Chapter 3: The Ambassador’s Girl – Charlie, for now

Falling hard. That’s definitely how it looked to this guy. Dinner was marvelous, just as last night’s, as was the company, but the ambiance was much better. The lighting, the surroundings, the wonderful staff, the light music in the background, all came together to make our first dinner out quite an event.

She spoke to me, across the table, in between us sharing bites of shrimp cocktails, salads, salmon, and asparagus, and told me of her trials for the last several months. Shortly after they were kidnapped, they were separated. She had no idea where her father was, and only recently found out about Elizabeth and Robert being found dead in Cologne, as it was on the news and in the papers.

She was taken from Rome to Bologna, where they were split up, then she was taken on to an estate in Milan. She was able to disappear into the night when one of the thugs holding her fell asleep and she was able to wiggle her wrists out of the straps they had her tied up with. The bruises and scrapes from pulling herself loose had healed, for the most part, and the cut on her arm was very recent, actually from a dumpster lid, of all things.

She hitchhiked here from Italy, dodging any place she may need to show identification and mooching from tourists when she could. She had to stay away from Americans, due to the news back home of her father being wanted. Her presence in Paris could only be explained by her desire to come somewhere somewhat familiar, large, and not under Italian or American control. The fact that her stepmother and stepbrother were found dead not far from here, in Northern Germany, was purely dark coincidence.

She explained that her father had come clean to her when they were being transported out of Rome, while they were still together. Elizabeth went ballistic about him opening up to the two younger family members about the crimes they were involved in. Elizabeth knew what was going on the whole time and had been assisting in the scams. Robert was dumbfounded.

“He didn’t have a clue, Charlie. But then, as much as I knew my father to be a fortune hunter, I didn’t think it would ever get to this. I’ll bet they killed Robert first, trying to scare her even worse, to find out where Dad might have gone.

“The afternoon before I escaped in Milan, I heard the guards screaming and yelling at each other, and I know just enough Italian to know Dad had escaped and was out of their hands. That meant they still had me, Elizabeth, and Robert. There was no way I was sticking around to be tortured into telling them anything. I don’t know much, so it wouldn’t have helped anyway. Maybe I do. I don’t know. I do know we had a favorite vacation spot in the Alps, but I don’t even want to pursue that option. Not even a bit. He’s better off without me, and I’m better off without him, at least for right now. No doubt about it.”

“Wow. We need to get you out of here, don’t we. Maybe we can come back for your father at some point. Do you have any central point of contact, anywhere?”

“A post office box in Riverdale Park, Maryland. All I need to do is go in and turn off the forwarding. I can do that by submitting a form and not actually showing my face, though. We own a house there that Dad rents out to a couple of congressmen from back home in Missouri.”

“You all are from Missouri? Really?”

“Yes, why?”

“That’s where we’re headed when we leave here, young lady. I’m from the St. Louis Metro Area. I have a home on a little hill in Chesterfield, if you’re familiar with the area.”

“A bit. Dad is from Columbia. Mom was from Jefferson City. Her sister, my aunt, still lives there, I think. I’ve never really lived there for long. Just short times between assignments with the State Department. He swung the ambassador positions by schmoozing and wiggling his way into them. I guess I was like eight or nine when they started. He was appointed to Switzerland, Ukraine, then Italy. We went to the city, usually Wentzville and St. Peters, once in a while for shopping trips and special occasions. In any case, I’m supposedly a native of Missouri, having been born there. OK, I’ve bored you to death. What now?”

“That was not boring, dear. Quite the opposite. Someone will be looking for you at your aunt’s, then, right?” She nodded. “We’ll get word to her somehow. No need her thinking you’re dead, if you aren’t. It’s been a few months, the grieving is probably over, so there’s no big rush, but it’s the right thing to do. As soon as Mikel gets me what we need, we’ll get you a visa, student or employee, and we’ll get you out of here. I hope it goes well. If not, I’ll try to smuggle you onto the plane and out of the country. Then I can just get my lawyer to keep us out of jail when we get home. That could get sketchy if anyone recognizes you.”

“I know. I’ve thought a lot about it, and just want to hide for a while if I can. It sounds like an impossible thing, but I can hope. You said student or employee?”

