Starving and literally dying of thirst, Pele survived his training ordeal mostly due to one lucky shot. A few days in, he managed to kill a scrawny rabbit. He pitched a rock hard at it, almost in desperation, as it darted for cover. Miraculously, the rock hit its target, stunning it long enough for Pele to grab it before it could scamper off. Tough and chewy, it was one of the best meals he’d ever had. He felt forever indebted to that furry little critter. Not normally superstitious, he saved one of its feet, tying it securely to his belt loop. He could use a little luck these days.
One of the other comrades had not been so lucky. He’d had a bad encounter with a rattlesnake. His teammate with him had done a heroic job of getting back to camp to report the accident and bring help, but by the time they got back to where he had left the victim, there was no sign of him. They all assumed he had wandered off somewhere and tried to find water or food in his poisonous delirium, but they never found his body. The accident cast a somber note over the group for the next few days, but they hardly had time to dwell on it. They were shipping out for their assignment right away and had to make final preparations.
Pele hoped, up to the last minute, that he might hear good news on his case and not have to go, but when nothing came the morning they were set to depart, he knew the worst must have happened. He must have been convicted. But why had he not heard definitively? And, if his friends had set him up, how could they let this go so far. Pele could not even describe the hurt and disappointment he felt toward his friends. Radi, he always suspected had a cruel streak. He had witnessed Radi be a little rough on patients if they did not follow instructions or comply with whatever research he was working on. It seemed that to Radi anything was justifiable in the name of science, even at the expense of personal relationships. But Cole? Was Cole really capable of being complicit in a scheme this malicious? But who else would have set him up? It had to be Radi’s idea for that stupid hardship factor. There just wasn’t anyone else he could imagine who would do this to him. But why hadn’t they fixed it?
Pele continued to write to Keece, but after he was shipped out, the letters from her stopped coming, he assumed it was because she had given up on him, convinced, after the conviction, that he had been unfaithful. He was miserable. He missed her and the kids desperately, but there seemed to be no way to reach them, to explain, to try to make his case. How could his life take such a dramatic turn for the worse?
However, wallowing in self-pity was never his way. He threw himself into his work at the squadron, mostly as a distraction to help him cope, but also on the slim hope that he could earn an early release. The sooner he got back to Keece and his family and convinced them it was all a setup, the better. He would find a way to clear his name, get his family back and return to his work.
Thinking through this now he paused for a moment, puzzling. It was still odd that he had never gotten his official sentence. He would have to ask Jaber to check on that again.
There were continued conflicts against small ISEX terror groups. Jaber’s team, with Pele now his squadron lead, was assigned to Peru, where the mountainous terrain made it especially difficult to combat the ISEX forces. But staying true to form, the ISEX groups continued to attack and then vanish before any defeat or victory. Maybe with the new Robustor suits, the US forces and Peru’s military would have more of a chance at flushing them out and deciphering their strategy.
Pele and his team boarded the military plane the following morning, headed for Peru.
Chapter 9
Keece settled in at her computer. Pele’s trial was scheduled to happen in the next few weeks. She still missed him terribly. She had not seen him since he left for convict training. Even his daily letters had stopped coming. It was odd in such a digital era to be writing and receiving handwritten letters, but that was the only form of communication allowed for suspects and convicts.
She decided it was time to dig into the hidden folder on Pele’s computer, the one marked CodeY. The file dated all the way back to Pele’s days in medical school. At first, it was an overly detailed description of an experiment they ran in their genetics class. Something to do with rabbits and increasing their sun tolerance. Keece was perplexed and a little bored. Why would these three medical students so carefully document their results on an experiment with a bunch of bunnies? And then save the file for years? The fact that they could make them more resistant to sun did not seem all that interesting.
Radi droned on and on about the importance of finding the right genetic match, one that was a good match, but not too close of a match. Then he went on about the need for a hardship factor for really getting the best results. Keece was on the verge of falling asleep at this point.
But then the video minutes took a more personal turn. The three men had been experimenting with themselves, determining their own genetic strengths and weaknesses. They decided to look for their own genetic matches. This piqued Keece’s interest. There were videos about each of their strengths, weaknesses, and which qualities in a mate would heighten their strengths and offset their weaknesses. Huh, I wonder if I meet any of Pele’s criteria. She eagerly clicked on the video about him.
As she watched Radi describe in detail the desirable qualities for Pele’s match, she felt an uncomfortable chill run down her spine. There were a few qualities she was not sure matched, but there were enough that were dead on that she felt almost as if she were reading her own health and personality chart. Strong heart, quick reflexes, fast sprinter, strategic thinker, good at math…the list went on.
