Sophia Pt. 04

"Bye, Baby, I'm leaving for home right now."

Don got up, gathered his things and quickly started moving towards the front door. Anna followed him, completely stunned that her plans were falling apart so abruptly.

"Anna, you heard, I've got to help my daughter. We seem to have the website pretty much done. If there are any more changes you would like, please give me a call and I will make them. I'm sorry, but I've got to run, bye," and Don rushed out the front door.

"Goodbye, Don." She called out the door after him. When the door was closed, she started yelling, "DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT!"

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Don was easily able to solve Megan's problems by remotely accessing her computer. He then took a long shower and fell asleep listening to the CD in his beside player. There were only two songs on the CD, but he had set it to repeat and turn off after an hour, by which time he was usually asleep.

On Tuesday afternoon, Don's cell phone rang. "Hello Don, it's Anna. Have I called you at a bad time?"

"No, this is fine, Anna. Is there some problem with the website?"

"No, Don, the website is perfect. I called to apologize, I'm sorry if I seemed too forward the other night."

"Anna, I was flattered, but I must admit that you were a bit too forward for me. Truthfully, I don't have a lot of experience with ladies and you had me a little flustered."

"Oh, Don, I'm sorry if I upset you, but I'm really intrigued and interested in you. Do you think we might get together for just a light social evening, maybe just a coffee and a movie?"

"Anna, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm just kind of inexperienced in these kinds of things and I'm definitely willing, but I'm just inexperienced. A nice, light evening sounds like a wonderful thing to do. Would Thursday evening be possible?"

"Thursday would be perfect. The theater downtown is showing a re-mastered copy of the African Queen at seven. There is a wonderful open air bistro across the street where we can meet at six and still make an early evening of it."

"That sounds perfect Anna; I'll see you at six."

"Thanks for giving me another chance, Don, I'm looking forward to Thursday already, so bye for now."

"Okay, bye, Anna."

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MI-5 Satellite Office Seattle, Washington

Tuesday Evening

Bond and Moneypenny entered the office. M was already seated and Q, with her ratty old suit and big breasts, was standing there grinning. The sounds of boats and cars filled the office. Kathy, I mean Bond, and Moneypenny turned to the 'window', seeing a beautiful moving picture of the Thames River with a low arched bridge spanning it. They both quickly deduced that it was a widescreen LCD panel display standing on end.

Q grinned wider and bragged, "It's real-time, too."

M started the discussion, "Enough of that, we've got an emergency. According to our recordings of Don's cell phone conversations, Anna has gotten Don to agree to a date. This will absolutely destroy Maria if she finds out. We must put a stop to it, do it in such a way that Anna will never try again, and even if she does, Don will refuse her! Q, please proceed."

Q bent over, picked up a guitar case and put it on M's desk. Opening it revealed a deadly looking device made of gleaming stainless steel and black plastic.

"I call this the 'Skunk Gun'. It presently has an effective range in most weather conditions of one hundred and twenty feet. It fires a gel solution that, depending on the conditions, can either reach its target as a gel or as an aerosol. The solution is an awful smelling concoction that I invented, similar to the spray from a skunk, but about three times as powerful. Do either of you two know how to shoot a rifle?"

Both Bond and Moneypenny shook their heads, no.

M then spoke up, "I've competed in a few biathlon events. I guess that means I'm going to be the shooter. I think we are going to need two things in order for this to work - a safe location from which to shoot, like an office window across the street, and a way to control where Anna and Don sit at the Bistro. We already know that we can maneuver him out of the area using the same cell phone trick that we used last time. We have two days to figure out how to get those two things accomplished. I've done quite well with my paintings lately, thanks to Don, and I'll probably also see a very good settlement in my civil suit against Harris. So here's two thousand dollars that I'm willing to contribute to help in our efforts. If more is needed I'm perfectly willing to raise my donation. Helga, can you show Kathy and Vanessa the location of the bistro and surroundings?"

Q looked cross for a moment; Freddie had fallen out of character. Then she merely sighed and bent over, typed something on her laptop, and the scene in the LCD "window" changed to show a view of the Bistro and surrounding buildings.