“Yes, I’m thinking about hiring you, maybe doing some home schooling until things settle down, then see if we can make heads or tails from there. Also, hon, remember, nothing is impossible. Unless you run amiss of the laws of physics, but even then ... I digress. Finish your sherbet. I’ll take you back to the room and we can get some sleep.”

“Thank you, Charlie. I love this dress. I feel like a princess right now.”

“I’m glad you do. You look like one, sweetheart.”

She melted me with her smile, then went back to enjoying her dessert, smiling at me between bites. I would’ve given quite a bit to know what was on her mind. She had that look. The one that says, ‘I’m planning your demise, you just don’t know it yet.’

I smiled back, making sure not to have the look that says, ‘bring it on, I’d like nothing more’. I thought about it, and I wouldn’t like anything more. If she was down for it, at the young and or ripe old age of seventeen going on sixty-two, no twenty-nine-year-old entrepreneur was going to stop her. Well, THIS one wasn’t.

She thanked me for dinner, then held my hand, and my arm, on the way back to the hotel and up to the room. At one point, she even had her head up against my upper arm below my shoulder, leaning against me. There was no doubt she knew what she was doing, and it wasn’t friend zoning me. Once she had her dress off, removing it in plain sight in front of me, she pranced over to the wardrobe to hang it up, showing me her rear end in a thong that matched the bra and garter belt she was wearing.

To think, a girl, lady, woman, whatever, this age, would think to wear a garter belt and stockings instead of pantyhose ... My kind of girl, anyway. She reached up and hung the dress, then turned and came to me as I was sitting on the bed.

“Charlie, thank you for all of the beautiful clothes. I hope you like what I bought.” The bra was seafoam lace with satin trim, hiding nothing of her breasts, yet still supporting them. She had enough to support. Again, I thought, for a young lady, she was built very well and had a gorgeous bust. The panties had a very short satin panel, but I could tell she didn’t use the razor just on her legs.

“Amanda, honey, do you have any idea what you’re doing? Really? I love what you bought. I love how it looks on you. You present yourself as a young woman, though, Amanda, and I’m basically just a man. I have a man’s outlook and a man’s desires, not to mention a man’s limitations.”

She held her hand up to stop me, so I nodded for her to jump in. “The decision I made, earlier, was to take us there and see if it works. I feel magic, chemistry, whatever you want to call it. Over and above you being a man, and me being mostly naked in front of you, do you feel anything romantic toward me?” Her look was as serious as a heart attack.

“That’s part of the problem. I do. I felt it when I picked you up to put you in my car. I felt it when I woke up the next morning and looked at you while you were sleeping. The same thing happened this morning and this afternoon, by the way. I felt it when we held hands on the way back tonight and more so when you laid your head on my arm. I feel it now. Amanda, dear, you are seventeen,” she tried to stop me, “yes, I know, almost eighteen and going on sixty-two. I think you may be ready for an adult relationship, but do you? Do you really think so?”

“It will be my second, actually. I’ll be eighteen in a couple of weeks. I was not so long ago almost engaged, Charlie. A very nice college boy, an American exchange student, in Rome, and I got very close to having a talk with my father. He had already told his parents, so last December, they came to get him and take him away. They had other plans for him, and they did NOT include this seventeen-year-old girl. He is now supposedly going to finish his senior year at Stanford. I was heartbroken about that until I got kidnapped and haven’t given it much thought until now. I do feel more strongly about this than I did that, and we were together for six months. I’ll tell you now, you make me feel better about myself than he ever did. I don’t know why, but ... Anyway, we had shared everything, if you get my drift, so I’m not exactly new in the wrapper with a warranty and all that.”

“I’m not either. That’s not a requirement to be in my life, Amanda. I can’t say I’m surprised. You are a beautiful and caring woman, and I could see that happening.”

“It was only the last month we were together. Kind of an early Christmas present, then his parental units swooped in, threw him on the plane and took him home. I hope all his credits transferred. He was pre-law. Senior year, as I mentioned. No more details, OK? I’m happy, I’m safe, I’m standing in front of Mr. Right, not Mr. Right Now. That’s really what I want to say. I’ve been dating and seeing boys and men in social and dating circumstances for more than a few years, and I’m sure I’m making the right decision.”

