Fatal Attraction Ch. 03

Duke waited for a reply, nervously checking to se if he'd turned his set to the silent mode. Two minutes of worried thoughts later, Duke could hardly contain himself. He sent his final message.

'I'M OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW.'

Duke's fingers trembled as he hit the send button, but he knew there was no going back. He had jut thrust his head into the alligator's mouth. Now he had to wait for the jaws to snap shut.

About a minute later two hulky men exited the grand entrance. They glanced around and made straight for Duke whose breath was caught in his throat; he questioned himself repeatedly; was he doing the right thing?

"You here to meet Zelderman?" a huge bald man who towered over Duke asked in a menacing tone.

"Yup." Duke replied, shrugging his shoulders. He was in now. There was no going back.

Duke took towards the entrance, the two men following him barely a centimeter behind. They walked at a brisk pace, forcing Duke ahead to walk as fast as they did. The doorman continued to eye him as he walked by.

The trio walked through a maze of corridors, ornamentally garnished with flower arrangements, paintings and soft lighting. A waiter raised his eyebrows at Duke's attire as they passed him. 'Well I'm no suit and tie guy' Duke murmured.

The two giants walked him to an oversized wooden door, pausing to frisk Duke to search for concealed weapons. They gently knocked before they pushed open the heavy door and nudged him in.

"So you're the little Menace sending those messages favi?"

The lighting inside was dim and Duke strained his eyes to make out the profile of a blonde woman wearing a deep pink tight jacket smoking a cigarette.

"Yes. I'm Duke." He stepped forward, extending his hand. Her face emerged from the dim light and suddenly Duke stopped short.

Half her face was charred; scarred and burned. Starting from above her right eyebrow, there was an ugly demarcation of seared skin, the flesh wrinkled obscenely in parchment forms till the lower side of her nose; fading away into the skin just on the right side of her lip.

She obviously noticed Duke's reaction, but spoke none of it.

"So favi, what business do you have of me?"

Duke noted the baritone voice she possessed; a voice with a husky timbre in it. Clearly this was a person not to be fooled around with.

"I err, wanted to meet you," Duke stammered much to his own chagrin. Where had his confidence suddenly disappeared? "I'm searching for a man called Christian Steele."

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise as she heard that. "And what business do you have of him?"

Duke paused, he knew the next part was going to sound stupid. "I sort of helped him in a job, a job I think you arranged, the job with that jaded statuette, the watchful lady," Duke's words were coming out in a hurry. The authoritative lady blew smoke in his direction as he continued to speak. "And he left without paying me my share. I am trying to catch him now."

"Oh Fabulous!" she suddenly burst out smiling as the two massive bodyguards looked at each other. "So you're the dimwit who entered the password wrong!"

Duke's cheeks turned red. "Th, that was a mistake."

Zelderman burst out laughing. "Yes indeed favi, a fabulous mistake." Her laughter broke as abruptly as it had started. "And now you're here because?"

"I want to know where he is, I mean they is, I mean they are!" Duke kicked himself mentally for the incompetent fool that he was appearing to her. She had an unnerving presence and he had felt the brunt of it.

"And why should I tell you?"

Duke wanted to say something, but nothing left his mouth. 'Maybe this was not such a good idea', he thought to himself, wishing he was at home that very instant. Scott and Christian and gymnasts and artifacts could all go to hell.

"So favi, you think that if I don't tell you where he is now, you're gonna use all that stuff against me," she pointed to her handset, the one on which she had received messages from Duke just minutes earlier.

Duke stood motionless, stupefied. He wished the floor would just swallow him whole.

Zelderman edged ahead on her seat, resting her elbows on the desk as Duke looked at her through the floral arrangement, noticing how beautiful half her face was, one blue eye and blonde curls falling over her spotless left face as well as over the singed skin on the right. The beauty and the beast, all packed into one face.

"Do you know what I do, favi?"

Duke swallowed knowing he had to reply. "You do a lot of big business, with other big people." Duke could hardly believe what he was saying. "And you own Crazy Mongers."

