CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
She turned the shower to cold. Holding her breath, she stepped under the frigid stream of water. She continued: “I’m Alexandra Hargreaves. I’m married to . . . well . . . I think I’m . . . no . . . I was married to . . . no . . . I’m going to marry . . . What’s his name?”
She giggled.
Crap. This is Ketamine.
She stepped out of the shower to avoid collapsing. She needed to get situated before the Ketamine took full effect. A light tap at the door produced Claire’s mother’s hand holding Alex’s pants. Alex took the damp pants and put her clothing on. She pulled her wet hair into a ponytail.
Stepping into the hallway, Claire’s mother looked her up and down. She nodded, “Much better. I’m Noémi. You are Rebecca’s daughter, no?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m Alex.”
“I’ve known your father Patrick most of my adult life,” Noémi said. “Let me get you something to drink. You don’t look like you are feeling very good.”
“Special K. I think it’s hitting me now that we’re not moving.”
“Hmm,” Noémi said coming into the kitchen. “Benjamin, you were right. She has been drugged. She says it’s Ketamine.”
Ben’s head jerked up. He was sitting at a wooden-block table looking at the identification papers they had taken from the men in the tunnels. Searching Alex’s face, he gave a curt nod.
“What’s the name of the guy I’m marrying?” Alex asked.
Ben opened his mouth, paused for a moment, and laughed.
“It’s John something. I can’t remember.”
“Yes, John something,” Ben said.
“She needs a doctor,” Noémi said. “I’ll call. Can you make her an espresso?”
Ben moved to make the coffee.
“Sit down, Alex,” Ben said. “Sit down before you fall down.”
Dropping the duffle bag on the floor, Alex plopped into a chair. She rested her head on her hands.
“You have to talk, Ben, or I’m going into a K-hole.”
“Fair enough.” He poured water into the espresso maker. “Claire’s family was in the resistance. Her mother was in intelligence. That is how I met Claire. I was working with Noémi on a project that included Patrick when I met this staggering sixteen-year-old girl. I didn’t, I mean, we didn’t do anything, but, my God . . . I thought of nothing else for years. Drink this.”
He placed a glass of water in front of Alex. She looked at the water for a moment before draining the glass. She slapped the empty glass onto the wooden table.
“Anyway, that’s why I went to bat for you and John,” he said. “I knew what it was like to have your socks knocked off.”
“You and Claire?” Alex slurred.
“I avoided Paris for a couple of years. I had plenty of women, so it wasn’t like I was alone. My father, your grandfather, died. He wanted to be buried in the family mausoleum in Paris. I’ll have to show it to you. Introduce you to the extended family.”
He looked up to see if Alex was laughing at his joke. With her head in her hands, she rotated her head back and forth in an attempt to clear her mind. He smiled, wondering if she would remember any of this.
“I held a service for my father here, in Paris. Noémi and her husband, Jean, helped with the details. They insisted I come for dinner the night before the service. I arrived as Claire was leaving for a date. You would have laughed. We stood in the entryway, staring at each other. The boy had to drag her out the door. I looked up, and Noémi was laughing at me.”
“You were pathetic.” Noémi stood in the doorway to the kitchen. “The great super spy was at a complete loss for words over a mere girl. She returned from her date, and they’ve been together ever since.”
Alex smiled.
“Chérie,” Noémi said. “The doctor will be here in a few minutes. Drink this before your husband gets here.”
“I blame Patrick,” Ben said. “He’s the first man I ever met who says straight out that he fell in love at first sight. He planted the possibility in my head.”
Alex drank the espresso down in one gulp. Setting the cup down, she picked up a second espresso and drank it down. Ben handed her another cup of water, which she drank. She stuck out her tongue, causing Noémi and Ben to laugh.
The doorbell rang.
“What are we telling them?” Noémi asked.
“The truth,” Alex said. “No more lies.”
“Are you sure?” Ben asked.