I reached out my hands, wiggling my fingers to have her come closer, then put them on the sides of her waist. I pulled her to me and kissed her tummy just below the clasp on her bra. My hands went to her back, below her shoulder blades and I caressed her with my fingers. She inhaled sharply. Good to know.

Her hands were on my shoulders then went to my neck. She used her palms to gently push my jaws back, my chin up, and kissed me soundly. I dropped my hands to the backs of her thighs and felt the goosebumps our union was creating on her once soft, smooth skin. Another reaction that was good to know about.

“Although I do want it, more than you might believe, Charlie, it would be best if we find some other way to entertain ourselves in our passion besides you making love to me. Intercourse to be specific. I’m at the worst possible time of the month, and I haven’t been on birth control for months. I should have gotten that damned IUD when the doctor offered it. Silly me. Oh, my God. Too much information!”

“Not at all, sweetie. You are sharing. I have a feeling we’ll be sharing more than that if this works the way either of us wants it to.”

“Oh, believe me, I want it to. Let me undress you. I know a couple of tricks I can use to help with that little problem down there.”

She did just that, my jacket going first, including the walk to the cabinet to hang it, then my tie, and the walk, then my shirt, and a walk to the chair to drop it on a couple of things from earlier. When she walked, she did it like a runway model with her feet almost crossing and all. The action in her hips was undeniable. It was all about the show. She was about to find out what happens when she does that. She got my shoes and socks off, then walked them over and placed them under my suitcase stand. Naturally, she bent at the waist to do so. That was one of the prettiest sights I’d ever seen. Her thong was quite narrow as it traversed her anus on the way up from the little satin patch not quite covering the wet and glistening lips of her pussy. She rose then came back over with the cutest, naughtiest grin I think I’d ever witnessed.

She had me stand, undid my belt, and dropped my pants, having to pull them out a bit to clear what could only be the largest erection I’d ever had. It hurt. It was so hard, it hurt.

“Oh, my, did I say, ‘little problem’? I don’t think so.” She pulled my boxers down over it, got them and my pants off, walked them over to the cabinet, hung my trousers, threw my boxers over with my shirt, and came back for my t-shirt. She lifted it up over my head, pulling my arms up over my head and while I was sort of trapped there, she leaned down and sucked on the head of my dick. Just a little, and lightly, but I could feel it as if she had bit and swallowed it. She got my t-shirt off then walked it over with the other dirty clothes.

When she came back, she stood in front of me, still smiling her naughty smile. She pushed me back, so I was lying on the bed with my lower legs still hanging off, then placed her hands on my thighs, and took my dick back into her mouth. This time she spent a bit more time on it. Not too much more, though. I took that opportunity to lose control of my body and came in her mouth without warning. It seemed like it wouldn’t quit spasming, but she didn’t miss a movement, or a drop, swallowing as it happened.

“Sorry. It’s been a lot longer for me than for you, and that was way more than I was ready for, I guess.”

“Are you OK, though?” she asked, hesitantly.

“Never better. Thank you.”

“Come with me.” She pulled me up and had me follow her to the bathroom where she started the shower and asked me to undress her. She lifted each of her feet for the high heels, then the stockings to come off. The thong was next. She did know what she was doing, I had no doubt, when I realized the thong was on the outside of the garter belt. Under different circumstances, this young woman would have me mesmerized while still wearing her stockings. She’s educated, to say the least. I removed the garter belt, then undid the front clasp of the bra and held it open. I didn’t want to take my eyes off her beautiful breasts, but I needed to let this procession advance.

I kissed each of her nipples then her lips. She responded by taking me by my handle and pulling me into the shower with her.

“Wash me, Charlie. All over. We aren’t done. I’m not done, anyway, and I hope you aren’t. I’m not the most experienced person around, but I know what I want, and I want you to do it.”

I soaped up both of my hands and did exactly what she expected. I got another kiss for it. We kissed the whole time I was soaping her vulva and bottom, her hip movements telling me I was in the right place for what she was asking for. When I thought she was nice and clean, I turned her and washed the rest of her, back first, then legs, then ending on the front, soaping her breasts, arms, and tummy. I got another kiss as I ground my once again erect and sudsy member into her abdomen and massaged her soapy lower back and bottom with my fingers.

“That feels good. Very good. If this is any sign of what’s to come, Charlie, Prince Charles, we are definitely on the right road.”

