Chapter 17

Natalia knew a small place in the neighborhood where she had been once before. The food was absolutely divine but it had been too expensive for her budget at the time; but now she didn’t care, even though she probably would spend all her cash today.

“Oh,” purred Pamela, “This is some nice little place you found.”

“Uh huh,” the redhead said, “They serve the most delicious Hawaiian Pizza.”

A waiter bowed slightly as Natalia walked to him and said, “Good afternoon, Madame. Table for two?”

She eyed the handsome man and actually liked his flamboyant style and said with a sultry voice, “If you’re going to join me then yes; a table for two.”

“Oh my,” Pamela chuckled, “You are in a silly mood!”

His smile was a little nervous as he replied, “I’m afraid I have to decline your most tempting offer but please follow me. I think I have just the perfect table for you, Madame.”

There were only a few tables occupied and Natalia was guided to a small table which was artfully obscured from the rest of the tables by a playful arrangement of several plants. As she sat down she still had a good overview of all the other tables and said to the waiter with a grateful smile, “This is perfect. Thank you.”

He bowed a little and said, lowering his voice, “I’m happy it’s to your satisfaction. Perhaps Madame can tell me what she wants to drink?”

She nodded slowly and as she looked him straight in the eyes she said, “I want your best champagne, please.”

His eyes grew bigger and his upper lip twisted a little as he said, “I am afraid we don’t serve this champagne per glass, Madame.”

Natalia raised her eyebrow as she asked him with a sweet voice, “Did you hear me using the word glass, sir?”

“Excuse me, I did not, Madame,” said the waiter meekly as he could see the determination burning in her eyes, “I’d like to suggest the Dom Pérignon Rosé from 2007.”

“Yus!” purred Pamela, “Not bad; I guess you’re talking about 300 dollars a bottle.”

“Hmm okay,” the redhead murmured their goes half my budget, “It better be good.”

“Oh it definitely is,” her partner said resolutely.

“Excellent choice,” she said to the waiter, “And please let the Chef surprise me with a light lunch.”

“Of course, Madame,” he said with deference, “Any allergies the Chef needs to know of?”

“I prefer fruits de mer,” she replied with a dazzling smile, “But anything else is fine too.”

He nodded demurely and as he looked at her once more in the eye, doubting her credibility, he said, “A bottle of Dom Pérignon Rosé and a light lunch à la chef.”

“I have the feeling that our waiter doesn’t trust us,” Pamela cooed.

“I don’t care really,” the redhead said gruffly, “As long as they hurry up; I’m hungry.”

Soon enough the waiter came back with a silver bucket, filled with ice cubes and the bottle of champagne. As he showed Natalia the bottle he said softly, articulating each word, “The Dom Pérignon, à 320 dollar the bottle.”

“Pam?” she asked her friend.

“Looks good to me,” Pamela responded relaxed, “Too bad they charge 20 bucks extra.”

She stared the man down as she retorted, “I’m not interested how much you want to charge me for it. Actually I’m rather disappointed about the fact your cellar hasn’t anything better to offer.”

“Apologies Madame,” he said demurely as he carefully removed the foil from the bottle, “I’ll address it with our Sommelier as soon as he is back Madame.”

Natalia nodded curtly as she watched the waiter preparing the bottle with precise movements. A waitress brought a delicate champagne glass and a small dish of delicious looking finger food. With a soft pop the waiter had removed the bottle’s cork and after he briefly had smelled the cork he said with a genuine smile as he carefully poured the sparkling rose liquid into the glass, “Madame. The amuse is especially chosen to go with the Dom Pérignon; a wild salmon mousse on a homemade brioche craquelé and roasted sesame seeds.”

“Thank you,” she responded as she picked up the elegant glass, admiring the fine bubbles as they traveled up from the bottom. Her first sip was as she had hoped for; the fine tanginess combined with the refreshing sparkling carbonation which bloomed into the rich aromas of the champagne itself.

“Excellent,” she said to the slightly nervous man with a smile which reached her eyes, “I’m looking forward to the chef’s lunch.”

“Madame,” the waiter said demurely as he bowed a little and then he walked away, leaving Natalia to enjoy her aperitif.

“Oh my god Nat,” moaned Pamela, “It has been so long. This is so sublime! Please try one of those salmon toasty thingies.”

“Of course Pam,” she said soothingly as she eagerly complied to her friend’s request.

The little snack was delicious and she couldn’t help herself as she finished them off in no time. The combination was indeed amazing and it also had been a long time since she had enjoyed such a decadent starter.

