Fractured Futures

by SY Thompson

  Curious what she was up to, Sidney stood up with her plate and drifted over to the ruined hatch. She leaned against the frame with one shoulder, continuing to eat as she watched. As Ronan stepped across the spongy ground, Sidney noticed the damp smell of rot emanating from the jungle around them. Her nose wrinkled slightly in disgust. Ronan lifted the strange scanning device and aimed it out away from their location before moving around in a circle. Sidney assumed she was searching for the best way out of the marsh.

  Ronan started and her eyes went wide when she looked down at the display. Spinning quickly on her heel, she sprinted back toward the darkened plane, almost knocking Sidney down as she passed.

  “Let’s move.”

  Ronan grabbed Sidney’s shoes and tossed them toward her. Fortunately, she’d already finished her breakfast so it didn’t matter when the plate bounced off the dirty carpeting. Sidney looked up at Ronan as if she’d lost her mind.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “They’re coming.”

  Ronan squatted down in front of Sidney and grabbed one of her shoes. She started pulling at the laces to loosen them. Adrenaline flooded Sidney’s system and she snatched her shoe away from Ronan before stuffing her foot into it.

  “I thought you said we had plenty of time? That they were nine miles away?”

  “That was last night. Apparently they have some sort of transportation since their signals are moving steadily toward our location.”

  “Why can’t you just say ‘they’re moving fast’?”

  Ronan thrust the briefcase into her hands, grabbed her by the hand and hauled her out of the plane so fast that Sidney almost caught her thumb in her laces. She paused only long enough to grab the saddlebags by the center strap and Sidney’s briefcase. Her urgency struck a chord of fear that propelled Sidney to hurry after her as Ronan raced away from the crash site.

  After a good night’s sleep, Sidney had started thinking they were overreacting. It was true that someone had broken into her house last night, but he was gone. This pell-mell flight over half the country was unnecessary. As for the plane going down, maybe Ronan hadn’t been doing such a great job on maintenance after all. Sidney only had her word for it that someone was after them since she didn’t know how to work the “tracking” device. For all she knew, Ronan could be making it all up. What did she really know about her anyway?

  She’s a great kisser.

  She ignored her inner voice and decided to go along with Ronan for now. Since there really was no proof either way, Sidney didn’t want to take the chance that she was right and end up dead. With that in mind, she let Ronan haul her out of the plane. She was so sore she really couldn’t put up much of a fight anyway. She just went with it and waited while Ronan quickly kicked dirt over the small fire. Then she shoved Sidney toward the swamp.

  As the sun rose, the air became even stickier. Morning gave way to a humid, sweltering day that sapped their energy quickly. Sidney’s shirt clung to her in an annoying way. She tried to ignore the moisture gathering where the arms of her jacket were tied around her waist. Insects buzzed around her head and she slapped at them in irritation.

  They had been moving at a breakneck speed through the trees and murky water for hours. Her stomach grumbled, sweat trickled in an irritating line down her back and saturated her clothes. She was tired. Her feet ached. Sidney’s only view for the last hour was Ronan’s swinging behind. The leggy woman’s stride seemed to eat up the terrain, forcing Sidney to jog to keep up.

  Not that she really minded the view. Sidney allowed her mind to drift back to the kiss the night before. Ronan had obviously been terrified that the stalker might hurt her. Sidney had heard Ronan call out for her and the fear in her voice had been genuine. It made her feel good in a silly sort of way that she cared so much. Then those wonderfully long arms had scooped her against Ronan’s chest and held her tight.

  Now that she thought back on the scene, Sidney could remember how her heart had pounded under her ear and she knew Ronan’s reaction had been more than that of a concerned employee. Her reaction had been personal and she’d been terrified. Then she had kissed Sidney tenderly, lovingly, and Sidney remembered how she’d responded.

  She was getting used to having strange feelings when she was around Ronan and didn’t have the urge to gloss over it anymore. There was definitely an attraction between them. She didn’t know where it was going or if was brought on by the tension of the moment, but she wasn’t going to delude herself. Things would work out somehow and now was not the time to worry about it.