“One can only hope, Princess Amanda. One can only hope. Come. Let me rinse you off.” She had her hair tied up with some kind of band, so we didn’t have to worry about that, but I proceeded to get her and myself both rinsed well, then turned the water off. I grabbed a couple of towels, handing one to her and drying myself quickly. She squeaked when I then grabbed her up in my arms and carried her to bed, laying her back, head on the pillows, as close to the middle as I could get her. Then I went to the foot of the bed, climbed up toward her, growling a bit, and took over where she had left off.

Her giggle and smile from the growl didn’t last long. I wasn’t a pro at this, in no uncertain terms, but I had been there, and I had thought a lot about it. My fiancée in the past wasn’t into oral sex much, so I wasn’t so apt to return the favor. A terrible time to think I was better off, but that is what flashed through my mind as my teeth and tongue gained an ever so soft and gentle purchase on Mandy’s clitoris.

At the sound of her first soft moan, I followed her hints and let her guide me. The tongue alphabet, another clitoral nibble, my tongue diving into her love channel, then I really got her attention when I went lower, scrubbing her taint with my teeth and troubling her anus with the tip of my tongue. Circling around it, poking at it, and teasing back and forth as my nose brushed her clitoris and the area below. When I heard the beginning of a keening squeal turn into a sharp grunt and felt her abdomen commence a series of spasms, it was just a second later that she filled my mouth with her wetness. It was abundant and delicious.

“Oh, my, Charlie, I never...” I interrupted her by putting my mouth, as much as I could over her entire sex and sort of biting with my lips and sucking, sending her into Nirvana again. This time it was a yelp followed by her grabbing my head by the ears and pulling me up to her. “Stop, stop. Oh, Jesus. Too sensitive. Kiss me, Charlie. Oh, my God, that was too much. Hold me. I’m shaking. Hold me, please.”

I held her until she relaxed in my arms. Once she did, she let her hand roam down on me again and softly held my hardness. Making love to her with my mouth left me aroused beyond any measure. She just softly held me, moving her hand up and down, softly, taking the precum and spreading it underneath to lubricate as she stroked.

“Thank you for that, Charlie. It was fantastic. You really did make me feel out of this world. I’m going to finish you here, then I want to sleep just like this tonight.” Her thigh was over mine, her knee almost touching the area where she was stroking my member, her head on my shoulder, her shoulder in my armpit, and her non occupied arm just running down my side, her fingers playing with my skin on my side. I was looking forward to having her spend the night like this.

So much so, as a matter of fact, I told her so. “Mandy, I want you here.” I hunched up into her hand a bit, as I was getting close. “I want that very much. Not just tonight, but every night it’s a possibility, I want you next to me.” I pulled her close in a hug, then lifted my hips again and that’s when she took her cue. She lifted her head and went straight down taking me in her mouth and lightly sucking, sending me over the edge and into her. Every muscle in my stomach was tight as could be and I knew I’d be feeling it in the morning. I hadn’t been doing many sit-ups lately, and those are the muscles I’d just overworked. Twice. She made sure I was drained, then came back up and put her head where it was.

“You are amazing, little lady. Simply amazing.”

“I’m glad you think so.” She smiled brightly. I knew she was being genuine. I pulled her to me and kissed her. She hesitated, but I insisted, and took the kiss I wanted. “I just had you in my mouth and you want to KISS me?”

“I just had my tongue in your butt, too, but you returned it. There is not going to be a time when I won’t kiss you, Amanda. You can count on that. I hope the inverse is true, as well. There is no part of you, and no part of me that will get between us if I have my way.”

“Prince Charles, my ass. Prince Charming is more like it. Charlie, it’s too early, but I love you.”

“I know it is. I love you, too. I need to scrape up seven mil, just in case we find your old man alive.” As morbid as that thought could have been, Amanda Birdweiler cracked up laughing. “I hope we do, though. I have the money.”

“I hope we do, too, and you also have the girl. Free. Well, not the way you spend money on me, but you know what I mean.”

“Goodnight, Mandy.” I kissed her again.

“Goodnight, love.” She drifted off and gave me a chance to listen to her as she slept. Absolutely adorable. And mine for the taking. Lucky is not enough to describe it, from my viewpoint.

