He chuckled, then moved on. "So what else about recruitment?"
"Well, I've got a ton of interviews set up for when we get you to San Antonio for a couple of days, before we head out to LA," Jasmine explained. "That's for a support team for me and Shmi.""Are either of you guys going to have a heart attack if I call you Jas or Shmi?" Mark asked suddenly. "I've heard you call each other that. Just wondering?""It's probably better if you stick with our full names for the time being," Jasmine replied. "To encourage others to do the same, but I'm not going to collapse or faint if you call me Jas when it's just us."Lakshmi nodded. "Yes, Lakshmi when there's people around, then whatever when it's just us.""Alright," Mark replied. "So what posts are you looking to fill?""Two correspondence secretaries, a financial assistant, a press assistant, information assistant, publicist and media spokesperson," Jasmine&nbsHis workout with Jaydenproved to be a disaster. The impending confrontation with Sarah distracted him so much that he wasn't able to focus properly on his workout, and despite Jayden's unending enthusiasm, he didn't beat any of his own records from the previous days.A few minutes before five o'clock Markemerged from the gym. Henrywas waiting for him on the path and joined him immediately as he took the path up to the helipad."Everything is arranged, Master Mark, and if you don't mind me saying so, I do believe that young Miss Sarah is rather enthusiastic to spend some time alone with you," Henrysaid, winking with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.Markforced a grin. "Excellent, Henry. You're a true friend."Henryseemed almost gleeful. "Anything I can do, Master Mark. Now, Miss Sarah is already on board, the flight crew will take off and leave you undisturbed. Simply knock on the door to the cockpit when y
"So you've been thinking about me then?" Sarah said gently in his ear.Markswallowed and nodded, wishing the tailgate would just come up and block the view into the Chinook. He nearly sighed with relief when he heard the big rotors begin to turn."Yeah. I've been doing my head in trying to figure out who it was in my room the other night, and then yesterday I realized it was you," He explained. "That was very very naughty of you, you know?"She stared at him for a moment, then spoke quickly. "I'm a bit of a bad girl sometimes, Mark. In fact, sometimes I'm a very bad girl.""How are you bad, Sarah?" Markasked, trying to keep her talking. "Tell me some of the things a bad girl does.""I can show you right now." Her hand slid over his thigh, and Markgrabbed her hand, trying to make it appear casual."Once we're up in the air. So, tell me," He repeated. "I like hearing hot women telling me about their ba
"Please. I can't." Sarah's eyes were beginning to fill with tears and rather than look panicked, she actually looked frightened. With a flash of insight, Markwondered if it was him she was afraid of or someone else."Because someone has something on you, and you're being pressured to do as you're told?" He guessed.Sarah started crying, sobbing. Her hands came up to cover her face."Sarah!" He snapped, drawing her eyes back up to meet his. "Tell me.""I.. can't. He'll...""Henry?"She looked at him and then nodded, crying all the harder now.Mark's mind raced. If Henrywas blackmailing Sarah, then he'd sent her to seduce him. The question was why? What was he trying to achieve? Was it a video-recording so he could threaten release of a sex tape? Was it something else? Either way, Henrywas trying to create leverage for something."So Henrysent you to my room the other night,
Mark's eyes widened. "What did you just say?""That he'd keep it in his secret bunker?" She asked. "Yeah, he's got some kind of cave or something that he disappears into a night. I think it's underneath the kitchens." She shrugged. "Is that important?"Markcouldhave kissed her. Not only had she confirmed it's existence, but she'd told him where it was. "Tell me everything you know about it. This secret bunker of his.""Oh, okay. He thinks it's a big secret, but he sneaks in there every night when he goes to the kitchen for his sandwich. Loads of the staff know about it, but no-one's ever been in it.""Do you know exactly where the door is?"She laughed. "That's easy. He prowls into the courtyard, where all the trash is kept, and then he punches a code into the kitchen door and a trapdoor opens in the floor. That's how he gets in and out. It's kinda funny how he thinks it's all secret.""How do you know?"
