The Captive Girl

by David Nees

  The woman just smiled but didn’t answer.

  “Are you suggesting that I accept every paranormal story that I come across? There are a lot of crazy people out there.”

  The woman’s face grew hard. Jane could barely return her intense gaze. “Do not speak foolishly to me. You have too important a part to play. Just as Dan needed a greater insight, so do you. Watchers are trying to help. We see farther than you see, deeper, and so can guide you if you let us. You need to trust Dan’s insights, especially his encounters with other Watchers. He brings you here so you can better understand. It is up to you.”

  She turned to Dan, dismissing Jane for the moment. “You must not give up. Help her where you can. She may yet begin to understand; the battle is too important for her to remain ignorant.”

  The woman now focused on Evangeline. Jane could see her dark eyes boring into the young girl who shrank from the sharp look.

  “I know why you are here, even if you do not.”

  Evangeline could only stare back at the woman, afraid to speak.

  “Dan saved you from captivity: to drugs, to pornography, and to your fears. I know what happened to you. I couldn’t see it at first, the darkness was too thick, too dangerous. But Dan pierced it and then I saw. And with that seeing I saw your mission.”

  Evangeline mustered the courage to speak. Jane could see the effort it took.

  “Y…you can see my future?”

  “Not completely. One’s future is never fully written until one lives it. We always can change it. But I can see your destiny, the direction you should go, even if you cannot. You can choose not to go there. That is always open to one…to not choose their rightful destiny.”

  Evangeline spoke in a small voice. “What is my destiny?”

  The woman’s face softened. Her eyes lost some of their fearsome intensity.

  “Do you know what your name means?”

  Evangeline shook her head.

  “Your mother gave you that name, over the objections of your father. He wanted to name you Hilda. It was one of the few times your mother was able to prevail over her father.” She took the girl’s hand in hers.

  Evangeline could feel her energy. It flowed over her causing the hair on her arms to stand up. She shivered; something was going through her body, an energy she had no control over.

  “Your name means ‘light bearer’. It is your destiny.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You will, if you accept it. You will learn how to live into your name.”

  “But what does that mean, ‘live into my name’?”

  “You are to use what you have been given to bring light to dark souls, others who have been damaged by the darkness of evil. Others like you. You have been given great assets. They should not be despised or refused. Accept them. They are your birthright. Your mother died protecting you. Dan nearly died saving you and arranged for all the wealth to be in your hands. You can do much good with it. It is not something to renounce.”

  “I should accept his wealth, his blood money?”

  The woman kept Evangeline locked in her stare as she kept her hands locked onto Evangeline’s hands.

  “It is the first step in following your destiny. Do not be afraid. You have time to go slow, to find your path. Dan will be there when you need him as will others.”

  “I want him to stay with me.” Evangeline’s voice came out in a timid whisper. “I need his help, especially if I’m going to accept this wealth.”

  “We each have our own story. His story is different from yours. But your stories intersect at times. Be thankful for that.” She turned to Jane again. “And this woman,” her voice was calm and full of affection. “She will come to understand, even if it is hard for her. And her story will intersect with yours as well. You have strong friends to help along the way.”

  “Will you help?” Evangeline asked.

  “I already have. I sent Dan on his path to rescue you. You do not need me anymore. The others will help. I am a Watcher who can see a little into the future, that is all.”

  She stood up indicating it was time to go. Jane noticed they had been sitting for two hours. It had seemed like only a few minutes. She had many more questions but she knew they would not be answered. Enough explanations had been given; full understanding was now up to her.

  The four of them got up and left the apartment. Back in the piazza the woman took Jane’s hands in hers. They were warm as if heated by an inner fire, a fire reflected in her eyes. Jane felt the intensity of her grasp. Energy surged through her body. Where was that coming from?

