Enchanted By The Villain

CHAPTER 5.

I tried as much as I could to think of a smart way to pacify him as I walked through a corridor that led to the backyard. From my observations so far, he was the domestic captain of this place and I couldn't afford to be on a wrong standing with him. I needed his acquaintance and friendship if I must accomplish my mission fast. These thoughts filled my mind as I stepped into the back yard of this great villa.

The back yard was harmonious in a charming way. The large open deck with a wrap around seating overlooked a lawn with rounded patches of light from the tall surrounding trees. The edges of the lawn were planted with several Cuban royal palms, a native Caribbean specie. The yard was perched high above a low open field that led to a marsh forming a transition between the house area and the rippling river. On the north side of the yard was a fantastic topiary, shrubs and hedges in the shapes of unicorns, giraffes, lions, and a giant cobra. They were so perfectly sculpted that they almost looked animate. The cobra had big purple patches that gave it a bizarre and prehistoric appearance. As I looked up I could see low voltage lightings set high in the trees beautifully illuminating the lush and shadowy garden. Alejandro had great eyes for beauty, I concluded in my heart as I moved around.

A loud meow caught my attention and I quickly headed in the direction of the sound. I sensed that it would be coming from a cat probably in danger. I walked towards the topiary as the sound came again seemingly from that direction. As I passed the giant cobra made with evergreens, I relished the aromatic, lavender-like smell that came from it. I quickly plucked one of the purple blossoms and ate it. My boss, Don Patrizio was a florist of sorts and the rosemary was his favourite flower. His French-Normandy styled Ranch in Vancouver was home to all species of exotic plants and flowers. He had an obsessive interest in flowers and this forced me to learn about them when I lived with him in the ranch. As I searched around for the troubled cat, I saw a long fence with iron bars mostly covered with shrubbery. I suspected that the cat may have been caught behind the bars and so I edged closer to look. As I made to peep through the bar, a large monster charged towards me hitting the bar with exceeding force as it gave a loud and frightening roar. Big and sharp claws almost grazed my temple as I swung back instinctively. The iron bars had saved me from a savage attack as I looked at the deadly beast clutching the bar and staring ferociously at me. With its enormous size, rich dark mane, I could tell that this king of the jungle was at its prime and well fed. I wasn't really afraid because I had been trained to defend myself or fend off attacks from predatory animals like this if I was lucky to see them coming. I had successfully practised with real threats during those times. It could be difficult because these animals had a surprising level of intelligence and could stalk their prey for hours. As I thought about it, Major Mikhail's voice, a retired member of Spetsnaz, the best special Ops Unit of the Russian military, echoed in my head "It is important to stand firm without showing fear, then retreating very slowly, but to continue facing the lion while clapping your hands, shouting and waving your arms around to make yourself look bigger. Most charges are mock charges, so you will usually be fine. And don't forget: hold your ground! Never run or turn your back."

I had done this on the few occasions I practised and it worked just as he said so I wasn't exactly afraid of this lion.

I continued to stare back at the beast daring it. Soon, probably intimidated or frustrated, it backed out.

"Bravo." Said a fairly deep male voice.

I turned in the direction of the voice and it was him, Gabriel Alejandro, the bad guy I had flown about 2,680 nautical miles to kill. He was wearing a boxers and beach shirt.

"Hi." I said with a courteous smile and pulled myself together.

"I didn't know that my daughter's new nanny was also an ethologist."

"Ethologist? What's that?" I asked genuinely as I hadn't heard the word before.

"Seriously? You mean you don't know what that means?" He asked with a smile.

"If I did I wouldn't be asking. Don't you think so?" I replied confident that from the way he drew a comparison between being a nanny and an ethologist, the unfamiliar word had nothing to do with the childcare territory.

"I guess so. I am Gabriel and you must be...?"

"Katelyn, Kate for short," I interjected suddenly feeling awkward with the name.

"Honestly, you look more like an Amy than a Kate." The smile that enveloped his face was difficult to read, so I just laughed.

"I guess I have to sue my parents." I said staring inquiringly at him playfully expecting his approval.

