Agent with a History (23 page)

“Please James! Please don’t make me face
this!” I begged.

“I love you and I’ll be with you every step
of the way darling.”

The big doors opened and I stepped into the
cool interior of the villa’s foyer. The villa’s grandness held no
allure to me right now, all that registered was the gentle pressure
of James hand pushing me onward.

We stopped at a closed door and James reached
for the handle. I caught his hand. He pulled my hand free and
kissed it, before opening the door wide to reveal an elegant
sitting room. He stepped behind me and pressed me deeper into the
room, as he whispered encouragements and endearments into my ear
that kept my feet moving forward.

The room held three occupants. Two instantly
rose to their feet, their hands gripped anxiously together. A third
gray haired figure rose up more slowly. They all became more clear
to me as I drew nearer. The light olive skinned features paired
with the black curly hair were a match for my own darker skinned
features. It was really true! This really was my family!

The older gray haired lady, still beautiful
even despite the depth of the sorrows of her life, approached
steadily, her cheeks wet with tears. Her hands rose up to frame my
face and I saw a world of kindness and love in her eyes and I felt
myself begin to lose it. “Oh my precious dear! It’s okay you’re
safe now!” I lost it and pressed my face down onto her time worn
shoulder and cried. My two aunts closed in on me from the sides and
I felt their arms close tight about me, even as their tears started
to dampen my dress. I was home, at long last.

James stepped back as he rubbed the moisture
off of his cheeks. He loved Lisa more then life itself and he
couldn’t help but get a little emotional at the outpouring of so
much grief and despair now gone to be replaced with the vibrancy of
the present.

He hadn’t told Lisa everything. He’d said the
three women had acted like mothers to him, but the truth was they
were the only motherly figures he’d ever known for the most part.
He didn’t remember his father and his mother was but a vague
memory. His upbringing had been as tumultuous if not worse than
Lisa’s had been. In his love for the three women, who had showered
him with nurturing affection, he had continued the Contessa’s
search for her long lost daughter using the resources available to
him.

He had spent millions, but got nowhere. As
happy as he was for Lisa in this moment, he was just as happy for
the other three women as well. Lisa was a good six inches taller
than the other women, but somehow the Contessa’s face appeared and
she crooked a finger at him, as she held her granddaughter to her
tightly.

He had been summoned. He stepped forward
reluctant to join the emotional huddle. Her arthritic hand reached
out and grasped his squeezing firmly, as her eyes told him the
depth of her gratitude in a way inexpressible by words. It was a
good day for all of them.

Five months later

I lay on my side gazing out the window at the
morning sunshine with a silly grin on my face, as I remembered last
night.

Last night had been, well a lot of things,
all of them very good. I felt the big hand splayed across my hip
shift and my breathing hitched up in anticipation of starting the
day off the same way as we had left it last night. James shifted,
pecked a good morning kiss on the back of my shoulder and patted my
bottom, before abruptly rolling away.

Hey, where did he think he was going? I
turned over to see him sitting up holding his tablet and I knew a
moment of extreme jealousy. I tucked the sheet under my arms, which
I folded together, while giving him a look.

He glanced at me, “What’s the matter with
you?”

I turned my gaze ceiling ward, “Someone
poured cold water all over my morning high.”

He chuckled, but continued leafing through
the tablet in his hands and I was just about to roll over in
frustrated jealously of the technology, when he whistled through
his teeth at me.

I glanced over, “What?”

He looked at me teasingly, “I had no idea
that when I married you I was hooking myself up with such an
heiress.”

I gazed at him blankly and he explained
further, “They’ve finalized your father’s estate. He left you
everything. I sat up abruptly and the sheet slipped down, which
attracted his admiring gaze. I quickly pulled the sheet back up not
done with punishing him yet for ignoring me earlier.

“What do you mean everything?”

He handed the tablet to me and I did a double
take, “That’s, that’s over …” I trailed off.

“A billion!” He interjected. “Don’t get your
hopes up just yet of joining that exclusive club. After taxes and
various garnishments you’re left with just over six hundred
million.”

I shrugged, “Still that’s not too
shabby.”

I caught him shaking his head at me and I
asked, “What?” with a smile.

“Oh I was just thinking of how probable it is
that you’ll set the record for how fast six hundred million dollars
has ever been given away before.”

He had me there. I really didn’t want
anything to do with the money. I already had more than I could have
ever have dreamed of. It would be best if my father’s stolen wealth
served some good purpose and James was right to say what he had. I
was even now growing excited over the possibilities of what worthy
charities to give it all away too.

“What are you going to do with the
house?”

I glanced back over at him, “House?” I
repeated blankly.

“Yeah, your father’s mansion on the island.
All of your relatives have been evicted per your father’s
instructions and the house, if that’s what you can call it, is
sitting vacant.”

So many atrocities had been carried out in
that house. They were too numerous to count really. “I’d like to
plant a small nuclear device square in the middle of that heap and
blow the whole bloody island up.” I said meaningfully as I stared
out into the distance.

“That could be arranged.” I laughed and
glanced over at James and abruptly stopped.

He was serious. He couldn’t be! He had to be
pulling my leg. He seemed to know what I was thinking.

