Chapter 3
Flying over the western mountains of Canada, Marc viewed a valley surrounding a lake. Thick, lush forests as far as the eye could see, separated by rivers but no roads. Thinking ahead, with the knowledge that he could fly a water-landing plane to land on the lake, he smiled in appreciation of the untouched nature. God, what would I give to be able to hike and camp there? Deciding he would consider this as a possible vacation spot for next summer, he checked on his flight controls. The trip so far had been easy. He’d flown from Virginia to Washington the previous day and now was flying north on the last leg of his journey to Alaska.
A snow storm was predicted within a few days, but he and Dr. Rhodes would leave ahead of it and should be well away by the time the snow arrived.
Several hours later he landed at Fairbanks International Airport, taxiing to the hangar he had been directed to. Knowing the FBI had cleared one for him, he pulled inside, with the doors to the large hangar closing behind him. Climbing from the cockpit, he observed as a man walked from an office to greet him.
The tall man, with trimmed salt and pepper hair, stepped forward with his hand out as Marc’s feet landed on the concrete floor.
“Marc Jenkins? I’m Kevin Pierce, FBI contact here in Fairbanks. Good to have you arrive safely.”
Kevin’s handshake was firm but, Marc noted, was not used as a power play, something he had often faced in his days in the CIA when someone wanted to show whose dick was bigger. Nodding in appreciation, he replied, “Nice to be here too.”
Walking alongside Kevin, Marc listened as the FBI agent ran through the details for the Fairbanks portion of the mission. “We’ve got you booked in the same hotel as the symposium, though you won’t be meeting Dr. Rhodes until tomorrow morning when you’re back here. But you can rest, relax, have dinner, just enjoy yourself tonight.”
Marc turned toward his Cessna and began, “I’ll need—”
“We’ll have you refueled by the time you get here tomorrow.”
Nodding, Marc added, “I’ve got my own supplies and emergency equipment.”
“Good, good,” Kevin smiled, “but we’ll have some things for you as well.”
By this time, they had made their way to the dark-windowed SUV that screamed FBI, and Marc grinned as they climbed aboard. So much for not being noticed.
The drive to the hotel was uneventful, affording Kevin the opportunity to keep up a running dialog about the area. “Fairbanks is the largest city in the interior of Alaska, but” he chuckled, “we’ve only got a population of about thirty-five thousand people. Not all that large compared to most major cities.” He perked up, adding, “But we are known as the coldest city in America!”
Pulling to the front of the large hotel and conference center, Kevin let Marc off at the door and, as he turned to grab his overnight bag, Kevin called out, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning at eight o’clock.”
With a mock salute, Marc headed through the massive glass doors, the blast of heat a welcome relief from the frigid air outside. At the registration counter, he checked in, receiving his room card.
“We hope you’ll be very happy during your stay,” the efficient receptionist said. Her perky smile was firmly in place as she leaned conspiratorially over the counter toward him, lowering her voice to a whisper, “We have a conference going on and if I were you, I’d get your dinner a little early so that you can eat before all the others come into the restaurant.”
Smiling, he thanked her and made his way to the elevators. Stepping out onto the eleventh floor, he walked quietly down the carpeted hallway to his room. Entering, he was pleased to see a king bed suite. Walking over to the windows, he looked out over the Fairbanks skyline. The sun had already dropped low into the sky even though the evening was still several hours away.
Turning around, he grinned when his eyes landed on the plush robe lying across the thick comforter on the bed. No way that’ll fit me…even if I was a robe-kind-of-a-guy.
Making a security sweep of the room, he found it clean before opening his bag, pulling out fresh clothes. Moving into the large bathroom, he stepped into the shower. The hot water sluiced over his body as he washed off the sweat, the travel fatigue flowing down the drain as well.
Refreshed, he dressed for dinner in dark slacks and a pale blue dress shirt. Securing his room, he made his way back down to the hotel’s restaurant and lounge. His eyes traveled to the bar running along the wall and he noticed a woman sitting alone, her gaze raking over him. She was a beauty with blonde hair curling down her back and heavy makeup emphasizing her blue eyes and pouty lips. Her tight black dress had a slit up the side that bared her thigh, showing off a toned leg. She turned toward him, allowing the deep V of her dress to expose her impressive cleavage. She lifted her drink in a salute and her wink gave little doubt to her invitation. But the high maintenance look she sported did not appeal to him—not even for a night’s fun. Turning away, he heard a slight gasp from her, causing a smile to slip across his face. I guess she’s not used to someone turning away.
