Encountering Evil: Dark Horse Guardians Book Two (14 page)

Hawk had always been nervous speaking to females, especially beauties with brains. But he
became happy and chatty in Lara’s presence. Usually he had difficulty forming intelligible sentences in front of women. She was warm, yet businesslike. But when his eyes met hers, it was as if she lit fireworks inside of him. He fought to maintain composure when in her presence but it was difficult. She smelled so damned good and always looked like a runway model fresh off the page of Glamour magazine. No, she was actually
more
beautiful than a runway model. Lara was shapely, not exceptionally thin. She had a curvy figure with the grace of an athlete. And she wasn't plastered with gobs of make-up. She was a natural beauty. He had examined every inch of her and she was the picture of health with elongated muscles, perky breasts, and a perfect rear end. But his eyes were riveted to her lovely face whenever she spoke. Hawk had never laid eyes upon a face like hers. Was he really this lonely? He found himself questioning his hermit status lately, and made a silent promise to get out more. His conscience kept telling him,
she is married
.

As Hawk finished chatting with her about the Henderson Project, she walked back to the driveway and hesitated. Before Lara could open her mouth, Hawk asked her, "Do you want something else?" he couldn't stop the feeling of offering himself to her on a platter.
He watched as her rosy lips pursed and she said, "Yes, actually…" Her green eyes locked with his and his pulse raced. She went on, "I've just purchased a property and would love to have you take a look at it, Hawk. It's on the ocean and I want a garden that would be low-maintenance. I love sea roses, like the ones you are installing here…and peonies." Hawk asked her for the address and if he could take a look at it. Checking his schedule on his phone, he offered an appointment two weeks out. "That would work," she said looking at her iPad. "We're moving in right about then…I'll pencil you in and create a reminder to call you." His eyes followed her as she waved goodbye to the crew and got into her car and drove away. Breathless, he sat back on the tailgate of his pick-up truck. "Put your tongue back into your mouth, Hawk!" one of the crew yelled to him. Hawk turned and smiled. "Show's over guys – it's time to get back to work."

Hawk had no idea his attraction to Lara was so obvious. Even his crew noticed. He hated being obvious. In fact, he prided himself on being a gentleman at all times. The grief counselor told him he was still in love with Ellen even though she had passed away. He knew she was right. Ellen’s clothing remained in his closet; he couldn’t give her personal effects to a local charity. Sometimes he slept with her nightgown laid out on the bed next to him. When he asked the counselor how and when his feelings might change, or
if
they ever would, she told him, "a woman will come along and you'll just
know
…you will feel it in your heart." The only thing was -- the counselor didn't tell him it would be a married woman employing him. He forced himself to focus on the landscaping project and moving mountains of dirt around for the rest of the day. But, tonight when he was alone he knew his thoughts would wander back to Lara. Ever since he first met her, he was thinking less and less of Ellen and more and more about Lara. He was already excited and looking forward to visiting her property on the ocean. He'd work diligently to create a design that would please her. He wanted more than anything to please her.

~ Eric Henderson ~

The $300,000 payment Ali Farouz promised Eric appeared in a cardboard box via courier. Cash
! $300,000 in cash in a cardboard box. It was waiting for him when he arrived at his office. The receptionist handed it to him not realizing what it contained. He decided to put it incrementally into his account so the deposits would not draw attention. Meanwhile, he put the cardboard box into his office safe. Smiling to himself, he hoped he would be getting more clients like Ali Farouz. But no matter how much money he seemed to accumulate, Eric painfully realized happiness could not be bought. Ever since Lara pushed him out of her life and married the Lieutenant, he couldn't bring himself to get emotionally involved with another woman. There were plenty of on-line dates to keep him satiated sexually, but none of those relationships ever blossomed into love or even friendship. He searched out women who had her features, leggy beauties with long dark hair, but it was never the same. Once the sex was over, he got out of bed, hastily dressed, and made a quick exit. Some women on-line were refusing his requests to hook up. Apparently,they had heard about him from some of their friends. To get fresh sexual partners, he just broadened his territory.