Natalia was about to pour herself another glass of the delicious bubble when she saw a leather clad woman enter the small restaurant. With her heart beating in her mouth she instantly recognized Ellen’s regal posture and cursed softly, knowing her nice lunch was over. With a deep sigh she said to Pamela, “Let’s change my hair to chestnut brown.”

“Done,” Pamela responded instantly, “There’s a narrow hall straight behind us.”

“Whoa,” said Natalia, who was gob smacked at how quickly the color of her hair had changed as she slowly got up from her chair. At the last second she decided to take the bottle with her and as she walked into the dark hall she asked her partner, “are there any cameras?”

“No,” her partner in crime said curtly, “You’re good to go.”

The now brunette snapped her finger once to open the portal to her living room and quickly stepped into her apartment, realizing she hadn’t left any money to pay for the expensive bottle. She knew Ellen wouldn’t be pleased but this time she didn’t care: moreover Natalia was pissed off because she had missed out on a wonderful lunch. Annoyed, she plopped down on her sofa and sighed deeply as she looked at the shiny label of the champagne bottle.

“Damn,” she said out loud, “I really was looking forward to having a nice lunch.”

“Are you going to keep running away from Ellen?” Pamela asked softly.

“No,” she replied as she got up and as she walked to her kitchen to fetch a glass she continued, “But it depends what she’s going to do now.”

Ellen scanned the small restaurant, looking for Natalia and was annoyed as the waiter rushed towards her.

“Good afternoon Madame,” he said as he blatantly roamed his eyes over her shiny leather outfit, “A table for one?”.

“I’m looking for my niece,” she said, “A beautiful young woman with red hair.”

He raised his eyebrow as he said, “Please can you wait here while I ask your ‘niece’ to confirm.”

Ellen had great trouble keeping herself calm but nodded curtly as she said, “Of course. Please tell her that Ellen would like to speak with her.”

With scrutinizing eyes she followed the handsome man as he walked to the obscured table and she instantly could tell from his posture something wasn’t right. With large steps she rushed to the distraught man and instantly understood the precarious situation she had caused.

“Where is she?’ she asked the nervous man.

“She’s gone,” the waiter replied aghast, “and she took the bottle as well.”

“There’s an emergency exit out there?”

He nodded silently and said hoarsely, “It ends up on the main street.”

This time the manager stepped in and asked Ellen, “Are you responsible for her?”

She looked at him as she tried to assess why the manager suddenly had taken over and asked, “You mentioned a bottle she had taken with her.”

“Yes,” said the manager, “Madame had asked for a bottle of the best champagne we have.”

“I see,” Ellen said unperturbed, “So what did you serve?”

“A Dom Pérignon Rosé from the year 2007,” the waiter conceded softly.

A soft smile appeared on Ellen’s face as she realized what had happened.

“I see,” she said soothingly, “Let’s settle the bill; but I would like to take what she has ordered with me.”

“I’m happy to arrange that Madame,” said the manager with a smirk and as he pulled the chair from the table to let Ellen sit down he addressed the waiter, “Offer Madame something to drink, Claude.”

“I’m fine thanks,” Ellen replied directly, “I prefer you use the time to let me pay. And it would be nice if I could leave soon.”

The manager’s face was still showing a smile but it was obvious her remark wasn’t received that well but she didn’t care and whispered in his ear before she sat down, “At least you don’t have to cover the 400 dollars you would’ve lost otherwise.”

“What are we going to do, Nat?” Pamela asked.

The redhead swirled the champagne in her glass and as she stared at the tiny bubbles popping at the liquid’s surface she sighed deeply. “I don’t know.”

“What if Ellen comes to the apartment?”

Natalia shrugged her shoulders as she took a large gulp of the expensive drink.

“Are you letting her in?”

“It depends,” she replied curtly, “If she thinks she just can enter my home I’ll instantly tell her to leave me alone.”

“You’re still mad at her, aren’t you?”

“That is an understatement from here to Tokyo,” she grumbled, “It’s the fourth time she managed to piss me off and I can’t visit that restaurant ever again.”

“I’m sorry,” Pamela said softly.

“Why are you apologizing, Pam?”

“I, I could’ve warned you,” she replied meekly, “She is like a Pitbull. She never stops until she gets what she wants.”

“She can try,” Natalia said after she had taken another sip of the champagne.

She sighed deeply as she heard a firm knock at the door and as she stood she grabbed the half empty bottle. With sturdy steps she walked to the door and opened the door just far enough to push the bottle through the opening.

