The Hellman

Chapter 5

A week later, Alexander sat behind his desk and began puzzling over some documents Dillon had sent him when Elaine walked into his office. He couldn’t tell what it was, but there was something different about her today. She was usually guarded with her expressions and very secretive, but today, she was radiating a happy bright countenance that made him pause. She looked beautiful in the billowy pink blouse she wore, and her skirt only emphasized her beautiful figure.

“Hi,” she said as she came in, “I need your help with something.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

He was happy for every opportunity he got to be close to her. Since their conversation in the lobby a week before, she had taken every precaution to stay as far away from him as possible. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it, he thought it was for the best, but there was a constant urge in the pit of his stomach to see her even when there was nothing he needed from her.

“I was looking over a few files on this job in Berlin and I think I might have picked up on a trend.” She said excitedly.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Well, that’s why I need your help.” She replied, “I have no idea how to run the encryption to find the origin of the number these people have been using to communicate.”

“What did you find?” he asked.

“I found a location where all persons seemed to have received calls from. It may be a payphone or a house, but I have no idea just yet.”

Suddenly Alexander understands what she was saying. They had been trying to figure out how the group remained so organized and low-key and she may just have solved it.

“Let me check it out.” He said.

“Alright, I can bring it up for you,” she said walking around his desk so that she could use his computer.

The first thing he noticed was the scent of strawberries and the way her dark hair cascaded softly over her shoulders. For a moment the temptation to touch her hair arose but he quickly stifled it. Instead, he turned the computer screen where he watched her pull up the software they had developed to do location tracking.

“Who showed you to use this?” he asked suddenly curious as to how she had become so proficient at her job.

“Jamie gave me a lesson or two.” She replied nonchalantly

The mention of his brother’s name annoyed him much more than he cared to admit to himself.

“When was that? He asked impulsively.

“He was here yesterday while you were out.” She replied, “I thought you knew.”

He tried to figure out if there was anything going on between her and his brother by looking at her face but it suddenly guarded.

“Why did he come to see you?” Alexander asked.

“No idea, he must have come to look for you.” She replied giving him a slight shrug.

“So, have you guys gone out as yet?” he asked getting right to the point.

He noticed that her posture stiffened, and she stood upright and moved away from his desk so that she could look at him.

“I, I didn’t actually end up going on the date with him” she replied.

It was strange how good her news made him feel and he tried to stop it from showing on his face.

“Why?” he asked.

“I just didn’t think it would be wise to mix work and pleasure.” She replied with a shrug.

“Are you currently dating anyone?” he asked.

“I don’t date.” she replied very pointedly.

“How come?” he asked interested to know why she had taken such a stance.

“I’m focused on work.” she replied.

He could tell it was a lie by the way she wrinkled her nose as she spoke.

“You don’t mean that” he said, “there’s something else.”

She took a few steps away from his desk and he watched her retreat.

“I mean it.” She replied, “what about you?”

Her question threw surprised him, but he hid it.

“I’m focused on my career.” He replied, “love always complicates life.”

He heard her snicker and the sound was so strange and unexpected that his head snapped up to look at her. She was smiling down at him and he knew it was at his expense.

“What’s so funny?” he asked

“I’m just wondering how complicated love could get that someone would pick a career over it.” She replied

“You said the same thing!” he replied.

“I said I didn’t have time to date.” She replied, “I said nothing about love.”

She had a far-away look in his eyes that told him she didn’t feel the same when it came on to love. He wondered if there was someone out there that she loved or if she had ever been in love before.

“So, you’re telling me you’d sacrifice your career for love?” he asked

“I’d do anything for love.” She replied.

There was a sudden sadness in the way that she looked t him. She tried to hide it with a quick smile but he was suddenly curious to find out why she had gotten sad so suddenly.

“Have you had lunch yet?” he asked.

“No, I was planning to skip lunch. I have some work to catch up on.” She replied

“Well as your boss I can use this one privilege I have to tell you to have lunch with me.” He insisted.

“That’s not necessary.” She replied.

She began walking away from his desk and heading towards the door.

“I insist.” He replied, “in fact, we should use that time to figure this new intel out.”

He could tell she was battling with the decision and so he pressed on.

“You can choose the place.” He continued,

“Sure” she replied, “I’ll have lunch with you, but I need to go to my office and call Jamie to let him know I won’t be able to have lunch with him.”

She turned and walked away leaving him alone with his thoughts.

It was then that Alexander realized that his brother must have seen the same opportunity. In any event, he was happy she had chosen him over his brother. As soon as the thought came into his mind he banished it. There was no use going there. He was interested in his assistant, but he couldn’t let that interest take him to these strange places. He was simultaneously jealous of his brother and insistent on not taking his relationship with Michelle to that place. She was a jewel, but he wasn’t ready now and he doubted he would ever be. Still, he couldn’t shake the desire he felt to be around her. It was so strong that he had no resolve against it.

