The Carbon Trap (The Carbon Series Book 1)

by Randy Dutton

  “Rural it is...” He winked. “And just for cheating, I’ll make it wilderness.”

  “Meany.” Her nose was just inches away from his. Gazing into his eyes, she gave him her pouty look, then broke into a smile.

  “Anna...” His eyes had wandered to the ceiling while contemplating his decision. “I think I’ve figured out where we should live.” His eyes shifted back to her.

  “Well, Alaska’s been taken away as an option. I speak Russian, but I prefer English.” She cocked her head, still looking into his eyes.

  “You speak...Russian?” He was momentarily distracted. “Never mind. You were close…we can move to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.”

  Her eyes widened with incredulity. “So a windy, cool, rain forest far from cities?”

  “Exactly, it’s a ‘Green Acres’ opportunity.”

  Again her brow furrowed. “I’m not familiar with that.”

  “It’s an old TV show where a fashionista and her wealthy lawyer husband move from Manhattan to a ratty little farm in the sticks. Hardly anything works, the hillbilly neighbors are nosy, farm animals are treated as children, and—”

  “Do they wear shoes?” she mocked.

  “Yes, they wear shoes…most of the time...but not the animals.”

  “I love you Pete, you know that don’t you?” Her eyes bore into him.

  “Yes, I know it.” He smiled and then, in a quick move, rolled her underneath him. She didn’t resist.

  “I…would understand it if you wanted to bail out of this. It’s my problem, not yours. You’ve got your PhD, a great family, a great future. I would just hold you back from everything you’ve ever wanted. I don’t think love is enough.”

  “Bull! What I’ve wanted most, I have in my arms right now.” He kissed her passionately.

  For the next couple hours, they forgot their troubles.

  Chapter 69

  August 3, 0700 hours

  Heyward Ranch, Denton, TX

  The mockingbirds were singing outside their bedroom in the early morning. A slight breeze rustled the leaves of the nearby trees as Anna snuggled up to Pete. Both were awake, contemplating what future they might have.

  When she stirred, Pete turned toward her, kissed her on her lips and asked “Anna, will you marry me?”

  She sat upright, cocked her head, and stared into his eyes. Her wavy hair fell across his chest and there was a tired, but content, look on her face. She gave him a light smile. “I’ve already said yes.... Pete? I thought it was women who had difficulty accepting yes as a final answer.... Why are you grinning?”

  His eyes crinkled. “Let’s get married today. Hang the license,” he stated defiantly. “Marriage really is before God, anyway. Ever see Braveheart?”

  “She dies Pete, soon after,” she said warily.

  “Not that part, silly, the wedding in the woods. We get married here, today, with our family present.” His happiness became infective.

  She smiled and nodded twice, then kissed him. “I’d like that. I’d like that very much.”

  “Do you ride?” he asked excitedly. “Horses I mean.”

  “Sure, I can ride. Remember”—she winked—“I hang with royalty. I’ve gone foxhunting with the Windsors.”

  He looked at her out the corner of one eye and raised his eyebrow.

  “Seriously, I have.”

  “Next you’ll be telling me you have a pilot’s license....” He chuckled for a second until she started nodding her head. “Single or multi-engine?”

  She smiled. “Multi. And I’ve flown Swanson’s corporate jet, and both his Bell helicopter and Eurocopter.” Pete’s mouth was hanging open.

  Her right brow lifted in explanation. “Look, I don’t like sitting still. I’d rather be flying the plane than riding.”

  He smiled and shook his head in disbelief. “How about SCUBA?”

  More nodding. “And with mixed gas and even a rebreather.”

  He sat upright, his eyes narrowed. “Why a rebreather?”

  “No bubbles, and beyond that, it’s best you don’t ask.”

  He cocked his head. “Sailing?”

  “I’ve sailed in local races, though it takes a lot of practice to stay in top form.”

  “Oh, I’ve got to say you are in top form,” he said jokingly, and his hand slid along her muscled body.

