by C. R. Daems
"BioCells operates as two separate companies. I direct activities in the Pluripotent division and Kapil, my husband, directs the Stromal division. The offices you saw from the walkway to the entrance served both divisions; however, the labs are separate," she said as we proceeded down a long sterile hallway. She stopped at an intersecting corridor. "To the left is my domain, to the right, Kapil's."
"Has he been receiving threats?" I wasn't worried about his safety but wondered if the anger was against the company, the Askams, or specific to Vanaja's research.
"No. In fact, we are often compared-he's the good biologist and I'm the evil one." She smiled at something she found amusing. "Kapil is very intelligent and very conservative. He is not one to fight the establishment." She turned left into an office before the hallway dead-ended at door with a sign reading: RESTRICTED AREA - Authorized Personnel Only.
Her office, by the look of it, had no clutter. A straight lined cherry desk with bow front sat in the middle of the room and off to the left a five shelve cabinet filled with books. In front of her desk, two brown-leather armchairs sat on large sand and maroon colored Persian rug. On the wall were several pictures. I wasn't sure but they looked like abstract digital art.
"Lynn, I have work to do..." she said more like a question-what about you?
"Ignore me." I grabbed one of the armchairs and pulled it over to the corner on the right side so I could see whoever entered. She shook her head and pulled out some papers and began reading. I pulled out my new Smartphone and began reviewing today's news. On the Hill, my instructors had emphasized the need to stay current. We operated in a wide variety of environments and a needed a basic understanding of it to be efficient. Besides, it reduced the boredom. Several hours later there was a knock at the door. Thankfully. The current inane speeches by our elected officials were giving me a headache. When I compared the latest polls on an issue to our elected officials positions, the charitable conclusions would be that they either can't read or they are in the early stages of Alzheimer's. The more likely conclusion is that their reelection contributors...
"Come," Vanaja said, looking up at the door. It was Kapil who entered.
"Am I interrupting?"
"No. This is my bodyguard, Lynn," Vanaja said, nodding in my direction. It was interesting that she didn't mention I was a Kazak. Of course, he may already know.
"No offense, Lynn, but I would feel better if you were a six-foot six muscle man."
"But six-foot six muscle men are bigger targets," I said while evaluating Kapil against Vanaja's earlier remarks. A small, thin, of Indian descent, about his wife's height and coloring, but everything about him said American-the modern cut suit, his hairstyle, modern glasses, and lack of any discernible accent. At least on the surface, he appeared a very conservative man. He grinned.
"And he couldn't follow my wife everywhere she went. I'm hoping these threats are just a few angry individuals who want to scare her into dropping her current line of research." Kapil dropped eye contact with me and turned to Vanaja. I think my steady appraisal of him made him nervous. I suspect staring at someone didn't qualify as polite but then I didn't consider it part of my job description. Although I had no reason to assume the people threatening my client had or would employ an Assassin, I had to assume he could be an Illusion Assassin. "Would you like to join me for lunch, Vana?"
"That would be nice, Kapil. I'm sure Lynn could use a change of scenery."
***
The BioCells facility didn't have a cafeteria, so Kapil drove us into Worcester, to the Brew House. When we entered, I looked around and pointed to a table along the wall. "That table, please." I added the please in an attempt to get off to a good start. Vanaja gave me a why look.
"What if that table isn't acceptable?" Kapil asked defiantly. His eyes held mine.
"I guess you won't be eating with your wife then."
"Why," Vanaja asked before Kapil could respond, holding her hand up to quiet him.
"I like my back to a wall and need to be able to see any line of sight access to you."
"That's ridiculous," Kapil said with a forced laugh.
"I won't tell you my theory on stem cells if you won't tell me your theory on protecting your wife." I continued to maintain eye contact. Vanaja laughed.
"I can see this is going to be an interesting adjustment. That table is fine."
Kapil didn't continue his protest, but he was clearly unhappy. When they sat, I leaned back against the wall."
"Do you eat standing up, Lynn?" Vanaja asked with a frown.
