by Finian Blake
Arnold laughed, “Have you ever had your ass kicked by a woman. This little lady is a true Amazon.”
When they arrived at Toms house Layla was in the kitchen getting things started for Sera. “When I realized that you would be late I started for you. We are going to have French soul food or what you would call Cajun cooking. With all of the fresh seafood I decided on a spicy gumbo and rice. I also found some Boudin Blanc sausage that I cooked with black beans and rice. We also have some small sourdough loaves that I made into bowls.”
Sera looked over the preparations seeing that Layla’s presentation was flawless. “That is perfect. Layla I would like to present Randal Byrne. Randal Byrne I would like to present Layla Chalenger.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth Sera realized her mistake.
“Layla Chalenger, are you related to Alex Chalenger?”
“Yes I am Edward’s wife, Alex’s daughter in law.”
“Does he still live in Huntington beach?”
“Yes he has lived in the same house for 27 years. How do you know him?”
Randal decided to go with the truth. “I was the FBI agent on the case two years ago. How come we never met?”
“Edward and I were honeymooning in England. Alex and Anna suggested that we do the Continent so we took a few months and everything had been settled long before we returned. Edward wanted to return but Alex assured him that it was a small matter.”
Layla was a beautiful woman her light chocolate skin seemed to glow and she was impeccably dressed in a raw silk blouse and pants.
Randal was surprised to see that she was extremely well muscled. “Do you work out regularly?”
“Edward is a martial arts instructor and we spar a few hours every day even if it is in the park. We have been busted more than a few times because we do a full speed work out and they think that we are seriously fighting. We also do ‘Push Hands Tai Chi’ which almost looks like a dance but is a very advanced form of martial art.”
“I would like to see that.”
“I am cooking tonight maybe another time.” Layla heard a pot start boiling and turned her back to Randal. As she did he noticed that her hair picks were very similar to the ones that Sera had shown him earlier. Randal noticed other things about her that were not common such as her clothing was perfectly fit clinging loosely to every curve of her obviously muscular body. Layla’s raw silk blouse had loose fitting three quarter length sleeves. Her belt over her blouse at the waist of her thin shirt was made of thin loosely braided steel mesh that almost looked like chainmail with a highly polished metal star for a buckle. Her thin soled shoes were made of fine leather which was never found in the bargain stores. Although the styles of the clothes were different all of their clothes and accessories were of the same quality as that of the other women from the Amazon Inn. Randal intentionally dropped his glass and Layla caught it an inch off of the floor without even looking. “I should have given you a napkin the condensation makes the glass slippery. Have you found out what you wanted?”
“Almost…” Randal noticed that all the women from the Amazon Inn were in excellent shape and quite competent.
Layla reached out poking Randal firmly in the shoulder with the out stretched fingers of her right hand connecting with the soft part of Randal’s shoulder exerting a little more energy than a soft push. The contact caused minimal pain which only annoyed Randal. “Here is your glass.”
Randal tried to take the glass from her finding that he could not lift his arm. Layla put down the glass reaching out with both hands grabbing Randal’s shoulder making a few firm twists offering the glass to him one more time. Randal found that his arm worked perfectly with the second offering. “Would you show me how to do that?”
Layla took the Dutch oven off of the stove top placing it in a warm oven. “Sometimes you have to let things mature in order to have them turn out right. Perhaps my husband will see things differently. Why don’t you refresh your drink and join him in the family room?” As Randal walked through the kitchen he noticed a purse on the table that except for some trim was identical to Sera’s purse in construction. He had a feeling that this lady would not be a helpless damsel in distress.
Randal walked into the family room and walked up to the only man in the room that he did not recognize extending his hand as he approached. “You must be Edward. I was talking to your wife in the kitchen. She tells me that you’re Alex Chalenger’s son. I met him out in LA two years ago. I am sorry that we didn’t meet then.”
Edward shook Randal’s hand firmly noticing a familiar weakness in Randal’s grip. “Did my wife pull that trick on you?” He looked over Randal’s shoulder. “Honey, you are going to find somebody that it won’t work on one of these days.”
“Darling you know I love to play. I told Randal that we were on our honeymoon at that time and your father thought it was not much of a bother. All he did was to call the police and Nadia helped him with the rest. He told us to finish seeing the Continent. I believe that Tom was out there at that time and I am sure that Nadia’s fiancé Ted was out there too.” Randal remembered Ted, it was impossible to forget the six foot seven red haired giant with biceps as big as Randal’s thighs. Nadia was unforgettable too at six foot four with her raven hair and knock out body they stood out as a couple almost like somebody from another planet.
“Did they ever get…?”
“Yes they tied the knot last year.” Tom took Randal by the arm. “You might see them in a few days. Ted was a master instructor with the SAS and we use him for training our body guards at Four Diamonds. I believe that he will be returning with Helen and Susan on Monday.”
The thought of going to a gym and doing full contact training with the red headed giant gave Randal a horrible vision of having his arms ripped off. “You said that we would hit the gym on Wednesday.”
