He was a bit surprised by the question, but he didn’t show it. “Yeah, actually.” He knew the question that was coming next and he began to formulate an answer. “Yes, I was, yeah.”
“And what was the nature of your visit?”
Softly, he said, “My wife and son died in an accident…” He paused. “But a few months before that, we visited D.C. It was a happy time for us. I’ve been struggling a bit…” He looked down at the floor. “Personally, I mean…and I wanted to go back there, thinking maybe it would help.” He looked back up to Etelson, as he finished.
She said compassionately while maintaining her professional demeanor, “Sorry to hear that about your wife and son.”
He nodded his head, “Thanks.”
Stevens started once more, “In D.C., an incident happened there, in which a witness gave a description of someone that could look a little like you. Were you at the vicinity of Montreme Hotel, at some point in your visit, sir?”
His voice remained calm and soft. “Yeah, that was frightening. I go to D.C. to try to have a little bit of peace and solace. But instead, I see this guy throwing stuff down from the top of a hotel, down to people below.” Shaking his head in disbelief, he added, “Everyone, including me was in shock. Then, I turned around and saw this woman who had fainted in front of the coffee shop. So, I ran in to ask one of the guys in there to call for help.”
“Have you ever seen that woman before?”
He frowned, “No.”
“Did you notice her earlier? Was she with someone? Was she by herself?”
He shook his head, “No, the first time I saw her was when I turned around. And she was already out.”
“How about the man at the rooftop, could you give a description or identify him if you had to?”
“Not even. I really didn’t get a good look at him. I was just trying to get away from the stuff falling down.”
Etelson picked up the questioning, “Notice anything about the items being thrown down?”
“Just metal, metal pipes, concrete…a mannequin or something? I think it was…maybe two?”
“All right, sir,” Etelson concluded. “Could we contact you later if necessary? Home phone - work phone?”
“I’m not working, unfortunately. Like I said, I’ve been struggling. But I’m sure you guys have my home phone. Right?”
“Yes, we do,” Stevens responded. “Well, thank you very much for your time, sir. We’ll keep this note as evidence if it’s ok with you.”
“Yeah, absolutely. Whatever I can do to help.”
The two agents left and heard the door close behind them. They made their way down the stairs, in silence, and got into their black sedan.
Etelson took the driver’s seat, and she started the car.
Stevens couldn’t keep it in anymore. “Just one question, Ett…Can ya be more obvious when ya gawk and ogle at the witnesses?”
Etelson knew it was coming. “I’m sorry,” she pleaded. “I was a little off my game today.”
“A little off?” he protested. “You completely didn’t know what to say! You were completely unprofessional.”
Etelson had no response. She sat silently.
Since they were in the car and couldn’t be heard, Stevens decided to rub it in and make fun of her. It was his turn to be unprofessional.
He put on a contorted face and mimicked the words she used in her introduction, “Hello, I’m, uh…I’m, uh. This is, uh…this is, uh.”
Then, his faced changed to look even worse. His left eye became half closed and his right eye bugged out. With that, he drew in tightly the corners of his mouth and pushed the center of his lips out; his mouth looked like a duck’s bill.
With his face frozen in its ridiculous expression, he lifted his hand in the air and pointed a crooked forefinger at her. He repeated the words, “Hello, I’m, uh…I’m, uh. This is, uh…this is, uh.”
“I’m sorry!” she pleaded even louder and with greater emotion. “I said I’m sorry!” She looked at him, waiting to be forgiven.
Stevens remained frozen in his ridiculous pose.
She kept looking at him.
He blinked his bugged-out eye.
Then, Etelson’s pleading face slowly transitioned into a smile. She started to laugh. Then, she started to laugh uncontrollably. It was the deep-toned, deep-throated laugh she gave, when she was genuinely and completely amused. Stevens’ frozen contorted face had cracked her up. “Is that how I looked like?” she asked in laughter. She bounced herself up and down in her seat. “Oh, that’s classic!”
