Chapter 15: Aftershocks

When the car transporting Dave and the two girls away from the bus incident pulled up on the Promenade des Anglais and in front of the hotel in Nice, Roxanne declared, "I'll go in and get us checked in; then I'll come back out and get you. You two can then go straight up to the rooms while I get everything straightened out down here."

Sarah and Dave just nodded as Roxanne's confident persona took over and she stepped out of the car and glided into the hotel. The twenty-minute drive had given Dave and Sarah time to recover from the initial shock of the whole incident and, as Dave held Sarah tight in his arms, she whispered, "I can't believe you did it again. You saved me a second time. You also saved Roxanne and the other people on the bus as well."

Dave just squeezed Sarah a little tighter and answered, "I just reacted. I was really scared this time because I knew we were in real trouble but I also knew I couldn't just let it happen. I got really lucky and, thank God, no one got seriously hurt - except the moron who wanted to die."

Sarah buried her face in Dave's chest and tried to relax in his strong, protective arms.

Roxanne soon returned and opened the door to let Dave and Sarah out. Entering the incredibly extravagant hotel, Dave could not help but be impressed when he glanced into one room and saw the huge Gustave Eiffel glass dome and sparkling Baccarat chandelier; his gawking was interrupted by Roxanne who shared the update details with them, "We're all checked in; we are in suite 5A and here are the room cards. You two should both go up to the rooms and immediately call your parents to personally explain what happened. Sarah, when you're finished talking with him, please tell your father to call my cell number; he has it. If he says we have to return home, then that is what we will do. I'll be up after the luggage arrives and everything is taken care of down here."

Sarah and Dave nodded understandingly but both again looked at Roxanne with surprise at her professional, take-charge attitude.

The elevator operator, who wore 18^th century costume as did all the staff, smiled at the young couple as they entered; Sarah told him the fifth floor in French. She immediately cuddled back into Dave's arms and he was happy to have her warm soft body next to his. They exited the elevator with a polite "Merci" and walked down the hall to their suite. As they entered Dave was shocked by the tremendous size of the suite. He estimated that three trailers the size his family lived in for the summer would fit in the main room. There were two bedrooms off the main room and each had its own private bath. The suite's balconies faced the waterfront.

Sarah kissed Dave softly on the cheek and said, "I better call Daddy right away." She walked into one of the bedrooms so Dave went to the other.

Dave called the operator, who was fluent in English, and was connected immediately to his father's cell phone. Dave had looked at his watch and calculated the seven hour time difference. It should be just before eight o'clock in the morning on QAI and his parents should be on their way to work or just arriving at the hospital. After two rings, Dave heard his father answer, "Hello?"

Dave was happy to hear his father's voice but the stress of the whole situation finally struck home at that instant. Dave spoke in a very shaky voice, "Hi, Dad. It's Dave. It... it happened again. Another criminal attack. I'm okay... and so is Sarah... but trouble seems to keep following us."

Dave could hear the instant concern in Roger's voice as he replied, "You're okay - are you? And Sarah, too?"

Dave answered, "We're both a little shaken but we weren't hurt."

Roger explained, "Just give me one second, Dave, while I pull off the road to talk to you - I'm just passing the Hornsby golf course on the way to work." Dave heard the phone placed on the seat and then, after a pregnant pause, Roger asked, "What happened son?"

Dave explained briefly about the trip from London to Marseilles and then about going to Cannes that morning. He went into significant detail about what happened on the bus and then about the follow-up by Roxanne and the secret agents. His father was relieved to hear they had gotten away from the scene before the media arrived. Telling his story to his father seemed to calm Dave and he felt much better when his father finally asked, "What would you like to do, Dave? Do you want to come home immediately or stay there?"

Dave was very happy his father didn't panic and just reflexively demand he come home immediately. Dave replied, "I'd like to finish my trip. It was a lot of fun before today but, if I do get too stressed over this whole situation, I'll call and we can arrange something different, okay?"

His father replied warmly, "It's up to you, son. I trust your judgment - but don't hesitate to call again if you need anything. Your mother's schedule has been changed this summer and she is working evenings tonight so I will call her and let her know what happened in case she sees any news. She knows about your trip to France and what your schedule was today - so news of a bus blowing up might scare her half to death. You might need to talk to her yourself so she can hear your voice; don't be surprised if she calls the hotel. Enjoy the rest of your trip, Dave."

