Part Nine
3:15 PM
"Where is she? Mathers wanted
to know. We're supposed to be meeting Stetson in fifteen minutes!" He
paced around the office, trapped inside, but only blocks away from the
Memorial.
"Calm down, Mathers. Natalia
went to get you some of that gourmet coffee you're so fond of. You've done such
a great job that she wants to do something nice. We know we haven't been the
most patient people to work for," Peter explained.
"Couldn't she have waited until
after we got the rest of the information?"
"Relax," Peter sighed.
"We have plenty of time."
At that moment, the door to the
office opened. "Good afternoon, Mathers. I hope you enjoy the coffee. It's a very expensive Colombian
blend," Natalia said with a smirk.
"Thanks." Mathers told her
as he took a sip. Satisfied that it was just as he liked it, he finished it
quickly. "That was very good."
"That's nice, because it was
the last cup of coffee you'll ever have," Natalia informed him.
"Perhaps you should have made it last longer. It contained a fast acting
poison. Your death should be quick and painless."
"I'll see you in hell,"
Mathers told her as he gasped his last breaths.
"Where are we going to dump his
body?" Peter asked as Mathers slumped to the floor.
"Well, there's a dumpster in
the alley across the street," Natalia mused.
"How much longer until he's
dead?" Peter asked, impatient to dispose of the evidence.
"Just a few more seconds."
Natalia went to where Mathers' body was sprawled on the floor, and felt for a
pulse. "He's dead. I'll go check the alley and make sure no one is
around."
Struggling with Mathers' lifeless
form, they slowly made their way out of the apartment building and into the
alley. They shuffled over to the dumpster, leaning Mathers' weight against it,
opened the lid, and pushed the body over the edge, listening to it land inside
with a thud.
As she closed the dumpster, Natalia
spoke to Peter. "We'd better get going. We don't want to keep the Stetsons
waiting."
Once Natalia and Peter had left,
Agents Kelsey and Williamson, who noticed Natalia entering the building, came
out from their hiding places.
"Francine, they're on their
way," Kelsey said into her walkie-talkie. "They disposed of a body in
one of the dumpsters here. You'd better send someone to pick it up."
"Will do, Kelsey. Stay there to
help. Wilkins, be prepared to strike," Francine told them.
"Roger."
**SMK**SMK**SMK**
"They should be here any
minute," Lee said as he looked at his watch.
"Lee, can I ask you a
question?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Don't you think these
bulletproof vests are a little extreme?" Amanda asked as she unzipped her
coat to reveal the top of vest.
Lee shook his head. "Amanda,
I'm not taking any chances. We don't have any idea how this is going to take to
go down. I want Phillip and Jamie to hear about our marriage from us, not
during our eulogy."
"Isn't that cute, Peter?"
Natalia's voice cut in, startling Lee and Amanda. "Her son's essay really
affected them. Personally, I rather enjoyed it. Truth, trust, and honor. He
really does have a way with words; no wonder he beat my niece in the
contest."
"You were at the awards
ceremony?" Amanda asked as the other woman appeared.
Peter emerged from behind Natalia
and nodded. "We really enjoyed ourselves. Of course, now we must get down
to business. Just give us the information and let us go. You'll never hear from
us again."
"Here you go." Lee handed
Peter and Natalia a folder.
"Thank you. It was nice doing
business with you," Natalia told them as she and Peter turned to leave.
Instantly, they were surrounded by agents, to their surprise.
"Freeze! Federal agents!"
Wilkins called out. Francine and Billy came out of the van to join them.
"Let me do the honors,"
Francine said as she cuffed Natalia and Peter. "Wilkins, get them out of
my sight!" She turned to Lee and glared at him. "I'll expect you and
Amanda in debriefing within an hour. After that, well, I'm not speaking to
either of you for a while. You've really hurt my feelings." At that,
Francine turned on her heel and stormed back to the van.
Billy looked at Lee and Amanda.
"Just give her some time. She'll get over it," he smiled and shook
his head. "I'll see you back at the Agency."
Once the van had departed and the
agents had all left, Lee motioned for Amanda to sit next to him on the steps.
"We need to talk," he told her.
**SMK**SMK**SMK**