The Death Box. J. Kerley A.

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СКАЧАТЬ with two windows draped in burgundy – was almost as large as Orzibel’s.

      The woman turned to the credenza behind her desk. The doors opened to a built-in floor safe the size of a mini-fridge, welded to the frame of the building and immovable. The safe was designed to resist nearly any assault short of cannon fire. She locked the computer in the safe and reclosed the credenza.

      “When is the man arriving?” she said, looking across the room.

      “The client is downstairs with a bottle of Dom Pérignon,” Orzibel said, waiting in a wing-back chair with hands tented beneath his chin. He was in soft black leather: jacket, vest and pants. His boots were tipped with silver and ticked in time to the bass notes filtering through the floor.

      “Dom? On the house?”

      Orzibel laughed. “What he spends with us, I don’t care if he drinks a case of it.”

      “Is the product ready?”

      “Tericita, and Alicia. And Yolanda from the fresh shipment. I will present them when the client is ready, a parade. The man likes little parades before his party.”

      “All dressed the same, right? For his choosing?”

      “Si. It must be the pink dresses and pink canvas shoes. White panties. And red scarves for the hair. I keep a supply of several sizes in my office for when the client wants a party.”

      “Mr Chalk hurt one last time, Orlando. Badly.”

      “He paid well for his sport.” Orzibel’s long fingers made the money-whisk. “Are you suddenly concerned about their welfare?”

      “I’m concerned about arousing attention. The man is not of normal mind.”

      Orzibel waved her words away. “I have taken extra precautions by reserving a rear cabana suite at the Oceana, where sounds cannot travel through the trees. Chaku will stay nearby during the man’s festivities, though he will not interfere unless sounds carry.”

      “We must be able to trust the owner of the Oceana, Orlando. Totally.”

      “The owner has a side business selling various substances. He knows we know this. And I promised him an evening with one of our best products. Free.”

      The woman gave Orzibel a look of irritation and turned to retrieve the MacBook from the safe, setting it on her lap. “You must always tell me when you make side arrangements, Orlando. I must note it or the records will be off.”

      “Instead of praise for my careful planning I get a lecture on my memory? Would it be painful to your mouth to say something nice?”

      “I have a duty to keep the accounting, Orlando.”

      “Yes indeed,” Orzibel said, voice wet with sarcasm. “How dare anyone forget the numbers for your precious accounts.”

      The woman’s eyes turned cold. “I keep precise numbers not for me, Orlando Orzibel, but for the one above. El Jefé. Mock me and you mock him.”

      “I mock no one,” Orzibel said, sitting straighter and looking as if the room had grown tight. “I will go and start the parade.”

      The woman nodded, then seemed to find an afterthought worthy of a frown. “One more thing, Orlando: What of the new one named Leala? Why haven’t you chosen her for the parade?”

      A pause. “A peon, that Leala. The client deserves better. I’m sending her to Madame Cho. Cho will get stupid little Leala started in her career.”

      “It’s not stupidity, Orlando. It’s ignorance … the naïveté of a peasant. There’s a difference.”

      A mischievous light came to Orzibel’s eyes. “Were you ever that ignorant, cariña? That naïve?”

      “How else did I get here?”

      Orzibel uncurled from the couch and crossed the room, leaning against the desk with his arms crossed. “Ah, but you showed a special light, amiga. And you used it well, didn’t you?”

      The woman returned the computer to the safe and turned to see Orzibel’s leer.

      “Don’t look at me like that, Orlando. It’s not to be.”

      “You are not his, princésa. El Jefé has others. Surely you are not blind to it: you see everything.”

      “I am his when he needs me. And he needs me to run this enterprise.”

      A flash of anger. “I run this enterprise.”

      The woman hid a smile. “Ah, forgive me, Orlando. I meant the part of the enterprise that keeps track of things. So that he can—”

      “So he can count the money we make,” Orzibel said.

      “Be careful, Orlando. Dangerous words lead to dangerous places.”

      Orzibel froze, eyes darting side to side as if fearful of hidden listeners. “I was not speaking against him,” he said quickly. “I have nothing but respect for his enterprises. He should be praised for having so much money to count.”

      “Which bring us back to Leala, Orlando. Her innocence, her naïveté. That’s what our special client pays big money for, no? Why did you not include her in the parade?”

      “Did you not hear?” Orzibel snapped. “I decided to send Leala to Cho.”

      “But Leala is a virgin, is she not? Worth more money?”

      “Why are you questioning me? You make decisions about the numbers. I make decisions about the product.”

      The woman leaned back in the cushioned chair and regarded Orzibel as if he were a caged animal at a zoo. “Things get a bit hot yesterday, Orlando?” she said after a moment’s reflection. “Just couldn’t control yourself? Again?”

      “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

      “I inspected Leala myself, Orlando. Two days ago she was a virgin. What would my finger find today?”

      “Fuck you,” Orzibel hissed. But at the edges of his eyes, fear.

      The woman’s eyes remained level and unblinking. “What would you do if the Jefé discovered he has lost money because you lost control, Orlando? Could you ever return to pimping runaways collected from parks and bus stations?”

      Orzibel’s hands clenched into fists, his eyes blazing. He seemed to waver between worlds. Then, as if depleted of oxygen, his head slumped forward. He started to speak, but threw his hands up in surrender.

      “I-I had a moment of weakness. It was all a mistake and I humbly beg you to, to …”

      The woman began laughing. “Begging demeans you, Orlando. Plus it’s not sincere.”

      “I am confessing my sins! The girl’s flesh was too beautiful for my will. Something dark came over me and I—”

      “Please, СКАЧАТЬ