by Serena Zane
“I promise father.” Her little voice trembled as she looked at her father’s terrified face and real fear surfaced for the first time in her life.
“Good, now go.” Loud banging sounded on the door of their home. She glanced at the roughened surface of the door as it rattled under the force of those hitting it from the other side. He turned her around and pushed on her back with urgency.
“Go darling, hide.”
She ran, and reached her bedroom as the front door of the house caved in with a loud cracking noise. Glancing desperately around her room, the only possible hiding spot for her was under the bed. She fell to her knees and bit back a cry as she scrapped the skin on the floor.
Cindy crawled under the bed and brought the comforter down to hide her better. She trembled, afraid for her father. The voices of the men in the hall were deep and loud. Cindy heard several big crashes and things being broken. She huddled, pressed against the wall far underneath her bed. The floor was cold and darkness had settled.
“No! I don’t have anything! I don’t know anything! Just leave me alone!” Her father grunted as he was slammed against something. Cindy could feel the tears streaming down her face, but she was afraid to dash them away in case the bad men heard her move. She saw a large polished black shoe appear by the side of the bed and she bit down on her lip to stop the chattering of her teeth.
A rough voice spoke. “Well then, you won’t be needed any longer.”
A soft pop went off, and she saw her father hit the floor. His head turned toward her; she moved to go to him. As she started to pull herself across the wood her father gave a small negative shake of his head. He tried to push up with his arm straining under the effort, and another pop went off.
Her father fell to the floor, his eyes lifeless.
Cindy’s little heart broke into a thousand pieces and she felt the world get torn away. Her father was no longer there. She held her breath as she waited for the man who spoke to exit the room. The sound of the shoes hitting the hard wood floors as they walked away were loud to her tiny ears.
It seemed like hours before someone came, hours alone in the dark and cold. A man named Jackson found her huddled under the bed staring at her father’s lifeless form. He was from the Agency, which she later learned her father worked for.
Goosebumps formed on her skin and she shivered uncontrollably. Her skin broke out in a cold sweat.
A loud honk sounded behind her. She shook her head to clear the memory, glanced up and noted the light had turned green. She stepped on the gas pedal, no time for that now.
Cindy pulled into the resort and noted the finely manicured lawns, and landscaping. The place was well kept, and maintained for the upper-class who liked to come and play on the weekends. There was a golf course and time-shares nearby, and a fine-dining restaurant on the premise called, The Three Seasons.
She stopped by the office lodge and picked up her key card. The room was located toward the back of the resort just off some of the prime hiking paths, or so the clerk had told her. If she hiked to the left of her room she would come across Lava Island and the Deschutes River. She thanked him, got in her little Kia and drove to her room.
Cindy noted horse stables. She might go riding, if she had time. She had always loved horses, but never got the opportunity to ride because she and her father always moved. The first priority though was to find the satellite.
Cindy slid the card thru the lock, opened the door and smiled when she saw the welcoming basket. She walked over and picked up the card.
“Have a great day and enjoy your first… love, Garrett and Montgomery.”
Cindy grinned and put the card down.
She strolled over and looked out her back porch. The view was spectacular. She saw the Three Sister Mountains and Mount Bachelor from her porch the white-capped mountains sloped towards the clouds in the distance. Treetops seemed to go on for miles.
The map the Agency provided for her indicated that the fallen satellite had landed off to the South. It had evidentially fallen at night, so there weren’t many witnesses when the satellite went down. Cindy hoped she wouldn’t run across any trouble. She had secured a raft for the trip down the Deschutes river in the morning which would take her within a few hiking miles of the satellite.
Montgomery heaped tons of things into her pack, and Cindy spent quite a bit of time wading through the things she thought necessary. Cindy ended up with a basic survival kit after she enlisted the help of Montgomery’s new husband.
Cindy noticed the Three Seasons restaurant as she drove in, and decided it would be alright if she raided the Agency’s bank account for a nice dinner out. As she pulled out the one black dress she had brought along, she changed while anticipating a juicy salmon dinner.
Cindy grabbed her laptop and walked down to the restaurant.
As she walked inside a nicely dressed man smiled as he greeted her, “Hello, I’m Havier. I’ll be your host for the evening. Welcome to the Three Seasons.” Havier led Cindy to a beautiful table by a brick fireplace. “Would you care for a glass of house Boeurdou? We have an excellent vintage from the south of France. I would recommend it with the rosemary salmon.”
“That would be lovely, thank you.” Cindy smiled up at him, and he grinned back approvingly.
He left to acquire her drink, and she pulled out her laptop. As she worked, Havier brought out her wine. She tasted the full-bodied, rich flavor and studied the computerized map where the satellite crashed.
The area was mountainous, and the terrain reported to be rocky. There was a section of the river not navigable and she would have to take the raft out and hike for a distance. When she had spoken to the guide Patrick, he had told her about the level 5 rapids she would need to avoid.
Evidently, the rapids graded from one through six. One being a slow, easily rode rapid, while six was equivalent to Niagara Falls. Not even the locals would ride the level fives. Patrick told her about a time when the movie Without a Paddle was filmed. They’d used the Deschutes as the river Seth Green and the other actors rafted down.
