Chapter 24
Sweat beads formed on Gaines' forehead, and if looks could kill, he knew he would soon be a walking corpse, considering the one Victoria was giving him. At least, he thought while looking at the black marketeer in front of him. Diego likes the sound of seventeen hundred and fifty dollars and is seriously considering it.
“Sixteen hundred,” Diego blurted after a moment of hesitation.
Victoria grinned as if she had heard a cat's meow. “Nineteen hundred, Mr. Diego. And not a penny less.”
The black marketeer turned and stared at her. However, his narrowing dark-brown pupils indicated he was puzzled.
“Nineteen hundred?” he repeated, raising a single eyebrow. “That’s a hundred and fifty dollars higher than what Mr. Davis offered.”
Victoria smirked in reply. “I know. But being a regional boss, you should realize the importance of getting your info from the proper chain of command. My son-in-law isn’t the one who owns the jewelry. I am.”
Diego turned and gave Gaines Davis a ferocious look, like he was more than ready to order the forty-something-year-old’s termination.
“Would you like me to take care of this American clown for you?” the guard on Diego’s left asked, lifting his semi-automatic.
Diego chuckled as Gaines’ expression paled. “No,” he answered. "It isn’t this idiot’s fault that out of the two standing in front of me, Mrs. Vargas’s the only one who owns a set of balls. Isn’t that correct, Mr. Davis?”
Gaines' cheeks turned a light maroon - but he chose to remain silent.
“So,” Victoria said, appearing to be getting a bit impatient. “Are you going to take my counteroffer or not?”
Diego raised his hand to his chin, taking a firm grasp. “I don’t know, Mrs. Vargas. Nineteen hundred is a bit steep.”
Victoria snorted in reply. “Okay. No problem. The deals off then.” Opening her purse, she brushed the gold jewelry inside. “I’m sure I can find a local pawn shop that’d be willing to offer two thousand. Thank you for your time, Mr. Diego.”
Both Gaines and Victoria then started walking toward the door.
Federico's lower jaw immediately dropped. I can't believe my eyes. No one has ever disrespected me like this. “This negotiation is not over!” Diego said as the click of two semi-automatics underlined his words.
“Oh?” Victoria said, releasing the brass door handle. “What more would you like to add?”
“How about sixteen fifty?” Federico said as two guns continued to point directly at his guests.
Victoria laughed. “I thought you were about to make a serious offer, Mr. Diego. That one’s a joke.”
“Would you and your son-in-law prefer to be dead?” Diego replied between gritted teeth.
Victoria rudely chuckled again. “I have no doubt that you could easily take our jewelry and have your men kill us, Mr. Diego. But would that be ethical? I deal with the black market on a regular basis back in Chile, and despite the many activities they engage in that society doesn’t approve of - stealing from the disadvantaged has never been one of them. … Do you seriously want to start a new trend and take the risk that word of it might reach my Chilean friends?”
Federico stopped and paused to think for a moment.
“How about eighteen hundred?” he asked after rapping the desktop with his fingertips a half-dozen times.
Victoria frowned and shook her head. “Nineteen hundred’s my lowest offer, Mr. Diego. Either take it or leave it.”
Federico glanced in the direction of both his men, then refocused on the lynx he’d been negotiating with. “Okay. Nineteen hundred damn it. You win, Mrs. Vargas. … Are you happy now?”
Victoria faced the black marketeer and awarded him a semi-grin. “Not really,” she said, about to open her purse. “I should have held out a few more minutes. I probably could have gotten the full two thousand.”
“No. Now you’re pipe dreaming,” Federico said as the latch on Victoria’s purse snapped open and her left hand slipped inside. “There was never any chance you would have gotten it.”
Victoria shrugged in reply, and instead of reaching in and pulling out the eighteen carat gold pieces, she deliberately hesitated. “I’d like to see the greenbacks before I give you this, Mr. Diego. After all, they could be counterfeit.”
The black marketeer’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t trust me, Mrs. Vargas?”
“Of course I trust you, Mr. Diego," Victoria said, presenting him a false grin. “Just about as much as you probably trust me.”
“So little and none,” Federico confirmed.
Victoria nodded.
“Okay. We'll do it your way,” Diego said with a sigh. And with an overly exaggerated effort, he reached deep inside a right-hand side drawer and yanked out two stacks of freshly banded twenty-dollar bills. “But of course,” he began, setting them on his desktop. “There’s a few of these I'm going to have to remove since we agreed on nineteen hundred.”
“I know,” Victoria replied, and laid out a baker’s dozen gold pieces before him.
Diego smiled, and tapped his desktop first twice and then once.
The two guards standing beside him instantly gave him a broad grin and raised their side arms.
So much for being someone ethical, Gaines thought, unconsciously taking a step backward.
“You dare to risk your life, Mr. Diego?” Victoria calmly asked.
Federico chuckled. “My life, Mrs. Vargas? I think at the moment if I were you, I’d be more concerned about my own.”
“Why?” Victoria asked, drawing her purse a couple of inches closer and facing one side directly toward him. “Would you actually murder us over this small amount of jewelry?”
“No,” Diego replied, rising to his feet. “I’m going to kill you due to the lack of respect you’ve shown me this afternoon.”
“I see. Well. If you insist.”
Glancing toward Diego’s guards, Victoria's expression remained dead serious as she touched the end of her sleeve and pressed a round button on her hidden remote.
Within milliseconds, an ear-piercing wail resounded from the side of her purse, and in less time than one could yell, “What in the Hell is that?” Federico Diego and both his guards grabbed for their ears and undignifiedly crumbled onto the floor — completely unconscious.
“You should know better than to try to double cross Grandma, Mr. Diego.” Victoria said, pressing the button a second time so it would kill the alarm. “Like I said, I’ve dealt with the black market multiple times in Chile - so I knew to come prepared.”