Her head flopped up and down in a nod.
“Oh, not another one.” She whimpered when Ben set another espresso in front of her. “Daddy . . .”
“Do not call me that,” Ben laughed.
“Drink your espresso,” Noémi said. She left to answer the door.
They heard talking at the front door. Turning in the kitchen chair, Alex watched Max and John talking and moving toward her. She attempted to stand but fell back into the chair. Speaking in a rush of Gaelic, John lifted her into his arms, but Alex was limp against him.
“What did you do to her?” John asked Ben in English.
“She’s been drugged,” Noémi said in English. “It seems like the drugs are affecting her now that the adrenalin is wearing off.”
Shaking her head, Claire came into the kitchen, giving Ben a dirty look.
“It wasn’t me,” Ben replied in English.
Leaning against the sink, Ben pulled a cigarette from his pocket. Bowing his head to light it, Claire pulled the cigarette from his mouth. He kissed her. She held him for a moment then put the cigarette back in his mouth. He smiled. Taking the cigarette from his mouth, he kissed her again.
“What’s your name?” Alex asked, looking up at John. He held her up with an arm around her waist.
John scanned Alex’s face before looking at Ben.
“I remember that I was married . . . , no I’m going to get married . . . Are we still married?”
“I hope so,” John said.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Keep working on it, love.” John kissed her forehead.
“You’re Max.” Alex beamed as if she had discovered a special present at Christmas.
“I am,” Max replied.
“He doesn’t want us to call him Daddy,” Alex whispered in a loud voice causing everyone to laugh.
The doorbell rang, announcing the doctor, and Noémi went to answer the door. The doctor arrived in a flurry of French that Alex couldn’t follow. She stood smiling at this gorgeous John. Noémi led John, Alex, and the doctor into a small front room, where the doctor examined Alex. With Noémi translating, the doctor conferred with John, while Alex rested against his shoulder.
“What is it?” Max asked.
“She’s been drugged,” John said. “He thinks she should shake it. He took a blood sample to make sure it’s Ketamine.”
“How? What?” Max asked.
“I had something . . . Sorry, I have to keep my eyes closed.” Alex was silent for a moment. “My coffee was very bitter at the bistro. It tasted funny, but I love coffee, so I drank . . . three cups? It was a French Press. Maxie, what is this guy’s name?”
Max laughed.
“Maxie?” Alex asked. “I’m going into a K-hole.”
She sagged. John caught her before she hit the floor. He lifted her to his arms.
“What does that mean?” Max asked.
“She’s tripping,” Ben said. “Noémi, can she lie down in the guest bedroom?”
“Of course,” Noémi said.
“You’ll stay with her?” Ben asked John. “If it’s a K-hole, she’ll start hallucinating and having flashbacks.”
John nodded.
“Max, you’d better go too.”
“Bag?” Alex asked.
“I’ll take care of that,” Ben said.
“Come on, chérie,” Noémi said. “You can lie down in here.”
Noémi led the way down the hall to their guest bedroom. John la
id her on the bed and sat in a chair next to the bed. Max sat down on the bed to hold Alex’s other hand. After more than an hour of flashbacks and hallucinations, Alex fell into a sound sleep.
FFF
Five hours later
September 28—1 P.M. MST
Somewhere between Paris, France and
Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado
“Wake up, Alex,” Raz said. He shook Alex’s shoulder.
Alex opened her eyes then closed them again.
“Come on, Alex. You’re coming off Ketamine,” he said. “You’ve got to wake up now.”
“Leave me alone, Josh,” Alex said. “I wanna sleep.”
“You can’t call me that,” Raz said. He glanced around the military shuttle. If anyone had heard his real name, they gave no indication.
They had decided the best way to protect Alex was to stick her on a military shuttle back to Denver. Raz had agreed to accompany her and the duffle bag. John and Max would follow in a day, as originally planned.
