The Kazak Guardians (18 page)

As everyone retired to bed, I heard workmen showing up to replace the window.

"I too thought it cruel when you said you wouldn't protect Gendel, unless
...
I wish you were his bodyguard. Unfortunately, we can't have it both ways," Eveleen said as she prepared her daughter for bed.

"That man was trying to hurt you and Daddy. I'm glad Lynn shot him." Her little eyes filled with tears, which silently slid down her tiny cheeks.

When Eveleen turned off the lights, I lay back in my chair, satisfied. They were safe and Clare would be happy to know I hadn't been wounded-yet.

***

Three weeks went by with no further incidents. For the first few days, Eveleen appeared reluctant to leave the house.

"Lynn, is it safe to go out?" she asked, looking at me, then her daughter.

"Safe? You would be safer if you flew off somewhere. If you choose to stay here, you might be safer if you hired twenty guards to patrol the property while you hide inside. But what kind of a life would that be? Or you can take reasonable precautions and go on with your life."

Eveleen laughed. "You're a reasonable precaution. You're like having a tiger walking beside us." She shook her head and grinned. At the mention of a tiger, my thoughts turned to Jessie. "Alright, let's go out for lunch." Sibeal smiled and clapped her hands. Life was one exciting experience after another-the wonders of youth.

We soon fell back into Eveleen's routine: golf, eating out, shopping, massages, and working out. Sibeal did manage to get her mother to agree to swimming lessons at her fitness center. Although the threat seemed to have passed, I didn't believe it. I felt there was, at least, a small group of men who considered themselves anointed to punish Gendel for his excesses, or self-anointed criminals who believed in taking from the rich and giving it to themselves.

When we arrived downstairs one morning, Gendel sat with several men in suits. They didn't look like businessmen despite the clothes.

"Eveleen, this is district FBI director Trueman. When I woke this morning and checked my email, there was a demand for five million dollars. They said they would give me instructions where to transfer the money, today at noon. If I refused, you and Sibeal would suffer. I called the FBI."

Trueman nodded in Eveleen's direction. "I'm pleased to meet you, Mrs. Gendel. Be assured that we will provide you with protection until this is resolved," Trueman said. He looked around the room and his eyes settled on me. "I see you have a Kazak, judging by the way she is evaluating us and our every move. I find it strange, because I didn't know there were any female Kazaks."

"Learn something new every day. Keeps life exciting," I quipped. Before this was over I would probably have earned myself another complaint. Government security people just didn't seem to like me, although I had to admit Ann Woehl had been pleasant to work with when I guarded Gerstel.

"I don't suppose you would show me your ID?" Trueman asked.

"No. I don't trust you yet." I doubted he was an Assassin or part of the extortion, but I hadn't formed an opinion. Gendel looked shocked.

"Yes, she's definitely a Kazak. They're all paranoiac. As far as she's concerned, I could be an Illusionist Assassin or part of the extortion. Fred, George, take my advice and move cautiously around her. Kazaks tend to shoot first and ask questions afterward." He smiled at me. "Name?"

"Lynn," Gendel said quickly, probably trying to ease the tension. In fact, there was no abnormal tension in the room, just the normal evaluation by people who don't know each other.

"We're going to try and trace the email from the extortionist, but I wouldn't count on it, unless it's some amateur trying to muscle in on the anger against financial executives. Unless you don't want it, we will provide you with
...
additional protection for you and your family." Trueman and Gendel both looked to me. I nodded. They may provide me an extra second to react.

Over the next few hours, more men arrived with a variety of electronic equipment. Two guards were assigned to each of the Gendels. To the FBI's chagrin, Sibeal informed them she wanted me. Trueman wanted Eveleen and Sibeal to limit their activities as much as possible and for Sibeal to remain home. Eveleen looked to me.

"You can hide or live. There are more risks in living." I thought that was rather profound. Trueman didn't like it as much as I did. In the end, Eveleen decided she would go on with her life. I knew it was a hard decision because it involved Sibeal's safety.

Gendel got the next email directing him to send the money to a bank account overseas. He ignored it, knowing that paying the money wouldn't solve the problem.

