After entering her apartment with Kristen at roughly fifteen minutes prior to midnight, Heath was instructed to remove his jacket and relax. As he did so Kristen moved toward the kitchen while offering him a beer, and placed her beret on the counter.

Then she asked, “Heath, could you please turn on the flat screen so that we can watch the coverage? The remote should be somewhere on the coffee table.”

Turning to spot the device, Heath replied, “Sure Kristen, no problem.”

A moment later they were both seated comfortably on the couch with a cold beverage, and Kristen stated, “Well this should work out perfectly, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely, and thanks for the invite.”

Kristen offered Heath a smile while pulling her hair back behind her right ear. Then she took a moment to mull over the final intricacies of completing her assignment, and the negative impact that her actions would have upon any worrisome investigation. She had successfully lured her target into the proper place at the proper time, and now she would kill Agent Heath Bishop at nearly the precise moment which would correspond with the one year anniversary of Texas becoming an independent republic.

At twenty minutes after midnight, while the television cameras continued to pan throughout the bulging crowd in Manhattan, Kristen asked Heath if would like another beer. He passed on the offer while stating that he should probably be on his way soon, so with that Kristen stood and informed him that she needed to excuse herself for a moment. Using the ruse of a restroom visit, she could then put the final phase of her plan into motion. A moment later, with Heath still training his focus on the flat screen, Kristen emerged from the bathroom and faced him while standing within the door frame to her bedroom.

Now clothed in nothing more than a bra and panties, she asked, “Heath, I know you said that you would be on your way soon. But would it be possible to convince you that staying for a while might be more enjoyable?”

Turning to face Kristen from his seated position on the couch, Heath noticed for the first time the true magnitude of her physical beauty. The majority of the curves on her well-toned body were now easily seen with very little left to the imagination, while her less than subtle statement of invitation could not be misinterpreted. As she shifted the weight of her small frame from one leg to the other with a gentle hip sway, Heath understood that Kristen was presenting herself as temptation on a platter.

With a smile on his face, he replied, “Well this is certainly unexpected, but yes, I think that I could be convinced to stay.”

Kristen motioned with her hand for him to advance, and as Heath subsequently moved toward her and the bedroom, she turned slightly and pressed her back to the wall so that he could pass.

Then in keeping her back away from his line of sight, she said, “Would you please take your shirt off and lay face down on the bed Heath. I want to start by giving you a back massage.”

What Heath didn’t realize at that moment was that her bra was pinning a very sharp and deadly knife to her back. Kristen intended to make Heath feel comfortable enough during the back massage so that he would lower his guard, and once he had relaxed and closed his eyes, she would pull the four inch curved blade loose from under her bra strap and slash his throat with it.

While Heath complied with her request by removing his shirt, Kristen could visualize the moment of the kill. It had taken perhaps more time than number two had desired, but she finally had her target in a vulnerable enough position where she could carry out the sanction with relative ease. Her mindset would prove to be a mistake however, as the completion of a sanction should never be celebrated until after the sanction had actually been completed.

Without first darkening the room by turning out the overhead light, Kristen moved to a position where she could begin the massage. Looking down upon his back, she carefully placed her knees just to the outside of his. What Kristen didn’t realize in her haste was the fact that Heath would be able to observe her motions via a reflection off the shiny rounded bedside reading lamp. After a few moments, Kristen made her second mistake in thinking that the kill would be easy, as she had somehow forgotten what Samuel warned her about. In the quest to finally complete the sanction, she had moved too quickly during the final moments of the courtship. Instead of waiting for Heath to fully relax, and then in turn follow a subsequent instruction to stretch his arms back along the length of his torso, Kristen reached for the curved blade with her dominant right hand.

The act of removing one of her hands from his back, and the simultaneous lack of any motion with the other, had caused Heath to gaze once again at the reading lamp. Her body position in the reflection could have implied that Kristen was about to unclasp her bra, but reaching over her shoulder to do so as opposed to around her side seemed unusual. Then he quickly realized that she had something else in mind. The overhead lighting caused a visible glimmer as it reflected off the blade, and as Kristen raised it over her shoulder, Heath could make out what it was. Kristen hesitated for a brief instant as she once again battled with the question of whether to proceed or not, while also visualizing the satisfaction of plunging the blade into his back several times. The later action would deviate from the original intent of slashing his neck, but Kristen believed that with any measure of luck, a series of quick blows would perhaps render her victim unable to move before he could react with force from beneath her. If that were to be the case, then she would continue to stab away at Heath until his life had drained from him. Unfortunately the curved blade was not designed for such a purpose. It could certainly be used to inflict additional wounds after the initial draw across the neck, but only as insurance that a deep slash and rapid loss of substantial blood had not been enough to slay the victim.

Her brief hesitation of thought and deviation from the original plan had been the third, and most fatal, mistake for Kristen. Her body noticeably tensed up when she had reached for the knife, as her knees squeezing more tightly around the lower legs of Heath than at any time during the entirety of the massage. However, before Kristen could begin any downward thrust with the curved blade, Heath, with hands located just wide of his shoulders, pushed upward with all his strength and rolled forcefully to the left. Like a rider being bucked from a horse, Kristen flew off of him and crashed onto the floor before tumbling up against the wall.