"Yes, order me something I can eat with one hand while standing."
"That's ridiculous. Everyone will be looking at us." Kapil seemed more concerned about appearances than her safety and the fact she needed a bodyguard.
"That's the object. Anyone who wants to harm Vanaja will know I'm here. If that doesn't discourage him, then he'll know he has to take me on first."
Kapil shook his head and picked up the menu. Vanaja sat staring at me, obviously deep in thought. Finally, she nodded and picked up a menu and extended it towards me. I shook my head.
"Anything I can eat with one hand."
"You don't care?"
"No. Actually, the worse the food is the better, since it's less likely to distract me." I grinned although I was serious. Vanaja snorted and began perusing the menu. When the waiter arrived, Vanaja ordered a Salmon Calabria for herself and a Turkey burger for me. Kapil ordered a Chicken Picatta. The waiter, a boy in his late teens, keep sneaking looks at me, so it didn't surprise me when he had to return to the table to verify their drink orders. Eventually, Kapil managed to forget about me and the conversation turned to finances. I continuously scanned the restaurant, which had a steady flow of customers and waiters coming and going. Nothing interesting happened and no one looked like a threat.
When we returned to the facility, Helen waved a red and white card at me. "...Lynn, I have your badge. When the system scans your eye at the lab door, you can enter a password and it will be activated."
"Thank you, Helen," Vanaja and I replied simultaneously. Kapil and Vanaja separated at the intersecting corridor, each heading for their respective labs. After we had our eyes scanned and entered passwords, we entered a large room partitioned into three separate compartments. One area was enclosed in glass with a locked door, the second a working laboratory with large microscopes, centrifuges, beakers, refrigerators, and other equipment I couldn't begin to recognize. The last area looked to be a combination conference, reading, and thinking area with comfortable leather chairs, desks, tables, and computers.
"Here Lynn, put this on." She removed two white smocks from a small cabinet and handed me one, which I slipped on while scanning the room. She led me over to an Asian-looking women sitting at one of the desks. She was presently engrossed in a computer monitor. She flinched when Vanaja spoke.
"Liu, this is Lynn, my bodyguard. She'll be following me around. Ignore her if you can. Lynn, this is Liu. She's one of the leading biologist in stem cell research in the world."
Liu was tall for Chinese decent, standing a few inches taller than me. Judging from the grey streaks in her otherwise long black hair, she had to be in her fifties although her skin looked smooth.
"Hello, Lynn. Are you pro or con on embryonic stem cell research?" Liu looked up at me, her oval brown eyes twinkling.
I noticed the two men in the room were looking in our direction waiting for my reaction. I surmised Liu was always very outspoken.
"I'm pro Vanaja," I said, which provoked a grin.
"Can't be too careful," Liu said, smiling up at Vanaja.
"Joban, Daniel, this is Lynn, my bodyguard. She will be following me wherever I go, so try to ignore her," Vanaja said in a slightly raised voice. The two men mouthed "Hi, Lynn," and then went back to whatever they were doing. I snagged one of the chairs and rolled it back against a wall were I could see the door and the rest of the room and sat there evaluating the three individuals. Joban w
as a medium height, thin, middle-aged man of Indian descent. James was a short and stocky white man with a shaved head. Vanaja spent time with each individual and worked on something by herself. I didn't detect anything worth detecting-unfortunate since I didn't like using my iphone when other people were in the room with Vanaja. I don't know what I thought could happen, but...it would ruin my whole month if Vanaja got killed while I fiddled.
***
Back at the house, I made Vanaja give me a tour of the house. The ground floor had an open floor plan that included a modern kitchen with black-speckled-ivory granite tops, dining area, family room, and a large living room. A hallway led back to a formal dining room and a media room. The floors were covered with Brazilian cherry hardwood. The walls and doors to the terrace had too many windows, providing easy access and visibility. Out the terrace doors, a large deck which over looked a professionally landscaped back yard. A large number of trees blocked the view to the neighbors. Upstairs there were four bedrooms. The master one had its own bathroom suite. The basement had a media room and a library, loaded with books, CDs, and DVDs.
