CODE ORANGE CANCUN (COVERT KIDS Book 1)

by S. D. BROWN

  Harry flashed me a 1970's peace sign. "It's all good. We've got your back."

  "Fabulous!" I said and rushed out.

  The pool was a series of artificial lagoons studded with palm trees. A dozen professional soccer fields easily could have fit in its place. Finding the boy in that expanse wouldn't be easy.

  To my right a massive black marble Quetzalcoatl statue ran the length of an Olympic sized pool. Even more impressive was the guy admiring the feathered snake god of the Aztecs. Why couldn't my target look like him? Attractive. Tall. Thick, curly blond hair.

  "The Quetzalcoatl is pretty impressive, isn't it?" I said.

  He turned. His vivid blue eyes could melt an iceberg with a mere wink.

  Strangely, my knees went all wobbly and suddenly regretted I was on assignment and had to focus on the twerp offspring of the monster who'd killed my parents.

  "Quetzo what?" The boy's voice sounded surprised. Cute American accent.

  "Quetzalcoatl. It's a Mesoamerican deity," I said, inwardly wincing. I sounded like a pompous Little Miss Know It All, but couldn't stop myself. "Translated it means 'feathered serpent.'"

  "Who likes to snack on humans," he said and gave me a sheepish grin.

  "Uhhh, yeah. . ." My skin suddenly felt twenty degrees warmer and not from the tropical heat. If Uncle Monte had wanted me to impress some guy, why hadn't he downloaded some useful flirt-chat skills?

  I sighed. It didn't matter what this boy thought of me. I had a job to do and it didn't include him. Or his dreamy eyes and sweet smile. "Well, it was nice chatting. I must go. My parents are expecting me to join them."

  "Me, too. I mean, my dad's waiting for me out here somewhere." He frowned. "I guess uhh . . . we could look for your parents and my dad at the same time."

  Tempting, but I wasn't on holiday. Besides, he didn't sound like he really wanted to spend time with me. In fact, it sounded like it was the last thing he wanted to do. He was merely being polite.

  We both stood there. I had to say something or he'd walk away. Of course that would be best. I had a job to do. Still, I wanted the moment to last. Even if only for a few minutes before my assignment started.

  "I'm J.T.," he said after an awkward silence. "What's your name?"

  "Rena."

  He nodded his head and started to fiddle with the back of one of the pool lounge chairs. Obviously he was totally bored with my conversation. Why did I have to spout the history lecture?

  "Or maybe you're busy," he said, his strained words tinged with indifference. The webbing on the chair seemed to fascinate him, so much so, that he didn't even bother to look at me. "No big deal."

  Before I could respond, there came a deep blood-curdling yell accompanied by a woman's screaming protests.

  "Geronimo!"

  I turned and groaned out loud.

  Harry, with Mum struggling in his arms, ran toward the water. She shrieked. He leaped. They were only airborne for an instant before they plunged to the bottom of the pool. A huge splash erupted from the depths and drenched us.

  I grabbed my net-shades and jumped back. They weren't waterproof and I hadn't even had a chance to use them yet. If they were ruined, I was not taking the blame.

  J.T. laughed as Harry and Mum surfaced.

  Harry grabbed Mum in a tight embrace and kissed her full on the lips. Then he released her. "Wasn't that grand," he said and playfully tapped her nose with a wet finger.

  It was a shocking display. I couldn't have been any more embarrassed than if they had been my real parents.

  Mum smiled like she enjoyed Harry's devoted attention and nibbled on his ear.

  "Oh!" He reached for her hand and held it tight. "I just love you to death, sweetie pie." He kissed her nose.

  "Ditto," she said, sounding like she meant it. "Oh, honey, there's Rena. It looks like she's found a new friend."

  Suddenly three pairs of eyes focused on me.

  Mum smiling like a beauty pageant contestant. Harry grinning and winking at the same time like the Cheshire cat. J.T.'s face turned a ruddy pink, obviously not impressed with my linage.

  "These are my parents," I mumbled.

  "What's your name, young man?" Mum said. "Are you here on holiday?"

  I glared at her.