Medical school was over ten years before Pele met Keece. Could she possibly be the genetic match he was looking for? Could the three of them have spent that many years looking for their genetic matches and not found them until she met Pele? Did Sophie meet Radi’s criteria in the same way? Ava Cole’s?
She watched the videos on Radi’s and Cole’s criteria. She obviously did not know Sophie and Ava’s characteristics as well as her own, but they seemed like pretty close matches as well. This was starting to get creepy.
Had Pele simply married her for her genetic makeup? Could that be possible? They started this experiment so long ago was that even feasible. Was their whole love affair simply an experiment? Was that why he had run off with another woman? Because he never truly loved her? She was horrified at the thought. Her stomach churned with nauseous feeling, an all too familiar sensation these days.
She took a deep breath. She decided she needed to learn more before she jumped to too many conclusions, so she continued through the videos, completely mesmerized now, even giggling at some of their failed attempts. Even Radi, who seemed to take the whole experiment far too seriously, couldn’t help but laugh at some of their escapades trying to get DNA or blood samples, or to learn if a woman could sing, dance, design, think strategically and more. The poor women had no idea what was going on.
Over the years, their attempts waned, to the point where none of them, or at least not Cole and Pele, seemed to take it seriously anymore. The three of them continued to do the occasional video minutes, but it was more about the trials and tribulations of dating. The focus, at least for Pele and Cole, seemed to shift to simply trying to find a match at all, let alone the perfect genetic match. Keece started to relax a bit.
But then came the video where Cole discovered her. Keece watched in dismay as she realized her whole relationship had been part of an experiment. Sure, very shortly into it, Pele seemed to profess he was truly in love with her, but how much of that was influenced by the experiment? Radi seemed to believe that if someone was the right genetic match, they would naturally be someone you loved. Clearly that had not worked out for him, but none of them knew that at the time.
As she continued to watch the videos about each of their relationships, hers, Sophie’s and Ava’s, she could not help but think back on her marital bliss. How could it all have been a sham? If Pele wasn’t sincere, wouldn’t she have known? But here she was, alone because he had supposedly run off with an
other woman. Yes, he seemed to adamantly oppose leaving her when Radi brought up the need for hardship in his relationship, but how could she be sure? The videos ended about 6 months ago. Why? Was there another file with Pele’s plan to run away?
Keece decided she had to confront Pele.
Chapter 10
“Keece?”
“Yes, Ava, what is it?”
“Keece, I’m so sorry to be the one to tell you this, but I just got some terrible news.”
Keece’s heart sank. She wasn’t sure she could take more bad news.
“What is it Ava?”
“Pele’s gone missing.”
Keece felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. “What?” she gasped, “How can that be? Isn’t he in jail?” Had he escaped and managed to run off with the mysterious Jancy Taylor?
Ava sounded almost apologetic. “They sent him to convict training camp last week. You know they do that with people who are being held for crimes these days.”
Keece, confused, replied, “Yes, but how can he be MIA? They’re in a training camp, not on a battlefield.”
Ava explained, “I know, but it was something about survival training and a run in with a rattlesnake.”
Keece, in shock now, “He’s dead?”
“Well, not fully confirmed because they haven’t found the body, but apparently one of his troop mates ran for help, when they got back, he was gone. They assume he wandered off in a delirious state due to the venom, but they haven’t found any trace of him yet.”
“He can’t have gotten too far if he’d been bitten by a rattlesnake! How could he be missing? Doesn’t that seem strange?” asked Keece, struggling to maintain her composure at the thought of losing Pele forever.
“This whole case has been strange. I’m so sorry Keece. I’ll continue to investigate. Hopefully, I’ll have more information soon. I’ll call as soon as I know anything more.”
Keece hung up. Completely shocked by the news. She had wondered if she should tell Ava about the information she found in the CodeY file. But why tell her now? She knew it would be as devastating to Ava as it was to her, and it didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore, she thought as she started to sob uncontrollably. She sat down where she was, no longer able to stand. The full weight of Ava’s news hitting her like a ton of bricks. She let herself weep until she had nothing left. Her heart broken and the thought of never seeing Pele again devastating her whole being.
Chapter 11
“Keece?”
“Yes?” Keece sounded so sad and dejected Pax could hardly go on, “I got your message.”
“Oh Pax, what am I going to do? I somehow thought there was still hope. That this was all simply a bad misunderstanding, but now he’s gone, and all our money is gone, and I have three kids to raise on my own! And you know Pace, God love him, takes extra care and time. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this,” she wailed into the phone.
“Keece, I’ll be there tomorrow morning. We’ll figure it out. You’re a strong, beautiful woman with three wonderful kids. If anyone can figure this out, it’s you,” Pax said reassuringly. He knew if anyone could get through this, it was her. Although he also knew it was not going to be easy.
