suddenly standing by their table. “Buy you ladies a drink?”
Turning to look at him, Indi twirled a lock of her neon-red hair around her finger and batted her hazel eyes.
“Well. Aren’t you a snack?” Letting her gaze travel up and down Clay’s body, blatantly gauging the cost of his clearly expensive suit, avarice filled her expression.
“I would love to let you buy me a drink, doll, but my Mama taught me never to accept a drink from a man I didn’t know in a place like this. If you know what I’m sayin’.”
“Unless it’s an expensive bottle of champagne or top-shelf liquor,” Dani lobbed the catty remark at Indi casually, lifting her beer bottle to her lips with a satisfied smirk.
“Be careful, doll. She’ll take the fillings out of your teeth if you let her.
” Shaelyn snickered and gave her sister a high five.
Giving Dani a sarcastic, equally catty grimace, Indi turned her attention back to Clay, her smile turning more charming.
“I’d invite you to sit down so we can talk, doll, but your friends don’t exactly look thrilled you’re standing over here with us while ignoring them.
My goodness, that one with the shaggy head looks like he’s ready to murder me. ”
“Jack is perpetually grumpy, sweetheart. Don’t worry about him.” A smile that never reached Clay’s eyes touched his mouth. “Why don’t you ladies join us? We can push the tables together and make this a real party.”
Rolling her eyes, Dani stood up, beer bottle in hand. “Count me out. I’d much rather shoot some pool.” Looking at Shaelyn, she asked, “Are you coming with, or are you going to watch this bitch reel in another fish on her line? How fucking dreary.”
Her sister rose from the table with her own beer bottle. “Yeah, I’m outta here, too. Catch you later, hooker. Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do.”
Kelly’s low voice came over the comm as Clay and Thom moved the two tables together after the Forrester sisters had moved off.
“Fucking brilliant. Indi’s going to play them like a fiddle.
A lone operative always has a higher chance of success when targeting more than a single individual if they play it right.
The targets will always automatically assume they are the ones in control when there are more of them.
Sadly for them, India is the one actually holding the reins in this situation. Reflex just doesn’t know it.”
With a nod at Brooke, who was sitting next to her in their apartment, Blake added, “And the Forresters are positioned so they can get to Indi in a blink if she needs them. Fucking awesome. Okay, ladies, it’s showtime. Let’s see what you got.”
Indi beamed up at Clay as he seated her, giving no indication she had paid any attention to the voices in her ear, then twirled another lock of neon-red hair as she fluttered her eyelashes coyly at the four Reflex partners.
“Well, hello there, gentlemen. Whatcha wanna talk about? And what does a girl hafta do to get a drink around here? I’m parched. ”