Rob W. Davis

FREE! Check out the first part of my book Deadly Plans and discover how Max finds sensitive information he’s not supposed to see. What he does puts his and his friend’s lives in jeopardy. See what happens.
Chapter One

At a remote location in Afghanistan, Almir Najya meets with his father Armo to discuss an email he received from one of his comrades. Almir and his father both received higher education schooling in the United States and learned to speak fluent English during that time.
“I have seen a video of how efficient this bomb is.” Almir says. “We need this weapon in our plans. It covers only a small area, but does so very effectively. I will order one hundred and distribute to our allies.”
“I trust you will make it clear what will happen to him if our weapons are not received.”
“Yes father. I will.”

Rising from his chair and closing his office door, Mark Goodman the CEO of Silvan Enterprises in Fort Lauderdale Florida, takes a deep breath before sitting down at his desk. Opening the email from Almir Najya with the subject line ‘Order’, he reads the following:
‘We order one hundred of your chemical bombs. One million dollars will be wired into your Bahamas account within 24 hours of receiving routing information. The remainder will be wired upon delivery.
Address the order to Alan Young, care of Heathrow Airport, London, England. Someone with that identity will receive it.
We expect our order to ship within 72 hours and for you to confirm the arrival date at Heathrow with an email message upon shipping. We will send Mr. Young to retrieve our package quickly.
If you fail to deliver our order as contracted, death will follow!’

The last line of this email makes Mark’s heart skip a beat. His mind begins racing with thoughts. There’s no turning back now. Hesitating for a moment, he dials a number and a voice answers two rings later.
“Yes?”
“This is Mark.”
“Did you receive an order?”
“Yes, from Mister Almir Najya. I just read the email. The order has to ship in 3 days to someone named Alan Young, care of the Heathrow Airport in London. I’ll have them wire the money to our account at the Bahamas National Bank. You have the account information, can you verify the funds?”
“I’ll check on it. Mark, you understand that nothing can go wrong. It is too late to back out now. I hope your people don’t screw this up. Your neck is the one on the line here, and these people are not forgiving. We must deliver the product to them. Are you sure you can handle things from Fort Lauderdale without going to Jamaica again?”
“I have a man there I trust completely to watch over everything. There will be no screw-ups. Only a few key people on my staff know parts of what we’re doing and they can all be trusted. Most of the people in the Jamaica plant only work on pieces and don’t know how everything will go together. Only a small assembly team has any inkling, but even they don’t really know anything with the cover story I planted; besides all they care about is that we’re paying them very well. We’re paying a bonus so to speak, above their usual wages.”
“Just make sure this goes without a hitch. Keep me informed. Let me know as soon as the order is ready for shipment. Have you checked your office for bugs?”
“Yes, it was done two days ago. Do you think I should have everything checked here, again?”
“Yes, immediately.”
“Okay, I will.” Hanging up, Mark closes his eyes and says a silent prayer.

Wednesday evening Max Merchado makes his usual call from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to his best friend Sam Stormen.
“Hey Sam, how are things in chilly Denver, Colorado? Is anything new going on this week?”
“Nah, just the same ole same ole. How has your week been Max?”
“Great! It looks like I’m on target to be salesman of the month again for Silvan Enterprises."
“Again! Are you going to give anyone else a chance?”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. (Hehe)
“How’s Peggy doing?”
“She’s great as always. It’s been over a month now since I’ve played a prank on her though. I was thinking maybe it’s time for another one.”
“Oh no Max! Almost all your pranks on her get you in trouble.”
“I know, but she’s fun to watch when I pull pranks on her. The problem is I never know how she’ll take it, sometimes she thinks it’s funny too, then other times she gets mad, and sometimes she gets really angry and leaves me for a while. I just never know until I prank her how she’ll take it.”
“What are you planning this time?”
“Well, I was thinking since she does her laundry on Thursday mornings I can get her then. It was funny the other day when a bird flew at her and scared her. I’m thinking about taking that rubber chicken I have and put it on the fan blades in the laundry room. Then when she turns on the light, the fan comes on and the chicken will go flying. What do you think?
“I think you should be nice and stop doing pranks on her. It seems like she is getting tired of being the target of your antics Max.”
“I don’t know. Maybe, I just like having fun with her.”
“I think that’s the problem Max. I don’t think it’s fun for her always being the one you pick on.”
“Maybe you’re right. I think I’ll do this one and then quit and find someone else to prank. Maybe I can get someone at work. It’s always more fun when you’re here instead of across country. Maybe I’m bored these days, but I’m still King of the Pranks.”
“Okay Max, just don’t be surprised when I tell you I told you so. Peggy is a great girl and loves you a lot, but I know she’s getting tired of the pranks.”
“I love her too. I don’t know how I got a knockout like her.”
“She is a keeper Max. I wish I had a relationship like that. Things have been tense here with Jessica.”
“I’m sorry buddy, I hope you can work things out.
“I’ve tried Max. You know what a fiery redhead she can be. One-minute things are good, and then they aren’t. It’s difficult trying to talk to her once her feathers are ruffled. Lately, they seem to be ruffled a lot. It almost makes me wonder if I really want to stay here, I mean...”
“Why, what you mean? I thought you loved it there. You jumped at the job a couple years ago because you wanted to live in the mountains, and then you met Jessica and it seemed like love at first sight.”
“I meant to say I’m not sure whether to stay with her. Anyway, that was then. I still love the area, but my job isn’t very exciting. I think the best thing about being here is that I really enjoy the exercise I get. These mountains are great for hiking and walking. I can do so many outdoor activities here. I’ve also been doing really well with my Judo. My reflexes have improved greatly. I never realized what good exercise Judo can be. You know I’m working towards my brown belt?”
“That’s great Sam. You must really enjoy the Judo lessons then. I’m sorry you’re not happy with your job or your relationship with Jessica. Pity, with the picture you sent me of her, I could see she is pretty hot! Just don’t tell Peggy I said that.”
“Ha-ha. Don’t worry Max, your secret is safe with me. You’re right though, Jessica is pretty hot. With her flaming red hair and a voluptuous body, she takes my breath away. Then I notice those beautiful dark eyes of hers and I can almost get lost in them forever.”
“I hope you can work things out soon. Do you have any idea of what the problem is?
No, not really. With her classes at the U, she needs a lot of time to study. She also spends time with her mother. By the time we get together, I never know what has her upset, me or something else.”
“That’s too bad Sam. I wish there was something I could do for you man.”
“That’s okay Max. Well I need to get going here. I guess I’ll talk to you next Wednesday. Try to think about not doing any more pranks on Peggy. If you do decide to do it, don’t forget to let me know what happens.”
Okay, I’ll talk to you next week. Take care Sam. Goodbye.”