  "Rena," Harry said to get my attention, while Mum plied J.T. with a series of foolish questions. He tapped the side of his head.

  It took a couple of seconds to realize he was signaling me to activate the net-shades. I nonchalantly reached up and casually tapped the start button on the temple. Nothing happened.

  Harry started in with the comments. "Hey, I think you found your match."

  Talk about embarrassing. It was like the two of them were having a contest to see which could make me feel the most socially inferior.

  "Little resort relationships can be very sweet," Mum was saying. "Even if they are temporary."

  "I tell you this boy is your match, my little angel." Harry said.

  The two of them had gone too far.

  "I'm not your little angel!" I said, my teeth grinding.

  Instantly the net-shades activated.

  "Oh!" So that's what Harry was up to with the angel business. Angel was the word to activate the glasses.

  A holo-screen appeared that only I could see. The words TARGET FOUND flashed in electric blue letters. My heart sank. An all too familiar 3-D image appeared under the pulsating alert. I sucked in a deep breath and watched the slowly rotating head.

  Pretend Mum's prediction had been correct. The one she'd made on the plane when she had said, "the handsome ones often go through an awkward stage." It was true. The photograph of the pathetic brace-face boy with the unruly hair and glasses had morphed into the cute guy standing next to me. I should have figured it out sooner. He was an American and they were the masters of simplification. Including monikers. Hence, James Thomas had become J.T.

  Talk about awful. It was like slamming into a brick wall. I'd almost fallen for the enemy. The fact that James Thomas Chapman was cute made him and the assignment all the more dangerous. That was okay. I could handle it. I was a professional and I would not let my attraction to him get in the way. My parents' deaths would be avenged through my faux friendship with J.T.

  I'd just have to remain ever vigilant and never forget that he was myadversary. My target. My foe.

  Not my friend.

  "I don't think they'll miss you," J.T. said and nodded toward Harry and Mum who were lip-locked. "Come on. Help me find my dad."

  "They are so embarrassing," I said and let him lead me away.

  "Parents can be a pain, but my dad's cool."

  That's what you think, but then how well do you know him?

  "You're awful quiet. Is everything okay?"

  "I'm fine," I said and smiled at him. My cover lies began to flow. "It's their honeymoon. I don't know why they brought me. It's awkward."

  "Yeah, I know. My mom remarried." He frowned. "It changed everything. What about your dad?"

  "He died."

  "Sorry."

  "No need to be. It wasn't your fault."

  Awkward silence.

  "What happened to him?"

  "Car accident five years ago." A coldness crept into my voice that wasn't play acting. "Hit and run. They never caught the guy."

  "That's harsh."

  I nodded. "One day, he'll pay."

  "You mean like karma?" J.T. said. "What goes around comes around?"

  "Something like that."

  "J.T. Is that you?" The low breathless voice was attached to a really short skirt and long tanned legs. Her spiked pixie hair gleamed the color of golden wheat about to be harvested.

  This could be an interesting complication.

  "I can't believe it's you." The young woman grabbed him into a tight hug. She planted a kiss on his right cheek that left the faint outline of red lips. "My you've grown-up nice."

  J.T.'s face turned red. When he spoke, I realized the color change wasn't due to embarrass
ment. "I don't know you. Just go away. Leave me alone. Quit following me."

  "J.T." her voice pleaded. "Don't you recognize me? It's Dharma. I used to babysit you when you visited your dad."

  "Dharma?" His voice sounded perplexed and then he shook his head. "I don't think so."

  "Maybe you just don't remember me, but I do work for your father. See." She held up a Madison Hunter Corporation ID pass-card laminated with her photo on it. "Your dad sent Trace and me to meet you in Phoenix, but we missed you. It's really important that we talk." She looked at me and added. "Somewhere private."

  "If Dad sent you, then you know the code. I say banana and you say?"

  "I'm not here to play games."

  "And Dad didn't send you." J.T. turned to me. "Let's go."

  "Wait." Her voice sounded beseeching. "You're right. He didn't send us, but he would have if he'd known what was going to happen."

  It was time to put in my two quid. "Maybe you should listen to what she has to say. It might be important." And useful to me.

