by Bryn Bauer
“Please don’t mention our conversation with Joe. He still gets wound up about it.”
“Of course. It’s between us.” As they made their way back onto the yacht, Sofia reflected on their conversation. Helena, for all her elegance and contentment had struggled through so much, had escaped so much. Sofia saw in her a kindred spirit. Finally, there was someone Sofia could rely on and trust with her own struggles.
TEN
Helena and Joe deemed it prudent to move slowly toward the arrival in Cuba. Sitting at the large dining table, all four discussed the best route to take. While ostensibly going to Cuba on business, they didn’t want to appear over eager. They knew that they were being watched. Though Joe still treated Sofia’s attack as a terrible coincidence, they still meant to be cautious.
So, the Mariana would take a direct but leisurely route stopping in Nassau, Bahamas for supplies and Humacao Puerto Rico to make final arrangements for the Caracciola and then finally making the last leg to Cuba. The trip would take about four days. A shiver ran through Sofia, how could she possibly be ready in four days? How could one ever be ready for something like this? Quint saw her slight movement at this pronouncement and put a light and brief hand on her leg while offering a quick sidelong glance. He misinterpreted the stiffening of her thigh beneath his hand and spoke reassuringly.
“Sofia, remember that your role is important but not overly dangerous. All you need to do is find out the extent of Castro’s condition. Or whether he has one at all.” She had resolved to banish her feelings for Quint. They were now co-workers, and he was her professor. Starting a relationship seemed wildly inappropriate. Though she believed that, she couldn’t control her body’s response when he was near her or, heaven forbid, if he touched her.
She responded more sharply than she intended in an attempt to cover her feelings. “Look, I’m not a doctor, how am I supposed to find out?” She immediately regretted the words. Joe’s eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline and Helena’s contracted into a deep furrow. Sofia sighed. “Sorry, can you go over the condition one more time? I’m sure I’ll think of something.” That was her job after all; any monkey could follow step by step instructions. They chose her because she could be resourceful and think on her feet. That thought at once gave her both an unexpected sense of pride and a wash of the now familiar sense of being overwhelmed. Very few of her recent successes had arisen from planning, but rather, from last minute inspiration. Being a habitual planner, continuing this new method of in the moment action did not appeal to her. She briefly remembered her vow to let go and allow the current to carry her and then refocused on Quint’s explanation.
“It’s been rumored that Castro has a condition called exercise anaphylaxis. People with this condition can go into anaphylaxis if their heart rate or perspiration rises above a certain point, or sometimes when experiencing a certain level of vibration. The trouble is the tolerance level is different for each person.”
Sofia shook her head. “So even if he has the condition, we may not be able to trigger it if he has a high tolerance. That has to be incredibly rare. Now that I think, how could he have survived the Cuban sun for this long with this condition?”
Helena shrugged and ran a hand through her long auburn hair. “We’re not entirely sure that he does have it. But, our professional community is a small one and we heard of a government operation a few years ago that led us to believe that he may.”
Joe cut in with a derisive laugh. “Another botched assassination attempt. This one was on his brother Fidel. Stupid really, the guy was on his last leg at that point anyway. In any case, the agent was the femme fatale type; you know seduce the guy into letting his guard down.” At this point he paused and looked pointedly at Sofia. “That absolutely does not work. Remember that. The girl almost always ends up dead, or worse.” Sofia nodded and unwillingly imagined all the scenarios that would be worse than death. They came far too readily to her mind. Joe continued, “The stupid girl ended up in bed with Raul instead of Fidel and noted during her debrief that during their, ah, activities, he had gone completely white and couldn’t breathe. The physician had to rush in and give him an injection of some kind.”
Helena shook her head sympathizing with the agent. “Poor girl, she was booted down to the hinterlands of the agency. But, it told us that this might be an avenue to pursue. It eliminates the more dangerous and infinitely messier options if we can eliminate him this way.”