Stevens broke down and finally eased the expression on his face. He said, nodding and with a big smile, “Yeah, ya did!”
Just then, Allen walked past their vehicle. He was the neighborhood teenager whom the goateed man had saved from the car wreck. The windows of the sedan were up, but he could hear Etelson’s laughter. He stared and saw how much she was enjoying herself, with whatever was being said inside the car. Soon, he turned and continued walking, intermittently gazing back.
After a few seconds, Etelson laughter slowed. She began to calm down. Sighing, she waved her fingers in front of her face, saying, “Wooo…oh, boy. Well…” Then she said, “Well, anyway, he is a jobless loser-boozer.” She formed the letter L with her forefinger and thumb and positioned it on her forehead. “Did you see all the beer cans in there?” After a moment, she put her hand down and put the car in reverse.
Stevens responded sarcastically, “So, that’s your way of telling me he’s not that hot?”
She glanced behind her and backed up the car, saying with a sly grin, “Well, he still has potential. His hotness grade is still up there.” In a matter-of-fact manner, she added, “Well, his wife and kid did just die. So, I’ll cut him some slack.”
Stevens shook his head, “I can’t believe you just said that. You’re so heartless.” Then, he followed quickly with, “I’m gonna tell your boyfriend Martin.”
Etelson chuckled.
“If you leave him, you’ll miss his sexy cranberry beaker, yah.”
She chuckled again.
“I hear that once you’ve had lederhosen, you never go back.”
She began to laugh.
“If you leave him, the lederhosen is gonna call you back. You must heed the siren call of the lederhosen!”
Her laughter picked up volume.
Then, Stevens cheered, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for…”
“…for lederhosen!” Etelson completed the cheer with a raised fist.
As they drove by him, Allen stopped, stood, and watched.
The sedan made its way from the parking lot out into the street.
Through the car window, Allen could see Agent Etelson’s non-stop laughter.
* * * * * * *
THREE WEEKS AGO
Dancy grasped and tugged at his hand.
La Jolla Cove was just north up the coast from downtown San Diego, and on its sandy beach, Dancy hastily led him to a certain spot on the shoreline.
Within a few minutes, the sun would set, and she wanted the both of them to sit at a favorite place of hers, on the sand, to watch the sun go down.
She giggled, “Come on let’s go! Let’s go!”
Their clasped hands swung in the air, as they scuttled up the beach, with their shoes in their free hands. The legs of their jeans were rolled up to their shins and were slightly wet.
With a cooler night approaching, the goateed man wore a long, black, light coat that reached to his mid thigh. As he strode, he quickly glanced to his side, at the setting sun. They didn’t have much time. “I hope we’re close,” he called to her.
“Yeah, yeah, close!”
After a few more strides, and after passing another couple already sitting, Dancy stopped, stood straight up, and said, “We’re here, buttercup.” She pulled him close and kissed him. Then, quickly, she commanded, “Now sit.”
Facing the sun, they sat just outside of the reach of the calm incoming waves
.
A few steps away, at their side, was a high wall of a sandstone plateau. The triangular-shaped plateau extended far into the waves. Over the decades, the waves had cut into its base, leaving a gradual overhang under which they sat.
A short distance behind them were concrete stairs leading far and up to a parking lot adjacent to a green grass park. A handful of people walked down the stairs, looking forward to enjoying the sunset.
They could hear the waves gently glide into the base of the plateau.
“Beautiful,” he said surveying the surroundings. He turned to look at the setting sun just beginning to touch the horizon, commenting, “And beautiful.” He turned to her and added, with a smile and a kiss, “And gorgeous.” Breathing in deep and slowly exhaling, he said, “Me like it here.”
After zipping up her dark blue, fleece jacket, Dancy drew in close to him and whispered, “Well, I’m glad you do.” She continued, “I’m here at my favorite beach spot, with my romantic sunset, with my man stud.”
