I
Bryan followed Danica home at a safe distance, then pulled away as she entered the street where she lived.
He was happy. Danica, he felt, really liked him. The age thing did bother him a little, but if it didn’t bother Danica, then he would try to not let it bother him.
Parking his car in the usual spot, he got out, only to be surprised by Richards. Bryan was taken aback momentarily, going for the gun in the shoulder holster he wore under his sports jacket.
“God motherfuckin’ dammit, Cobain!” he said hotly when he realized who it was; “You trying to get your ass shot?”
“I didn’t think you’d be that easy to surprise, honestly,” Richards said; “You’re usually more aware than this.”
“What was so freakin’ important that you had to come to the damn car?” asked Bryan.
“I wanted to find out how your ‘date’ with the lovely Ms. Donovan went.”
Bryan leaned up against the car and sighed. Do you really not have a life that you have to quiz me on mine, Coby? he thought.
“It went fine,” he said; “We’re planning on seeing each other again.”
“Does she know you’re following her now?”
“She figured it out, Coby,” Bryan said; “Did you know that she and her cousins have a sixth sense?”
“I’d heard stories that they did,” Richards said; “From all their training and such. I didn’t know there was any truth to it.”
“There is, but that is between you and me. No one else in DeepCon is to know about it,” warned Bryan. “Danica entrusted me with this information, and you’re going to keep your fucking trap shut. Got that?”
“Yeah, Bry, I got it,” Richards said; “You’re really hot for this chick, aren’t you?”
“Let’s just say that I see possibilities with Danica. Whether they will pan out remains to be seen,” said Bryan.
“Okay, okay. I get it,” Richards said; “I still think you’re crazy for dating your target, but that may actually work in our favor.”
“That’s what Danica thinks,” Bryan said.
“She’s a smart girl, then,” said Richards; “Maybe I shouldn’t put anything past her.”
“You shouldn’t put anything past her cousins, either,” said Bryan. “Any of them. There are quite a few of them. Most of them live near the old Chicagoland compound.”
“Of all of them, who should we be the most concerned about?” asked Richards.
“Honestly,” Bryan said; “and Danica didn’t say anything about this, but I think the most dangerous of Danica’s cousins are all of Julia Summers’ kids, the youngest of whom is nine. She thinks she has a lot to prove, and works hard at her training. Our sources seem to think she’s trying to surpass her mother in some way. Another one is one of Danica’s biological cousins, who is, ironically enough, also nine years old. Her name is Aaliyah. She’s the youngest of Jeremiah Donovan’s kids.”
“We should be worried about a couple of third graders, Bryan? Seriously?” Richards said.
“If Rachel Summers is anything like her mother, we should be paying attention,” Bryan said; “They may be working for CIA one day sooner than we think.”
===
II
“Mom, I’m bored.”
Julia looked over at Rachel, who was sprawled out on the sofa with Aaliyah after their training that morning. Their homeschooling wouldn’t start for another three hours.
“Uncle Nik was very pleased with yours and Aaliyah’s progress this morning,” Julia said, changing the subject. “You two have been training for a year now, and you’re both doing very well. The rest of us might have to be extremely careful around you two.”
“Uncle Nik cautioned me not to be like you, Mom,” Rachel said. “He said you were obsessive when your were my age.”
Julia smiled. Yeah, I was, wasn’t I? she thought. “You have to remember the Occupation was going on at the time, and our guardians were trying to prepare us for anything. And, because I was the only girl, I guess I got it my head that I had to work twice as hard to be half as good as the boys.”
“Uncle Nik says you’re better than he, Dad, and Uncle Joe,” Aaliyah piped in. “We just want to be as good as you are, Aunt Jules.”
Julia looked over at her niece. God, she was going to be tall, Julia thought. Rachel will be lucky to reach five feet.
“I’m flattered, Aaliyah,” Julia said; “but you need to work to improve your own skills, and not compare yourselves to me. I’m the exception, not the rule.”
“So we should be the exceptions?” asked Rachel.
“No, just be Rachel,” her mother said. “Rules are meant to be broken sometimes, but don’t stress yourselves to try and break those rules, okay?”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Okay, Aunt Jules.”