We went shopping again the next morning, not buying much, but more just burning daylight waiting for Mikel to come through with her papers. We had a bit of a snack for breakfast out on the mini mall, then had lunch at the hotel. We talked about little things, birthdays, hers coming in July, mine just passing in May, her desires for schooling, should she be able to continue, my dealings and endeavors in business and that was about it. Family was left out of the discussion, and we didn’t talk much about the threats to her and now to us. We were sharing a piece of cake and sipping on coffee when my phone buzzed. It was a text from Mikel.

‘We can meet at the airport this evening?’

‘Certainly. Remember my plane?’

‘I think so. I will take the taxi around there. See you then. Around six, maybe.’

‘Thnx’

“Well, Miss Mandy, Mikel seems to be ready for us and will meet us at my plane this evening around six or so. Feel up to turning into a redheaded Ukrainian goddess for a while?”

“Da.” She said and giggled. “We’re meeting him at the plane?”

“Yes. I’m paying him in gold, and I keep some on the plane for weird shit like this.”

“I’m weird shit?” She suddenly looked a bit sullen.

“Oh, God, NO, Mandy, don’t think that. Buying forged documents to sneak someone out of Europe and into the States is weird shit. Not you. That. Believe it or not, weird shit happens once in a while. I got a dirty customs guy in Morocco one time and the only way I could get by him was a couple of small gold bars. He doesn’t work for their customs department anymore, but it got me through.”

“What happened?”

“A guy I was working with there, heard the story and got my gold back. It wasn’t that big of a deal to me, I mean it was, but it didn’t break me. It was, however, an affront and an embarrassment to the people who invited me to help them with a project. The third day there, their director of security handed the gold bars and his business card to me and told me to let him know if I had any other problems entering, while in, or leaving Morocco. He also told me that the man who shook me down would not be doing that again ... To anyone. I didn’t ask for any more information. I’m pretty sure I know what happened even if I don’t want to.”

“Yeah, huh. Probably swimming with the fishes or something. Oh, jeez. That reminds me. We need to be careful running around. I’m not invisible, and even with this hair, I may still be recognized by someone who’s seen a picture of me in the news. Although, it’s been a while, and I haven’t heard much lately. I read the papers people throw out, and it seems to be dying down a bit.”

“We’ll get a read from Mikel. He’s smart. He had your picture and could study it if he wanted. There’s even an app or something in Google where you can compare pictures. We should try that, but he probably did already after saying you looked familiar. Yeah, me, running around with Gwyneth Paltrow. I’d much rather be with you, trust me, although Pepper is kinda hot, the other hers don’t do anything for me. You were phenomenal as a blonde, but you still rock red. Much better. My opinion.”

“There you go again. Come on, let’s go Google me.”

The picture comparison search came up with nothing except some shots of girls in shorts and heels sitting with their legs crossed on different objects. Chairs, ottomans, fountain walls, and even a hope chest of some kind were popular posing stands. None of them were any of her pictures from the news, or the state department releases about the family. At about five, we headed to the airport, the civil side, to let Mandy check out the plane and await the arrival of Mikel and the paperwork. The cab ride there was probably more dangerous and nerve wracking than the flight home will be.

Once we got to my little blue Syberjet, an SJ30x, I opened it up and showed Mandy around. She’d been on a lot of small jets, none of which was less than twice this big.

“It’s so cute. Oh, look, it even has a potty. How cool. It’s small, Charlie, but you fly alone most of the time, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. Don’t rub it in.”

“Not my intention, mister. Those days are over. Hire me as your PA and we’ll be together all the time. No more lonely flights off to wherever.”

“That actually sounds nice, Mandy. It really does. Hold on, I need to get something out.” I went back to the back seats and after looking around to make sure we were still alone, yes, I know I’m paranoid, I opened the little digital safe underneath and pulled out a couple of pistols and six little gold bars. “Here, hon. Hold these for me for a second.” I handed them to her so I could put the guns back in and close the safe up.

“Guns? Really?”

“Always, doll. Always. I’m armed as soon as I get aboard if I’m leaving. I’ll tell you stories sometime while we’re flying of some of the things that happen to people when they’re not surrounded by security personnel. I’m not, by the way.”

“Is it that scary?”

