by G. R. Cody
Again, words from her training rang in her ears…
“Do not act until you have all the facts.”
She had a little bit more to go on now, but she was still far from understanding what was behind everything, the bombing, the gold thefts, HSAs interest in her video feed, and in her. And she knew that if she returned with Robert, she would lose any leverage she may have over the situation, and possibly of her fate. And she also knew she needed to get HSA off her scent, and she needed to get out of Puerto Rico before Homeland Security found her there.
“Robert,” Eve said, snapping her head up. “How long would it take to get to Grand Cayman?”
“I dunno,” Robert answered with a bewildered look, “two or three hours at the most? Why?”
“Look, Robert, I need you to do me a favor,” Eve said, standing and taking Robert’s hands into hers, looking into his eyes. “I need you to do this, and then just fly back home. Do you promise?”
“Sure, Eve,” Robert answered, his brow furrowed with confusion and concern. “What do you want me to do?”
“I am going to stay here with Felix,” Eve said. Robert began to open his mouth in protest, but she stopped him.
“Look, if I go with you, I will just eventually end up arrested,” Eve said. “My Dad will end up having to bail me out of this. I’m sure I would eventually be cleared of everything. But, Robert, this is my mess, not his. I want to find out what is going on, who is responsible and why. I want to clear my own name. And in the process, if I am able to help Felix, then that’s a bonus. I don’t know why, but I do trust him. I think he is doing the right thing for the right reasons. Plus, he’s the reason I am still free right now, with the ability and freedom to make my own decisions. So I owe him for that. I hope you understand, and I think Dad will too.”
Robert stared at Eve, and eventually he said, “Okay, Eve. I understand. What can I do?”
“First, do me a favor,” Eve said. “Call down to the front desk real quick and ask them when the shop downstairs opens in the morning.”
“Okay,” Robert answered and did as she asked. After a moment, he hung up. “Opens at 6AM. Why?”
“I need to get rid of this phone,” Eve said, shoving her iPhone into his hand. “When I was down in that shop getting these clothes, I noticed they had some of those cheap pay as you go phones. When they open, go down and get me one. Make sure it has a cord. I’ll download my contacts from my account on my computer. After you buy it, take it to the front desk and ask them to hold it there for my room. I’ll call down later and have them bring it up.
“And let me get your cell number,” Eve said as she picked up a ball point pen from the desk. She scribbled Robert’s number on the inside of her left arm.
Then, Eve placed her hand on the back of Robert’s neck and kissed him. After a few seconds, she released him, and said,
“Robert, thank you for coming, but go home.”
With that, Eve turned and left Robert, and crept back up to her room. Once back in her room, she called down for an 8 o’clock wake up call, and fell asleep on top of the comforter again fully clothed, thinking of Robert and remembering his wet, tender lips against hers.
CHAPTER 9
Eve’s sleep the rest of the night was restless. Her acceptance of control over where things went now gave her both a nervous twinge and a new sense of self determination. Now that she had accepted this control, she needed to figure out where to take it.
She also was conflicted about Arthur. He was due to arrive this afternoon, and Eve knew that how she reacted to Arthur could have a major impact on the direction things took. Eve wasn’t sure if Arthur outranked Felix, or if that was even how it worked. But Felix was acting based on Arthur’s direction, and Eve wasn’t wholly sure that Felix wouldn’t abandon the whole thing once Arthur arrived. Given Arthur’s prior deception, and also Robert and her father’s uneasiness with the whole affair, Eve was half-heartedly trying to concoct a way to avoid Arthur altogether.
Eve rose out of bed around 9AM. She immediately called down to the front desk and a bellboy delivered the cheap cell phone that Robert had picked out for her. She immediately plugged it up to have it charge. After a quick shower, during which her thoughts were mostly filled with Robert and whether he had done as she had requested, Eve put on the blue wraparound, intent on buying a one piece bathing suit at the shop downstairs as soon as possible. At around 9:45, she knocked on Felix’s door. It took a few moments, but Felix eventually opened his door.
“Ready for some breakfast?” Felix asked Eve with a forced smile.
“Sure,” Eve said, “but I do need to stop by the gift shop first.”
Once downstairs, Felix went to secure a table, while Eve darted into the gift shop, picked out a simple, navy one piece (and some deodorant), and put it on in the fitting room under her wraparound. She also picked out a cheap pair of sunglasses. They were white and oblong, and put her in the mindset of ones that she had seen before on Audrey Hepburn. She instructed the cashier to charge it to her room, as Felix had instructed she should do.
Felix was again seated on the patio, and was sipping on a coffee. His appearance this morning was a bit disconcerting, as he had elected to don Bermuda shorts, a thin white linen top, and was wearing sandals that looked like they had last seen the light of day in a Roman chariot race. He also wore a pair of plain, black Raybans. He was sipping on a coffee and was reading a newspaper.