She spent most of the trip sound asleep against Raz’s arm. But the doctor had been very clear. Alex needed to wake up within five hours.
“She’s been through too much trauma,” the doctor had said. “Her mind will crack, overwhelmed with the trauma, if she doesn’t return to the present. You must wake her.”
“Open your eyes,” Raz said.
“I’m sorry. Can you talk to me? It will help me come back,” Alex said.
“All right,” Raz said. He put his arm around Alex’s shoulder and spoke into her ear. “I had a delightful time in Paris.”
“How is Clarissa?” Alex asked, moving her eyes in an effort to wake up.
“Oh, Clarissa. She is so blond, beautiful, and very fun.”
“Are you actually smacking your lips?”
“You’re hallucinating,” Raz said, smiling.
“Did you go dancing?” Alex asked.
“With you and John. You don’t remember?” Raz asked.
“What is John’s last name?” Alex asked. “I keep asking people, but no one will tell me. Am I married to you?”
“Kind of,” Raz laughed. “Open your eyes, Alex.”
“How can I ‘kind of’ be married to you?” Alex asked. She opened her eyes and felt a blast of pain from the light. She closed her eyes again. “Ouch.”
“We’re partners.”
“Oh right, we’re partners. We are very close. I know where you are at all times. You know where I am at all times. How come we don’t have sex?”
“That’s a very good question,” Raz laughed.
Alex opened her eyes to look at him and laughed at the look on his face.
“It would be like having sex with my sister.”
“You are having sex with my sister,” Alex said.
Raz burst out laughing. “They told me you were very high—I just didn’t believe it. I’ve seen you drink bottles of whiskey and not get this stoned. Come on—let’s get up and walk around.”
“What about our possessions?” Alex asked, in a loud whisper.
“They are locked away.”
“Oh, great,” Alex said.
Raz pulled her to standing, and they began walking up and down the aisle of the jet.
“You know, when Jesse was on Ketamine, he became crazy angry.” Alex said. She weaved down the aisle at Raz’s side. “He’d stomp around screaming and swearing at the walls. Matthew? He’d roll up in a ball and giggle, like a little kid being tickled. I’d tell you what Troy does, but I promised him on pain of death that I would never tell a soul. Me? I’d hallucinate for a while, usually about Minnie and Mickey Mouse, and then fall asleep.”
“I’ve wondered if someone had your file,” Raz said. He snatched at her shirt to keep her from walking into the wall. “When was the last time your reaction to Ketamine was tested?”
“Three years ago? I think my tolerance has changed after all those surgeries.”
They walked in silence down to the cockpit and then turned and walked back. Gasping, Alex stopped walking. She put her hands to her face. Her eyes welled with tears.
“Honey, what happened? What’s wrong?” He pulled her into his arms.
“I had this dream that Claire made the most beautiful dress for me,” she said, into his shoulder. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
“I think that happened,” Raz said.
“Oh,” Alex said. “That means . . . Oh . . . I think I’d rather go back to sleep.”
Breaking from his embrace, she plopped back down in her seat, crossed her arms, and closed her eyes. Raz made a face and pulled her to standing again.
“Let’s keep walking,” he said. “We can handle everything if we’re awake.”
“How many people did I kill?” Alex asked.
“Two, not counting the guy who fell off the stairs,” Raz replied. “You shot one in the forehead and broke the other’s neck. Ben said you did it Chuck Norris style—reverse-roundhouse kick.”
“Chuck Norris’s victims get up at the end of the workday and go home.”
“Ben gave the police your body armor and explained what happened. There will be an inquiry, and we’ll have to spend some more time in Paris to clear it up . . .”
“Now you are smacking your lips.”
“I’ve become very fond of the flavor of chocolate crepes,” Raz said, “and Clarissa.”
Alex laughed.
“Ben said it’s no big deal. The men are non-nationals, no passports, Interpol most-wanted list, exactly what we expected.”