Lara had trusted Eric and he betrayed her trust in the worst way. But then, Eric, mused he couldn't help himself. He was a liar and cheater and knew he would never change. Some days he followed Lara when she left the pink Victorian only a few blocks away from his home. She never noticed him following as he always stayed far behind and out of sight. Eric felt it was innocent curiosity. He wanted to know what was going on in her life and there was no other way to find out. His uncle, Don, told him to stay away from Lara and refused to give him any information about her. He told Eric point blank, "She's happily married -- suck it up, you lost her."

Eric gazed out of the huge plate glass window of his office to the parking lot below and noticed Lieutenant Ben Keegan getting off his motorcycle and approaching the building. His heart was suddenly in his throat. His pulse raced. What would Lara's husband want with
him
? He hadn't done anything out of bounds. He never called her or bothered her. What was the Lieutenant doing at his workplace? Eric's receptionist spoke on the intercom, "There's a Ben Keegan to see you, sir."

Eric sat behind his desk and put on his best game face as he pressed the intercom button, "Send him up." Within a minute, Lieutenant Ben Keegan was standing against the front of his desk leaning over and staring him straight in the eye. "You
know
what I'm here about…" Ben murmured with a low growl. Eric feigned ignorance. "I have no idea why you are here." Ben did not break his stare. "You're following my wife, that's why!" Eric remained silent, but he couldn't stop the involuntary trembling that overtook his body. Ben Keegan sounded ominous when he said, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Eric finally looked down at his hands on the desk, "I'd prefer the easy way…"

Ben walked around the desk and got so close to his face Eric could smell the mouthwash Ben had just used. Eric
thought steam might come out of Ben's ears, but he stood frozen in fear as Ben unleashed a torrent of anger upon him. "Listen you little bastard…if I ever see you following my wife again…or if I ever see you
near
my wife again, I'll tear you limb from limb and enjoy every sick moment of it!" Instinctively, Eric backed up and almost fell over his office chair. He felt his face flush and his heart was like a drum pounding in his chest. He was experiencing raw fear as Ben Keegan stared without blinking into his eyes. He knew this man meant every word he said and even sensed he was holding back.

Reluctantly, Eric murmured a weak apology, "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Like a drill sergeant, Ben moved closer invading Eric's personal space and yelled in his face, "What did you say? I can't hear you!" After apologizing profusely, Eric felt drained, and he promised to stay away from Lara. But, Eric knew Ben wasn't finished with him yet. Eric felt as if he was looking into the eyes of a mad man as Ben put his face close to his and said in a controlled snarl, "Listen you candy-ass: I wanted to beat you to a pulp when I found out what you did behind Lara's back…and you are
lucky
that she stopped me then. I
still
have an uncontrollable urge to snap your neck, so don't forget that, Eric!
Stay away from my wife
!"

Eric trembled
; only his eyes moved as Ben moved toward the door. The Lieutenant left his office as swiftly as he had entered. Once he heard the elevator descend, Eric walked to the office window and watched Ben as he put on his helmet, mounted the Indian motorcycle and rode out of the parking lot. Although he felt a sense of relief, he couldn't stop the tremors that overtook his body. It was as if he had just looked into the jaws of death when Ben's blue eyes pierced through him. He promptly ran to the private restroom in his office and vomited.

~ Ben ~

While Ben was chewing Eric's ass, he installed a tiny listening device in his office and had hacked the security camera so there would be an empty fifteen minutes on it. A month ago he had installed a tracking device on Eric's black Infiniti. Smiling as he drove away on the Indian motorcycle, Ben knew the sniveling twit was having an involuntary bowel movement right about now and this brought him some level of satisfaction. He felt he now had the money trail nailed down. The listening device would hold Eric's confession the next time he spoke with Ali Farouz.

Now Ben focused solely on getting inserted into the Islamic terrorist community outside of Springfield. A few more details needed to be worked out, but he had the plan formulated and felt certain he could pull it off. He parked the Indian motorcycle in the parking lot of a scientific building on the outskirts of Portland Maine. The building was one level and covered an enormous amount of real estate, maybe four acres, with a sign in the front that said Primary Biological Services. After going through an elaborate security system, Ben waited in a reception area for twenty minutes. Doctor John Ibsen arrived to usher him into an area to suit up. "Hi Chief, good to meet you…I'm ready to give you the Cliff's Notes version of weapons grade anthrax."