  After a while she felt as though she had started to float in a fog and her eyes fixed on the one constant in her swaying world: Ronan’s hips. Contrary to her previous decision not to worry about the development of their relationship, her eyes gravitated up over the lanky form. She had acknowledged from the moment she had seen Ronan that she found her attractive, but until this moment she hadn’t realized how utterly exquisite she was. Those hips would definitely get any man’s attention.

  Not just any man but also any woman with eyes in her head.

  She couldn’t deny the kisses they had shared, but years of ingrained propriety kicked in. They didn’t mean anything, she told herself. She had never been attracted to women, and couldn’t imagine why she would think about such a thing now.

  She explored the possibilities and thought back to sleeping in Ronan’s arms the night before and how comforted she felt. It was like it had been centuries since she’d been that comfortable sleeping with someone, much less a woman. Usually she couldn’t stand being in bed with anyone and started to feel claustrophobic from the body heat they generated. When that happened, all she wanted was to shove them onto the floor.

  Last night had been completely different. She had drawn support from Ronan’s presence, the sound of her heartbeat caused Sidney’s muscles to relax and the tension to drain from her body. Sidney had to come to terms with the fact that she wasn't attracted to women, but she was attracted to Ronan.

  With her attention divided, Sidney wasn’t watching where she was going and she tripped over the thick, twisted root of a cypress tree. Unable to maintain her balance, she grunted and fell heavily to the ground. Instinctively she dropped the briefcase and thrust her arms out in front of her to break her fall. Sidney only succeeded in straining her wrist when it took the brunt of her weight on the hard ground.

  “Damn.” She rolled over and sat up to inspect the damage.

  Ronan heard the crash as she hit the ground and Sidney saw her turn back to check on her. She had just clutched her right arm against her chest when suddenly Ronan squatted next her and aimed the analyzer at her wounded arm. She punched a series of buttons on the device, waited a moment, and then checked the results.

  “Thankfully it’s only a slight sprain.”

  Sidney had expected Ronan to pull out one of the bandages she had seen her pack into the saddlebags and was surprised when she withdrew another strange device from her bag. The tip of it glowed yellow as Ronan ran the light back and forth on her wrist and Sidney felt a slight tingling sensation. A few seconds later, Ronan put the instrument away.

  “How does that feel?”

  Sidney flexed her hand. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. What was that thing?”

  “It’s called a myovascular knitter. It’s for healing soft tissue injuries,” Ronan answered, smiling slightly.

  “Another of your friend’s inventions?”

  At Ronan’s nod, Sidney continued wryly. “I’m beginning to see how the government might see him as a threat. With these kinds of inventions, the medical industry would be in shambles. No more prescriptions to treat symptoms while the body heals itself...no more endless tests that really don’t show anything but sure generate a lot of revenue.”

  Ronan stared at Sidney, obviously surprised by her harsh words, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. She was hungry and miserable from walking around in sweat-soaked clothing.

  “You’re tired. We shou
ld rest for a few minutes.” Without waiting for a response, Ronan handed Sidney the water canteen.

  “How could you tell?” Sidney shot back sarcastically, but gratefully accepted the water.

  “Because your cynicism is even more pointed than usual.”

  Startled, Sidney looked into Ronan’s face, then noticed the arched brow and snorted at the dry humor. She reached out and playfully smacked Ronan on the leg. However, what she intended as a tap on the muscled thigh turned into a caress as Sidney felt tingles shooting out from her fingertips. She was surprised to see Ronan’s eyes dilate, the blue becoming a narrow band of color against the much larger pupil.

  Ronan suddenly cleared her throat, picked up the analyzer and input a sequence of commands. Sidney guessed it was more for something to do than because she needed the information. Still, Ronan’s expression tightened as she analyzed the data.

  “Will you show me how that works?”