  The woman leaned close to Jane and whispered in her ear. “You play an important part in Dan’s success, in his survival. Your relationship will be stormy and confused at times. I cannot see how it works out, but I see your stories are intertwined. You are linked to one another. He is the tip of the spear in this battle and you are part of that spear. You need to seek a deeper understanding.”

  She released Jane’s hand, turned, and walked back to her kiosk.

  “She didn’t say goodbye to you,” Evangeline said.

  “She didn’t have to,” Dan replied.

  The three of them walked to the waterside and hired a boat to take them back to the causeway. They drove back to Milan that same night, each lost in their own thoughts.

  Chapter 59

  ___________________________________

  H enry, I’m going to be gone another week. I know I’ve been away a long time but you wanted me to have a serious conversation with Dan.” Jane was calling on her secure phone from Milan. “We’ve got things pretty well wrapped up now. Evangeline has moved back to Zürich. You got Roger to work on the State Department to help Evangeline get her finances under control. Both Fred and Warren are looking out for her from a distance. She’s in contact with one or both almost daily. There’s nothing left but to have that talk with Dan.”

  “You haven’t done that yet? How long does this take for God’s sake?”

  “I’ve been a bit busy. I had a lot of tracks to cover up and I’ve learned some new things that I need time to process. Plus, this is not a typical debriefing conversation. I remember that you as much as threatened to have Dan taken out if he ‘turned rogue’ as you said. I’m thinking about that and don’t want to let that possibility become a reality.”

  “I was speaking a bit hastily, I admit. But the principle still stands.”

  “I know it does. That’s why I want to take the time to make sure it never comes up again.”

  Henry sighed. “I hope your feelings aren’t compromising your judgment.”

  “My feelings all contribute to how I judge, but they don’t stand in the face of facts. And the fact is Dan was right. The Watcher in Venice was right. And it’s time for you to accept that there is something else going on with what Dan does and how he does it.”

  Henry was silent for a moment, then in a quiet voice, “I admit something else was going on, some insight we didn’t have…or we missed.” His voice became stronger. “But I’m not ready to sign on to some paranormal theory about spirits guiding our assassin.”

  “Okay Henry. Look, I admire you more than you might guess, but in this case, I’ve got to tell you to keep an open mind. You don’t have to use any words that offend your sense of rationality, but something else was going on here to make the connection between Evangeline and the huge network of terror operations we uncovered.” She paused, “Just keep an open mind, please?”

  The next day Dan and Jane drove to Porto Santa Margherita. They boarded Dan’s catamaran and put out to sea on a fresh northwest wind. The yacht was forty-five feet long and twenty-five feet wide. Four cabins were nestled in the two hulls. The connecting bridge deck, above the hull cabins, housed the galley, eating saloon and navigation station. Behind the bridge deck cabin was a broad, open cockpit with twin helm stations on either side of the boat. Clearing the harbor, they raced downwind towards the Dalmatian coast at twelve knots. Dan had set on
e reef in the main sail and flew the working jib.

  The yacht could go much faster, but Dan had no desire to drive her near her limits, especially sailing short-handed. The ride, while lumpy at times was under control. Jane spent some time sitting forward, in front of the bridge deck cabin. Ahead of her was a woven netting strung between the two hulls that extended from where she sat to the bows. You could see the bows going through the water which flowed under the netting. She was mesmerized by how they plunged through the waves, sometimes piercing them with a shower of water thrown up and sometimes riding up their backs to then surf downward, the yacht accelerating and both bows hissing with spray flying.

  After watching the show for an hour, she worked her way back to the bridge deck, behind the cabin. The auto pilot was doing a good job of keeping up with the yacht’s motion. Dan poured Jane a cup of coffee.

  “Aren’t you going to get tired?” She asked.

  “This invigorates me. A sailor doesn’t want to waste such a fair wind. We can be down to the islands off Croatia before dawn. Stay up tonight and enjoy the downhill ride and we can sleep in tomorrow.”

  “If the boat drives itself, do you need to stay up?”

