Jealous Storm

by Jack Stroke

  “Ellis?”

  She was being set up, and it was worse than she ever could have imagined.

  19

  Twenty years earlier

  Amber grabbed Megan by the hair. The two of them were rolling around on the lounge room floor at McKinnon Road. A single thought replayed again and again in Amber’s mind. Pain. She wanted to hurt Megan. Physically hurt her like she had never hurt anybody before. Inflict serious pain. Of course, she had no idea how to do that. She hadn’t been in a physical fight since that time at school with Kylie Smith and that had primarily been ineffectual slapping. But… Megan’s hair… that could work. Except Megan had the exact same idea.

  “Typical,” she groaned. “Can’t even think up… your own… fight moves.”

  Fight moves? Was that the correct term?

  “Oooh, good one, loser.”

  The fighting intensified in vigour if not results. It was a stalemate, each with a handful of hair, the other hand flailing wildly. Neither was dressed for a fight, their skirts and tops riding up and getting in the way.

  The light flashed on. Joan bustled in.

  “Girls, girls! Stop it. What are you doing? Stop it.”

  They didn’t, ignoring the older woman. Joan’s attempts to separate them were about as successful as the fighting. And then suddenly Amber and Megan were soaking wet. It was a circuit breaker.

  “Mum,” Megan said. “Did you just throw water on us?”

  Joan stood there with a now-empty vase. A pile of flowers layered her feet.

  “Something had to stop you. Now, what is going on?”

  “Nothing is going on,” Megan said, pulling herself to her feet. “She’s just being a cow.”

  “Takes want to know one.”

  “Good comeback, Amber.”

  Megan stumbled, standing almost as challenging as fighting.

  “Oh, girls. How much have you had to drink?”

  “Don’t start, Mum.” She burped loudly and staggered off towards her bedroom.

  Later Joan and Amber sat on the front porch surrounded by Joan’s herb garden and many pot plants.

  “Sorry, Joan. I hope we didn’t wake Pablo too.”

  Joan waved her off. “That man could sleep through World War Three. What happened? You two were so happy when you left.”

  If she concentrated hard, Amber could stop the world spinning, at least for a little bit. “She can just be mean sometimes, you know?”

  “Megan? She was born mean. What happened this time?”

  “I went to the bathroom and she sat on his knee.”

  “Whose knee?”

  “Marcus told me.”

  “Amber, I have no idea what you are talking about.

  “We were at Phillip’s party. His twenty-first.”

  “I don’t know Phillip.”

  “We don’t know him very well either, so we didn’t know many people there. Probably drank too quickly because of it. Anyway, I was talking to this really cute guy.”

  “Oh, Amber… Please tell me this isn’t over some boy.”

  “You don’t understand, Joan.”

  “I think I do.”

  “No, it’s Megan. She doesn’t have to do… The guy liked me. We were talking all night. And then I went to the bathroom. Marcus told me as soon as I left, she sat on his knee. Like, there were plenty of guys there. She just wanted him because she knew I liked him.”

  She was aware how foolish she sounded, and yet it was still a struggle not to cry.

  Joan let out a long sigh. “Amber, if this boy really liked you…”

  “That’s what she said. If he liked me, why was he kissing her? I’ll tell you why, because I went to the bathroom and she put her tits in his face and her tongue down his throat. Sorry, Joan, but she did. I don’t even think she liked him. She was just trying to get at me.”

  Joan stood. “Well, I think you are both very silly. And drinking that much can only lead to trouble.”

  “Sorry, Joan. Sorry we woke you.”

  “It’s all right.”

  The older lady kissed the top of Amber’s head. “Go to bed. You probably won’t even remember this in the morning.”

  “He was really cute, Joan. And funny and nice. I really liked him.”

  “There are plenty of cute guys out there, Amber.”

  “Not like this one. His name was Ellis.”

  20

  At the Half, Amber stared at Ellis, mouth open, momentarily paralysed.

  “Good to see you, Amber,” he said, patting her shoulder. It burned like a hot poker. Ellis moved around the table and kissed Megan. Megan never took her gaze from Amber, the glint in her eye, Amber still unable to move.

  “How you doing, buddy? I’m Ellis.”

  “Vaughan.”

  The two men shook hands, and Ellis took a seat.

  “Are you right, Amber?” Megan asked.

  She wasn’t. Not at all. Ellis scooched his chair up close to Megan, who put an arm around his shoulder. Very much a couple.

  “This is Vaughan. Amber’s boyfriend.”

  Ellis raised his eyebrows. “Hey, good for you, Amber.”

  “Yeah, bit of an age gap, but you know.”

  Megan was enjoying herself. Everyone waited for Amber to say something. She still couldn’t speak. Vaughan glanced about, waiting for more information. None came.

  “So… Ellis. You’re Megan’s new man?”

  They looked at each other and giggled.

  “You’re half right, mate. I’m Megan’s man, but not new. We were childhood sweethearts.”

  Megan whacked him. “No, we weren’t.”

  “We weren’t?”

  “Not childhood. Teen or something. Barely that.”

  “Okay, geez. In trouble already. We’ve known each other for a while is the point.”