Vanaja spent the next hour preparing a traditional Indian dinner of chicken Malsala, Naan, and a Mulligatawny soup. I ate sitting off to the side on a small end-table where I could see them, doors, and windows. The open design helped. They spent the evening downstairs, I stayed upstairs close to the stairs. I had to make a decision: not to trust Kapil and stay with Vanaja downstairs or trust Kapil and watch the ground floor. Because of the easy access into the house, I decided the upstairs posed the greatest risk.
Around ten Vanaja came upstairs. "Lynn, I'm off to bed. There is a spare bedroom upstairs if you would like to sleep there."
"No thanks. I'm going to move a chair upstairs on the landing. I'll sleep there."
"You're kidding?" She stood there shaking her head like a dog just out of the water.
"I'd prefer a chair in your bedroom, but I've decided to compromise." I grinned, although I actually meant it. This house had far too many access points and windows for snipers to shoot into. I had a headache. I would prefer her sleeping downstairs, but had settled for thick curtains on the bedroom and bathroom windows since the bedrooms were on the second floor.
"Are you carrying this a bit too far?"
"To tell the truth, I don't know. If I were giving odds, I'd say no. The most likely threat is from fanatics and paid thugs. They are most likely to strike at night or when you are outside. Because of their special skills, professional Assassins will attack anytime or anywhere." I paused for her to digest what I said. "But I don't believe in playing the odds with a client's life. Therefore, I must assume the threat is real and you could be attacked by anyone at anytime."
"I don't know what I expected when I was told I was getting a Kazak bodyguard. I guess I expected a young athletic man who would sit in the lobby and go home at night. I think I've been spending too much time in the lab." She laughed. "Alright, I'll leave the bodyguard business to you."
***
The months dragged on. I knew I needed a new iphone when it claimed it had been only three weeks. Each day much the same as the last: up around seven a.m., dress, eat, and go to the BioCells facility, office and lab, out to lunch, back to the facility, home, cook dinner and eat, read, and go to bed. Neither Vanaja nor I had received so much as a dirty look. Even Kapil had stopped giving me hard looks. The most exciting thing in the evening occurred when a few cars drove by.
It caught my attention when I heard a car stopping on the street outside. I got up and propped a chair under the doorknob to the basement, so Vanaja and Kapil couldn't leave and crawled over to the front door. I opened the door a crack and saw a man splashing a liquid from a can onto the driveway as he made his way towards the garage. His back faced the garage so I could only see his side, so I shot him in the arm and waited to get a better shot. The bullet spun him around to his knees and into the shadows. Before I could shoot again, shots rang out and several bullets hit the door and side window. When the shooting stopped, the car sped away. The man I shot was no longer there so I had to assume he made it to the car. I could hear Kapil trying to get through the door from the basement. I closed the front door and walked over and removed the chair. Kapil's head appeared.
"What happened?"
"Call 9-1-1, someone shot at the house and I suspect that was gasoline they were emptying on your driveway."
"They could have killed us!" he shouted at me as he ran for the phone. I stopped Vanaja from leaving the stairs.
"Vanaja, stay there until the police come, and we know they have left the area."
"Why didn't you chase them?" Kapil shouted shaking his fist in my direction. I ignored him. He stopped shouting at me to scream at the 9-1-1 operator. After his hung up, he stood staring at me until the police arrived-three police cars and two fire trucks. When Kapil let the police in, I allowed Vanaja out of the basement. Kapil was clearly agitated, his voice going from his normal baritone to a tenor.
"My wife's damn bodyguard was too afraid to chase after the thugs...." The policeman waved for me to join them. I ignored him and followed Vanaja as she headed to the door to look.
"What happened, Lynn?" she asked. The driveway swarmed with activity. Firemen were spraying a foam onto the surface, two policemen stood in the road trying to keep the traffic moving, and two could be seen walking down the road searching the side of the road-for bullet casings I assumed.