“I see. Like I said, I’m sure I’ll be able to find that out if I can meet him personally. But why must he be assassinated? Surely, there are watchdog groups or multinational organizations that can bring him up on charges.”
Quint shook his head; a hard look sharpened his features. “It’s a forty billion dollar business Sofia. A lot of countries rely on this labor for production. And, as for sexual slavery, well, weakness doesn’t just affect those we consider to be evil.” Sofia wasn’t shocked, but still, the injustice of it sent heat flooding to her face.
Helena touched her arm to emphasize her point. “Basically Sofia, there are so many large, well-funded and powerful players that bringing the ring out into the open and taking it down that way would take much longer, hurt more people and, in the extreme, could start a war. Assassination is relatively bloodless and leaves an opening for others to put a better leader in place. That plan is already in place if we succeed. Of course, that’s an oversimplification, but you get the point.”
Sofia took a moment to organize her thoughts. “OK, so then I will need to know the agenda in as much detail as possible and the layout of the residence. You know, in case I have the opportunity to rifle though his medicine cabinet.” The joke worked; the others chuckled appreciatively which lightened the mood.
ELEVEN
After two days of briefings on Castro's residences, his advisor, and his habits and on and on, Sofia was grateful to have something else to do. It seemed that Quint had been directed to teach her some basic self-defense techniques and behavior protocols that may be required.
“You never know.” Quint said when Sofia protested, “It’s better to have it than not. It’s a matter of a couple of seconds to react and you can’t waste it.”
So, the following day, she met Quint on the sundeck for instruction as it was the only area with an open space large enough for maneuvering. Sofia shivered despite the heavy humidity. She stood in front of Quint feeling like a clown getting into the ring with a boxer, and in this scenario she wasn’t the boxer. She didn’t consider herself a soft touch by any means, she was lean and well-muscled. But, she had never learned self-defense and, thank God, had never needed to. As Sofia pondered this, she and Quint took their positions opposite one another standing incredibly still as if rooted.
Finally, Quint spoke. “I’m just going to teach you some basic moves for escape and defense. It won’t be anything terribly complicated, but I want to emphasize how important it is.” Sofia wanted to laugh but suppressed it. The professorial tone was incongruous to the man that stood before her. I was more in line with the “khakis and blazer” Law professor version of Quint. Here, he was still unshaven and wearing only a fitted white t-shirt and loose, black martial arts pants. As he approached, she noted that although his look was vastly different than she was used to, the tone was appropriate. He was the instructor once again and she, the student. Quint took her arm and said, you probably won’t need these moves but I still think they’re important just in case.
She looked up and quirked an eyebrow, “I thought you and Joe would be there to protect me.”
Quint’s brows knitted but his tone remained light, “We will, but you never know what will happen. I’ve needed these on occasion myself.” Sofia was starting to feel uncomfortable. She didn’t want to have to use them. All the possible scenarios flitted through her brain in a matter of seconds leaving her feeling even more anxious than before. She laughed, hoping the movement would dispel the creeping sensation along her spine.
She put on
her best southern belle accent for effect and said, “Why Quint, you’d think a girl couldn’t count on big strong men like you.” She felt her arm jerk so hard her shoulder popped. She gaped at Quint, wide-eyed.
His eyes sparked with anger. “This isn’t a joke Sofia! God knows I hope you don’t need this shit, but if you do, you have only seconds.” He gave her a little shake. “That means you have to know the moves well enough to act instantly, not to have to think about them.” She jerked her arm but he held fast. Furious at not being able to break free, she struck at him verbally.
“I know! I’ll do what I need to but there’s no call for you to yell at me. I won’t tolerate that.” Sofia was striving for calm.