Markwalked back to the house, trying to appear physically tired but inside he was elated. The conversation on the Chinook with Sarah had yielded more, much more than he had hoped. He knew that Henrywas guilty of manipulating the poor girl, lying to her, sexual harassment, hell, probably sexual assault, blackmail and a load of other stuff thrown in too.Now Markhad an ally, had confirmation that Henrywas a manipulative fucker, and had the location of the entry point into the safe house. He just had to figure out a way to let Connor know where and ask him if he could stake it out somehow.First though, he had to get to his suite, get into a bath or a shower or something and hopefully avoid an argument with Jasminetoo."I could just tell her everything that's going on,"He thought to himself, but for some reason it didn't feel right. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but that he knew the fewer people who kne
They lay there in silence for another few minutes and Markrealized he was nearly asleep. The days events had been mentally draining and physically tiring too, so lying in the bath with Jasminecradling him against her proved to be more relaxing than he thought possible.He sighed. "We better make a move, I suppose.""Good call. Plus, if we have dinner, a few drinks and some fun with your friends, then we can get up to bed all the quicker." He felt her lips press against his cheek."You have all the best ideas."It took a few minutes before Markfinally gave in and got out the bath, stepping into the shower for a quick rinse off and to wash his hair. Jasminedisappeared into his dressing room, sorted out an outfit and then went to her own room to get dressed.By the time she returned Markhad his jeans, sneakers and a sleeveless black v-necked top on, and was sitting looking at the hooded jersey on the b
Marktook the opportunity to call it a night a few minutes later. Between his late night exercise with Jasminethe night before and the draining day he was shattered. To his surprise, Maddyand Myragot up and walked with him, following him upstairs until they were sat on the balcony. Marklit up and smiled as Myrastole her daily cigarette out his packet."This is my favourite part of the day," Myraadmitted. "But today's been a lot of fun."Marksmiled. "Glad you're enjoying yourself.""Sageand Louisa think you're really cool," Maddysaid to Myra. "They really like you."Myramade a surprised face, and smiled a little. "That's good, I guess.""You guys should hang out when you're in New York," Marksuggested.Myranodded. "Sounds good. Hey, how's your LA trip looking?""Exhausting," Markreplied. "I've got a manic schedule from six or
Marklay there in the dark, trying to figure out what tomorrow was going to bring.Markwoke up and checked the time."Ten minutes until I'm due to get up," He murmured, clicking the light onto it's lowest setting. He turned and looked at the beautiful woman by his side, spread like a starfish across the bed, her hair half covering her face.He smiled and adjusted the sheet, pulling it up a little. The temptation was there to just slide a hand in, touch her in certain places and be balls deep inside her within a minute, but he knew she'd had a restless night."No point in both of us getting up," He muttered and slid out of bed. A couple of minutes in the bathroom and then a quick trip into the dressing room, and Markwas ready to go workout.He jogged down slowly, warming his muscles up for what was to come, saying good morning to the members of staff that he saw out and about. As he turned the corner heading for
True to her suggestions, Myraknocked, waited for a few seconds and then slowly opened the door to see a flushed Maddystraightening her clothing and looking a little flushed. Markand Myraexchanged a knowing look, and then suggested the three of them go back upstairs. Maddydidn't say much, but followed them up the stairs, with both Markand Myranoticing her obvious reluctance."I'm off to my room to get changed," Maddysaid as soon as they closed the hatch. Markand Myramanaged to keep a straight face until she was out of sight, but the second she was gone they broke into broad grins."Who knew both my sisters were raging perverts," Markmuttered, earning a punch on the arm from Myra."From the guy who's fucked both of us and is banging his secretary too."Markgrinned. "I like to keep busy."Their last afternoon on the Island passed very quickly, between the vario
"So what did she say?""She got a fright, so I told her to sit down and we talked for a bit. Then she told me that she'd made a bet with some friends that she would have sex with you, and she had to follow through with it. Well, I didn' t know if you'd hooked up with Jasmine, so I tell her that she can't and that she should just tell her friends that she did.""So Sarah turned up and you stopped her coming in?" Markasked."Yeah. Bear in mind that at this point, you're the only person I've ever met before, I know you're my brother, but I'm all horny and attracted to you, right? I'm tired and I'm not exactly thinking straight, plus this slut has just shown up and I'm feeling jealous. Pretty much an emotional mess, right?""Okay. So what happened with Sarah?""She wouldn't leave, even tried to get back into the suite, so I gave her two choices. She could be fired if she kept trying to get inside, or she could leave and I'd te
"Fuck my life," Markmurmured."What?" Jasminemuttered."Nothing. Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you," He said softly, slipping in behind her.She pulled his arm around her, nestling her body into him. "It's okay. Can't you sleep?""No, went down to the bunker."Jasminerolled onto her back, propping her legs over his and turned to look at him, all sleepy and cute. "What did you find?""You don't want to know," Marksaid unhappily.She watched him carefully for a moment, then said softly, "Was it footage of me?"Markshook his head. "No, not exactly, just, em.... there was footage stored of me and you. All week long."She looked away and took a deep breath. "Did you delete it?""Not yet, but I will later.""You have to. Promise me, Mark, please?" She said, her expression intense."I will. I promise. There's just something I have to
