Undercover 10


By Katzmarek



Part 10


Jess got home about 6 PM to find her friend Chris busy making dinner.


“Hi hon,” Chris greeted her, “Ooo, you’re walking funny, a bit bandy legged are we?”


“Shut up,” replied Jess, blushing.


“Good to see a bit of colour in your cheeks.”


“You sound like my mother.”


“What? She says THAT to you after a couple of days of solid SEX?” Chris asked in mock surprise.


“Hmm… ‘Solid’ is a good description,” Jess told her, grinning.


“I wish Jerry would give me a workout like that! Go on, tell me, how many times?”


“Umm…” said Jess, counting to herself, “ seven, perhaps eight… depends on what you’re counting.”


“Alright… start with orgasms then…”


“Umm, would that be individual ones or those continuous sort that seem to last and last?”


“Continuous? God Jess, what have you got there, a sex Olympic athlete?”


“He’s… remarkable…” Jess told her.


“You want to share him?”


“No… he’s all mine… I’m having a bath.”


Meanwhile, Warren Hastings was on the phone to his boss.


“Warren?” Ted Sperle said, “what have you got?”


“Well sir, I’m beginning to get a picture here, but I need to do some more digging.”


“Dig away… only… lay off the Royal household, ok? I got the word from ‘upstairs.’ Apparently they don’t 
like detectives from New Zealand prying into their business.”


“Well sir… I think we may have a problem then.”


“Concentrate on our end, Warren. Let the Tongans deal with theirs.”


“I don’t think they will, sir. Technically the Royalty is above the law… there’s a few constitutional things 
but…”


“Get me Treadwell, detective! I don’t care about their bloody Kings and Queens…”


“Sir… I need to interview a Princess, name of Vai… can you pull some strings?” Hastings interrupted.


“Is it important?”


“Very… I believe one or other of the companies she owns provided the conduit to the Asian end.”


“Is that so?” said Ted, “I don’t know, Warren… it’s all political, see? I’ll do my best. 


There’s some shenanigans going on, all right. There’s a guy up in Foreign Affairs that seems interested… 
reckons they’re all a bunch of crooks… but he has a boss, too. 


So what if you find evidence of complicity… where does it go?”


“If they hold themselves above the law, the only thing is an ‘Act of Attainer,’ a sort of demand from the 
Council of Nobles to explain themselves…”


“God, sounds medieval!”


“That’s not the half of it…then there’s an Act of Compliance, an Act of Impeachment, that’s the last 
step…”


“Ok, I get the picture. So all those Acts require this Council of Nobles to agree among themselves?”


“Basically… but it will never happen. Most of the Nobles are ill educated… it’s all hereditary, see? Even 
the Police Chief owes his job to his dad. When it comes to high finance, well, they don’t know their arse 
from their elbow.”


“I see! So what DO they do?”


“Pass on the tributes and genuflect, oh and advise the King on the proper traditions.”


Sperle sighed,


“I’ll speak to my man up on the hill… I’ll get back to you.”


“Can I come in?” Chris asked through the bathroom door, “I need to tinkle.”


“Come right in Chris,” Jess replied.


Chris opened the door and sat on the toilet.


“So,” she smiled at her friend, “he was nice, eh?”


“The best,” Jess smiled back.


“Good hon… here, let me do your back.”


“Sure.”


Chris got up and began to wash Jess’s back with a sponge.


“You’ve such nice skin… I’m jealous. Shall I tie your hair back?”


“Thanks.”


“Y’know… I need to say this… but please be careful. Sperle’s still got Gray in his sights… he told me 
that… he expected to arrest him soon.”


“What? What for?”


“Not sure, Jess. It’s just that… well… you could lose your career. Even if they don’t take your warrant, 
you’ll never get any promotions… it’d go on your file. You could end up being an accessory after the fact. 
I… don’t want to lose you… as a friend…”


“Why would you? Look, despite what Sperle says, Gray hasn’t done anything save invest in a Tongan 
Newspaper. He’s co-owner in the Tongan Weekly Revue, run by an old friend of his from University.”


“Calm down, Jess… I didn’t mean…”


“I know… it’s sweet of you to look out for me… but Chris, Gray doesn’t know anything about that drug 
shipment… or how his name became linked to it. He thinks his friend might have used the newspaper’s 
account to finance the deal. Either that or someone set all of them up to discredit the friend and silence 
criticism of the Tongan Royal family. 