Zelderman puffed on her cigarette, blowing rings into the air. "You ever been there favi?"

"Lots of times." Duke murmured. It was the only bar he ever went to.

"Oh Fabulous!" Zelderman practically shrieked at the top of her lungs. "So favi is a little faggot as well!"

Duke cringed into himself. He had no control over what was happening anymore.

"So faggot-favi, what have you, to offer me, for telling you where that bastard Scott is?"

Duke noticed she used the name Scott instead of Christian. He shrugged at her question. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his head to offer his bike; but something told him if he said that to her, she would have bitten his head off.

"Ok favi, here's the deal. I can actually make use of you right now."

Duke gulped. He could be useful to her?

"I have this trouble transferring some amount from one of the accounts one of my rogue clients tried to dupe me with. You have to transfer it for me."

Zelderman paused as she inhaled deeply on the cigarette and let the smoke out with a puff. Duke was still looking at her face, the perfect make up, the mascara under her left eye. One eye was baby blue and the other eye socket was disproportionate; wrinkly dark brown skin and pale pink flesh embedding a green eye. But the unburnt portion of her face was immaculate, perfectly done over with make up. Duke shook himself as he tried to concentrate; maybe there was a way out of this.

"There was a fabulous job done earlier but that twit of a client tried to pull me panties over me head."

Duke stifled a giggle. He somehow found the phrase being used by this enigmatic lady very humorous.

"Oh and favi, don't worry about the client, he's reached the top floor now," she flicked her cigarette roof-wards, as Duke understood the meaning of her words.

"But the money is still not here."

Zelderman uncrossed her legs as she leaned forward on the chair.

"So here's the deal favi, if you can finish this job by the time I order dessert, I'll tell you where that scoundrel Scott is."

She paused as the cigarette made its way to her lips again.

"But if you don't do a fabulous job honey, you can be sure I'll have your fagotty balls for dessert," she paused before adding, "With cranberry sauce of course."

Duke gulped again. What had he gotten himself into?

"Oh, and you can't refuse now favi, cause if you do, I'll have dessert before my meal!"

Duke stood there listening to the proposition. Was there a choice?

He finally spoke, "So what's the job exactly?"

Zelderman motioned over to the room and for the first time Duke noticed there was someone in the room other than Zelderman, himself and the two man mountains. A thin bespectacled man brought over a laptop.

"Do a fabulous job favi, and do it quick, cause I'm about to order my main course. And get this right favi, cause there's a score I have to settle with that bastard Scott myself!"

~~~

10:03 PM and the phone was ringing in his apartment. Duke picked it up, barely making it to the phone before it rung out; he had just entered his apartment

"So how was the meeting sweetie?"

It was Damien.

Duke bellowed from his end, "Fabulous favi, it went along fabulously!"

"You got Scott, err, Christian's location?"

"Yup favi, I've caught hold of that scheming rascal!"

"So where is he? And why are you talking like that?"

Duke burst out laughing from the other end, much to Damien's consternation.

"So you gonna speak or what...?"

"She was quite the girl," Duke spoke in between fits of laughter, "Our Zelderman, you should have met her Damien."

"Yeah yeah, I can imagine, so where is Christian?"

Duke stopped laughing. The past few hours had seen way too many ups and downs. From almost having his balls served as dessert with cranberry sauce, to half beautiful lethal women to forged account transfers, And Duke's adrenaline had pumped non-stop, giving him the high he always unknowingly sought.

"He's in Mali."

"Mali? As in on the coast? Jeez, that's more than five hundred miles on the West side!"

"Yup and he's only there till tomorrow night. And this will be my last chance to catch him!"

"And you're going hon? I mean that's far! How you gonna get there?"

"I don't know." Duke whispered, all traces of mirth suddenly vanishing from his voice.

"And what are you going to say to him when you do meet him?"

"I don't know," Duke replied, uncertainty filled in his voice as he repeated, "I don't know."

~~~