  “I mean with the sailing.” She giggled. “Are you always punny?”

  He nodded.

  “Oh, and don’t forget deep submersibles,” she added with a grin.

  “How—”

  She cut in. “Swanson has two on his yacht. He lets me take them out for a…well, spin isn’t the right word…dip.”

  “You’re incredible.... Anyway, I was thinking you and Mac could go for a ride this morning if you’re up for it.... Paula breeds horses and she’s got some great Arabians. I keep my Quarter Horse at her place. Her ranch is the next section over. And while you’re doing that, I want to make some arrangements.”

  Her smile widened. “You’re sweet, Pete, and you’re right, it would be a good distraction. Besides I could use the exercise, I’ve been feeling a little under the weather.”

  They cheerfully bounded down the stairs. Irma and Tom, both eating breakfast, wondered about the change in emotion.

  “Mom, Dad. Anna and I want to get married today, early this evening. We’re going to skip the license and go straight to the blessing. Dad, can you call Herb to officiate?”

  “I’d love to. He’s discrete. And by God, he knows if he ever leaks it, I’ll never go fishing with him again.”

  Everyone started laughing.

  “Mac, think you can take Anna out for a ride?”

  “Certainly, I’d love to get her alone to find out what lies you’ve been spreading about us,” MacKenzie teased. “Anna, you ride?”

  “Give me the toughest horse flesh you’ve got. I can jump four rails.”

  “Oooh, I like her Pete.” She and Anna helped themselves to the breakfast served from the sideboard in the dining room. The two were chatting like sisters as they drifted to the back porch with their breakfast.

  Pete overheard Mac say, “We’ll make a Texan out of you yet.”

  Anna glanced back at Pete and grinned, then turned to Mac and said louder than necessary, “Tell me all about Pete....”

  “Pete, what are your plans?” Tom interrupted Pete’s musings about what, exactly, his kid sister would tell Anna about his personal history. The older man’s face showed the strains of a concerned father.

  “We picked a general location last night. After the wedding, she’ll use my last name, and in a few days, we’ll head out in that direction.”

  “I’m worried about both of you,” Irma said sullenly, placing her coffee cup on a saucer. “I like the girl, but she’s taking you away from us.”

  “No, Mom. We’ll be in touch. We’ll figure something out. Anna’s a gem at working computer security. And perhaps, since the world seems to be collapsing around us, Anna may just fade away from the attention of the financiers.”

  Irma looked puzzled.

  “Pete. Remember that your mom has a very limited picture of what’s going on,” his dad reminded him sternly. “You need to compartmentalize who knows what...for your sake and ours.”

  “Sorry, Dad, Mom. This secret agent stuff is new to me. I thought being a Marine taught us everything we needed to know about stealth. This is a whole different world.”

  The women returned from their ride in time for lunch. They were quieter than when they had left. Mac grinned every time she looked at Pete, and Anna was glowing but said nothing.

  “How was the ride?” Pete asked trying to draw out what had happened.

  “The ride was great,” Mac said enthusiastically. “Anna told me all about her Le Trec experience.”

  Mac saw Pete hadn’t the foggiest idea what that was, so she elaborated. “It’s a three phase equestrian competition in Europe – trail riding with jumping and correct basi
c flat work, a style of horse movement. Pete, they do this all day! Across varied terrain, doing route finding, negotiating natural obstacles and hazards.”

  “Sounds like one of our weekend rides when we were kids…maybe without so much style, just the wild abandon,” he said with a smile.

  He was still pondering Anna’s mood. “Anna, is there something I need to know?”

  She had an impish smile. “Come with me, Pete,” she said as she held out her hand.

  He took her hand in his, and she led him outside.

  “What’s going on?” Irma asked.

  “You’ll find out soon enough, Mom,” Mac replied.

  Irma looked at Mac’s Cheshire Cat expression, then her eyes widened. She smiled, “No! Really?”

  Mac nodded.