"A car pulled up and someone jumped out with a can and began splashing it on the driveway. From the look of things, it contained gasoline. I shot him and someone in the car returned fire. Then they drove off."
Just then the police sergeant came over, followed by another policeman with Kapil tagging behind.
"I need a statement from you," he said sounding peeved. Kapil's face was tight and red with anger.
"A car with several men in it stopped on the side of the road, about half an hour ago. One man jumped out with a can and began emptying it on the driveway and headed for the garage. I shot him. I suspect he will need medical attention with at least a bullet in the arm and maybe one in the side. The men in the car returned fire and then they drove off."
"You shot him?" He asked frowning. I nodded. "I'll need your gun and you'll have to come down to the station and give a statement."
"No to both. I'm a Kazak," I said pushing up my sleeve to show my tattoo.
"I don't care what you are. Harry, take her gun and escort her to the station."
"Call your captain. He will tell you that you have no authority over me no matter what I did." I could tell this guy was not going to be reasonable. Of course, I wasn't going to be, either. He pulled out his Glock and raised it towards my chest. As he did, I stepped towards him turning a torso away and grabbing his gun hand. I twisted the hand, which extended his arm, and drove my forearm through his elbow. It cracked. The gun dropped to the floor. I drew my gun as I swept his feet from under him. The officer was just coming to terms with what happened as the sergeant hit the floor.
"Unless you want to die today, officer, I suggest you don't draw your gun." He moved his hand away from the holster. The sergeant lay stunned as I picked up his gun. I took out my iphone and hit "1" on my auto dial. Witton answered.
"What."
"Someone attacked Vanaja's house. I shot him but he got away. The police sergeant here tried to take my gun and insisted I go to the station. I have him and his sidekick under house arrest, but the sergeant is going to need medical attention. I broke his elbow and maybe his wrist."
"Try not to kill anyone." The phone went dead. I watched as Kapil slid towards the phone. I walked pass the officer, took his gun, and met Kapil at the phone.
"If I were you, I wouldn't reach for that phone." I doubted he and I would ever get along, which became his problem.
"I'll testify at your trial and celebrate when they take you away."
"When did you stop caring about your wife?"
"How dare you. I love Vana
ja."
"You want me to chase after a car full of gunmen and let your wife be unprotected. You want the police to take me to the station and leave your wife unprotected. You want me to go to jail for wanting to stay close to her. You had me fooled." While I talked, Kapil's tan skin slowly turned a dark crimson. Vanaja had walked over to us and now stood looking back and forth between us. Like everyone else in the room, no one had thought about the consequences of what was happening.
The silence was broken by the sergeant's personal hand-held radio.
"Sergeant Sims. This is Captain Clarton," the speaker squawked.
"Corporal, I think you should get that. I don't think the sergeant's up to it," I said nodding to the other policeman. He unhooked it from Sims's belt.
"Sir, this is Corporal Jackson. Sergeant Sims has been injured...by Mrs. Askam's bodyguard," Jackson said sneaking a nervous look in my direction.
"Get Sergeant Sims medical treatment and leave the Kazak alone. She's authorized to carry weapons of any kind and is not subject to our jurisdiction. Sergeant Sims should have checked with headquarters when she identified herself as a Kazak. The Askams are lucky she was there."
Over the next hour, the firemen finished their inspection, Sergeant Sims was treated and taken off to emergency for x-rays, and Kapil went off to sulk somewhere. Captain Clarton stopped by as the last vehicle was leaving.
"Mrs. Askam, I want you to know that I've assigned a police detail to keep surveillance on your house until further notice. I understand you've been getting threatening emails and letters. Fortunately, most times no one follows up on them. Hopefully, the incident with the Kazak will discourage them from trying it again," he said and turned his attention on me. "Kazak Lynn, I'm sorry Sergeant Sims pulled a gun on you. He should have called headquarters first. But I think he's paid for his over reaction."
"I agree. I told the sergeant but he may have forgot in the excitement that I wounded one of the men. He will need medical attention. You may want to alert the medical facilities."