  He shrugged. "I don't know."

  "Talk to her," I said. "But first give me your mobile phone and I'll program in my number. You can call me later if you want to talk."

  "Okay."

  He passed me his phone. I tapped in the number and handed it back. "You can call me anytime. I'll be there. And now," I paused for affect, "I'm going to check on the newlyweds."

  I gave him a little princess wave and thought the job would have been easier if he had been the gawky boy in the photograph. Less distracting.

  12: J.T.

  For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

  Isaiah 41:13

  AZTEC PALACE RESORT

  CANCUN RIVIERA

  Talk about bad timing. Rena and I had just started to click before Dharma interrupted. My first real chance to score a cool girlfriend vanished like a missed foul shot in the last second to tie a championship game. Hello, Loserville.

  Frowning, I started to walk.

  DAD, WHERE ARE YOU?

  I scanned left. Scanned right. Scanned center. Tried to ignore Dharma, but she followed and talked nonstop. Her whining skills scored a close second to Mom's. That's what made me decide she was too harmless to be a kidnapper. That and the laminated Madison Hunter Corporation ID pass had sealed the deal. She wasn't a spy, which meant Blazer Guy Trace wasn't one either.

  "Come on, please," she said for the thousandth time. Her voice began to sound a little unsure, like maybe she was scared or something. "Trace is waiting for us."

  I'd scoped out the whole pool area. No sign of Dad. It was time to move on to plan B. Or was it C?

  "Okay. Take me to Trace."

  "Finally!" Her sigh released a blast of pent-up female stress stuff. "He's on the beach."

  I glanced at her worried face. That's when I really saw her for the first time.

  Compared to Rena, up close Dharma didn't look like such a Hot Chick anymore. More like my Math teacher in a short skirt trying to come across like she was still in high school. Pathetic. Hard to believe I'd thought she and the Blazer Guy Trace were cool, dangerous, spy types.

  Maybe they could tell me what was going on. And why Dad wasn't here.

  She led me through a break in the resort's privacy wall, from a hard white concrete path onto soft white sand. I only got a glimpse of the turquoise sea before we were surrounded and instantly became the center of a feeding frenzy of self-made beach-entrepreneurs.

  "Look at my beautiful blankets. Only five dollars American."

  "A necklace for the lady? Rings? For your ears, maybe."

  "Ice cream."

  "Buy my fine tablecloths."

  Dharma waved her hand to ward off the sharks and kept walking. "Don't look at them. Or their wares. And whatever you do, don't talk to them."

  "Tacos. Coke. Agua."

  The spicy tacos smelled good. My stomach rumbled. I hadn't eaten anything since the plane.

  She grabbed my arm and plowed through the crowd. "Just ignore them. They will go away."

  "But I'm hungry," I said.

  "You can eat later. Get something from the resort that won't make you sick. You don't want Montezuma's Revenge, do you?"

  "No, but__"

  "There's Trace." She waved and I saw him seated in a lounge chair under a little palm open-air hut.

  "Sit, J.T.," Trace said and pointed to the lounge next to his. "I wanted to meet you here because your room is probably bugged."

  Another five beach venders surrounded us.

  "This doesn't feel so private," I said as a boy about my age shoved a leather belt in my face.

  "Five dollar."

  "Vamoose," Trace growled, glaring at the boy. Something in his voice worked. The crowd slunk off and surrounded another tourist trying to get a suntan.

  Dharma plopped down next to him.

  "So tell me what's going on," I said, looking first at him and then at her. "Where's my dad?"

  "We don't know," she said. "That's the problem."

  "He left for vacation and then disappeared off the grid," Trace said.

  I shook my head. Something didn't add up. "How is that possible? He checked in here a week ago."

  Little creases formed on Dharma's forehead. "That can't be right. He was scheduled for Hong Kong last week."

  "You're kidding, right?" I said.

  Her eyes got all teary and she shook her head. Trace just looked angry.

  Something was definitely wrong here and for the first time since I'd arrived in Mexico, I felt a little like a rattlesnake without fangs.

  "The resort manager told me that Dad's been here for seven days. Are you sure you're his assistants?"