  Ronan smiled at her curiosity and held up the scanner, showing Sidney how to tap in different series of buttons to ascertain different findings. She tried to concentrate, but her thoughts were on something else. Sidney had seen Ronan’s desire, or thought she had. Now that the moment was over, she allowed for the slightest bit of doubt. Briefly.

  No, that was definitely desire. She wants me, too.

  “Watch carefully,” Ronan instructed gently and drew Sidney’s attention to what she was doing. “Enter this sequence to check on our adversaries’ progress.”

  Sidney saw the readout on the small display and quickly derived a conclusion. Combined with the previous layout she’d seen on the Everglades, as well as their position within it, this wasn’t good.

  “They’re so much closer.” She grasped the scanner to see it more clearly. “How can this be right?”

  “Clearly, they have some means of motorized transport.”

  “No, not motorized,” Sidney disagreed. “Sound travels for miles through the jungle. If they had air-boats we’d know it.”

  Ronan frowned and Sidney was disconcerted at how adorable it made her companion look, even with dirt smudged on her skin and hair hanging damply around her aquiline features.

  “Okay,” Sidney said and tried to focus. “If not air-boats, then what?”

  Speaking more to herself, Ronan asked aloud, “What would someone use to travel downriver without the aid of engines?”

  “A canoe,” Sidney exclaimed, comprehension dawning in her eyes. “They’re traveling by canoe, that’s why they’re moving so fast.”

  “If that’s true we can never outrun them.” Ronan held up the analyzer. “Look here. The river will continue to wind around until it will eventually be in front of us. At one point, we would have to cross it to reach civilization. Somehow, I don’t believe they’ll allow that. It’ll be much simpler to eliminate us in these swamps and allow the natural predators to dispose of the evidence.”

  “Well, that certainly paints a graphic picture.” Sidney shuddered at the images generated in her mind. “Then we’ll just have to make sure it doesn’t come to that.”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  A soft smile graced Sidney’s lips and she reached up to gently brush Ronan’s strong jaw. She could feel an almost imperceptible shiver travel through the whip-thin frame. “Honey, I may be an actress, but that doesn’t mean that I’m stupid.”

  Ronan’s eyes widened, but she listened as Sidney continued. “Since I met you, a lot of things just don’t add up. You keep showing up just in the nick of time to rescue me...all these technological wonders that you wield as though they’re common place...and you cannot tell me that motorcycle is factory standard. At least not from any factory around here.”

  Ronan started to interrupt, obviously prepared to fabricate any excuse she could think of, but Sidney stopped her by pressing a soft finger against her lips.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not going to demand more answers...at least not yet. But I do know there’s more to you than meets the eye, and I know you have some skills that would prove useful in a physical confrontation.”

  Ronan pulled back to take a shaky breath before she said, “You’re right, but I fail to see how those abilities can assist us now. Our pursuers are too far away at present.”

  “But they won’t be for long. The jungle is a dangerous place What if they ran into a few obstacles on the way?”

  “Yes,” Ronan said softly, her eyes narrowing as she caught on to Sidney’s suggestion. “The jungle is indeed a dangerous place.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “DAMN,” HE MUTTERED in irritation and swatted at the mosquitoes chewing on the back of his neck.

  He wouldn’t even be out here if it weren’t for that fool Gentry. As far as he was concerned, they were better off without him anyway. Sullivan just wished his employers had left the task to him. He would have shot Gentry on the spot instead of trying to clean up his mess. Now the president-elect wanted this mistake rectified. Sullivan couldn’t understand what Gentry had been thinking, to put government secrets on a computer disc and let it fall into the hands of his ex-wife.

  Senator Angstrom had made it quite clear that Sullivan and his little band of hunters were not to return without the Weaver woman and now they wouldn’t even let him kill her. The pilot, however, was free game. Sullivan wondered if he could create a little accident for the Weaver woman along the way. Angstrom would never know it had been deliberate. That possibility made Sullivan feel a little better, but he was still out in the swamps of the Everglades sweating his butt off as he tried to track the Weaver woman and her pilot.

