"Yes. I had the guard call the manager, he vouched for me." She pointed at the chair next to Love. "Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all." Love smiled. "My pleasure."
"Thank you." Kingsley extended her hand. "Teresa Kingsley."
"Abigail Love." She grabbed Kingsley's hand. "My friends call me Abby."
"Abby, nice to meet you." Kingsley pulled her tunic over her head and spread the towel across the chair. Without the tunic, Teresa Kingsley looked even more spectacular than Love originally thought. Her French-cut bikini bottom accentuated her already long, tan legs.
Kingsley pulled a bottle of tanning oil out of her bag and squirted some on her legs and started rubbing it in. "How long have you owned here?"
"I don't own a unit here. A friend of mine is letting me stay here for a few days." Love pointed to the East Tower. "I'm over there."
"My husband, Martin, and I are up there." She pointed to the West Tower. "Is this your first time in Pointe-à-Pitre?"
Love couldn't help but smile. Not at what Teresa Kingsley said, but at how often this routine worked. A chance first meeting followed by a second. The woman had already let her guard down so now Love would just pour on the charm and in no time Teresa Kingsley would think she had met her new best friend. And her new best friend would prove to be the death of her.
They talked for an hour, ordered lunch from the grill, and then started drinking.
By 3:00 p.m. Love was getting a slight buzz and Teresa Kingsley was well beyond that point. Her speech was slurred and she had almost fallen out of her chair three times from laughing so hard.
"Abby, you are one of the funniest women I've ever met. Martin will love you." Kingsley sat up in her chair and turned to face Love. "I have to go with my husband to a business dinner tonight, will you go with me?"
Love hadn't expected this. She had too much to do tonight while Martin and Teresa Kingsley were at their dinner meeting. That might be her only opportunity to case the Kingsleys' condominium since the hit was planned for tomorrow night. "No, that wouldn't be right. But thank you for the generous offer."
"Please, Abby. All they're going to talk about is business. Blah. Blah. Blah. Real estate, rum factory, yada, yada, yada. I won't know anybody there. I'll be bored to death. It'll be so much more fun if you're there with me. I'll have someone to talk to for a change."
"No. Really." Love insisted. "It wouldn't be right."
"Come on, Abby. After dinner, we'll leave them to their business and go do something fun."
"I don't know." Love found this woman's pleas hard to resist.
"It won't cost you anything, Abby. My treat. Please? You'll have fun, I promise."
Love couldn't believe she was giving in, that was unlike her. Especially when it came to a hit. "Alright, Teresa. I'll go." She saw Teresa Kingsley's smile turn into a grin. Enjoy it while you can my new friend…because my idea of fun is beyond your imagination.
4
He extended his hand to greet Kyli as he walked into her lab.
She moved past his hands and wrapped herself around his chest in a full embrace, squeezing him tight. He liked the warmth and feel of her body molded to his.
Nearly a year had passed since Jake met Kyli Wullenweber, a scientist for METech in Belgium. The lavender smell of her hair filled his nostrils. She lifted her head and her soft amber eyes met his.
"Do I make you nervous?" Kyli asked.
Jake unwrapped her arms and held her hands at arm's length. "Sometimes." He wanted to say more but he knew he'd fumble it and besides, Francesca might walk in any second.
"Like now?"
"No." Jake wanted to look and act calm.
She didn't flinch when Jake spoke, just laughed. Her sexy, playful laugh. Kyli was tall, nearly as tall as him with an ivory complexion and thick chestnut hair. She had a splash of freckles across the bridge of her nose and her eyes sparkled every time she smiled. Even though he would never admit it, she excited him every time he was around her. She acted so cool. He knew she was taunting him.
“How long will you be here this time?” Kyli asked.
“Only as long as it takes you to make a DNA toxin.”
“Is that all?"
“I'm afraid so, we’re in the middle of an assignment.”
"Careful Jake, Kyli will put her spell on you.”
"Huh?" Jake turned and saw Francesca standing behind him. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough," Francesca said.
"Busted." Kyli smiled.
Jake felt his face flush. He pointed his fingers to Francesca then back to Kyli. “You two have met, right?”
Both women laughed. “Of course we've met, Jake,” Kyli said. “Franny’s been here lots of times with Mr. Wiley.”
“Franny?” Jake smiled at Francesca. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.
Kyli interrupted. “That’s my nickname for her. Francesca sounds so…formal and exotic. Franny is cozy and friendly.”
“Right. Tell that to her next victim.” Jake laughed and shook his head. “We should be done in a few days then I have a couple of weeks off.”
Kyli leaned close to Jake’s ear and whispered.
He smiled. "Sounds like fun."
Kyli motioned with her head, like she was trying to be subtle. Jake followed her eyes and noticed the new plaque on the wall. “Is that it? Your doctorate diploma finally arrived?”
“Yep. Two days ago.” Kyli pulled it off the wall. “Can you believe it took them nearly four months to get this little piece of paper to me?”
“The bastards.”
“Shut-up.” Kyli swatted Jake's chest. “Now you’re just picking.”
“A little.” Jake reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a clear sealed bag. “Brought you something.” Inside the bag was a tiny vial.
“What do we have here?” Kyli grabbed the bag and held it up to the light. “Ah, from Skeeter?”
“How'd you know?"
“I designed the DNA extractor for Wiley's mosquito drone.” Kyli put one hand on her hip. “Whose is it?”
Jake glanced at Francesca then back to Kyli. “Can’t tell you,” he said.
“Is this a hit?” Kyli placed the bag on her workstation. “Don’t answer that. How long do I have to work on this?”
Jake pulled up a metal stool and sat down next to Francesca. “Wiley said to make it your top priority."
He remembered the first day he met Kyli; Wiley dropped him off at the lab, leaving Kyli in charge of his orientation. They were in this laboratory when she explained her research with DNA. With the growing threat of DNA toxins by hostile governments and militias against the West, she explained, her research was based on the premise of learning how DNA assassination worked so it could be defended against.
In the months to follow, her research had reached new proportions and she'd perfected the toxins and antitoxins of DNA assassination. So much so that Elmore Wiley, at the mandate of the Greenbrier Fellowship, had authorized the first assassination utilizing a DNA toxin on a human subject. The toxin was delivered by one of Wiley's emissaries, a South Korean woman named Su Lee, who delivered the toxin to Kim Jon-il on a train in North Korea causing the ailing dictator to have a fatal heart attack.
"How long will you need?” Jake asked.
“At best? Three or four hours.” Kyli reached into a box and pulled out two gloves. “Is Skeeter delivering the toxin? Because that hasn't been tested yet?”
“Nope.” Francesca slid an open pack of Wrigley's peppermint gum across the desktop. "Chewing gum."
“Seriously? How can you be sure he’ll chew it?”