| PARIS FRANCE -ONE WEEK LATER A slightly built Spaniard and a roughly put together German are equipped with the latest in state of the art surveillance gear. They are keeping tabs on villa near the French boarder of Switzerland. The villa is heavily guarded by American Marines and French soldiers. There is only one road leading into the villa and a diplomat's limousine is making its� way up the road towards it. Ted points and says, �There is yet another car approaching.� He lowers binoculars. �How many does that make?� Zach stares down at note pad. �How many are in the car?� Looking through his binoculars again, Ted focuses on the limousine�s passengers. �It�s hard to say. Four maybe five including the driver.� Zach picks up his sniper rifle and takes aim at the moving limousine. Through the rifle scope, he can see a Marine sergeant behind the wheel, two men in quality business suits, an Naval Rear Admiral, , and a young Naval lieutenant, Justin. �Three men in the back, two suit, one American Naval honcho, and... Naval lieutenant, Brian�s cover boy! And a marine driving.� Still looking through his binoculars, �Damn, you are good, Zach.� Lowering his rifle with a grin from ear to ear, Zach adds the information to his note pad. �That�s why McKinney pays me what he pays me!� �So, how many fish in the fish bowl?� Zach studies his notebook. �One platoon of the proud and the brave. One squad in dress, the others are squatting in the bushes like us. One French platoon scattered about, but none on our side of ravine. We�ve got eight diplomats, three ambassadors, eleven brass. We�ve even got nine legitimate politicians and five not so legitimate politicians and five not so legitimate politicians that are really drug cartel, two religious leaders, seven interpreters, seventeen drivers, six waiters, three cooks and three housekeepers. But the best part is the eleven wives. All total, we�ve got eighty-nine in the bowl with thirty of �em being females.� �Damn! This is going to be my biggest show so far.� Brian stood about a hundred yards away Zach and Ted. His back against a huge tree. A cigarette dangles from him lips that he can not light. He looks through a telephoto camera and glancing at his watch. The limousine with Justin pulls to a stop in front of the villa. Justin and the others get out of the limousine. �Damn, Little Rabbit, there was only minutes to go. You were suppose to be late.� An idea crosses his mind, and Brian grabs his cell phone. Justin helps the Rear Admiral through a series of introductions as a small group of those gathered head across the entry way and then across a huge library with massive windows to reach a private study set up as a conference room. With drink in hand, General cuts across to intercept Rear Admiral. �Cutting it a little close to the mark aren�t you.� Rear Admiral replies, �Craziest damn thing, our radiator sprang a leak. The car over heated and stalled out in the middle of no where. Damnedest thing!� �How did you get another car so quickly?� �Didn�t. Taylor here was able to repair a hose on the thing.� People attending the actual conference start going into the study. The Rear Admiral motions Justin and the general to join him. �Well, we had better get a move on.� The general appears a bit anxious and downs his drink. �There�s no real hurry yet. You�ve got time for a drink. how about a drink?� �Some of the committee have taken their seats.� �Yes, yes, so they have. Still, I�m not going in there without a fresh drink with lots of ice. are you sure you wouldn�t like to get a drink with me?� �Water will suit me just fine.� The Rear Admiral turns abruptly and heads directly into the private study off the library. The general leans over to whispers to Justin�s ear. �Must be hell working with such a pompous ass.� Justin tries not to smile. �Sir?� His decision made, Brian charges up the hill towards Zach and Ted. �What the hell?� �Brian, get down!� Zach orders. �Give me your rifle, Zach!� �Why?� Brian pulls out his revolver and aims it directly at Zack�s face. �Because, I�ll kill you if you don�t!� �You can�t save him, you know?� Zach uses his index finger to lift up his rifle by its� strap. �Save who?� Ted asks. �The lieutenant with the nice ass.� �Ah, him.� �You only got minutes, Brian. It�s too late.� �Give me your rifle,� he demands as cocks the hammer of him revolver. Zach exams Brian�s perfectly steady hand and the determination on his face. �Fine. You can have Ted�s. I�m going to be needing my in a few minutes.� �Mine? Why does he get to have mine?� �Because I asking nicely, Teddy. Now give it to him!� Ted hands Brian his rifle. Grabbing the Ted�s rifle, Brian makes his way back down the hillside. Ted pulls out his revolver with silencer and aims it at Brian. In a heart beat, Zach has Ted pinned to the ground. �Idiot! How long do you think you would live after shooting McKinney�s only son?� �But what if someone sees him?� �They will only see him if he wishes to be seen. He cannot stop the explosion. He can not stop the world from turning.� Brian knows where all the sentries are posted, but he must be on his guard. He works his way down to the edge of the ravine and can see that none of the sentries have taken any notice. With his cell phone in hand, he dials a number. The telephone rings in the hallway in front of the library. A waiter picks up the phone. The waiter cries out, �Lieutenant Justin Taylor! Telephone for Lieutenant Justin Taylor!� Justin is about to enter the study when he hears his name. �Lieutenant Justin Taylor!� �I�m Lieutenant Taylor.� Hiding within the brush, Brian uses his telephoto lens of his camera to look about. He sees Justin walking back across the library through it�s massive windows to where waiter is holding up a telephone. Brian puts his phone to his ear. �Hello, this is Lieutenant Taylor.� Brian says in a perfect British female accent, �Lieutenant Taylor, please hold for the International Operator.� He checks his watch and looks for Justin through the camera. Then he drops the camera and pulls Ted�s rifle scope. With the rifle scope, Raymond can get a much closer view of Justin standing by the phone. �Hello... Hello? Oh, this is ridiculous!� Justin utters into the phone. The Rear Admiral realizes that Mary is not with him and that the General is also missing. The other committee members at conference have taken their seats, and he sits down as well. �Just one minute more!� Brian whispers. �Operator, please. Are you still there, Operator? This is bullshit!� Justin hangs up the phone and heads his way back to the library. Brian looses sight of Justin but focuses in on him again in the library. Saying a silent pray and holding his breath, he takes aim at Justin�s right shoulder. He fires. The bullet passes through a small pane of one the windows into the back of Justin�s shoulder with brutal force. Justin�s knees buckle as he instinctively turns her face towards the source his pain. The painful expression on Justin�s face burns a mark into Brian�s conscious. He bites lip. Then he quickly shoots at two of the sentries and shoots out a window near the hallway. Justin falls to the ground, and tries to hide behind an overstuffed chair. There is shouting from the outside, but no one inside the villa seems to have taken notice. He knows he needs to warn everyone and crawls towards the study. Brian panics. He can�t find Justin. An explosion rips through the study sending shards of projectiles into the library in a wave of hot wind. Justin is caught by the blast and is injured. No one in the study is alive. With tears in his eyes, Brian rests against a tree. In an instant his instincts tell him he is in danger. He quickly spots the soldier and prepares to shoot him, but someone shoots him first. Brian look at over a grinning Zach. Zach motions Brian to him. �Let�s get on our way now.� �Right.� Brian takes one more look back upon the villa and then catches up with Zach. |