As she sat down, she couldn’t help but chuckle.
“What?” Felix said, looking up from the paper.
“I’m sorry,” Eve explained, “but I can’t help but think we look like we are in some 40s or 50s Hitchcock movie.”
Felix smiled, looking down at himself and at Eve.
“Yes, I suppose we do at that!” Felix said, folding the paper and placing it on the empty chair to his left.
The same waiter from the night before poured some water into Eve’s empty glass.
“Would the lady like something more to drink?”
Eve thought for a moment, then said, “Yes, actually. I’ll take a Bloody Mary.”
“Make that two,” Felix interjected.
“So, were you able to get some sleep?” Felix asked, finishing off his coffee.
“Off and on,” Eve answered, looking out at the blue-green ocean, blue sky and puffy, white clouds on the horizon while she tied her hair back with another red rubber band from her wrist. The morning was warm, but not humid. “You?”
“I don’t sleep much at a stretch,” Felix answered. “Haven’t for decades. Old battle scars and such.” At this, Eve saw Felix look absentmindedly briefly at his left hand. “But I was able to get some rest, thanks for asking.”
“So, any new ideas on how to get me out of this mess?” Eve asked, as the waiter returned with two glasses brimming with celery.
“No, not quite,” Felix admitted. “I spoke with Arthur early this morning, and he said he is bringing me some new intelligence, but I don’t think we are any closer to understanding what is behind these thefts, or where the gold is ultimately ending up. I will say, whoever is doing this knows what they are doing. These emergency situations are completely straining law enforcement’s ability to focus on the thefts, which I am sure is the intent of them. The thefts go unresponded until it is too late.”
“I would have thought that gold at the Federal Reserve would be traceable in some way,” Eve interjected.
“Well,” Felix said, an eyebrow raised, “technically most is. At least recently minted bullion. The fed started having bullion made with traceable chips inside about ten years ago. That’s another curious thing. No one is able to pick up any trace on any of the bullion that has been stolen.”
“How is that possible?” Eve asked. “Does that mean the chips are being destroyed? Or is the gold being stored somewhere it can’t be traced?”
“Doubtful it’s the latter,” Felix responded. “The only thing that makes any sense to me is that the gold is being mel
ted, and the chips are being destroyed by the heat. Whether the thieves know the chips are there or not, I don’t know. But just the fact that the chips aren’t being detected, whatever the reason, it means that we are dealing with someone very sophisticated, and probably with access to facilities able to melt gold and retain its quality.”
“But what does Homeland Security have to do with all of this?” Eve asked.
“The only thing that Arthur and I have been able to come up with is that Homeland Security is somehow complicit with the thefts,” Felix answered, “which is concerning on many levels. You have an agency tasked with responding to terrorist threats and actions, which appears to be involved in supposed terrorist actions as a diversion. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“But why would Homeland Security be involved in stealing gold from the U.S. government?” Eve said.
“Well, that’s the $64,000 dollar question, isn’t it?” Felix said, gazing out on the white clouds above the Caribbean Sea.
Eve took a large sip of Bloody Mary. It didn’t look like she was going home anytime soon. But at least she was getting in on the ground floor of one hell of a story.
“Well,” Eve said with a bit of a wry smile, “looks like we’re stuck with each other for a while, huh Felix?”
Felix glanced over his Raybans at Eve.
“Unfortunately yes, Eve,” Felix said. “I am sorry for that.”
“It’s alright, Felix,” Eve said, staring back out over the sea and taking another sip, “I’m in paradise, my boyfriend is on his way, and I don’t have to pay for anything. Plus, I don’t have to feel like I’m playing hookie from my job. Hopefully Arthur has squared that away for me at least. I will need to find somewhere to get some clothes though.”
Felix smiled. He was relieved that Eve was taking such a practical approach and that he didn’t have to explain why he couldn’t manage a way for her return back to her normal life.
“Speaking of Arthur,” Eve said with a derisive tone, “any word on when he might be arriving?”
“Some time after noon,” Felix answered.
They both stared out into the clear blue sky, each pondering their own thoughts and sipping their drinks for a few moments. All Eve could think about was Arthur, and how much she was dreading his arrival. She knew in her conscious mind that he had no choice but to deceive her, but her subconscious wasn’t agreeing, and it was currently winning the battle of her heart. Not to mention the fact that her own deception of both Arthur and Felix was still simmering in her conscience.
“Felix, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” Felix answered.
“How long have you worked with Arthur?” Eve asked. “I mean, do you trust him?”
Felix thought for a second, then responded.
“Well, like I said before, I have never met him in person,” Felix pondered, “but you’ve got to pass some really tough psychological tests to get into a position like his at MI6.”
