It was an hour later that Litha finished brushing down the horses and gotten them put back in their stalls with the help of the stableboy. She needed a shower and a change of clothes...
The house was quiet as she wandered the halls towards her room. Normally that would have tripped some alarms in her mind, but she was in her own little 'Litha World' as she walked along. Even when she opened her bedroom door and walked past a woman sitting in the chair near the window she didn't notice.
She watched her walk in, oblivious to the world. That wasn't like her at all. She watched her strip out of the dusty pair of pants and shirt she was wearing and then step into the bathroom for a shower.
She looked at her watch. Just wait for her to finish her shower and then take her to the others...
--
Half a world away back in Birmingham Hills, Michigan, the Birmingham Police were responding to the frantic 911 call from a neighbor who was out jogging and spotted the dead men in the car in front of Elizabeth Sinclair's home. After the Medical Examiner had arrive on the scene, another body was discovered in the backyard and one one more in the living room. The owner of the house was nowhere to be seen. To make matters worse, the neighbor had said that Mrs. Sinclair had been baby sitting her 9 month old granddaughter.
The detectives were shaking their heads in shock. This was a professional hit, whoever did it. Clean and unannounced. The men's guns were still in their holsters and hands nowhere near drawing. What further unnerved them was the discovery that all four were Federal Agents.
Adam Wallace's heart crept up into his throat the closer he got. There were way too many police cars in this street for him to like it. Monica wasn't thrilled either when she saw a coroner's van and people with "M.E." on the back of their jackets. What scared them even more was that everything was centering around the little two story gingerbread house with the proverbial white picket fence.
"Holy Mother Of God." Adam Wallace choked as he got out of the car. A Crime Scene Investigator tried to stop them all as they approached, but a quick flash of the badge allowed them past the yellow tape and up to the house. Four black plastic body bags were on the lawn and occupied. Wallace knelt down and unzipped each one in turn as the lead detective gave him a brief run down of the situation. He was on the verge of tears. These were his four best men... and Elizabeth was gone - along with Angelina.
Through everything so far, Monica had remained strangely silent. She's wandered the house while Wallace was talking to the detective. She emerged to hear Cody' question.
"Mrs. Sinclair is gone?" Cody was beginning to realize the direness of the situation. There were four dead Federal Agents in a professional hit and the person they were there to bring back to the nest was gone.
"Not just Mrs. Sinclair. There is a crib in one of the rooms. Is there something else we need to know, Adam?"
"Yes. Mrs. Sinclair's granddaughter was here with her."
"And she's gone too..."
Cody looked between Wallace and Monica. "So now what do we do?" The subject of the granddaughter seemed to be lost on him for the moment.
"We pray, Cody." It was the first time Adam Wallace had used his name directly. "We pray that both of them are alright... and we pray that Frank and his team are alive still."
--
Litha emerged from the shower with a towel wrapped around her hair and a robe around her body. It was strange that no one had knocked on her door, that Frank hadn't left her a note or even let himself in to scare the bejeezus out of her like he did last night. It was just too quiet in the house. She quickly dressed in a pair of black jeans and a tshirt. Maybe she could find Sra. Montcalvez and the two of them could search for the others.
She had just put on her hiking boots and stood up from the bed when she saw the person sitting across the room from her. When the hell had they come in and how long had they been sitting there? The sunlight filtering in from the window made it difficult to see who it was... Until she spoke.
"Ahh Senora Broussard... or should I say, Agent Sinclair? We meet again. How cliche that just sounded. Surprised to see me?"
"Senora Montcalvez." This was going to be interesting. "What are you doing in my room?"
"Trying to remain calm. Which is not going to be easy because I now have a Federal Agent trying to arrest my husband."
Litha's eyes flicked around the room, then she made a tentative step backwards. Her holstered guns were on the table. The click coming from Senora Montacalvez drew Litha's attention back.
"Nice try, Agent Sinclair. But don't make one move. After betraying my confidence, trust and hospitality, I'm not entirely pleased with you. Let's go."
