THR33 DIFFERENT WOMEN. Part 55.

Now here he was five years later. Having been married to the beautiful princess for five years. After that amount of time you'd have thought he knew something about the way she thought. It goes without saying you'd have been wrong. Princess Leilani of Tuvah was three different women. Two of whom you really didn't want to get on the wrong side of. Actually you didn't want to get on the wrong side of the third woman, because of the other two. To be fair he hadn't seen one of the women for a long time. She was still around though. No doubt about that. She'd partied her way around the globe. Left a trail of abandoned lovers behind her, according to the gossip, and enjoyed a spectacular amount of press coverage of her antics. A considerable amount of effort had gone into removing most of the evidence. Some of it was still out there. Not enough for a detailed timeline of her excesses.

Jay was lucky enough to love all three of them. Including The Princess, who was up to something. Something that involved him, for a change. Worrying in the extreme. That woman could face down world powers, by the simple expedient of setting them against each other. Threaten her, or her homeland, and she'd turn China or Russia or the USA or any other global player on you. She had all of them in her phone. Some she'd charmed. Others she'd bullied. A few had been blackmailed or bribed. It was hard to tell the difference where she was concerned. Even the ones she'd bullied, barely resented it. Princess Leilani was that beautiful, even at her worst, the bad behaviour was excused.

Bradley and Kelly Kreuz? Why would they be in New York? People went to the city all the time of course. But at the exact same time as him? Outside the same, only recently refurbished, building? Coincidences happen all the time. This was stretching it though. Especially given the fact Sophie was here to. She hadn't returned to the US since she and Jacob had collected Dale's Turing Award from the ACM over four years ago. Sophie had been so proud, Jacob loved it to. The ceremony had appealed to his knight in shining armor. The silver bowl he picked up was a fitting trophy. He'd also got to know his dad. It turned out that the genius had put a lot of information in those computer chips of his. A substantial portion of which was video and audio. Dale knew he was dying. So he'd left all this behind. Figuring it would be a few years before anyone found what he'd done. A lot of tears had been cried. Some of them by Jay. His friend had left him a touching personal message. Asking Jay to take care of his wife and their child. Sophie assured Jay he had done just that.

A lot of ducks were lining up. Tianni and Cassandra had been brought along to distract him, during what was supposed to be a brief stay. Taking care of some loose ends, so to speak. Being the gullible moron he was he'd accepted this. Too late now. Miles and Lev would be in on it. Neither one of them would admit it. They were both far too honorable to do that, despite their deep friendship. All it needed now for a full house, was the presence of Marie Gagne. Another dead end for information on what Leilani was up to here. This was a card game he hadn't known he was playing.

There was no way this would be to his detriment. As much as he loved the 3 women his wife was, they loved him back. It would either be something he'd be against or it involved things that would upset him. Who was he kidding? It could be a thousand different things. The privacy screen lowered between him and his passengers. He winked at the reflections of his two angels in the back seats. They smiled back.

"I've booked a floor at The Surrey, Jamie. Sophie and Jacob will be there already. So we can drop off the children before we take care of things."
An entire floor of the most expensive hotel in New York. Nothing noteworthy about that. Why use the embassy where there were good accommodations for free?
"I'll let Miles and Lev know."
Her inscrutable expression in the rearview mirror, told him he'd been correct. It also told him he was about to find out what she was up to. It wouldn't all come at once. The slow reveal was her forte in almost every situation. Something about this would upset him.
"They already know."
Of course they did. This had all been meticulously planned.
"May I ask where we're heading?"
"Yes." The ghost of a smile on her lips.
It was another game she played sometimes. One he usually enjoyed. You had to take your fun whenever you could, the way their lives worked.
"Where will we be going?"
"We have a meeting arranged at Kreuz Electronics."
We, not I. Meaning he'd be taking a full part in the show. Nef was dropping him little hints and clues. Before he could delve any deeper, the privacy screen rose up. Jay chuckled to himself. Half an hour later the children had been dropped off. Soph was taking the tribe to a couple of museums and lunch. Jay was preparing himself for whatever happened next. Knowing there would be little to nothing he could do about it. When the Princess got anything into her head, no one could stop her. As soon as he'd taken his place in the driver's seat the partition slid down.
"What time is the meeting?" He asked reaching to program the satnav.
"Whatever time I turn up. We need to pay a visit to the mayor and DA first I'm afraid Jamie."
"Have we done something wrong?"
"No. They have. It was fully expected. The mayor and the DA have played into our hands. The address has been programmed in just select 8."
He started the engine, checking to see that their escort was aware and fully prepared.
"You haven't got an appointment with them have you?"
"I don't need one. Besides this is a social call. They're both at their gentleman's club."
"Is that a euphemism for something less salubrious?"
"Not in this instance. It actually is a club. Now I'm going to beat them with it. It's the only way they'll learn."

