LOCKED DOWN: (A NICOLE GRANT THRILLER, BOOK 1) by ED KOVACS

Author:ED KOVACS [KOVACS, ED]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: ebook
Publisher: THE PHOENIX GROUP
Published: 2016-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

19:37

Kate Rice looked absolutely ravishing in a cleavage-revealing LBD—Little Black Dress. But her skin tone turned several different colors during the walk from the Shangri-La's Island Ballroom to an elevator, and then to the condo secretly owned by the CIA two floors below Zhao Yiren's condo. At least it looked like her skin tone changed to Socorro Trujillo, Barry Bergman’s sharp young aide who had been delivering a whispered brief of the debacle at the CIA field station as she escorted Rice.

Trujillo, watching through her cold black eyes, had secretly enjoyed seeing Rice go bright red right off the bat when she told her she was being summoned to an emergency meeting, meaning she had to leave the frenzy of last-minute preparation for the Kids First charity reception in the hands of her assistants. Rice's reddish glow continued as anger mounted from hearing gory details of the situation at Trans-National. Trujillo then thought she turned slightly green at hearing the figures of dead and wounded—three Americans dead, four wounded; seven Chinese dead, three wounded. This was a potential catastrophe of epic proportions.

Finally, as Rice bit a fingernail, she looked a little yellowish or maybe just very pale. Probably something to do with fear. Trujillo knew Rice was something of a legend, so it was difficult to imagine her afraid of anything. But she looked quite shaken. Scared, even. Trujillo looked down her hawk-like nose at the older woman whom she regarded as a dinosaur living off her reputation. She took a measure of delight in having given Rice a briefing which made her so uncomfortable.

They paused at the door to the CIA owned condo. “On another front, I've confirmed that Rena Musaad, a British citizen from London staying at the Marriott works for WikiLeaks. She had a meeting with Nicole Grant in a wine bar at there.”

Rice looked distracted, but nodded. “Okay, thanks.”

“Barry asked me to tell you that your Chinese friends should have already terminated the Musaad woman, and he’s disappointed in how sloppy things have become.”

Rice flashed angry, then spun away from Trujillo, who smirked.

###

Kate Rice entered the condo alone, swallowed, and tightened her stomach muscles as her mind raced. Unless there was another bombshell waiting, she could contain the fallout from the gunfight at One Pacific Place. There would be hell to pay, but the mission of getting Zhao elected to the Chinese presidency could still go forth.

She bit a fingernail, took a deep breath and psyched herself up. She'd held hundreds of meetings with kings, presidents, generals, CEOs, gangsters, prime ministers, tribal elders, dictators, and the filthy rich. Nervousness didn't factor into it, it was all about leverage and timing. She was short on leverage and the timing was problematic, so she'd have to bluff her way through. She crossed through two rooms and then stopped at a closed door. Her demeanor had shifted; she now looked and felt totally in control as she knocked twice, then opened the door.

The chilly conference room was dim thanks to navy blue velvet blackout curtains that blocked out every hint of natural light.

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