****
The house was quiet as she wandered the halls towards her room. Normally that would have tripped some alarms in her mind, but she was in her own little 'Litha World' as she walked along. Even when she opened her bedroom door and walked past a woman sitting in the chair near the window she didn't notice.
She watched her walk in, oblivious to the world. That wasn't like her at all. She watched her strip out of the dusty pair of pants and shirt she was wearing and then step into the bathroom for a shower.
She looked at her watch. Just wait for her to finish her shower and then take her to the others...
--
Half a world away back in Birmingham Hills, Michigan, the Birmingham Police were responding to the frantic 911 call from a neighbor who was out jogging and spotted the dead men in the car in front of Elizabeth Sinclair's home. After the Medical Examiner had arrive on the scene, another body was discovered in the backyard and one one more in the living room. The owner of the house was nowhere to be seen. To make matters worse, the neighbor had said that Mrs. Sinclair had been baby sitting her 9 month old granddaughter.
The detectives were shaking their heads in shock. This was a professional hit, whoever did it. Clean and unannounced. The men's guns were still in their holsters and hands nowhere near drawing. What further unnerved them was the discovery that all four were Federal Agents.
Adam Wallace's heart crept up into his throat the closer he got. There were way too many police cars in this street for him to like it. Monica wasn't thrilled either when she saw a coroner's van and people with "M.E." on the back of their jackets. What scared them even more was that everything was centering around the little two story gingerbread house with the proverbial white picket fence.
"Holy Mother Of God." Adam Wallace choked as he got out of the car. A Crime Scene Investigator tried to stop them all as they approached, but a quick flash of the badge allowed them past the yellow tape and up to the house. Four black plastic body bags were on the lawn and occupied. Wallace knelt down and unzipped each one in turn as the lead detective gave him a brief run down of the situation. He was on the verge of tears. These were his four best men... and Elizabeth was gone - along with Angelina.
Through everything so far, Monica had remained strangely silent. She's wandered the house while Wallace was talking to the detective. She emerged to hear Cody' question.
"Mrs. Sinclair is gone?" Cody was beginning to realize the direness of the situation. There were four dead Federal Agents in a professional hit and the person they were there to bring back to the nest was gone.
"Not just Mrs. Sinclair. There is a crib in one of the rooms. Is there something else we need to know, Adam?"
"Yes. Mrs. Sinclair's granddaughter was here with her."
"And she's gone too..."
Cody looked between Wallace and Monica. "So now what do we do?" The subject of the granddaughter seemed to be lost on him for the moment.
"We pray, Cody." It was the first time Adam Wallace had used his name directly. "We pray that both of them are alright... and we pray that Frank and his team are alive still."
--
Litha emerged from the shower with a towel wrapped around her hair and a robe around her body. It was strange that no one had knocked on her door, that Frank hadn't left her a note or even let himself in to scare the bejeezus out of her like he did last night. It was just too quiet in the house. She quickly dressed in a pair of black jeans and a tshirt. Maybe she could find Sra. Montcalvez and the two of them could search for the others.
She had just put on her hiking boots and stood up from the bed when she saw the person sitting across the room from her. When the hell had they come in and how long had they been sitting there? The sunlight filtering in from the window made it difficult to see who it was... Until she spoke.
"Ahh Senora Broussard... or should I say, Agent Sinclair? We meet again. How cliche that just sounded. Surprised to see me?"
"Senora Montcalvez." This was going to be interesting. "What are you doing in my room?"
"Trying to remain calm. Which is not going to be easy because I now have a Federal Agent trying to arrest my husband."
Litha's eyes flicked around the room, then she made a tentative step backwards. Her holstered guns were on the table. The click coming from Senora Montacalvez drew Litha's attention back.
"Nice try, Agent Sinclair. But don't make one move. After betraying my confidence, trust and hospitality, I'm not entirely pleased with you. Let's go."
****