Lynx
Thursday, Striker’s Apartment, Iniquus Men’s Barracks
Gator canted his head as he peered at the computer screen. “You look tired.”
Lynx answered with a loud yawn. She stretched her arms over her head then gave herself a shake. “Oh, you know how these things go. I’ll sleep when you sleep. But you’re twelve hours ahead, and I jumped on this band wagon already in motion. I need my clock to catch up with yours, that’s all. How’d it go tonight? Christen’s a bit out of her comfort zone. Did she fare okay?”
“As far as the fitting in, she did fine. She seems comfortable enough in this situation. It was a strange dynamic. The dad and oldest brother Karl seemed to engage with her, the step-mom and other siblings ignored her completely. She doesn’t seem to enjoy her family. Now I know who she is, flying as a Night Stalker and all, I’m confused on why her dad tells everyone she’s an artist? That don’t make sense.”
“Her dad knows what she does. Her dad doesn’t accept it. Those are two different things. You get that, Gator.”
“You don’t think that’s some kinda crazy? I’m being serious. Could he have dementia or something?”
“He doesn’t want to think his little girl is in harm’s way. This is easier for him, I’m guessing. I can try to get hold of his medical records if you’d like. It could be that they’ve already gathered that information, and it’s in the file at Langley. If not, once he gets on his island and laws don’t apply, Nutsbe can hack his laptop and see if there isn’t information on his hard drive.”
“I’d appreciate that. Yeah, I’d like to know. It’s got to be something. He’s either disoriented or he’s got a lot on his mind. Sometimes when he was speaking, he’d just drift off message or change the sentence mid-thought. He’s doing something and then just wanders away. I don’t know him well enough to know if that’s his normal behavior. I can’t ask Christen either, I’m still playing on the bad-guy team, as far as she knows. He could be distracted, but usually when there’s a big deal going down, folks get laser focused.”
“What’s going on besides there being something off in his concentration? What kind of character are we looking at?”
“Narcissistic. Needy. Surrounds himself with yes men. Likes the sound of his own voice. The brother Karl seems cut from the same pattern. The other two brothers, I don’t know that they’re rowing with both oars. Christen definitely won the gene lottery.”
“Intelligence. Character. Skills. Yes, I’m impressed with her. From our research, it looks like Karl is being groomed to take his father’s place, and the younger siblings look like they’re being groomed to enjoy their trust funds.”
“That seems about right.” He moved the computer onto the bed and shoved himself so he could lay back.
The energy Lynx felt swirling around Gator was intense. For her it had been an underlying hum of urgency and danger. She knew it was connected to him. She couldn’t block it if she wanted to. And she didn’t want to. She wanted to keep her fingers on the pulse of whatever was happening for him. It was coming. It was big. The fight of this lifetime. This? That was an odd word to insert. Not the fight of a lifetime. This. This? Huh. Not outside of Lynx’s paradigms. Not inside either. Spyder, her mentor, believed in a soul’s evolution through various lives. It had been part of the teachings she was exposed to in her varied educational career. That had felt like more of an intellectual game. A philosopher’s enigma. And this felt concrete. Whew! That was a lot to take in. Should she discuss this with Gator? Was it better for it to play out? “Let’s go back to Christen and her dad. How do they get along?”
“She’s quiet. Mostly just listens. I don’t know if that’s her natural personality, if it’s the mission, or if it’s the dynamic she falls into in these situations. She comes off as a socialite who knows her place in the old-boy world. Which, with the men coming in from these countries, makes sense. But the dad and the daughter? Night and day them two. Were you listening real time while we were at the party?”
“I was. Sounds like you’ve got an interesting excursion tomorrow.”
“William Davidson’s hanging back. Johnna White, well, Lula, made some excuse to hang with him. She’ll be our only eyes and ears. It seems to me his staying back is important. I’m glad someone from our team will have a chance to figure out why. The wife, London, and two of the kids have a spa day. William Davidson isn’t scheduled to join them for that.”
“Langley has an X on William Davidsons back. There will be little he can do without their knowledge. I’m told White will have backup teams from the area if need be.”
“Okay. He’s keeping his chauffeur and one security guard with him. He’s specified one for White I’m not sure if that’s to keep her safe or keep eyes on her. It seems an odd choice, is all. There will be fourteen guests and five security team members heading out on their field trip.”
“Noted. I’ll pass that along.”
“There was an argument about bringing all the security teams that travel with the other guests, but the yacht just can’t accommodate those numbers even with William Davidson and Lula hanging back. We had a security meeting. The Fire Hydrant’s name is Daniel, and he’s in charge. He’s focused on Karl. The rest of us will focus on the others.”
She scrawled those notes on her paper. “I’ll make sure everyone’s aware.”
“I know you have all this from the tapes, but I’m touching on the points of interest so you aren’t losing them in the hours of small talk.”
“Appreciated.” Lynx had her notes out and was checking the information Gator was handing her against the details she had gleaned from surveillance.
