Darian
“Let me explain…” she says.
“Yes, please do,” I say, in a tone I never thought I’d use with Becky.
“I do work for the FBI…”
“We already know that. Why? Who are you really?” Peter questions her.
It’s weird to be on the same side of something with him. It’s always been us against each other, never us against someone else.
“Okay look. About a year ago I was put on this project. The FBI has been suspecting that Max Slee- Kleeberger is involved in some really hardcore criminal activity. I don’t think I should say just what it is because I could still get in a lot of trouble for doing that. But this is a very high-profile case. We suspect something has been going on for years now, and somehow getting past us.”
Peter and I share a look, and Becky continues.
“So they deployed me to work undercover and pose as a stripper at Max’s club. They told me to work for him as long as I could, so that I could get close with him. He needed to trust me so that I can find out as much as I can from him. I still haven’t found a lot of evidence, but I think I may be on the cusp of something-”
“So, Max recently ordered me to get the two of you to fight with each other so that he could get the best deal possible out of you. He assumed that the two of you would want to one-up each other and raise the numbers higher and higher. Which is why I’m here.”
“I originally thought you two were involved with what he has been doing. But after being around the two of you- it’s pretty obvious that you guys had no idea about any of this. Either that, or you have both been playing me back and are very talented actors. In that case, bravo.”
She stops and raises an eyebrow at both of us, as if waiting for our confirmation.
“You were right, I didn’t know anything about this,” Peter tells her.
“Me neither. In fact, now I feel kind of stupid.”
Peter nods in agreement.
“Look, this is a very important investigation and it’s my first time out in the field. I cannot screw this up. You two knowing about this could potentially ruin the entire thing. You cannot say a word about this to anyone, or in front of anyone but me. If you do, you would be ruining not only my career but the FBI’s entire investigation on Max. We would lose years of hard work and be forced to start all over.”
I’m completely baffled by this entire thing. The fact that this has been going on and I didn’t know a single thing? And that I was going to let Max have a seat on the board? This is insane.
But on one hand, it kind of makes sense now. Certain pieces of the puzzle are starting to click in place, and I start to get an idea.
“What if us knowing all of this didn’t ruin it, but in fact had the opposite effect?” I ask.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I would be willing to do anything I can to help your investigation. Anything, just say the word.”
“Me too. If you want the help, we’re here for it. If Max is into some bad shit, we don’t want that in our city. Besides, Max is a complete ass anyway. He’s given me nothing but bad vibes when I’ve been around him. And now that I really think about it, his whole deal that he’s trying to land with us is pretty suspicious.”
Becky is silent for a moment, deliberating. She gets up and pours herself some scotch, not saying another word until she finishes her drink.
“I appreciate the both of you for saying this, really. For right now, I need both of you to keep operating as is. Don’t make a single move in any other direction. That is very crucial to this. You need to keep acting like you are still interested in his bid. If he suspects anything different, he might pull the whole thing and then all of this will have been for nothing. Do you think you can do that?”
Peter and I share a look and then turn back to Becky.
“Absolutely.” We say together.
“Great. This could actually work then. When I have the next step, I will let you guys know right away. But just keep acting like you know nothing about any of this. And make sure you don’t seem too eager either, you still need to play hard to get with him, or make sure that he still thinks you’re debating things. And that also means that you two still need to act like enemies.”
I look at Peter.
“That won’t be a problem,” I say. “This changes nothing between Peter and I.”
“Agreed. Won’t even have to pretend there.”