Iris Johansen

by The Ugly Duckling

  She breathed a sigh of relief and moved toward Tanek. “He’s going with us.”

  “So I gathered. Anyone else?”

  She ignored his sarcasm and jumped into the water. “Come on, Peter.”

  He was frowning at Tanek, who was striding ahead of them through the water. “Is he mad at me?”

  “No, it’s just his way.”

  They moved swiftly for the first hour and a half, but after darkness fell, their pace slowed.

  The swamp was even more eerie and frightening in the darkness. Every splash was an unknown threat, every swoop of wings startling. Nell kept her gaze fastened on the glimmer of Tanek’s white shirt ahead of her and away from the moss-draped trees.

  “The road’s just ahead,” Tanek said over his shoulder as he moved quickly out of the trees and up the bank. “The car’s parked only a few yards from here.”

  She drew a sigh of relief. They were almost done with this ordeal.

  Not quite.

  Tanek was standing in the middle of the road, cursing, when she and Peter struggled out of the water and trudged toward him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “The car’s not here.”

  “Someone stole it?”

  He was looking around him. “No, that rain tree doesn’t look familiar. I must have angled wrong.” He frowned. “The damned car must be somewhere along here.”

  She stared at him in astonishment. “You lost the car?”

  He glared at her. “I didn’t lose it. You try to strike a straight line in that swamp in the dark.”

  She started to laugh.

  “What the hell is so funny?”

  She wasn’t sure. She must be giddy with exhaustion, and his indignation and outrage seemed hilarious. “You made a mistake. Maybe you’re not Arnold Schwarzenegger. He wouldn’t have gotten lost in a swamp.”

  “Schwarzenegger?” He scowled. “What the hell are you talking about?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “And I didn’t get lost. I angled wrong.” He stalked down the road.

  “He’s mad at you too,” Peter said. “Maybe we’d better try to help him find the car.”

  “Maybe we’d better.”

  Any hint of amusement faded as she started after Tanek. Her boots squished water with every step and her clothes clung heavily to her body. The prospect of an extended walk on this deserted road was not appealing.

  They found the car over a mile north of where they had exited the swamp.

  “Not a word,” Tanek snapped as he opened the passenger doors and got behind the wheel. “I’m wet and I’m tired and mad as hell.”

  Peter crawled into the backseat. “I told you he was mad.”

  She got in the passenger seat. She couldn’t resist a final jab. “Do you have the keys?”

  He stiffened. “Do you think I’d be careless enough to misplace them?”

  “Well, you misplaced the—” She broke off as she met his gaze. “No, I guess not.”

  He started the car.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Panama City and a motel that’ll take three people who look and smell like they were dumped in a sewage tank.”

  Peter laughed.

  “Who is he?” Tanek asked.

  “I’m Peter Drake.”

  “This is Nicholas Tanek, Peter.” Nell huddled down in the seat and stretched her legs out before her. “Why don’t you try to take a nap?”

  “I’m hungry.”

  “We’ll have something to eat when we get to the city.”

  “Chicken?”

  “If you like.”

  “Kentucky Fried Chicken? That’s the best.”

  Nell nodded. “Kentucky Fried Chicken.”

  Peter smiled contentedly and lay down on the backseat.

  “I don’t even know if there is a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Panama City,” Nicholas muttered.

  “Then we’ll get something else. Peter isn’t difficult.”

  “The entire situation is difficult.”

  “Can we talk about this later?” she asked in a low voice. “Unless you intend to throw the boy out of the car?”

  He glanced in the rearview mirror at Peter curled up in the backseat. “No.”

  “You were very good back there with Wilkins. Just like a martial arts movie. Karate?”

  “Choi kwang-do.”

  “Will you teach me to do that?”

  “We can talk about that later too.”

  She wondered if she should push it, and then decided she had gained enough that day. She leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes. The humming of the engine and smooth motion of the car were soothing. For the first time in days she felt safe.

