Millenium Strike (eBook)

CHAPTER
TWO

September, 1999

The young man walked down the hall of the health club thinking about his day training clients. As he approached the main gym, he could hear the echoing sounds of wrapped fists and bare feet plunging against a heavy bag. Rounding the corner and walking through the entrance, the trainer spoke.

“Twenty minutes, Mr. Adams.”

The man in the gym grunted his acknowledgement and the young man turned to leave. Standing in one corner of the massive room, Garrett Adams went through a well-rehearsed routine of attack. His eyes alternately opening and closing, he practiced moves intended to punish or cripple an opponent. His grace camouflaged the deadliness of his targeted strikes. Suddenly, the pace of his attack peaked into a crescendo of punches and kicks. Then it was over.

Perspiration dripping from his brow, he stepped back a few feet and sat on the mat, crossed his legs, and took several deep breaths as he began to meditate. His daily workouts were often an exercise in controlled rage, and this time of reflection after the staged fight, allowed him to gain control and later return to the realm of the civilized world.

Fifteen minutes passed; Garrett opened his eyes, unfolded his legs, and began to stretch. The subtle pain he felt reminded him that the years were starting to catch up to him. Just shy of forty, his joints weren’t as limber as they used to be. At the tender age of twenty, Garrett recalled his elders telling him just how fast the years would go by. How right they had been; it seemed the advice had been given only yesterday.

Finished for the evening, he stood and headed for the showers. As he walked, towel in hand, he stopped to look, just briefly, at his reflection in the mirror. It wasn’t a vanity thing; he was just inspecting the goods. Still trim, his well-built frame stood just over six feet. He proudly claimed most of his original thick, dark brown hair and his green eyes were still bright and unhampered by glasses. “It could be a lot worse,” he mused. The sound of his pager interrupted his train of thought. He returned to his locker and looked at the display. “Damn!” he muttered. It was the office. He reached for his phone and dialed.

“This is Garrett,” he announced.

He listened as Mark, one of his employees, spoke to him.

“Uh huh,” he affirmed, listening to the reported news. He sighed. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Hanging up the phone, Garrett proceeded to the showers. Another night and he had to go back to work. It wasn’t as though he really minded. He owned an international consulting business and strange hours came with the territory. Besides, another relationship had just gone bad and he was a little lonely. Immersing himself in his work helped keep his mind occupied. Garrett showered, dried and dressed, all in a matter of minutes, never allowing his thoughts to wander too far from the task he’d need to complete when he got back to the office.

With briefcase in hand, he headed to the parking lot, hopped into his car, and started driving to his offices in Buckhead, on the northern border of Atlanta. “Ten years! Ten years,” Garrett thought to himself as he drove. It had been that long since Garrett left a career that had required him to travel extensively all over the world. He had moved to Atlanta and started his own business, hoping to settle down, get married, and have a normal life. Instead, he had been in and out of several long-term relationships throughout the years. By all counts, Garrett had succeeded in every facet of his life, save one. Happiness and contentment in his personal life had continued to elude him, no matter how he tried. He was beginning to believe that maybe he was one who wasn’t meant to have that kind of life.

The sedan pulled into the parking lot of the office complex and Garrett steered to his parking place. “Nothing like another night at the office,” he thought as he approached the building. He was met at the door by one of his assistants who worked the late-night shift.

“Sorry to have to call you in, sir,” the woman apologized as she dutifully opened the door. “One of the overseas contractors is pitching a fit and would only talk to you face-to-face over the Internet.”

“Is he in one of his moods?” Garrett inquired, shaking his head in frustration as his assistant nodded her agreement.

“Yes, this should be fun,” he said dryly, taking a seat before the camera and computer monitor. Thirty minutes later, Garrett signed off and leaned back in his chair. This particular business associate was always looking for an angle, trying to interpret their arrangement in a manner more advantageous to himself. Garrett would have none of that, however. Having graduated with honors from the University of Virginia, it was obvious that he possessed the intelligence to succeed at anything he to which he devoted his energies. Beyond that, life with his father had made him much wiser than his years. One would have to be quick on their feet to outflank him. However, this particular client also wanted to buy the business from Garrett, for cash. While Garrett wasn’t looking to sell, he still had to take that into consideration during these late hour sessions. He turned off the lights in his office and checked in on his assistant. “All taken care of, Karen. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Good night, sir,” she replied.

Garrett walked out into the early autumn night and headed for home.

* * *

Two nights later in the crowded stadium, fans leapt to their feet as the ball went through the basket. The Atlanta Hawks were winning yet another game at home. After several years of suffering through bad seasons, they were now enjoying their best home record ever. Across the floor from the home team bench, in one of the better sections of seating, two of the fans, smiles on their faces, and beers in hand, yelled their approval with the other fans. Garrett and Charles had been season ticket holders for the past ten years and were relishing the team’s recent success.

Garrett’s friend, Charles, was a partner in Curtis, Jackson, & Blye, a local law firm. His six-foot frame, dark eyes, and black hair made him look more like a television celebrity than a lawyer. His southern charm and twisted sense of humor also made him popular with the ladies. It was his ability to think quickly on his feet had afforded him the rewards of a successful litigator. He certainly wasn’t one you’d want cross-examining you.

Charles had noticed something distant, something different about his friend, when they had first met almost ten years ago. Sometimes, he thought he could see within Garrett a certain wildness, something just out of reach in Garrett’s eyes, almost like a window into a troubled past. But as soon as he thought he saw it, it would disappear. Garrett had never really spoken about his life before he moved into town. The attorney had never pressed the issue. To him, people’s pasts didn’t matter; it was how they were now that counted. One thing he did know was that Garrett’s placid exterior camouflaged a penchant for adventure. Maybe that is what attracted Charles to his friend. Garrett would let his adventurous side loose now and then, putting the attorney in awkward situations, keeping him off balance, just this side of center. Charles hated to admit it, but he actually enjoyed the position of being out of control every now and then. Garrett’s devilish smile could be quite disarming, and, together, the two had quite a reputation around town.

The final buzzer sounded and both men rose, clapping with the other celebrating fans. The Atlanta team had won once again. As the other fans rose to leave the game, the two men grabbed their sport coats and headed towards the exits. Approaching the car, Garrett spoke, “Hey, lets go out for a while and celebrate. We haven’t been out during the week for a long time.”

Charles responded in protest, “Garrett, you forget, I’ve got a deposition the day after tomorrow on which I require some pretty heavy preparation. I don’t have time for this anymore.”

Garrett kept it up. “Yeah, right. Are you getting old or something? I remember when we used to go out every night of the week, meet up with some women, and stay out till the wee hours of the morning. We both still managed get up and kick ass the next day.”

Hearing Garrett’s need to get out, and being a bit sensitive about his age, Charles relented just a little. Perhaps he needed an evening out on the town as much as his friend.

Garrett meant no harm with his teasing. He knew his challenges kept his friend feeling young, confident, and powerful, qualities the attorney needed to provide him the upper hand in a courtroom setting.

“What did you have in mind?” Charles asked tentatively.

Garrett smiled to himself. The fish had taken the bait. “Well, you remember seeing the news a couple of weeks ago about that nightclub that got raided for illegal gambling, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Charles answered cautiously.

Garrett went on, “Well, I heard is opened again and thought maybe we could stop by there and check it out.”

Charles almost choked on his words. “Are you...