Often times a lesson learned from experience, even instincts, come back to you as little more than a quiet little whisper in the back of your mind when you least expect it.  Sometimes that little whisper comes to you when you’d rather not be bothered with it.  So what do you do?  Listen to the whisper... or ignore it?

 PART ONE

Vaughn watched her for a moment, the now open test tube of brownish liquid held in his right hand between, as if offering her the chance to taste it first.  Clearly, though, this blonde with the attitude wasn't about to offer to be a guinea pig.

"If you insist," Vaughn said, and started to lift the tube to his mouth, only to freeze again when the muzzle of the gun pressed harder against his cheek, just below his left eye.  He got the point.

"Nice and slow," he said to her and when she relaxed a bit, lifted the test tube closer to his lips.  Even as the now unstoppered test tube came closer to his nose, internally Vaughn relaxed a bit.  If there was one thing he had learned from an older-than-dirt great aunt while still a child, it was the fragrance properties of sassafras.  He hated the stuff but Great Aunt Madeleine had taught him well.

"Here's mud in your eye," he saluted the suspicious woman lightly then moving carefully, put the test tube to his lips and swallowed the liquid in it.  It took a little doing, but Vaughn managed not to grimace at the taste, though he couldn't hide the little shudder that came over him.

When his captor demanded what was wrong, he shrugged, saying, "It's better over ice with just a little honey in it.  Unsweetened sassafras tea would make Mt. Rushmore blink."

Now holding the empty test tube lightly between two fingers and his thumb, the leaper allowed himself to relax a bit.  "Satisfied that I'm not trying to skulk out of here with ... whatever it is you're thinking about?"  Keeping his movements unthreatening, he put his right hand, with the test tube, into his lab coat pocket.

Veronica still didn't believe that this scientist had sassafras in the test tube, but at the same time, she wondered, ‘What kind of scientist actually drank anything that was in the test tubes?  Not many.... that were still around... that is.’

Looking him up and down twice, Veronica slowly moved her Magnum .357 away from his eye and un-cocked it as she brought it back to her body.  "I won't say that I'm sorry, Mr. Pridgett.  It's my job to make sure that nothing happens to the specimens in the lab."  Looking down slightly to make sure that she was holstering her gun correctly, she was taken a bit by surprise when Mr. Pridgett took several steps toward her and was in her personal space.

Looking him in the eye, she raised one delicate eyebrow, giving him the questioning look and otherwise letting him know that she didn't appreciate him being that close.  She wanted him out of her space, but she wasn't about to take the step back.  She stood her ground.  "Is there something that you need, Mr. Pridgett?"

What Vaughn needed and wanted was as much information about where he was as fast as he could get it.  But rushing pell mell into a situation usually saw it wind up either an outright, dead from the get go proposition, or crippled to the point of being useless.  Right now, the last thing the leaper had was an extraordinary amount of time for leisurely games of cat and mouse, or "20 Questions".

"Like I told you," he said to her.  "Came back to get some lab notes in order to finish up the report that the good doctor wants in the morning."  He appreciated it when she finally gave a single nod then stepped aside for him to pass.

'This could get sticky, and fast,' he thought as flicked his gaze around the room, seeing about a half dozen different work areas.  The question was, which one was his?  How was he going to get to the proper one?

Stepping forward and away from the guard, Vaughn walked about three feet then paused, glanced around as if looking for something then made a sharp turn back at the woman.  "Would you...aieeee!" he yelped as he hit the floor, rolling onto his back then to his side, drawing one leg up and grasping at his ankle.  "Oh geezus!" he whimpered.  "Ohhh man! Does that hurt!"

Veronica had already turned away from him and collected herself once more trying her best to calm her racing heart when she heard the cry from behind her.  She quickly turned to see Lester Pridgett on the floor of the lab, grasping at his ankle. 

'Just what I need right now is it play nurse with Lester Pridgett!' she thought irritatedly.  She licked her lips and went toward him quickly.  "What did you do?"  But when she saw the pain on his face she didn't really listen to his answer of 'tripped'.

She kneeled down beside him and helped him to slowly sit up.  "Listen, if you did sprain your ankle badly enough, you need to keep the shoe on.  It'll help keep your foot steady.  Come on, let's get you up and at least to your station.  Then I can go get you some ice for your foot.  Okay?"

