by Matt Lincoln
A few seconds later, he started to walk away, heading along the shoreline. He wasn’t in any hurry. No one else followed him, and me doing so would be a mistake unless I gave him enough room to feel secure.
I pulled out my own phone and pretended once again to make a call. My first thought was to call Rosa or Doc and fill them in using old school code, but there wasn’t anything they could do from where they were. They’d only have information, and that was it. Still, it was better than nothing.
I dialed up Rosa, who picked up immediately. It would be a one-sided conversation, but it might be enough of a cover to keep me as non-suspicious.
“Hey, gorgeous,” I started off, sounding flirty and easygoing, “I just thought I’d call you up, see how you’re doing.” I paused, hoping that she’d pick up what I was trying to tell her through some very subtle code speak. “Let you know how much I miss you.” I chuckled for added effect and slowed my pace. The guy was unaware so far, and I wanted to keep it that way.
“So, hey, how’s your sister doing? Is she feeling better?” I knew that Rosa couldn't answer through anything but text, but I needed the conversation to sound natural and also relevant to our situation so that she could respond if and when I needed her to. This could last as long as I needed it to, and now Rosa had a basis for hearing everything that might happen. “That’s good.” I matched the guy’s stride. He was looking at a restaurant, and I hoped like hell that he didn’t go in. “Starting to get hungry, you know? Might grab a bite to eat.” Surely she’d understand that the guy I was tailing was pausing at a restaurant. I couldn’t come up with a clever way to tip her off to which one, however.
The guy took out his phone again and looked down at it.
“Hey, did you get my message from earlier?” That would let her know that he was still receiving info from someone else. I read the menu on the A-frame board for effect. “Good.” I glanced back at the guy who was looking directly at me now, and then he started to run. I’d been made. “Got a rabbit!” I called into the cell to let Rosa know that he was running from me. With the fake call useless now as a cover, I pushed it deep into my pocket and took off at full speed after the guy.
The guy was fast and in good shape. I’d give him that. He dodged and wove like a pro through the crowded spaces without touching a single person. It crossed my mind that he’d done this before and was being this cautious for a reason. I had to keep up and watch him as he probably wasn’t going to be alone for long. He wasn’t sloppy like some runners got. He was avoiding making contact with anyone. That told me that he couldn’t risk getting caught or identified. I was able to keep up with him, but this kind of footrace couldn’t go on forever.
He swerved and headed into a congested shopping area. This would slow him down if he continued to play it carefully, but it slowed me down too. It was smart. There was no way that I could stop him short of overtaking him. I was never going to risk trying to fire at him in a crowd, in the middle of the day, and he knew it.
He soared over a brick flower bed and tumbled into or on top of something on the other side, and that gave me a yard or two of an advantage in which to cut my distance from him. He got up, though, and now limped on his right leg, but he kept moving. That’s when I noticed that he was on his phone again. Something made him take a hard left. I was still on him, closer than before, and then he ran out into the street.
I dug in deep and pulled out an extra, final burst of speed. Cars honked at us, and I knew that the chance of getting hit or causing a crash had spiked. I had to get him now.
Before I could make that leap that would have hurt but landed me on top of him, a car slammed on its brakes, and I tumbled right over the hood, unable to slow my momentum. There was no way that was random or untimed. This guy was getting help, just like I knew he would. I landed hard on the asphalt and rolled a couple of times. My knees were screaming in pain, as well as my right shoulder and elbow. I crashed into a trash bin to the screams and cries of random people that I had scared the crap out of.
I knew my guy was gone, but I looked for the stopped car that had taken me down. It was a silver Audi, but I was blurry on any other details. I pointed at it, hoping that someone would notice and film it or get the license plate. The driver must have thought the same thing because they didn’t bother stepping out to check on me. They just drove off as though nothing had happened. They knew they had done their job.
Strangers helped me to my feet, and I heard someone calling for an ambulance and another person for the police. I was rattled and bleeding but aware of what came next. I breathed calmly and took out my phone. I needed to keep my head clear and not let my anger at the guy getting away cloud my judgment. I dialed Rosa and tried to think through the pain. That guy had been watching the ship for some reason, and I wanted to know why. I also needed to figure out why he ran from me when I’d not made any serious aggressive actions toward him. Then Rosa picked up.
“Hey,” I said quickly. “He got away. And I got hit by a car. Let Doc know.” I hung up and waited, thinking about all the new problems this day had shown me. Then I realized something that made me even more unhappy and mad. I wasn’t going to be of any use to Mia or anyone else in this state.
Chapter 25
Jake
Back at the condo, I let Doc patch me up in his expert way. My knees were aching, but a couple of aspirin and a hot/cold patch to ease the soreness would most likely do the trick. I was feeling a little off about losing that guy, but once I got hit by a car, what was I supposed to do? At least, that’s what Rosa told me.
“Scrapes and bruises, nothing feels broken for a change.” Doc’s deadpan needed some work, but I didn’t feel like debating that now.
I gave Rosa the best description that I could of the car so that we’d have a frame of reference for later. “Silver newer model Audi, tinted windows, factory rims, nothing fancy to identify it. You saw the guy too, so…” There was no need for me to describe him.