There was an article his friend, Moses A’oka wrote, suggesting the Treasury was being mismanaged… 
and… that the King’s sister was doing business with some very unsavoury characters. Gray thinks that 
might have started the whole thing.”


“Are you sure, Jess? I hope for your sake its true… I don’t want to see you hurt.”


Jess took her friend by the hand.


“Absolutely sure, Chris. Gray wouldn’t involve himself with drugs.”


Looking into her friend’s face, Chris said,


“You’ve fallen in love with him haven’t you?”


“A little, maybe.”


Chris laughed and flung her arms around Jess.


“Isn’t it wonderful?” Chris whispered.


“It’s nice, Chris… very nice.”


‘The Royal Palace outside Nuku’alofa, Tonga was a single-story, collection of buildings combining the 
traditional Tongan and modern European architectural styles.’ 


‘At least,’ thought Warren Hastings, ‘ that’s what the tourist blurb would say. ‘Actually it’s a labyrinth 
built over the course of many years to no particular plan at all.’


Outside the gate stood two members of the palace guard in traditional warrior dress. As Warren alighted 
from the taxi and approached the gate, a uniformed officer appeared. With a polite smile he directed the 
detective to the Princess’s compound.


The complex was dominated by a modern European style building in an L shape. In front of the foyer was 
an ornamental garden and fountain.


Vai’s secretary opened the double doors for the detective and greeted him warmly in perfect English. 
Warren was shown into a large office and was brought fresh fruit and pineapple juice by an aide.


After about 10 minutes, a large elegant woman strode purposefully into the room. She was dressed 
traditionally in bright ‘tapa’ colours. When she beamed she revealed a row of perfect white teeth.


“Mr. Hastings, isn’t it?” she said, extending her hand.


Warren had a crash course in court protocol but was unprepared for the easy informality of this woman.


“Yes, your highness…” Warren started to say, but was hushed by her hand.


“Please, save the formality, call me Vai, everyone does. What may I call you?”


“Warren… Vai.”


“Warren it shall be… how can I help you?”


“I’m conducting an investigation of the activities of one of our nationals. There is some evidence he may 
have made investments in one of the Royal companies.”


“That’s possible, we welcome investment from overseas. May I have this person’s name? I will ask my 
secretary if we have had any dealings with him.”


Warren watched carefully for the woman’s reaction.


“Gray Treadwell.”


“Of course! I understand your authorities have sent information to our Police about his activities… I will 
forward anything we have to your hotel. Are there any other questions?”


Warren had plenty, but he didn’t want to push his luck. As he rose to go, he turned to Vai and asked,


“Excuse me… I forgot to pass on our thanks for the information supplied to us from the Office of the 
Palace Guard. Will you convey our appreciation…”


Warren sensed a fleeting shadow pass across the Princess’s face. She smiled and thanked him, before 
passing the detective on to her aide.


‘She didn’t know the Palace was passing information. Interesting!’ Warren thought.


After dinner, Chris announced she was going to spend the night at Jerry’s.


“I need a cuddle,” she said with a wink.


Jess’s description of the sex she’d had with Gray had shaken Chris. Over dinner, Jess had related in fairly 
intimate detail the past two days with Gray and she was jealous.


Jess watched a bit of television, organised herself for work the next day, then went to bed.


Her body was tired and sleep came quickly. The emotion of the past two days finally caught up with her.


Some sense buried in Jess’s subconscious alerted her to a presence in the room. Her eyes flicked open and, 
like a cat she was instantly on alert.


“Who’s there?”


“Me.”


“Gray? What are you doing here? How did you get in?”


“I missed you,” Gray said.


“Gray… I. But the door was locked. Did Chris leave it on the latch?”


“Nope, You left the laundry window open,” he told her.


“Did I? I’m usually so careful… Well I…”


“Jess,” Gray said, “can I stay tonight?”


Jess thought his voice reminded her of a child’s, asking mummy if he could jump in to her bed.


“Sure Gray… is anything the matter? It’s a tight fit… we’ll have to squeeze up… I’ll have to get a double 
bed now won’t I?”


She heard the rustling sound of Gray shedding his clothes. Jess shifted over against the wall as Gray slipped 
in beside her. She nestled herself in his proffered arm and cuddled against his body.


“Are you alright?” she asked him.


“Fine,” he said, in that ‘automatic’ fashion people use when they’re not.


Jess listened to his breathing for a while.


“Y’know?” Gray said, finally, “I’ve never been so close to anyone in my life.”


