Page 40 of Risk
Albright’s face whitens, sweat drips down in rivulets from his temples, and he looks ready to release the contents of his stomach when he tells us, “Not voluntarily, kinda got roped into it.”
“How?” Kodiak inquires.
“Do we care how he got roped into it?” I whisper-ask Hemi who is sitting on my left.
“Not really,” he answers, “but I’m sure it’s necessary we know.”
It takes a lot of effort on my part to not jump up, rush Albright, and give him a beatdown. I know what Hemi suggests is legit, we probably do need to know how he got in bed with the Trifecta, but this is taking longer than I’d like for it to. None of the answers I want are being given. The only thing I give a single damn about is if McKenna is safe now that Marshall has been taken to pay his penance.
“At least now we know what organization Marshall was involved with,” Conan says from my right. “If we have to go up againstthem and have any chance of walking away, we’ll need to call in every marker we have.”
“And make new ones,” I add. “Even with the allies that are on our side, we don’t have enough manpower to go up against an enterprise, such as the Trifecta consisting of the Russians, Guatemalans, and the Mexican cartels, that wields that much manpower.”
Kodiak whistles, and when our heads swivel his way, he narrows his eyes at us and shakes his head—a silent command that has us zipping our lips. When we become perfect soldiers, sitting stock still and our attention is back in the game, he and Dragon continue their line of questioning. They ask about a few more things that don’t mean shit to me, but I’m sure carry some weight. When they finally get past the hierarchy in the food chain and start asking about the stolen girls, my ears perk back up.
“Now that Marshall’s gone, what’s the future look like for his stock of women?” Dragon asks. I grit my teeth and hold in the growl that wants to escape my lips at his term he used for the girls.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Albright states. “Nothing changes.”
“For your sake, you better hope that’s not true,” Kodiak recommends. “I want all of these girls returned back. Immediately. How do we ensure that it comes to pass? Word to the wise, don’t give me any bullshit politician-like answers. I don’t want to be placated; I want the God’s given truth.”
“The only way the Trifecta will give them up and send them home would be in a pine box,” Albright honestly answers. “Theycan’t have any loose ends coming up out of the woodwork and biting them in the ass.”
“Wake him the fuck up and give him back his mind, Dragon. We’re going to need to do a little negotiating,” Kodiak rumbles.
You see the exact minute Dragon releases him from his control because Albright loses his relaxed position and stiffens, scanning the room with wide, frightened eyes. “What’s this? Where am I?”
“I’ll show him a quick reel of our discussion,” Dragon says.
We give Albright a few minutes to catch up and digest his situation before Kodiak walks forward and kneels in front of him.
“It’s done,” Dragon informs us.
When the senator notices how close Kodiak is to him, he flinches. “There’s no saving them,” Albright whispers. “Not even my connections can right these wrongs.”
“Can your connections get me a meeting with the Trifecta?” Kodiak questions.
“I might be able to finagle a phone call out of one of them, but you’ll never be permitted to have a face-to-face meeting with them,” Albright tells us.
“Make it happen, Albright,” Kodiak persists. “And that girl in your bed, she’s coming with us.”
“You don’t want her,” Albright states, looking well and truly freaked out.
“Why not?” Dragon steps forward and asks.
“Because she’s one of their traps,” Albright answers. “She’s one of them. Their biggest draw into getting you to walk the straight and narrow line.”
“That doesn’t compute with what I saw in her mind when I walked through her dreams,” Wrecker conveys. “She’s unwilling.”
Albright shakes his head and sighs. “She’s not unwilling to do their bidding and she’s one malicious bitch. She’ll take a straight razor to your throat in your sleep if you don’t do what she wants. The unwilling part you picked up on, is the fact that she doesn’t like sleeping with me because I ask too many questions and don’t jump on her command. She’s not allowed to end me because of my position, but when my wife is away, she comes over and sleeps in our bed so she can document it and use it as a way to blackmail me.”
“Who is she?” Conan asks Albright.
“Mariksa Sandavol,” he answers.
“I’m not touching that viper with a ten foot pole,” Kodiak mumbles.
“Why not?” I ask, standing up, ready to go to war with my president. The perfect swap just landed in our laps and he’s gonna let her walk away? The Sandavols would do anything to protect their baby sister, even give up their stable of women. Trading her for my woman’s safety is the best alternative we have.
