Hidden Tracks | ✓

25 | big conversation

We had to wait and plan our strategy until the weekend.

The gala in Madrid was being held on Saturday night, at a five-star hotel rented out by the host, Sergio Aleña. Mr Aleña was a close friend and business partner of Rubio, as we found out.

In fact, all the attendees of this gala were businessmen, or in other words, druglords meeting to smuggle goods and make fresh deals.

We would have to be really good with our pretence to pass off as legit dealers. Of course, it also helped that we had two packets of ecstasy with us, which we could use to our advantage, to prove our credibility.

We pored over our plans for the weekend. Soler was to be Manu Alcacer, daring drug dealer with a devil-may-care attitude. Miranda was to be his girlfriend, Lisa. And I was going as Sofia, the elusive new dealer on the block, one of the few women who were in this business and who wasn't to be messed with.

I put my full focus on the upcoming gala, and laying out our plan of action for that night. I stored away all my questions and doubts about the case in a little corner of my mind, to be dug up later. Right now, the gala was the priority.

Two days before the big night, we finally received our outfits from TIA. We hadn't really had a choice in picking out our clothes, but we had requested for our own colours.

My choice was, you guessed it, black. I received a black silk dress which looked simple, but was actually quite elegant and classy. It was strappy, had a cut out at the back and a thigh high slit. I was certain that if I wore it with heels and some confidence, I'd have lots of power hungry men at my feet in no time.

Miranda had opted for a midnight blue gown with a halter neck. I'm sure she would own the look.

Besides our dresses, we also got some more equipment from TIA. We were going undercover, and we needed all the eyes we could get.

That meant if we had some extra eyes in the form of cameras, it wouldn't hurt. TIA supplied us with some diamond encrusted hairclips and earrings which also had tiny cameras embedded in them. Soler got a brand new watch which acted as a camera as well as a recording device. We also got fresh earpieces which were tiny and would camouflage with our skin, effectively hiding them from view.

I felt this new kind of thrill rushing through me as I thought about the gala. Would we find anything of importance there? Anyone? Would Rubio be able to give us any leads? I didn't know these answers, but at the same time, I couldn't wait to find out.

Moreover, time was slowly but surely running out. We still didn't know where Caldwell and Beaumont could possibly be, and if they were still alive. We didn't know if Rubio was the one Caldwell had seen at his restaurant (though I was almost sure he was). We had some opportunities to find out, but we'd need to be very careful and covert with our mission.

Here, the room would be filled with men more dangerous than we'd dealt with throughout the case. Even a tiny slip up could cost us big time. I had no doubt every single person invited would also be carrying guns with them, and I really didn't want another show of bullets this time.

I was lost in these thoughts the night before the gala, but that doesn't mean I didn't sense someone enter the room I was in.

"Hey."

I turned to see Soler, carrying a cup of coffee. "Hey," I replied.

"What're you thinking about?"

I sighed. "Just...all the questions we still don't have the answer to. Like the golden question of where Caldwell and Beaumont are, if Caldwell saw Rubio at the restaurant, then if we can get answers out of anyone at the gala."

He looked at me, green eyes softening a bit. "Hey, you'll stress yourself out and that won't be good for tomorrow. You need to be as calm as possible."

"I know, I know. But I just can't help--"

He set the coffee down on the table and put his hands on my shoulders. "You know what? We all need a good night's sleep. I can't remember the last time I slept soundly for more than four hours."

I laughed. "Yeah, me neither. I didn't get any sleep yesterday."

"See? That's the problem. You're thinking about so many things, but not yourself. You need to be at the top of your game tomorrow, and for that you need to rest now."

I gestured to his left side. "How's your arm?"

I'd been nursing his arm back to health for the past few days, reapplying the ointment and changing the bandage every few hours.

Soler smiled. "It's fine. Obviously still hurts, but you're doing a pretty decent job at fixing it up."

I grinned. "I think I could be a paramedic if I ever get fired from TIA."

He laughed. "Sure. Says the person who was the reason I got this bullet wound in the first place."

My eyes widened in indignation. "Hey! I didn't ask you to take that bullet for me!"

He raised an eyebrow. "So you just expected me to stand there and watch you get shot and die?"

I shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah."

He stared at me for a moment. "I can't believe you thought that."

"Well, why wouldn't I? All our lives we've hated each other and wanted to kill each other. You've threatened to shoot me multiple times."

"Yeah, but I was never serious! Jesus, I thought you had more brains than that!"

"Of course I knew you wouldn't actually shoot me, dumbass, but I also didn't think you'd care about me enough to take that bullet all of a sudden."

He looked at me strangely for a moment, then shifted his gaze. "Nobody said I cared about you. I just didn't want a teammate down, that's all."

I slowly grinned at him. "Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night, buddy."

He rolled his eyes. "Don't call me buddy."

"Why not?"

"We're not buddies."

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Of course. You're terribly childish, you know that?"

He smirked. "You're the only one who thinks so."

"I'm pretty sure Miranda would agree with me. I mean, she's seen enough of your antics over the past few days."

He glared at me. "As if you're totally innocent."

"Whatever," I grumbled. "Now let me go to sleep, this conversation is going nowhere."

"You're just saying that 'cause you don't have any decent comebacks this time, Potatohead," He smirked at me.

I glared and smacked him upside the head. "Do not call me that."

He raised his hands in mock surrender and went out of the room. I could hear him laughing outside, and I don't know why, but it put a smile on my face too.

That night, I actually slept for more than four hours.