Seeing his nod and a small smile with a flicker of embarrassment mixed in, she smiled at him as she helped him up.  Putting his arm around her neck, she aided him to the area across the room where his desk was.  She sat him down on the chair then went and got another chair to put his foot on.  Raising his leg gently, she helped him settle it then turned to go get the ice. 

Hearing his small, 'thank you,' was enough and she nodded and started away.  "I'll be back with the ice in a few minutes."  With that said, she started away... this time at a rapid steady pace.

"You don't know how much I..." Vaughn winced, grimacing slightly as he tried shifting his weight in the chair without moving his propped up foot. "How much I appreciate this...officer."  He tested the last word hesitantly.

He nodded as if in agreement with her comment then promised, "Trust me, I'm not getting out of this chair.  Where would I go, anyway?" He offered her what he trusted was a believable sort of smile.  "With this, I'm not running any foot races, that's for...darned sure."

For the minute it took the guard to leave the lab, the door into the hall left ajar, Vaughn kept his gaze on her, even offering her a pained smile when she glanced back at him before disappearing through the door.  Even then, he waited until the sound of her footsteps in the evidently empty hall started to fade.

Another few seconds passed before, the tall leaper removed his 'injured' foot from the chair it had been on, and stood up.  "Now let's see what's in this place."

Keeping his ears sharp for the sound of returning footsteps, Vaughn scoured his host's desk and surrounding work area.  Unfortunately for him, whoever this guy Pridgett was, the guy was a neat freak.  'But then, most eggheads are neat freaks' he muttered silently.  Glancing around at the door and listening a moment, he moved to the next work area.

By the time he heard the unmistakable sound of booted steps coming his way, there were only two work areas he hadn't gotten to.  Still, it hadn't been a total waste.  Dodging carefully among the desks, lab counters and equipment, Vaughn slid back into his chair and replaced his foot on the chair in front of where he was sitting.

Smiling to himself, he was about to respond to the woman's calling out, "I found a small plastic bag to put some ice in," when his gaze passed over his foot on the chair then hastily switched feet.

'That's it Rickar,' he berated himself silently.  'Screw this up and you not only won't win the competition, you likely won't make it more than two minutes if she gets to that piece of hers!’  That thought was brushed aside and replaced with thoughts of real pain he'd suffered before, letting some of those memories show in his eyes and expression.

       "Ohhhh.  Thank you," he murmured when the blonde carefully placed the small bag of ice on his ankle.  "I feel like such a klutz," he confessed as he watched her step back.

'You should,' she thought to herself then inwardly berated herself for even thinking it toward him.  He had always been the one that was sorta sweet toward her and although she knew that she was doing her job, she felt like a heel for having her .357 Magnum up to his eye.  There was some part of her that wanted to say that she was sorry for it, but she just couldn't make herself.  "You’re welcome," she finally said.  "I... I hope that you find what you came to get.  Let me know if you need help out or something.  I'll see what I can do."

"I may be a klutz," he admitted sheepishly, wincing at the coldness starting to numb his uninjured ankle. "But at least I'm a thorough klutz."  He grinned up at her. 

Vaughn just nodded as the guard looked him over once more before turning toward the door again as she reminded him, "Remember, Lester. That new security protocol started tonight.  So, just in case you forgot, call me and I'll walk you to the front door." 

Vaughn couldn't believe his ears.  'This is almost too easy,' he considered silently, quite pleased to have it fall into his lap.  'Like shooting ducks in a barrel.'

Again he waited for the woman's footsteps to fade away down the hall before he bumped the bag of ice onto the floor and stood up.  Time was wasting, and he didn't have any at all to waste.

PART TWO

        He quickly stood and went to the other two stations he'd missed and shook his head in dismay.  He had learned only a smidgeon more and that was detrimental to his success.  "Dammit," he muttered as he went back to his host's desk and sat back down.

        He leaned back in the chair for only a moment as he let the information sink in that he had found.  Lester Pridgett worked for Belthamy Laboratories - a division of Belthamy Industries who experimented on plants.  'Plants,' Vaughn thought with some animosity.  His mind tried to grasp the concept on experimental on plants.  Opening his drawer, he looked inside at Lester's filing system - all neat and organized in alpha order.  He pulled out a file marked "Dawn Of A New Time" just because it reminded him of dinosaurs and opened it.