"No my dear. Forgive them. A harmless mistake on their part."

I smiled and concurred with a nod. "Yeah, guess so."

"I can see that you are not afraid of Leo."

"Is that his name?"

"Yes, and he loves attention, especially from women."

I laughed to that.

"He thinks himself strong and attractive."

"I bet he is." I agreed with him suspecting that he also was aware of his looks.

"Come with me let me show you other less dangerous parts of the villa." He said casually and turned to walk away. As he did, a cat raced past him and leaped effortlessly unto an oak tree.

"How are you Brandon?" He said to the cat which quickly meowed looking at him with a face that resembled a smile.

I guessed he had a name for all the animals in this place, I said to myself as I looked at the brown cat that had lured me to the lion's den.

I followed Gabriel to a mini outdoor sports facility. It had a basketball court, a lawn tennis court, a gym and a swimming pool to the left. It was the pool that faced my room.

"Which is your favourite sport if I may ask?"

"Swimming." I replied truthfully.

"I thought so. How about joining me in the pool and some champaign afterwards?" He asked looking at me with a pair of beautiful eyes.

"I would love to but I don't have my trunks."

"That won't be a problem my dear. Let's sit while I make arrangements for one that will suit you pretty well." He said beckoning me to the set of outdoor sofas by the pool. Same place he had sat when I saw him from my room.

I followed and he quickly made a call with the wireless intercom on the table. Soon a waiter arrived with a tray of grilled fish and chips, and two bottles of wine.

"Welcome to Coconut Island Miss Amy, sorry Katelyn, dunno why l seem to prefer that." He said with a smile.

I responded with an assuring smile.

"Whatever works for you."

"Ok. Now, please join me." He said as the waiter dropped the food and drinks on the table and left.

"What's your impression of this place?" Opening one of the bottles of wine.

"It's quite a beautiful place"

"Thank you. So why the career path? I think you have great potentials for something less boring, more attractive and viable."

"I have always loved kids."

"Wow!Means you gonna have loads of them."

"Ironically I don't plan on having more than one."

"Are you serious?" He asked with a broad smile.

"Of course I am."

"Why is that?"

"Because I still wanna have time for myself. Having loads as you put it would deny me that."

"Okay, I get it. Population control mindset." He concluded and poured wine into the two glasses.

"Let's eat Ms. Kate."

I responded with a smile as we ate in silence. He looked quite harmless. Almost exactly opposite of what I was told. But I could tell that he had an interest in me. But I was confused whether his interest was the type I wanted, which would give me the opportunity to lure him to a safe place and execute my mission. I still had a lot of work to do. I needed to get close to him first, access his office and obtain as much information as I could. But first, I needed to understand the security arrangement of this place. I had a seen a few men standing at different corners. Though they moved about casually like normal people but I could tell that they were trained security guards and they had their pistols shoved into the waist of their trousers. They were not a problem for me. I could take them out in seconds without breaking a sweat but what feared me was the digital security and surveillance system of this place. Most of the cameras were sensor triggered. They recognize movement and can tilt towards any motion to capture activities. I knew that he must have a surveillance team in a room somewhere monitoring activities in this place. It was even possible that a sniper was perched somewhere close with a gun pointing at me now.

"You don't seem to like the fish," he said.

"I do."

"You haven't yet touched it."

"Oh, I will. Just taking my time."

"Okay. It is really nice. Well marinated. Andrew, my chef is good."

"I see." I said and cut some fish with my fork as he watched with interest as I lifted it to my mouth.

"How do you see it?"

"Quite nice." I said nodding.

"Can I ask you something Ms. Kate?"

"Go ahead."

"Are you CIA?"

An awkward silence followed as I acted confused by his question.

"A CIA? You mean those guys we watch in movies that fight terrorists across the world?"

"Exactly." He said staring seriously at me.

"I am not Mr. Gabriel." Staring back at him as if it was stupid for him to think that.

"Don't mind me." He said laughing at me.

I laughed a bit back still acting as though I was wondering why he would even think that. Deep within me, I knew he suspected I was law enforcement.