Chapter 16
The man was very reluctant to meet Susan, encouraging her to just tell him where she was for an extraction.
“No.” Susan said firmly. “I just went through an entire night dealing with men with guns, so you'll understand if I'm being a little cautious. Plus, you're not telling me who you really are or what you have to do with all of this, not to mention, what the hell's an extraction, and just where, exactly, are you extracting me too? ”
“Okay, Miss Jenkins, I can appreciate your concern. Please be calm. I'll meet with you, but a place of my choice.”
“Make your choice in Santa Cruz, California.” Susan said. “I'll meet you there.”
“One moment.” the voice said. She heard the line click to 'hold'. He came back on the line and said, “There's a small corner park at the beginning of Santa Cruz proper's main street. There's a grassy center island in the middle of the street with a clock on a pedestal. In seven hours, that would be 8 PM Pacific time, stand in the street lamps glow under that clock for one minute, then cross the street and sit down on the bench that faces the corner of the block and wait. Describe yourself and what you will be wearing.”
Susan described herself, saying she would be wearing jeans, a sweater and sandals.
“Come alone. You will be safe.” he hung up.
“Yeah. Right. I'll be safe.” Susan said to the dead line.
She looked at Brad who still sat across from her at the veranda table. “We've got seven hours to blow. I don't know about you, but thirty-two hours of no sleep is catching up to me. What do you say we go to bed.”
They closed the inner curtains, leaving the heavier outside curtains drawn As Susan removed her shirt, Brad saw a spot of blood on her dressing. “It looks like it's time to change the bandages.” he said, going into the bathroom to get the first aid kit.
She watched him walking into the bathroom in the ambient light. All he wore was a pair of jeans. He didn't appear as muscular with a loose shirt on. His shoulders were broad and waist narrow. His back looked hard as a rock, and as he turned to switch on the light she was surprised by the size of his arms. She had hardly got to admire him when they were at his house before all hell broke loose. He walked back into the bedroom and she thought he looked even better from this side. He was chiseled to the perfection of an Olympian.
She smiled as he looked up at her from the first aid kit. “I'll be gentle.” he said as he crouched in front of where she sat on the bed and carefully removed the bandages.
“That's all I ask for from a man.” she said, which brought a laugh from him.
“You're pretty funny.” Brad said as he cleaned the wound.
“Yeah, I'm a riot when I'm not shooting people.” He chuckled again.
He stood to wrap the bandage around her shoulder, leaning in close to her. She could smell the scent of soap and male. She leaned forward and kissed him on the stomach. Brad's hands stopped as she kissed him again on his chest, rising slowly she kissed him on the neck. Suddenly caught in his embrace their lips met, her nakedness pressed against the hardness of his body. Reaching down between them, she unsnapped his jeans. As his pants fell to the floor they pressed against each other as if trying to become one body, she consumed by his tender masculinity, he enraptured by her irresistible scent, the softness of her body against his, her femininity. Their kiss was passionate and deep, removing the world from the moment, leaving only the feeling of each other as an existence.
This time when they kissed, Susan knew she was swooning, was completely speechless, and accepted it, falling into an abyss of wondrous emotions. Brad, holding her in his arms, reclined on the bed, each kiss to her mouth, neck, breasts were just steps in a trail of thrilling explosions that led down her stomach, through the small forest of hair that surrounded the pulsating want, the tease of his tongue bringing an ache of desire. All the sexuality that nature had given Susan begged to be touched and satisfied.
“Now.” She gasped softly. “Now” she breathed again, pulling at his sides. He entered her slowly, exploring deeper with each stroke, her hands clinging to his back.
“Oh, my God.” they both said at the same time, as if for a precious moment they had been totally released from their bodies, set free in ecstasy.
After five solid hours of sleep, Brad awoke and quietly got out of bed, not disturbing Susan as she breathed softly, her lips slightly open. He sat at the table with a cleaning kit, oiling his Glock 9 mm. He filled an extra magazine with bullets and made sure the magazine in the Glock was full, quietly chambering one, he set the gun on lock, and than sat in silence, drawing the terrain and buildings around the old clock where the meeting was to take place from his memory. He wanted to be in a hidden location at least an hour before the meeting, just in case they set up an early observation, for he had no doubt there would be an observation. The man asked for an eight hour period before meeting. Even if he flew across the country for the meeting, it gave him plenty of time to set up a surveillance or an extraction crew if he wasn't the savior he claimed to be. As an added back up he slipped a T-bar knife into his boot top. You just never know, he thought as he secured the knife.
Susan awoke reluctantly, groggy, as Brad touched her arm and kissed her on the forehead.. “No – let me sleep.” she mumbled, turning her face into the pillow. Even as she said it, she knew in the fog of her waking mind that he could not let her sleep.
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As Brad pulled the Land Rover into the San Lorenzo Park parking lot the trees had already spread the shadows of the setting sun across the park into the first vestiges of night. They sat in silence for a moment, staring out the front window, but not really seeing the trees or the dimming expanse of lawn.
“Well - “ Brad started. “Are we ready?”
“As ready as we'll ever be.” Susan responded.
“Okay, here's what I'd like for us to do.” He said, after a quick release of a sigh as if he had been holding his breath in thought. “I'm going to go ahead and find a good hiding location. If you leave here at ten to eight, cross over the bridge, you'll see the town clock a block away.”
“Yes. I know where it is.” she informed him.
