“Yes, sir,” Chase said as he saluted me.
“Commander, we understand,” Nate said as he also saluted me.
“Come on, guys, I just want to make sure everything goes smoothly. This is important. If we fuck up, then Ana is dead and so could one of you. Let’s take it seriously.”
“We got it, Jackson, Let’s just get over there and get things going,” Chase said.
It was nice to be working with two of my brothers. I was very confident in their ability to think on their feet, no matter what the situation brought once they got into the club. I was also very confident in PJ’s skills. She knew what she was doing and she could handle herself in a lot of situations.
I did wish Roxanne had been there to talk with everyone one last time on what it was like to deal with Stephano. She knew him so much better than we all did. Her tips and tricks would have come in handy before we went into the club to meet him.
The adrenaline was pumping as I flipped the surveillance video on to monitor PJ, Chase, and Nate as they made their way into the club. I hated that I wasn’t able to be the lead of this operation, but there was just too much of a possibility that Stephano or one of his men would recognize me. I just hoped they didn’t think Nate was me since we did look so much alike.
“Remember, you don’t speak English, so try not to act like you know what is being said around you,” Nate whispered into PJ’s ear.
I could only imagine how annoyed PJ was with all of us. She was a trained CIA agent, and I knew she had things covered. But I didn’t know how much undercover work she had done before and I certainly didn’t think any of that work would have required her to dance or take off her clothes. This situation was new to all of us and I imagined even PJ was feeling the nerves.
Nate was damn good at his job, too. There was no way he was going to mess this up. I liked to joke with him that he wasn’t any good, but he had been working private security for as long as I had been doing private investigation. Nate knew how to keep people safe.
He had even helped to protect the president when he visited Iraq the previous year. I knew I didn’t have to worry about him, but I still did. Nate couldn’t control the situation around him, and he certainly wouldn’t be able to protect himself if they started shooting.
We had decided together that there couldn’t be any guns in this trade. Nate was pretending to be just a normal guy. A normal guy would be terrified of what was going on, but he wouldn’t bring a gun. PJ and Chase couldn’t risk brining guns either, although we did stash some small tools in the bag that PJ had just in case she got tied up or put into handcuffs; which we hoped would not happen.
“We’re closed,” the doorman said as he looked at the men then directly at PJ.
“I’ve got an appointment at noon,” Nate said.
I couldn’t see what Nate was acting like, but he sounded good. His voice was quiet and reserved like he wasn’t really sure what was going on or how he should handle himself. He certainly didn’t sound very confident and that was exactly what I had hoped for. With his flashy clothes and lack of confidence, Stephano was going to think Nate was just some wannabe who got in way over his head.
The three of them waited outside the door while the man went inside and got someone else. It was a good thing I hadn’t come with them because the second guy was one of the men who had been in our hotel room when I returned the previous day. He had a bruised eye that I had given him. He didn’t look very happy at all to have to come out and deal with Nate, Chase, and PJ.
“What do you need?” the guy asked as he looked at PJ.
“I set up and appointment, I wanted to make a deal for her,” Nate said.
“What’s your name, pretty girl?”
She looked at Nate and then back to the man at the door. It was a tense moment as I watched from the van. I really hoped she wouldn’t answer him at all. If she was pretending not to speak English, she needed to play the part all the way.
“She doesn’t speak English. She goes by Ilsa though.”
“Ilsa, you from Russia?” the guy asked.
PJ nodded her head yes as she looked down at the ground. From what I could tell, things were going really good so far. Nate was acting like he had no idea what was going on, PJ was being shy and demure, things were going great.
I would have preferred that she not respond when the guy asked if she was from Russia, but I figured even if someone didn’t speak very much English they would still know when their country’s name was said. I had to trust PJ and her judgment in the situation. It was her lead we were going to follow; she was going to be the one there with Ana.
“And who are you?” the man asked Chase.
“I’m just a friend here to supervise.”
“You need a protector?” the doorman asked Nate and then laughed.
It was pretty funny because Nate was built like I was, with a
big frame and lots of muscles. Chase, on the other hand, had plenty of muscle, but he was much thinner than both Nate and I were. It seemed a little odd that Chase would be there to protect Nate.
“He’s my brother,” Chase said. “I just want to make sure nothing bad happens to him.”