Doc finished up with me and stood back to admire his handiwork. “I would like for you to rest up here for a while, but that’s too much to ask, so I won’t.”
“You just did,” I reminded him, jokingly.
“And even so, you will not listen to me.” He sighed, admitting his defeat to my will. “Just be careful and no parkour for a few days, is that agreeable at least?” He was still just teasing, but there was no way I could make that promise with everything going on around the team and this mission. I knew the look on my face conveyed exactly that.
“Then I’ve done my best, and that’s all I can do.” Doc knew that I was in a hurry to get to the hospital and see Eve. I had refused medical treatment from the proper resources at the scene because I trusted him to do a better job, anyway. I wasn’t that bad off, but I’d pay for it in the days to come. I could live with that, and I was prepared to.
Such as it was, I did actually make it to the hospital to visit Eve later that day. I found her information at the main desk and headed to see her. I found two very menacing, very well-armed people standing outside of the room I’d been told was hers. One of the guards was a man, wearing a black suit and carrying a sidearm, another piece concealed under the jacket and probably another at his back. Well, they were concealed to the average eye, but not to mine. His body language and the way he stood was a dead giveaway to someone trained to scout out threats.
The second guard was a woman, also in a solid black suit, carrying at her thigh, hip, and side. She had also tried to conceal some of her weapons, not well, it would seem. Both of them had their hands folded in front of them as a unified show of force. It wasn’t a tactic I often saw for a victim of a crime. Usually, this type of coverage was for federal witnesses.
I got a pit in my stomach as I neared her room. I pulled out my phone and dialed Eve’s cell. She answered right away. “Hey, I’m outside your room, and you’ve got muscle out here. Something I need to know about?”
“I’ll explain when you get in. Tell them that
I invited you, okay?” She sounded shaken, and my concerns skyrocketed. I pocketed my phone and advanced.
I walked up to the guards and kept a friendly tone and stance. “Afternoon. I’m here to see Ms. Sarabia at her invitation.”
The woman looked me over, and I knew that she was taking mental notes on everything about me. I had been trained to do the same which proved that these two were not the standard type of security. They were well trained and knew how to handle a threat, maybe even one like me. I smiled, amused, just thinking about it.
Once she was satisfied, she opened Eve’s door and leaned in to speak to her. “You have a SEAL to see you, Sarabia. Says that he’s expected.” Her voice was practiced at being calm and hiding all inflections. It was monotone and dull. She’d been trained to sound that way, and that was an important detail I’d save for later.
I had never been pinned as a SEAL right off the bat before, and I wondered if they’d been given intel about me. I didn’t think my demeanor or mannerisms screamed SEAL, but maybe I was wrong. I still thought it was invasive info, though. And that could be a problem. If these two were being fed intelligence on any of Eve’s visitors, there had to be a reason. Someone wanted to know everything that would happen to her. That looked like paranoia to me, and I wanted to know why.
Eve’s relieved response sounded out from inside of the room. “Yes, he’s my friend. Please let him in. Thank you.”
I was ushered in, and the door closed behind me. I turned and locked it, which probably pissed them off, but I didn’t care right now. I headed over to Eve and reached down to kiss her on the cheek.
“Are you alright? Can you tell me?” I whispered into her ear.
She nodded her head and gestured to the chair nearby for me to sit. “I’m fine, really. There’s a lot going on, Jake. Like, a lot, a lot.” She wasn’t trying to be clever or send secret messages, so I assumed that she wasn’t under duress.
“Tell me.” I settled down into the chair that I’d pulled in close to her bed. She looked good for a woman who had been shot yesterday. Apparently, the wound was not severe, which made me relieved.
“First off, it's so good to see you,” she began. “Are you doing okay? You weren’t shot, were you?” She looked me over, noticing the bruises and scrapes, as well as my cheek with a new bandage on it.
“I’m fine. Tell me about you. What’s going on?” I glanced back at the door.
“Well, I got a call from Judge Fu as soon as I was out of danger. She was concerned which I appreciate. But then she started taking over everything. She called in a bunch of her DEA colleagues and pulled a lot of strings to get me security and around-the-clock protection.” She stopped to let me absorb all that. I nodded for her to continue.
“She’s thinking of flying in to manage things, but I’ve stalled her for now.” Eve leaned in and lowered her voice. “She wants to use this as a platform for the Task Force. Her focus has shifted from finding her son to manipulating the dynamic for the DEA side.” She relaxed and settled back into her pillows. “I don’t know what to think.”
That was a whole new set of plots to worry about, and I didn’t want to discuss any of that here. I was starting to feel like this was closing in on us and that we were going to have a nasty fight to get out of it.
“When are you going to be released?” I wanted to concentrate on what we could work with. And she didn’t need to have the weight of my concerns for her, my team, and the mission laid on her. I cared too much to let that burden her.
She grinned. “This afternoon. George has really stepped in and made sure that no one tries to make me stay longer, and on that point…” Eve looked a little sheepish as she continued, “I was kind of hoping that I could bum a ride off you or one of your team. I don’t know the exact location of where George’s place is, and without directions, I’m not sure a cab will pick me up.”