Quint took a deep breath and loosened his grip but didn’t let go. “Fine, get out of this hold. It’s an easier one. I’m only holding one arm and my body isn’t in contact with yours.” She didn’t know quite what to do. It was incredibly awkward to be standing here with her Law professor who, up until a few weeks ago, she had to call “Dr. Quintis”. Now, instead of lecturing on Confidentiality, he was grabbing her arm on a yacht on the way to assassinate a dictator. The absurdity of the situation left her at a loss for what to do. She tentatively tugged her arm trying to break the grip. Quint’s brows drew down even further and he took a step closer. His step may as well have been a blow to her head for the impact it had. Fear coursed through her body as he menaced her and he squeezed tighter making her gasp.
She tried in earnest to escape this time using her body weight to pull back but the force caused his fingers to dig in further and the slight movement of her arm created an incredible amount friction. Now her arm burned and pulsed as the blood struggled to her fingers. Quint slowly, lazily stepped behind her deliberately bending her arm up at an impossible angle that forced her to her knees. She looked up at him, rage and betrayal blazing in her wet eyes. His eyes met hers, hard and implacable. He didn’t speak but increased the pressure on her arm forcing her head down nearly to the deck in order to avoid snapping her wrist.
All at once, Sofia pitched forward smacking her shoulder on the deck with the sudden release of pressure. To avoid making eye contact with Quint she looked at her arm, scarlet welts rippled out from the epicenter of pain on her bicep. She jumped up and stared, too enraged to speak.
Quint spoke quite calmly but the blazing look was still in his eyes. “You need to take this seriously. You may really need it.” His statement startled Sofia into speaking.
“Don’t you think I know that? How can you say that to me after what h-happened the other day?” She was mortified to hear her voice tremble. With anger? Fear?
Now his voice matched hers. “No you weren’t! What the hell was that pathetic little tug? What was that going to do? You wasted the only moment you had to escape.” His voice pitched dangerously low. “Do you have any idea what I could have done to you in that position?”
She did, all too well. She once again felt the man’s white coated tongue leaving a trail of slime on her face. Sofia ran to the rail and wretched at the memory. When most of her stomach contents drifted in Biscayne Bay, she leaned against the glass railing and closed her eyes waiting for the humiliation to subside enough to face Quint. She felt warm hands, gentle this time, on her shoulders. “I’m sorry, Sofia. I’m so, unbelievably sorry.” The hands turned her around and she faced Quint, rage drained from his face replaced with only an imploring urgency. “Of course you know the dangers. You’ve already experienced some of them. I shouldn’t have-”
Sofia shook her head. “No, you shouldn’t have, but you’re still right.” She was grateful that her voice sounded steady and calm. “I don’t know everything that can happen, how could I? But, I shouldn’t have made light, I know you’re just trying to help keep me safe.”
He nodded and touched her bruise now in full bloom, and his color drained further. “I’m so sorry.”
She slapped his hand away, suddenly angry at his apology. “Would you have done differently if I were a man?” He opened and closed his mouth but no words came out. “Well?” she challenged. He shook his head very slightly. “Then how can you say that to me? You hypocrite. You say that I need to know what can really happen but then apologize for showing me. You can’t have it both ways. You either teach me or you don’t. If you do, it has to be real. They won’t be worried about bruises will they?”
Quint recovered and nodded. He squared his stance and said “You could always rise to a challenge Sofia. Ok then, let’s start again.” After two hours of holds, locks, breaks, and pivots Sofia was exhausted and dripping. Her walnut hair had long since escaped the wholly inadequate rubber band and now clung to her face and neck in wet, dripping clumps. Quint discarded his shirt, now soaked, for their last bout.
“Ok, this time we’re going to put everything together. I will not warn you about what I’ll-“, then he leapt. Sofia couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. His right hand closed on her windpipe, his left wrenched her arm as it did before. Sofia threw her body weight backward sending them both crashing back onto the deck. She heard a thud and a loud “Ooof!” as Quint’s breath was knocked out of him. She scrambled up onto her knees, spots still dancing in front of her eyes while her lungs frantically pumped oxygen to her brain. The spots grew bigger as a hard, tense force came from behind around her neck. Instantly she pivoted and sank her teeth into the taut skin, tasting slick salt and metallic wetness. He grunted and she ducked beneath his arm. Quint, recovering, knocked her onto her back with a knee. He landed heavily on top of her, pinning her shoulders to the sun scorched deck. She writhed beneath him to escape the burning deck with a deep, instinctive need to resist him. Quint leveraged more pressure which only increased her panic like a rabbit in a snare.