  She was almost asleep, when Tanek spoke again. “Why this hellhole?” he asked abruptly. “Obanako has to be the worst camp of its kind in the States. Did you think it was going to be a Florida vacation?”

  “No.”

  “Then why not the one in Denver or Seattle?”

  She hesitated. She should probably not answer. He was not going to like the truth. She told him anyway. “They didn’t sound bad enough.”

  He stared at her, incredulous.

  “I needed you,” she said simply. “I had to show you that I’d do anything to get to Gardeaux and Maritz.”

  He didn’t speak for a moment. “My God. A setup. You knew I’d come after you.”

  “No, but I hoped you would. You felt guilty enough that you’d already gone to great lengths to protect me. I thought it was likely that you wouldn’t want me to go off on my own.”

  “The phone calls.”

  “Kabler said that Phil could access almost any records. I had to leave a trail.”

  “And position yourself in a spot that you knew would bring pressure to bear,” he said coldly. “I don’t like being manipulated, Nell.”

  “I needed you,” she repeated. “I had to do it. And I couldn’t care less if you resent it.”

  “You might care if I decided to bow out of your plans.”

  “You won’t do that. Tania says you keep your word.”

  “Tania has never tried to manipulate me.” He paused. “And what would you have done if I hadn’t come after you?”

  “Stayed here. Finished the training. Tried to learn as much as I could.”

  “And get raped or die of exposure or exhaustion.”

  “I wouldn’t have died.”

  “No, you think you can walk on water.”

  “This conversation is useless,” she said wearily. “Nothing happened, and I’m not at the camp any longer. We have to move on. The only reason I told you was that I didn’t want to start on a false note. I hate lies.” She closed her eyes again. “I’m going to take a nap. Wake me when we get to the motel.”

  “Get out.”

  She blearily looked up at Tanek. “What?”

  He reached into the car and pulled her out into a parking lot. “The door to your room is three yards away and then you can collapse.”

  She shook her head to clear it. “Where are we?”

  “Best Western.” He unlocked her door, pushed her inside, and flipped on the light. “Lock it.”

  “Peter …”

  “They had only two rooms. He’ll stay with me. We’re two doors down.”

  “No, he’ll be afraid. I can’t—”

  “I’ll take care of your chick,” he said roughly. “Wash off that mud and go back to sleep.”

  “Food. I promised him Kentucky—”

  “I said I’d take care of him.” He slammed the door behind him.

  She stared numbly at the door before turning around. It was the usual impersonal motel room. A bed, a table, and two chairs in front of the picture window facing the parking lot. The furniture was a little worn and the gray paisley spread on the bed appeared faded but clean.

  Much cleaner than she was.

  She looked longingly at the double bed before she stumbled toward the bathroom.

  She felt better after a hot sho
wer and washing her hair. She glanced at the pile of filthy camouflage clothes on the floor. She had no way of cleaning them and no desire to ever see them again anyway. She rinsed out her underwear and threw it on the towel bar before leaving the bathroom and heading for the bed. Her hair was still damp when her head hit the pillow.

  Her grandmother would have disapproved, she thought drowsily. She had always said Nell would catch her death of cold if she went to bed with a wet head.…

  Here we go, down, down, down.

  “Jill!”

  No Jill. Just the nightmare again. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as Nell sat up in bed. Dammit, you’d think that she would have been too exhausted to dream.

  She went to the bathroom and drank a glass of water. Her hand was shaking.

  She should go back to bed and try to sleep. Tanek was going to help her, and that meant she should be rested and ready.

  But if she went back to sleep, she would dream again.

  It was going to be a long night.

  Tanek knocked on the door at eight the next morning.

  She grabbed the bedsheet and draped it around herself before answering the knock.

  “Very fetching.” He handed her a bag with PELICAN SOUVENIR SHOP emblazoned on the side. “But I think you’ll be more comfortable in these. Shorts and T-shirt. The souvenir shop down the street was the only thing open at this hour.”

