Page 76 of Fire and Ice

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Rick Grayson made his way down the wide corridors of the top level of the Bradley Convention Center. He had been able to establish a cover as David Redmond, a medical representative from a Virginia pharmaceutical firm. He was also able to arrange a meeting with a dealer of a new recreational drug. The invitations were selective, but his team had built up an almost foolproof reputation of his accomplishments and connections in the world of illegal narcotics.

He was led into an outer room where he was searched and his laptop was scanned. Rick noted the two men that were guarding the entrance to the inner room. There was nothing intimidating about them but he knew that the ones you most underestimated could be the most dangerous. They were clearly wearing sidearms under their suit jacket.

His contact was known only as Colt. They refused to give him any more information. It was a take it or leave it arrangement. They called all the shots. Hand over the deposit and you were given a number to call to let you know when and where to pick up the goods.

"Mr. Redmond? Colt will see you now."

He was led to the other room that was sparsely appointed with a round table and two chairs. A stack of computer servers and devices sat on a long rectangular table in the back.

A distinguished dark-haired gentleman dressed in an expensive suit stood up and greeted him.

"Mr. Redmond, good to meet you. Please have a seat. May I offer you anything?"

Rick shook his head. "I'm fine, thank you. I'm just eager to get this over with."

"Of course."

"What exactly is this new recreational drug?"

Colt sat back in his chair and regarded Rick carefully. "It's a new drug from Russia. Have you heard of Rave-IX."

Jackpot, Rick thought but he kept his face blank, bored even. "Yes. Yes, of course I've heard about it."

"You are allocated 100,000 capsules for now. Is that acceptable?"

Rick steepled his fingers and rubbed them lightly across his lips to give Colt the notion that he was contemplating the offer.

"Mr. Redmond?"

"That may not be enough for my distribution channels. How soon can you deliver more?"

Colt's smile did not reach his eyes—this man in front of him had dead eyes—the eyes of a ruthless person. Rick wondered what his connection to Reznikov was.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you that. The demand is very high, you are lucky that we are offering it to you at $15.00 a capsule. It is selling at 15 Euros in Germany right now."

Rick knew he was lying, and that they had no way of producing more.

"Fine. Let's do the transaction," Rick said crisply as he fired up his laptop.

"You seem in a rush, Mr. Redmond."

"Listen. I'm not too fond of meeting in such a public place, but I agree, if there are any medical reps like me here willing to do business with you, it's the perfect setup. Ballsy, but perfect," Rick said still in an impatient voice.

Colt nodded in understanding. "I apologize, but I assure you we have reliable security in place. Our transaction will be highly encrypted."

"It better be," Rick muttered. "I'm ready for the account number."

Colt rattled out a series of numbers for the transaction as Rick entered it into his computer to initiate the bank transfer. A deposit of $750,000 was made in less than a minute.

Colt handed him a card. "Call this number tonight after 9:00 pm. You've got two hours to pick up the goods at the address mentioned. If not, you forfeit the deposit."

"That's not a very reassuring statement."

"Mr. Redmond, that is more than enough time if you want the product very bad."

"It's a $750 grand deposit. Is there a question how much I want it?"

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