"Does anyone have any ideas?" asked M.

Vanessa spoke up first, "That office building to the left of the Bistro seems to be an older type and they frequently have windows that can open. Most office buildings, especially with our sucky economy, are dying for tenants. We can probably rent an office or conference room for one night, or maybe a month at most if we have to. It's old so it should be relatively inexpensive. We just have to make sure the room we rent is within the maximum range of the Skunk gun."

Kathy spoke up next, "As for setting them up with a proper table, we can pack the place with our friends. When Don and Anna get there we can have a table or two in the proper locations become suddenly vacant. The Bistro probably does most of its business at lunch, so on a work night I don't think there will be that many people competing with Don and Anna for a table. The only problem is we've got to find people that can both keep their mouths shut and be available. I've got five or six struggling college friends of mine that will do it for a free meal at the Bistro. I am guessing that we will probably need at least twenty or more. Once we chase Anna off, our fake customers can tell Don when he returns that she seemed to leave for no reason. I still remember what that bitch did to Maria years ago, let alone what she has done more recently. Maria has been a lot more discrete lately, so they had to have hired a detective or somebody to spy on her. Maria's got a heart of gold, but she cares too much about what other people think. We're not the only ones that Maria has helped out over the years, but I think we are the only ones of her so called 'friends' that don't gossip and spread malicious rumors about her, behind her back. Don seems like such a quiet and timid person, but we all know that he is an absolute lion when defending those dear to him. Once they become a couple, those people bad mouthing Maria had better watch out!"

Freddie, I mean M, then spoke up, "I've got at least eight people that I trust, maybe twelve, who will do it and keep their mouths shut."

"I've only got two or maybe three that I trust," mentioned Vanessa.

"Heh, heh, heh, just for the chance to see this weapon used in field conditions, I've got twenty people or more that wouldpay meto be in that Bistro, and some of them have badges too," stated Q, proudly.

"All right, then, we seem to have a plan. Vanessa, see if you can arrange the room, and call me if there are any problems. I guess I'd better practice with the Skunk gun over the next couple of days, and we will all do our best about arranging customers for that Bistro.

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Ever since Maria had informed us that we were going to a saddle shop after therapy today, I've been doing online research. I hadn't realized how important good boots were for safety. It's a good thing that Barbara had bought Megan and Robin proper riding boots, because I never would have thought of it. But I had gotten the impression recently that their boots were getting kind of small and they might be needing new ones.

The only problem was that I knew that if I mentioned it to Maria, she would insist on buying the boots for my girls. The other thing that I had read on the internet was that young girls frequently outgrow their riding equipment, so there was a lot of good used equipment out there. Buying used equipment seemed like a far more practical idea for someone who was just going to outgrow it in four months to a year. I absolutely hate waste; I know how kids like things that are brand new and shiny, BUT I HATE WASTE!

I spent almost forty minutes on the phone with Megan and Robin on Tuesday evening explaining the results of my research. There was an excellent chance that when we got to the shop we would be shown some used equipment. I wanted them to consider things carefully before making a decision.

Maria drove us on Wednesday night. I was worried that the therapy session might make us arrive too late and we would be rushed in our shopping.

"Don't worry, Don. I deal with this shop at least once a year. In order to sell us three pairs of boots and at least two saddles, they'd be perfectly willing to stay open late and let us take our time."

I knew it, I knew it, she plans on spending a lot of money and she even brought Roscoe along to enforce her whims! One of these days I'm going to take a chicken self-defense class and then she'll be in real trouble! When attacked by a chicken do you (A) run away screaming, (B) get out the barbecue sauce, (C) call for artillery and air support, or (D) bow down to the great chicken god?

We went into the shop and we were all greeted warmly. One sales person dealt with me and the other stayed with Maria. My girls made me proud when they asked the salesperson about used boots and saddles. This seemed to bring them a measure of respect from the sales lady, too, and even Maria was startled.

Maria primarily stayed with my girls, but she did venture back to me briefly. I think she noticed that I was trying to keep to the lower priced boots. She had a quick word with the woman helping me, who promptly got up and fetched three different sets of boots for me to try on. I asked about used boots too, but I was told that none of the used boots in my size were really any good anymore.