The other kids were filing in after their training for the morning ended. Zach wanted breakfast. Adam wanted a nap. Jaime wanted to get her lessons out of the way so she could go up to Belvidere and see the horses.
“You’re not going to be any good to those horses, James, unless you get some rest,” Nik was telling her; “Nap, lessons, then we’ll go to Belvidere, if it’s okay with your mom.”
“It’s fine with me, but you’re right, Nik,” Julia said; “Jaime, you and your sister and brother go upstairs and rest. Lessons are at 10 on the dot. Don’t be late.”
“What about me, Aunt Jules?” asked Aaliyah.
“Isn’t your dad going to give you grammar and writing today, Liyah?” asked Nik.
Aaliyah sighed. She had hoped to have her science lesson with Rachel that day. But her father was doing grammar and writing, and Rachel wouldn’t have that until after her science block ended in August. By that time, Aaliyah would be having mathematics with Uncle Nik.
“Why don’t you go sack out in Rachel’s room,” Nik said. “I’ll send your dad over later to come get you.”
With that, both Rachel and Aaliyah ran up the stairs.
When they were alone, Nik asked Julia, “How was the big trip to college with Miri?”
“She was plenty excited, that’s for sure,” Julia said; “The campus tour was informative, and Miri’s roommate is a very nice girl with a very familiar name.”
“Oh?” asked Nik. “Anyone we know of?”
“Would Sarah Kathryn’s great granddaughter be enough of a clue?” asked Julia.
Nik was taken aback. “Really?”
“Yes, really,” Julia said. “She was raised by her grandparents because her mother had some medical issues; Her grandfather is Eric Hope.”
“He distanced himself from his mother’s policies, if I recall,” said Nik. “What’s the girl’s name?”
“Kelly,” Julia said; “She’s only a few months older than Miri, but she’s in her sophomore year at Northwestern.”
“So Miri won’t feel like the only teenager at school,” Nik mused; “Pretty smart of the university to put two such girls together as roommates.”
“That was probably their thinking,” Julia said; “The other girls were a little older, so they were either paired with each other, or with an older student. Miri really lucked out.”
“Her father would be proud for sure,” Nik said; “Ryan always said that Miri was too intelligent for her own good.” He paused, then asked Julia,
“Why did you marry Jack Coltrane?”
The surprised look on Julia’s face soon gave way to sadness. Nik instantly regretted asking the question.
“How did you find out?” asked Julia, feeling on the verge of losing control of her emotions.
“The way you acted while he was sick, and shortly after his death before you disappeared,” Nik said. “You acted like a grieving widow. So Jere did some checking, and found a record of a marriage license in Wyoming that John Christofferson and Julie WhiteFeather were married in March.”
“One,” Julia said; “Jack was Miri’s father, after all. Other than Miri, none of the kids know this. Two, we loved each other; Three, he was dying and wanted to leave everything to me and the kids. We thought getting married would make that easier.”
“You didn’t take his name, though.”
“Like being ‘Julia Summers’ wasn’t a big enough target?” asked Julia sarcastically. “And we wanted to keep it a secret. There are some people who would think because of how Jack and I met, that I was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, when that wasn’t the case. Do you know how freaked my mother would be if she knew?”
Nik had to concede that Julia had a point.
“So you and Jere poked around and found out,” she continued; “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that this is something I don’t want to be common knowledge. I know I can count on you and Jere to keep my secret.”
Nik put his hand on Julia’s arm. “Of course, little sister,” he said softly; “We weren’t planning on telling anyone anyway, but I wanted to know why you did it. Your reasons are your business. You can count on us to keep it quiet. Not even our wives know this.”
“Thank you, Nik,” Julia said, turning away from him. “I’m not planning on doing this again. Not when both Ryan and Jack up and died on me. I’ll raise my children alone before I would consent to get married again. Besides, just think how tough it would be for any man to be married to the ‘SpineSplitter’?” She laughed sadly.
She then thought, I wish I could remember those three weeks I was gone, but maybe it’s better that I don’t.
===
III
At 12:20pm, Natasha arrived at the appointed deck for the brunch that Mariah had invited her to.