  Tom was in the dark. He could see Anna saying something to Pete, then he kissed her, picked her up and twirled her. Tom caught on quick, and smiled. He had been there 37 years before.

  Three minutes later, Pete came back in holding Anna’s hand, “I’m going to be a father!”

  Anna, her arm in Pete’s, spoke up, “I wasn’t feeling great this morning, and I had a suspicion. When we went to Paula’s for the horses, she had a home pregnancy test.... Positive.”

  Irma frowned. “My heavens! You two…in France…in what? Two days? I’ve never! Tom this impulsiveness comes from your side of the family. Well, that settles it. When will the preacher be here?”

  Tom was laughing. “Congratulations you two…Herb will be here at 6 PM.”

  “And not a moment too soon,” Irma said as she walked into the kitchen. “I’m going to make a cake. MacKenzie, come here and help me. We’ve got a party to set up.”

  Jim was watching from an easy chair. “Congratulations. You really are saddled with each other now. You two ready for the video?”

  “Let’s do it,” Anna said with a determination that had evaded her the day before. “I’ve got a family to protect!”

  “You bet!” Pete rejoined, “Let’s lock this up so they’ll never darken our door.”

  Over the next three hours Anna detailed her involvement in Swanson’s financial misdealings. She focused her testimony only on those things that would lead to exposure of his corruption, to possible seizure of his assets, and the undoing of his empire.

  Pete and Tom, listening to her exposé, were astonished at the depth and scale of Swanson’s activities and the extent to which Anna had participated. The level of detail she recounted, including account numbers and approximate account values, amazed them.

  It was mid-afternoon when Jim finished the interview. “Is there anything else?”

  “Yes. May I talk with you alone, Jim?” Anna asked. She gave Pete a loving smile. “Pete, will you excuse us…please?”

  “I’ll be outside.” He gave her an affectionate kiss. He wanted to reassure her that her past was history, and that what he had heard would not harm their relationship.

  “Mr. Hancock, please change the battery and put in another memory card. I want to make another recording,”

  “You want to add something?”

  “I want to record something that I don’t want even you to see.”

  “Or Pete?”

  “Especially Pete. You will keep it in a sealed case, locked away, unless it is absolutely necessary to save me, or to retaliate, or if the other recording is challenged. If something were to happen to me, if I am abducted or murdered, or die in an unexplained accident, or if this family is at risk, I want you to unseal it and use it.

  “I will leave it up to your discretion as to the exact means of use. But if all else fails, you can put it on the Internet and expose just how corrupt and violent the Agenda 21 cabal is. It may be my ace in the hole. I’m not worried about my reputation, but I don’t want Pete to see it unnecessarily.... I don’t want him to think less of me. I want to do what is right.”

  She became more melancholy. “If I’ve been abducted for over a week, use it. I’ll likely be beyond salvaging at that point.”

  “I understand. I’ll set it up.”

  She switched moods, displaying cheerfulness. “You’re staying for the wedding Jim, aren’t you? Please?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it, Anna,” he said with an affection given by an uncle to his favorite niece. “You’ve got grit, girl. Are you sure you don’t have Texas blood in you?”

  “Why, Mr. Hancock, I swear...that’s the nicest thing anybody’s told me today!” she said in a convincing Texas drawl.

  She reverted back to her Californian accent. “And by the way, I need to deposit a retainer into your account, if you’d be so kind as to give me the account number.”

  “Tom’s got it covered.” Jim was still bemused from Anna’s ability to morph from character to character.

  “No, Jim. I’m your client here, I’m paying.” Her eyes were steely. “I’ll put $5 million in an interest-bearing escrow account.”

  Jim’s eyes widened. “I may be expensive, but—”

  “Draw on it as you see fit. Carry it over to help Pete and…my progeny. And please use it to reimburse Tom for the investigation he funded, except for any minimal amount that keeps him and his family as an established client. I want to help him from having to testify. Might as well use my millions for something. I won’t be buying Paris fashions anymore.”