“Oh Pax, I just can’t take it anymore. If I get one more piece of bad news I might go over the edge.”
Pax could not help but smile at this. “Keece, you never know in life, but I think, just this once, you may have experienced about as much bad news as you’re gonna get. I can’t imagine more coming your way.”
He did manage to get a slight chuckle out of her as she responded, “Well, you better stay out of trouble! At least until you get here!”
By the time, Pax arrived the next morning, Keece had already started on a plan. Her eyes were still red and swollen, and she looked about like she’d been run over by a bus, but she was moving forward. She had enough money left for about two more months at the current expense level. With the loan from Pax she could last a little longer, but serious changes to their lifestyle needed to be made right away.
“I contacted the new owners of my company, they said they’d love to hire me back as VP of Product Design. It will be hard to not run the place, but at least they offered me a decent salary and a good bonus if I perform.” She gave Pax a sly smile, “And you know I will!”
He laughed, Keece definitely tended to rise to the occasion when needed. She would put her head down, figure out a solution and get going. It was a relief to see a sign of her old self coming back, even if it was a small glimmer. In some ways, the news of Pele being MIA seemed to be a blessing. It had helped snap her out of her sorrowful, almost paralyzed state and back into action.
“Now for the list to sell,” she continued.
“Wow, you have been busy. It’s only been a day since you found out about Pele. Are you sure you’re up to all this?” Pax asked gently.
Keece paused and looked up, tears immediately streaming down her face, her lip quivering. She managed to sputter out between sobs, “Oh Pax, you know I’m no good with sympathy. As soon as someone is the least bit compassionate, I’m a wreck.”
He gave her a hug, “It’s okay Keece. You more than deserve a good cry.”
She sobbed a bit more, then pulled away with a weak smile. Snuffling, she got herself together.
“Thanks Pax, you’re the best. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“But I also think the activity helps,” she continued. “I felt paralyzed while I was waiting for his trial, but there’s no need to wait anymore. I need to solve these problems for my family.”
Pax smiled, shaking his head slightly. “Always the one to take action. Well, let’s get to work then.”
They spent the next few hours going over her list of the family’s assets. She would put both their home in Solana Beach and their vacation condo in the desert up for sale, as well as Pele’s car. Hopefully, they would sell quickly, and she could move the family into a smaller rental. She would have to sell her polo ponies and give up her membership at the club. Luca had already called and insisted on buying her favorite pony, Key Lime Pie, for a ridiculously high price. Despite her efforts, Keece could not talk him into a more reasonable amount. He insisted it was the least he could do. He also offered to take her kids for the summer break. Keece agreed to send the twins, but Rane would have to stay so she could attend her soccer camps. Keece was not sure yet how she was going to afford the camp, but she knew she had to figure out a way.
She was so grateful to Luca for taking the twins. Keece knew they both loved Luca’s farm and that he would take great care of them. It was a huge help not to have to worry about them while she sorted everything out and started her job with her old company, Vesta.Fit.
“What about school for the kids in the fall?” Pax asked carefully. He knew the kids were all in expensive private schools.
“I’ll check first to see if there are any scholarship funds. If not, I’ll put them in public schools. Luckily, Solana Beach has a good public school system, assuming I’ll be able to find a place to rent nearby.”
When Keece started listing off all their personal items and furniture she would also try to sell, Pax stopped her. He wanted to spare her from digging up fond memories related to her and Pele’s personal items for the moment.
“Why don’t you focus on the big items for now. There will be plenty of time to dig in and sell the smaller items later, once you know what you will need in your new home.”
She gave him a long look. She knew what he was doing and why, but she also realized he was probably right. She had enough work, and emotional turmoil for now, she did not need to dig into items that would only bring back difficult memories.
Chapter 12
Cole hung up his call from Ava. How could Pele be gone? Missing-in-Action because he was bitten by a rattlesnake? Could he be alive and have escaped? Cole knew his hope was unrealistic, but he could not help himself. He simply could not believe Pele, his funny, smart,
best friend could really be dead. He also could not help but feel responsible. Even if he was not the one that came up with the scheme to put Pele in jail, he did not do more to stop Radi, which made him feel like an accomplice.
He had to call Radi.
“Cole?”
“Radi, did you hear about Pele?”
“I just saw Ava’s post. I’m stunned.” Radi sounded sincerely shell-shocked.
“Right?!” responded Cole, his voice almost cracking with emotion.
There was a long pause as both grappled with their feelings. Neither knew what to say.
“I can’t believe it! I have this totally irrational hope he somehow miraculously escaped, and is still alive, even though I know it’s dumb, especially since a guy actually saw him get bit by a rattler,” admitted Cole.
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