        He flipped through a few pages then reached up and pinched the upper part of his nose as he shook his head.  This wasn't making any sense and heaven knew he had to get off of his butt to get the leap going.  "Think... think..."

        It was then that he heard the delicate footsteps coming down the hallway.  Dropping his hand, he quickly put his supposedly hurt ankle back on the chair a moment before a tall blonde walked into the room, her lab coat hanging from her arm, and the tight fitting dress showing off her amble figure.

        "Lester," she said his name almost huskily then approached him. "You okay, tonight?" she asked her Sweden accent broke through as she turned her attention to his foot that was resting on the chair.

        Under very different circumstances Vaughn might have played the 'hurt ankle' bit for all it was worth to get the Swedish beauty with all the right curves in the right places to fawn over him.  But right now wasn't one of those moments. Glancing her over again - just to memorize what he didn't have time to get to know personally - he shifted in his seat a bit as he lifted his head to meet her gaze.

        "Yeah...yes," he said, moving his foot a little to show her that it didn't hurt that bad.  "Just stepped wrong. I just sat down to put it up for a few minutes."  When she dropped the lab coat on the desk then preceded to slip the shoe off his foot and then the sock, the leaper was caught off guard.  "What are you doing?" he asked as she began to gently manipulate his foot and ankle.  To keep the story in place, he winced a couple of times.

        "A little gentle massage will help the muscles and tendons to relax," the blonde said, her careful pronunciation even more of a give away of her heritage.  "My father worked with gymnasts," she explained.  "He taught me many things."

        For as good as it felt, Vaughn could almost feel the minutes slipping away from the 'plus' side of the clock to the 'minus'.  "You know...that...feels better.  Thanks..." he hesitated.  "Thanks a lot," he said a bit more sincerely.  Carefully extracting his foot from her hands, he made a show of putting it on the floor and then standing up and trying it out.  "Hey, it doesn't hurt.  Well, not much," he said appreciatively. 

Taking a few steps from the chair then back again, he sat down again and looked around for his shoe and sock.  As he put them on, he told her, "If you hadn't stopped by..."   ‘I might have discovered something to help me put a wrench in these works.’ "... I might've been here all night. But you did and now..." he stood up and demonstrated how good his foot felt, and then went to her.  "Now, I can finish up and get out of here."  Glancing around at the rather austere laboratory, Vaughn added, "After all, even a lab worker has a right to a life away from test tubes and microscopes."

“I am pleased that I help you some, Lester,” she said as she grabbed her lab coat from the desk where she had placed it.  “As for your thought about life away from the lab, when has that ever been the case? Whatever Belthamy Industry wants, they get.”

Vaughn couldn’t help but think of Lothos as she stated her thoughts of the company they worked for.  “Well… they do pay well…” he offered back and with her nod, she moved away from him to her office space a few desks down.  ‘Now what am I supposed to do?’ he wondered.  ‘I can’t do anything with Ms. Perfect in here.’

He looked down at her sitting behind her computer then slowly motivated his way down to her.  The only thing he could think of was to grill her for information in his normal cute and debonair way.

As he approached her, he noticed the nervous look and how she quickly tried to close whatever she had just started to work on her computer, but not quick enough as he noticed the title, ‘Belthamy Industries Demise?’  The title did more than perk his thoughts and he leaned up against the Swede’s desk and found her nameplate – Leda Johansson.

“Leda… what was that you had up?  Whatever it was, it didn’t look like Belthamy Industries was going to be around much longer.  What’s going on?”
        Leda’s gaze locked with her desk for a long moment before she said anything.  “It’s not what you tink,” she replied softly.  “I found problem and was sending solution to Mr. Pennington.  I not try to ruin company, but… to fix it.”

Vaughn did his damndest not to grin.  This lovely blonde beauty had the key and he was going to do everything in his power to get it from her.  Even if he had to – damn the luck – bed her to do it.  He leaned with his back to her desk and crossed his arms.  “You think that I’m gonna stop you?  Now, I need my job just as much as everyone else here, Leda.  Why don’t you let me help you?”

