The Bachelors' Den was already full of costumers when we arrived. There were pretty ladies all around. Some were dancing. Some were flirting with us, completely ignoring the ladies we're with.
"Hi, handsome!" a beautiful blonde flirted with Luke, even giving him a peck on his lips.
"Not now, darling! Leave your number to the bartender," Luke huskily whispered, grabbing her ass before they parted. Keira and the other girls were shocked by the situation. Keira even cleared her throat deliberately. We just shook our heads.
We went inside one of the VIP rooms on the second floor. It was a mix of traditional and modern concepts. Three corners of the room were designed with bamboo while the wide window facing the sea is made of white bricks, aluminum, and transparent bulletproof glass. Three pearl drop pendant lamps were suspended in the ceiling while a bamboo sofa set with clay-colored cushions were arranged facing the sea. Potted bamboo trees sat on each corner of the room. The center table made of glass and bamboo completed the cozy ensemble.
It appeared more of a living room than a bar!
Luke and Owen dived on the sofa like children as the ladies just shook their heads with wide smiles on their lips.
We were drinking when Keira answered a call.
She's here," she told me.
"Who?" Owen asked, furrowing his forehead in curiosity.
"The agent I was talking about!" Keira replied.
"Ah..." he said.
After a few minutes, a familiar face emerged in the room. She's still rocking her pixie hairdo and still boyish in her clothes--- a white polo shirt tucked in a pair of ripped jeans with a brown leather jacket and a black baseball cap. Her Ray-Ban Gold Aviator sunglasses were clipped at the neckline of her shirt. She looked more confident and cooler than before.
"What's up, Anderson?" she greeted with a smile as she approached me and kissed my cheek. I didn't know what got into me. I just felt the urge to hug her tight. So, I did. She chuckled.
"You know each other?" Keira asked, looking shocked.
"Yes, Atty. Miller--- He's my high school friend," Helena explained.
"Whoah! You are surrounded by beautiful ladies since high school?" Luke uttered feeling envious. I just laughed while Helena smiled.
"I knew you'd be a detective," I commented.
"I knew, you'd be a boss," she replied while sitting next to Luke who was mesmerized by her charm.
"Anyway, Helena, these are my friends Owen and Luke," I introduced as she shook their hands.
"Oh, so you're Owen McKnight," Helena said while shaking his hand. Then, she turned to Keira, who's acting cool, and raised her eyebrow.
"Whoah! You seem like you're gonna kick ass!" Luke told her.
"Not just seems, Luke. She does kick ass! If only you know what she did to her ex-boyfriend who threatened her in high school," I said.
Helena laughed. "Well, I didn't come here to reminisce the past, Brad. We have an important matter to discuss," she said suddenly changing her voice to a serious tone which brought us back to why we were there.
Before speaking, she took my phone and removed its casing. Then, she smiled triumphantly as she took a nanochip and inserted it to a small device that retrieved its contents including recorded calls and messages.
I was dumbfounded--- utterly stupified. We all were.
I asked, more to myself, "What the fuck is going on?"
"You're bugged. Meaning... the person responsible for this... is closer than you think," she said.
"Jesus Christ! That's creepy," Luke uttered while shuddering in fear.
"Alright, then tell us what you've got so far, agent Wolfe," Keira said.
She nodded and brought out her phone. She tapped things and then a hologram appeared. We were amazed at the device. But, our excitement changed to confusion as she enlarged one of the photos.
"Is that---"
"Peter Smith," Helena finished, making me more confused. 'What does he have to do with this?' I thought.
"You know him?" Cassandra asked while pointing at the photo.
"Not only know. They were high school friends," Helena answered for me.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Diana said while swirling her scotch on the rocks.
"You should. Our agent dug on his activities for the past months. Nothing essential came, only he found out that Peter traveled to Bali, Indonesia a month ago. At first, that trip seemed irrelevant until I saw the photos," she explained.
We all looked at her with questions. She looked at us intently and said, "Look at the photo carefully. What is he holding?"
We did as she told and we were all stunned by what we saw. Peter holding a small glass box with a sea krait inside.
"Holy shit!" Luke and Owen said in unison.
"Is he on the island now?" Cassandra asked. Worry and fear were apparent in her voice.
"No! And he's never been here," Helena replied.
"What? Then, how---" I asked. I was really confused about the situation.
She looked at me. "I'm sorry," she said while tapping another photo.
Everyone in the room gasped. Luke and Owen punched the table. Keira covered her mouth while Diana nearly dropped her glass of scotch.
The picture shows a bride and groom happily standing on a platform with four Grecian posts on each corner designed with myrtles and pink roses trailing every post like an ivy. The groom is lifting the bride in lover's carry while the bride is tossing her bouquet of flowers with a big smile on her face. Behind them is verdant rolling pasture land with cows and sheeps grazing from a distance. There are sprawling oak trees scattered around and at the far end on the left is a bluish-green lake surrounded by flowering shrubs and towering trees.
"This the greatest joke aside from my sister's ex-boyfriend!" Cassandra exclaimed. "Peter and Amanda are married?" she asked, putting all of our questions into words.
My chest tightened! Helena gripped my hand tightly while tapping my shoulder. My world came crashing down. I let go of the tears pooling in my eyes.
I cried as memories came flashing in my mind.