#3 - THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE ROAM

Any place but home or anywhere else familiar, that's what you did when you put yourself in the line of fire. Bob and Kathleen fit the bill and, therefore, both knew that even though they had to go somewhere, they couldn't go home. Granted, the place they would end up was familiar to both, but also had a surprise.

       Bob asked, "Where are we headed?"

       Kathleen proved prepared. "Heading south. I think Alabama's a good place to disappear."

       "I like Alabama."

       Ariel had other thoughts. "Why are we going all the way to Alabama?"

       Peeking through the rear view, Kathleen explained, "It's safer being somewhere we know." She studied Ariel's annoyance. "Ever been to Alabama?"

       "Nope." She folded her arms and watched the meaningless scenery zip by as they sped down the highway.

       The ride through Pennsylvania found a series of buildings that reminded Ariel of a broken roller coaster, something that matched her broken sense of reality. This brought her back to her childhood and first day of preschool. Before then, she'd never been away from her mom. She had visited the school and even made a couple friends that day. She met her teacher who seemed nice enough.

       The problem: She wasn't mom. Sure Ariel wished to see her dad, the only other one who she'd been alone with other than her mom. But mom did everything with her. Okay, her dad changed a mean diaper. Not to mention the fact that he potty trained Ariel in three days.

       But no one spent as much time with Ariel as her mom. No one hugged her as much and kissed her and taught her how to be a . . . well, a girl and, eventually, a woman. Her mom helped her with school work -- dad taught her softball, soccer and basketball. Both taught her to be confident. Mom helped her to understand that it was okay to feel, to laugh, to cry when sad and to feel frustration when she didn't like an outcome or agree with a decision.

       So, when mom left her at preschool, Ariel cried the first hour. She saw her mom quickly turn and leave, at the advice of the principal. Ariel wasn't supposed to hear that but she didn't miss much, even as a child.

Now, in the back of a strange SUV with two people she had never met before, Ariel Berkshaw headed toward Alabama and felt like the little girl all alone with no one she could trust, not completely. The only difference is that she didn't cry. She could have, but society taught her crying meant weakness. She wasn't weak.

       Ariel would not have been surprised if they had been on the road for a week. As it was, the trip took two days with one stop somewhere in North Carolina.

       Something about the ride that made her curious. Neither Bob nor Kathleen reached out to anyone. In fact, they carried with them cheap store bought go-phones that cost them twenty-four dollars for the pair, a two for one deal. Ariel didn't ask any questions at the moment, but as they left the little drugstore, they opened up their iphones, threw out the batteries, took the memory chips and broke the phones. Cloak and dagger all the way, but it still didn't prevent Ariel from wondering what purpose it served. Especially, when she would have gladly taken either of those phones off their hands if they would have asked.

       Bob continued to try to make small talk with Ariel. Kathleen gave up somewhere in Maryland. Ariel kept her answers brief and, from time to time, acted as if she didn't hear a word.

       Finally, Bob found a chink in the armor. "How long have you been working at the Coffee Bean?"

She shifted in her seat, glanced at Bob, then stared out the window. "Almost ten ears."

       He considered the response before his followup question. "Do you go to school, anything like that?"

       Sarcastically, Ariel shot back, "You're the government agent, why don't you get the answer yourself."

       "Because I would rather here it from you." Bob answered calmly.

       Ariel's gaze found Bob's direct eye contact softer than before but still hard. "I own the shop."

       This got Kathleen's attention. Apparently, neither expected this. "You know, some small business owners don't make enough money to hire help, so they have to do everything themselves." Came Ariel's defensive explanation.

       Bob nodded, "Even so, it's not something you expect." After a slight pause, Bob faced the front. "Still, it does make sense when I think about it."

       "Why's that?" Ariel asked, curious, a little softer.

       "All the time I spent at the Coffee Bean, I noticed on more than one occasion where you seemed to know a lot more than most servers, as far as how to handle situations. There was always something different about you."

       Ariel challenged, "Such as?"

       "Such as, one day, when a few teenagers began to get a little rowdy, hopped up on Cappuccino."

       "With a smile, Ariel quipped, "I remember that day. And I remember you sitting in your little hideaway. You know, you could have helped out a little."

       "Didn't need to." Bob shrugged. "You had everything completely under control."

       For the first time, she smiled. Not big, but Bob and Kathleen knew that Bob had finally broken through the ice. Ariel did, too, and tried to calm her thoughts down a little. Bottom line: Ariel couldn't avoid the flattery's affect on her, how it burrowed its way into her subconscious, steadily, slowly, with the precision of a surgeons scalpel.

       Soon, Kathleen and Bob both noticed Ariel's wall coming down. Not completely, but she allowed them within arms length. This made the ride to Alabama more amicable for everyone. It also lead to Ariel thinking a little more clearly.

       She decided it best to find out what Kathleen and Bob knew. "Okay, so I was targeted because my first name began with the letter A."

       Bob added, "And that you were a woman."

       "Okay, now we need to figure out what else."

       Kathleen glanced at Bob who stared at her with a thoughtful expression. Kathleen nodded. Bob faced Ariel. "That's what we were hoping for, too."

       With a pleasant expression, Ariel said, "In that case, let's get started. What else did you notice about all the victims?"

       As Ariel asked the question, Bob had turned in his seat and grabbed a report. He flipped through the gathered evidence. As he did he began to go more quickly through the pages. "Oh no. This can't be right."

       "What?" Kathleen asked.

       "Everyone of the women killed were small business owners. And I'm also expecting to see something else, once we get more information."

       Bob pulled out his cellphone and dialed their contact. He answered. "Hi Frogger. Listen, I have a question concerning the victims . . . tell me how long the small business owners have been in business and how much they earned a year."

Hearing the conversation, Ariel spoke up, "Not sure about the others, but this business owner is pulling in six figures in profit . . . or, at least, I was."

       Bob half turned with an expression that reflected his surprise. He then returned his focus to Frogger. "Okay, thanks. We'll be in touch." After disconnecting the call, Bob faced Kathleen. "All the women, so far were within three months of their tenth year and made six figures in profits. Frogger said he'd do some more checking, but we're narrowing the field. Now, we have to know what the government has to do with all this."

       Ariel leaned forward. "You think they're after successful small business owning women?"

       "I don't know. Can't assume anything at this point. Main thing we need to do is get you to Nevada."

       A question Ariel meant to ask but forgot came back to her. "Yeah, I meant to ask. Whats in Nevada for me?"

       "A choice. You can work for the government as a civilian, get into CIA work after some training, or go into witness protection and choose where you wish to live."

       In a neutral tone, Ariel asked, "I take it I can't go back to New York."

       "Or your family."

       Ariel sat back without another word, pondering the course her life had taken. Thinking back to her first day of preschool, she hoped this newly added stage to her life would turn out just as positively.

       Soon, they made their way to Montgomery, remaining on their southward course, each mile adding to the map of Ariel's experiences, her future more uncertain than ever before.

To find out the government's interest, checkout the next installment of BOB AND THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

(REMINDER: This is a work of fiction (NOT REAL) and, therefore, the events and characters in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.)