“Oh Gray,” she said, stroking his chest, “it feels like… I’ve always known you.”


“That’s a good line,” he whispered, “may I have it?”


Jess sensed him grinning at her.


“No,” she said, “ it’s mine and I’m keeping it.”


Gray nuzzled Jess’s neck. She felt rather than heard him whisper,


“I love you.”


Jess touched his face with her hand and whispered back,


“Me too.”


Then she fell asleep.


Jerry and Chris were sitting in bed together. A half-empty bottle of Bourbon sat on the nightstand, Jerry 
occasionally took a swig.


“Jerry, are you going to drink the whole bottle?” Chris asked him.


“Maybe, I haven’t decided yet.”


“I really hate it when you’re in this mood.”


“You’re sounding like a wife already.”


“Listen, Jerry,” she said.


“Listen Jerry,” he mimicked.


Jerry didn’t see the fist coming. It cracked him fair and square on the jaw, sending his upper body 
sprawling sideways.


“FUCK! WOMAN!” he yelled, rubbing his jaw.


Chris was on top of him in a second, pinning his arms to the bed.


“Don’t you fuck with me, Hanlon,” she spat, “I’m not getting shackled to a drunk, you hear me? I came 
here for love, not to watch you boozing and hear you dissing me out! I’m not playing the little passive 
wifey for no man, got it?”


“Ok, ok… Shit! Where did you learn to hit so hard?”


“I’ve got brothers…”


“Jesus…” Jerry whined, straightening his jaw.


A few minutes later they were cuddling again, the Bourbon forgotten.


“Jerry? Can you make love to me… like Gray does with Jess?” asked Chris.


“How is that? In a spa pool?”


“No, hon,” she chuckled at the recollection, “he… he told her it was all about concentrating the mind… 
worshipping the spirit… or something like that.”


“Eh?”


“He wrote a book,” she continued, “ called ‘Tantric Love and the Gift of Sex,’ I think she said.”


“Tantric what?”


“Tantric love… by Ramesh Gupta, that was his pseudonym… Jess said he’d kept her on the edge for ages 
and ages… that she’d have these really powerful orgasms that last and last… He had this little sideways 
movement with his hips. He was really slow at first and she’d be gagging for it because she knew what was 
coming… and…”


“Ramesh what?”


“Gupta, I think…”


“Should have been ‘Humpta’,”


“You always do that, Jerry. Push me away with your little smartarse comments… I’m serious. Look, you’re 
not as dumb as you make out… Gray said you have a Masters in Pharmacology… he said you were the 
cleverest…”


“Gray said… Gray said… Gray told you all that? Ask him the rest of the fucking story?” Jerry burst out.


“What story… He made a success of his life and you threw it all away… Why are you fixing cars for a 
living, what happened?”


“Gray happened, if you must know… Mr. Fucking perfect… You ask him where he fucking was when I 
was sitting in fucking jail… You ask him why he suddenly turns up with dollars coming out his arse…”


“He wrote books… he told us.”


“Some, sure… and other Authors on the payroll… easy to do when you own the publishing company.”


“He owns the company?”


“Marigold International. He owns it in partnership with some Tongan Princess… it makes millions… 
there’s even a Television side to it. 


You ask him where he got the capital for that? Before he’d written a word… you’re talking major 
dollaros.”


“And Pacific Island Communications?”


“They own that too… that Tongan Princess and Gray… ‘Maloe Red Ray Investment Proprietary limited.’ 
You ask him about that and see if you get a straight answer.”


“Jerry… I… I think you’d better tell me the whole story.”


“I’ve said too much already… just ask Mr. fucking Perfect.”


Jerry subsided.


“No Jerry, you haven’t told me anything. My best friend is in love with him and… if my future husband is 
involved in something… I want to know, NOW Jerry!”


Jerry had a far away look in his eyes. He lay quiet for a moment then sighed deeply.


“Chris… He’s my best friend… We go way back… and… I swore to him I’d never shit on him… ever.”


“I know Jerry,” Chris told him softly, “but there is more than the two of you now… I’m here… and Jess?”


“Yeah… good sort that Jess… I never should have hooked the two of them up. I never thought she’d go for 
him like that. I just thought they’d fuck each other a few times and…”


“Well she went for him hook and line, so spill, Jerry.”


“Are you sure you want to know?” Jerry asked.