Moving to a table near the opposite wall, offering a view of the whole restaurant as well as a bank of windows at the back, he settled into his seat. After the waitress served his drink and took his dinner order, a large group of people came in, all talking at the same time. Looking over, he observed the eclectic ensemble, sure he was seeing many of the symposium attendees.
“Dr. Rhodes—”
Marc’s head jerked around to see who was being spoken to, but a group of older men in suits, all with grey hair, were standing at the hostess station waiting to be seated, making identification difficult. As they walked past his table, he recognized Kenneth Rhodes. Silver hair. Goatee. Wire-framed glasses. Tweed jacket.
Glad to have laid eyes on his mission, he turned back to his steak, now that the waitress had delivered it. The food was surprisingly good and as he finished he gazed out the window overlooking a park. The dark night now created a mirror effect with the glass and he noticed a woman sitting alone at a table nearby, her head in her hand. Glancing over his shoulder to see if anyone else had noticed her distress, he observed as the waitress approached.
“Are you all right, ma’am?”
The woman lifted her head and offered a wan smile. “Yes, I just have a slight headache.”
“The reception desk will have some aspirin, if that will help.”
The woman’s pained smile focused on the attentive server. “Thank you, but I have some medication in my room. I’ll take some as soon as I finish my soup.”
The server nodded sympathetically and walked away. Marc, concerned, continued to keep an eye on the woman. She finished her light meal and stood, wavering slightly as she held onto the back of the chair. He rose to assist but she gathered her strength and moved past him, leaving the restaurant.
Sitting back down he called the waitress over and nodded toward the now empty table, saying, “I believe the young woman was too ill to stay any longer and left. I’ll take care of her meal as well as mine.”
“Oh, thank you,” the young server gushed. “I didn’t even notice she was finished. That’s very kind of you, but don’t worry about it. She gave us her room number to add it to her stay when she came in.”
“Really, I insist.” Unwilling to look too closely at why he wanted to help the woman so much, he quickly settled the bills and walked back to the elevators, seeing the door just about to close. Throwing his hand out, he stopped the doors and stepped in quickly. To his surprise, the woman was in the elevator. She had a wet napkin from the bathroom in her hand and stepped aside so he could press his floor button.
“Are you all right?” he asked, seeing the pain evident in her eyes.
“I will be,” she replied softly as though it hurt to speak. “This will help.” She held up the napkin and pressed it to her head. “I get these a lot, but this one came on so suddenly, and my medicine is upstairs.”
“Nothin’ worse than feeling sick on a trip,” he commiserated, then immediately wondered why he felt the need to continue talking to her when she clearly wasn’t feeling well.
She was a head shorter than he was, neither short nor tall. Her brown hair was pulled severely back from her face and twisted into a bun. Black rimmed glasses were perched on her nose and a wisp of lipstick appeared to be her only makeup. Her unadorned white blouse was tucked into navy slacks, paired with a matching navy blazer. Completely different from the woman sitting at the bar, but she pulled his attention. Maybe it was how fragile she appeared, as though a stiff wind would blow her over. Sighing, he turned his gaze to the lighted numbers over the elevator doors.
Marc noticed they were both traveling to the eleventh floor. As the doors opened, he held the door as she passed through. Walking side by side, she twisted her head, her eyes wide as she looked up at him. He noticed and quickly said, “I’m not following you, I promise.” Stopping at his door, he held up his room card between his fingers. “This is me. I hope you feel better.”
She stopped at the door across the hall from him and offered a slight smile. “Thank you,” she murmured before turning back to her door.
He watched her enter before walking into his own room. Later, falling into bed, his mind was on the woman across the hall. She was pretty, but compared to the dolled-up or athletic women he usually noticed, there was something vulnerable that called to him. Rolling over, he punched his pillow, willing sleep to come, as he tried to plan for his mission tomorrow. But his sleep was filled with the woman across the hall as they were both chased by demons in his dreams.
*
“So, have you met any Alaskan hotties?”