The first thing she noticed is how some of the women, especially those her age and older, were dressed. Who the hell are they trying to get the attention of, was Natasha’s first thought. She’d seen a lot of older women dress way too young before, but this took the cake. Natasha just shook her head silently and entered the dining area.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Dixon,” one of the older ladies said to her. “It’s such an honor being aboard ship with the CIA Director and his new bride.”
God, lady, Natasha thought, brown nose much, dear?
Some of the other women shook their heads in agreement to what the first one said. “Good afternoon, ma’am,” Natasha said pleasantly, almost gagging on the words as they came from her mouth. Why did I agree to come to this again? she asked herself. Then, Oh yeah... Kylee.
As if on cue, Mariah entered the dining area with one of her young assistants in tow. She was dressed in her usual shipboard attire: white blouse, blue skirt, white pumps. She was talking to her assistant, a bright young thing named Amber, whose personality came from the movies she watched. Natasha doubted very much the girl had more than a high school education, and thought that Vixen could best her on an IQ test. Oh, that’s sad, she thought, being shown up intellectually by a girl who’s not yet 14.
“So glad you could join us, Mrs, Dixon,” Amber said to her now. “I know you and your husband are on your honeymoon. Is this your first marriage?” she asked, almost hoping that Natasha would say no.
“Yes, it is,” Natasha said; “for both me and my husband. Good things come to those who wait.” She then walked away from the vapid girl and found her place at the appointed table. She was to be seated between Mrs. Abercrombee, who was 90 years old if she was a day; and Mrs. Phillips, who had been a college professor and was a recent retiree. Mrs. Ambercrombee talked about her long dead husband; “Poor Michael, he never stood a chance against that mugger...” Natasha had gathered that Michael was younger than his wife, and was probably in the great beyond enjoying life without his overtalkative and oversharing wife.
Mrs. Phillips was actually more interesting to talk to, even though she asked way too many questions about how Natasha had just gotten married, but she had two children.
“I wanted children, not necessarily a husband at that point in time,” Natasha explained to her; “A male friend of mine was dying of heart disease, and had banked some of his sperm. He told me that if I wanted to have children, he would make sure I had access. I learned I was expecting twins shortly after he passed away. They’re 13 now, and they know about how they came to exist.”
“Would you and Mr. Dixon have a child or two yourselves?” asked Mrs. Phillips.
“We’ve discussed it, Mrs. Phillips,” Natasha said; “so it’s not out of the question. Darren loves my kids.”
“He’s a lot older than you are, dear,” Mrs. Phillips said; Natasha put the professor’s age at somewhere around 70, or 15 years older than Darren.
“Not by much, actually,” said Natasha.
Finally, the brunch was being served and Mariah stood before those gathered and began to speak.
“We are so happy that you all decided to come to our little get together,” she said; “We try to have one of these on every cruise, just so that you all can mingle and get to know one another. I see that the meal is being served, so I’ll let you enjoy your meal. If you have any questions, me or my staff will always be available.”
She then sat down at one of the other tables and started chatting up a group of young women who appeared to be recent college graduates.
After what seemed like an eternity, the brunch ended and the women who had attended were going back to their staterooms to change into whatever clothing suited their next activity. Natasha lagged behind on purpose; something that was notated by the not so with it Amber.
“May I be of assistance, Mrs. Dixon?” she asked in that overly sweet drawl that seemed to be copied from Mariah.
“I’d like a word with Mariah in private, if you don’t mind,” Natasha said.
Amber looked back and saw Mariah at work, and said, “She seems to be busy, Mrs. Dixon. I can assist you.”
“No, dear, you can’t,” Natasha said; “This is something that only Ms. Gadsden can help me with.”
“I see,” said Amber, looking and sounding a little put off. “I’ll go fetch her then.”
Soon, Mariah was free and walked over to where Natasha sat.
“You wanted to see me, Natasha?” she asked.
“Yes,” said Natasha; “in private, if you don’t mind.”
Mariah knew what Natasha was getting at, or at least she thought she did. She’s going to confront me about being Kylee, she fretted.
Without thinking about it, she remembered one of the first times she and Vixen really got to know one another.