Heath instantly rolled back to his right and sprang to his feet on the opposite side of the bed before feeling a shooting pain along a portion of his upper back. The wound from her desperate slash at him while falling away was not terribly deep, but it was nearly a foot long.

Glaring at her as she lay in a heap, he demanded, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

As she struggled to regain her composure with the knife still in her hand, Kristen replied, “Nothing is wrong with me. I’m doing this for Texas.”

“Texas? What are you talking about Kristen? Why would you possibly want to kill me on behalf of Texas?”

Before she could answer the query, or get her knees underneath her in order to rise, Kristen felt the sudden force of his foot slam down on her right hand and pin it to the floor. Heath had come around the foot of the bed with more quickness than she would have imagined, and in the process another within a series of her mistakes had been revealed. Kristen had failed to have Heath remove his shoes before beginning the massage. As a consequence, she believed that the force of him stomping on her hand with a hard soled shoe had probably broken a few bones.

As she attempted to reach for the knife with her less effective left hand, Heath reached down and grabbed her wrist. Kristen winced in pain as he simultaneously pressed down harder with his foot until the blade fell from the grasp of her right hand. In that instant she also became acutely aware that she was physically outmatched. The size, strength, and training of Heath were simply too much for her to overcome, but she could still try to catch him off guard with venomous words.

With hatred welling up in her eyes, Kristen stated loudly, “You are trying to bring down Texas from her rightful perch atop the world stage, and I will give my life if need be to stop you from doing it!”

Heath could have killed Kristen in an instant with no questions asked if she had been of any threat at all to President Harwell, but this was a different scenario. Killing her may have still been necessary and justified, but there was something in her last statement which made Heath realize that she could be more valuable if kept alive. With a quick glance around the bedroom he could see nothing within easy reach which would serve his needs. Then Heath remembered the desk area in the living room with a computer that most certainly would. While maintaining his grip upon her left wrist, Heath reached down for Kristen’s right wrist before releasing the pressure of his foot. After pulling both hands together behind her back, he forced Kristen to her feet with upward pressure before dragging her toward the living room. She fought valiantly while attempting to kick backwards with the thought of striking a vital and staggering blow to his groin, but it was to no avail. Then Kristen brought both of her knees to her chest in the hope that her total weight would somehow be too much for his grip upon her wrists. Unfortunately that action only resulted in severe pain for Kristen, as the strain already on her shoulders took the brunt of the additional load.

As they reached the area of the computer desk, Heath asked, “Are you going to cooperate with me Kristen, or continue to struggle?”

Kristen once again attempted a reverse kick, but with expectation of such a tactic, Heath had turned his body position to the side so that her leg would whiff through the air. The action had clearly answered his question without the need for words, so Heath moved closer to the side of her desk where he would be within reach of a cluster of protruding wires and pushed Kristen to the floor. Placing a knee in the middle of her back and gripping both of her wrists with one hand, Heath quickly pulled on the wires with his free hand. Not caring if they came loose from the wall, a lamp, or other electronic components easily or not, he now had something to work with. Heath tied her wrists together with the heavy wire, and then with his knee still in the middle of her back, shifted his orientation and tied both ankles together as well. That portion of subduing her was not easy, and Heath inwardly gave Kristen credit for fighting to the end as she continued to kick with the lower portions of her legs. After several attempts he was able to get a loop of wire around one ankle and then wrap the loose ends around the other to tightly secure them together. Then as a final act of restraining her, Heath placed Kristen in a seated position against the wall with knees drawn to chest and tied the binds of her wrists to those of her ankles.

When Heath then stood and moved away from her, Kristen had but one final desperate measure to pursue as she screamed out, “Help me. Please, somebody help me.”

With that Heath spun back toward her and said while pointing in her direction, “You will be quiet Kristen, or unconscious! I don’t care which, so the choice is yours.”

His words were a bluff, but Heath hoped that the threat would work until he could find a suitable gag to quiet her. Moving quickly to the kitchen he thought of using her beret, but it was too bulky and could not be sufficiently secured without tape or some other measure. Then he found a drawer filled with dish towels that could serve the purpose, so he grabbed two of them and moved toward her. When Kristen showed signs of screaming out again, Heath raised his right arm as if to strike her. She turned her face away and cowered with closed eyes as if she had been struck in that manner before, so Heath lowered his arm. As he proceeded to wrap the first of the towels around her head, Kristen opened her mouth as most would instinctively do. With that Heath pulled the towel a little tighter as he tied the knot. At that point Kristen could no longer fully close her mouth as the towel ran across it, but she was still able to create a substantial amount of noise. After then securing the second towel in similar fashion her audible sounds became significantly more muffled, but breathing was not a problem. Kristen continued to thrash about for a few more minutes with a steely glare in his direction; however she finally realized the futility of the action and quieted her motion.

When satisfied that she was no longer an immediate threat, Heath reached for his jacket by the front door. Pulling a cell phone from one pocket, he draped the jacket over her knees before dialing a specific number of the local Secret Service office.

By utilizing that number Heath realized that the call would be given top priority, therefore it was no surprise when he heard a male voice say, “Identify yourself and the immediate need please.”

“This is agent Heath Bishop. I’m off duty at the present time, but I have been wounded and have a situation that requires attention.”

“Understood Agent Bishop, what can we do?”

“I’m requesting that a cleaning crew of both male and female agents come to my present location immediately.”