Sergeant!

"Got it!" I smiled.

I must have surprised the women as she screamed and jumped back!

"Hey, it's ok! Your bag's ok!" I countered trying to sound normal.

"Oh! You scared me!"

"Sorry about that! But it looked like your bag was going to end up on the floor so I grabbed it as fast as I could."

"Thanks, I think." she replied, a little taken back by my sudden appearance.

"Look, I'll carry it to your door then be on my way. Got a pizza and drink to deliver."

"Ok. Thanks. My apartment's right here." She said as we walked down the hallway and she fished in her hand bag for her keys.

Right about that time the elevator doors opened again and two guys dressed in windbreakers and shades got out. 'Bad guys' were written all over their foreheads. I mean, why wear shades inside a building? Must be something about being a bad guy. Ok Tim, time for some fast thinking!

I leaned over to her and whispered, "I gotta pee. Can I use your bathroom?"

She looked at me in disbelief then laughed, "Ok, no sweat!" She had a cute dimple that made her smile special. "Ok, got it," she announced as she finally got her door open.

We entered into her apartment and she shut the door; locking it as she did. "The bathroom's this way."

I brought my fingers up to my lips to silence her as I stayed by the door, trying to hear what the two guys were doing. "Bad guys." I whispered.

She turned to look at me with a surprised look on her face, then became very frightened by my hugging the wall next to the door; trying to listen to what was happening on the other side of the door. I could hear one of the guys speaking into a comm. unit of some sort, informing someone that they didn't spot anything unusual on this floor. Then I could hear the elevator door "ding" as it opened, then I heard the door shut. I waited a minute before I opened her door and scanned the hallway and found it empty.

"Ok, the coast is clear."

"What was that all about and who are you?" she said as she tried to keep furniture and distance between us.

"Hey, you don't have to be afraid of me. I'm just one of the minor good guys." I replied as I dug my cell phone out of my pocket.

I called Betno; "David, this is Tim.........Tried to check out Annalisa's place but got surprised by a couple of bad guys.......no they didn't see me but they know that I got in......placed a bug in the apartment. See if you can pick up anything in another hour or two.......yeah, ok....... I'll just hang out and see if I can't get back in later.....yeah, ....... well, we'll have to see...... don't really know...... see ya."

David was going to check the bug later and see if the bad guys had gone back to Annalisa's apartment. I was going to try to get back into her apartment later that night.

My "host" was all wide-eyed by now, "What's going on?" She was going borderline hysterical on me!

"Now calm down. There's no need to get uptight and weird on me!" I said as I tried to sooth her nerves. "I'm just here trying to find out what happened to a missing person who lived in this building."

"Ok, but who are you?" she asked again.

"Sorry, can't tell you anything other than that I'm one of the good guys."

"You expect me to believe that?" she asked?

"Well, I can't do much more than that at the moment. .......Look, I'm sorry that I had to barge in on you so I'll just leave in a few minutes. Ok?"

Just then, I could hear the elevator door "ding" open again and I overheard the voices and sounds of the two bad guys again, "survey the rooms" was an order that I could hear plainly coming over their comm. units.

"Shit, they're back and I think they're going to search each room; tenant or no tenant."

She got wide-eyed and was starting to freak on me again.

"Hey, nothing will happen to you so long as you stay normal and cool. You ok?" I asked.

She nodded her head with her eyes wide open.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Sh - Sh - Sheila."

"Hi Sheila, you can call me Tim."

"Hi Tim." she replied in a timid voice.

"Look Sheila, we're going to have to act like everything's normal so why don't you put your TV on and get comfortable on the couch."

"Ok"

"Oh, and kiss me on my cheek and make sure to leave a lipstick mark, ok?"

She laughed. Good sign. She came over to me and kissed me on my cheek. She leaned back to inspect her work, then kissed me on my lips. I guess not much lipstick came off that time cause she kissed me once more on my lips, only harder and longer. Oh gawd! That was good! Yes! I could go for this! Oh Yes!

She was definitely getting into the act. She went to the kitchen and starting putting her groceries away. Ok, I forgot about that. While she was doing that she called out, "So what do you want for dinner?"

I wasn't sure if she was acting or what but decided to get with her program, "Whatever you want honey." I replied. At that moment we heard knocking on her door.

I went to answer it, "Yeah? Can I help you?" I asked as I opened the door.

The guy who knocked was one of the bad guys from before. He took one look at me, smiled, then said "sorry, wrong apartment." Then left.