Tom laughed at the expression on Randal’s face. “If you want, Sera will be your partner.” He stuck his nose up in the air inhaling deeply. “There are some mouthwatering smells coming out of the kitchen and my stomach feels like my throat has been cut. Let’s eat.”
4.
UGLY THINGS
Maalik kept one room in the house for the women when they stayed the night. Being a Salafi fundamentalist he considered that unmarried men and women should not share their personal rooms even though they were not in them at the same time. There was one bedroom and one bath for the women and the rest of the house for his use. He was related to Uzma and Safiyyah, but not to Rajiya, so she should not be in the house without the two other women being present. They asked Maalik to lead the prayers at the Mosque which was a great honor. The women had followed his directions perfectly and Maalik was pleased when he opened the storage bay. Jamal and Haroun had dropped off several one-foot-long sections of pipe that were threaded at both ends which brought the count up to fifty. Nabil made some cell phone detonators that would be wasted on something as simple as pipe bombs. Jamal the bomb maker had not yet made the more advanced explosives for the bigger bombs since some of the components were restricted and Maalik did not want to do anything that would draw attention to his plans.
Maalik drove the women to a firing range that would allow automatic weapons at certain times of the week. The range owner did not see eye to eye with government restrictions to those weapons. Oscar liked instructing the women and admitted that he had a weakness for women that could shoot. There was no problem with Rajiya or Uzma, but Safiyyah was a name that he could not pronounce correctly which bothered her to no end, thinking he was a crude, uneducated, greasy, bore that smelled like rotten meat. He called her Safi which was the male form of her name and always found an excuse to help her with her shooting stance which was a good excuse for him to put his hands on her.
Safiyyah pushed Oscar away. “Pig eater, keep your hands off of me.”
“I was just helping you take the correct stance,” Oscar protested
“Oscar it is improper for a stranger to lay his hands on an unmarried wo
man.” Maalik wanted to avoid a confrontation that would bring attention to the group.
“Well how do people get to know each other?”
Maalik hoped that things would remain uncomplicated. “We can just teach her to shoot. She is afraid to go out walking without protection and would like to carry a gun for safety. I would like to be sure that she can use one properly.”
Oscar liked their business because they did a lot of shooting and they bought their ammunition from him plus they didn’t pick up their brass which is a bonus for him. The other thing that Oscar liked was that they always paid in cash at the end of each session. The women were getting much better and he hoped that he could keep them around a little longer. They were foreigners but their money was good and he would really like to get at that Safiyyah. “She said pig eater like it was some kind of insult. What did she mean by that?”
Maalik knew that he would have to tolerate many differences in order to accomplish his mission. “In my country it is a sin to eat anything from a pig. They are considered to be unclean.”
“They aren’t clean, that’s why we wash them before we butcher them.”
Maalik nodded silently ushering the women to the van. “Safiyyah, the pig eater said that they wash the pigs before they butcher them. Therefore, they are not unclean.”
Her stomach turned at the thought of washing a pig. “Even if he washes his hands, I will shoot him if he lays his hands on me again.”
On the way back they discussed possible targets without coming up with any attractive options. There were many desirable targets in the Washington DC area but with all the dignitaries in the area security was tight around the really attractive areas. Maalik wanted to come up with a target that would let these soft Americans know that they were not safe in their homes.
“Nabil is right if you kill five or ten with a bomb they will not learn the lesson that we want to teach. If we kill a few thousand we will live forever.”
Safiyyah was deeply worried, “If we are discovered they will arrest us and we will do nothing. We have all those weapons and ammunition!”
“We bought all of that legally and have broken no laws. Haroun has converted some of the semiautomatic weapons to full automatic and that is illegal but they will only ask us to leave. You cannot shoot Oscar the pig, or they will have something to say.”
Safiyyah pointed to the other women. “Are you suggesting that we let him paw us at will?”
“No, I will stop him or you can, but you must not shoot him until we are ready to act.”
When Maalik pulled up to the garage at the back of his house Nabil was pacing excitedly back and forth in front of the large door. When the Van stopped he charged the car. “I have it. They sent me to one of their most toxic sites because I am the newest engineer. The site is so toxic that they have it guarded by the police because they can’t hire any private security for it. I talked to the two cops early this morning and they are being punished for a transgression.” Maalik just nodded waiting for Nabil to develop the idea. “I found fifty barrels of solid rocket fuel that’s 2,500 gallons of fuel that is so dangerous that nobody wants to get anywhere near it. I took two liters to test.” Nabil held up a small cooler.
Maalik was not thrilled, “You are going to test it in the garage!”
Nabil smiled, “No I will test it at the lab that is where I am going from here. I wanted to stay away from the cell phone this could be big. 2,500 gallons of rocket fuel is roughly 20,000 pounds which is a hell of an asset. We could take out a few square blocks.”
“You said that it was it was solid rocket fuel. Why is it in drums?”
“They call it solid but it is old and has turned to jelly.” Nabil explained patiently. “I need to see what can be done with it. I have a few ideas depending on how violate it is.”
Safiyyah was thrilled, “In the right place we could take out thousands of people, maybe even the White House or the Capital we only need to be within a few blocks. It’s Friday and I will have some time alone in the lab. I want to see if I can get this to explode.”