  “Vaughan,” Megan said, like this was the most obvious thing in the world. “This is Ellis. Ben’s father.”

  The spell snapped. Amber could move again. But move how? Dive across the table and strangle Ellis? Smash a bottle of beer over his head? Probably not all that wise. She stood.

  “Excuse me,” she tried to say, except it came out more like a random garble of letters. Megan and Ellis smiled up at her like a pair of hyenas.

  “You’re okay there, Amber?” Ellis asked.

  Amber didn’t respond.

  “Amber… Hey, Amber. Stop!”

  She was almost back to Grubby’s car by the time Vaughan caught up with her.

  “Are you all right?”

  “I’m leaving.”

  “Why… What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Amber…”

  “Vaughan. You’re either coming with me or you’re not.”

  “But we haven’t paid for our food.”

  “Keys.”

  “What?”

  “Keys.”

  He handed them over. To her mind, Amber had given Vaughan ample opportunity, although realistically she probably went a little quick. She climbed into Grubby’s car and sped out of there, leaving Vaughan in her dust, no clue what had just happened.

  Amber drove back to Paradise Cove far too quickly, her mind a mess and yet thinking nothing at all. The speed didn’t matter; it was Grubby’s car. There wasn’t anyone about anyway.

  The owner’s cottage was all dark. Amber pounded on the door. Nothing. Should she simply let herself in? It wasn’t the most secure building in the world. Amber had broken in before. Her mind refused to clarify whether breaking and entering was the right thing to do or entirely stupid. She bashed on the door again, louder this time. Finally Joan appeared in her tattered old nightie.

  “Amber… It’s late.” She screwed up her face, sniffing the air. “What is that awful pong?”

  Amber pointed. “I was in Grubby’s car.”

  “Why have you got Grubby’s car?”

  “Joan, he’s back.”

  “Who? Grubby. He never left, did he?”

  “Ellis
. Ellis is back. He is at the Half with Megan right now.”

  Joan stiffened. “Oh, Amber. You’re not going to start being silly again, are you?” Her tone lacked its usual compassion.

  “You knew.”

  “Amber…”

  “And, what, you think this is okay?”

  “You need to just leave it alone is what I think.”

  Amber stared at the plump old woman, unable to form words in her mind. She had a million arguments for this. Why couldn’t she think of a single one?

  “It’s late, Amber. I’m going to bed. I suggest you do the same.”

  The door shut and the lights went off again. No invite in, no offer of a hot drink or consoling hug. Amber stood staring at the door frame, unable to move.

  21

  “Champagne?” Shake asked.

  They were in the jet, soaring through the air, high above the clouds. On the whole, Shake wasn’t a lot more chatty than he had been in the Tesla.

  “No. Thank you.”

  “This is nicer champagne than you’ve ever had before.”

  “Okay.”

  “Why don’t you want any?”

  “I don’t know where we’re going. Or what we’re doing. I want a clear head.”

  “Probably wise.”

  Shake poured himself a glass and sipped slowly, focusing out the window. Ben waited until he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You ask a lot of questions, you know that?”

  “I haven’t, at all. Besides, it’s how you learn things.”

  “It’s one way. Sure. There are plenty of others.”

  “You don’t like answering questions?”

  “No, I’m fine answering questions. This is more for you. Part of your training. What is it you think we do at DL?”

  “DL?”

  “Diamond Logistics. Come on, Benny. Keep up.”

  Evidently he took too long to respond.

  “Come on, it’s not a trick.”

  “Umm, assassins?”

  “It’s very simple. We do what we are told to do. That’s the key factor. Whatever we are told to do. That’s what being a good agent is. Questions are often the wrong path. Steps away from where you need to be going. Questioning instead of taking action.”

  Ben nodded.

  “Since this is your first job, I will allow you three questions.”

  “What, now? Or in total?”

  “Hah. You’re funny… Think carefully.”

  “Where are we going?”

  Shake rolled his eyes in his overly-theatrical manner. “See? That’s a terrible question. Come on. Use that big brain of yours. I tell you a city or a place. How does that help at all?”

  The cogs turned slowly in Ben’s brain. “Is this thing we’re doing, is it a job? Or is it more training?”

  “That’s two questions.”

  “Not really. Okay, what are we doing — no… What is this job?”

  “See? That’s better, Benny.”

  Shake removed a manilla folder from the seat pocket. He took out a photo, passing it to Ben. The black-and-white image was of the man taken surveillance style.

  “Do you know this guy?”

  Ben shook his head. The fit-looking guy was in his fifties, if Ben had to guess. He had a buzzcut and prominent jaw.

  “Jakob Baumer. Bad guy.”

  Ben studied the image. Baumer didn’t look anything special.

  “Human trafficker. He’s the target. We have to take him out.”

  “When you say take him out…”

  “Ha, clever. They said you were smart.”

  “What?”

  “Nice try, but it still counts as a question even if you don’t phrase it as one. Yes, you take him out. Do you think you can do that?”

  Ben stared at the photo, everything becoming a bit more real all of a sudden. He gulped. “Sure.”