"Thanks Dad. I'll send you an e-mail when we get back to London on Wednesday. If Sarah's Dad wants us to come home immediately, I'll send an e-mail later tonight. I love you, Dad. Thanks for not freaking out."

"I love you too, son. And, by the way, your Mom and I have a surprise for you when you get home." Roger added the last bit of information hoping he would distract Dave a little.

Dave rapidly tried to figure out what the surprise could be but couldn't think of anything; so he finally asked, "What surprise?"

His father chuckled, "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you. Have a good time and call if you need anything - even just to talk."

Dave was still trying to figure out what the surprise could be but he eventually simply replied, "Thanks, Dad; I will. Goodbye."

Dave hung up the phone and walked out to the main room. He sat down on the couch in the part of the room with a television. The other part of the room had a desk and was like a small office area. As he turned on the television, the hotel information channel came on first by default before Dave switched channels with the remote. There were very few English channels but, as Dave was flipping through, he suddenly saw their damaged bus on the television with a reporter talking animatedly in French. Dave picked out a few words: terrorist attack, mysterious English hero, and a few other phrases - but the reporter was talking so quickly that he couldn't piece it all together.

Sarah walked out of her room and softly reported, "Daddy was pretty upset but he finally said he would talk to Roxanne about us staying as-planned until Wednesday. What are you watching, Dave?"

Dave looked at Sarah and immediately noticed her eyes were red from crying so he stood and walked to her. He took her in his arms and asked, "Are you okay?" After she just nodded he added, "I got pretty emotional when I first talked to my father as well. Are you sure you're okay?"

Sarah nodded again and leaned into her big strong special bodyguard. Dave held her close until she finally repeated in a low whisper, "What are you watching?"

Dave replied, "It seems to be a news report from the scene of the bus but I can't catch everything the reporter is saying."

Dave and Sarah looked at the television together and, after several minutes, Sarah relayed that the reporter was telling how an unknown man had knocked the terrorist off the bus just before the bomb detonated. She said the reporter further explained that the man and his two female escorts were immediately whisked away in a car and all their identities were unknown. The bus driver didn't know who they were either as the local police had immediately confiscated his passenger list for evidence. Some of the other passengers said they had overheard the three talking in English but didn't really know where they were from. One person at the scene had an opinion they might have been clandestine Israeli operatives.

Sarah further translated that the reporter interviewed one extremely upset woman who explained she had been sitting right beside the bomber before the terrorist was drawn to the back of the bus. The upset lady kept thanking her unknown hero for saving her life. She was speaking German but Dave was able to read some of the French subtitles as they popped onto the screen.

Dave and Sarah were glued to the television and couldn't seem to pull their eyes from the screen. The whole report was being reprised and repeated with minor modifications; it seemed so surreal - the reporter was talking about Dave, Sarah, and Roxanne as true heroes - but it felt as if it had happened to someone else.

After about twenty minutes, they heard a click at the door and both stood quickly to see who was entering. When they saw Roxanne step through the door with their three bags in tow, they relaxed; and Dave walked to her and suggested the bags could be just left in the foyer and dealt with later.

When the bellman left, Roxanne looked at Sarah and reported, "I spoke with your father. He was very upset initially but, after I explained everything in detail, he relaxed. Well, he relaxed somewhat, enough to think things through. Because the incident was not directed at us specifically, I convinced him to allow us to stay a little longer. We do have to check in with him tonight and again tomorrow. The original passenger list for the bus, as it turns out, included the name of a very high profile Israeli politician and our agents have concluded that he was the primary target of the bomber - but he never got on the bus in Marseilles."

Roxanne switched to another related subject without even taking a breath, "I spoke to the agents who we left at the scene. They removed all evidence of us from the bus including this." She handed Dave his camera. "Another team of agents went to the head office of the bus company and removed all trace of our names from that system as well. They even took the company's backup tapes but promised to keep them in a safe place if ever needed for appropriate data recovery. I further booked tickets on a train from Marseilles to Nice so if anyone checks it will appear we traveled here by train. I'm sure I've covered all our tracks well enough."

Sarah was the first to notice how hyper Roxanne was as the report tumbled from her lips; Sarah walked to her and took her hand as she guided her to the couch. Sarah spoke softly to her friend, "Okay, Roxanne, time to relax. You did a great job and we're all safe. Thank you for looking out for Dave and me."