Whew! That was close! I guess they bought the lipstick. Sheila came out of the kitchen with a large metal spoon in her hand. I smiled then said, "so how's dinner coming?"

"Ok, you might want to wash up and help me set the table," she replied.

I put my ear to the door and continued to listen as I could hear the bad guys try the balance of the doors down the hallway. Everyone once in awhile I heard the same 'sorry, wrong apartment' comment before they continued.

After about five minutes I could hear one of them speak into a comm. unit, "level clear, no signs." Then turn to the other guy and say, "Spook says to clear out. Not worth hanging around any longer." With that they took the fire exit stairwell.

I turned from the door to find Sheila grasping the metal spoon tightly in her hand, ready to trash anything or anyone that came close to her.

"Hey, coast is clear. They left."

I could see her visibly relax as she leaned back against her living room wall and let her hands holding the spoon drop to her sides, then she slid to the floor.

"You ok, Sheila?" I asked.

"No I'm not ok!" she replied. "What was that all about? And what has this to do about Annalisa?"

"You know Annalisa?"

"Only in passing. She just moved in last year. Kind of kept to herself most of the time. Plus she always had a bunch of security type goons around her all the time. Must be a VIP huh?"

"Yeah, well, she's definitely a VIP and definitely missing at the moment."

"So you need to get back into her apartment?"

"Yeah."

"You broke in to her place?"

"Nope, have a key."

"Oh."

"Yeah, her daddy gave me one."

"Oh."

"Listen, I'll just check to make sure that the coast is clear, then I'll be on my way."

"Ummm."

"Yes?"

"You need to hang someplace for awhile?"

"Yeah."

"You had dinner yet?"

"No, but I can handle the cold pizza and warm soft drink."

"Why don't you stay for dinner then you can check out Annalisa's place afterwards."

I looked at her and saw that her frightened look was gone. In its place was a more hopeful look.

"You sure?" I asked?

"Yeah. Besides, I started cooking already and this stuff will go to waste if you don't help me eat it."

"Ok, you drive a hard bargain!" I smiled.

Sheila was in the process of making some sort of pasta alfredo type dish. It smelled delicious. I took one look at my take out pizza which was now stone cold, and tossed it into her trash! She took one look at me and laughed!

"I hope you won't be disappointed! Maybe you should have kept your pizza until you tasted the pasta." she smirked.

"It's gotta be good cause it smells so good! Besides, you're cooking it!"

Then it dawned on me that this would be the first home cooked meal that I would have had in more than a year! It's been cafeterias, mess tents, or MRE's for a long time. So I laughed to myself!

"What's so funny?" Sheila asked.

"You're absolutely not going to believe this! But this will be my first home cooked meal in more than a year!"

"What? You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. Not kidding!"

"How can you survive on fast food and take outs?" she asked.

"Well, although the food was fast to prepare, I wouldn't call them fast food or take outs!" I laughed again.

"Explain please?" she asked.

"Sorry, can't. Wish I could but I can't. Perhaps another time." This 'under cover' business was getting to be a bother. I had to watch what I said and to whom, all the time.

"You're cruel. Listening to your story is like listening to a private joke and not being told the punch line." Sheila complained.

"Sorry. Hey, let me help you with whatever's left to do."

With that I helped Sheila with a veggie salad and actually set the table. She went about tending to dinner which was some sort of stir fry. As she worked I had the opportunity to check her out and was pleased by what I saw. My first glance impression at the elevator was average height, young, good looking. My inspection this time enhanced the mental image; slender, proportionately built, physically very appealing.

As I helped Sheila carry things to her dinner table she asked me, "So will I see you after this is all done?"

"Don't know. Do you want to see me afterwards?"

"I wouldn't mind. At least you can tell me a little more of what's happening with Annalisa?"

"Well, we'll have to see about that. Don't know yet what I can disclose if any. But give me you vitals and I'll give you a call once this is all done."

We had a nice dinner. Sheila turned out to be a great cook. And our conversation flowed very naturally as if we had known each other for a long time. No reservations about what we discussed except for who I was and things related to Annalisa. As we cleaned up, I noticed that several hours had passed so a call to David Betno was probably in order.

As Sheila was rinsing the dishes, I pulled out my cell phone and called David. And yep, he had someone poll the bug I had placed in Annalisa's apartment. It appeared to be clean. Nothing was recorded and the bug appeared to be working ok. They scanned the apartment for radio signals and picked up a couple. Looks as if others were electronically monitoring the apartment also. So it probably meant that I needed to be careful about making any noises inside the unit.