Two days later, Max Merchado begins his Friday morning in late March driving along Davie Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. His bright red Corvette shines from recent detailing. Looking at his slim Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, he notes it’s a quarter to nine. Ever since he saw the expensive watch on a successful acquaintance, he’s wanted to have one for himself. His success at Silvan Enterprises allows him to afford this luxury.
With the top down on his Corvette, his black hair waves slightly from the moist air flowing over the windshield. Arriving at Silvan Enterprises, he whips into his reserved parking space. While putting the top up he thinks about his Wednesday night phone call to his best friend Sam Stormen and the prank he did to Peggy. Max and Sam chat virtually every Wednesday, ever since Sam moved away to Colorado for a new job when they graduated from Technical School.
Walking under the canopy at the rear of the building, Max feels a twinge of guilt come over him. Deep down he knew Peggy would be upset by his prank but he did it anyhow. He still smiles a little remembering the prank. He watched Peggy carry her basket of clothes into the laundry room and turn on the light. He saw the fan begin to spin and the chicken plop down on her face. Screaming, she dropped the basket and ran out of the room. Peggy left an hour later taking her laundry with her to stay with her mother in Boca Raton. Peggy once again failed to see the humor in his antics.
“She’ll come back.” Max whispers to himself flashing his ID to the guard. “She always comes back. That’s why I love her.” He waves as Jack Glenn approaches him.
“Did you close that Cosmos account yet?”
“As good as done, Jack.” Max says giving a thumb’s up sign.
“Nice suit, Max.” Jack says looking at Max’s dark gray pinstriped suit.
“It’s my lucky closing suit. How are your prospects doing?”
“I’ve got a couple hot ones. I’m going to beat you in sales this year!”
“I doubt it, but good luck Jack!”

In his office, the prepared sales contracts for Cosmos Industries for the purchase of five new helicopters are on Max’s desk. It’s near the end of the month, and Max knows that no other sales people have turned in a meaningful contract. Max makes it a habit to flirt with Beth the financial secretary every chance he gets and she keeps him up to date on who sold what.
Next to the contracts for his meeting sits the Friday copy of the Silvan newsletter, the US version. Thumbing through the pages, he sees a posting for an electronics technician job coming available next month due to a retirement. Max remembers Sam is no longer thrilled with the mountains.
“Great! I think Sam will be happy back here in Lauderdale.” Max says to himself. Picking up the phone, he dials Sam to ask him to apply for the job and speaks as soon as Sam answers his phone.

“Hey Sam, what’s up man?”
“Hey there Max. How are you doing?”
“Doing great. A little hectic. I played the prank I told you about Wednesday on Peggy.”
“I’m sure you did.” Sam says laughing. “Is she still speaking to you?”
“That would be a no. She packed her things and left for Boca again. She is really mad this time. You’re right; I need to consider not pranking her anymore.”
“I’m sorry Max. I hope you two get back on track soon.”
“Are things better with Jessica?
“Not much. Jessica has been spending a lot of time at the library studying lately, and when we do get together, we seem to argue a lot. You know how red heads are, but she’s cute. Why are you calling me on a Friday morning?”

Sorry, ran out of space. Here’s a link to the whole book:

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Plans-R...
or http://evershinepress.com/product/dea...