Roxanne sat down and, when Sarah finished speaking, she let out a huge sigh. She suddenly realized that her adrenaline had been pumping full-out since they had arrived at the hotel. She had relaxed briefly in the car but once she got to the hotel she had to tidy up all the details and settle Lord Thurlow's nerves before she could again think about relaxing.

She looked at the television and was surprised to see a close up of the damaged bus with the burn marks on it flash on the screen; the reports were still the only topic on that channel. She looked quickly at both Dave and Sarah and then back to the television. Dave sat on the couch beside Roxanne and Sarah sat on her other side. He whispered, "You were right about the media. They're all over the story; but you did a great job of keeping us out of it - there has not been any hint of our identities."

Roxanne seemed to relax a little when she heard Dave's words and she watched the screen intently. She finally whispered, "We were very lucky." She looked at Dave intensely, "That was a crazy plan you came up with when we needed one - but it worked. I had previously questioned Lord Thurlow's confidence in you but I will never do that again. You were really amazing today, Dave - I've seen seasoned veterans freeze up but you didn't seem to hesitate."

Dave smiled, "Thanks, but I just reacted more than anything - I guess I'm just very lucky."

As Roxanne relaxed more she cuddled into Dave's side. He enjoyed the feeling of her close to him while Sarah was glued to her other side. Roxanne looked at the television for another minute then turned and looked deep into Dave's eyes. She thought how some of her fellow agents had told her that a brush with death often heightens a person's passion and desire and that incredible sex has often followed those rare situations.

Dave noticed a sudden change in her mood as she tilted her head up to him. He bent down and kissed her softly. The kiss was unlike any they had previously shared - as she had always been tentative - but now her tongue snaked into his mouth and he was happily surprised with her passion.

After a minute-long kiss, Roxanne turned to Sarah who was smiling intently. Sarah could tell Roxanne was begging for permission so she just nodded and whispered, "I already told you I would love to share Dave with you."

Roxanne smiled and leaned toward Sarah. As their lips connected Dave could feel the pent up excitement in the two friends and he just watched to see where this sexually charged situation led.

He didn't have to wait long as Roxanne rolled quickly onto his lap, wrapped her hands around his head, and kissed him passionately as she pressed her firm well-trained physique into his big strong young frame. Her hands and arms were actively rubbing and caressing his head and shoulders as their tongues dueled. She ground her pelvis into Dave's crotch and his always ready manhood grew hard. Dave's hands went to the firm round hips he had watched intently the last four days and he could feel her erect nipples boring into his chest.

Roxanne's hands started to pull at the hem of his shirt and, in one aggressive quick motion, she pulled back and yanked the shirt cleanly over his head before re-engaging his lips in a hot tongue-swirling kiss. Her hands went immediately to his shorts and she unfastened them and pulled down the zipper. She stood up briefly and as Dave lifted his hips she pulled his shorts and boxers off quickly. Next she moved her hands under her dress and pulled her panties off before she lifted the hem of her dress up and gave Dave a perfect view of her hot snatch with a small strip of black hair. She sat back on his lap and resumed grinding her wet horny pussy against his hardness.

He reached for the straps of her dress and slid them off her shoulders and down her arms. The top of her dress fell around her waist and she pushed her chest towards him. He obligingly took a small firm breast in each hand as he caressed and squeezed the erotic flesh.

Roxanne moved her hands to Dave's throbbing pole and called out, "I need you inside me, Dave. I've been fantasizing about your big hard cock for days and I need it inside me, NOW!"

Dave watched as she guided the purple crown to her opening and it almost looked like a slow motion movie scene as his round helmet slipped between the folds of her juicy snatch.

She moaned sensually as she felt his hardness penetrate her horny wetness, "Oohhhh, that feels soooo good. You are so big and hard and you fill me just right, Dave." Her voice and moans shook as she slowly worked his throbbing meat deeper inside her hot love tunnel.

Dave sat back and enjoyed the spectacular view of this horny maid/secret agent impaling herself on his rock-hard pole. He moved his hands back to her hips as he guided her farther and farther onto his girth. A loud moan filled the large room as she finally had him fully seated deep inside. Her eyes, which had closed slowly as he had entered her, now flew open; she smiled at him before she turned to look at Sarah who had moved right beside Dave on the couch.

As Roxanne began a slow rhythmic grinding motion she reached for Sarah and pulled her closer. Sarah moved so her knees were on the couch as Roxanne's insistent hands pulled Sarah's face to hers and their lips joined in another hot passionate kiss.