Rolling her eyes, Kendall held her phone between her ear and shoulder while slipping on her flannel pajama bottoms. After that, she pulled on her thick socks. With her research assistant convinced that the streets of Alaska were teeming with handsome mountain-men, she replied, “I hardly think that a bioterrorism symposium full of scientists and researchers is the place to find one!”
“But everyone knows that there are more men than women in Alaska. In fact, it ranks as the number one state in the imbalance between the sexes!”
“Karen, I flew in the day before the symposium, have done nothing but sit in one meeting after another, my head is splitting, and I fly back to Louisiana tomorrow. Just when was I supposed to get out and discover this inequity?”
Unable to come up with an answer, the phone line was silent for a moment. Finally, Karen prompted, “Well, at least tell me you met someone interesting in the hotel bar! I mean, seriously Kendall, you need to get out more. Life should be an adventure!”
A flash of the man from the elevator, who was this very moment across the hall, flew through her mind as a smile spread across her face. Tall, broad-shouldered, handsome in a rugged way. Sighing, she responded, “Nope, sorry. No adventures on this trip. Listen, enough about men…or my lack of finding one. I emailed you the notes from the last meeting. Did you get them?”
“Yes and I’ll start working on them tomorrow.”
Sitting on the bed, she let out a sigh, thinking of all that she would need to do once back in the lab.
“I hear that sigh, Kendall. You’re already making lists!”
“Lists keep me organized—you know that!”
“Stop worrying about the research. There’ll be plenty of time to get everything done when you get back. You said you had a headache? Are you warm enough? I know you hate the cold.”
“Yes—I’ve taken some pills for the headache. And I’m trying to get warm. I took a hot bath, I’ve got my socks on, and I’m getting into bed under the thick covers. I’ll be asleep soon.”
“Okay,” Karen sighed. “It’s too bad though that you didn’t meet some big, macho, Alaskan man at the hotel’s bar.”
Kendall laughed as she disconnected, her mind drifting to the man across the hall. Curling up, she jerked the covers to her chin, relishing the soft, warm bed. As she relaxed, she tried to keep up with the lists of things she needed to do, but a tall, dark-haired man filled her dreams.
*
The two dark-cloaked figures slipped around the large brick building on the edge of the campus of Louisiana State University. Stopping at the corner, hidden by tall bushes, they shifted their gazes around, carefully scanning the area.
“Do you think the security is still intact or has it been disabled as promised?”
Shrugging, the second person replied, “Don’t know, but our instructions were to get in and get out quickly, no matter what.”
Slipping through a window, strategically left unlocked, they padded down a long hall, coming to stairs near the back. The Do Not Enter sign on the door was no hindrance to them, knowing it led to the Biomedical Research Center. Immediately an alarm sounded and the two jolted as they looked at each other.
“Shit!” one cried as they tripped over each other in their effort to run back down the hall. Diving through the still open window, one landed on the other in the bushes. With furtive glances around, they ran to the nearest building, allowing its deep shadows to hide them as they continued across campus until coming to their van.
Climbing inside, they sat panting for a few minutes, neither saying anything as they watched police cars race down the main street toward the NCBRT.
“Was that supposed to happen?”
Nodding, the one in charge said, “I think so. We weren’t instructed to take anything…just to cause a ruckus.”
As more sirens filled the night air, one replied, “Looks like we were successful, then.”
With a grin, the driver started the van and pulled slowly out onto the road in the opposite direction.
*
Rising early, Marc showered before throwing his toiletries into his overnight bag. Zipping it closed, he scanned the room as he walked to the door. Once in the hall, he stared at the door opposite his and thought about the woman inside. I hope she feels better. As soon as that crossed his mind, he wondered what it was about her that brought out a sense of protectiveness. Maybe it’s because she looked delicate. But not my type at all! Deciding he needed coffee to get thoughts of her out of his mind, he made his way to the elevators. As the doors closed, he glanced back to her door once more, a strange sense of regret hit him, knowing he would never see her again.
In the lobby, it was obvious the symposium had ended as many guests crowded around the desk to check out with full luggage carriers and multiple calls for taxis being made. Towering over the others, Marc leaned forward and dropped his room card off at the desk before making his way through the throng. Seeing a coffee kiosk at the side of the lobby, he made his way over, smiling at the harried woman behind the counter.