Maria did, indeed, start to pay for everything and, when I tried to pay, Maria asked Robin, who was her chicken bearer, to hand her Roscoe. At that point I surrendered. My boots cost over three hundred dollars! What she paid for our girls' equipment was over fifteen hundred dollars. Maria was overjoyed when we got back to the car and loaded our purchases.

"We got such a great deal on those saddles! They're old, but very well maintained and look almost brand new. When new, they are over two grand each. They're much better than an entry level saddle, too. Robin's used boots were almost as good a deal, as well. There was a beautiful pair of used boots that almost fit Megan, but they were just a tiny bit too small."

She gave our girls a big hug. "My babies are so smart, there aren't many girls twelve and thirteen years old who would have the maturity to ask about used equipment."

Megan and Robin both gave me embarrassed looks, so I put my finger over my lips signaling them that I wanted this "used equipment business" to be our secret. They learned an important lesson tonight, "new is not necessarily better", and with the way this shopping trip went, including Maria's reaction, I don't think that they will soon forget it.

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On Thursday evening, Don met up with Anna just as she was approaching the Bistro. Unfortunately, it seemed to be packed, and there was a short line too. However, when they got there the people in line just wandered off. Don reasoned that they must have gotten tired of waiting. Just as suddenly a secluded table in the corner closest to the street opened up. Don noticed absently that many of the customers seemed to have short military style haircuts.

He ordered a cup of coffee and a piece of baklava. Anna just had a coffee. She enjoyed looking at Don's hunk of a body and imagining all the things that she was going to do with it. She might even take some secret movies of Don and herself to send them to Maria for old time's sake!Hell, I might even bring in Joanne and we could have a threesome, a video of that would probably give Maria a heart attack,she thought with glee.

"Don thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me after the way I behaved on Monday."

"Anna, I'm not saying you did anything wrong, I just haven't been in very many dating situations, so I don't always know how to act."

Freddie looked down on them and put the laser range finder on Anna. It reported a distance of one hundred and five feet, the wind seemed to be none to light from the northwest, and the temperature was holding steady at seventy-two degrees, absolutely perfect for delivering the gel in aerosol form.Your ass is mine, bitch,she thought. Vanessa had found them an excellent location for the shot.

Don and Anna just chatted for a bit while they drank their coffee. Don had been hoping that, in a more public place, he would get over the uncomfortable feelings that Anna somehow provoked in him, but it didn't seem to be working.Why do I think she is some kind of predator and I am the prey?He was beginning to think the date might be another big mistake when suddenly his phone rang.

"Daddy, it's Megan, I've got a problem ...... hiss... crackle ... "

"Damn it, I've got to get a new phone, this piece of junk has been acting up lately."

"Don, you can use my cell phone."

"No, thanks a lot, but it wouldn't work even if I used it. Megan has told me that she has been getting some strange phone calls lately from some pranksters at her school. She won't answer her cell phone if the number displayed is one she doesn't recognize. I'll be right back; I'll just take a short walk so I can get a better signal."

Don hurriedly left. Anna pulled a little envelope out of her pocket, but she still wasn't sure if she were going to use it. There was a ground up Viagra pill inside. It wasn't an aphrodisiac, but Joanne and she had figured if they caused Don to get a telephone pole in his pants he might be more romantically inclined. Then she noticed his baklava sitting right there, and he was gone.

Carefully, Freddie put the laser sight on Don's date for the evening.Try to steal Don,she thought,this is the end for you.Q had told Freddie that there were three ways to use the gun with this particular stink/gel mixture loaded into it. The first method was to fire directly at the target when the temperature is below 64 F and the target is less than one hundred feet away. Under those conditions the gel would contact the target and splatter those nearby. The second way was to fire at something nearby (above is best) and the target would be hit by the splatter. The third way, which was the best for being undetected, could only be used when the temperature was over 70 degrees Fahrenheit and the target is over one hundred feet away, but less than 120 feet away. Under those conditions you fire directly at the target and the gel mixture will vaporize, turning into a rapidly moving small puff of mist or aerosol shortly before reaching the target. One shot under any conditions would cause the most hardened criminal or terrorist to immediately run toward the nearest shower while stripping off their clothes. Now, Freddie was well and truly pissed off at Anna not only because she had been working behind the scenes to destroy Maria's reputation, but also because once she had found out about Don, she had set out to steal him. Thus, it should be no surprise that Freddie shot her three times; the gun had a recycle rate of less than one second per round, but Freddie paused after the first shot to see what effect it had on Anna. The first round targeted the back of Anna's head, the second and third hit her back when she stood up.

