‘Well, seeing as you’re remembering it now, we might as well fuck.’ Red grinned as I got to the end of the story. I was so pleased to find them sitting outside the tent and they cheered me up with tea, sympathy and bacon rolls.
‘So you’re not being faithful to us?’ asked Robbie cheekily.
I hit him. ‘To us! Get you! You’re only the audience.’ I laughed.
‘And the narrator,’ he protested. ‘That’s pretty important too, eh?’
‘Yeah, of course it is. Well actually he did come first. But I wasn’t expecting him to turn up here. He gave me the address of a friend’s hotel in Santiago, and I assumed I’d see him there.’
‘What did he say about being at Macchu Picchu?’ asked Red curiously.
‘He said it wasn’t him, but it was! Honestly, I’m not imagining it. It was him all right, with his hair tied back, in the same cream suit and white collarless shirt I’d already seen him in. But why would he lie?’
They exchanged glances. I had that funny feeling there was something they weren’t telling me.
‘Come on, you know why! What the hell’s going on? Are you involved in something with him?’
Red laughed but it was a short, tight laugh. ‘We know him, Bliss. But we’re not involved in anything
with
him; rather, against him.’
It sounded almost theatrically serious. I just sat there, had a gulp of tea and pinched the last bacon roll, watching their faces and waiting for an explanation.
‘You know this agency he works for? ETP? Do you know what it represents, not to mention what it stands for?’
I shook my head. ‘I don’t know what ETP means, but it’s some sort of aid agency, though he said it wasn’t funded by charity.’
Robbie cackled with laughter. ‘You bet it’s not! It stands for
en todas partes
, Bliss – even your Spanish can tackle that one.’
‘Cheek. Everywhere, right?’
‘Right. And if you were to take a guess at ETP’s mission statement, it would read something like, we will infiltrate markets anywhere on behalf of our clients, no matter what the cost to the local community, any disruption it may cause, who else we have to put out of business or however much we have to manipulate, connive or bribe in order to achieve our aim.’ Red sat back with a look of grim satisfaction on his face.
‘You left out the use of force, too,’ added Robbie.
‘OK, manipulate, coerce or bribe. Pretty good from off the top of my head, eh?’
I had a feeling they could keep up the Bill and Ted all day if I let them. ‘All right, if I can just have a bit more light shed on what you’re talking about here?’
‘Sorry,’ said Robbie. ‘In a nutshell, ETP is the South American arm of a US firm that represents big companies, massive companies. It gets them in to closed markets, usually by bribery but sometimes by force, manipulates local and national governments to give planning consents where they shouldn’t be given, smooths it all over with a bit of PR, and even helps import cheap labour where necessary. Clear enough for you?’
‘Christ. And Carlos works for them?’
‘Carlos very big man for them,’ said Robbie in a mock Latin American accent. ‘If the agency specialises in troubleshooting, he shoot the troubleshooters – if that’s the right expression.’
It might not be, but I was getting his drift. ‘Is it legal?’
They both screwed up their faces. ‘Part of it is, part isn’t. More a bending than a breaking of rules . . . in the main.’
‘So what was he doing at Macchu Picchu?’
‘Failing, if my sources are to be believed.’ Robbie grinned. ‘You know they’re going to expand the hotel, make a whole new tourist complex? Well, there are a couple of your mate’s clients who are just dying to get their little hands on a contract for that. But I think he got in too late. He’s only been down here for a few months, and the plans are already in progress. That’s why the agency needs him. If he’d come down here sooner, he might have twisted a few arms. Metaphorically, of course.’
‘Glad you added the last bit. But what do you mean, your sources? How do you know what he’s up to, and how do they know he’s failing? And where are they?’
‘Questions, questions; you should join our little investigation,’ teased Red. ‘Now you know what the e-mail kid here gets up to. We’re keeping in contact with our guys in the States and back home, as well as a couple of contacts down here. That’s why we went off the day after we got back from the Trail, to meet up with our man in Lima. He reckons he’s busted as far as Macchu Picchu’s concerned. Though he’s got another big project to go for next, and that’s his own little pet scheme –’
‘Hang on,’ I interrupted. ‘Who are you?’