Ben climbed into the impenetrable suit in the clean room and listened carefully to everything Doctor Ibsen told him about anthrax. He was memorizing every detail as the doctor spoke. After going through an air-lock, they entered the inner sanctum that contained the deadly bacterium. Using radio communication inside a sealed suit, Doctor Ibsen showed Ben the various types of anthrax and the various vials they usually came in. He even had the cheap Chinese version in which the vials were stored in a yellow canister. Ibsen explained the handling protocol. "The finer the powder the higher grade anthrax and the more ingestible it is. There are some lower grades that look like granules of brown sugar. But remember, it's
all
lethal. But the most dangerous is the stuff you can barely see with the naked eye. This electronic scanning microscope will magnify the anthrax by 100,000; then we will look at it at 300,000."

Doctor Ibsen showed Ben the various containers the anthrax came in and there was a wide variety, especially those from China. The canisters that held the vials were yellow, pink and blue, with yellow being the highest grade. The prepared specimens lived in sealed glass chambers. They looked like normal microscope glass slides but rectangular and vacuum sealed. Viewing the three-dimensional image Ben got his first close-up look at the deadly bacterium that, upon first glance, appeared to be the finest talcum powder with a slightly translucent quality. It was at that moment Ben realized how terribly dangerous this stuff was. It would
not
be detected if it was airborne. No one would ever see it or notice inhaling it.

After the scientific lesson the two men passed through the decontamination chamber, then through the air-lock and ended up in a wash room where they cleaned and dried their bodies. Dr. Ibsen was a small man, maybe seventy years of age, and hunched over. The hair he had left was thin, gray and tousled. He peered at Ben over his spectacles and asked if there were any questions. "Just one," Ben looked him in the eye. "What would the time frame be for death if anthrax was ingested rather than inhaled?" Doctor Ibsen was deep in thought. "Actually, humans would die sooner if they ingest
ed the bacterium. They would die within 48 hours without a strong antibiotic to kill the anthrax. Cipro is the most effective." Ben asked if he could contact him if any other questions came up and the good doctor gave him his personal cell number. "I always have this phone on me. If you run into a problem, call me. Don't do anything stupid. There's no going back. So, don't be afraid to ask." Ben thanked him and left with the cell number added to his secure phone. He hoped to God he would not have to use it. He now knew exactly what he would do. The moment he viewed the anthrax in the sealed slide a light bulb went off in his head.

Rushing home on the motorcycle, he couldn't wait to see Lara. Tonight they would be going to dinner with Monique and Bettencourt. This would be good for comic relief, if nothing else. He knew Bettencourt was longing for the company of a woman and the date with Monique would be good for him. He looked forward to a diversion from his mission, if only for a few hours. More than anything, he anticipated undressing with Lara after dinner and going to a place with her that was heavenly for him, the bedroom. She was relaxing more with him physically and he didn't want to interrupt the progression of their lovemaking. It was a major expression of his love and he always wanted it to be that way.

~ Lara ~

After stopping by the landscaping project at Noon to see Hawk, Lara planned an afternoon of organization and moving. She met Monique to undertake the task of moving her Dark Horse Renovation business materials into the Craftsmen bungalow that would now house her business. This was a delightful experience for both women. Most of the files were electronic, thus they moved computer equipment and met with service people to install the wireless router for the internet connection. Everything was up and running smoothly by the end of the day. "We need to go shopping tomorrow for furnishings." Lara smiled at Monique. "That part will be
fun
. Maybe Bettencourt can help us." As she glanced at her phone Lara realized it was 5:30 and they had a date arranged for 7:00 at the Seafood Palace. Monique nervously gushed, "Oh, I need to take a shower and get ready. I'll meet you guys there at 7:00." Lara locked up the bungalow, making a mental note to get a sign constructed for the front, and drove a short distance to the pink Victorian to meet Ben.