But the way the apartment was left continued to irritate me. As if this was a clue that was staring me right in my face. Then it dawned on me! Of course!

"David. They're not after money. They're after something else. The money's a smoke screen."

"What?"

"Yeah. Why would they leave the apartment so cleaned up and tidy? Why not leave it ripped to shreds?"

"Beats me."

"Because they wanted someone else to think that no one's been through the place yet, so that someone else would search it. Then when they found what they're looking for, the bad guys come out of the woodwork and grab whatever it is that's so important."

"Seems plausible."

"Sure. It makes sense. They didn't find what they were after so they took Annalisa as their insurance. We better talk to her old man and get him to give us more info. What would she have that is so valuable? Or maybe this is all a smoke screen? Nothing is adding up right now."

"Agree. Loose ends that don't gel. We need more data."

"Yeah. You want to talk with her dad and see what else he can tell you?"

"I'll do it. You get back to her apartment and tip toe through it. See what you can find."

David went on to recommend that I start interviewing Annalisa's friends using the list that I was provided. Seemed like a logical next step. So I pulled out the list (that happened to be loaded into my cell phone's emailer) and bingo, there was Sheila's name.

"So Sheila, how long have you known Annalisa?" I asked her as I walked over into the kitchen.

"Um, about a year."

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah,.......why do you ask?"

"Cause you're supposed to be a close friend of hers, aren't you?"

She stared at me for several heartbeats before she said, "who are you?"

I figured she knew more about Annalisa than she was letting on, and perhaps she was holding back because she didn't know who she can trust. So sometimes you have to take a chance;

"I am helping her father look for her because it looks as if she's been kidnapped."

"Oh my god!" Sheila looked pale!

"So, you want to tell me more about Annalisa?" I asked.

"She's been kidnapped?"

"Yes."

"By who?"

"Can't tell you."

"Why?"

"Can't tell you."

"Why?"

"Cause it might mean her life."

"Oh my god!"

"My thoughts exactly. Now, can you help me?"

"How? What can I tell you?"

With that came a wealth of information about Annalisa's social and academic life. Seems that Sheila and Annalisa both attended Georgetown University and had a number of classes together. Annalisa was reasonably bright however she wasn't going to set the legal world on fire from what Sheila told me.

Sheila worked part time as a law clerk while Annalisa didn't necessarily need to work. While Sheila didn't know what Annalisa did in her spare time, she did know that Annalisa did date a lot. She always seemed to have a boyfriend or two with her most of the times that Sheila did see her.

She apparently dragged Sheila along on double dates whenever she started dating someone new. And according to Sheila, that was at least once a month. I guess she got around and never stayed long with any one guy. Perhaps relationships weren't her thing.

It looked as if this was the blind spot for her security detail. Not knowing who she was going out with and her changing boyfriends so frequently; not giving them enough time to do adequate background checks on them. So she probably got grabbed while out on a date.

"Sheila, it looks as if Annalisa was grabbed sometime in the last week. Do you know whom she might have been dating?"

"Yeah, I think so. We double dated at the beginning of the week. She was with a guy named Jeff Darnell and a friend of his. I think his name was Sidney but frankly I was not impressed so I didn't make the effort to get to know him."

I figured the names were bogus anyway. "Would you recognize Jeff if you saw him again?"

"Probably."

"Can you describe him to me?"

"Well, about 5' 10" or so, blond hair cut short, built..... not a body builder but you can tell he...... well, he looked kinda like you. I mean you look ..... built..... know what I mean?.......This is hard."

"Ok," I chuckled, "so what color were his eyes?"

"Oh, blue. Yeah, they were blue. Oh, and he had his nose broken at some point in time. You could tell."

"What about Sidney? What did he look like?"

"He was big. Kinda scary looking. Black hair. Never took off his shades."

Sure sounded like a "keeper" to me. Someone who was the muscle in the group who was sent along to "keep" things in order if muscle was needed.

We must have talked for several hours as it was approaching midnight when I finally noticed the time.

"Sheila, I'd like to thank you for trusting me and sharing so much information with me. I just hope that we can get to Annalisa before anything bad happens."

"Your welcome. I hope that you get her back in one piece also."

"I'll drop in on her apartment again and then I'll be out of the building."

