by Vr McCoy
While on the way home I received another call from Dianna. She wanted to know if she could come by to pick up the flash drive. I told her I would be home in twenty minutes. She said she'd see me in two hours, so I stopped in the music shop on Connecticut Avenue and picked up some sheet music, vinyl albums and some CD's. I was thinking about getting back into teaching music again, but private lessons.
When I arrived home I was tired from dealing with the traffic and shopping, so I put on some jazz and lay down on the sofa until Dianna arrived. I was contemplating my discussion with Dr. Green about Dianna and me. Then I picked up the cello and bow, and began to play. It always eased my mind and helped me to think. I would close my eyes while playing and just go to a special place without dreams or the outside world. It was my private place. After about 45 minutes of playing, the doorbell rang and my serenity was shattered. Dianna had arrived for her flash drive.
“Good evening, Dianna; come in.”
“Good evening, Chris; please, don't stop playing because of me,” she stated, smiling as she entered.
“I was just trying to relax a little,” I replied.
“It sounded great! Take Five?” she inquired, correctly naming the piece I was playing.
“Yes,” I responded.
“Can I hear more?” she asked.
“Sure,” I stated and continued on the cello. I completed `Take Five' and then went into my rendition of `Summer Time', all on the cello. She was incredibly impressed, and smiling from ear to ear.
“I had no idea that you could play like that! I mean, your profile stated you taught music, but you can really play,” Dianna said smiling with enthusiasm.
“Thanks Dianna. Do you play?”
“No; not at all, but I do love jazz.”
“Excellent; that's something we have in common,” I replied.
“We have more in common than you know,” she replied with the most beautiful smile, still amazed. I returned the cello and bow to their designated place on my music wall and brought the flash drive to her.
“It seems you have the advantage on me. You read my file, but I haven't been privileged to see yours,” I said.
“Yeah, I know; you have to be an agent to get that privilege, and even then it has to be approved. All consultants' files are open for review,” she replied.
“I see,” I said, smiling.
“So, are we still on for Christmas Eve, because I purchased everything for our dinner?” she asked.
“I'm looking forward to it.”
“Good; then I'll talk to you later,” she said and leaned in, kissing me on the cheek. We were proceeding slowly but surely, and I liked it. I walked her back to her vehicle, and said goodbye as she departed.
Silent Night
It was finally Christmas Eve. I had been anxiously anticipating its arrival to have dinner with Dianna. She was the first woman who had shown interest without me implanting or suggesting interest through dreamscape. I was totally hyped about seeing her again!
It was a perfect winter's evening. There was an expected chance of snow in the forecast, and all was well. I telephoned my mother and wished her a Merry Christmas. She was living in Atlanta with my sister and her family. My sister and I didn't get along very well. We'd had a falling out several years ago, and the relationship never seemed to repair itself. I spoke to my niece and wished them all a Merry Christmas. Usually families are very busy on Christmas Day, opening gifts and visiting each other, so I decided to get it out of the way in advance.
I had already dropped off Dr. Green's gift yesterday and had Dianna's wrapped and ready to be presented. I also purchased an expensive bottle of wine and placed a bow on top of it, just for dinner. I called Dianna later in the afternoon to check on her, and to see if she needed anything for the evening.
“Good afternoon, Dianna. How are you?”
“Hello Chris. I'm fine, how are you?”
“I'm doing well. I was calling to see if you needed me to bring anything besides the wine this evening.”
“No, I have everything we need, except I neglected to inquire about what type of foods you eat? Are you allergic to anything, or are there any foods you don't eat,” she asked.
“Yes. I'm sorry, but I don't eat pork.”
“Well, that's good to know. I don't eat pork either. I told you we have a lot in common,” she replied.
“What time should I arrive?” I inquired.
“Is 5:00pm good for you?” she responded.
“Yes, that sounds great.”
“Ok, then I'll see you then,” she said and hung up the telephone.
I didn't have a Christmas tree or any decorations around the house, just a wrapped gift from Dr. Green and six Christmas cards. I received cards from my mother, my sister's family, Dr. Banks and family, Dr. Green, Steve Weiss and one from the Guitar Store on Connecticut Avenue. I spent a lot of money in that store and was on their mailing list.
I lived modestly on my consultant's salary. The only expensive things that I owned were my instruments, which also doubled as decorations. I drove a black, two door, 1964 Volvo P1800. I called it a classic, but most would just refer to it as junk. She was worth about $4,000.00 but purred like a kitten, and the interior was perfect. Up until now it all had sufficed me without a problem. My FBI salary with benefits and perks was excellent, but I wondered if I had gone overboard spending for Christmas. I wondered if the gifts I purchased for Dianna and Dr. Green were too much, and if the ladies would take offense at them. I didn't want them to read something else into those presents. Or was that just my paranoia running away with me again?
I arrived at Dianna's house on time at 5:00pm. She lived in Vienna, Virginia. It was nice out here in the suburbs. She lived in a brick three story town house with a parking garage. She had a Christmas Wreath on the door and on the doormat was a picture of the Magi's following the Star of Bethlehem. I rang the bell and she came to the door in the most stunning attire. She was wearing a Christmas red velvet dress with black high heeled shoes. The garment was made to hug her body and show off her curves. It rested far above her knees and displayed her voluptuous thighs and sexy legs. This outfit screamed sexy! I was in awe and couldn't stop staring at her.