Leda’s eyes found his and she earnestly searched his eyes.  “You help?”  A genuine smile broke out across her face as she saw him nod.  She got up quickly and pressed him into a tight hug.  “Oh Lester.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

        For a few seconds Vaughn was almost smothered in the grateful Leda's charms as she hugged him tightly.  He almost wished -- for about two nanoseconds-- that this wasn't a part of the challenge but it was; he could think of things other than playing cat and mouse/20 questions with the Nordic beauty.  Fortunately for him, Leda released him from the embrace and resumed her seat before her computer terminal, scooting the chair over a bit and turning the monitor so he could see the screen.  He watched the fluidly smooth and fast way she clicked through several screens and entered a couple of passwords before finding what she had been looking at. 

        "See...here," she said carefully, her big blue eyes scanning the screen before she pointed to an entry near the middle of the document.  "There is the first proof I find that there is a..." she paused, then said slowly, "There is a thief.”

        "What do you mean?"  Vaughn asked, frowning slightly.  ‘Give me more, honey’ he thought.  "Someone in the company is stealing company secrets?  Are you sure? That's terrible!" he exclaimed, straightening up and sort of limping a few steps from the desk and back as if agitated by this knowledge.  Moving back to her side, he leaned down to skim the entry again then asked, "What are they after?"  Sliding a look at her, he saw the hesitation on her face.  "What?" he demanded.  Seeing the way she startled, his tone surprising her, the leaper knew he had to fix the snag quickly.

        Bracing one hand on the desk, Vaughn reached to lay his other hand on Leda's shoulder then gently rubbed her back.  "I'm sorry, Leda," he apologized when she looked uncertainly at him.  "It's just that..." he shook his head slightly.  "For all of our hard work...our jobs...to be lost because of someone's greed, it's just..." He hesitated then finished, "It's shocked me.  I want to help to save the company in whatever way I can.  And my job."  He pulled a bit of a face as he added, "You know how hard it is for people in our line of work to find good positions in our field."  Letting his hand paused on her shoulder, he gave her his best smile even though it was Lester Pridgett's face she was seeing.  "Let me help."

PART THREE

        It had been difficult to come to the United States on such short notice.  Leda, though familiar enough with English to carry on conversations and discuss the particulars and intricacies of the industrial chemical field, she still had problems with the colloquialisms and certain ethnic language diversities that seemed as numerous as there were people in the United States.  The only place she could acquit herself with a certain degree of fluency was the written word, and computers...she knew them as well as she knew her own mind.  She had been here three weeks and as far as she was concerned, it was the worst three weeks of her life.  The security level of Belthemy Industries prevented her from any socializing outside of the complex.  The only one who had remotely shown her any sort of kindness or friendliness had been Lester Pridgett, one of the senior laboratory technicians on Dr. Pennington's research staff.  And right now, more than anything, she needed... wanted to trust someone, someone who could help her in her quest for the company.

        Licking her lips lightly, she searched Lester's face closely before whispering, "The doctor's research for the ... the nerve gas derivative."

        Vaughn's eyebrows went up so fast he wasn't sure they didn't brush his hairline.  "What? I...I...mean, you don't mean his current project?"  Seeing the blonde nod slowly he just stared at her, letting her read in his expression whatever she wanted to.  Running a hand through his hair, he sagged against the desk and looked at her long and hard then peered at the screen again then back to her.  His thoughts as he scanned more than her face were definitely not on any nerve gas derivative.  There were other ways of stimulating...or overloading certain nerve endings that were much more pleasant.

        ‘Get a grip, Rickar!’ he berated himself.  ‘Maybe if there's time afterward...’

        "Whom do you suspect?" he asked, keeping his voice down almost as if afraid of being overheard.

        Leda looked up into his eyes and blinked as she brought her right hand up to her face and ran her fingers over her lips more than a bit nervously.  She frowned and shook her head slightly, her eyes searching the desk before she ran her hand back to her shoulders.  'How does one tell that they think that the other is the suspect in something so horrendous?' she wondered.

        She didn't get a chance to respond before the man before her reached out and with his index finger raised her chin to where she had to look up into his face.  "Leda?" he questioned her softly.