"Look,..... um...... let me know if you need to ask me any more ...... ah .... questions ....... um ..... oh yeah, and let me give you my phone number ...... ok?" she smiled timidly.

I smiled, "sure that sounds like a good idea." I think she liked me. And from what I could see and what I knew of her from our conversations this evening, I liked her, too.

She hastily scribbled her phone numbers on a piece of paper and rose to give it to me as I stood up to go to her door. As she extended her hand to give me her phone numbers, I reached for her waist and drew her to me and kissed her lightly on her lips. As I drew back slightly, I could see her eyes had closed and her arms were on my shoulders. So I kissed her again; this time our kiss lasting longer.

As our kiss deepened, she opened her lips and I could feel her tongue seeking entry into my mouth. As her tongue met mine, she reached one of her hands behind my head to hold our kiss longer. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly to me.

Our lips finally parted. I pulled back slightly and saw her eyes slowly open. With a glazed look, she whispered, "..... don't be a stranger......"

"So, can I call you tomorrow?"

"The sooner the better."

"Ok."

"Ok."

We kissed again before I finally remembered the reason I was there for. "Gotta go."

I made it down to Annalisa's apartment and re-entered it. I noted that the trip wire had not been replaced so they probably weren't going to be back tonight. I searched the apartment but failed to turn up an address book, or a calendar, or any pieces of scrap paper that might have notes, names or phone numbers on them. In fact, all her waste baskets were empty. Ok, if I'm going to find a clue, it's not going to be in the obvious places. So think, Tim. If you were Annalisa, where would you put a boyfriend's phone number? Handbag? Jacket pocket? Pants pocket? Grocery receipt? All seemed plausible.

So I searched her closet and checked out all her clothes. No luck. Handbags were all empty. But I hit paydirt on the grocery receipt idea. Actually it was a sales receipt from a clothing store sitting under a magnet on the refrigerator door. But there it was; Jeff's name and a phone number. So I grabbed it and off I went.

As I returned to the hallway, I wondered if the two bad guys had anyone watching the building. It would make sense if they did. They would spot me if I left so late at night. Maybe Sheila could lend me her couch for the night. So up I went back to Sheila's apartment.

Sheila opened her door shortly after I knocked, "That was quick, not that I'm complaining." She had dressed for bed and had a floor length robe on.

"Sorry to bother you again, but could I crash on your sofa tonight?"

"Hmm, trying to move in already? Isn't that kinda quick?" she smiled as she teased me.

I had to chuckle at this cute minx! "Hey, if you don't try you'll never know! But seriously, if the bad guys are watching the building, I'll stick out like a sore thumb if I leave at this time of night. I'd stand a better chance at remaining anonymous if I left tomorrow when most people leave for work. So can I bunk out on your sofa tonight?"

Sheila gave me a long look before she came to me and wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a kiss that curled my toes, "..... not the sofa ...... never the sofa ......"

She led me to her bedroom and pushed me down to sit on her bed. She knelt to untie my shoes and removed them along with my socks. Then she took off my windbreaker and t-shirt. Then undid my belt and unzipped my pants. As I lifted my ass off the bed, she slid my jeans off leaving me in just my briefs, which by now, was tenting awfully bad! She removed my briefs very slowly, revealing my hard cock to her view. As it sprang to attention, she caressed it lightly with her fingers before taking the crown of my head into her mouth for a thorough licking!

Sheila took a step or two back to survey what she had unwrapped. Then she slowly undid the belt on her robe. As her robe opened, it revealed that she was nude underneath. I stood slowly and came to her; wrapping my arms around her under her robe. She leaned her head against me and softly kissed my neck as I slid her robe off of her shoulders. We kissed again with our tongues softly caressing the other.

Time stood still that night. I don't know when we got in her bed but there we were. Lying side by side, looking deeply into each other's eyes. Communicating by touching. She on top of me, crushing her breasts into my chest, rubbing her pelvis all over my erection. Me on top of her, making love to her breasts then licking her pussy as if it were the fountain of youth! She tasted good..... a little salty with the pungent aroma of her arousal! She had an orgasm as I softly licked her clit; her hands holding my head to her pussy while I licked and sucked on her clit. "Oh Tim! ....... ah ....... ah ....... Yes! ...... oh ....... you can eat me anytime you ...... ohhhhhh! ...... yeessssss!......... mmmmmm......." I kept licking her until she came; trapping me between her thighs as I took her clit between my lips and stroked it back and forth with my tongue.