He had enemies now. He had a premonition hanging over his head, and he needed to formulate plans to handle it if any came to fruition.
If he didn’t die first, Alric thought as his stomach heaved up more of its contents.
“Yo, dude, the guys told me you were down here. Thought maybe you’d jumped ship.”
Alric peered up at Lance, too sick to feel much at the sight of him.
Lance dropped a duffel on the end of the bed. “Clothes, toiletries… including toothpaste, which looks like you’re gonna need a lot of that.”
Alric didn’t think Lance was funny.
Rocking back on his heels and crossing his arms, Lance grinned at him. “No worries, dude, it’ll pass. Happens to the best of us! You’ll be hungry when it’s over, come find me and I’ll get you fed and hydrated.”
Just the thought of water made Alric lean over his bucket again.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Alric spent the first couple of days in his cabin. Lance brought him water, and strongly encouraged him to drink as much as he could or face feeling worse.
Alric didn’t think that was possible, but was not about to chance finding out.
Weak, shaky and suffering from a dull headache that had gripped him throughout most of it, he battled the seasickness. His stomach finally seemed to calm, but Alric stayed prone for a few hours, afraid moving would set it back into motion.
He wanted a shower, and finally rose to test how he would feel after the process. Alric took the bag Lance had brought with him and sought out the room a sailor had shown him on the way to their cabins.
The water felt good, washing off the filth of sweat and scent of vomit. He brushed his teeth for a few minutes, thanking Lance while he scrubbed.
He felt well enough to give his cabin a good cleaning next, stripping the sheets off the pallet and washing down the floor. The bucket was cleaned and set in the hall since he wasn’t sure where it belonged. One of the crew had happily supplied him with it.
The men manning their posts called out good natured jabs when he joined them on deck. Alric waved in response, leaning over the railing to take in the water that swelled and parted around the boat. He was glad when it didn’t spur a wave of nausea.
“You going to make it?” Lance settled on the railing beside him.
“I’m good, I think. You get sick your first time on a boat?”
Lance lifted a shoulder. “How do you know this isn’t my first time on a boat?”
“The crew knows you.”
“I’m impressed,” Lance said, grinning at him. “Been trying to figure out if you pay any attention to things, dude.”
“Hard to pay attention when you drive like a madman and like you’re in a maze that only you see. I have no idea how you managed to get to the dock. I wondered a couple of times if we’d make it before the boat left.”
Lance laughed, loud and hearty. Genuine appreciation vibrated along the bursts of laughter. He clapped Alric none too gently on his shoulder. “Dude, you will learn that I don’t do much randomly. It all has a purpose.”
Surprised, Alric turned away from the water to face his unexpected friend. “You cannot tell me that driving route was planned.”
“There was a method, dude.”
Alric couldn’t imagine how, but he wasn’t going to argue.
Lance angled his body so he was facing Alric. “You need to learn a lot of things, Alric. Observation without detection is one of them. See, the trick is to appear like you aren’t paying attention. What’s going on behind you, huh? Tell me.”
Alric started to turn, but Lance put his arm out and stopped him. “Don’t look.”
“I can’t tell you, then,” Alric admitted.
“Body language, dude. Be relaxed. If you look at me, what vibe am I giving off?”
Lance’s shoulders were loose, his hand slack over the rail, one foot hooked behind an ankle, head low over his chest. “Nonchalance.”
“That’s what I’m going for. But I know what’s going on behind me. How many people are on deck, where they are, what they are doing. Details can save your life, Alric.”
“I’m free from Xis. You really think I’m going to need to be watching over my shoulder? In America?” Even as he said it, he knew he was in denial.
The breeze off the water was picking up, the rolling water ominous after Lance’s words, the melding of dark blue and green a pretty cover for the secret world beneath.
“You’ve been a part of Xis, and you’re asking me that question, dude? I think you know better than I do that their power is far-reaching and dangerous. If they suspect at all that you’re still alive, they will search for you. They don’t like to leave loose ends.”
Alric did know that. Afion did not care for being shown up in any way and would deal with him harshly if he was found. He watched the waves slapping again and again at the side of the boat below him. Relentlessly. Lance was right. Afion would do everything in his power to find him and eliminate him as a threat.
“You’re right,” he agreed. “I think I have a plan, though. I’m hoping to meet up with Eron and see if he can help me find some people.” He looked at Lance to watch his reaction to his intent.
Sympathetic doubt shifted over Lance’s features. He shook his head. “I don’t think Eron wants to be found. His whole existence depends on invisibility. And that is exactly what you need to learn, dude. How to be invisible. I can teach you that. We’re going to be on this boat for a tad while.”
“So we’re going to play hide and seek?” Alric’s only concept of staying invisible was his experience at Xis, blending into the background. He understood that.
Lance laughed. There was a hint of mocking in it that made Alric think he was in for more than he wanted.
“We won’t start today.” Lance pushed off the railing. “Let’s get some food in you. You’ll need your strength.”
