34
Jack
Mossad Base, Ciudad Del Este, Paraguay
The SAT phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Jack? We’re getting pings. You must have found some sunshine to charge things up – everyone okay?”
Jack stood feet wide, with his fist resting on his hip. “Copy that.”
“How’s your head?”
“Painful, thanks. You must have gotten a new knowing if you know I broke my crown.”
“Yep – this one was a good one though.” Jack could hear a smile in her voice. “Jack sprat could eat no fat.”
He rubbed his stomach. “Yeah, I could eat some fat about now. I’m starving for a big juicy steak on the grill.”
“Gotch yah. I’ll put some in your fridge.”
“Remind me of how that rhyme goes…”
“Jack sprat could eat no fat; his wife could eat no lean. But betwixt the two of them they licked the platter clean. So you each used your talents to get the mission accomplished. That’s how I’m interpreting this – it’s not showing up in red lights this time. It almost feels like a mellow knowing. I don’t get many of those.”
Jack focused on the ground in front of him. “I’m not married.”
“You’re engaged,” Lynx said. “Close enough.”
Jack watched Suz coming out of the shower. Ruth had come up with a dress and sandals for her. She looked like his Suz. Her beautiful red curls swirled down her back and framed her face in a soft halo. She looked like an angel. And his mind caught on Lynx’s last sentence. Was she still his? Things felt different between them now. He couldn’t label it – and that made him feel uneasy. “Maybe,” Jack said.
Lynx let that one slide, and Jack was grateful. She jumped the conversation forward. “Iniquus is arranging for a private jet out of Brazil. I talked to Rivka, that was a hell of a battle you all walked away from. The people in custody are some big hitters, Simon Zoric for sure. Black and Finley are heading down to help interrogate them. We’ll have to work out with the Israelis getting at least Simon back into the US so they can press charges.”
“When are Black and Finley due in?” Jack didn’t want the CIA or FBI talking to Suz and the kids. Not yet. They needed to get home and start to feel safe again.
“You’ll pass each other in the air. Rivka said they’ll escort you over to the airport and get you tucked into the cabin safe and sound. Just in case.”
“Not trusting my skill set?” Jack effected his best wounded voice.
“Dotting “I”s. Crossing “T”s. You know the drill.”
“Copy that.”
“We’ll hand the boys over to the Levinski family at Iniquus Headquarters, out of public view. How are Caleb and Ari holding up through all this?”
“They have Suz.” His voice was gruff. Suz didn’t turn to him when he said her name. she was staring out the window. A bright white bandage was taped to her neck. He wanted more than anything for her to walk into his arms, for her to press her ear to his heart. She just seemed so far away.
“’Nuff said. She’s magic with her kids. Speaking of her kids, Command had the ISO take Dick and Jane to your apartment, and they said you can take Suz there – you two can rest up without the world peeking in your curtains. The ISO will maintain security on her house.”
“That’s a stretch for command, letting Suz come to the barracks.”
“Yeah? Well you know maybe they’re thinking of hiring her on. That’s how I got my job, taking down a bad guy on an Iniquus mission. Suz is the reason you found the boys. Other than her? They would have vanished for good. We’d never have seen them again.” She paused, and it gave Jack a moment to absorb that thought.
Jack nodded but didn’t say anything. Lynx didn’t usually need words to be spoken out loud. He wondered if she was picking up on this whole conversation swirling around in his head.
“Of course, with Hound news creating the falderal about the president and the CIA, we can’t let anyone else know her specific role. We’re going to come up with a story. Dummy down her participation.”
“Roger. We just got cleaned up and are headed to Brazil to the hospital. Suz and I need some stitches. Let me know when you have logistics on our exfil.”
“How’s the knee?”
“We’re not talking about the knee.”