“Wow,” I exclaimed as soon as she opened the door. She flashed a giant smile and attempted not to blush, but I guess I gave her the greeting and response she was looking for.
“Thank you very much. You look nice as well. Please come in,” she replied.
“This is for you. Merry Christmas!” I said, handing her the bottle of Dom Perignon with a bow and her wrapped Christmas gift.
“Thank you; I have a gift for you under the tree as well, but we have plenty of time for that,” she stated and kissed me on the cheek. Apparently she has a full itinerary for the evening.
“Dinner is ready and warming in the kitchen, but I wanted to ask if you would accompany me to church this evening before dinner?” She surprised me with that one.
“I haven't been to church in years. I'm Catholic and believe in the Trinity, but there has been some distance between me and the church lately,” I replied.
“It's never too late. I'm a Catholic school girl. So, will you escort me to church this evening, Mr. Sands?” Her eyes twinkled as she flirted with me.
“It would be my pleasure, Ms. Samboro.” I played along, feeling my face spread into a teasing grin.
“Thank you very much,” she replied with a smile, and grabbed her coat.
We drove my vehicle to her local church, which was only 20 minutes away. It wasn't as crowded as I thought it would have been. They had a special service for the coming of Christ. It was great!
“I enjoyed that immensely,” I stated to her on the way back to her house.
“I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, so did I.”
We savored a lovely dinner together back at her place. She prepared an exquisite five course meal. She had Christmas jazz songs playing on the satellite stereo station. We opened a bottle of champagne i
n front of her wood burning fireplace and talked.
“I must inquire, Dianna; why aren't you spending Christmas with your family?”
“Well, they decided to go back to Sicily for Christmas and I preferred to stay here. I wanted to get to know you better. Is that alright with you?”
“Absolutely, and thank you. Everything has been wonderful,” I replied, and then she kissed me. I reciprocated.
Later, she read the works of some of her favorite poets for me. We opened our gifts after midnight and began kissing again. We started making out in the living room and ended up in the bedroom. We remained there for the rest of the night. Then, around 03:00 AM while we were asleep and snuggled in bed together, our cell phones rang. That ended our silent night. It was a message alert from the FBI. The entire task force would be alerted when it was time to come in for an assignment. The timing couldn't be any worse.
We got up at the same time to check our phones, which wasn't necessary. The message was the same on all phones. It simply stated, Please respond to the Task Force conference room today, December 25 at 0900. Wheels up at 1100. The message alert never went into details about the emergency or assignments. We always packed clothing for a week's stay at the destination. This didn't give Dianna and me much time together this Christmas, but at least we had been able to spend a wonderful evening and night together.
“Good morning, bright eyes. How are you,” Dianna inquired with a smile? She replaced the cell phone on the nightstand and made her way to my side of the bed.
“I was doing excellent until the phone rang,” I responded.
“Well, let's see if I can make it better,” she said as she moved herself on top of me in the bed and began kissing me.
I still found it hard to believe she was here with me. She was just as gorgeous waking up in the morning as she was later in the day. She didn't wear much make up, perhaps a little gloss lipstick but that was about it. She had natural beauty and didn't need to fix herself up with makeup. I guess that's why she looked perfect even after waking up.
“So, who did you get those beautiful cat eyes from?” she inquired.
“My mother has green eyes,” I stated.
“Do you look like her or your dad?”
“It depends on who you speak to. What about you?” I asked.
“I favor my father,” she replied.
We continued making love for about an hour, and that was cutting it close. I still had to drive back to Foggy Bottom and get my luggage for the trip. Most of us kept a suitcase packed and ready, because we never knew when that phone call was going to come or how much time we had to respond. The good thing was that it was Christmas morning and there shouldn't be any traffic on the road. Only the lonely and the weary would be traveling this early a major holiday.
When she got out of bed, all I could do was watch and admire the shape of her. The curvature of her shape was exquisite! It was like watching the Venus de Milo. She was perfect from head to toe. I got excited all over again just watching her walk from the bed, and she knew it. She turned around smiling, knowing I was watching, and asked, “Well, are you coming or what?”
She wanted me to join her in the shower. It did make sense, since we were in a rush. We could save a lot of time showering together. Then I thought to myself, You truly are a nerd to even consider thinking about saving time, when all she wants to do is continue making love in the shower.
I finally departed her place at 0600 hours with a humongous smile on my face. Since there was no traffic, I could make it back to D.C. in 30-40 minutes by bending the speed limit a bit… or maybe more than a bit, I hoped. I could use my credentials if stopped by law enforcement for speeding, but I could only go so fast in the old Volvo I was driving. There was no traffic, as I had suspected, but it had snowed last night and the roads were slippery. I made it back to Foggy Bottom an hour later. I grabbed one of my recently purchased suits from the closet, and threw it on. I had purchased three suits since I became a consultant for the FBI. I really wasn't a suit wearing kind of a guy. I picked up my prepared luggage and departed.
