Samantha Hunter - Friction

S ARAH J ESSUP stretched languorously under the warm rays of the sun. It was late June and the Virginia Beach hotels were already packed. The beach was swarming with vacationers: children scooping sand into red buckets under the watchful eyes of their moms sitting in low chairs planted in the gentle surf and, of course, the see-and-be-seen bikini crowd. And Sarah definitely wanted to be seen.

Shed cut her long, curly, brown hair boy-short for the summer, which just served to accentuate the strong features of her face. Her huge blue eyes, hidden by her Jackie-O sunglasses, narrowed as she perused the scene. Leaning back in her chair, her pale skin coated with the highest-SPF sunblock she could buy, she bent one knee up, letting the flimsy material of the cover-up skirtwhich really didnt cover up much at allfloat around her.

Sarah reached for more sunblock, spreading it along the tender skin of her thigh, and smiled coyly at some male passersby who clearly appreciated her efforts. She didnt want a tan, but the bathing suit she wore exposed most of her skin to the sunbarring the few scraps and strings that held the thing togetherso she was being careful.

Having grown up around New York City and used to northern climates, shed just relocated to southern Virginia last August when shed taken a new job as a computer crime investigator for the Norfolk police department. She never in her life imagined having such a perfect gig.

Up until she joined the unit, shed been a computer hacker, making her living at various part-time jobs, though she did find occasional, profitable, under-the-table computer stints in Manhattan. It all paid the bills and allowed her to buy the gadgets shed needed for her trade. Thered been plenty of full-time jobs available in the city, and with her skills she could have earned a decent wage on Wall Street, but that kind of work didnt satisfy her. Money wasnt her motivator; getting the bad guys was.

To that end, the larger percentage of her time had been spent in her tiny Brooklyn apartment, sitting in front of her computer tracking down Internet porn sites and clueing in the feds to what shed found. Shed always loved the irony of breaking the lawwhich shed done pretty much on a daily basis in her pursuitsto uphold it.

She had no regrets about any of the lines she had crossed in those days. The fact that she was a free agent had made her information valuable to the feds. She could go where the law couldntnot unless they wanted Congress on their doorstep.

Hackers were a tight community, and shed been part of it. While shed known people who broke the rules, most of them had been quick to help take down the real bad guys. Theyd been her friends. Theyd known what she was doing, though not whyand theyd never asked. But theyd helped her. And shed helped the FBI, in turn.

That was how shed met Ian Chandler, the FBI hotshot whod fielded most of her information. When he quit being a fed to run his own team in Norfolk, hed hired her as part of the unit.

Now here she was, gainfully employed doing what she was best at, earning more than enough to pay the rent and buy plenty more electronic gadgets.

Sarah gazed out over the hazy ocean horizon. She had been working constantly for six months; along with her work for the unit, shed been attending an accelerated program at the Norfolk police academy, a requirement since shed had no formal law enforcement training. She hadnt had a day off in a long time, and she couldnt have been happier about it. She loved her work. It was where she functioned best.

She smiled when a virile twentysomething paraded by, treating her to a view of his perfect backside adorned in skintight red neoprene surf shorts. Hey, so he was nearly a decade younger than hershe could still enjoy the view. His strong, tanned legs veed slightly as he stood in front of her talking on a cell phone. She reached down and unlaced the knot at her waist, releasing the material of her skirt altogether and bending forward to fold it neatly before leaning back.

He shifted, taking a slightly different anglethe phone not quite where he needed it to have a conversationand her attention perked. Stretching again and letting one foot fall teasingly over the side of her chair, her toes playing in the sand. She wanted to make sure she had his attention.

She had it, all right. And him.

She waved flirtatiously, though he appeared to be looking elsewhere. He froze.

Bingo.

In the next second, he was off like a shot and Sarah was after him. He was fast, but he wasnt any match for her. At nearly six feet tall, she was all legs and she could move. She was also very, very motivated.

The hottie ran out of steam quickly and turned, panting, smiling at her engagingly.

Hey, gorgeous.

She smiled, inclining her head in his direction. Same backatcha.

He looked nervous. Good. He should be. She stepped a little closer, her tone friendly. Beautiful day out here, isnt it?

He looked around and stepped back. Yeah. Its great.

And yet I cant figure out why people who come to this beautiful, relaxing place would want to spend time talking on cell phones.

Some people have business.

And what kind of business do you have?

She saw the flicker of panic and knew she had him. Any playfulness left her tone.

Why dont you hand over the phone and well talk about the pictures you were taking of me back there?

He grinned, though it wasnt a charming smile. Youre nuts, lady. You dont know what youre talking about.

Really? Cmon. My guess is you got some pretty good close-ups of my boobs and crotch, but you know, it was easyI really didnt even make you work for it.

He looked from side to side and flipped the phone nervously in his hand.

I dont know what youre talking about. Im going to call a lifeguard in a minute.

Go ahead. Youve been working this beach for a few weeks. Ive seen the pictures that are ending up on the Webpictures of women youve turned into your unsuspecting modelsand you know, they really arent very flattering pictures.

He stared at her for a moment, clearly unsure of what to do. Then, he threw the phone toward the surf and took off.

Damn!

Sarah lunged for the phone and managed to catch it midair just before it was washed over by the foamy surf splashing up on the sand. The impact knocked the wind out of her, but she was back up in a second and racing down the beach. Her body flew through the air a second time and she managed to catch him by the ankle, pulling him down hard. She winced as she felt something sharp dig into her thigh, but she ignored it.

All of her attention was on maneuvering herself around to sit on the creeps lower back, dropping down on him hard and smiling when she heard the air whoosh out of him like a deflating balloon. She planted her heel firmly at the base of his skull and pressed, ever so slightly. She looked over to see the phone lying safely in the sand, and a lifeguard running in their direction.

Whats going on here? He looked at her bleeding leg. Youre hurt.

Her quarry started to speak, and she applied just a little more pressure with her foot, pushing his face into the sand. It was gratifying to hear him spitting in between curses. She felt the jab in her thigh again and nodded, I think there must be some glass in the sand thereits just a cut.

Let me get my first aid kit, but, uh, maybe you should let that guy up?

Nope. Hes under arrest. She smiled. Sarah Jessup, Norfolk PDsorry, I dont have any ID on me at the moment. She gestured to her scantily clad form. This man is wanted for criminal activity in Norfolk and the surrounding area. Id appreciate if you could call your local precinct for me and report this.