  Sullivan didn’t know the other four men on his team and that was just fine. The killer preferred to work with people he had no ties to; it was easier to intimidate them with his size and eliminate them if it became necessary.

  They’d picked up the Seminole guide in a small village at the edge of the swamps. Picked up was the right expression. They weren’t about to pay him and had “hired” him by flashing a gun in his face.

  When he found the women it would be over quickly, maybe a little too quickly for his taste. Nevertheless, he had no doubt he’d find them soon. The women were on foot and their guide informed him there was only one path they could safely take out of the jungle. They’d already found the plane wreckage, but there weren’t any bodies inside or any trace of blood. There was evidence that they had eaten as recently as this morning. There was a campfire ring, and obvious tracks on the ground showed that they had walked into the swamps. That meant they were in one piece, for the moment.

  Sullivan glanced over at their guide. Billy definitely knew his business. Within hours of the plane going down they had found the wreckage. The man almost seemed to have a precognitive idea of where it was. Billy had informed Sullivan of the only way out of the marsh and that it was along a route that ran parallel to the river. At the southern end of the Everglades, the women would have to cross over that body of water where it was most shallow to reach a small town just at the edge of the swamps. Sullivan would make sure they never reached their destination.

  Even if the guide was wrong, he had an infrared tracker that Angstrom had given him. It detected heat signatures and although there were literally hundreds of them in the swamps, human beings gave off their own unique signal. Sullivan didn’t know where the senator had obtained such a piece of sophisticated equipment, but so far it showed Billy to be right on the money as to where the women were.

  Two canoes followed each other closely down the narrow band of muddy water and drifted easily as though this were just a carefree summer day. He closed his eyes and listened to the frogs that croaked along the banks. He absorbed the feel of the sunshine against his face. It reminded him of fishing as a boy, and for a moment he was that child again who tortured small animals out of the sight of his father. A sudden shout from up ahead caught his attention and as he opened his eyes, the illusion shattered.

  “Look out!” one of the men Sullivan didn’t know shouted and poin
ted at the murky water. “There it is.”

  Sullivan was in the second canoe with Billy and another man and peered ahead to see a scaly body thrash through the water. The alligator was at least twelve feet long, its mouth open to display wickedly sharp teeth that gleamed in the sunlight. The skinny man that had shouted the warning stood up in his canoe, gibbered in fear, and moved in agitation as he reached for a shotgun. The small craft wobbled dangerously under his weight and dipped from side to side treacherously close to the swirling river.

  “Sit down, idiot,” Sullivan shouted. “You’re going to tip over.”

  Suddenly, that’s exactly what happened. The canoe flipped over completely and threw the three men into the fast-moving river. They disappeared from view before bobbing back into sight. The river wasn’t deep and two of the men swam-ran toward their companions in the other boat.

  Skinny, as Sullivan now thought of him, stood in stunned horror as he pointed the shotgun toward the animal, but didn’t try to fire. Sullivan pulled up his own shotgun and sighted down the barrel. He aimed at the swamp creature and pulled the trigger. He could easily see that he had hit the target, but the alligator didn’t appear affected in the least. It lunged out of the water and snapped Skinny between its powerful jaws. One final scream of fear was the last anyone saw of the unfortunate man as the gator pulled him under the water.

  Sullivan growled angrily at the man’s stupidity, but grasped onto one of the other men’s shirt to help haul him into the canoe. The other survivor climbed into the vessel by himself.

  With the canoe overloaded by five men, Sullivan realized they would have to waste time to salvage the other one. They would also have to make time for the men to change into dry clothes. Still, it wouldn’t matter. The women would not escape on foot.

  Regardless of this latest setback, Sullivan felt confident that they were gaining on their quarry. His heat seeker detected the stronger signatures of the women as they drew closer and he breathed a sigh of anticipation that was almost sexual as the canoe gently rounded the curve in the riverbed. Then he heard Billy mutter an oath and he glanced ahead to see what the man was upset about. A huge tree had fallen across the waterway and successfully precluded them from continuing in the previous fashion, at least not without a bit of work.