Since none of the locals would play the stunt doubles, they had to use mannequins in the boat as it went over. The locals say there were still parts of the mannequins floating at the base of the falls.
Cindy laughed to herself as she thought of any bystander that might come across one.
Eventually her dinner arrived. She could tell the establishment was high-class due to the length of service time. Shaking her head, she took her first bit of salmon, divine. Havier was a wonderful judge of excellent food.
She glanced at her computer screen and noticed the satellite image filled with weather clouds that crossed the path she wanted to take in the morning. Cindy didn’t relish the idea of getting wet. The rafting ride would be enough without having problems with rain.
With decisive movements she sent her laptop to sleep and closed the lid. It wasn’t smart to shut down any electrical equipment improperly. Even if she was frustrated, Cindy always took the time to do things right.
She smoothed a hand down the length of her dress and took a long drink of her champagne. Cindy reached into her handbag, and pulled out her cell, then flipped it open to dial Montgomery’s number. Montgomery would already know where she was, but it was always nice to touch base.
The phone rang, “What up girl?” Montgomery sounded hyper, her usual state, and Cindy smiled again. “You safely installed?”
“Yeah, it’s a really nice place. The waiter’s even named Havier. Not the normal place I would choose for my vacation, but after eating the salmon, I am not going to complain. You should see the mountains from here, they look huge. I suppose it isn’t quite as exotic as Colombia, but it’ll do in a pinch. How’s Garrett?” Cindy took another bite of salmon.
“Being Garrett, he’s worried about you being out on your own for the first time.”
; “He knows I’ll be fine.” She knew Montgomery’s husband worried over all the team members. Cindy tried to reassure her.
“That’s what I keep telling him. I believe I recall saying something about him being a macho pig last night.” Montgomery chuckled on the other end of the line, “Yes, name-calling has commenced.”
Cindy couldn’t help the large grin that spread across her face, “Luce, you’re wonderful.”
“I know. So, are you headed out first thing tomorrow? You’re scheduled for rafting in the morning, but I’m aware of how much you hate the rain. I watched the news for your area, and they say to expect it.”
Again, Cindy grimaced, “Yes, I’m still planning to go. I can’t let a little weather get in my way this time. There’s a time frame that I have to work with. The boss wouldn’t like it if the other guys got to the spot before me. Imagine the rant he’d go into.” Cindy could envision Killroy storming around the office and threatening her job. “It wouldn’t be good for his ticker.”
Montgomery laughed over the phone. The sound was good to hear. Once again, Cindy was glad Montgomery didn’t allow the relationship she had with Chase affect their friendship. The on again, off again relationship they had developed came to light during the last mission. Unfortunately, Cindy didn’t feel the same way about Chase she believed he felt about her. She’d move on eventually, Cindy just didn’t come across men that she believed would want her. After all, who would go for the, by the way, I’m a spy routine.
“Cindy, take time for yourself tonight. You never know what will happen tomorrow. It could be a long time before you can do your own thing again depending on how this mission pans out. Is there a hot tub on site?”
Cindy sighed and thought of the pool area she passed on her way in, “Yeah. That sounds like a plan. Perhaps I’ll get my suit and go swimming for a little while. The hot water would be nice. Hey, I’ll talk with you later. I’m almost done with dinner. I think I’m going to be decadent and dine on the Crème Brule and then take a dip. You talked me into it.”
Cindy grinned again as they said goodbye, and placed her phone back in the small handbag she carried with her. Havier came back a few times to check on her, and smiled graciously when she ordered her desert. She left a generous tip for him and headed back to her room.
Changing, Cindy checked herself in the bathroom mirror. Complete in red bikini, she grabbed a towel, and a book, and headed out to the pool. The area was lit by floodlights that illuminated the water in a soft blue glow.
Cindy sighed as she eased her aching muscles into the steaming water of the Jacuzzi. She stretched. It was a long flight from Colombia, and her arms and back were stiff with fatigue. Tomorrow would be no different. Cindy leaned her head against the edge of the tub.
****
A man in the pool directly across from her watched patiently. His query was unaware of being observed. He’d have it stay that way. The target was rather beautiful with her chocolate brown hair wet and streaming down around her to billow in the water around her body. He could think of a few things he would like to do to her body.
Eyes narrowed to slits and they traveled the length of her. From her long, smooth legs up flawless skin, over her pert rounded breasts barely concealed in the skimpy bikini she wore, scraps of red fabric dared him like no other. He felt himself harden at the thought, and his hands itched to do unimaginable things to her that would probably shock most people, but then, he wasn’t most people.
A wicked smile formed on his mouth at the fantasy he started to create in his mind. This would be quite the assignment. He licked his lips as he watched her climb out of the Jacuzzi tub exactly fifteen minutes from when she slid into the frothy water. Water ran in rivulets down her sleek body, yes, this would be interesting indeed.
Chapter 5Cindy toweled off, and shivered as she wrapped the fluffy cloth around herself. Looking around, she didn’t see anyone watching her, but she did notice a couple swimming in the pool nearby. The man was fit with dark, sandy blond hair. The woman clung to him laughing.