  Shake grinned at him in a way that wasn’t entirely pleasant. “See, all that has done is open a can of worms, hasn’t it? Now you have a whole lot more questions. I can see it in your eyes… Do you burn your last two questions now or do you wait and see how things play out? Up to you, Benny.”

  Ben focused his attention out the window, neither wanting to play nor particularly enjoying Shake’s games.

  22

  A few hours after she’d left the Half in a huff, Amber heard them arrive home. Heard the taxi pull up and the loud voices of people who have had too much to drink, not trying to be noisy but making no effort to stay quiet either.

  What if Ellis came to her door? Knocked on it, bold as brass. It’s the kind of thing he would do. She could shoot him. Surely that would be justifiable homicide. Although she would have to be certain he was alone first.

  Amber deliberately moved away from her bed and the Sig hidden under her pillow to remove any such temptations. Footsteps approached, followed by a familiar wrapping of knuckles.

  She opened the door to Vaughan. No one else about.

  “Hey, kid.”

  “Hello.”

  He waited for her to go on. She didn’t.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Fine. Thank you.”

  Vaughan stood awkwardly, waiting. “May I come in?”

  “No, you may not.”

  “Amber…”

  She didn’t say anything, not interested in helping.

  “What’s up?”

  “Nothing is up.”

  “Whatever. I don’t see why you were mad at me.”

  “Did you know?”

  “Did I know what?”

  “Did you know that Ellis would be joining us this evening?”

  “How could I know?”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “Yes, it is, even if it’s not the answer you want to hear. Even if I did know someone was coming, how was I supposed to predict you would react like that?”

  “Good night, Vaughan.”

  He put his arm in the door, preventing it from closing.

  “Amber, just calm.”

  “I’m perfectly calm. Don’t I seem calm to you?”

  “What was I supposed to do?”

  “Nothing. You made your choice. You decided you wanted to stay put at the Half and play nice with them.”

  “This isn’t fair.”

  Amber cocked an eyebrow.

  “We’d ordered food…”

  “Oh, well, we couldn’t disappoint the food, could we?”

  “We hadn’t paid for it. Besides, no matter what you think of Ellis, what you did was incredibly rude.”

  Wrong thing to say. Amber’s eyes hardened. “Is this where you tell me he actually seems like a pretty good bloke and I should stop being such a stupid woman and get over myself?”

  “Yes, Amber. That’s exactly what I was going to say. Because that’s about all I say, isn’t it? Insensitive macho crap.”

  “You don’t have the slightest clue about Ellis or our history.”

  “That’s true. Although maybe if you opened up and told me something about your past every now and then we wouldn’t be in this position.”

  Amber had had enough. “Move your arm, please,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “And if I don’t?”

  “You’ll have a sore arm.”

  Vaughan backed up. The door slammed in his face.

  “Amber… Amber…”

  She didn’t respond.

  “Hey. What happened to Chill Amber?”

  Hmm. Maybe Amber could kill Vaughan as well as Ellis.

  Amber stared up at the roof. Every cobweb and crack intimately familiar. Other than her clothes, there were no personal touches to cabin six. Why would there be? She had no strong feelings towards the cabin. Mostly she didn’t notice it. It was simply a place for her to sleep. However, occasionally the bugs crawled under her skin and she was desperate to be anywhere else, doing something, anything. At those times she hated the cabin. Hated it with a passion.

>   She needed to sleep. She was tired. She longed to be able to simply flick a switch and be out cold. There were pills she could take. Other agents did. Although that was a slippery slope. Not a door she wished to open.

  Often as an agent there is nothing more you want than to sleep. After a particularly messy or hard job. How had Amber handled those? In the past she had always managed to make it through, no matter how tough it had been, no matter how much she was climbing the walls. If she could get through then, why not now?

  She hadn’t taken a life. She had only been at the Half for goodness sake.

  23

  The morning brought Amber little relief after her restless night.

  The idea that things will look better in the morning was one she clung to in tough times, although when the morning seemed no better, it made things all the worse.

  Desperate for something to do, she jumped back in the stupid, smelly car and returned it to the front of the bait shop. She should have given the keys back to Grubby in person and said thank you for the lend of the car. That would have been polite. She couldn’t face Grubby at the moment. So she shoved the keys under the door and left. Vaughan would not be impressed.

  Thoughts of Vaughan simply made Amber angry. Irrational anger, sure. Still anger. She didn’t stop by his boat, instead heading back to Paradise by the Bay.

  Maybe she could have a word with Megan. Try and get a sense of what was going on in her head. It wasn’t fair. Amber had done nothing but make an effort and try with Megan and this was what she got in return? Megan throwing Ellis in her face, trying to hurt her?

  Talking to Megan wasn’t a bad idea, although it was vital Amber keep her cool. A calm, rational discussion no matter what Megan threw at her. It was like a Band-Aid. Amber simply had to do it. No stopping to think.

  Butterflies attacked her stomach. Amber hadn’t been attending Joan’s breakfast so much of late. It wasn’t she felt unwelcome exactly, but there was something. An atmosphere.

  Putting her concerns aside, Amber strode into the dining area and instantly regretted her decision. Ellis was at the table. Of course he was. Why hadn’t she thought he might be?