“Well, hopefully they get their virgins.”
“I’ve never understood the draw,” Raz said. He steered Alex away from another wall. They walked back down the aisle.
“Thank you for saving my life.”
“I don’t have any idea how we found that hallway. Maybe it’s not me you should thank.”
“That’s what Ben said.”
“We ran down the hall. You were so pale . . . and your secondary ID tag was gone. Everyone’s secondary tag was gone. We thought you were dead. Ben couldn’t feel your pulse. We were . . . upset. Ben went into the room to see if anyone was alive. I was standing guard in the doorway when I realized that I could bring your body home to the family. I kneeled down and kissed you. Your eyes opened, and you said my name. Do you remember?”
“I only remember you carrying me through the room full of people. Where was that?”
“The police were at Le Fée Verte when we arrived. Someone had killed the clerk and a few of the patrons who tried to help her.”
“What? I had a conversation with the clerk a few hours ago. She was making me an absinthe.”
Raz shook his head.
“Today? The blond clerk? Tall? I’m sorry, Alex. That was a hallucination. She was killed, stabbed, two years ago. I carried you through the shop. You begged me to stay with you. You kept saying, ‘He’ll take me if you leave.’ Any idea who ‘he’ is?”
They were at the end of the hallway again, near the cockpit. Alex began visibly shaking. The information triggered a physical flashback. Alex stopped walking. Holding her close, Raz pressed her against the wall and whispered, “Just breathe, just breathe” over and over again. She stood shaking in his safe arms until she caught her breath and nodded. He stepped back. Taking her hand, he led her back down the aisle.
“I stayed with you until you went into surgery in Germany. Then the Army made me leave. The Admiral locked security down tight. They wouldn’t even let your father see you. They barely let Zack fly you. I met your helicopter when you arrived at Walter Reed. But, after the first surgery, you never awakened.”
“Thank you for taking such special care of me,” she said.
Looking deep into her eyes, he smiled and stroked her face.
“Tell me about Samantha.” Alex tried for a neutral topic.
“I like Samantha,” he said. “We’re just getting to know each other, which is fun. It’s fun to have the desire to get to know
someone, you know?”
Alex nodded.
“I think she likes me. We enjoy similar things and know different things. She spent an entire day showing me around the Denver Art Museum, and I spent a day touring her through the Smithsonian.”
“In Washington?”
Raz nodded. “We’re meeting in New York City for a show in a month or so. I’m her date to the Fey Team anniversary ceremony. She’s such an adult, your sister. She expects me to be available when we schedule time and otherwise knows that I’m doing other things. It’s nice.”
“But not love,” Alex said.
“No, it’s not love,” Raz said. He held her eyes again. “And that’s nice, too.”
They walked down to the end and turned.
“How are you feeling?”
“Crappy. I’d like nothing more than to go to my home, take a bath in my bathtub, and sleep in my bed.”
“I know,” he said. “Once you get through the medical at Buckley, we’ll head to the hotel for a bath.”
She nodded and sighed.
“It’s a lot,” he said. “Why do you think this hasn’t broken you? I went through less than this and completely fell apart.”
“You watched your wife and her lover jump from the North World Trade Center Tower on 9-11. You were less than fifty-feet from where they hit the pavement. That’s a bit more than losing your home . . .”
“And family and husband and job and team and health and . . .”
“Bees. That’s what makes me the most mad. They killed four of my beehives.”
Raz smiled.
“I guess I’m still Max’s twin. That’s who I am.”
“They’re coming for Max.”
Alex nodded, then smiled. “It will be interesting to watch them try.”
“There isn’t a file on Max Hargreaves.”
Alex nodded.
“Let’s get steaks tonight.”
“I’ll take you anywhere you’d like to go.” He caught her hand and turned her toward him. Holding her eyes, he added, “My love.”
He raised his eyebrows, and Alex laughed.
F
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