  “Thank you.” She stepped aside to let him in the room. “Where’s Peter?”

  “Trying on his clothes.”

  “Is he okay?”

  He nodded. “He slept like the proverbial log. He’s just had a dozen sugar doughnuts and a gallon of orange juice. The only thing that may be wrong with him is a bellyache.” He held up the bag in his other hand. “Coffee. How do you take it?”

  “Cream. Sit down. I’ll be dressed in a minute.” She hurried toward the bathroom.

  She quickly put on the underwear she had rinsed out the previous night and opened the bag. Green rubber thongs. Purple Bermuda shorts, and a short-sleeve lavender T-shirt emblazoned with pink flamingos. Oh, well, at least they were soft and clean.

  Tanek was sitting at the small table by the window when she came out of the bathroom. He pushed a large container of coffee toward the vacant seat across from him. “Drink it. We need to talk.”

  She gazed at him warily as she sat down and lifted the coffee. “You think I need a dose of caffeine to hear what you have to say?”

  “I think you need a dose of something. You look like hell. Didn’t you sleep?”

  She looked down into her cup. “Some.” She took a sip of coffee. “Talk.”

  “It’s going to be my way. All my way. I’ll keep my word, but I’m not going to have you rushing in and getting me killed. I’ll make the plans, and you’ll do as I say.”

  “All right.”

  He looked at her in surprise.

  “I’m not stupid. I know this won’t be easy. As long as I can see a reason for you doing something, I won’t argue with you.”

  “Astonishing.”

  “But I won’t have you shutting me out and I won’t let you deceive me.”

  “I said I wouldn’t shut you out.” He paused. “If that’s what you still want when I’m ready to move.”

  “It’s what I’ll want.” She took another sip of coffee. “It’s the only thing I want.”

  “Time has a way of lessening—”

  “Time?” Her gaze flew back to his face. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m not going to be ready to move until late December.”

  “December? This is only September.”

  “And I’ve been planning this since April.”

  “It’s too long.”

  “It’s the safest way.”

  “December.” She tried to remember everything she’d read about Gardeaux. “The Renaissance Fest.”

  “Exactly. The perfect vehicle for infiltration.”

  “There’s bound to be guards all over the place.”

  “Including Maritz.” He smiled. “Maritz, Gardeaux, and several hundred guests to run interference.”

  “They didn’t help at Medas.”

  His smile disappeared. “No, but we won’t go in blind this time.”

  Her hand tightened on the cup. “I don’t want to wait.”

  “My way.”

  “It’s over three months, dammit.”

  “And you can spend it getting ready.”

  “How?”

  “We’ll discuss it later. You can bet it won’t be crawling through the swamps.” He hesitated a moment. “Or tossing coral snakes around.”

  She went still. “Peter told you.”

  “He was very informative about your short stay at the camp and the ‘nothing’ that happened there.” He rose to his feet. “We have reservations on a flight to Boise at eleven. I called Tania last night, but I have to go and make a few other phone calls.”

  “Boise?”

  “We fly into Boise and then get a puddle-jumper to Lasiter. My ranch is fifty miles north. I want you where I can keep an eye on you. I’m not going through this again, if you decide everything is going too slowly.”

  “What about Peter?”

  He turned at the door. “What about him? He has a home. He tells me his father is his legal guardian.”

  “His father sent him to that place. He might send him back.”

  “And he might not. Why should you care? He’ll only be in your way in this grand quest for vengeance. I thought that was all that mattered to you.”

  “You’ve been with him long enough to realize Peter isn’t normal.”

  “You mean he’s mildly retarded.”

  “I mean he has the mind of a child. He’s … helpless.”

  He met her gaze and repeated deliberately, “Why should you care?”

