Lexi Spiderwoman-Black Widow

By Kensington Roth

Set in modern-day San Francisco she battles criminals with her powers unknown to the public, yet she's hailed as a good Samaritan, a crime-fighting superheroine. Alex/Lexi are witty, take charge characters with unparalleled strength.

An Internet chat room probe by police and FBI exposes a target list of teenage girls. Their cyber-predator search reveals high ranking individuals posing as male teenagers stalking young, innocent girls. When Alex discovers that her daughter has been recruited by the cyber-ring, she goes on the hunt as LEXI SPIDERWOMAN.

Under the cover of darkness Lexi unleashes her powers to feed her hunger for unsuspecting prey on a rampage of vengeance. The thugs are viciously hunted down and bear her wrath, as she weaves her prey into a deadly web. Caught in their lies and deception the villains fear Spiderwoman's retribution, as she unravels the clues in seeking revenge for her daughter.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kensington Roth
• Release date: Aug 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476100487

Kensington Roth

ABOUT THE AUTHORGenre Novelist/ScreenwriterKnown for his spy thrillers set in exotic locations across the globe, Kensington Roth is the author of this highly acclaimed explosive spy-thriller since James Bond. "Spies Among Us" sets the international espionage spectrum of sequels for readers and has been adapted to film by the author for moviegoers to view agent Harrison Court-006 on the silver screen.

Book preview

LEXI

SPIDERWOMAN-BLACK WIDOW

by

KENSINGTON ROTH

All rights reserved.

Published by The Harriman Group

Copyright © Kensington Roth 2011

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

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ISBN: 978-1-4761-0048-7

All characters and events are fictional.

Cover Design

by

Judy Bullard

Table of Contents

Chapter

1: Friend or Foe?

2: The Neighbor's Black Widow

3: Her Name is Ophelia

4: Peyton Place

5: Alexandra Fine

6: A Garden Stroll

7: A Storm Always Changes Direction

8: Woman Should Rule the World

9: Crazier Things Have Happened

10: The World From a Desktop

11: The Museum

12: Compendium of Conversations

13: The Black Widow

14: Gate of Golden Travels

15: The Diary

16: Chatting with Friends

17: Silk Sweater

18: Precious Like a Daughter

19: The Long Bridge Homeward

20: We Can Make it Work

21: Saved From Disaster

22: Bonfire of Supporters

23: A Friend's Help

24: Lexi Spiderwoman

25: Treasure Island

26: Revenge Comes in Small Bites

27: Flash Headline

Chapter 1

FRIEND OR FOE?

It rained that summer afternoon and few people were out shopping. The supermarket was quiet-perfect for picking up a few things, getting in and out. It also provided a haven to stay dry and get out of the pouring rain. Everything was wet-the shopping carts and her umbrella dripping on the slippery floor, as she entered.

At her leisure she moved her cart along looking at various items on the shelves. There was hardly anyone in the store. It was a delight. A female coworker happened to be shopping with a male coworker heading towards her. She disliked running into people from the office, though she didn't know it yet. Glimpsing her reading a recipe, they slowed their pace looking the other way. Linda leaned towards Ray to conceal her chatter in a whisper. Hey Ray, see the lady with the ponytail?...That's Alex from work.

Who?

You know the boss' secretary.

Oh yeah, she's the one everybody thinks is doing the boss. What the hell does he see in her anyway? She's a drip. They pretended to be shopping, eventually sharing the same aisle space.

Hey Alex, how are you? Self-conscious that she was recognized she put her head down.

Oh, hi Linda, Ray. Small talk was something she preferred to avoid, yet she had no choice.

Where's your other half Jill? Linda chuckled, then quietly voiced her opinion to Ray.

They're like slip and slap.

Jill who?, snapped Alex.

You know, Jill always at your desk talking about guys. It's a wonder you get anything done. But then again you're the boss' pet. Alex was outraged by the office gossip which in reality was the complete opposite. Every minute of the day she despised her boss and dreaded just going to work to see his face. Being his pet was a scary notion, hearing it was worse. How would you know chit chatting on the phone all day? You should be classified as a typist, you get paid by the word.

During the heated conversation Ray was fooling around with the cooking oil containers. Alex was too busy to notice that Ray positioned the containers so the slightest bump would send them crashing to the floor. Insulted, Linda put her head up driving her cart.