“Man stud?” he questioned. “Miss, I think you’ve grabbed the wrong man off the street.”
“Oh, don’t be so modest. Well, on second thought…be modest.” She kissed him. “That’s what I like about you.”
She turned to look at the sun. As she did, she noticed something in his ear. “Hmm…” she grunted, pursing her lips, “What’s this?” She lightly tugged on the wire of the earbud.
He darted his eyes back and forth, as he searched for an answer, “Uh…uh…that’s a something.”
His phone was in his front pant pocket, and from it extended the wire for the earbuds. He fed the wire into his shirt and up through the neckline. Only one earbud fed through and into his ear. The other remained under his shirt.
“Ahhh…a something” she said nodding.
He confessed with a grin, “I’m sorry, ever since I was a kid I’ve been married to my music.”
Dancy’s eyes grew wide, and she opened her mouth in shock. She straightened her back and exclaimed loud enough for others around to hear, “You’re married?! You’re a married man!”
He froze for a moment, not knowing what to say. Then, he slowly turned his head to the left to see the reaction of the couple they had earlier passed. The young man shook his head at him in disappointment.
Nevertheless, a smile grew on his face; he knew what she was doing. Without facing her, he looked at her slyly from the side, still with the smile on his face.
She leaned in close to him and said, in a hush, “Well, I don’t wanna break up your marriage.” Her hand gently turned his face to hers. “Right now, I just want a lit-tle bit of your time for me.”
As she spoke, her lips moved in closer. She kissed him slowly and softly.
He loved her flirty playfulness.
After a sigh, he whispered, “Well, I’m open to persuasion.” Then he leaned back a bit and spoke to explain himself, “But I am giving you my time completely, really. The right half of me is enjoying listening to you. And the left half of me is enjoying listing to songs about you.” His hand reached for the earbud. “Here…uh…wait.” He wanted her to hear the chorus. “Ok, here.” He took the bud from his ear and gave it to her.
She listened.
When she heard words saying that females were more deadly than males, Dancy giggled, “That is me!” She kept the bud in her ear and listened further. Then, as her face began to show slight discontent, she questioned, “And I’m being compared to Frankenstein and Dracula…?” She paused to listen a bit more. “And Jekyll and Hyde?”
He opened his mouth for a moment, again not knowing what to say. Finally, he answered in somewhat of a question, “Well, that’s a maybe?”
Dancy quickly dismissed it with a smile and a peck on his cheek. “Fair enough.”
She listened for a few more seconds, and then gave the earbud back to him.
Understanding that he was breaking the romantic mood that Dancy wanted to set, he left the bud dangling by the wire over the front of his shirt.
“That’s a cool song. Who is it?” she asked.
“I think it’s a band called Space. And you probably guessed that the song is Female of the Species.”
She shifted her legs in the sand and positioned herself almost in front of him. Fingering the lapel of his coat, she asked playfully, “So, it says I’ve got you under a spell. Do I?”
There was a sincere and strong mutual attraction between the two of them. He thought about how quickly and so unexpectedly hard they had fallen for each other. The bond arose from an innate attribute within each of them, as if it came from the very blood that coursed through their veins.
He grinned and took her hand gently in his and whispered, “That’s a definitely.”
As she smiled a contented smile, Dancy moved back to his side, snuggled close, and rested her head on his chest.
The sun had touched the horizon. Its center emitted a brilliant golden fire. Surrounding it was a crown of glowing yellow and stretching over that was a soothing warm orange glow. The green sky had been pushed far away.
The rays were soft and easy to gaze into, and they watched in silence.
Once half of the sun remained above the horizon, Dancy slowly raised herself. Without a word, she gazed into his eyes, and then began to kiss him. Closing her eyes, she heard the waves gently lap over the shore. Her toes curled in the sand. After a long moment and while still kissing him, she slightly opened her eyes to look at the setting sun. She smiled, and then closed her eyes once again.
She had her beach, her sunset, and her handsome man - her man stud. She had gotten exactly what her heart desired.