“And what position is that, exactly?” Eve continued, “I’m not sure how all of that works, but is he your boss?”
Felix burst out laughing at the suggestion. It took him a moment to compose himself, but when he did, he said,
“Well, you are right to wonder how the hierarchy works,” Felix said, still a hint of a chuckle under his breath, “I still wonder sometimes myself. No, he isn’t my boss. We work together more than for or under each other. However, with my tenure, I would say that I would expect a bit more respect from him than I would expect him to expect from me.
“Actually, it’s more of what you know nowadays. If you are an expert in what’s mission critical, you kind of end up as the lead on the project.”
“So, what is Arthur the ‘expert’ on?” Eve said with a bit of sarcasm.
Felix noted her tone, and said, “Eve, don’t blame Arthur too much for not telling you. You know he couldn’t.”
“I know," Eve admitted begrudgingly.
Felix continued, “Arthur has a background in currency theft. While he was with the British Treasury Service, he was part of the investigative team on a theft from the British National Treasury of gold Krugeraands from stores that were being held there in trust for the South African government. It turned out that the South African Treasury Secretary had been blackmailed by a Somalian general who had kidnapped his daughter.”
Just at that moment, Felix’s cell phone rang. He answered it and walked a few paces away from their table. Eve drank more of her Bloody Mary and, after a moment, he hung up and walked back over to their table.
“Well, I think the question of whether or not we can trust Arthur is answered,” Felix said, still looking down at the mobile phone in his hand.
“What do you mean?” Eve inquired.
Felix sat down again. “He was just boarding his flight in London. But he’s not alone. According to WHAT he actually said, things are still the same. But…”
“But what?” Eve asked.
“I was also texted a warning,” Felix said, “from someone I trust much more than Arthur. We’re in danger. We need to get off this island before Arthur arrives. Only problem is, MI6 isn’t able to coordinate a flight out for us on this short a notice without raising suspicion. I don’t have a viable way off this island.”
Eve’s face flushed, but she looked down at her arm and saw the faint numbers scrawled there. Suddenly, it felt like butterflies consumed her stomach. A grin appeared on her face, and she looked at Felix with a victorious gaze.
“I might,” Eve muttered to Felix. “Can I borrow your phone?”
CHAPTER 10
Robert was finishing his preflight checklist when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He extracted it from his pocket and checked the number. It was a number he had never seen before. He immediately knew it had to either be Eve or a bill collector. He pressed “send” hoping it to be the former.
“Robert?” Eve’s voice thankfully rang in his ears. She sounded harried. “Please tell me you aren’t in the air yet!”
“No, but I’m cleared to take of in about 45 minutes,” Robert answered. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t have time to explain,” Eve said in a hurried voice, which was echoing like she was in a tightly enclosed space, “but Felix and I need you to fly us out of here.”
Robert paused for a moment, confused, but quickly regained his focus.
“Sure,” Robert responded, “but where to…?”
“Not sure yet,” Eve answered. “But Felix and I will try to figure that out when we are safely out of here. Is that okay?”
“Well, I will have to modify my flight plan with the tower,” Robert said, thinking through the logistics of a last minute change in destination. “I’ll need to know roughly were we are headed.”
“Somewhere in the States,” Eve said, her breath becoming more quick and heavy as she collected everything in her room quickly and packed her camera bag.
“What’s happened Eve?” Robert asked again. But Eve did not answer his question.
“Felix says we need to get out of Puerto Rico,” Eve stammered, “Somehow, Homeland Security, or whoever they are, found us, and they are on their way here now. Felix said we need to be gone when they arrive, because they likely will ground flights out once they don’t find us at the hotel.”
“We’ll need to find a small airport then,” Robert thought out loud, “or you will be discovered as soon as you disembark. Luckily I’m flying a cargo jet. The accommodations are less than desirable…”
“I don’t care, Robert,” Eve interrupted, “We’ll be there in 30 minutes tops.”
The phone line disconnected.
Robert spent the better part of the next half hour reworking a flight plan to Key West, which was the closest small airport in the States he could think of that they would be able to get through without much risk of detection. He could change destinations mid-flight as long as the ultimate destination was close.
As promised, Eve and Felix show
ed up in about 25 minutes. The taxi dropped them off right at the plane as Robert had instructed. Felix and Eve hurried onto the plane, which only had two pull down seats against the far wall other than the pilot and co-pilot seats in the cock pit. The remainder of the fuselage was separated from them with a large door which Eve guessed was the cargo hold of the plane.
“You weren’t kidding,” Eve said, “This is pretty Spartan.”
“Hey, it flies just fine,” Robert said, climbing into the plane, retracting the staircase and locking the cabin door. “You guys sit here for now. When we are in the air, one of you can sit in the co-pilot seat.”