They attempted to squeeze past each other. Alex maneuvered her cart trying to avoid the floor display of cooking oil. She nervously made her way between the display and Linda's cart. Evidently, she bumped the display causing several containers to fall to the floor spilling its slippery contents. To escape the trap she hurried through the spill. She was shocked when she slipped and fell flat on her bottom, bringing the entire display onto herself in the process. Continuing to the end of the aisle Linda and Ray laughed, then stopped and watched Alex slip and slide in utter humiliation. In the confusion Alex's cart rolled into a shelf of red vinegar which plummeted to the floor, popping their tops. A pool of red vinegar consumed the air with a pungent order. An older woman came into the aisle and stopped short of the red mess. Displaying a face of disgust she stared at Alex on the floor, while holding her nose.

Chapter 2

THE NEIGHBOR'S BLACK WIDOW

Alex's white suburban three-bedroom home was comfortable for her means. The deck off the back of the house led to the backyard, and the porch wrapped the front of the house. The shrubs, flowers, bushes, and trees were well kept with a nice green lawn. Inside she kept a clean house decorated with picture frames, flower vases, and knickknacks throughout. Her backyard was the place for her medium-sized garden with six rows of assorted herbs and vegetables. Adjacent to the garden, on the edge of her property, stood an old garden shed raised off the ground with various-sized wood logs stored under it.

Kneeling in the garden, she was busy on a sunny afternoon doing her usual garden care making sure the parsley, cilantro, bay leaf, tomatoes, and red cherry peppers were looking their best. The one thing she enjoyed the most was spending almost the entire day tending to her garden. It gave her peace and serenity, far from the politics and stress of her job.

Amongst the wood logs were many bugs of all sorts nesting and foraging. But one in particular was a black widow perched on a web. Its underside was very unique for a spider and most certainly noticeable. Tending to her plants closest to the shed she spotted the creature. What do we have here? What really sparked her attention was the widow's red hourglass-like marking on its underside. She stopped pruning and took interest in the spectacular, vibrant red shape. Intrigued, she moved closer for an up front investigation while the widow was busy about her nest. Wow, are you something. Mesmerized by the red display she attentively watched the spider's nesting activities. The unusual latrodectus totally amazed her enough that she attempted to touch the web. The widow's unexpected quick dash up the web toward her finger made her jerk her hand back rather swiftly. It reacted to the intrusion anticipating a meal, then hid in its den. The creature demonstrated an unique personality. It piqued her attention greatly enough where she had the fantastic idea it was to be her new pet.

Standing in her driveway, holding a rake with a lit cigarette hanging from her mouth, Alex's next door neighbor cast a dark cloud on an otherwise sunny day. She was an unhappy, overweight elderly lady, not very appealing in her demeanor. Her scratchy, deep voice; ragged clothes; messy hair; and condescending manner offered an unsightly presence. Does anything actually grow from that garden of yours?, uttered the neighbor. Startled from a voice Alex let out a sigh of fright. Oh hi Mrs. Blackstone. I didn't see you there...I make delicious salads from my garden. The neighbor snickered and coughed. Unhappy from her neighbor's remarks she hurried to finish her gardening and get back in the house. It looks like a bunch of weeds to me. Is that why I see a lot bugs crawling around?, Mrs. Blackstone remarked coughing.

Goodbye Mrs. Blackstone. Alex hustled into the house and muttered, she must be referring to her backyard. My garden is beautiful. The nerve of that lady.

Trying to dwell on her new pet and forget about her grouchy, nosy neighbor, she went down to the basement. In search of an aquarium tank, it took some doing to clear out the clutter of many things she accumulated over the years. Past an old blender, desk lamp, books, old china set, and photo albums she found an old, dusty aquarium. She cleaned it till it looked like new and brought up to the kitchen. Through the deck doors she peeked to see if old Mrs. Blackstone was still around. Oh good she's taking a nap. To the far side of the shed she ran and collected branches, plant leaves, and a small log. She scanned the area for any nosy neighbors hanging around. To the house she made a clear dash and placed her catch into the tank. She arranged the branches and leaves around the small log making it a home for her new pet spider. She moved the tank to the living room and was ready to complete her operation while her unruly neighbor was napping. With an empty shoebox she quietly scurried to the shed. She knelt within reach under the shed and removed the log with the widow's nest. With great patience, not to alarm the spider, she delicately placed it into the box. Maybe you should find a new hobby, something you're good at. Are you good at anything? The scratchy voice shocked Alex from out of nowhere. The intrusion almost caused her to bump the log. Nervously she hurried back to the house irritated by the encumbrance of an old lady who doesn't nap very long. Gently she placed her new family member with its nesting log into the tank. In case her neighbor had more to say she shut the deck doors and locked them.