Later, they watched, until the sun had disappeared, and the darker sky from above began to descend further down to the horizon.
Dancy’s head rested on his chest once again. His arms were around her.
“Honey bunch?” she said softly.
“Yeah,” he answered in a similarly soft voice.
“I’ve been thinking of something for a long time.”
He waited, as she paused.
“Even before we met…” she continued.
“Ok.”
She pulled her feet and knees further under her and leaned in closer.
“Sweetie pie?
“Yeah…”
“I’ve been wanting to change jobs. Go to school again…take some courses.”
He kissed her head. “Well, that sounds like a good thing to do. What kind?”
She paused for a long time, pondering whether she should say her next words. “Well, the classes I’ve been wanting to take aren’t in San Diego.”
“…hmm.”
“…they’re in New York.”
He heard her words, and then breathed in slowly and deeply.
After a silent pause, she asked, “Rock star?”
“Yeah?”
“What are you thinking?”
He held her tighter. “I like the feeling of you with me…here.”
She liked his answer and nestled in. “Aw, you’re so sweet.”
They sat in silence. The colors over the horizon disappeared. Then, Dancy asked, “Munchkin morsel?”
He smiled and laughed quietly. She felt the laugh on his chest, and she laughed with him. He enjoyed hearing the pet names she gave. Finally, he responded, still smiling. “Yeah?”
“Do you mind if I still think about it? Now that you’re here, I’m not sure. Do you mind if I still think about it?”
“Of course not. Take all the time you need.” He kissed her head again. “And do what’ll make you happy. What’ll make you happy in the long run, your future.”
She took her arms from his lap and wrapped them tightly around him. “Thank you,” she whispered.
After another silent moment, she asked one more question. She had to know. She asked with hidden concern, “Are you still under my spell?”
While holding her, his eyes looked through the darkening horizon. He whispered, “I’m powerless over it.”
* * * * * * *
Malik Khel’s heart was pounding, and his lungs were burning.
His long strides kicked up the warm dirt from the mountainside.
He was running for his life.
Earlier, Jalel had pronounced the judgment in finality, “Malik Khel is a spy.”
Behind him, chasing him were two of Jalel’s guards.
Under the mid-day sun, Jalel’s rifleman steadied himself, like a bird of prey about to strike, as he waited for the right moment to fire. Taking his aim at Khel, the rifleman was on the side of the mountain that sloped down and split, forming two separate wedges in the shape of a letter V.
On one side of the split, the rifleman positioned himself and stabilized his weapon against the trunk of a tree.
On the other side, further down the mountain, Khel ran and dodged in and out of the shrubs and trees, trying to stay covered and shielded. Frantically, he shoved branches aside, as he jumped over rocks and shrubs.
The terrain on which Khel regularly scouted like a hunter - the terrain on which he now was the prey - was unforgiving to the hunted. Ultimately, there was nowhere to hide.
Khel knew it was hopeless.
He kept running. His long skinny legs awkwardly reached down the mountain, at times almost causing him to stumble and fall, as he threaded in between shrubs and swerved in and out of the trees. Ahead was a large clearing. There would be no more cover, but he could not turn back.
In painful dread, he began to prepare his soul.
The two guards remained close behind, nimbly tracking down Khel.
The density of trees and bushes dwindled.
Soon, Khel reached the clearing. His boots pounded the dirt. His heart agonized.
From above, the rifleman’s steely eyes peered through the scope, and fixed his sights on Khel. Flawlessly, he adjusted his aim to follow the movement of his prey. He leaned slightly forward. He was ready to fire.
Khel lunged two more strides.
A shot pierced and tunneled through the dry noontime mountain air.
Khel tumbled onto a bush and spun down on the ground. Dirt flung around him, as the side of his body collided with the earth, and his legs kicked into the air.
He was wounded. The upper part of his leg was torn open and bleeding.
RB 01 Through Flesh & Bone Page 23