Heavy Traffic Ch. 12

Slipping out of her shoes, she placed them on the floor of the closet across from the one that held Sean's clothes. Amanda could barely contain the smile on her face as she placed each article of clothing in to its proper place in the closet, realizing that she was sharing this room with Sean. Considering the love that she had always seen expressed between her parents, and then combining this with the obvious love that Sean's parents also maintained between them, she knew without a doubt that what she and Sean would share in their own lives would honor the romantic legacies of all their parents. She would see to it.

Amanda had just walked into the bathroom with a bag containing the toiletries she had purchased when she took in the room and felt her heart skip a beat. The bathroom was unlike any she had ever encountered. There were obvious design attributes which clearly identified this as a bathroom made for a couple, with intimacy and sharing obvious in the functional implementation of all fixtures and features.

The sink and counter vanity stretched along one long wall. There were dual sinks as well as separate controls at either end which Amanda confirmed adjusted the lights above the mirrors that served each of the sinks. There was a bay window in the wall between the sinks with a southerly view of the property. The toilet closet was in an area past the vanity, and against the far wall sat a sunken Jacuzzi that was as large as a hot tub and looked like it would easily hold six adults. The center of the room was occupied by a shower stall that Amanda guessed would measure six feet by ten feet. The shower was enclosed by glass panels between floor-to-ceiling marble pillars that varied between one and three feet in width. On opposing pillars inside the shower were an assortment of knobs and water nozzles at various levels that would make it possible for anyone in the shower to experience water sprays to their heart's content.

Several of the pillars had chrome hand holds mounted to them, and these combined with the padded benches strategically placed within the shower made Amanda realize that Sean's parents must have shared more than cleanliness while they were in this shower, and she knew that she and Sean would treasure this room and its features as much as his parent had. In fact, she thought they should start treasuring it right now.

Setting the bag of toiletries on the counter, Amanda finished undressing, and then wrapped a large bath sheet around herself before heading to the balcony to awaken Sean. She walked out to the balcony wrapped only in her towel and tapped Sean on his shoulder.

Sean awoke quickly, but he was obviously confused momentarily by his surroundings. His awareness increased dramatically as Amanda leaned down and kissed him on his lips. "I need you to wash my back."

"Do we have time?" The look in Amanda's eyes and the smile on her face made it abundantly clear that her desires went beyond bubbles on her back.

"We're the guests of honor," she said as she pulled Sean to his feet and led him into the bedroom. "I've already fed Merlin and I think the rest will wait for us."

Sean didn't put up any objections as Amanda removed one article of his clothing after another while leading him to the bathroom.

"You have a wonderful body," she said as her hands caressed his chest.

Sean returned her caresses as he replied, "It's just the right size for my clothes."

By the time they reached the shower, she had dropped her towel and they both embraced outside the enclosure as Sean reached in to start turning the water on to opposing shower heads.

Amanda asked, "Which one controls the overhead rainfall shower?" Her upward glance to the large shower head in the center of the enclosure made her objective clear to Sean. "This one," he said as he stepped into the shower and pulled her in beside him. He showed her the correct handle and she quickly turned it to the desired temperature, sending a soft flow of warm water cascading directly over the padded bench in the center of the shower.

Amanda sat on the edge of the bench with the water falling over her back and pulled Sean between her legs. The water from the two side mounted shower heads was hitting Sean about shoulder high on either side of his body. Sean reached over to one of the pillars and pressed a few buttons on a control panel that Amanda had not noticed before. Instantly, the lights in the bathroom dimmed and the streams of water from each of the shower heads turned to a very fine mist which was illuminated by an LED light source embedded within each of them.

Sean turned to Amanda and lifted her in his arms as if she weighed nothing. As soft instrumental music began to play and the warm mist of water surrounded them, their bodies came together like cymbals. With her head and shoulders now directly below the lightly dancing water, and Sean effortlessly waltzing their joined bodies around the enclosure, she found enough breath between her gasps to whisper, "Just don't let me drown before we're finished." Neither of them were concerned about the time.