Alric’s ‘training’ commenced the next morning. Lance as a teacher was an experience. From the moment Lance arrived at his cabin door, there was a distinct shift from rescuer to trainer. Lance took the role far too seriously, in Alric’s mind. He was intense, proclaiming he was going to turn Alric into a soldier that could stand alone and survive.
Every moment of the day, from dawn to whatever time Alric fell exhausted into bed, was used to teach him something. Nothing was simple. Eating became ‘detail drills:’ a studied task of eating while soaking in every detail he could so he could relay it back to Lance.
What those around them were doing, wearing, how many of them there were. Reading body language to assess a possible threat. Searching for any sign of weapons. Defining possible escape routes, places to hide or to seek cover.
It didn’t matter that not a single person on the boat was a threat. Lance made them a threat for training purposes and directed Alric to use his imagination to perceive them that way.
Afternoons were spent in ‘combat drills.’ Lance revealed a military background that both made him respect the man more, and see Afion as more of a threat than he had thought.
He had never seen Afion in more than a suit, shrouded in expectation and power. It made sense, considering his position, that behind that facade was a man that knew how to fight with his body as well as his mind.
None of the boat’s crew blinked twice at the sparring on deck, or at the appearance of the knives or guns that Lance exposed and put into Alric’s hands.
The crew seemed to enjoy taking part in the training exercises that Lance put Alric through in the evenings, scenarios that Lance devised to test what Alric was learning and how he would react.
The crew did whatever Lance directed them to; they became replications of enemies with intent to harm, capture, or kill. More than just Alric often went to bed with bruises.
Day after day as the boat made its way toward its destination of Norfolk, Virginia, Alric learned to fight against an unknown, possible enemy. Afion was the face he gave to the man in front of him in the hopes that
if he ever faced him again, he would not hesitate.
There were few moments for him to stop and wonder if what he was doing was futile, or to ponder if he would need the skills he was acquiring.
What Lance was instilling in him was hard work. Alric was used to spending hours sitting. He didn’t complain. His time in The Peep Hall made him welcome activity for both his body and his brain.
He felt stronger, more alert, more capable. A little dangerous. Like one of the good guys in the movies that could handle whatever came at them.
When land finally became visible on the horizon, Alric watched it approach with a fierce sense of self-awareness. He thought if it came to it, he could handle Afion.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The Virginia Port authority was an easy place to be invisible. It was busy, working men shouted out directions, constant beeping and honking as forklifts moved cargo, the clanging of metal, seagulls crying, the slosh of the waves.
The crew had wished Alric well, said ‘see you soon,’ to Lance.
“Pretend the enemy is waiting out there,” Lance ordered as they disembarked and made their way across the concrete port quickly. Busy as it was, speed was always an asset when you were moving, Lance had taught.
A plan was in place to find a busy diner where turnaround was quick and the news was always broadcasting. Being informed was another advantage and lesson he had learned, especially in a new country or place.
“Camera drill,” Lance said to Alric in a low voice once they were out on the street. “Don’t be obvious, but try and figure out where they are: angles, blind spots. Keep your head down, don’t do anything to draw attention to yourself. Be…”
“Invisible,” Alric finished before Lance could. “Got it.”
Finding cameras was far more difficult than Alric expected as they joined foot traffic on the sidewalk. Lance flagged a taxi, asked for the nearest diner.
“I didn’t see any,” Alric admitted as they settled into a booth.
“Dude, really?”
“Were there many?” he asked, grabbing a menu from between the salt and pepper shakers and flipping it open.
“It’s the city, they’re everywhere.”
A waitress sidled up. “Gentlemen, something to drink?”
They both ordered coffee and she left them with their menus.
Lance peered over the top of his. “They put them on telephone poles, light posts, building corners, doorways… you gotta train your eye. Think about the likely places, directions they would face that would make sense if there was going to be a crime. Think like a criminal.” Lance lowered his menu to nod his thanks at the waitress as she set down coffee.
They both ordered and she left them again. Alric watched Lance add his normal two sugar packets and three creams to his coffee. He wasn’t sure why Lance even bothered with the coffee after all the stuff he always added to it.
It bothered him that he had failed the test. Wanting to redeem himself, he offered up what he hoped was a good plan. “If I was a criminal, we’d find someplace to hide out after this. Stay under the radar, but still have access to everything we need. Like one of those small towns you said one could blend in. Right?”
“Yep.” Lance stirred his coffee with a plastic straw, expectation in his eyes as he peered at Alric and waited for more.
“Well, I’m not a criminal!” Alric hissed quietly. “How can you know where to go when you don’t even know where you are?”
“Dude, you gotta think like a criminal… don’t you watch movies? They practically tell you everything you need to know to be one.”
Alric lifted a shoulder. “I’m a scientist. I spent most of my time looking through a microscope, not at a television.”
“Is that what you did?” Lance leaned forward, lowering his voice. “I’m afraid to ask what horrible possibilities for our future you may have invented.”
“I’m a good guy, I didn’t create anything horrible.”
Lance was shaking his head with skepticism. “I’ve seen enough bodies come outta there to know they don’t make good stuff. Maybe you just thought you were doing something good.”