It was eerie walking down the stairs completely on his own, and he felt a little trepidation as he punched in the code and held his hand against the palm-scanner. He stepped back as the door opened and entered the silent bunker, his eyes automatically going to the spot where Henryhad lay.He took a deep breath and headed for the control room, sliding into a seat before the console, seeing Jasminesleeping on one of the large screens in front of him. He smiled, seeing how natural and relaxed she seemed while asleep.Markturned to look at the wall to his left, a large map of the Island about eight feet across with numbered pins stuck in it showing the location of each camera. It took him a minute, but he counted one hundred and thirty eight."Holy fuck that's a lot of cameras."It took him another ten minutes to find the guide on how to use the system, and his eyes widened more than once at how it was set up. Each camera fed back to a serve
As the staff were all wandering out the door, chatting over the revelations they'd just been hit with, Marklooked at Mister Yousef. "You kept that brief.""I'm a big fan of letting people do the work they're employed to do," The old man smiled. "You nearly gave me a heart-attack when you stepped forward there. Nicely done."Markshrugged. "No biggie. So can we head back to the house now?""The boat got away?"Marknodded. "No problems.""Good. I'll see you at lunch," George replied, turning to leave. "Brian, let's go.""Work calls," The Security chief said, nodding at Markon his way past."Brian," Marksaid, grabbing his hand. "Thanks for this. All of it.""No problem, sir, and if you don't mind me saying, Henrywas a bastard. I'm glad he's... off the Island."It was two hours and forty minutes later when Connor finally appeared. A nervous Markgree
"Let's do it," Connor said. "I'll take the feet, you take the upper body and I'll go in front. Take your time, alright."Marknodded and moved to the corpse, wrapped into a neat cylinder with the rugs and trash bags. On Connors signal they lifted the body and Markgrunted as they carried it up the steps and into the bar.It felt really bizarre to be carrying a wrapped up body in broad daylight through a place he'd come to love, but with short steps, Connor and Markmade their way through the main house, took the right onto the path past the kitchens, and then a few minutes later onto the beach.Captain Wales was waiting for them with the gangplank ready and engines running, his crew sent to the clubhouse like everyone else.They carried Henry'sbody along the pier, feeling exposed in the open, but Connor kept feeding Markadvice to keep him calm and all too soon they were placing the body out of sight in the lounge of the catamara
They lay there for another ten minutes until Myracalled through to let them know Mister Yousefhad returned with Brian Kane in tow, along with a yawning Captain Wales. Markand Jasminequickly dried and dressed, then went out to meet them in the lounge of Mark's suite, with the doors securely closed. To their surprise, Brian greeted them with warm handshakes, admitting a moment later that he suspected for a long time that there was something off about Henry, and that when Mister Youseftold him what had happened, he wasn't really that surprised.Mister Yousefthen briefed them on Brian's suggestion on how to deal with the situation. It seemed very simple, so much so that Markkept looking for holes in it.Over the next couple of hours, Henry's body was to be wrapped in the bloodstained rugs, taped up and secured in trash bags and brought to the top of the hidden staircase. At seven o'clock in the morning, Brian and his team would gat
"So does that mean I can get a shower now?" Markasked, knowing Myrahad washed him clean but still convincedhe had the old mans blood on him."As soon as you've sorted out the access protocols," George nodded."What about him?" Connor asked, jerking his thumb at the corpse on the far side of the room."We'll deal with that after we've spoken to Mister Kane." At that the old man nodded and stood up. "And no alcohol for the time being please.""Okay," Marksaid. "Connor?"The Scotsman nodded and led them to the Control room. Markwas still a little unsteady on his feet, but with Jasmineholding his hand, he was able to cross the room with little difficulty.The control room was astonishing to each of them, as they saw the images on the array of monitors, with one of the large screens showing a picture of Mark's room from above his bed, another showing footage from a camera in the corner o
"Hello?" They heard Connor call, and by some unspoken signal, both Maddyand Myrarolled out the bed, leaving Markunder the covers. Maddysat down on the bed and Myrawalked towards the door."In here," She said.Connor appeared in the doorway with a bundle of clothes in his arms and handed them to Myra."Give us a minute. We've just cleaned him up, and we'll get him dressed."The Scotsman nodded and turned away, closing the door behind him."Right, you," Maddysaid firmly, hauling back the covers. Myratossed a pair of dark blue jeans to Maddyand dropped a hooded jersey and sneakers on the foot of the bed. She came around to the other side of it."Sorry about this," Marksaid softly, now feeling a little embarassed at his nudity."Shut up, Mark," Myrasaid briskly as she helped Maddymaneuvre the trousers round his feet. Markhad to roll onto hi