Kylee walked back into the dorm, looking white as a ghost. She had completed her first assignment, and she was not handling it as well as she thought she was.
“Kylee, what’s wrong,” Vixen asked.
“I finished my first assignment for Morbus, Vixen,” Kylee said; “No problem. Then I found out that my target had young children, and now I feel terrible!”
Vixen wasn’t sure she understood Kylee’s feelings. She feels bad because the scumbag had kids?
“How do you do your assignments without thinking about the aftermath, Vixen?” Kylee asked.
“I disassociate myself from it,” Vixen said; “I don’t think about the collateral damage, just the task at hand.”
“I’m not sure I can do that,” Kylee said; “How can you be so callous?”
“I kinda had to be. You know where I came from,” Vixen said; “If I thought about how what I’d been forced to do as being a whore, I’d be dead now. So I distanced myself from those feelings and just performed the acts the client paid for. It was like watching some other girl service the client. I take that same ‘callousness’ and apply it to my targets. The less I think about them, the better off I am. It doesn’t mean I like it or dislike it, I just do the assignment and leave.”
“Can you teach me how to do that?”
“I’m not sure I can quote-unquote teach you how,” Vixen said. “It’s just something you have to figure out to do for yourself. Think of it this way: it’s you or them. If you don’t kill them, they’ll kill you.”
“I know, Vixen,” Kylee said. She seemed on the verge of tears. “The killing part I can do. It’s the thinking part afterward I can’t seem to grasp.”
“Then just don’t think about it afterwards.”
“Maybe I’m too sensitive for this,” Kylee said, tears starting to stream down her face.
Vixen felt bad for the girl. She was a good markswoman. Her emotions, however, were a mess. They were the only two women in BlackOps, though Morbus promised to recruit more, they were it.
Vixen felt something from deep inside her kick in. Almost like when she was a little girl and her mother would calm her fears. Would that help Kylee, or hurt her in the long run?
“Oh, Kylee...” she said as she took the younger woman into her arms to comfort her. “I know that sometimes, we as women have all these conflicting emotions. Sometimes I don’t understand them either. Go ahead and cry it out. We don’t have to tell anyone...”
She felt Kylee sob against her shoulder. Great, shuttering sobs. Soon, it seemed that Kylee was over it. Was that all she needed? Vixen asked herself; a shoulder to lean on?
“I’m sorry, Vixen...” Kylee said, her words coming out in gasps. “You probably think I’m weak.”
Vixen looked at Kylee. Weak, no. Scared, no. Uncertain... possibly.
“I don’t think you’re weak,” said Vixen. “This is all new to you. Your emotions caught you off guard. You need a way to harness them. You...”
Before Vixen realized what she was doing, she pulled Kylee’s face up to meet hers. She looked into Kylee’s eyes for the briefest of moments before she kissed her full on the lips.
What shocked her was that Kylee returned it.
At that point, neither of them wanted to stop. It would go farther than either one of them wanted it to. It would be their secret until Morbus caught them.
And Morbus would want both of them...and not just as assassins.
“Mariah? Are you in there?” Natasha asked, noticing the blank look on the other woman’s face.
“We can talk in my stateroom,” Mariah said suddenly. She then told her staff that she was not to be disturbed for the rest of the afternoon.
Natasha then followed Mariah to her stateroom, where she would find out more about her connection to Kylee Sears than she ever wanted to know.
===
I
Miri started to get more excited as Julia pulled up to the University’s Student Union, where the tour of the campus buildings was to start.
“Can you believe I’m actually going to be going to school here, Mom?” she asked her mother excitedly.
“Yes, actually I can,” Julia said; “You’re an intelligent girl, have good grades, and are mature enough to handle the courseload you’ve taken on. We’re all very proud of you, Mirielle, and your father would be too if he were here.”
Miri briefly wondered which father Julia meant, but knew in her heart that both Jack and her father would be.
“I’m just so excited to even be here,” Miri said; “Considering this time last year, we were about to go into hiding.”
“True, but that’s all behind us now, and your future starts today,” Julia said, trying not to get emotional enough for Miri to notice.
Too late.
“Mom, you’re not handling this very well, are you?” asked Miri.