“Sorry.” Brad said. “I'm just a little nervous about putting you in such a vulnerable position.”
“It's not that bad.” she said with what she hoped sounded like confidence. “I know you will be close by.”
“I'd feel better if you had a weapon on you, but I suspect one of the reasons they want you to stand under the light at the clock is so they can see if you're armed.”
“How would they know?” she asked.
“Trust me. If they know what they're doing, they'll know if you're armed or possibly armed. Either one could abort the meeting.”
He reached over and kissed her. “Be careful.” he said as he pulled away from her and opened the door.
“You be careful.” she responded.
As the eastern sky filled with stars, Brad ambled casually down the street, a small back pack strapped to his shoulders and a dog at his side. He couldn't look more like a local than he did, offering any passing vehicle or pedestrian absolutely nothing of interest or memorable
As he came to the corner where the clock rose from an island at the intersection, he stopped near the edge of the mini park on the corner and said, “Go pee, Recon.”
Recon dutifully sniffed bushes for the perfect spot to relieve himself while Brad casually looked around. He looked down the main street, what is known as 'the mall', where lights of restaurants and art galleries mingled with the bright yellow of city street lamps. The sidewalks in the distance were filled with people going in and out of establishments or just window looking. The crowd dwindled sharply before the intersection where he stood. He looked across the street from the park, noticing two small cafes announced their existence with weak neon lights. The few buildings beyond the restaurants housed little boutiques that had already closed, the owners knowing that the mall crowd rarely came this far down the street. The city lights were fewer and the darkness more ominous.
As Brad looked for anybody lingering in the darkness, or staring out the windows of the two restaurants, he was also looking for a location that was near but would give him cover. The park had a slight rise of a hill, but not enough to offer him the invisibility that he needed. He crossed the street, walking passed the restaurants and found a small alley way, a dumpster taking up most of the space at the alleys entrance. He pulled the dumpster from the wall of the building it nestled against until there was enough room to fit his body and give him cover if he needed it. He crouched between the wall and dumpster in the growing darkness and waited.
Almost every car he saw turned into main street or came out of it, turning left or right at the intersection, none going straight into the dark street on which he hid. As darkness continued to fill the evening, Brad was motionless, undetectable as anything within the growing black of the dumpster shadow. A half hour passed before a black SUV turned the corner at the park and slowly drove passed him. He leaned back farther into the darkness, knowing that it's occupants were looking around. The SUV's taillights disappeared at a turn, then a moment later he saw it's headlights returning, coming down his side of the street at the same slow pace. The SUV turned right at the intersection, the buildings at his side blocking the vehicles movement. Brad touched the Glock in the shoulder holster under the windbreaker that he wore, almost as if in hopes it would give him a greater sense of security.
Another fifteen minutes passed before he saw Susan walking quickly down the street. At the intersection she crossed to the street island that held the clock and stood beneath the lamplight. She raised her arms and turned in a circle. Brad smiled from his hiding place. Smart girl, he thought. She dropped her arms to her side and turned slowly studying the terrain around her, but not seeing anybody. A minute passed and she cross from the island back to the side of the street that she had come down and sat at the bench that faced the corner. Clasping her hands on her lap, she sat still and waited.
Couple and small groups of people exited the mall, turning up or down the street at the intersection, talking among themselves, not noticing Susan sitting in the shadows of the park bench across the street. A couple came out of one of the restaurants and passed her, holding hands, noticing nothing but each other.
An old man came to the intersection from the mall. He had flimsy white hair that went in chaotic directions. He leaned on a came as he studied the clock, not looking at Susan or seeming to notice her. He wore khaki pants. His ample belly protruded over them and he wore a tweed sports coat over a sports shirt. Looking both ways down the street before moving, he slowly crossed the street towards Susan. She felt her heart beat pick up as he stepped up on the curb, walked in front of her and then stopped. He looked as if he could have easily been one of the professors at the local University. His face looked kind and friendly as he smiled at her.
“Lovely evening.” he said to her.
“So far.” she responded, not smiling back.
“Are you going to tell me who you are?” she asked.
“In good time, Susan. In good time.” he said.
Brad had cross the street so quietly that Susan didn't notice him behind the old man until he stepped up on the curb. The movement of Susan's eyes over the man's shoulder constituted an amazingly quick reaction from someone who seemed so feeble and careful in his actions. As the man turned, his hand went inside his coat, an object in his hand shot a blue jagged streak the few inches between him and Brad. Brad's entire body jerked spasmodically before crumpling to the pavement. As Susan rose in surprise the black SUV squealed around the corner and screeched to a stop at the curb. Two men leaped out, one grabbing Susan and placing a handkerchief over her mouth and nose. A sweet smell permeated her senses just before she passed out.
Brad could see what was happening. He tried to move, but his body would not respond to his wishes.
“Take him too.” the old man ordered gruffly. “Maybe we can get some information from him.”
“Who is he?” asked a man who picked up Brad by the shoulders as if he was a sack of potatoes.
“How the hell would I know? We'll find out, I can assure you.”
Tossing Brad into the SUV, a cloth was placed over his face. He recognized the smell immediately. Ether. He held his breath until the man hit him in the stomach. Brad gasped, and passed out with the first inhalation of air.
All content - poems, posts & images - are ©2010 by John Evans. No permission is given to post, share, copy, print, e-mail, reproduce, distribute or link to. All Rights Reserved. Please contact John Evans at JohnEvansPoet.Com for licensing inquiries.
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