Gator
Tuesday, The Dodoma Rock Hotel, Dodoma Tanzania
“Yo, good times,” Gator said as he shut the door behind Striker’s retreating back.
“I wonder where our end destination’s gonna be,” Blaze said. “Tanzania isn’t exactly known for surfing. Australia? Hawaii? Maybe Thailand?”
“Your phone buzzed when you raised your hand. Drinks at the bar tonight says it was Lynx.”
“Some voodoo ESP tell you that?” Blaze asked, pulling his phone from his pocket. “Yup, first round’s on me. Lynx sent a text: This is the house that Jack built.”
Gator turned his phone toward Blaze with the same message. “Funny, our phones were the only ones to get anything when our hands went up.”
Blaze gave a full-body shiver. “Damn, I hate it when she does that.”
Gator flopped back across the bed and laced his fingers under his head. “No, you don’t. You thank your lucky stars she does what she does. Now, what do you think it means?”
“We were talking about Jack being out because of his leg injury just before that text came through. Last time she sent one of her cryptic knowing texts it was to Jack while he was clearing the roof on the Philippine’s mission. ‘Jack Be Quick. Jack jump.’”
“Would you have done it?” Gator asked. “Read that text, run to the edge of a three-story building and jumped?”
“It’s not like Jack took the time to think it through. His phone was in his hand with the text still on the screen when he landed. I watched it fly up when he impacted. All I can say is it had to have rung true to some part of his brain. His body just acted. She saved his life. The whole damned building was an inferno by the time his ass hit the car roof. Would I have done it without hesitation like he did? Shit if I know.” Blaze leaned his hips into the lowboy and crossed his arms over his chest. “Her knowings are always right, but interpretation in the moment can put it in a different frame than what happens in the long run. Her being right is a given, but only in hindsight. Would I jump?” Blaze shook his head. “I damned well hope I’m never in the position to have to make that call.”
“Might as well ask the oracle herself what’s going on.” Gator pressed the phone icon.
Lynx picked up before Gator heard it ring. “Thank goodness! What the heck are you doing, Gator?”
“You’re the one who sent the cryptic text,” he said.
“Not that. Before that. Goats? The little girl? The helicopters? Why the hell were you awash in—”
Helicopters? Those black dots he’d visualized were helicopters? Huh. “I got you on speaker phone. Blaze is here with me.”
“Hey, Lynx. I got your message. We thought you might have some kind of lens that might bring your words into focus.”
“Hey, Blaze. I’m willing to try. I was just lying here thinking, and I got the feeling Striker was coming home.”
“Affirmative.” Blaze said.
“On the physical plane, I got word that Randy was brought in to Suburban, but Panther Force minus Honey was his escort. Before you ask, I’ve pulled all the strings at my disposal, and I can’t get any details beyond ‘he’s in surgery’. They started operating at zero three hundred hours, which seems like a bad time to begin but A) every second counts and B) the surgeon and his team are all in from London, they’re on zulu time so it was eight in the morning for them. They like to stay on their same body clock time and not switch over to Eastern Standard, so they aren’t having to acclimate and deal with jet lag when they’re doing such precise work.”
“Makes good sense,” Gator said, resting the phone on his stomach.
“It made me feel good about the team. Out of the box thinkers.”
“And Jack?” Blaze asked.
“His leg? Is looking good. Time and physical therapy are doing their work.” Lynx replied.
“Noted.” Blaze said. “And he’s built a house?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry my head was on legs. No, he didn’t literally build a house. His actions precipitated whatever you two are up to.”
“Blaze and me, we have a new assignment,” Gator said.
“Stateside?”
“No, the team is heading home. We’re staying here to fulfill a new contract. Elliot said less than ten days, and we’ll be back at HQ, too.”
“We get to surf,” Blaze added.
“Tough life.” Lynx said. “Hey, I have a meeting, and they’re expecting me now. Can we talk on a secure line later? I think we need to figure out what you’re headed into. My knowing wasn’t the full-on body blow I got for Jack. But it wasn’t a subtle tickle either.”
“Damn,” Blaze said.
“Forewarned is forearmed,” Lynx said.
“Yeah, just buzz us when you’re freed up.” Blaze rubbed a hand over his head making his military-cut auburn hair spring into curls. “We’ll make ourselves available. We have a short flight over to Dar es Salaam on the coast around dinner. Other than that, we’re cool.” Blaze said.
“Gator…” Lynx whispered then stalled.
Silence filled the room, as if Lynx’s single word had cast a spell.
Gator blinked. Everything went dark. In his mind’s eye, he was in a different time and place a flash of sensation, he was falling. The taste of salt was bitter on his tongue. His eyes stung. His feet were leaden, dragging him downward. He was desperate but not for himself. He had to save her. He loved her. Would never let her go. Though Gator lay very still on the hotel bed, in his mind he thrashed at his surroundings, grabbing for her. This time, he would save her, or die trying. With another blink, he was back in the Tanzanian hotel room, taking a gulp of air. This time? What the heck was that?
Lynx let out a low moan.
“Lynx, is everything okay?” Blaze was asking.
Whatever Gator had just experienced, it had come and gone in a nanosecond. That was the weird-assed shit that happened when he got linked with Lynx. Did he like it? Hell, no. But it had saved his life and the lives of others many a time. And it seemed he needed to save some woman. His woman.
“Yeah. Sorry. I was distracted by a...Uhm, Gator?” Her voice was somber – filled with foreboding. “You and I, we need to talk.”
“Yeah, we do.” He needed to know who this woman was. He wasn’t in love with anyone. Not even close. Gator scanned through the ladies he spent time with back in DC, not a single one resonated with the impression he’d formed. Did he even know her? How could he feel this strong of an emotion—this depth of belonging—for a stranger? Gator rubbed his hands over his face to erase the sensation. That splash of knowing had all happened in the blink of an eye, but it left a sense of longing in its wake.