“It’s hard to fathom that 17 years ago I was pregnant with you, and now you’re going off to college,” Julia said; “It seems like yesterday my doctor put me on bedrest.”
“Oh, I know you must have hated that!” Miri said, laughing as Julia parked the car. “Were you bored?”
“Yes, Miri, I was bored out of my mind. I couldn’t do anything, and your father kept trying to make me laugh,” Julia said, remembering. “I read a lot of books, I slept a lot, I kept telling your nonna how bored I was. People brought over meals, books... My BlackOps team members gave me a baby shower. Your dad and I never saw so much pink in our lives. He didn’t even know what half the stuff we got for you was for!”
Miri laughed at the visual of her father picking up something and saying, “What the fuck does this thing do?”
“Shall we go take this tour, meet your roomie, and get this grand adventure off the ground?” asked Julia.
“Does Jaime love horses?” said Miri. “Let’s do this before you totally lose it.”
“If I lose it, Mirielle, it will be long after I’ve headed back home,” Julia said.
She wondered if she could hold out even that long.
*
The tour was interesting. A lot of things had changed since Julia went there, commuting from Chicagoland every day. I’d have loved to have had a roommate! she thought.
That was next on the agenda, just after lunch. Meeting Miri’s new roommate. Julia wondered what kind of girl the school paired her with. Please, she thought, let it be with another girl that’s around Miri’s age so she doesn’t feel like a freak.
Off they went to the residence halls to meet the new roomies. There weren’t very many girls who were getting a roommate who had been at the school the previous year. Julia estimated that there were about fifteen girls waiting along with Miri. Other freshman girls were being paired together. Miri’s pretty lucky, Julia thought.
“Last spring, we held a lottery with current residents as to who would be good matches for the freshman ladies coming for the upcoming year,” a woman named Candice said. “You ladies are the lucky ones who will get a roommate who is either a sophomore or a junior. I encourage you to get to know your roommates, as there won’t be any changes made til next spring. Now, there are eight ladies who will be paired with sophomores, and the rest of you with juniors. So if the following ladies will step forward...”
Miri’s name was the second to be called, and Julia held out hope that her roommate will be about Miri’s age or a little older. Northwestern was one of a handful of schools who allowed 16 year olds to enroll as full time students.
Soon, the names of the current students who were chosen to be these girls roommates stepped forward. Julia noticed that one of the girls had last name Hope, like the name of the Occupational President. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, Julia thought, probably no relation. It’s a common name.
“Mirielle Summers, you’ve been paired with Kelly Hope,” Candice said. “Mirielle, why don’t you and your mom go with Kelly and introduce yourselves.”
In quiet corner, Kelly said, “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Mirielle. I hope I can ease your worries about what college life will be like. I know how it feels to be one of the younger girls at Northwestern.”
“How old are you, Kelly?” asked Julia.
“I’m 17, Mrs. Summers.”
“Cool,” Miri said; “we’re about the same age. I’ll be 17 in December.”
“What’s your major?” Kelly asked.
“Graphic Design,” Miri said; “Although Mom doesn’t know where I get my artistic talent from. Neither she or my dad are all that artsy.”
“I’m a biology major with a concentration in psychiatric disorders,” Kelly said. She was relieved that Mirielle seemed to be a normal 16 year old college freshman.
“So if I develop something weird you’d know?” asked Miri.
“I’m not a shrink, though I might be headed down that path at some point,” Kelly said; “I want to do research into how the Occupation may have contributed to mental disorders.”
“How did you decide on that?” asked Julia.
“I saw a lot of older folks growing up that seemed to have mental problems due to being harassed or imprisoned during the Occupation,” Kelly said; “A truly awful time in our history. I’m almost ashamed to admit that former President for Life Sarah Kathryn Hope was my great grandmother. My grandfather shed no tears at her passing.”
“I had wondered,” Julia said; “I take it that your family didn’t support your great grandmother’s policies.”
“My grandparents certainly didn’t,” Kelly said; “They raised my mother and uncle to believe that the Occupation was wrong.”
“Then you probably know who I am, then,” Julia said.
“History remembers you as the ‘SpineSplitter’, though it was never proven that you actually were,” Kelly said. “It’s a great honor to meet you. I never dreamed that Mirielle and I would end up roommates!”
