Kissing Fire Read Online Free PDF Page A

really getting concerned.
    “Excuse me, can you tell me what’s going on?”
    No one would answer me. Three police men ran up and
shoved me away from the table. They were all staring at the wrapped
gift and mumbling about wiring and such.
    “Ma’am, can you explain this?” he asked as he held
up the wrapped gift.
    “The present?”
    The one that asked me the question rolled his eyes.
Was that a stupid question I’d just asked?
    A man in a suit ran up to us then and he pulled out
his ID badge, indicating he was an FBI agent. Before I knew what
happened, each of my arms had been grabbed and I was being hauled
down the concourse toward a section of the airport I had never seen
before.
    “What in the world is going on?” I asked.
    No one would answer. We finally got to a room with a
table and six chairs. I was shoved into the room and a female TSA
agent came up to me and patted me down. Then she ran one of those
funky wands up and down me a couple of times. When she was done,
she shoved me into a seat. The FBI guy, a TSA agent and the two
police officers sat in the others, all facing me, staring me
down.
    “How can you explain this?” one asked, as he held up
the wrapped box.
    “The present from Melissa?”
    “Don’t be a smart ass with us Miss. What is your
name?”
    “Avery Middleton.”
    “Miss Middleton. How can you explain this?”
    “It’s a gift from Melissa.”
    The FBI guy groaned and rubbed his head. The door
opened again and another TSA agent came in with one of those big
German Shepard guard dogs. The dog came up to me and I reached out
my hand to pet it. I thought it was a handsome looking dog and I’d
always loved animals.
    “Hi there fella,” I said.
    The damn thing nearly took my hand
off as it growled and snapped at me, while the agent pulled it back
by its leash. I screamed at the top of my lungs and everyone jumped
to their feet as the room broke out in chaos. I leaped up on the
table fearing that beast was going to chow down on me for lunch, as
it was now foaming at the mouth while his saliva was gushing out
and pooling on the floor.
    “Are you all trying to kill me or something?” I
hollered.
    “That’s a bomb sniffing dog! You’re not supposed to
pet the damn thing. It’s trained to attack!”
    “Well, it would’ve been nice if y’all had told me!
Dern, it nearly ate my arm!”
    “It did not!”
    “Did too! What kind of place are y’all running
here?”
    “Miss, you are in serious trouble here. I’d caution
you to take care of what you say. Now get down off that table and
take a seat,” FBI guy said.
    “Not until you get that man eating beast out of
here.”
    “That beast is here to determine what’s in that box,
because you don’t seem competent enough to tell us.”
    “Well! Of all things. I can’t tell you what’s in
that box because I don’t know. My friend, Melissa, gave it to me as
a going away gift and seeing as I haven’t opened it yet, and don’t
have X-ray vision, it would be impossible for me to say what’s in
the damn box.”
    “Miss Middleton, are your friends usually in the
habit of giving you bombs for going away gifts?”
    “Bombs? What are you talking about?”
    “Without opening this package, from what we can
tell, this is an electrical device that closely resembles a bomb.
Can you tell us why you are carrying a bomb?”
    “No! Melissa wouldn’t give me a bomb.”
    “How well do you know this Melissa?”
    “Look, I know her well enough to say she wouldn’t
carry a bomb. Yeah, she’s a sumo wrestler and all, but she’s not a
terrorist. Although she did strike terror into the heart of Little
Dickie Mike Dixon.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “Never mind.” I was so nervous I had started
rambling now. After what I’d just told them, they really were gonna
think Melissa was a terrorist.
    “So, who is this Little Dickie Mike
Dixon? Is he part of this terrorist cell? Does he have anything to do with this bomb?”
    Oh dear God, what in the hell