Alric leaned in too, matching the volume of Lance’s voice. “I created formulas that can save lives. I knew Xis wasn’t really on humanity’s side as a whole, but the products I made were meant for the good of mankind. Xis paid for it and they have them, but… so do I.”
Interest criss-crossed Lance’s face as he listened. He shoved his coffee cup to the side and leaned back as the waitress served their meal, his eyes never leaving Alric’s. He murmured a thanks and grabbed the salt shaker as he bent over his plate to re-focus on Alric.
“First of all, do not speak the name out loud again in public. Second, what do you have?”
Forking in a bite of pancakes, Alric chewed, mulling over answering while his mouth was full as an excuse for his hesitation. Did he want to tell Lance everything? Should he?
Alric stopped chewing, realizing suddenly that by involving Lance, he had not just put himself in danger, he had also put his new friend in the same position. Afion, if he learned of Lance’s part in it, would come after both of them. The more Lance knew, the greater the danger. And he’d already disclosed far too much.
He swallowed, the half-chewed bite sticking in his throat. Lance was busy drowning his french fries, which seemed to be his favorite food, in ketchup to have noticed his self-revelation.
When Lance glanced back up at him, he just tapped his temple while casually taking another bite. “All up here,” he said around his mouthful.
Lance grunted, shoving three French fries doused in ketchup into his mouth. “Won’t do you much good in there, will it, dude?”
If they ever needed his formulas, he would tell Lance then. There was no point giving him that tidbit of information if it wasn’t necessary. The money they might need, but unless they found themselves in a life-threatening situation, the formulas could remain wherever they were.
Xis knew about his bones, but no one but he and Eron knew he’d stolen what they’d bought and paid for.
Lance forked off a large portion of a coney dog and shoveled it in, swallowing before he spoke again. “Not sure why you’re hesitant to tell me what you have after your angel announcement, but you need to realize I’m in and the more information I have, the better I can protect you.”
Alric swirled a piece of pancake in syrup. Makar had made choices that had ended in his death. It didn’t matter that he had chosen to ally himself with Alric. Association was all it had taken.
He shoved his mostly empty plate away and wrapped his hand around his coffee cup, lifting it to sip. The liquid was cold, bitter, but his cup was full. He couldn’t remember the waitress stopping by to fill it up.
“We should go,” Lance suggested, tossing a five on the table for a tip.
Alric abandoned his coffee and stood up. “To where?” he asked.
“You haven’t told me yet, dude.”
Squinting at Lance’s back as they headed for the door, Alric was irritated that Lance had circled back to leaving it up to him to provide the answer. He had no idea where they should go. The city they were in was unknown to him. He hadn’t been in the country for years, and he had never visited Virginia.
He tried to reclaim the feeling he had felt when he had watched the land growing larger as they approached, the rush of knowing that he could handle whatever came next.
That moment was gone. Now, he was walking out the door of a diner onto a street that was unfamiliar. Looking both ways down the sidewalk, he tried to make a decision that made sense. Either way was similar. Buildings, people, cars on the streets.
Moving away from the entrance of the diner toward the curb, Alric tried to think like Lance would, perusing the buildings and what they were, the appearance of them, whether they seemed to be someplace he could disappear.
It was too busy. All of the buildings seemed to have a purpose. He didn’t see how they could hide in an occupied sp
ace. Alric tried to remember all of the things Lance had told him when they had passed through towns in the SUV.
Those places had been smaller, more broken than what was around him. Here there were too many eyes. He faced Lance. “I could be wrong, but I think this spot is too populated?”
“Okay, dude, so what are we doing then?”
“You aren’t going to give me any direction at all?” Alric watched the buzz of cars and taxis driving by, the hurried rush of people on the other side of the street. A coffee cafe welcomed and spewed out a steady stream of people. Lance’s silence told him he would have to choose.
He half lifted an arm to flag a taxi, but dropped it again. He had no idea where to tell a driver to go. What he needed was a map. A structured plan with a theory and an outcome. Narrowing his eyes, he looked around again at all the businesses that surrounded them, looking for a location that would offer him the details he wanted.
Decision made, he lifted his arm, waited for the blur of yellow to pull up in front of them. “Chamber of Commerce,” he requested as they settled into the tattered seats.
The taxi driver nodded and lurched back into traffic. Alric didn’t look at Lance for approval. If it was his choice, he was going to make it and stand by it. He would do what came easily for him. Look at all the facts that he had access to, theorize options, and then see what results came out of the one he chose.
The Chamber had the typical overload of tourist suggestions and area information. Alric selected a map of Norfolk and sat at one of the few small tables to spread it out.
Norfolk was close to the border of North Carolina. Alric eliminated staying close to the coast. Following the border felt like the strongest option, opening up many possibilities for scenarios that might arise that they couldn’t really prepare for.
Alric tapped the map, lifting his eyes to Lance. “We follow the border. But we’re going to need some things. A car. ID. Supplies. I have money that… uh, can’t be tracked. Eron has been handling it. So we need to contact him. I think he can get me the ID too. You mentioned it once.”
Seal One Page 13