“Speaking of which…” It was as good a time as any to bring up my exodus from there, “I am moving back into my condo in Biscayne Bay. I have plans to relocate the team’s operations out of there, at least for the time being. You’re welcome to stay with me, and no,” I didn’t want her to feel weird or pressured, “There are two bedrooms, so I’m not suggesting anything. Just a place for you to crash with the added benefit of me being able to keep an eye on you.”
“But your bodyguards aren’t welcome to follow, sorry,” I added for fun. I hoped that she’d accept my offer.
“At the risk of sounding way too forward, I think I’ll accept, on a trial basis, anyway,” she replied with an appreciative smile. “If you’re setting your place up to find Arik and work from there, I need and want to be a part of it. Thank you.” She reached out for my hand and held it firmly. It was enough for now.
With that settled up, I told her about the condo and about Mia’s scare and the run-in with the runner and the car. Eve was a bit shocked to hear that things were escalating so rapidly, but I reassured her that I was doing everything that I could to protect them as a whole. She gave me a smile and nodded at this promise. But I wondered just how much she was holding in. I wished that I could have made it easier for her in some way, but that just wasn’t within my power at present. I hoped that she understood that.
Within an hour, Eve was being prepped for release. I stood by, watching and listening, making sure that she had whatever she needed. By the evening, I had her in the Mercedes, and I was driving her back to my place to recover and regroup.
Once Rosa had heard about Eve’s imminent arrival, she had gone back to George’s to pack up Eve’s stuff and bring it to her. It gave Rosa a good excuse to gather her own items and gear and say goodbye to George. Mia was going to be staying there, for the time being, it seemed, at Rosa’s request, and Doc had talked Xavier into getting a hotel room for himself. I didn’t know how he managed it, but I was proud of him.
When I pressed him for information on it, Doc said that Xavier had been very reluctant at first but that he understood the obligations for the team coming first. I guessed by the tone in his voice that Doc and Xavier had worked things out fairly well. I needed to take the time to hear it out, but that wouldn't be a possibility for a while.
Eve and I made it to the condo just in time to feel the heaviness of the day settle on us. I was too tired to even think of doing much, so she talked me into eating leftovers and turned in early. I knew that both of us needed rest and so I didn’t object. It was not my first idea on how the night was going to go once Eve was at my place, and we were alone, but we’d have time later on. There was no rush.
I woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee and a soft tapping on my bedroom door.
“Jake? Your team is hanging out and eating all the breakfast. You better hurry if you want some.” It took me a few moments to place the female voice. Then I remembered. Eve had stayed here last night in the spare bedroom because she had refused to take the master one.
I opened my eyes to the morning sun streaming in through the full-length window and glass door that led to the balcony. When I moved, I felt the sudden pang of sore muscles and stiff joints. That’s when I remembered the car that had tried to occupy the same space as me yesterday. I was lucky that I bounced and rolled. Otherwise, I could have been in a lot worse shape today.
“I’ll be out in a minute. I’m going to grab a shower first.” I needed to inspect the damage and clean up. If there was any breakfast left when I was done, that was fine. If not, coffee was just as good.
I dug out a clean navy-blue tee-shirt and a pair of faded black cargo shorts. I had a limited wardrobe here, with most of my clothes back home in Puerto Rico. The trip that had begun in the Azores had lasted longer than I’d planned for and now relocating here to Miami was straining my wardrobe situation.
I could just go out and buy new clothing, but I didn’t want to take the time. I wanted myself and the team to pinpoint Arik Fu’s location and get the kid back from whoever took him. That was the mission, and it was the only thing I wanted to
work on.
The shower felt good, and the hot water soothed out the stiffness of the last few days. I slipped on the clothes, ran a comb through my hair, and headed out to greet the day and the team. Since they were already there, I had to assume that Eve had let them in when they arrived. I checked my watch and was surprised to see that I had slept so late. I guessed that my body needed it more than I knew.
Xavier was at the dining table, munching on cold cereal and typing on his laptop. I made a quick scan of the room to find that Mia was not around. I gave a silent, private sigh of relief. Doc was at the small bar area, watching Eve cooking something on the stove.
When he saw me, he raised his coffee mug. “It lives. How are you feeling, Header?”
“Been better, been worse.” I ambled over to Eve to see what she was making for breakfast. “Smells good. What is it?”
“Scrambled egg sandwich. The breakfast of Champions. That’s what my brother called it.” She smiled my way and reached in to give me a rushed peck on the cheek. “You didn’t sleep very well, did you?”
“That obvious?” I knew that I wasn’t looking that good, but I’d hoped that the shower would have helped it.
“I heard you moving around a bit. Trying to get comfortable.” She moved to get me a cup of coffee. “You like it plain, right? That’s what Doc said.”
“Doc was right.” I nodded toward him.
“As usual.” He added and drained his mug. “Rosa is taking a private call out on the balcony. I think that she might have a secret amore.”
“Rosa? No way. No man is brave enough to ask her out. I’ve seen a few try.” My eyes rested on Xavier, and I knew that I needed to address the elephant in the room. “Xavier, how’s it going over there? You and Mia taking a break?”