Surrept (13 page)

David's heart feels instantly heavy at her comment, "Who Dana?"

Dana breaks down. "Kathy Reese and her two children, Jerry Collin, Rabbi Matrodomini, Nina Sedlezeck, Andy O'Brien, Renee Birkendorf, Shawn Marquez, Tim McNeil and his wife, and there are more. David, I need you here."

David can barely breathe as he remembers the faces as she names them.

"Listen to me. I will get to you if I have to swim. I promise as soon as I can, just stay inside, do you hear me? You should go to your dad's house Dana. Hire a private car, not a cab Dana, okay?"

He is afraid he will not be able to contact her again. His mind is racing about things he wants to say.

Dana interrupts him. "My dad wants me to come home to his house, but I wanted to stay here and wait for you."

He likes the dad idea better. "Dana, go to your dad's. That is where you belong. It's safer there and you won't be alone."

She is relieved to hear him say that, she wants her dad to be with her. "I'll go, but I am taking my two friends with me"

David is confused "What two friends?"

"Smith and Wesson."

He says, "Dana, you do just that, and get over there right away."

She is relieved to hear David's voice. "Just get home fast, and call me as much as you can, all right?"

"I love you, Dana." He hangs up and the room has cleared out. There are two Korean executives staring at him grimly. They are not used to seeing American weakness.

"Excuse me, gentlemen. Things are a little crazy at home. Are we ready to get started. Where is everybody?"

The executive assigned to accommodate David speaks first. "Mr. Bloomfield, it is with great regret on behalf of Kiatsu and its entire staff that the board has decided to postpone any campaigns for the United States and Great Britain at this most tragic time. We would like to take care of all your expenses in coming here with your most impressive proposal. We do wish you and your country a rapid recovery from this most unfortunate event. We look forward to do business with your company in the near future. Please accept our most humble apologies."

David looks at the two men and realizes the obvious political and economic ramifications. "I understand, gentleman. Completely." David looks around the empty boardroom as he continues. "Obviously in the present climate the entire world will suffer from this heinous act of barbarism personally as well as economically. Your company must make the right choices and I respect that most prudent decision, as does National Ad Media, and we look forward to serving your company in any requests in the future."

David stares at the Korean executives. "I will however take you up on your offer for some arrangements, as I find myself in a most compromised position."

The men are relieved at the American's reaction. "Anything Mr. Bloomfield, what can we do for you?"

"Your company has a private aircraft, as I recall."

The Korean smiles proudly. "We have two that is correct."

"Do you think we could arrange a flight to Canada, say British Columbia, as soon as possible? I don't speak Spanish, or I would also throw in Mexico as an option."

The Korean executive smiles at David. "It would be our pleasure to make this accommodation. Would departure in three hours be too soon?"

"Three hours is great. I am humbled by your incredible hospitality."

The Korean executive bows slightly. "I will make the arrangements right away. I will also make sure you have meals of your liking. If you would be so kind as to provide Mr. Sueng here with your requirements as he takes you to your hotel to prepare for your flight. He will also escort you to the airport."

David smiles with relief and extends his hand. "Again, thank you. I am humbled, and please call me David."

***

The Vancouver skyline is alive with light and activity, seemingly untouched by the horrific events in its neighbor's territory. The well dressed man is sitting at his desk sipping Cognac. His phone finally alerts him to an incoming text message.

He reaches for the phone and reads the two-word phrase, '
He Rests'.
The man smiles as he deletes the message and hits his speed dial.

A man answers, "Good evening, sir."

"Good evening, I need a car in ten minutes for dinner, please."

"Right away sir, ten minutes."

***

The early morning dawn chills the Montana wind as the sun breaks. Adriana enters the security gate at her Bozeman family ranch home. The automatic lights are on along the long driveway and in the designated rooms. She wonders what the man has left for her as she pulls into the garage. She enters the house, disarms the alarm system, and heads for the bathroom off the kitchen entry.

She comes out of the bathroom and sets her purse and keys on the granite counter. The sun is coming up soon and she feels exhausted, realizing she has been awake for twenty-seven hours.

She enters the hallway and stops midway at a closet. She retrieves some winter gloves off the shelf, and puts them on as she reaches to pull down the attic access door attached to a retractable ladder.

She hits a light switch on the wall as she ascends. She squints as she looks around the attic and sees two duffel bags under the insulation. She retrieves them one at a time, and drops them to the carpet below. She walks backward down the ladder, folds it up, and allows it to return up to the closed position.

Adriana carries the bags into the bedroom and unzips them. One bag contains taped and wrapped packages common in drug contraband. She counts them: thirty-five one-pound parcels all containing pure Afghanistan heroin. She reads a note left inside,
20 Newark/Ten Northridge,
five a gift.

Adriana looks in the other bag, there are ten large plastic-wrapped bags, vacuum-packed with U.S. currency, each marked
$100,000.
She smiles and zips the bags up and pushes them under the bed. She collapses on the bed and falls into a deep sleep still dressed from her day.

Just over eight hours later, the sun shines in her eyes as it beams through a window. Adriana is at first disoriented by her surroundings. She lifts her head and remembers that she is in Bozeman, Montana at her family ranch.

She plops her head back down as she allows herself to wake. She thinks about the attack and the man dismissing her on the phone, and his changing of their plans to meet.

Anger fills her and then she remembers the money and contraband under the bed and rolls over to check that it is still there. She goes into the bathroom and drops her jeans and squats to relieve herself; she had drunk so much water and Red Bull on her journey to the ranch.