It was a quick in and out, once Lev had menaced the doorman into letting them in. Though they couldn't actually bar women from the place, most of the staff were young females, their rules required you be invited by an existing member regardless of your gender. Jay accompanied The Princess, carrying her briefcase. As far as he knew she didn't have a briefcase. Lev and Miles stayed in the lobby, drawing curious stares from both members and staff. Expensive heels clicked across marble flooring until they reached the restaurant, which was carpeted. The silence that fell when they entered, seemed very loud. Some men got to their feet. A steward of some sort tried to head them off. Going as far as placing his arm in front of a woman on a mission. Never a good idea. Leilani gave him an icy smile.

"Jamie? If this man doesn't move out of my way immediately, could you break his arm for me please?"
Jay gave the steward a sad look of regret that he was about to do him harm.
"Certainly Princess Leilani." He affirmed loud and clear.
The man backed down, shuffling aside to allow them to pass. Though she'd never been here before, to his knowledge, Nef knew the way. Heading through the dining room to a wide corridor with private rooms at the rear. Finding the one she wanted, she stepped inside. The mayor and the DA stopped, one with a fork and the other with a glass of wine, halfway to their mouths. She pulled out her phone, swiped it a couple of times.
"That one is Mayor Horner and the other is.... A slimy piece of shit. Correction they are both slimy pieces of shit, the thinner one is DA Janssen."
The mayor threw down his balled up napkin.
"You better have a damn good reason to be here, whoever you are."
"I'm Princess Leilani. The two of you arranged the dropping of charges against Mr Bradley Kreuz after he assaulted me. Not the first time Mr Kreuz has assaulted a woman. Not the first time you've refused to press charges. It is the last though." She signaled Jay to open the briefcase for her, taking out a thick envelope. "These are high resolution photographs of the mayor enjoying the company of several women to whom he isn't married." She spilled them out across the floor. Took out another envelope. "In this one I have pictures of you Mr Janssen. Not as good quality, but you and the criminals you're consorting with can be clearly seen. Along with the money they are giving you. I've got audio and video as well." The second envelope was emptied on the contents of the first.
The mayor had a predatory smile on his face.
"You're in a heap of trouble little lady. What say we get security to eject you from the premises?"
She smiled back at him so hard his face fell.
"Jamie? What do you say?"
He pulled back his jacket, drawing the pistol. Then jacking a round into the chamber.
"Where do you want me to shoot them?"
"Somewhere it'll be easy to clean up the blood and brains. Take them out back through the kitchens, then put their remains in one of the dumpsters. They're being collected today I understand." The two bemused men thought they could resist. Jay delivered a few heavy blows with pistol and fists. Then shoved his weapon into the DA's mouth. "Or you can both leave now. Through the front door. Never to return." She sniffed the air, recoiling with disgust. "Oh God which one of them's shit himself? No need to answer, it was a rhetorical question. Time to make your minds up gentlemen."
As the two men shuffled to their feet, it became clear it was the DA who'd soiled himself.
"I can still kill them if you want Princess Leilani."
"No. It wouldn't be right for that stench to be tracked through the kitchens. Besides I want their fellow members to witness their humiliation."
"But our cars are in the underground parking lot." The DA whined.
It was weird how the human brain worked, Jay reflected.
"Don't worry. Transportation has been arranged for your next port of call. The FBI are waiting outside for you. They have some questions they want to ask."
Indeed they were. The two men were cuffed and loaded into a van. In front of a large crowd of curious onlookers who were taking pictures. The news would be out very shortly. Jay looked at his lovely wife.
"How did you manage all this? It was like you knew your way round. The staff did nothing to intervene."
She shrugged.
"It was easy. I bought the place yesterday. The entire building. It's a present for daddy. Twenty years ago they wouldn't allow him inside. Ten years ago they refused him membership. Now he owns it. It couldn't have worked out better really. Now on with the next chore."