        "I... I haven't gotten far.  I just know someone is doing wrong, Lester.  Why... why would someone do something so... so bad?" she questioned as she searched his eyes a little bit more fervently than she meant to.  Suddenly, she dropped her gaze and ran her hand back over her face then closed her eyes and hoped that she hadn't done the wrong thing in telling him that she basically knew what he was up to.

        "It..." she stopped then looked up at him and took a deep breath.  "It's called... Dawn Of A Time... or some such nonsense."

        Upon hearing the odd sounding name, the leaper's agile mind quickly reacquired where he'd heard it, or rather, seen it.  He had seen that folder in his host’s desk drawer just a few minutes before when he was searching it.  He hadn't done more than rifle quickly through the papers in it before deciding it was nothing.  He wondered about the odd title and voiced that wondering.

        "'Dawn Of A Time'?" he repeated aloud.  "What does that mean?"

Leda, already starting to feel a bit edgy about what she had sort of said in a roundabout manner, just shrugged her shoulders.  "Maybe...he...or maybe it is a she...a woman... thinks it would be a ...new way of living?  With all the money they would be paid?"

        "...the leaper must blend so seamlessly into his surroundings as to be invisible in plain sight....must lie with such ease as to make the lie more true than the truth...."

With those points looping through his head, Vaughn wanted two things at the moment.  He wanted to get back to his desk and take another look at that folder, and he also wanted to make sure that the beauty before him who was beginning to behave a tad more nervously didn't do something he might regret. It also didn't take the brains of a scientist to figure out how to distract her.

Taking a deep, slow breath, Vaughn blew it out softly then turned a gentle, inquisitive expression on Leda.  Reaching over toward the keyboard in front of her, he reached across her and took control of the mouse.  Without saying anything, he clicked and closed every open screen until only the company logo on the desktop was left showing.  Only then did Vaughn release the mouse and straighten up beside her again.

"This will stay just between us, Leda," he promised, dropping the timbre of his voice just enough to gain her attention.  "I promise, I won't press you for anything more about it."  Seeing the hesitant, almost timid smile of relief lighting her eyes, Vaughn moved his hand slowly to cup her chin lightly.   "You can trust me, Ms. Johansson."  Turning on the smile that had melted more women to his wants, Vaughn lied effortlessly, "Trust me, Leda.  I won't do anything to jeopardize what you're doing." 

        Vaughn's reward for the lie was a breathless, "Oh, thank you Lester," as Leda stood quickly then put her arms around him and clasped him close again.  This time, the leaper responded in a more encouraging manner.

        ‘I won't betray you, gorgeous,’ he thought as he accepted her full lips.  ‘I'm going to kill you, but I won't betray you.’

        Leda was more than a bit surprised when Lester kissed her not just lightly, but firmly.  She leaned back away from him slightly confused, a frown etching her face as she looked up at him.  "Lester?" she asked confused.  "A kiss?" she questioned but was even more surprised when Lester put his hand behind her neck and slowly brought her back for yet another more firmly and involved kiss that she couldn't help but respond to as his other hand slowly slid down her back and pressed her a bit more firmly to him. 

        When she was able to catch her breath, she pushed back from him a little now even more confused.  "I... don't... understand," she said softly.

        His words came to her even on a lower timbre than before.  "Don't fight it, love," he said softly.  "Be with me..."

        Leda blinked at his words.  "Lester?" she questioned him once more.  "You... uh... love me?" she asked as his hand came out to caress her cheek softly.

        "I felt something ...special for you the first time we met," he told her.  He let his gaze drop, slowly scanning appreciatively over her neck and shoulders, to say nothing of the enticing swell of her bosom now pressed against his chest.  It was the right thing to say when he heard her admit in a small whisper, "I miss home," she admitted.  "And Lars."  When she sniffled a bit, he asked, "What's the matter? Did you and Lars have a fight?"

        Vaughn, as he listened for the couple of minutes it took for Leda to fight lonely tears back as she explained about the man she loved and leaving him angry about this trip to the States, used all the little tricks to help her relax.  He made his gaze gentle and understanding, used a finger to softly capture and wipe away the few tears than trickled down her cheeks, even stroked her hair back lightly from her face though it wasn't necessary.  But when she finally sighed, just the sound of the soft breath telling him that she was ripe for the plucking, he turned the taps wide open.