Eveleen went on with her life, enjoying the new closeness she had developed with her daughter. Sibeal kept giggling every time she looked at the four men following behind us. I don't know what was going through her overactive little mind, but she was enjoying it.

Life was no longer boring. I now had two threats to watch out for: disgruntled men and greedy criminals. Eveleen made a golf date with her friends. We arrived seven strong.

"Eveleen, every time I see you, you have more guards. A Kazak wasn't enough?"

"These are FBI men. Gendel received an extortion note for five million dollars. They threatened to harm Sibeal and me if they didn't get it."

"I for one don't mind being followed around by good-looking men," one of the women commented, looking each of the men up and down.

The FBI agents rented two additional carts and kept patrolling on either side of us. The eighteen holes were uneventful and her golf partners ignored the FBI men after the first few holes.

We left the ladies changing room and walked through the lobby toward the front entrance. I walked to the side and slightly behind Eveleen and Sibeal. Two of the FBI men walked slightly ahead and two stayed behind us. Scanning the lobby, I saw a man walking slowly carrying a jar carefully in both hands. He was staring directly at Eveleen and Sibeal. I leaped onto the back of a couch with one leg and launched myself into the air. As I neared the man, my foot shot out striking him in the head. When he fell backward, the liquid in the jar spilled on him. He screamed in pain and shouted between spasms.

"You harlot! Selling yourself to Gendel." Still screaming with pain, he grabbed the jar, preparing to throw it. I stomped down on his clavicle, breaking it, making his throwing arm useless. Then I drove the knife-edge of my foot into his throat. I could feel it sink deep into his neck. He died within seconds. When I scanned the lobby, I saw the FBI men pointing their guns at me.

"Eveleen, do you want to eat, have a massage to relax, or go home?" I said ignoring the guns. She looked shocked for a minute then smiled.

"A massage I think," she said and we started off down the hallway to the personal care center.

"Halt!" three of the agents howled. We kept walking.

"That man?" Sibeal asked tugging at my arm.

"A very bad man who wanted to hurt you and your mother. He was going to throw something in your mother's face that would have burned like fire. An evil man."

"Good, I'm glad you hurt him." She looked back at the four men following us and giggled.

We entered the women's care center. The four hesitated at the entrance. I turned and pointed to where the hallway rug ended.

"Since this area is for women only, I'll assume any man that crosses that line is attacking my clients." I turned and followed Eveleen into the massage room. Fortunately, they stayed at the entrance. I had meant it. When we left an hour later, Trueman was leaning against the wall opposite the entrance.

"Lynn, you made my men very nervous and did give them cause to be concerned. You seemed to be the only one who knew what was happening. I've examined the body and it was clear his container had an acid, which I assume he intended to throw on Mrs. Gendel and her daughter. Only your quick action stopped that from happening." He nodded to Eveleen.

"It's not healthy to point a gun at a Kazak. The FBI should give me a commendation for not shooting them. If for a half a second I thought they were dangerous, they would be dead. I also think they owe Mrs. Gendel an apology for pointing guns in her direction. Her daughter was terrified."

"I wasn't-" Sibeal started to say before I nudged her in the back.

"Yes, I do owe you and your daughter an apology. A Kazak moves too fast for most of us to keep up with their reasoning. You're lucky to have her." He turned back to me. "Yes, I believe you could've killed all four without endangering your clients. Even my agents admit it was all over before they realized anything was wrong. They would've hesitated too long to save Mrs. Gendel. They would have hesitated for several seconds, considering the ramifications of shooting an unarmed man, a board of inquiry for discharging a weapon, and reluctance to kill another human being. None of them have ever killed anyone before. None of that concerned you, even delivering a killing blow to a man lying defenseless on the floor. You Kazaks are a law unto yourselves. Today, that was a good thing." He turned and walked away.

That evening at dinner, Sibeal gave her father a detailed account of everything that happened, including the massage. He sat there with mixed emotions, looking from Sibeal to Eveleen, and then me. He appeared to enjoy Sibeal's excitement but was rightly concerned over the possible harm to his wife, and seemed to be in awe of me. Heaven knows why. I did what a Kazak does.