“Put it this way, Hanlon. If you don’t tell me the truth, all of it, then I’m walking out that door and straight 
to Sperle in the morning… and it will be the last you’ll see of my tits, understand?”


“You fucking breathe a word…”


Chris nodded. Jerry breathed in deeply and started to talk.


“It was so much fun in those days… just a big lark, we got high, everybody got high… it’s what we all did 
in the early seventies. University students huh! Now they’re all boring as shit and…”


“Stick to the story Jerry.”


“I began synthesising LSD… just for my mates, y’know? At first, anyhow. It’s as easy as shit really, you 
could buy the ingredients at the Chemists, true! Times have changed…”


“Jerry!”


“Ok, ok. Gray was doing a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration…”


“I thought he did Literature?”


“That’s bullshit, Chris… That’s what he tells people, but nope! Our Gray was, and is, a businessman, 
through and through.


We hooked up,” Jerry continued, “he organised distribution and sales while I handled manufacturing and 
supply. Shit we had some times… 


In those days, cops didn’t know shit, man. We’d just tell them it was herbal tobacco and they’d believe 
us… we’d blow Buddha Gold up their noses and they wouldn’t know.”


“Buddha what?”


“Marijuana.”


“Oh, sorry.”


“So everything was going along ‘tickety boo’ and we were earning our tuition money and then some. Gray 
had ‘grown’ the business, you see. Got other sources and moved into other drugs, Heroin, uppers, downers, 
whatever. Had a whole bunch of people selling for him, while he laid back and raked it in. Then in about 
1977, everything turned to shit.”


“What happened?” Chris asked, quietly.


“The heavy mob moved onto the scene. They called themselves ‘Black Dot,’ a big syndicate with a lot of 
muscle. Did you read about that? Thai Harry? The guy that wound up ‘brown bread’ in Australia… The 
headless corpse, do you remember the case?”


“Yeah, I remember that… they never found the killer.”


“Right… never will either… He was the big boss… they had the gangs working for them, it was just Black 
Power then.


Gray saw the way it was going and cut a deal with the cops.  Turn over his distributors and suppliers and 
he’d be allowed to walk, to a place of his choosing. 


All except me, of course. He left me out of the bust but turned in his entire organisation, huh! That’s 
loyalty! He knew it was all fucked anyhow… that ‘Black Dot’ were going to move onto his market, so he 
cut and ran.”


“What did you do?”


“Joined ‘Black Dot,’ stupidest thing I’ve ever done. Gray took off to the islands with all the stash. I never 
knew how much at the time but it sure set him up for life.”


“So he set up all those business’s with drug profits?”


“Yep! Disappears for 10 years then suddenly re-appears, retired and dripping in wealth.”


“So how did you find out about all those companies?”


“Gray could never hold his dope, or booze for that matter. Ask him all the right questions…


The thing is… I thought that when we bumped into each other again he just wanted to be friends again. But 
now, do you know what I think?”


Chris shook her head.


“I think he wants to stay close to me… to keep an eye on me. Gray doesn’t trust many people, anyone 
actually. How many real friends has he got besides me?”


Chris shook her head, again.


“Nil… He doesn’t let people in, see! At the end of the day, the only loyalty Gray owes is to himself.”


“That drug shipment, Jerry?”


“That’s all bullshit, Chris. Honestly, someone’s trying to take us down.”


“Why did Gray come back?”


“Statute of Limitations. Otherwise the authorities could seize his assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act.”


“Yes, of course! After 7 years he can keep the money, cunning bastard! How come Sperle didn’t know 
where Gray’s money came from?”


“Sperle doesn’t know shit. He and Gray go way back. He cut a deal over Sperle’s head when he was just a 
young detective and Sperle holds a grudge. He never knew Gray took all the money, he thinks he’s back in 
the game.”


“But he’s wrong, isn’t he Jerry?”


“About that drug shipment, yes. But Gray doesn’t want anyone to start picking over his business activities, 
he’s shitting himself. I think he’s got a bit to hide there.”


Oh Jerry…”


“This house… the garage… the wheels… all came from Gray. The bastard owed me anyway.”


“So he thought he could come back and retire happily on his profits. Then someone sets him up and it all 
starts again.” Chris said.


“Yes,” said Jerry, “and now your Warren Hastings is sniffing around Tonga and his mate is arrested. 
Gray’s a worried man.”


“How come I feel sorry for him?”


“Because, petal, Gray does that to people. He makes everyone feel sorry for him.”


Part 11 follows


Katzmarek ©