“No, unless you aren’t in the States at large airports and know everyone around you. I guess I should say, ‘Yes, it can be’.”

“Oh, my. Well, you saved me, so now, I guess, I’ll have you to protect me. I hope. Charlie, I really do hope this works out.”

“Me, too, sweetie.” I kissed her and helped her off the plane. We walked around a bit, then a taxi pulled up and my friend Mikel Hermann got out, smiled at Mandy, then came to me for a handshake.

“Charlie, it is good to see you again. I am happy to meet you as well, Alina Beilyk. Can we speak in private, maybe? The taxi is waiting for me, Charlie, as I must run and catch a return flight. The next time you are here, please, we will dine and celebrate, but for now, I must expedite.”

“Of course, Mikel, please, on the plane.” I sat him in the front, facing Amanda, Alina, and me, sitting in the rear two seats. No, it wasn’t roomy. It was cozy to say the least. Not a big plane, but adequate, just the same. “What do you have for us, Mr. Hermann? I see you have already gotten her a beautiful name.”

“Yes, Charlie, and she can keep her same initials. No more said. Nothing. I have for you, Alina, a passport, Ukraine in origin, a birth certificate from Odessa, a high school diploma, and your first-year college transcript from University Odessa, with the track in engineering. You are almost nineteen and not a perfect student, Alina, but you do well, and need to continue your studies. You also have in this packet a Ukraine driver license, and school identification. To answer your questions before they come, if someone calls, there will be a file in each of these places, electronic, or paper with some background. Know what is in the package and you will be a new person.”

“My initials, Mikel?”

“Amanda, Charlie is doing good for you, I know. Something is amiss and he is fixing it. I know him. I know of you. There is deep trouble for you. You must let it go now and not question it further. Someday, I will be in need, and that day I am sure your friend here will remember me. Let it go now.”

“OK, Mikel. Thank you.” She witnessed as I handed him six small plastic packages, each one containing a small one-ounce gold bar, combined worth a little over eleven thousand two hundred dollars.

“Thank you, Mikel. You once again have come through, and yes, I’ll be on the other end of the phone when it rings.”

“I must leave now. Pressing urgent business, much less important than this, but it needs my attention just the same. Lucrative without the whole shadowy thing, if you will. Alina, take care of my friend. Take care of Alina, too. And good luck finding your future or your past, or both, if that is what you wish.”

We stepped off the plane, he shook each of our hands, and turned to the taxi to leave. As he climbed in the back seat, he yelled, “Say hello to Robert and Melania for me if you see them, please!”

I held my hand out, thumbs up, indicating I would do that.

“He figured it out.”

“I said he might. Don’t worry about him, Amanda. If he wanted to be a dick, and make some real money, he wouldn’t have showed up alone. I think we can count him as a friend.”

“If you say so. You seem to know him quite well.”

“As a business acquaintance, customer, and sometimes dinner partner. It’s not like we’re blood brothers or anything, but, yes, I think I can tell he’s not going to cause trouble. OK, then, tomorrow, we head to the Embassy and apply for a visa. I think it would be easier here than having Roger try to take care of it for us. We’ll see.”

“Can you get me some makeup so I can try to change my appearance a bit more? Just in case. I probably can’t fool the CIA, but maybe they aren’t checking everyone that goes into the Embassy. I don’t think they did in Italy, or Switzerland, but I don’t know about the one in Ukraine. They probably don’t here, but who knows. It’s Paris, not Moscow, but ... Who knows? I just want to not get caught up in anything. By anybody, come to think of it. If the U.S. government finds me, I might get caught up in Dad’s dealings, and they are definitely going to detain me until they find Dad. I just know that. They can’t release me, or the bad guys ... Yeah, which are which ... Anyway, I’ll get caught up in something dangerous, and I just don’t want that.”

“I’ll tell you what. If you feel like someone has ID’d you or you feel spooked, just leave and take a taxi to the restaurant across from the hotel. Here,” I handed her a wad of bills, plenty enough to take care of a taxi and more, “take this and keep it for that purpose.” She took the money and smiled. She kissed me and let me take her to the mini mall where there was a department store open. She found what she wanted, and we walked back to the hotel, hand in hand, head on shoulder, again. I felt wonderful. She seemed happy. What else was there? I’m sure we were both worried about the next day, but que sera sera.