‘Good point, Red, who are you?’ asked Robbie.
‘Stop being such a tosser, Robbie. I’ve had enough of men for today, quite honestly, and if you’re not going to finish telling me when I didn’t even ask you to start –’
‘Sorry, Bliss,’ he said contritely. ‘ETP are in Australia, too, though called something different. We’ve been in this action group for a while now and came up against them there, so we linked up with a similar group in the States who tried to help us fight some of their plans. We’ve managed to put a spanner in a couple of their little projects, though the way they work, it’s not easy. Anyway we were planning to travel in South America and when the guys in the States found out they told us about your mate getting things moving down here. The local support’s a bit useless, so we said we’d see what we could do.’
‘Hang on a minute. Your little action group, the one in the States . . . what are you? Anarchists? Communists?’
Red laughed. ‘Nothing so streamlined. We’re just against multinational companies and the global economy and for local, sustainable, ecologically sound activity. Not too sinister for you?’
I was a bit taken aback. ‘Of course not. I’m right with you in principle. I can’t stand the way every city in the world is starting to look alike.’ My memory stirred. ‘Funnily enough, I said that to Carlos.’
‘Oh man! I bet he was surprised.’ Red was in fits. ‘Don’t tell me he agreed?’
‘No way! We’d just been arguing about McDonalds.’
‘Magic! But you don’t have to get involved with us if you don’t want to, Bliss. He’s not going to harm you. If you want to just carry on seeing him like you are now, meeting up in Santiago, whatever, that’s fine. On the other hand, you could help us just by asking him some innocent questions.’
I wasn’t too sure I trusted them. ‘Maybe. Let me ask you a couple first. Did you know that Carlos was having his meeting at Macchu Picchu that day? We were originally going to leave for the Inca Trail the day before, I seem to remember, then you suddenly changed it.’
‘Well done, Bliss. You should be a detective.’
‘Yeah, right. Then when you left me in the restaurant you were sniffing around?’
‘Very good. Not that we found out anything.’
Now I had to ask the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question. ‘And you didn’t know at that stage that I was anything to do with Carlos?’
Blonds are so transparent. Under his tan Red’s face turned the colour of his name, or rather my version of his name.
‘Well . . . not exactly. I mean, we didn’t know what your relationship was.’
‘So how did you know I had any sort of relationship with him at all?’
Red looked shamefaced. ‘This is the embarrassing bit, Bliss. We saw you with him, in Lima. We followed you into a restaurant, and then hung out around his flat and found out you were going to Cuzco. We were planning to go there anyway, honest.’
‘You mean I’ve been followed by two secret agents?’ I didn’t know whether to be impressed or incensed. Mainly I was thinking that while I hadn’t planned, or not yet, to share with them that my relationship with Carlos was conducted in cuffs and corsets, if they’d seen me in thigh-high boots and massive cleavage in Lima they must have some idea. Still, that could wait.
‘Great! I won’t even ask how you found out where I’d be in Cuzco, seeing as Carlos tracked me down to the right place here. So you decided to seduce me to try to find out more about him!’
‘Hey, I’m not sure which one of us did the seducing.’
I guiltily remembered it might have been me who first suggested spending the afternoon in his room.
‘OK, but –’
‘Bliss, if you’re pissed off and want to ditch us, no worries. If you’re meeting him in Santiago, that’s not really much help to us anyway. We’re more interested in a project he’s trying to get going in Chiloe, an island off the coast –’
‘I know where it is,’ I said impatiently. ‘He mentioned he had some big thing lined up there.’
‘What else did he say?’ asked Robbie intently.
I scoured my memory. ‘Not a lot . . . that it’s crying out for development.’
‘Oh yeah, like a huge tourist complex with imported labour and materials, run by international corporations, food imported from global consortia; you see the problem?’
‘Of course! Really, I’m right with you. But I didn’t know that was what he did. He said that his agency helps to set up industry . . . I took it like the Oxfam thing, you know, helping people to help themselves.’
Robbie ruffled my hair. ‘Sweet. Look, Bliss, we’re sorry we’ve got you into this. But if you get the chance, will you help us?’
