Christen
Friday, The water’s edge, North Sumatra
“I’m getting an eye tic from this damned contact lens,” Christen told the water as it lapped at the rock under her feet. They had reached the shore, and she was waiting for her turn to be shuttled to the yacht. The crew stood on the deck, holding a salute, in their snazzy white uniforms. The water was choppy and dark. Ominous clouds continued to gather. Maybe on the other side of the islands, they’d find a little sun. If she had to be here, she might as well have a little fun surfing. Then she reminded herself that Nutsbe had said not to go into the water and lose the bajillion dollar contact lens.
Gator had been with the first group that was ferried over to the yacht. Once he clambered on board, she could vaguely see that he was conferring with the security guard who had escorted the wimpy guys directly to the boat. Probably counting heads…
“Parts of this job suck,” Johnna said under her breath as she fanned herself with her hand.
“Parts?”
“Different strokes for different folks.” They were standing well away from any listening ears. “While we’re boarding and getting settled, our team will be quietly placing listening equipment around in the various cabins and public areas. The comms will pick up the conversations and store or transfer them, depending on the satellite connection.”
“Won’t that be a great big mess?”
“Each device is set to a different frequency so they’re not all on the same channel. The software can clear out auditory debris, waves, wind, what have you. You could cut down on some of that by not sighing so loudly and lessening the mumbling under your breath part.”
“I am not doing that,” Christen said. “Okay I’m not doing it that much.”
Johnna smiled. “Hang in there we’re two days down, three days to go. When the party breaks up, you’ll be back to your unit.”
“Thank god.”
“I got in touch with Grey, Thank you by the way for what you did to save him. That was some damned miraculous air artistry.”
Christen froze. Was Grey able to pass on some intel?
“I told him you were agitated and distracted by the mission you left incomplete.”
Christen reached out and gripped Johnna’s arm.
“He said they had to explode the Black Hawk, but everyone got pulled out of the hills. Two wounded, neither of those operatives were at risk of life or limb.”
“And my guys?”
“Smitty and Prominator had some wounds from the crash, other than that they’re fine. Now. I want you to focus. The boat is a nice tight space. We like that. We want to make sure to see who talks to whom and for how long. Eyes open and recording. If you think they’re in a space where they won’t be recorded try to hang out there, if you think your presence is causing an issue, leave your phone behind and go elsewhere. Okay?”
“Got it.”
“Good. We’re up.” Johnna smiled and walked toward the dingy, accepting Blaze’s hand as she stepped in.
***
After changing into a bikini top and a sarong skirt, Christen rejoined the party having their well-deserved celebratory cocktails on the deck. They’d made it through the day. Christen wanted a cocktail, but Johnna had caught her eye and given a slight shake of her head. Christen opted for Perrier and lemon.
She sat down next to Nadir. He was young and looked intelligent. Possibly, he was educated in America, which would make him more open to speaking with a stranger. Christen hoped she could start a conversation with him about what his role was in the group.
“That’s an odd place to get a burn,” Karl said.
Christen looked down at the white blister that was exposed when the fabric of her wrap slipped to the side. “Occupational hazard.”
“You’re an artist?” Nadir asked, his gaze was fastened on the burn and then they slid up a few inches toward her crotch. Obviously, a gentleman of the first caliber.
She flipped the fabric to better cover herself and said, “I try to be anyway.” Normally, she’d move away from a creeper like that. She knew Johnna would think this kind of attention was a win and would milk it for all it was worth. Christen didn’t have milking skills. She had shooting skills, though.
“Look!” Taro yelled. He gripped the railing and leaned forward. He was the only one wearing a life vest. “I told you so,” he said as he scanned behind him until he found Nadir. “Here look.”
The group moved over to the rail to see what had excited Taro. “Those are sea wasp. See the color? See the boxed shape? See how long the tentacle?”
Karl said, “Aren’t you allergic to jellyfish?” and then he grabbed her arm and gave a kind of push-pull to frighten her into thinking she was going over. But as soon as he gripped her arm her reflex had her grabbing his thumb and twisting it until she had control of his body. This told her that her subconscious still recognized Karl as the enemy of her childhood – the one who enjoyed tormenting her. And what it told the others who gawked at her move, was that she had other skills than folding paper. Shit.
“You did it!” Johnna laughed and clapped her hands. “Awesome!” She slid over to put her hand on Christen’s so Christen would release her grip on Karl. “That totally worked! And we just saw that on the YouTube video. How cool is that?”
“Pretty cool,” Christen forced a plastic grin and high fived Johnna.
Attention went back to watching the sea wasps. They were beautiful as they floated about. There was death, surrounding their boat. Well at least she was safe and sound on board.
The captain ahem-ed. “Ladies and gentlemen. I am Captain Baluk. We are now underway toward the island for your swimming and surfing pleasure. The string of islands off the coast of Sumatra means there is very little wave action here on the mainland. We must round the islands to reach the Indian ocean and there, there are some spectacular waves. These waves are considered some of the best in the world of surfing because of the good barrel, and a right-handed break.”
“What’s that, the right-handed break?” Nadir asked.
“If I’m surfing with my left foot forward on a right hander, I’m facing the wave,” Christen said, and he nodded his understanding.
“This evening we will anchor off the coast of our destination,” The captain was saying. “You will eat dinner under the stars. And tomorrow will be your day to enjoy the beach. Hopefully, there will be a shift in the weather, and you will have sunshine. While you sleep tomorrow night, we will continue on to Davidson Realm where you will disembark for brunch. Please let me or the staff know if you have any needs. And if it is in my power, I will see it done.”
There was a general murmur of thank yous, The captain bowed and left.
Christen looked up at the sky. She’d been reading weather by observation for decades. This didn’t look promising to her. She’d lay good money that by tonight it would be raining hard. Probably all through tomorrow as well. And while conversations would be easier to catch in the confines of the yacht’s interior versus the mansion and garden grounds, they should probably skip the day of surf and sand and head back to her dad’s island. But then again, that might just be wishful thinking about the rain. She wanted to be one step closer to ridding herself of her cloak and dagger.