        "Lars has no idea how wrong he was to hurt you, Leda," he told her, leaning forward to nuzzle her left cheek then turned his head just enough to trace his lips against her cheek.  Nuzzling her again, he whispered, "I would never hurt such a woman as you."  Drawing back just enough so he could look into her tear-wet eyes, Vaughn smiled at her.  "You deserved only to be loved. Loved and appreciated for yourself."  He paused again and looked deep into her eyes as he whispered huskily, "Let me show you, Leda."  He saw the flicker of hesitancy in her blue eyes and waited.  Too fast and she'd bolt.  No, though his time clock was ticking merrily away, Vaughn had to wait on Leda.  She had to come to him willingly.

Leda searched his eyes then blinked as she glanced over at the computer where she had pulled up all the information.  'Perhaps he isn't the one,' she thought as she bit at her bottom lip.  'He would have done something bad if he was... wouldn't he?' she questioned herself then glanced back at the man standing before her watching her.

        Leda frowned slightly before she tilted her head to the side.  "You'd... show me?" she questioned him softly only to see a glimmer of a smile appear on his face as he slowly began to nod. 

        Leda blinked then shook away the thought that continued to nag at the back of her mind that she wasn't out of the woods with Lester Pridgett.  She swallowed hard and took a deep breath.  Her mind continued to scream out to not do anything, but she found her mouth saying, "Shall I get my coat?"

        It wasn't quite an answer that he seemed to want, but Vaughn Rickar knew that he had her in his grasp.  "No, you don't," he replied before he pulled her roughly to him to plant a heated kiss on her full lips.  It was to his surprise this time that she responded with the same amount of passion that he fed into the kiss and it only fueled the fire already growing in his loins for her.

        His answer didn't really surprise the Swedish beauty.  If what she had accidentally gotten a glimpse of in another of the labs about a week ago when working late that evening, she had an idea of what he might be going to suggest.  When he did, a part of her wasn't surprised or shocked.  It had been three weeks and for all of the courtesy and friendliness shown her by her hosts in the company, she was lonely. 

        "Here?" she questioned the rather ordinary looking man now boldly skimming a hand down between them and then smoothly gathering the front of her skirt up until he could reach what she had to admit she wanted, too. 

        "Ohh!" she gasped when his hand began to explore the damp warmth between her legs.  His next move was the finish to any hesitation she had about telling him no.  "Let me," she whispered, stepping back from him and lifting her skirt higher.

        Inside, Vaughn grinned and did as Leda asked, just watching as she discarded her panties before moving into his arms again.  The internal grin began to come out as he felt her hands busy with his belt and then the catch of Lester's pants.  As he felt her fingers pulling the zipper down and then reach inside his pants, his only thought was, ‘What the lady wants, the lady gets.’

        The moment that Leda pushed his pants aside and heard him suck in a breath of air, she used her other hand to find his and lead it up to her chest.  "You said... you show me," she as she felt his hand massage her breast.  She closed her eyes then tilted her head to the side as she pushed aside all of the negative thoughts about the man standing before her. 

        As Lester's other hand proved that he could make her breathless just standing before him, he quickly put the other behind her neck and pulled her toward him once more before he pushed her roughly back against her own desk.  Moving toward her, he did something that she didn't expect and turned her around and began to kiss at her neck as his hand fondled not only her breast but elsewhere as well. 

        Just from the way that she began to pant at his ministrations, Vaughn knew that he couldn't stand it much more.  He was more than ready, but she hadn't given the final 'go ahead' until he pressed her a bit more.  It wasn't but a minute more before, she panted to him, "Ohhh... please..." that he knew that she had finally given him the green light.

"Please...what, Leda?" Vaughn pulled her back against himself.  "What do you want?" he asked, all the while his hand busy between her legs, rubbing and probing her.  Feeling her jerk against his hand, a quiver racing through her body, he waited for her to say it.

        "Now...Lester.  Please...show me now," Leda begged.

        Hearing that, Vaughn removed his hand from Leda's body to his own. Bringing his other hand back he placed it between her shoulder blades and pushed her face down on the desk.  Experience and lots of practice made it a smooth move for him as he quickly jerked the back of her skirt up and entered her roughly.