“We’re scheduled to take a private jet to Sumatra to do some hiking, and they’re setting up a lunch at one of the villages. I sent you the waypoints for our trek. I’d like you to check out the area and let me know what we might run into, threat-wise. Check the terrain and wildlife too. These guys don’t look like they’re out in nature much. Or in the gym. Blaze and me might end up piggy backing these guys around. I don’t think they know what they’re getting themselves into. The heat and humidity. We need to be ready with the right equipment, best we can put together from what their normal security team has on hand.”
“Wilco, I’ll hand that off to Nutsbe. We’ll have a full report up for you before you head out. What time are you leaving?”
“Zero seven hundred hours our time.
“Yeah, we have plenty of time to get this together for you. You’re meeting the Davidson yacht according to the plan you sent us. Is there a dock? I’m looking at the satellite image of the, area and I don’t see anything.”
“They’re going to be sending a dingy to shore, and we’ll help get everyone transferred over. They’re heading to an island for dinner. Swimming and enjoying the beach the next day. That’s where the surfing skills will come in. We may have to pull someone out of the drink. After dinner, we’ll set off for the Davidson island where they’ll have the rest of their business retreat. That’s when I hope to pick up some good intelligence.”
“It’ll be interesting to have eyes and ears on the island. I hope your comms are good there. We’ll probably have some black out time until you get back on the mainland.”
“That’s what I figure.” Gator’s voice faded off. He swiped a hand over his eyes.
He suddenly looked exhausted, like the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders. Lynx felt fiercely protective. The ferocity was actually kind of stunning. She wanted to hand-to-hand battle anything that made Gator look the way he did. “Can we take a second and talk about the elephant in the room?”
Gator laced his hands and posted them behind his head. “The sixth sense crap I’ve been wading through?”
“Wading through? It’s like a full-blown hurricane. I can hardly stand it, and I’m just checking in on you.”
“Sucks for sure. Near as I can tell this has to do with Christen.”
“You feel like you’ve known her all your life. What else are you feeling?”
“A personal connection. And it’s rough. I have to keep constant vigilance.”
“Because…”
“Aww now, don’t make me say this. I’ll sound like a moron.”
“Gator, I’ve been wearing you like a coat since this assignment started. I know what I’m feeling. I need to get some affirmations from you that what I’m getting is what you’re getting.”
“Shit, Lynx.” He pulled his hands down until they rested over his eyes. “Excuse my language.”
Lynx waited.
“I don’t have the words for this.” He pulled his hand away and looked her straight in the eye, then popped his brow. “A story teller who’s all out of words.”
“It cuts too close. Let me try. You feel like you have the right to touch her. That she belongs in your arms and in your bed.”
“Lynx, that’s uh—” Gator pushed up to a sitting position, leaning forward, a rare frown on his face.
“Not in a fun roll kind of way. It feels like you’ve already made a commitment to her and there’s a constant confusion on your part that she isn’t acknowledging the same level of connection. And the worst part about it is there’s a storm of some kind brewing. Something bad. Life threatening. And you need her to understand your connection one to the other or you may not make it through.”
Lynx stopped talking.
Gator sat very still.
Time passed.
“Yeah, if I were gonna tell it and be truthful to you and me both. That there puts it in a nutshell. Craziest thing I’ve ever felt. Overwhelming. I thought the level of energy that was zapping me was bad back in Tanzania when we were crowded into the hotel room getting the assignment. But that were just a tickle compared to what I’m getting now that Christen and me have met. I have to keep a sharp awareness. It’s true that it feels like I’ve known her all my life. This charade feels like I’m wearing someone else’s clothes around her. And since you said you’ve been wearing me all day, I know you know what I’m talkin’ about.” He lay his hand on his heart. “I’m sorry I’m in your space, Lynx. It’s not something I’m doing on purpose.” He took in a deep breath and let it out. “Is there anything I can do to bring you some relief?” He shifted around, worried lines crisscrossing his forehead. “Maybe some way for you to turn off our connection so I’m not bothering you?
“You a bother?” Lynx swished a hand through the air like she was erasing the idea. “If I’m wearing you, energetically it means I’m invested in this outcome. I’m glad to be here and doing what I can. You live in my heart Gator. You know that.”
Gator rolled his lips in and nodded.
“And could I if I wanted to? No. And can I tell you how to turn down the volume on what your experiencing? No. It is what it is.”
“The pieces – the flashes – they don’t fit together to give me anything actionable. I feel like I should be battling this out. But there’s no enemy to go after. None that I’m aware of anyways. And I’m gonna tell you, though I know you already know, something bad’s coming. Being out on Davidson’s Realm where we’re headed, without backup or egress and poor comms? It’s got me scared.”
“You?” Lynx scoffed. “You’re one of the bravest men I know. Striker owes his life to your strength and bravery. Time after time, Gator, you’ve been there for me and your team. You’ve got this. Whatever this is. And you’ve got me.” Lynx’s eyes glazed over with tears, her face turned pink with emotion. She felt it too. She knew. He was right, this was the end game.
“Thank you.” Gator gave himself a shake and a stretch as if coming awake. “The quicker I can figure this out, get the case sewn up, the quicker I can get D-day back in the skies where she belongs. And get me home. Make all these emotions go away. I’m pretty much hatin’ this.”