“You’re in luck,” she said, returning his smile. “Just got a new pot so it’s fresh.”
“I appreciate it,” he replied, reaching for the proffered cup. Taking a quick slurp of the hot brew, he closed his eyes, willing the caffeine to kick in quickly. Turning, he scanned the crowd to see if Dr. Kenneth Rhodes was in the lobby, but saw no one he recognized. Especially not the woman from across the hall. Shaking his head, he figured she was still in bed, probably with an eye mask over her face.
Moving through the crowded lobby once more, he stepped outside and saw the dark windowed SUV. With a wave, it weaved through the taxis and stopped in front of him. A bright-eyed young man was behind the wheel.
“Mr. Jenkins?”
Nodding, Marc threw his bag in the back and climbed into the front seat.
“I’m Henry…Henry Tomlin. But everyone calls me Hank. I’ll be your driver to the airport this morning. How was your night? Did you sleep well? I know you’ve got a long flight today, so…”
Marc took another sip of coffee as Henry droned on, seemingly willing to talk and not wait for answers. After a moment he noted the silence and glanced to the side, observing the blush traveling over Hank’s face. “Uh…I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Ducking his head, Hank replied, “No, no, Mr. Jenkins. It’s me…I tend to babble too much when I meet someone. I’ve only been with the agency for a short while and this is the first time I’ve gotten to do anything by myself.”
Chuckling, Marc tried to think back to when he had been that enthusiastic and recalled when he first began working for the CIA he had felt very similar. “It’s okay, Hank. That kind of enthusiasm is good. Hang on to it during the times when the job gets to be more than you can handle.”
The rest of the ride to the airport was filled with conversation as Marc listened to Hank talk about Alaska, the local FBI office, and his desire to begin investigating cases. As they pulled up to the security gate on the side of the airport, Hank showed his badge and began driving through. Looking out his window, Marc saw the large airport terminal to the right as Hank made a left and drove down a side road, hangars on either side. In a moment they came to the same large hangar where Marc left his plane the day before.
Driving inside and waiting until the metal doors slid closed behind them, both men alighted from the SUV. Marc grabbed his bag from the back and moved to the front to shake Hank’s hand, assuming he was leaving.
“It was nice meeting you, Mr. Jenkins, but I’m staying until you lift off.” Hank’s eyes cut over to the Cessna and he said, “Is there anything I can do to help you get ready before Dr. Rhodes gets here?”
“No thanks,” Marc replied. “I’ve got my own checks to do.” He turned and walked over to his plane, walking around it carefully, beginning his checks. He looked at the fuselage and empennage, the right and left wings, the right and left wing trailing edges, and the nose. Climbing into the cabin, he carefully completed his pre-flight checks. Moving to the back of the small cabin he saw his duffle bags and made his way over to unzip the closest one, taking stock of what he and Bart had packed.
Just as he was about to check the second bag he heard a commotion outside and, leaning back, noticed a vehicle entering the hangar. Hank called out, “Dr. Rhodes is here,” and the young agent walked to the back passenger door of a SUV that appeared identical to his. Kevin jumped down from the driver’s seat and was walking around as Hank opened the door and assisted…Who the fuck is that? As a woman alighted and turned around, Marc stared into the face of the woman he met last night in the elevator.
Her business attire was exchanged for a light blue, turtleneck sweater and slim jeans. Wearing flat shoes, she appeared even shorter than she had in the elevator. She carried a coat in her arms, along with a purse and large tote bag.
Jumping down from the wing Marc stalked toward the SUV, catching the exact second the woman looked up and recognized him. Her head cocked to the side in question but, before she could speak, Marc got there first.
He stopped directly in front of her, forcing her to lean her head way back to keep her eyes on his. “Who the hell are you and where is Dr. Rhodes?” Marc bit out, noting her wide-eyed expression.
“Um…” she glanced to the side, her eyes searching Kevin’s for a second, before turning back to Marc. “I’m Dr. Rhodes.”
“You are definitely not Dr. Kenneth Rhodes!” Marc growled.
She straightened her back as she looked him directly in the eyes. “No…Dr. Kenneth Rhodes is my father. I’m Dr. Kendall Rhodes.”