Amid the sensations assailing her body, Sofia became suddenly aware of a growing hardness on her thigh that only increased with her movements. Stunned, she ceased her struggles and looked at Quint, wide-eyed. He stopped his assault too, but continued to pin her. They were both very still. She noted the ring of gold around his emerald eyes, his heart beating strong against her chest and the tingling in her body that could not be wholly attributed to the struggle. He stared down at her, breath heavy and eyes locked, unable to release her. Slowly, her mouth closed the few centimeters separating them. Quint responded with a fervor that urged her back down to the deck. He moved slightly and her body arched to his.
“Quint! Sofia! What the hell are you guys still doing up here it’s been hours?” Joe’s voice snapped them out of the strange trance. Quint jolted upright whirling to face Joe.
“Sorry, we ended up doing more than I thought we would.”
Sofia was calmed to hear Quint’s voice so collected and some of her panic at being caught left her. Joe regarded the both of them with a narrowed eye.
“Right... looks like you were doing more than anyone expected. Sofia was extremely grateful for the heat of the day as it had flushed her cheeks to a lush red that hid her embarrassment. She got to her feet and retrieved her towel and water in order to avoid meeting Joe’s sharp eye.
“Joe, come on, you know what positions people get themselves into with this kind of sparring.” Quint replied in a jocular tone.
“All kinds of positions by the look of it.” Joe’s voice held an edge that normally wasn’t there.
Quint put a hand on the older man’s shoulder. “Joe, just stop. You could read anything into one image of sparring. You and I did the same kinds of blocking and escape. What if someone were to have walked in on us? They could have conjectured anything. Right?”
Joe nodded though his suspicion did not diminish. “Well anyway, Helena sent me up to say that you’ve missed lunch but she’s preparing an early dinner and you’ll want time to make yourself decent.” Sofia heard the emphasis on the word “decent” and mortification washed over her afresh. She couldn’t wait to be in her cabin, away from the accusing look Joe threw at her.
TWELVE
After a shower and changing for d
inner, Sofia took a deep breath as she pushed open the cabin door. She winced from the pain in her biceps and fresh embarrassment flooded her. What must Joe and Helena think of her, not to mention Quint? The sound of raised voices grew as Sofia drew closer to the dining area. Just around the corner, she paused at the sound of Joe’s raised voice, his anger added barbs to his words.
“She’s done Quint. We can’t have this kind of thing going on in such a high stakes situation. She goes back tomorrow.”
Disbelief enveloped Quint’s words, “Joe, first, the whole thing was my fault and it won’t happen again. I shouldn’t have…anyway, she isn’t to blame.”
“How can I know that? Yesterday I would have said that you were a focused professional. Now? I don’t know what the hell you’re doing and it’s because of her!”
“Weren’t you the one teasing me that I had some kind of crush on Sofia even before she arrived? Asking me if I had interest in her? You didn’t seem so concerned about it then!”
“That’s because I thought you could handle yourself. When it affects the project, the situation needs to change and I’m changing it!”
Sofia’s breath came fast and forceful. She covered her mouth to avoid being discovered only feet away.
A lighter lilt joined the two other voices, “Calm down please, both of you. Now, Quint, Joe’s right that we can’t let this chemistry between the two of you affect the project.” Sofia heard Joe grunt in satisfaction. Helena continued in a slightly sharper tone. “Nor can we fault either of them for acknowledging their feelings. If you will recall Joe, I believe you and I were guilty of that as well. So, I don’t believe Sofia should go home. She’s performed very well since she arrived here especially given that she has never done this kind of work or been involved in this kind of project before.”