She shook her head, probably just her jangled nerves. Cindy pulled the towel closer around her chest, and grabbed her things making her way back to the room.
The pavement was hard against her bare feet, but she didn’t mind. She would go without shoes all the time if she could get away with it. Cindy climbed up the wooden staircase to her room, and paused in the hallway. She felt uneasy. As she approached her hotel room door, and kept alert.
Nothing appeared out of place. She swiped her key and shoved open the door. Stepping inside, she looked around. To the untrained eye it would appear as though no one had been inside her room, but she knew differently.
Nothing had been taken, but the welcome basket had been moved. Her toiletries case set in a slightly different position, and her toothbrush now lay at the top of the bag. The drawer in the nightstand next to the bed stood slightly ajar.
She set her briefcase with her laptop in it on the bed, and checked the drawer for her gun. Strange, it was right where she left it, fully loaded.
She didn’t want to think about what her team would do if they found out. Cindy decided to keep this to herself. If the bad guys wanted to play hard ball, she could too. She walked back to the door, threw the deadbolt, and started to prepare to face the next day.
If Jaguar was already in the vicinity, then she would have to push herself to get there before them. F.I.U.W. thought she had a few days head start. They were wrong.
Chapter 6Cindy woke the next morning to the smell of fresh coffee from her automatic coffee maker. She rolled over and glanced at the clock, 6:00. Time to rise and shine, she groaned, well, maybe she could leave the shine part out.
She’d never been much of a morning person, and even with the thrill of a dangerous assignment looming before her, that first few steps before coffee just drug.
She made her way to the coffee pot, poured a cup, opened her laptop, and signed into her email.
Grudgingly, she opened the five she got from Montgomery the night before, four of which were funny forwards. She moaned into her coffee cup at the last.
Montgomery mentioned Chase wanted to know how she was doing on her first solo mission, and to let her know, again, that if she needed any help all she had to do was call.
Chase knew her email address, but he also knew if he wanted a response, Montgomery would have to play go between. She wrote Montgomery a quick answer stating she was fine, everything was fine, and to tell Chase so too.
Cindy checked the weather report again. She looked out her back porch window to ensure that the weather forecaster and Mother Nature remained on the same page. She grimaced at the dank look of the clouds.
Half glad that Montgomery had thrown in that poncho for bad weather, Cindy moved to repack the things she would need for the trip.
Montgomery provided some great insight into nature hiking, not that she didn’t already know. Cindy didn’t like the outdoors as much as some people now that Jackson had passed on. Garrett had shared some valuable information about what to do if she lost her compass, but it didn’t sound as though anything would be too grueling.
Locking the hotel room, Cindy safely stowed her laptop and gun in a waterproof bag, and tossed everything she would need for the next several days into the back of her rental car. She drove the block to the raft pick up area.
Patrick, the guide, stood waiting for her with a big grin on his handsome face. His green eyes seemed to hold some private joke as he helped her get her gear. She guessed that it looked like she would fall right over from the weight of the pack. The thing was as big as her.
“You sure you don’t want company on your trip? It can get awfully lonely out in the woods.” He teased, nudging her in the shoulder.
Cindy stumbled a bit and gave him one of her best smiles, teasing him right back. With a flip of her hair she countered his comment. She enjoyed playi
ng this game, but she couldn’t have him tagging along.
“No, I like being alone. It makes things more interesting. Remember, I have done this a few times before.”
She told the truth, through multiple protests Jackson had drug her out into the wilderness to go camping and rafting as a teen. Cindy recalled complaints she threw his way as wave after wave would make her soaked to the bone.
Secretly she loved the rush the ride through white water gave her, but she would never admit it to anyone. Cindy was truly a city girl at heart.
The Agency set her up as an experienced white water rafter, they’d even given her a refresher course, she wasn’t about to let them down. She just wished she was a little more experienced with undercover games. Montgomery was the one who usually played the front agent. She shrugged. Cindy glanced at Patrick from under her eyelashes, grinning with mischief.
“Maybe some other time.” She stashed the last of her things into the van from her rental and climbed into the passenger seat.
Normally there were two guides traveling together, but Cindy was only a party of one, and didn’t need more than Patrick’s help. Once she got the raft underway, things would go much smoother, at least she hoped they would.
The drive to the launch site was short, and Patrick jumped out to unlatch the raft and heft it down from the trailer rack where it rested with several others just like it. He set it on the water’s edge and gave her the instructions of how to safely maneuver the raft as one person, she already knew, but he had a responsibility to his job.
They made her sign a waiver at the raft rental desk when she checked in. Cindy watched the churning water not far from where she would be putting in, and took a deep breath.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Cindy looked at him. She placed a hand on his muscled chest and leaned in close. She may not be affected by the opposite sex, but many men had a potent response to her. She had a healthy ego. Cindy felt his muscles expand under her hand and watched his pupils dilate in his emerald green eyes. Her smile grew. She wasn’t really interested, but it was fun to flirt a little.