16

Jack

 

 

Panther Force War Room,

Iniquus Headquarters, Washington DC

 

 

Jack and Lynx were alone in the Panther War Room.

Lynx looked him over, and she obviously didn’t like what she saw. Jack ran a hand over his week-old scraggle of a beard, brushed his palm up over his hair. It had been a while since he’d gotten a cut. It was long enough now to comb his fingers through. He was sweating and probably stank. Inside and out, he was in rough shape.

Lynx moved to the computer. “I wish we had Deep here. There isn’t a computer system in this world he can’t crack. I’d like to see what happened in that building. Any idea when our team’s coming in?”

“I was going to ask you the same.”

“Okay, here we go. I have an address. She’s at Itapul Tourismo. According to their website they have a tour of the dam, an astronomy hub, a biological sanctuary, a panoramic tour of the waterfalls, and a catamaran on the lake. Looks like she’s on tour.”

Jack shook his head. “I don’t know what to do with that.”

“That makes two of us,” Lynx said, turning to the board to list the new addresses and findings. “I guess we wait until the Israelis have a chance to take a look see.”

Jack took over Lynx’s spot behind the computer to find the next flight from DC to Brazil.

Lynx waited for him to finish. Without even looking her way, he said, “You’re going to start in on me, and I wish to hell you wouldn’t.” He entered his card information into the computer, then printed his ticket. “I have to grab my go bag. My flight leaves at 16:20 hours.” He lifted his gaze to make sure Lynx was on board with the plan. “I need a ride. Whatever that damned medic juiced me with is still in my system.”

Lynx looked like her cogs were whirring. From past experience, Jack knew to let her work herself through the process.

He unlocked his knee brace and bent his leg as far as it would go. Sweat beaded on his forehead and the muscles in his face tensed, even with the pain meds swimming through his system.

“What the heck are you doing?” Lynx squatted in front of him and put her hands on his leg to hold it still.

“I can’t go after Suz with my leg stuck at 180. Help me get it bent.”

Lynx pulled her hands away from his shin. “No way.”

Jack’s gaze hardened. “With or without you, Lynx. I think you can make this easier. But if you’re uncomfortable helping me, it’s not a problem. I’m bending my leg and going after Suz.”

“You can’t walk, Jack. You should be in the hospital.”

“It’s Suz.”

“Yup. It is. And you don’t know what’s going on with her. But you do know better than to go into an unknown situation without a team. I’d go, but I’d be next to no help. I’m not trained for that kind of thing.”

“I’ve got this.”

“Yeah you do. You’ve got an infection. You’ve got a fever. You’ve got an open surgical site. You’ve got a brace. You’ve got a leg that won’t bend. You’ve got—”

“Got it,” Jack cut in.

“Take someone with you. Get Titus to lend you a couple guys.”

Jack paused. “I’d have to go through Command,” he said very quietly. “I have no clue what’s happening other than it’s not right. Let me check it out before I get Iniquus involved. If I’m getting dumped – I don’t want to start an Iniquus mission to find that out. I need to protect Suz, even if that means protecting her privacy and dignity. Let me get eyes on, get some sense for what’s happening.”

Lynx wore her heart on her sleeve, something he liked about her and something he disliked about her. Right now he wasn’t liking what he saw. It looked damned close to pity.

“Let’s wait for a sit-rep before you jump on a plane,” she said quietly.

“You know that when things go down, it’s always time sensitive. Boots on the ground are what makes the difference. I have to be there if she needs me. If she doesn’t? I can always put my butt back on a plane and fly home.”

“And if she’s in trouble?”

“I’ll let you know what I find out. If she’s at risk, I’m not going after her on my own. I’ll need help. I’m not stupid enough to put either Suz or myself at risk.”

Lynx didn’t look like she was buying it.

“I have some contacts down there,” he said cryptically.

“Contacts like locals? How come we didn’t reach out to them when Suz was deplaning?”

“Local contacts whom I can only approach in person. And we couldn’t approach Suz while she was deplaning because we don’t know what the hell is going on. This is not Suz. She’s being run by someone. You know that, right? And it isn’t a CIA handler.”

“Of course it’s not. Suz couldn’t possibly—argh shit.” Lynx grabbed at her head.

Jack reached out his hand to steady her. Lynx lost focus and her skin blanched then brightened to pink. His brows pulled together. “You okay, Lynx?”

“A knowing. It was a doozy, too.” She panted.

“Jack be nimble?”

“Just ‘Jack be quick’ this time.”

“Exactly. It’s time to jump.” He reached out and grabbed his ankle in his powerful hands grimacing with pain, he eased his leg back until it bent.

Lynx held her hands out — her fingers splayed as if to halt what he was doing. – “Jeezus, Jack, that’s weeks of PT work. Stop! You’re going to destroy your knee.”