As his mind wandered the phone rang and he picked it up quickly.

“Boss,” it was Dillon.

“Hi, why are you calling me?” he asked

“Something bad’s going on down here in Mexico,” Dillon replied

Alexander could hear the stress in his friend’s voice which was unusual for a man who was as skilled as Dillon.

“What do you need an extraction?” Alexander asked

“No, I’m still working on the ground.” He replied, “I got wind of a big shipment of guns coming into the states. A lot of guns and ammunition.”

“Who are they coming to?” Alexander asked.

He wondered if there was a way he could intercept the guns before they got to whoever was sending it.

“I don’t think it’s coming to anyone.” Dillon replied, “I think they’re shipping it there in preparation for something big that side. The Cartel doing it seems to be on the hunt for someone and they’re sending the arms forward and coming in later.”

“They want to start a war here on American soil?” he asked

“I can’t tell” Dillon replied, “no-one wants to say who the target is or who they’re looking for. The only information we have is that they have a lead on the person’s location in the states and they plan to move in a few weeks.”

“You stay safe.” Alexander replied, “get your hand on any document you can and send it here as soon as you can. We need to plan the interception of these guns and warn our contacts state-side of a possible threat.”

“Got it.” Dillon replied, “we’ll talk.”

Somehow Dillon’s call sobered him up a bit. Why would a cartel need to send guns ahead of themselves in preparation for an attack? If they needed a target taken care of they could just send someone in the states to carry out the execution. There was so much danger and yet he had no explanation. The only thing he could do was hope that Dillon could get his hands on some information that could help them identify the cartel and their target. He hoped that the target was prepared to die if it came down to that.

“Is everything alright?”

He was staring out the window when Michelle came in but the sight of her made all the burdening information seem lighter at that moment.

“No, not really.” He admitted, “I just got some troubling information from one of my guys down in Mexico.”

There was a flash of something on her face and then it was gone.

“Mexico?” she asked, “I didn’t know we had any active contacts in Mexico.”

“I sent a guy down there to hide out for a few months.” He replied, “he managed to stumble on some cartel info.”

“Wow,” she replied

He could tell she was interested but she was doing her very best to hide it. He admired how interested she was in things like this. For a woman who looked as fragile as a feather caught in the wind, she was surprisingly strong.

“There’s nothing really concrete now.” He replied giving her exactly what he thought she wanted, “just that he thinks one of the cartels seems to be planning something big stateside. They have a target and they’re planning to strike soon.”

She gasped and he wondered for a moment if he had told her too much. When he looked up at her face he realized that she had gone as pale as snow.

“Are you alright?” he asked rushing over to where she stood

“I’m fine.” She replied, “I just. I don’t know the thought just made me feel a bit uncomfortable.”

He realized just then how close he was to her. Once again, the scent of strawberries filled his nostrils and he decided not to fight against it. Her blue eyes were so perfect and pale that it took him a moment to break away from her gaze.

“Yes, I understand,” he replied, “I’ll refrain from giving you these gory details.”

“No, no” she replied, “I just wasn’t prepared for it just then. Did he know when they plan to strike, or which cartel plans the strike?”

“He says it seems to be a few weeks before they make it this side.” He replied, “there’s no information on which of the cartels are planning the strike.”

“Oh, see, I’ll help you to deal with this if you’d like.” She replied, “I’m interested to see how it progresses.”

“I’ll keep that in mind” he replied.

Once again, their eyes met and he noticed a wisp of hair had fallen across her face and blocking her beautiful eyes. He reached down and brushed it away but as he did so, his finger gently grazed her cheeks. A jolt of electricity shot through him and he inhaled sharply.

“Thank you.” She said softly.

He watched as she bit down on her lower lip which she had done so often when confronted with something that made her nervous. Against his better judgment, he reached up and tugged at her chin which produced the very reaction he expected. She released her poor lip and without any warning, he lowered his head. His lips brushed against hers ever so slightly and then he was kissing her. She gasped but she didn’t push back, her lips moved against his and before long she brought her hand up to his chest and clung to him. The feel of her hands on his body sent his mind into a frenzy.

“Brother!”

Alexander hadn’t heard the door open but as he looked up quickly at the shocked expression on his sister’s face and the amused expression on Jessica’s face he could tell that this was not the best position for him to be caught in with his assistant. He looked down at her and realized that her face had reddened.

“Oh, we’re interrupting,” his sister said, “I’ll wait outside.”

Before he could say anything, the door was shut, and they were alone once again.

“I shouldn’t have.” He said more to himself than Michelle.

“I should go.” She replied, “I have work to do.”

Without another word she moved away from him and walked towards the door that connected both their offices.

He wanted to reach out and say something to her, but he had somehow lost his voice. He waited until the door closed behind her before he let the self-bashing begin. He had let himself go and, at that moment, he had broken a promise he made to himself.