“A lady of your means could buy about
anything she pleased too.”

I swallowed, “Wouldn’t the effects from the
blast hurt people on the mainland?” I asked my voice a little
squeaky.

He smiled broadly and I knew I’d been had.
“Bless you for caring about the masses; I knew you had a good heart
in you.”

I punched him in the shoulder.

“How about a couple of Hellfire missiles
offering localized damage only?”

“Sure!” I replied jokingly.

He grabbed the phone off the table beside him
and called someone he had on speed dial. My eyebrows rose, he was
really carrying this gag on. Well two could play at that.

“Hey Robbie, need a favor. Never mind where I
am right now, I need two hell fires delivered off the shore of
North Carolina, what’s that gonna cost me? Uhuh. Hang on a
second.”

He pressed the phone to his shoulder and in a
loud whisper asked me, “It’s gonna cost six million for two, if you
want four missiles it’ll be an additional two million.”

Liking the game I held up four fingers, why
not what did I have to lose?

“She’ll take four Robbie. None of your
concern as to who she is, when can you have it done? Uhuh. I’ll
text you the coordinates.”

He hung up the phone and recaptured his
tablet from me. I just smirked at him, what was he up to, besides
getting in over his head? He handed the tablet back to me.

The screen was full of the image of the big
white house poised on the hill of the island.

“So when was this taken?” I asked
skeptically.

“It wasn’t, that’s real time satellite
telemetry you’re looking at.”

“Sure.” I said with a smirk. “What’s the
clock up in the corner for?”

“ETA.”

A little frisson of alarm coursed through me,
“Estimated arrival of what?”

He held up four fingers.

“You’re joking right?” I asked him, not
believing this was really going to happen.

“You get what you pay for with Robbie.”

My gaze drifted back to the tablet in
horrified fascination, thirty seven seconds. I watched the seconds
tick by. I could see the waves moving. Either this was a video or
it really was actual satellite imagery.

How did James have access to this? 5..4..3..
I saw the streaks and then the white mansion exploded as it was
struck on all four corners by missiles. I shrieked and almost
dropped the tablet. I swear I felt the concussion of the blasts
through the device.

The mansion was a shattered raging inferno
and numbly I looked up into James boyishly grinning face, “Fun
isn’t it?” He asked.

“Who are you?” I exclaimed.

He winked conspiratorially and said, “You
have your secrets and I have mine.”

“That’s not true! I told you where the
treasure was. I even led you right to it!” I retorted hotly.

“All of that is techniquely true; however
there is a lie of omission.”

I grew still and put the burning tablet down,
“Explain.”

He put his hands behind his head and leaned
back against the pillows with a smirk, “It is true that you led me
to the treasure, but the full truth is that you only showed me a
part of it, the lesser part of it I’m willing to wager. Old
Heinrich was more right than he knew, it would seem.”

My shoulders slumped in defeat and I fell
back against the pillows holding onto the sheet. I sighed loudly,
“Okay how did you figure it out?”

“The water.” He replied cheekily.

“The water?”

“Yes, you see gold, along with other metals
such as silver, copper and zinc have a unique effect on water
quality. They all kill bacteria and in general purify whatever
liquid they are in contact with. That’s why the goblets of kings
were fashioned out of those metals, as the ancients knew the
positive effects of the metals on the contents of the cup. You
don’t find that quality of water in the African bush just occurring
naturally. This is what I think happened. Gold was so plentiful
that it really wasn’t needed; it however might be in the future. So
like the salt they stock piled it. Where do you hide something that
you’re constantly adding to out of view? The answer in our case is
under water. For who knows how many years, I bet they pulled those
gold caravans up to those outlying water ponds and just dumped the
gold in. Those ponds are all collapsed now, but under about thirty
feet of debris is an accumulation of wealth in raw gold, I doubt is
equaled anywhere else in the world. Am I right?”

I nodded yes. “What do you plan on doing with
this knowledge?”

“Nothing, everyone’s given up on the
treasure, which suites me just fine. I don’t care if it stays there
for forever.”

I believed him.

“Now enough with secrets.”

He tugged on the sheet and I let it go. I
glanced over at him coyly, “You really think that you have me all
figured out, as well as my secrets don’t you?”

“You betcha!” He responded his eyes
elsewhere.

I rose up over him and pushed him back down
into the pillows and waited for his eyes to come back to mine.

“Do you really think that generation after
generation of Candace’s went to so much trouble and sacrifice to
protect a few piles of gold from tomb robbers and fortune
seekers?”

His eyes widened and the first words out of
his mouth were, “What’s in the rooms behind the throne?”

I smiled relishing my victory, however small
it may be. “My lips are sealed.” I said as my lips closed over his
in a deep kiss.

It looked like we were destined to yet
another late start of another glorious day spent with each
other.

A few things about me

I live in the country. It’s the best place
to be I’m

thinking. I share my life with my beautiful
wife, Beth,

my three children and one cat named
Herman.

When I’m not lost in a daydream the most
likely

place you’ll find me at is flower
gardening

or at the movie theatre. I use to think I
was strong, but

now I freely admit that I’m weak. My new
reality is

okay because Jesus Christ has me
covered.

It’s better that way trust me!