When Sean stepped out of the shower several minutes later, Amanda turned in the shower to watch him start drying before exiting herself. As soon as he handed her the bath sheet that she had worn earlier, she said, "Thanks for washing my back."

"It's a price I will happily pay for loving a lascivious Aussie girl," Sean said as he wrapped his towel around his waist before picking her up in his arms and carrying her giggling wet body back into the bedroom.

After they had both finished drying the other off, Amanda let Sean decide which of her new lingerie he wanted her to wear tonight. "I'll pick only if you allow me the pleasure of putting them on you," he said. Amanda answered him with a simple smile and a nod.

As he stood behind her smoothing out a twist in her bra strap, Sean leaned down and kissed her shoulder. "I lay claim to being your lingerie dresser from now on."

"The job is yours for as long as you want it, Sean. Now it's my turn."

She led him back into the bathroom and had him sit at the stool in front of the vanity facing her. Reaching over to his side of the counter, she came back with a comb and proceeded to fix his hair into place. Opening a bottle of after shave balm, she sniffed it, set it back on the counter and then selected a different bottle of men's after shave. After smelling it and finding it satisfactory, she took one of Sean's hands and splashed a few drops of the liquid into it. She set the bottle back down, took both of Sean's hands into hers and then rubbed the after shave between them before placing his hands on his cheeks and using them to apply the scent where she wanted it. When she was done being a puppet master, she bent down and kissed him on the lips.

Sean put his hands on her waist and held her in place as he gazed up into her eyes. "I want to apologize now for all the poetry that I will never write for you, for all the songs that I will never compose for you, and for all the other romantic endeavors that I'm certain to neglect. I know that I am going to be far too busy just loving you to devote time to demonstrating it in those ways, but I promise that you will never doubt my love for a minute."

Amanda was glowing with visible love herself as she replied, "I have never been more certain of anything in my life as I am of your love for me, Sean. Now, I'll let you apply any deodorant you want, but I insist that you let me tie your tie."

As Sean began to stand, they were both surprised by his erection as it poked into Amanda's leg when he rose and the towel fell away. He turned slightly to avoid hitting her with it, but she would have none of that and moved her body to keep him positioned where she wanted him. "I won't torture you, but I deserve to see and feel your responses to me," she said as she pressed her partially clothed body against his nakedness.

"Either I get dressed or you get undressed," he said with a lustful grin. Amanda smacked him on his butt and led him back out to the bedroom for them both to finish dressing.

He stood before his closet trying to decide which suit to wear when the recognition that he didn't have to decide was an epiphany for him. He turned to Amanda at the opposite closet and saw her standing in her new dress smiling back at him. Without saying a word, she walked over to him, reached around his shoulder and selected a medium gray linen suit that was the perfect complement to the sleek sapphire blue dress that she had purchased for the evening. Amanda then moved over to his tie rack and selected a sapphire blue tie and pocket handkerchief the same color as her dress.

"I hope you don't mind, but I saw these earlier and thought that we would be a dashing couple because they would match my dress so well."

"You would make Quasimodo look dashing standing next to you, Amanda. I have been awed by your beauty since the first moment I saw you."

Amanda blushed at Sean's compliment, "I can see in your eyes that you really mean that Sean. I feel like a princess whenever I am with you."

***

Sean invited Kirby to join him walking Merlin around outside while Amanda spent time before dinner telling Carol and Wendy all about her ordeal and their plans for the foundation at Prestonwood. Sean knew his uncle had something to tell him and he didn't want to worry Amanda any more than she already was.

The sun was low on the western horizon, turning the wispy clouds magnificent shades from light orange to dark purple, but there was still plenty of remaining daylight for a quick walk around the semi-circular drive where all of Merlin's favorite bushes were planted.

"Amanda could win an Academy Award in 'stunning'," said Kirby.

"I couldn't agree with you more," said Sean. "Update me on the girls."