When the first round hit, her nose twitched at the smell and look of revulsion spread across her face. Barely keeping herself from throwing up, she managed to stand up when she was hit with the second shot and suddenly threw up all over the table before her, and that was when the third shot hit. There was a look of complete horror and revulsion across her face.What is this smell? It's all over me!"AggHHuggHHukkHH!" she chokingly screamed, and her whole body shook as she retched once again. The other patrons at the open air café were rapidly trying to get away from her and the awful smell. They began making sounds of utter disgust and yelling words of derision about Anna, since she was clearly the source of the smell. "My God! How could a woman smell like that? What is she, part skunk? She smells like a whole herd of camels that's been cross-bred with skunks!"

This was worse than the time she fell off the catwalk in Los Angeles, and she still blamed Maria for that!Where did that smell come from?She vomited again down the front of her own clothes.I've to get away! Maybe if I get away the smell will go away?Anna took off running in the direction of her parked car, gagging at the vomit on her clothes and the certainty that some of the smell was coming from them; she began tearing off her dress not caring a whit about exposing her own body to all and sundry. A group of young men on the street at first whistled in praise for her sudden striptease, but when she got close they quickly changed their tune, "Shit, I think I'm going to puke!" was a common sentiment echoed by all of the them.

Anna was screaming in rage at the situation, in horror at the smell and in anger at those mocking her.Why is this happening to me! Don't you all know that I would have been a supermodel if it weren't for Maria? You scum, you're all nothing but trash, I'll get you, I'll get you all!Just before reaching her car, Anna moving too fast in her high heels, slipped and fell in a huge pile of garbage bags leaning up against a dumpster. Some people more kind and considerate would have kept their mouths shut and maybe even moved to help her. Unfortunately for Anna, the closest people to her tumble were the "so called bad kids" from the local high school. They burst out laughing, and started mocking her. "Hey lady, looking to improve your smell by rolling around in the garbage, or are you looking for a date with a dog?" called out, one boy.

Some of the garbage bags had burst open and smelly kitchen waste from a local restaurant ended up coating parts of Anna's almost naked body. It took her a few minutes to get out of the large garbage pile, and in the process she somehow lost a shoe. Limping, she finally made it to her beloved Porsche. Unfortunately, she was in a hurry to get in and get home. She didn't think to realize what would happen when she closed the car door, trapping herself and the smell in a confined environment. With no outside air to mitigate the effects, the odor suddenly seemed one hundred times worse and Anna's body reacted by causing her to throw up violently all over the dashboard of her car. Screaming in absolute rage and revulsion, she opened all the windows of her car and drove off with screeching tires, while being forced to use the vomit covered steering wheel.I am never going to come within ten miles of Don again! He's just bad luck; I'll find some other way to get back at Maria. Where the hell did this smell come from?

Freddie, satisfied with a mission well done, used the special rag that her sister had given her to wipe the end of the barrel. Putting the gun away into the modified guitar case, she was finally able to take her face mask off. Turning to her friends, they all started to roar with laughter. They had lost sight of Anna as she turned the corner for the parking lot, but what they had witnessed was better than they could have ever hoped for. Helga, though, wanted an accurate record of her gun's effectiveness and had arranged for hidden video cameras to be located along the entire route from the Bistro to the nearest parking lot. Freddie was looking forward to seeing what they recorded. After Anna left, the café staff reluctantly approached table and found that there was almost none of that noxious odor remaining, so while it was still somewhat disgusting, they were able to quickly clean up the area.