The FBI instructed us on what to pack while on assignment. Our luggage contained the standard items: one black or blue suit with a tie, oxford shirt and oxford dress shoes which we wore during departure. Two suit slacks to coordinate with blazers, two pair of khaki pants, three oxford button-down shirts, two FBI polo shirts, one FBI sweat suit, a pair of casual shoes, a pair of sneakers and unspecified underwear and toiletries.
We purchased whatever additional items we needed while on assignment. We all had a government credit card to utilize while on in the field, which was restricted to compensation for per diem and expenses. I grabbed two packets of strawberry Pop Tarts and a bottle of Starbucks Cappuccino from the fridge, and departed for Quantico, VA. I arrived in Quantico with little time to spare. Everyone else was already in the conference room, waiting for the briefing.
“Merry Christmas, everyone,” I said as I entered, and everyone responded in kind. There was coffee and Danishes in the conference room which everyone was partaking in. I smiled at Dianna and she smiled back.
“Hello,” I said, grinning as I sat across from her at the conference table. She was looking as pretty as when I left her earlier that morning.
I sat down next to Amber. Paul, who was usually Amber's partner, sat on the other side of her, and Max was next to Dianna across the table. We were waiting for Steve to arrive, so we exchanged chit-chat.
“So, what did you get for Christmas, Amber?” Max inquired.
“What Christmas? We scaled down this year and just made it more a religious gathering, like it was supposed to be.”
“Wow, Mrs. Scrooge; you didn't get anything for your son?” Max demanded.
“You asked me what I got for Christmas. He made out like a bandit,” she replied.
Amber was extremely funny and cynical. A recent divorcée with one son, she had moved her mother in to live with her.
Paul was on his cell phone, texting his wife and kids. Paul was from a big family and had 5 little ones of his own. Max was a bachelor with a lot of female friends. Most of Max's family lived in New Orleans, so he probably spent Christmas the same way Dianna and I did.
Just as I ran out of people to entertain myself by regarding, Steve finally entered the conference area.
“Good morning everyone, and happy holidays. I'm sorry to call you in on Christmas morning, but duty calls. The bad guys never take a break, so neither do we,” Steve stated as he walked to the front of the room and began briefing us on our new case.
“Thus far, the local Bureau has had several abductions and no bodies. There is no certainty whether the victims are still alive, but we can hope for the best. The locals are calling the subject the Night Stalker,” Steve stated before being interrupted.
“You mean like the old television show?” Paul inquired.
“Yes; they are all women, and they are believed to have been abducted at night. We believe the subject is counting down in sequence, in reference to the dates he's abducting the victims,” Steve replied.
“The first abductee was taken on September 5, the second on October 5, the third on November 3 and the fourth on December 3. The pattern is 5, 5, 3, 3 and the locals believe the next projected date will be January 1 and then February 1, if we can't stop him. We're not certain why he or she is counting down this way or what the sub is counting down towards. This is all we have to go on for now. We will work towards constructing our own profiles once we land in New Mexico. Any questions thus far?” Steve inquired, but no one responded, so he continued.
“Paul and Amber will look into the victims' backgrounds and scrutinize the local police department's files. Check to see if we can find any connections that might have been missed. Max and I will visit the victims' families, friends and persons who were in contact with them. Chris and Dianna will visit the victims' residences and places of work, so Chris can do his thing,” he said, referring to when I conduct dreamscape.
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I hadn't been able to keep my eyes off Dianna during the entire meeting. At first I thought I was making her uncomfortable, until I saw her smile and fling her hair. I think Amber and Steve noticed it, but then again, I was in a room filled with expert profilers. It wouldn't be long before they discovered our secret.
“We have six days before the first of the year, which is the next projected abduction date. At the latest, we have until nightfall on the 1st. Are there any preliminary questions?” Steve inquired.
Everyone responded, “No, sir.”
“OK then, I'll meet you at the shuttle bus at 10:30,” he stated in closing.
The briefing was over around 10:05. I went to my office to check my email until it was time to depart. I was sitting on the side of my desk, reading some correspondence, when Dianna walked in. She closed and locked the door behind her. She was smiling and shaking her finger slowly back and forth as if to scold me for being a naughty boy, but she was grinning at the same time.
“Look, mister; we have to set some ground rules while at the office. You can't be looking at me that way around the others.”
“Looking what way?” I inquired, admiring her beauty and smiling.
“The same one you have on your face now,” she replied.
Then she walked over to me. She slowly and sensually ran her hands up my legs and wedged herself between my thighs while I was still seated at the desk. Then she kissed me on the mouth.
“Oh, that look,” I responded after the kiss, then kissed her in return and replied, “You were saying something about the rules of the office?”
“Never mind,” she stated as we continued to kiss.
“Wow,” she exclaimed, and then added, “Merry Christmas Chris.”
“Merry Christmas, Dianna.”
“You left your gift at my house this morning,” she said.
“I thought you were my gift,” I replied.
“Now, I can really get used to that. You keep on saying the right things and you won't be able to get rid of me,” she said while looking me in the eyes.