Kirby waited for Sean to pause for Merlin to do some business in the bushes before continuing, "As we expected, the bus was followed from the hotel to the maintenance yard, but we lost the tail from there. The bus carrying the girls made a clean break from all the others exiting the maintenance facility and was monitored for a tail all the way to Prestonwood without any being seen. The girls and their chaperones are settled and should already be having dinner by now. I went ahead and moved the assets we had on standby from the joint drug task force onto the property as an additional precaution, but it looks like we made a stealthy move all the way."

"What about Grandma Askew?" Sean asked.

"The last update I had from the Zorns was that she had them pack bags along with her and they will all be spending the night at Prestonwood to help get the girls settled."

"Good. That eases my mind and I know that Amanda will be relieved as well to know that the girls have Grandma Askew there with them on their first night in their new home. How are we set for here tonight?"

"I arranged for the County Sheriff to position a marked car onto Highway 109 across from the turn-off for the drive leading to this house. That should be a visible deterrent to anyone considering an unexpected visit, but the Bennet's have also augmented the security force with six additional men which will allow for the river approach to be covered as well. Gail Bennet is also prepared to meet with you in town tomorrow as you requested. Her husband Sam should also be available to join you."

Their conversation was interrupted as they both heard the sound of an approaching car and turned to watch it stop at the closed gate. The car was too far away and it was too dark to see what type it was, so they just stood observing the security team as they spoke to the driver of the vehicle. When the gate started opening and the car began to pull through, they both released the breath that they had been unconsciously holding.

"That must be our dinner guests," said Kirby.

"Probably," agreed Sean. "I guess we should head back to the house for dinner."

Sean released the leash from Merlin's collar and let him run ahead of them back to the house. They were met on the front porch by Wendy and Amanda, with Merlin practically glued to her left foot as he was sitting beside her.

Sean had just finished kissing Amanda when Judge Evans parked his car in the drive beneath the porch. Kirby stepped down and opened the passenger side door. Amanda squealed in delighted surprise as Maureen McKenna took Kirby's hand and allowed him to assist her from the car.

"Moe!" exclaimed Amanda, "What a wonderful surprise. No one told me you were coming tonight."

"Actually, I did," said Carol with a giggle as she stepped out onto the porch beside the others. "You just didn't know that Maureen Evans still uses her maiden name professionally." Amanda looked up at Sean and asked, "And you couldn't have told me?"

"What, and miss the look on your face? Not bloody likely, as you Aussies say," he chuckled.

Amanda tried to pinch Sean's rear through his pants, but she found his body so firm that she couldn't get a grip on anything. She just smacked him playfully instead as they all turned to enter the house.

Once everyone was in the large atrium room where Carol had met them earlier, she began making the necessary introductions. Besides Amanda, Wendy apparently was the only person present who hadn't already met everyone else. Since Amanda had previously met Moe, her introduction to Judge Benjamin Evans brought her up to date.

Benjamin Evans was nothing close to what Amanda would have expected Moe's husband to look like and definitely nothing as she expected a Federal Judge to appear. He seemed to be about the same age as Kirby, which Amanda imagined was in his mid-forties. She noticed that he was slightly taller than Kirby when they stood next to each other, and while slimmer than Kirby, Benjamin Evans presented a physical strength that his tailored business suit could not disguise. He had sparkling blue eyes and sun-bleached blonde hair that hung over his ears and just reached the collar of his shirt. Amanda couldn't wait for the opportunity to query Moe on how she and this professional man who resembled a dressed up surfer had met and fallen in love, which they obviously were.

As if reading her mind, Moe leaned over and whispered into Amanda's ear, "You and I have a lot to talk about."

***

Mickey had just set the intrusion alarm as she prepared to leave Sean's cabin when she heard the vehicles approaching. Walking to the front of the house for a better view, she saw the two large black SUV's rounding a curve in the drive about 100 yards in the distance. At first she thought that these must be FBI or other Federal agents, but as the vehicles drew closer, she realized that these were not the stripped down government versions of the largest General Motors SUV, but were instead the luxury version with the Cadillac brand proudly emblazoned on them.

