Rio released my wrist, and I knocked on the door to Bernie’s office.
I heard latches being moved, and then the door opened and we were greeted by one of Bernie’s huge bodyguards. Another equally large and imposing guard was standing behind him in the distance. I had to give it to Bernie: He sure knew how to pick ’em. These dudes were bigger than Junior. One of them looked like he could be a relative of Andre the Giant.
“Orlando.” I heard Bernie’s voice, but I couldn’t see him with King Kong standing in the way.
I eyeballed the giant, and he stepped aside, allowing us to enter. I looked around the oversized suite, which had some very expensive-looking paintings on the walls. Bernie was sitting behind a huge, cluttered desk that only emphasized his diminutive stature. I heard the door close behind us. The jumbo-sized guard slid the locks back into position.
“Gentlemen, please sit,” Bernie said, nodding to two chairs in front of his desk.
“I’ll stand, thank you. You go ahead and handle business.” Rio looked to Bernie. “By the way, I love how you decorated the place.” He picked up a vase from the table by the door and began to examine it, making it clear to everyone that he would rather be anywhere but at this meeting.
Bernie ignored Rio’s dramatic show and spoke to me as I sat down. “Your call seemed rather urgent. How can I help you?” Bernie was always one to get straight to the point. He valued time as much as he did money. Truth is, I think he could sense some weakness on my part too.
“I—the Duncans need your help.”
“What do you need?” He opened his arms as if to say, “I’m here for you.”
“My cousin Sasha has been held captive by Brother X for almost two weeks. As we speak, my brother Vegas is in the process of exchanging himself for her. I need you to help insure that Vegas is not killed by X.”
Bernie sat back in his chair with a distinct lack of surprise in his expression, which led me to believe that he had already heard about Sasha’s kidnapping. We had been trying to keep the details of our situation with Brother X under wraps, but from Bernie’s lackluster reaction, it appeared that some of our associates had been talking about it amongst themselves. Just because they were talking about it, though, didn’t mean they gave a shit about us or our problems—or at least Bernie didn’t seem to.
“You’re asking a lot, Orlando. At this point you’re asking me to put my nose where it doesn’t belong. To do something like that would take pulling a lot of strings and using up a lot of political clout.” This was exactly how I’d expected him to respond. Bernie didn’t do anything unless there was something for him to gain. Well, I’d come prepared.
“I know that, Bernie, and that’s why I’m willing to make it worth your while.” I reached down into my briefcase and pulled out a folder. Bernie and I made eye contact as I slid the folder to him. “To save my brother’s life, I’m willing to give you this. Of course, there is the matter of the half billion dollars to be paid, but we can work that out.”
Snatching it up like a shark coming upon a school of fish, he opened the folder and his greedy eyes devoured the content. “Is this everything?” he asked me, not taking his eyes from the pages. “All that I need is right here?” This time he looked up at me. I imagine he wanted to gauge whether I was telling him the truth.
“Absolutely everything. Of course, I will have to sit down with your team of chemists and clarify a few details, but for the most part, that’s all you need to make the miracle drug of the century.”
Convinced, a huge smile lit up his face. “Yes,” he hissed in victory, closing the folder and giving it two hard knocks. “I will go make a call.” He stood and extended his hand to shake mine.