For the next few days, Eveleen chose to stay home. Finally, she decided that she and Sibeal would go shopping. When I was half way down the stairs, I saw Hendrix standing at the bottom, waiting for us to pass. I knew something was wrong when I saw the other two out of the corner of my eye as I reached the landing. Too late.

Hendrix threw a punch into my stomach. Because I had partially twisted with the punch, the force was lessened, although it did take the wind out of me. I reached down and caught his leg, unending him, and drove a back kick to Jimmie's chest as he came at me from behind. Then Mack came plowing into me, and we all went down. Their combined weight had me pinned to the floor. I could have done better if I'd had more room and hadn't tried to protect my clients, who were still on the steps.

Hendrix removed my gun, which was easily accessible, while Jimmie grabbed Sibeal. Surprisingly, Hendrix and Mack lifted me up, and Hendrix began to pound on me. My head spun and I gasped for air as blow after blow hit me. I think he broke a rib or two. I would have been out cold if I hadn't been able to use my training to partially distribute the force of each blow with subtle moves. Eventually, they let me go and I sank to my knees. Major mistake on their part. They should have shot me, but Hendrix wanted to punish me for embarrassing him. I reached down and pulled out two knives from my boots and folded them against my forearms. When I staggered to my feet, I tried to look dazed and unable to stand, which wasn't hard. I was dizzy, gasping for air, and my legs felt like rubber. I had suffered as much pain on the Hill and was forced to go on. The masters weren't sympathetic to your pain.

Hendrix and Mack stood a few feet back from me with knives in their hands, laughing. Jimmie stood to the side holding Sibeal. Eveleen stood frozen with terror. Jimmie should have grabbed Eveleen. Even holding Sibeal around her waist, his upper body was exposed from his chest upward. I turned, concentrating with effort. Sibeal's life depended on it. I let one of my knives fly. I saw it drive into Jimmie's neck. When I turned back to Hendrix and Mack, they had stopped laughing. Being in a narrow hallway put me at a disadvantage, as I had little room to move and was still unsteady on my feet. As the two closed in on me, I had only one chance. I sent my last knife into Mack's chest. Now it was just Hendrix and me. The only problem was that he had a knife, and I didn't. He approached, swinging the knife back and forth. I continued to back up. As we passed the steps, I nodded to Eveleen. After a second's pause, she and Sibeal raced down the hallway and out the door.

"Shit!" Hendrix exclaimed. His chance at a ransom was fleeing, and he couldn't chase them because of me. I smiled. His face twisted in rage, and his eyes narrowed. I had done my job and saved my clients. I was so tired, aching from head to foot, and bleeding. Now or never. I moved toward him and I felt the knife cut across my stomach. He grinned, and drove it straight at my chest for a killing blow. I twisted sideways and the knife slid by me. I had been a little slow, and I felt shirt and skin tear. With the last of my strength, I drove my fingers into his eyes. He collapsed screaming at the top of his lungs. I picked up his knife and cut his throat, then allowed myself to pass out.

***

I woke and was immediately sorry. I felt like I had fallen down a staircase several times. I suppose that was a good sign, since it meant I lived. I looked up to see a man in a white coat with the ubiquitous stethoscope around his neck. Doctor. Hospital. It all came back in a flash.

"You nearly died, Lynn. You had me up most of the night. You have three fractured ribs, a twelve centimeter cut along your stomach, a twenty centimeter cut along your chest, a broken nose, and bruises all over your body. Needless to say, you lost a lot of blood. Are you up for visitors?"

I nodded and my head vibrated like a tuning fork in response. I was surprised to see Witton.

"Hi, boss," I squeaked out. Even my throat was sore.

"I send you out on another easy assignment and you let a couple of thugs mess you up like this. You should be embarrassed. Besides that, I'll have to give you time off. I should dock your pay."

"I'm embarrassed. A Girl Scout could've kicked their asses." I heard several gasps as Witton and I exchanged barbs.

"Lynn, can't you once come back in one piece?" He shook his head. "Good job. A plane will be waiting for you when you're ready to go. Take whatever time you need plus a week of vacation. I want you in reasonably good condition when you come back. Who would want a Kazak that looks all beat up?" He patted my hand before stepping back to let Mr. Gendel step forward.