To have such an unique companion in her home that she can watch anytime made Alex excited. Eager to find out what type of insects black widows favored most she immediately conducted a computer search. It seemed that most any bug suited a widow, as long as it was alive, and so another trip to the shed was necessary. Through her back window she scoped her backyard revealing no white haired woman standing around with a rake. She grabbed the shoebox and dashed to the shed searching underneath for bugs. It didn't matter which kind since a widow never refuses a meal. Her presence made other spiders come out from hiding sensing a meal has arrived. Anything with legs was on the menu. Back in the house she emptied the box and witnessed her pet's delight with her offerings. The widow scampered in all directions biting each prey, then encased them in a silk web for storage. She adored its hourglass monogram and was thoroughly amazed at the spectacular showing of instinct a widow focuses on their prey. She pulled up a chair to watch her pet for the rest of the afternoon.

Chapter 3

HER NAME IS OPHELIA

Alex was preparing dinner and waiting for her 17-year-old daughter Lindsey to come home from school, a typical high school teenager full of life and energy. With blonde hair she was pretty and appeared older, blossoming into a mature, young lady. In the prime of her life she was happy to be home, as she shouted entering the front door, hi mom, I'm home!

Hi honey. I'm in the kitchen...How was school?

You know that boy Jake pulled my hair again today, twice! He thinks I like him. I don't like him at all. He's a dork.

What gave him that idea?

I don't know mom. I like Jonathan. He's cute and he's having a party this Friday night. Can I go, please mom? All my girlfriends are going, please.

You have yet to finish your research paper. Where did you meet this Jonathan?

From the Internet. I maybe home late from the party so don't wait up. I love you mom.

Wait honey I want to show you something. Come in the living room. Alex presented her new addition to the family. What do you think?

Mom it's a bunch of leaves and twigs.

It's my new pet spider.

Unless it's invisible, where is it?

Watch, I'll put a few bugs in.

Wow that's a cool spider. What's that red mark on it?

That's its hourglass. Only some black widows have it. Isn't she great?!

Yeah she's great. Mom she's a black widow. They eat their babies, gross.

No honey. That's not true. Sometimes they're known to eat the daddy after they mate.

Ohh disgusting double gross. Does she bite?

No honey, she only eats bugs.

I like the way it runs around and spins those webs so fast. What's its name?

Her name, her name is...I'll call her Ophelia.

Bye Ophelia. I really like your new pet Mom. She's awesome, except the daddy part.

Lindsey took her backpack and ran upstairs to her room to play her loud music and chat with her friends. I want Jonathan's phone number!

While dinner was cooking in the oven Alex went into the living room to water her plants, flowers, and some hanging pots with her spray bottle. She couldn't help but notice her pet spider perched on a web. Ophelia moved around a bit which allowed Alex to happily observe the red hourglass. She was in awe of the remarkable, distinctive marking. Hey there, how are you doing today? Ophelia paused, as if to welcome the attention. I see you're ready for dinner. Tonight's menu calls for high protein delicious bugs. She had a shoebox ready with assorted bugs that she collected from the backyard and shed. She opened the box and dropped in a few critters on her web. Ophelia reacted in a swift manner biting and spinning webs so her prey wouldn't escape. One by one she carried them into her den. It seemed Ophelia missed one so Alex reached down and pushed it in the open. Ophelia responded with a bite to Alex's forefinger in protection of her food supply. Stunned that Ophelia would do such a thing Alex jerked her hand back, as fast as ever possible. Ow, that hurt! You bit me! What did you do that for? She inspected her finger which showed some blood. You bit my finger. Don't you know the difference? She sucked the blood, and after some contemplation she realized that she was infringing upon Ophelia's natural instinct to protect her food. You know for a little spider you have big teeth...I wasn't going to take your fly. It's alright I don't like anybody sticking their fingers in my plate either.

Chapter 4

PEYTON PLACE

Alexandra Fine is employed with Dexxtron, an oil trading company, as an executive secretary for the president which meant the added responsibility of taking on special projects. Her style of dress is mostly neutral colors or shades of