took only seven minutes. The commander received something in his earpiece and relayed it to Sven. “Premises secured. Please proceed.”
Sven closed the dossier and got out of the SUV. Flanked by the commander and Abbott Hill, he entered the mansion. Inside, one of his security experts guided the entourage to see the target. They walked through a lavishly decorated hall and into a private room. The madam of the establishment was furious and screamed obscenities at them as they passed. Indecently dressed women and their clients looked confused and scared.
Two security experts guarded the room where Jonah Walker was being entertained. Sven walked in.
Walker was dressed in a bathrobe. His companions, a young man and a blonde woman, cowered on the bed, draped with a sheet. “You!” Walker spat at Sven. “What’s the meaning of this?”
“Good evening, Mr. Walker,” said Sven crisply. “Pardon my intrusion, but I have urgent business to discuss with you.” He sat on the sofa. One of his men procured a table and a chair for Walker to sit in.
Caught at the most embarrassing time, Walker had no choice but to sit.
Sven laid the documents on the table.
“What is this?” demanded Walker.
“Your shares in Dune Industry. I want them. I want you to sell them to me.” Sven took a blank card and scribbled on it. He placed the card in front of Walker.
Walker took one look and laughed. “Are you fucking kidding me? Why would I want to sell them at that price? In fact, why would I want to sell them to you at all?”
“The price is more than reasonable. As you can see, it’s the current value when the stock market closed today.”
“It’s going to be worth more when—” Walker suddenly clammed up.
“Merger? Hostile takeover? It’s not going to happen. I’m intending on restoring Dune Industry to what it was once before.”
Walker growled a string of curses. He turned to Sven sharply. “I won’t sell them.”
“Wrong answer.”
“You think you can blackmail me by ambushing me with prostitutes? My wife knows what I’m doing. We have an open marriage.”
“I’m painfully aware of that.”
“Then, what? Humiliate me with the press?”
“The media would have a ball with this kind of scandal, but I have something else in mind. What about your involvement with underage prostitutes? Like your playmate Shafira.” Sven plucked some photos from the folder. “She’s sixteen years old. And Amber, she’s also not even seventeen years old. They are both runaways that Madam Cherie recruited from different cities and groomed into high class escorts.”
Walker looked astounded. “I knew nothing about this. Cherie—”
“Let’s cut to the chase. I have no interest in listening to your excuses. What will it be? Will you sell those stocks to me?”
Walker sagged. “I guess I have no choice.”
“You always have a choice. You could refuse.”
“Give me those fucking papers.”
Abbott Hill quickly presented the sale documents. Walker signed them.
“One more thing: I want you to keep this transaction a secret until I make a formal announcement. If you fail—the whole world is going to know what you do in your spare time.”
Walker gave him a loathsome glare. “I trust you do the same.”
Sven only smiled and double checked the documents. “Everything seems to be in order. Now if you’ll excuse us.”
When they were back in the car, Abbott Hill asked Sven, “Are you really going to let Jonah Walker get away with it? Underage sex and human trafficking are serious offenses. The Feds would be all over us if we failed to report it.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Sven handed the dossier to Hill. “Contact Jesse Richardson at the State office tomorrow morning and explain our situation. Arrange for immunity for our part in the deal we’ve just made. Walker needs to be held accountable for what he’s done.”
“Understood.”
Once the first domino hit the ground, the rest tumbled down. To