It was a little on the unbelievable side. ‘What, you mean see what information I can get out of him?’
They were both looking at me eagerly. It was hard to believe that these two endearing Aussies thought they could take on the forces of global capitalism, but if they thought I could help, I was in. After all I’d been brought up in a non-material household. Mum would be proud of me.
‘Like a sort of double agent?’
‘Not quite,’ said Red drily. ‘After all, we don’t want you betraying us to him. Just the other way round.’
‘Yes, of course.’ I smiled at them both. ‘All right, you’re on. You’ve recruited a new member to your cadre, or whatever they used to go on about in the seventies.’
‘We’re not going to be kidnapping anyone or bombing Wall Street,’ said Robbie gently. ‘Just a little information gathering.’
‘OK.’ I put my mug down and gave him a theatrical sideways look from under my eyelashes. ‘The name’s Bon. Van Bon.’
Red threw himself on me, laughing, and Robbie joined in and we tumbled around in the grass. There was nobody else on the campsite and Red’s roughhousing turned into a kiss, then a caress. Robbie watched avidly. Although just a couple of hours earlier I had been furious at being exposed by Carlos, this was different, and when Red lifted off my T-shirt and started fondling my breasts in the bikini top, I gave a little moan of pleasure and turned to Robbie with pouty lips. He had a smile that began slowly but finished wide and I looked forward to the next story that would come out of that mouth. But in the meantime, Carlos was still here and presumably waiting for me, so I told the guys they’d have to hang on till he was gone or find themselves a couple of girlies to play with until I’d completed phase one of my investigation.
Carlos seemed completely unconcerned by my absence, sitting in the courtyard drinking beer with Sue and Donna. I joined them till the girls decided to shower before dinner and we were alone.
He looked at me sardonically. ‘Got over it? It wasn’t such a big deal, was it?’
‘No, I suppose not. It’s just . . . it’s just that when it’s people you know, it’s not like strangers.’
‘Oh? And when you let the Australian’s friend watch you two fucking, that’s like strangers?’
‘No, but that’s different. I choose that.’
‘OK. I guess you’ve been having your own revenge with them?’
‘No!’ I said indignantly. ‘I just stopped by and had a cup of tea with them to say hello.’
His smile returned. ‘Good, because I’m leaving tomorrow, and I was looking forward to our last night for a while.’
So, he’s not a very nice man as far as business is concerned, but I couldn’t, and didn’t want to, resist those brown eyes. He could – what had they said? – he could infiltrate and manipulate me as much as he wanted, though I was going to stipulate a strict twosome tonight.
Chapter Six
F
or the first time since Lima he dressed me up for dinner. I wondered how many outfits Carlos had, and how many women he had to wear them, as he laced me into a white bustier, this one front-lacing and made of cotton lycra so I could wear it to the restaurant. I was glad that was all; this was a holiday town and I didn’t want to look too over the top, although almost over the top of the boned cups was just where my tits were. I’d started to get a bit of a tan and they looked good against the white. The only other piece of his equipment was a solid white metal choker, which looked like any other item of jewellery, though when I teased him that I expected it would be chained to the wall later he grinned without denying it. A white thong and a short denim skirt were allowed while we were out.
Dinner was pleasant but I was disappointed when he told me he wouldn’t be able to meet me in Santiago. I started to wonder if my chance to play superspy was over before it had begun until he said that instead he had to go to Chiloe a couple of weeks later, so we could meet up in Puerto Montt and go together.
‘That’ll be great,’ I enthused, partly sincerely as Bliss the willing captive and partly warily as Bliss the spy. ‘Did you say you had development plans there?’
‘If it works out,’ he said, shrugging. ‘Sometimes the best-laid plans don’t come to anything –’
I assumed he was thinking of Macchu Picchu.
‘– but this is a big project. A major holiday complex, it could get tourists in from all over the world, never mind Chile.’
‘I thought they had bad weather there?’ I ventured, trying to remember the guidebook spiel.
‘Only on the west coast. It’s a pretty little place, Bliss. It’ll be good to have you along because you can give me unbiased opinions.’