  Dan gave her a questioning look. “You can’t leave the boat alone, someone always has to keep watch, even if it steers itself.”

  Jane studied him. “You really do love this don’t you?”

  “I feel alive out here, safe and alive. I can turn off my constant surveillance mode and relax.” He looked around. “See any threats?”

  Jane scanned the horizon. “Nothing, Captain,” she replied.

  “That’s the point.”

  “What if a boat comes in sight?”

  “There’s a system called AIS. All commercial boats have them, as do many private yachts. It’s built into the marine radios now. It broadcasts the identity of a vessel. If one comes in sight, I turn on the AIS and can see what it is, how large it is, it’s bearing and speed, and even where it’s headed.”

  “And if a boat doesn’t have it?”

  “Then I go into caution mode. My street instincts kick back in. But for the most part, I can let that part of me relax.”

  Jane smiled at him. She was beginning to understand the sailing just might be one of the things that would keep Dan sane in his work. He really couldn’t relax in his Venice estate as nice as that was. Someone could always uncover who he was and where he lived. But out here? If Dan didn’t register a destination, no one would know where he went. He could sail away into privacy and security, at least for a while.

  “I’ll make us something to eat,” she said to Dan as the sun dipped in the west.

  Dan smiled at her as he sat at the helm. He didn’t have to steer. The auto pilot kept the yacht on the compass course Dan had set. He did keep a relaxed watch, checking the wind and scanning the horizon every few minutes. The AIS system showed only two freighters heading north to Venice and one passenger ship heading south. Both were well to the west. Dan could barely see them with his binoculars. He turned the system off. The weight of the past months began to drain out of him. He was sailing away to hide from the world with a woman he admired and, if he was honest, had much affection for. He savored the moment.

  A half hour later, Jane came out from the galley with a plate of scrambled eggs. They were mixed with sausage and vegetables.

  “I made a one plate meal like you suggested. I call it ‘Eggs with Stuff in Them’.”

  Dan laughed. “It’ll never be popular with that name. You need to come up with something more exotic.” He thought for a moment. “How about ‘Eggs al Forno con Verdure’?”

  “That should make it taste better.”

  They drove on through the night. Dan walked around the decks occasionally but always returned to the seat at the helm. The large steering wheel moved obediently to the commands of the auto pilot, keeping the yacht on its set course. Jane helped by bringing him snacks and drinks—coffee and juices. By 1:00 am Jane was asleep on the padded bench seat in the saloon inside the bridge deck cabin. Dan could see her from his helm position. He liked the fact that she was there. He liked the fact that she wasn’t sea sick. The ride was enough to affect anyone sensitive to motion sickness but Jane seemed blissfully free of symptoms. She was enjoying the adventure and now had relaxed enough to fall fast asleep.

  At 3:00 am they were off Cape Kamenjak. Dan cut close to the island Otok Fenoliga and headed across the sound, keeping a close eye out for the Venice-Rabac ferry. Two hours later they crossed the north cape of Otok Unije and a half hour later were headed up a narrow bay to a sheltered anchorage.

  Jane awoke when Dan got to work starting the auxiliary motors and furling the sails.

  “Are we there?”

  “Another half hour of motoring and we’ll anchor.”

  The sun was just coming up when Dan dropped anchor. They were alone. The bay was a half mile wide and five miles long, running south to north. The headlands gave it great protection from the northerly winds. It was quiet and still.

  Dan stretched and yawned. “Time for some sleep, at least for me.”

  “I think I’m going to watch the sun come up, then I’ll take another nap,” Jane replied.

  As Dan turned to go down into the cabin inside the hull, Jane grabbed his arm and turned him around. She reached up and kissed him.

  “Thank you for taking me out. This is very special.”

  “You are very welcome. You seem like a natural. No sea sickness.”

  He headed down to one of the cabins to sleep. Jane wrapped a blanket around her and went forward to sit on the trampoline and watch the colors slowly change off the starboard bow as the sun rose.