Adriana tugs on the roll, she gets up and flushes as she looks with approval into the mirror at herself. She washes her face, rinses with mouthwash, and feels better as she heads for the garage to get her things for a hot shower. She checks the time: twelve thirty-five P.M. She has to get the stuff in the bags shipped right away and get back to Denver.

Adriana is in the garage. She opens her car trunk, gets her bag and closes it. She sees her old saddle on the wall, and remembers her horse and the summers she had spent there with the boys who sought her attention over the years.

She remembers the days with her horse trainer and his mature, broad shoulders as he was carrying her from the pond. Adriana remembers how they made love under the trees in the south pasture, where she could scream with pleasure as loudly as she wanted.

The man in Vancouver did not appreciate her and the beauty she offered him. She knew that there was no future there for her, but she feared his political power and his ultimate plans. She would have to come up with a plan to get more of his wealth and eliminate his power over her. He knew too much and she had to be smart about every move from this point forward—no mistakes.

She grabs some new unmade boxes she kept there for the past heroin deliveries, and the wrapping material as she leaves the garage. She enters the kitchen, then sets everything down on the granite counter, and heads for her shower.

She turns on the shower and lets the steam build as she undresses and steps into the shower's hot soothing spray. The water penetrates her thick hair as the scents of shampoo and soaps fills her world with delight.

She reaches and pleasures herself, intoxicated by her own all-knowing touch until her legs are weak with self satisfaction and she presses herself against the cool tile, relieved of all tension and worry as the water pours over her back.

Adriana completes packing the final box in the kitchen and addresses them, one to Northridge, California, and one for Newark, New Jersey. The others are going to be sent to Haynes Blake Street Auto Body in Denver and to National Ad Media Group in the Denver tech center, care of David Bloomfield. She carries the boxes to her car, places them in the trunk, secures it, and hits her alarm and returns inside to prepare to leave.

***

Farther north in Winter Harbor, British Columbia, two men return from their mission of putting the imam to rest, and they exit the boat as a dockhand secures and ties the vessel off. They walk to a building in the parking lot of the commercial harbor to report that they have returned and completed their task. They go inside the warehouse and approach a man working behind the counter with his back turned toward them.

One of the men speaks. "Marcus, we're back. What did you need us to do?"

Marcus turns around and points toward some boxes stacked in the back of the warehouse. "He wants you to bring those to the main house right away. What took you guys so long?"

The man answers, "We do our work well, and we wanted to make sure the job was spread out appropriately."

The two men who disposed of the imam pass him to retrieve the boxes; Marcus raises a silenced twenty-two and double-taps the two men in the head. The men both fall, fatally wounded. Marcus pulls them both out of sight and dials on his phone.

The man is having a late breakfast with a woman wearing one of his robes on his terrace. "Yes?"

"Good morning, sir. They just received their departure schedule and are on their way."

"I will make sure that you receive that extra inventory in the next order, thank you for clearing that manifest."

Marcus answers, "Very good, sir, thank you."

***

Adriana is putting on her final changes before she departs for Denver. She turns off the light and grabs her purse and keys. She sets the alarm and leaves the family ranch.

Adriana heads to town. She pulls into the lot and is glad to see the mail store is open early; she does not want to carry the dope and money on the road. She gets out wearing her shades, tight jeans with a white sweatshirt and tennis shoes. She unlocks her trunk as she goes into the store.

Shelly, the owner, sees Adriana as she comes in and moves from behind the counter to give her a hug, "We haven't seen you in town for a while. How long are you here for?"

Adriana smiles at her father's old friend, "I have been up to dad's place just to check on things since this thing happened yesterday, after all this, I'm thinking more and more about spending more time up here. But I have some of my company stuff to send out that I forgot about in the trunk. You think I could get a hand?"

"Hey, Tommy, could you please give Miss Adriana a hand with her packages?"

Shelly's teen-age son responds, "Are they in the trunk, Miss Adriana?"

Adriana smiles at the teen. "It's open Tommy, thank you."

"Isn't it just terrible what them crazy sand suckers done to this country? I bet your daddy and every good man now gone is just rolling over in their graves about this. Miss Adriana, you should get the hell out of Denver, come back up here and stay with us God-fearing folks, where those sand dabs don't dare come. Hell, old Jake Woods, the mayor, said in the Red Lion this morning that there ought to be hunting tags issued for them. He says we could balance the United States budget with that revenue."

The teenager comes in with all the packages on a hand dolly and stands it next to the counter as he peeks at Adriana in her tight jeans. Tommy vies for her attention. "That's everything that was boxed, Miss Adriana."

She rewards the teenager with a flip of her hair and a smile he will remember. "Thanks Tommy, you're the best."

The young man blushes.

The chubby shopkeeper says, "My lord, those people are just working you to death darling. Let me weigh these up for you. How many days you want for them to take to get there, honey?"

Adriana answers her with a sense of urgency, "They all need to go overnight, Shelly. They're a day late already."

"Well, Chet, our UPS guy, usually comes in about three-thirty for our pickups. I'll make sure he gets them going right away, sugar."

Shelly finishes weighing the parcels and prepares the bill. Adriana fishes out a twenty for the teen, "Tommy, you're a sweetheart."

The teenager smiles shyly as he accepts the tip.

Shelly announces the total for overnight shipping, "That comes to one hundred eighty-seven dollars and thirty-six cents. I hope those folks you work for are paying this tab."