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“What about me? Those men are after me!”
“Calm down, Bob. You’re acting like a child. I’ll see if I can deter them from you.”
“You sold me out, Dad. If I get caught, you’re going down with me. We went into this together. The North Koreans are waiting for this study to use in their next training sessions. They want the strongest, most resilient soldiers in the world, and we can give them that.”
“I know what’s at stake, Bob. Stop telling me. I’m the lead on this study, not you.”
“It’s equal, Dad. Equal.”
“I’ll call you later,” he said, hanging up the phone.
The drive toward Lafitte was lovely, with picturesque Acadian-style homes dotting the landscape, right next to small cottages and shacks. As he finally approached the café, he noticed that there was only one car. That could be good. If he needed to leave quickly, there was no one to block his path.
Stepping out of his vehicle, he opened the door to the wonderful aroma of fresh baked cookies, coffee, and something loaded with cinnamon.
“Have a seat anywhere. I’ll be right there,” said the lovely female voice.
Maybe this café had kids working at it. Maybe he’d get to pick off a few more and finalize the research. He smiled wide when a young man walked toward him. He was probably eighteen or nineteen years old, but he was enormous. Easily six-feet-four.
His wheels began spinning. If he could make this man afraid of something. Terrified. Then bring him back or, better yet, delete the fear altogether. He would win the North Koreans and more.
“Coffee, sir?” smiled Leif.
“Please,” he nodded.
“Cream and sugar?” he asked.
“No. Thank you.”
“Could I interest you in our pie? Maybe apple or our café favorite, chocolate pecan?”
“Oh, now that sounds tempting,” he nodded. “I’m here to meet a Dr. Neill. Do you know her?”
“Yes, sir. She’s on her way.”
“Good, then I’ll take that pie with my coffee.” Leif smiled, nodding at the man.
“Coming right up.”
Riley and the others watched on the cameras from the back of the café. She smiled at her husband as Leif came through the kitchen door, grinning. Max handed him the plate of pie, Riley following him out.
“Dr. Shaw, thank you for coming out here,” she said as Leif set down the pie. Shaw looked at her, smiling, shaking her hand.
“I’ll have coffee as well, please,” said Riley to Leif. “Please, enjoy your pie.” He nodded, then looked down at his plate. Gasping, he tried to scramble from the seat, but something, someone, was holding him down.
“Let me up! Let me up!” he yelled.
“Dr. Shaw, let me introduce you to my husband. Max Neill. These are his teammates, Sven and Luc. Don’t bother trying to struggle against them. They’re much, much stronger than you are.”
“Please, please let me go!” he pleaded.
“Dr. Shaw, surely you know I can’t do that. Who would have believed that tiny little fire ants would set your fears racing? That amygdala is firing overtime right now. Cortisol is flooding your system, and you cannot do anything about it.”
“I’m begging you!”
“Begging? Isn’t that what those kids did with you and your son? Didn’t they beg for you to stop?”
He stared at the plate of pie, the ants swarming all over the gooey piece of pie. One of the men held his hands on the top of the table, and he watched as an ant strayed from the plate, crawling over his hand.