Stepping back from the window to avoid being seen by the occupants of the SUV's, she tried to identify who they might be, but the dark tinted windows made this impossible. As the first SUV stopped just inside the clearing for Sean's cabin, about 25 yards away from the house and the doors began opening, Mickey quickly determined that her visitors were not going to be friendly.

Seeing the six heavily armed gang bangers coming out of the first vehicle, Mickey didn't wait to see who came out of the second before squatting behind the sofa to further hide her presence while maintaining visibility to the front of the cabin. When the first six men were joined by an additional half dozen from the second vehicle, they began fanning out around the cabin clearing, purposely checking out the structure as well as the other sheds and buildings that surrounded it.

Mickey crab walked to the kitchen counter and pulled the land line phone down onto the floor beside her. Dialing a number from memory, she willed the phone to be answered as quickly as possible.

Rick Acosta's voicemail greeted her after the first ring.

"Rick, this is Michelle Anderson. I am at Sean Wallace's cabin watching a dozen gang bangers surround the place. Please tell me that you still have some resources in the area. Even if I could get my car out of the garage without being seen, the driveway is blocked by their vehicles. I will try getting out on foot, but I need to know the best direction to head where I can get some support as quickly as possible. I'm going to try and make it to Glenn Parker's cabin, so try to get someone there as quickly as possible."

Mickey disconnected the call and crawled over to a window that would give her a view out the back of the cabin towards the garage. She saw three of the men enter the garage, stay for a few minutes and then exit and call over to another group of four, "Der's a car in da garage."

Mickey ducked down as more than half a dozen pairs of eyes turned to stare at the cabin. She crawled down the hallway towards the bedrooms which would place her the farthest from the garage and allow the house to block her exit from the men if they stayed where they were and she climbed out a window. She was wearing a black FLETC polo shirt, blue jeans, and black athletic shoes, so she hoped this would be adequate to help conceal her as the night continued to arrive. She once again counted her blessing that she had dark hair instead of being blonde and her arms and face still carried the deep tan that she worked on year-round.

From the bedroom window she selected, she peeked over the edge and saw two of the men filling buckets with diesel fuel from the tank next to the shed holding the generator. She had a instinctive belief that they intended to use the fuel to start fire to the cabin and garage and knew that she had to get out before that happened.

Watching the men as they each took two buckets filled with fuel around to their colleagues near the garage, she waited for them to reach the back of the cabin and thus be out of sight of the window she intended to exit from. Believing her planned route from the cabin to the tree line was clear, Mickey quickly unlatched and began sliding the window up.

Her heart jumped as she heard the first beeps from the alarm. She had forgotten that she had already armed it in preparation to leave and the grace period for her to exit without the alarm going off had passed. She didn't know how long she had before the warning beeps became a shrill siren alarm, but she knew that she needed to be in the trees by then if she hoped to make a clean escape.

Raising the window as far as it would go, she quickly punched out the screen and scurried through the window and onto her knees outside the cabin. Taking a quick check to make certain that she hadn't been spotted, she stood and dashed directly for the nearest trees. It placed her about 90 degrees from where she needed to be in order to take the path to Glenn Parker's cabin, but she felt she would be able to find the path without too much difficulty before the sun had set completely.

She had just reached the first row of trees when she heard the shouts from the men indicating that they had spotted her. She was heading in a northerly direction and knew that she needed to swing west in order to meet up with the path but she had to put enough distance between herself and the gang at the cabin before she could risk turning in that direction. The undergrowth in the woods was thick and this combined with the low-hanging branches from several trees made her journey much slower than she would have liked, but she realized that anyone chasing her would have the same challenges.

Mickey paused for breath when she reached a dry streambed. She figured that she had run at least a quarter of a mile into the woods and she heard no sound of anyone pursuing her. After only a few minutes of rest and checking the location of the setting sun to establish her direction, she turned left and began heading toward where she hoped to find the path to Glenn Parker's cabin. Upon turning, she caught sight of the smoke billowing above the trees in the vicinity of where Sean's cabin was. She couldn't see the fire, but judging by the thickness and darkness of the smoke, she assumed the cabin was fully engulfed in flames.