        It took less than a couple of minutes; after all, the leaper was only after his own satisfaction.  But in spite of that, Vaughn knew that he wanted her to have something to remember to take with her to her grave.  So he leaned over her back, and as he began thrusting deep and hard into Leda's sweet sex, he made all the right sounds, moaning and calling her name, even managing to brush a couple of kisses on the side of her neck. 

        "Ohh...gawd," he growled down in his throat as he felt his climax building.  But it was just when he was about to forget everything else when he heard Leda gasp out, "I...ohhh... ohhh.... I...I knew it could not...be...you, Lester."

        "Thank you, Leda," Vaughn whispered in her ear then grunted and jerked his hips hard against her.  He waited only until he was satisfied then moved back away from the still quivering Swedish delight waiting for what he had promised her.  When she realized that he wasn't going to finish and she turned around, her need blatant in every line of her body, pleading, "Lester..." Vaughn just smiled at her.  But the smile was cold as he moved toward her, not bothering to adjust his clothing.

        "There's something that you should know, Leda," he said as he crowded her against the desk again.  The leaper determined to take the place of Lothos' finest leaper, didn't flinch when he saw the need fade from those beautiful blue eyes to be replaced with fear.  It was nothing to reach for her throat and tighten his grip.  As he fended off her struggles as he squeezed his hands tighter and tighter, Vaughn stared into her terrified eyes and told her, "Actually, Leda, you should have listened to your instincts."

        Leda only struggled another moment then went limp in Vaughn's grasp.  Another man might have dropped her and left as quickly as possible, but this leaper wasn't taking any chances.  Without a second thought, he grasped her head in his hands and gave it a sharp twist, smiling at the distinct sound of bones snapping.

        Quickly he hauled her around and sat her in chair then pushed it close to the desk and arranged Leda's body so it appeared she had put her head down on the desk and fallen asleep.  Then, he took a moment to tuck himself in again and fasten his trousers. Last of all Vaughn went to Lester's desk and quickly found the folder with the odd name.  Now when he skimmed it, he saw his host's notes about this Dr. Pennington's newest research as well as some very incriminating information.

        Flipping the folder shut, Vaughn glanced back toward the dead beauty.  "Thanks, Leda.  You were really something," he mocked her as he passed behind her chair as he went toward the paper shredder he had seen in his earlier scouting.  A flip of a switch and within seconds, the four pages in the folder, and then the folder itself, were turned into confetti.  He had just flipped off the switch when he heard footsteps approaching the lab echoing in the hallway.  But even when he heard the female guard approaching, calling out, "What's going on in here?" Vaughn just smiled, listening to the voice in his head saying, “Leap accomplished,” then closed his eyes as Lothos retrieved him.

        Opening his eyes a moment later to find himself in the Accelerator Chamber once more, the tall, dark-eyed leaper just stood for a moment, getting his bearings.  But that was forgotten in the next instant when Lothos spoke aloud in the chamber.

        “Leap completed in four hours, fifty-seven minutes, Mr. Rickar.  You have three minutes to get to the lecture hall or forfeit this challenge.”

        ‘Like bloody hell, I will’” Vaughn raged silently, barely remembering to not to voice his determination.  Shoving aside the technician approaching him, he raced for the elevators where, without a qualm, he grabbed a couple of women out of the only available car and pushed them aside, taking the elevator for himself.  He didn’t bother hearing their angry reactions as he punched the button for the eleventh level then paced the confines of the car as it ascended.

        In the lecture hall, Thames glanced at Johanna Royden as she stood at attention, then at the doctor waiting to one side for the opportunity to attend her bloody shoulder. Lastly but more important, he looked up at the clock affixed above the double doors leading into the lecture.

Eleven fifty-nine and twenty-two seconds.   Vaughn Rickar had thirty-eight seconds before his chances for the position of Chief Leaper were all but destroyed.

        Keeping his gaze fixed on the sweep second hand of the clock, Thames silently began counting down the remaining seconds…’Thirty…twenty-five…twenty….eighteen…seventeen…. sixteen…fifteen…fourteen….’

        The lecture hall door slamming open just them caused all three people already waiting, to jump.  But that didn’t matter at all to Vaughn Rickar as he took his place before Thames and came to attention just as Lothos spoke aloud.

        “Both challenges have been completed in the allotted time.”

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