“Enjoy the lunch Ellen,” Natalia said bitterly, “I hope you like fruit de mer.”

She didn’t wait for a response and as she closed the door she clapped her hand 3 times. Without hesitation she stepped into the green portal, making sure Ellen couldn’t find her again.

Paul’s heart was beating in his mouth as he saw Mr. Sinter’s beautiful daughter walk straight to him. He had a hard time not to look at her enlarged breasts and as he focused on her full red lips he said, “Good afternoon Miss Sinter. How can I help you?”

He gasped as her lips formed into a sneer, knowing he had to tread very carefully. His accomplice Mike had suffered major injuries because he thought he could mock the woman.

“Where’s the other sleaze ball?” she asked, “I don’t want to repeat what I’m going to say.”

“Erm,” Paul said with a tremble in his voice, “I don’t know. I told him you wanted to speak with us, Miss Sinter.”

“How much did Mr. Sinter say about the next gig?” she asked annoyed.

“Nothing special,” he replied, “Something like we had to assist you with a job and that he would flay us alive if he heard any complaints from you.”

“Seems that Mike wants to test whether Mr. Sinter is going to keep his promise,” Sindy grumbled as she checked her phone, “Maybe I have to rip off one of his fucking ears.”

“I’m here, I’m here,” squealed Mike as he ran into the room, “I’m really sorry I’m late but I had to go to the bathroom.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose as she had trouble keeping her anger at bay. After she had taken a deep breath she calmed down enough to say, “Wednesday evening you’re going to be at The Blue Lounge hotel and you’re going to deliver special room-service so I want you to come to room 333 at 19:00 hours sharp. There will be clothes ready for you and I’ll explain then what’s going to happen.”

“Do we need to bring any guns?” Mike asked eagerly.

“Something small with a silencer,” Sindy replied curtly, “We’re not going to assassinate anybody but it could be used to persuade someone to cooperate.”

“Your dad said we should take the van,” Paul remarked upbeat, “I guess we need to move something.”

“No,” said Mike with an arrogant grin, “More like we’re gonna take someone. We better make sure we have enough chloroform.”

Sindy sighed as she thought it would be useless; she rather would prefer to spike his drink with a strong sedative but to keep those 2 happy she said, “Alright but make sure you don’t leak any of it in the van.”

“Why’s that?” asked Paul surprised.

“B’cause you don’t want to fall asleep if you’re driving, stupid!” Mike snorted.

Sindy ignored their immature bantering and as she left the two she softly cursed her father by murmuring, “What the hell! Fuck you asshole.”

Natalia sat down on the sand as she admired the beautiful scene in front of her. The sun was setting and the deep orange color gave the lake a playful contrast.

“Where are we?” Pamela asked in awe, “This is so beautiful.”

“Sweden,” the redhead replied softly as she took off her shoes, “one of the northern countries of Europe.”

As she slowly walked towards the water she said, “It’s one of the many places where my parents took me and I think this is one of the best.”

“Oh the cool water feels so good,” cooed Pamela, “Did you ever swim in this lake?”

“I did,” she replied softly as she moved a little further into the water, “It feels like it had been just a few years ago but I was 14 when I was here the last time.”

“Wow,” her friend whispered, “How come you remembered it so well?”

Natalia chuckled. “My very first kiss was right here at this spot.”

“Sweet!” Pamela purred, “A local guy?”

“Uh huh,” the redhead replied, “Sven was his name and he was about 5 years older than me. We had sneaked out from the camp one night. He’d kissed me and I know now he wanted a lot more but I had no clue. He was shocked when he found out my age. At that time I looked a lot older already, you see.”

“Well that went pear shaped I guess,” Pamela said with a giggle.

“Actually it didn’t,” Natalia replied softly as she walked back to the warm sand, “He was ever so sweet and taught me how to kiss.”

“Did you ever meet him again?”

“No,” she said with a sigh as she sat down next to her shoes, “It was our last holiday in Europe as my father accepted a position in America.”

The sun had disappeared behind the horizon and the cloudless sky became an interplay of colors varying from a richer shade of red to a dark deep blue.

“Nat,” Pamela said softly, “You know we can’t stay here all night.”

“I know,” her partner said softly, “But I want to see the stars and the Milky Way.”

“Oh wow!” Pamela gushed, “I think we definitely should wait for that.”

Natalia laughed and as she wanted to give her friend a funny answer the sandy beach suddenly lit up with a green light. With her heart in her mouth she slowly turned towards the portal and was utterly flabbergasted as she recognized the person who stepped through. She stood instantly as she wanted to face the man at eye level.