  “As you wish.” He mirrored her affectionate smile.

  Jim walked out of the office alone ten minutes later, and close the door behind him.

  “Where’s Anna?” Pete asked with some concern.

  “Pete, she’s asked to have an hour or so alone…with the camera. She knows what she’s doing. She’s also paying a sizable retainer that will give the two of you unlimited legal representation for life, so don’t worry about the costs. I’ve got to say Pete, you picked an incredible woman with whom to spend the rest of your life.”

  Tom approached with a drawn face. “Excuse me, Jim. Pete may I have a moment with you?”

  “Sure, Dad.” Pete stiffened at the conversation he had been expecting all morning.

  Tom led Pete outside onto the front porch and closed the door. “This is the first opportunity I’ve had to talk with you alone.”

  “What about?”

  “I’m concerned.”

  Pete nodded rhythmically. “I know what I’m doing.”

  “I’m not sure you’ve thought this through. That woman—”

  “Anna,” Pete said sharply.

  “She’s trouble, and it’s not just her inclination toward violence—”

  “Dad.... What she’s done is behind her.”

  “The hell it is!”

  Pete glared at his father. “She just dismantled several plots!”

  Tom reached out and put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “What I mean is that...trouble follows her. Anna helped the very environmentalists who have tried to destroy my industry.”

  “Actions she’s now recanted.”

  “But this family is being scrutinized by those people and they’re bound to discover her.”

  “Not if we’re careful.”

  “Son...it only takes one slip. There’s a lifetime of past and future documentation that’s bound to expose her. The government’s surveilling everyone nowadays and they’re intercepting everything. She’s a high value target.”

  “Anna’s my fiancé, she’s pregnant with my child, and I love her.”

  “You love the thought of her.”

  Pete took a step back. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

  “She’s...” Tom’s voice lowered to a normal tone. “Anna’s a loner and unlike any of the other women you’ve dated. The others had roots in family, religion, and in the community.”

  “So?”

  “You’re caught up in her dangerous image.”

  “No. I’m caught up in her brilliance, fun, and intensity...and yes, she’s gorgeous too.”

  “Where are her loyalties? What’s to keep her from abandoning you?”

>   “She won’t!” Pete’s anger didn’t fully hide some self doubt.

  “You two haven’t even been together more than three full days!”

  “And yet I feel like I’ve known her all my life.”

  “From the investigators report?!”

  “I did a lot of additional research.”

  “Media reporting, old interviews, and historic documents can be misleading. What you’ve seen and read may be more fiction than reality. She’s a master manipulator. Remember, she’s a chameleon with fake identities. She’s used sex as a tool, and lived to accumulate power.”

  “You’ve accumulated power,” Pete retorted.

  “She’s killed people!”

  “I’ve killed people, or have you forgotten my tour in Iraq?”

  “That’s different.”

  “Only in who sanctioned it,” Pete said defiantly.

  “Her actions would put her in prison, yours wouldn’t.”

  “Well, all that’s past. She wants a normal life.”

  “The woman’s lived a life of luxury. When did she ever know what normal was? What if it boors her?”

  Pete paused. “I’m willing to gamble everything that what we have is real...and forever.”

  Tom took a deep breath. “Okay, Pete. It’s your life. If this is what you want, I’m behind you.”

  “And mom?”

  “She’s glad to finally see you happy with a girl you adore.... And the thought of another grandchild rather clouded over the whole mystery woman thing.”

  “So we’re good?”

  “Yes.” He wrapped his arm around Pete’s shoulder. “Come, let’s have a beer with Jim and we can talk about how to help the transition...without you actually telling us anything.”

  Chapter 70

  August 3, 1800 hours

  Heyward Ranch, Denton, TX

  The wedding ceremony was about to commence. Yellow roses clipped from the front garden were woven into a wedding arbor quickly made and painted by Patrick and Tom. The azure swimming pool and the waterfall that flowed into it became the ceremony backdrop, with the dark green oaks further beyond.