  Dan slept until noon. The two enjoyed a leisurely lunch on deck. There was little wind in the anchorage and the early September sun was warm. After lunch Dan said he was going for a swim.

  “So soon after you ate? Didn’t your mother tell you you’d get a cramp?”

  “We grew up in Brooklyn. Nobody in my family knew about that old wives’ tale. Besides, I’m not going to swim across the bay, just around the yacht.”

  He found his swim trunks and put on some fins, a mask, and snorkel.

  “May as well check the hulls for barnacles and other growth while I’m in the water.”

  He jumped in. Jane watched him glide around the hulls and disappear between them. She ran down into the cabin and put on a suit she had purchased before they left. She stood on the rear beam that formed the back of the cockpit in the stern. It was just over three feet high. One could sit on it. It spanned the width of the catamaran and held the winches and control lines for the sails. She stood up on the beam and executed a perfect swan dive into the clear, blue water.

  When she came up to the surface, Dan was treading water and clapping.

  “I give you a 9.5.”

  “Only 9.5? I thought it was a 9.8 at least.”

  “Degree of difficulty held you back, dear.”

  He took a breath and dove under the water. Jane watched him swim with powerful strokes and glide along the bottom of the starboard hull, running his hand along it. She swam between the hulls and was at the bow when Dan came back up.

  “Everything good down there?”

  “Yep. The underwater parts of the two hulls are pretty clean. They’re painted with a special paint that restricts marine growth, but they still have to get scraped occasionally.”

  They swam around for some time with Dan occasionally disappearing and then coming up from below to grab her toes. The first time Jane legitimately squealed in fright, not knowing if some sea creature was attacking. After that it was just to give Dan the expected reaction.

  Later they were relaxing in the sun again, each with a glass of wine. Dan couldn’t help noticing Jane’s athletic figure. Her legs were sleek and well formed, like a distance runner. Her upper body also showed her athleticism. The effect on Dan was strong. Jane was physically a trim, fit, and sexy woman. She coupled that with a strong, intel
ligent personality. It was much the way he remembered Rita.

  “Dan we have to talk about your improvising. Henry is worried. He said some things about the danger of field agents going rogue—”

  “Is Henry worried about me going rogue?”

  “The worry did cross his mind.”

  “But I was right about this operation. The Watcher was right.”

  “I know that now…and Henry knows it. But he gets worried.”

  “I like Henry, but it isn’t right for him to sit back in DC and second guess me.”

  “He’s had to do that for all his field agents. And he wasn’t always in DC. Henry ran operations from Vienna, Moscow and Beirut. He’s experienced in field work. He’s seen agents go off the reservation, so to speak.”

  “And he’s had to take care of them, I’m guessing. Is that what he threatened?”

  Jane reached over to take Dan’s hand.

  “He just mentioned he’s had to do it before. And he finished by saying he hoped he wouldn’t have to do it…with you.”

  Dan scowled.

  “He really has your best interests at heart.”

  “I’m not so sure about that.”

  Jane’s fingers intertwined with Dan’s. He made no attempt to pull his hand back.

  “Look how am I supposed to operate? I’m not a regular agent you keep on a short leash with a specific task to follow, a specific script. I’m supposed to be out there, freelancing. That’s going to look a lot like ‘going rogue’.”

  Jane took back her hand and sipped her wine.

  “Tell me,” Dan continued, “How do I do what you called me to do? You now know that you and I are part of a larger battle going on. I hope the Watcher impressed that upon you.”

  Jane nodded. She was staring into Dan’s eyes.

  “Well, Henry is part of that as well. He has to let me have the freedom to work however I need to. Hell, if I’m caught or compromised, I don’t get any backup. I’m on a tightrope without a net. Now Henry wants to impose some limitations. Like asking me to jump through a hoop while balancing on that rope.”