Hidden Tracks | ✓

26 | my drug is my baby

Saturday arrived sooner than I'd have liked it to.

We'd flown to Madrid early in the morning, and reached our new hotel by late noon. We rested for an hour, after which we had to start getting ready for the evening.

Kirk and Asimov had been left in our London safe house in the care of Agents Gupta and Turner, and they'd remain there until we felt we didn't need to get any more information out of them.

For example, they were the ones who gave us the details about Rubio's friends and fellow businessmen, so that we had better knowledge about them before we actually went into their turf.

We'd got to know Mr Aleña was a small, stout man who apparently looked harmless, but once he brought out his gun, you were dead meat. We'd also learnt that Rubio had a close circle of friends who he sometimes worked with, who would also probably attend the gala. And to top it off, many of their clients would also be present.

And when I say clients, I mean high profile clients. Celebrities who secretly did drugs, and god knows what else.

I thought about all this as the evening approached, and we got ready in our respective rooms.

I slipped on my silky black dress, feeling pretty satisfied with the way it hugged all the right places. I didn't usually wear such fancy clothes, but when the time called for it, I could wear whatever I was required to.

Moreover, a nice dress and red lipstick was a lethal combination in itself. I needed to use that to my advantage tonight.

After putting on the dress and closing the zipper, I brushed and sprayed my hair to make sure it fell on my shoulders in elegant waves instead of the usual messy look I donned. I also attached the diamond hairclips/cameras, checking twice to see if they were clipped at a vantage point from where the lenses could capture everything.

Next, I wore a sleek diamond necklace with matching studs, along with a thin bracelet, all supplied by TIA. I often wondered how they obtain all this expensive jewellery, but then again, they had all the money in the world, so it really wasn't a surprise.

I carefully applied the makeup with all the equipment TIA had sent. They'd given me a bag full of foundation, primer, bronzer, concealer, highlighter, lipsticks, gloss, blush, eyeshadow and eyeliner. Basically everything I could possibly need to look like someone I was not.

I put on some of the stuff on my skin, careful not to cake too much. After lining my eyes with black, I finally painted my lips a deep red.

I was aiming for a magnetic, seductive look and this was sure as hell hitting the mark.

Incredibly pleased with my handiwork, I put aside all the makeup and slipped into my stilettos. Taking my purse with me, I headed outside.

Miranda came out about the same time I did. She looked amazing, clad in her deep blue gown and her hair pinned in an updo. She had gone for a harmless-just-here-for-fun look which would help her pose as Soler's (or Alcacer's) girlfriend.

I grinned at her. "You look great."

She returned my smile. "Says you. Looking sexy, Kaia. Someone won't be able to keep--"

She stopped midway. I frowned. "What?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Nothing. Come on, let's go see what Marco's up to."

I squinted my eyes, puzzled, but headed after her nonetheless.

When we reached the lobby, we saw Soler was already there, looking at his watch/camera.

I spotted him before he saw me. He was wearing a black tux with a thin black tie, hair just the right amount of messy and the right amount of styled.