  "Yes," Dharma said. "Level One, which means we are the only two people who know where he is at all times."

  "Then where is he?" I said.

  "We were hoping you could tell us," Trace said. "Even if he's sworn you to secrecy, you have to tell us. A code orange situation has emerged and it's vital we contact him. ASAP."

  "What kind of an emergency?" I asked.

  "Can't tell you," he said. "You'd need at least a Level Two clearance."

  I stood up. This arrogant jerk wasn't going to tell me what to do. Or how to do it. If Dad wanted Trace and Dharma to know where he was, he would have told them. I wouldn't betray his trust.

  Trace and I glared at each other for a long moment. Dharma looked like she was about to cry. I spoke first. "Then I guess we're not on the same team. That's okay. I don't need your help to find Dad. And obviously he doesn't want yours."

  "Sit down, boy. You may not realize it, but you're way out of your league."

  Dharma put her hand on his arm. "Trace. I don't think you're helping the situation."

  He shrugged her off. "Like your ideas have worked?"

  "At least I have ideas," she spat at him.

  I took advantage of their argument and sprinted from the beach, through the pool area and to my room. Locked inside I slumped on the couch breathing like I'd run a fifty-mile marathon.

  It was official. Dad was missing.

  And his disappearance wasn't planned, at least not by him. Or was it? I snatched up the two letters Raul had given me when I checked in. One from Dad addressed to me. The other one to him that looked official.

  I tore open my letter and scanned it.

  J.T.,

  If you're reading this, it means I've been tied up. Sorry. I know I promised to take the week off, but an emergency came up I couldn't let slide. Hang out at the resort and I'll get there A.S.A.P. It's one hundred percent secure and I've instructed the manager to give you an unlimited expense account, but don't go too wild.

  Call Grandpa on my phone at 419-566-7794 and tell him I've cancelled our planned golf date for next month, but that I've made a new reservation for the Isla Contoy Golf Clubat 2131 North Avenue. Ask if he can come down and hit a few birdies for me.

  I really am sorry not to be there. I'll le
ave it up to you if you want to tell your mother. Hopefully this business should be wrapped up in short order and I'll see you soon. Dad

  I grabbed his cell and quickly punched in Grandpa's new number. He must have switched carriers again. It was like the fourth time in the last six months. He answered with a text.

  THAT YOU JAMES? BEEN WORRIED.

  For an old guy, my grandfather was pretty tech savvy.

  NO. IT'S ME GRAMPS. J.T.

  WHERE'S YOUR DAD?

  DON'T KNOW.

  Dad's phone rang and I clicked it on.

  "Hey, Gramps," I said into the phone.

  "You in Mexico?" he asked.

  "Cancun. I'm at the Aztec Palace Resort."

  "Why are you calling me on your father's cell?"

  "He's not here. But he left his phone, his wallet and a letter for me. It said to call you."

  "I see. Have you contacted your mom?"

  "Are you kidding? And ruin my vacation? Besides, Dad's letter says he'll be here soon. I'm fine on my own. But I think there's something weird going on."

  "Weird, how? Are you in danger? Need me to come down? You're not scared, are you?"

  That series of questions surprised me. It wasn't like Gramps. Usually he treated me like I was a grownup and not some little kid. "No. I'm fine. The place is cool. It just that something seems off."

  And then I told him about how Dharma and Trace had tracked me from Phoenix. About how they said Dad was missing, which was obvious. That the resort manager had said Dad had already been here a week. And that I'd discovered he'd gone off without his stuff, which didn't make sense at all, now that I thought about it. What was he going to do without any money, his phone or his credit cards?

  "Reread me the message he left for me," Gramps said. "I need to write down the address of that golf club. Okay great, got it. Well sit tight and don't worry. I'm sure he's fine. I'll make a few calls and get back to you. Enjoy the sun."

  He clicked off.

  A cold feeling slithered up my spine. Dad's disappearance was for real. Sure Gramps would make a few phone calls, but how would that find Dad? There wasn't time to waste on phone calls. Time to step up to the plate. I'd find him, myself. Who knew what could have happened.