  She lost her temper. “Because I do, dammit. Do you think I want to assume responsibility for him? He just happened. He helped me and I can’t leave him. His father doesn’t want him. He’s the mayor of a small town in Mississippi and I think Peter is an embarrassment to him. I won’t let him go back there.”

  “I didn’t think you could. I made a reservation on the plane for him.”

  Her eyes widened. “You did?”

  “But I don’t want any kidnapping charges levied at me. Peter’s only seventeen. His father is one of the calls I have to make.”

  “Do you think you can convince him to—”

  “I’ll convince him. I’ll tell him if he causes any trouble, we’ll give a nice little story to the newspapers describing how the honorable mayor put his retarded son in Obanako to get rid of him. We might even do a photo shoot of the place.” He smiled sardonically as he opened the door. “Didn’t you tell the kid we’d fix it? What else do I live for but to please you?”

  “Tanek.”

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you for doing this for me. I know he may be a bother to you.”

  “I won’t let him be a bother.” He met her gaze. “And I’m not doing it for you. Most adults can take care of themselves, but it makes me mad as hell when anyone goes after kids.”

  “Like Tania?”

  “Tania was never helpless even when she was younger.” He added deliberately, “Not like Jill. If you’d let me, I’d make sure I got Maritz and that it would take him a long, long time to die.”

  He meant it. She felt a rush of fierce joy as she realized what he felt wasn’t only guilt. He was angry and outraged and wanted Jill avenged because it was right and just. She was not alone. She shook her head. “I have to do it.”

  He nodded curtly and left the room.

  Three months was a long time. Too long.

  Yet she had to be sure. She couldn’t risk being killed before Maritz died. Tanek was part of Gardeaux’s world and knew the dangers. He would have moved before this if he’d thought he had a chance.

  Three months.

  You can spend it getting ready.

 
If she couldn’t convince him to move before that time, that’s exactly how she’d spend it—getting ready. Tanek might think he’d isolate her in the wilds until her determination lessened. But it wouldn’t happen.

  Peter came to her room five minutes later. He was dressed in khaki shorts and a T-shirt that bore the imprint of a grinning alligator wearing a Braves baseball cap. An identical cap perched jauntily on his head. His blue eyes glinted with excitement. “We’re going to Nicholas’s ranch. Did he tell you?”

  “Yes, he told me.”

  He plopped down on the bed. “He has horses and sheep and a dog named Sam.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “I’ve never had a dog. Daddy didn’t like the barking.”

  “Only a snake.”

  He nodded. “But Nicholas said there are other dogs on the ranch. Sheepdogs that work the herds. He said Jean will let me watch them.”

  “And who is Jean?”

  “His foreman. Jean Etch—” He stopped. “Something. I don’t remember.”

  She smiled indulgently. “But you remember his dog is named Sam.”

  “No, that’s Nicholas’s dog, a German shepherd. He doesn’t work the sheep. The Border collies work the sheep.”

  He already knew more about Nicholas’s private life than she did, she realized in amusement. “I’m surprised you didn’t ask all their names too.”

  “That was last night. Nicholas told me to shut up and go to sleep.”

  When she remembered Tanek’s mood last night, she was surprised he’d answered any of Peter’s questions. Or that Peter had the nerve to ask him. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to be unkind.”

  “Unkind?” He looked at her in bewilderment. “You mean mad? He wasn’t mad anymore. He just wanted to go to sleep.”

  And he had evidently been very patient with Peter. A quality she had not seen Tanek display. “And you don’t mind leaving your home?”

  His smile faded a little, and he looked away from her. “I don’t mind. I’d rather be with you and Nicholas.”

  “Peter … I can’t promise you that—It may not be—” She broke off as she saw his expression.

  “I know,” he said quietly. “You may not want me around for long. It’s okay.”

  “I didn’t say— Things are difficult. I may have to go away.”

  “It’s okay,” he said again. “Everyone goes away. Or they send me away.”