“Exactly right we only need to figure out how and where we are going to use it.” Maalik wanted to celebrate. “The women need to return to their dormitory so that you are not missed.”
Rajiya responded instantly. “We are not children so they do not check on us.”
Maalik raised his hand as if he were going to back hand Rajiya, “Woman, shut up and do as you were told.” She did not want to provoke Maalik so she and the other women got in the van and returned to Baltimore. “Nabil, we are going out to celebrate stay with us.”
“Thank you Maalik, but there is much to do and I need to find some answers. The longer that we stay in this country the more it pollutes us.” Nabil got in his car pointing it toward the lab which was not far away. The other men went into the house to pray and prepare for the evening.
Felix was going crazy he had been parked in front of Rhonda’s house the whole day trying to serve her the warrant requesting the ‘Sweeper File’ to be delivered to the department of Justice because the entire security force at the NSA was waiting for him to walk on to the property. He begged and pleaded with Gerald Wringer but the asshole wimped out on him. The Director of the FBI flat out refused to even talk to him and the U.S. Marshal politely refused without offering an excuse. Around three in the afternoon six police cars hemmed his car in from all sides saying that they had a complaint about a child molester talking to all the kids returning home from school. They had him nose down in the grass for fifteen minutes before he was able to show them his DOJ ID. They were about to let him go when they found out that there was a restraining order prohibiting Felix from being within five miles of Rhonda’s address. The police looked in the car and saw Felix’s laptop on the seat with the picture of the battered Cherry Newly on the screen in all of her naked glory. The officer handcuffed Felix to his car pointing at the screen of the lap top.
“I see that you have learned not to hit them in the face. We have a five mile restraining order on this case and since I can see her house I will just bet that we are closer than that. You are under arrest.”
“What about my car and my computer?”
“Don’t worry about that Mister Owens we are impounding them for evidence. We will also need your cell phone or cell phones and any other electronics that you may have.”
“It was just a restraining order.”
“Most people that we process for restraining orders don’t have naked pictures of their victims in their possession. I believe that we are arresting you for stalking but the DA will figure all that out. For now, like it or not you are coming with us.”
Felix pulled a cellphone from his pocket, “I want to call my lawyer.”
The patrolman removed the phone from his hand.
“You may call your lawyer but not on that phone because it is evidence.” Another officer reached in the car and closed the screen of the lap top.
Boris almost fell out of his chair laughing as a big hand blocked the camera’s view causing the screen to go blank. He quickly reviewed the Skype from Felix’s computer. It showed him being arrested for stalking. He sent the message to Rhonda’s lap top via Skype. Rhonda had been checking her EMAIL when a picture of her popped up on her screen like a mirror. She was dressed in a white fluffy robe with the Greenbrier logo embroidered on the right side.
Rhonda seemed annoyed, “Boris how did you do that?”
“It is all very technical but I will try to explain.”
Cherry came into view fresh out of the shower stepping next to Rhonda only visible from her collarbone to her knees wearing only a few droplets of water. Her voice was warm and welcoming. “Boris do you have something for us?” Cherry sat down on Rhonda’s lap causing Boris to frown. Without a word he turned on the Skype of Felix being busted for stalking.
After it had played through Boris added, “His computer has all of the pictures of you and will have the security video from the Documents Room as
soon as I finish loading it.”
Cherry stood up to give Boris a full frontal view. “Boris I would like you to keep an eye on Felix. If you do this little favor for us, I will have Cassandra pay for your family’s transportation all the way to Dulles. Can we count on you?”
“You can count to a trillion on me!”
Cherry noticed that Rhonda had not broken the Skype connection. She moved the computer to the top of the dresser so that the camera took in the bed. She took Rhonda by the hand removing her robe as they went. Cherry held on to the belt of the robe swinging it in a wide circle as she followed Rhonda to the bed pushing her on to the bed doubling the belt and pulling it between Rhonda’s teeth straddling the kicking woman announcing to the camera, “I am going riding this afternoon and plan on working up a real sweat.” Before turning around, Cherry smiled wickedly in the direction of the camera sticking her tongue out like a little girl before turning her attention to Rhonda.
Boris’s jaw dropped to his chest saying, “Make that two trillion.”
Maalik, Haroun, Jamal and Khalid left the house at ten dressed in Dockers and dress shirts. They were heading to a hostess bar called ‘Boobs’. Maalik and Khalid took one car, but Haroun and Jamal took a second car. Four Diamonds did the security patrol for the Pawn shop across the street. Khalid and Maalik had stopped a thief from stealing a car from the parking lot. The owner of the bar and the waitress who owned the car that was being stolen were extremely grateful inviting the two men for a drink when they were not on duty.
Maalik led the way but Haroun and Jamal balked before they got to the door when they saw the name on the building. “Places like this are not allowed. The women show too much skin and they only serve alcohol. It is too much temptation for us.”
Maalik and Khalid laughed at the two deserters. “We were invited here and it would be rude not to stop for a few minutes. The women are not Muslim and we will only drink coffee.” Haroun and Jamal shook their heads and left without saying a word.