“Fate plays in mysterious ways,” Miri said, smiling. She really liked Kelly Hope and hoped they would become good friends.
*
Later, after unloading Miri’s belongings from the car and taking them up to her new dorm room, Julia bid the girls goodbye and headed back home.
My baby’s all grown up, she thought as she got on the interstate headed back to Chicago; One down, three to go.
===
II
“Well?”
Bryan found that he couldn’t meet Danica’s eyes. How in the hell did she know? he asked himself.
“I’m not going to lie, Danica,” he began; “I’m part of this super secret agency within CIA called DeepCon. Several weeks ago, we were assigned to watch over the Director’s fiancee and her family. Now that they’ve married, our assignment is to keep tabs on Ms. Vincent’s children and any others residing in the household. Since you and your cousin Sandrina San Marco live there, we were to watch over you two as well. But I have to ask, how did you know?”
Danica hadn’t cracked a smile up to this point. She had a feeling that Bryan was telling the truth. She felt that no one could make up something like DeepCon, which Danica understood didn’t exist.
“You know,” she said; “I take everything I hear with a huge grain of salt, especially since I came to live with my Aunt Natasha. We were all trained to use weapons, trained in martial arts, in survival skills from the time we were little kids. Even though my family would be the least likely to see any behavior that would indicate our skills would be needed, we still trained everyday. I mean, come on. I grew up in freakin’ Maine! Nothing exciting goes on up there.
“To answer your question, I developed a sixth sense about people who mean my loved ones harm. Me and my cousins all have it in one form or another. We can also tell if those people are friendlies. My particular form of sixth sense is that I can also ‘see’ those who are either stalking us or protecting us. I didn’t realize I had it until just a couple of years ago when my sister was seriously injured in a car accident. Since then, I not only feel the presence of others for good or ill, but I can see them, too. That’s how I knew you were following me. I actually ‘saw’ you before we even met.”
“You don’t have a problem with being tracked?” asked Bryan.
“Oh, I do have a problem with it,” Danica said; “If friendlies are going to watch my every move, I kind of want to know about it. Are members of your team also watching over Aunt Tash and Darren?”
“Yes,” Bryan said. “There are agents on the cruise ship undercover as employees.”
Danica just looked at Bryan, thinking, lovely. Bet Aunt Tash has no idea.
“So why did you chat me up the other day? Because you’re assigned to protect me?” she asked.
Bryan wanted to tell her everything about what his assignment entailed, but he couldn’t. Instead, he told her why he chatted her up.
“Danica, I chose to talk to you that day because I thought you were nice to look at and would make a lonely guy feel a little better about life.”
“Not because your assignment is to watch me?”
“I may work for this agency, but I’m still human, I still want to have some kind of human contact every once in a while. Feel normal, you know?” Bryan said; “You’re an attractive woman, and who would be crazy not to want to get to know you?”
“Is appearing to be my date part of your assignment?” Danica asked, almost knowing what he was going to say.
“No, Danica, it’s not. I asked you out because I wanted to get to know you better,” Bryan said. It was the truth and if she couldn’t see that, then he sorely misjudged her.
“You know, I do believe you,” Danica said; “I’ve never had any guy go out of his way to meet me. It’s usually ‘hey, chickie, lets get it on’ or some other lame line guys spout.”
“I’m not just any guy, Danica,” said Bryan.
“I can see that,” Danica said; “And actually, if you wanted to date me, it would be a great cover. Bet your bosses won’t like it.”
“I really don’t care what my bosses like or don’t like,” Bryan said. “They sometimes forget we’re human and not automatons.”
“I would like to prove my twin cousins wrong for a change and actually have a relationship with a man,” Danica said. “They think I’m picky.”
“You said that yourself when we talked on the phone,” Bryan said, smiling. “I hope I pass your muster.”
Danica returned his smile. “I think I can overlook the fact that you’re a spook assigned to watch over me. This is just between me and you, okay?”
“What is? That I’m a spook?”
“Yeah,” Danica said. “If you’re game, I’d like to try dating you for a bit and see how it feels to have....”
She felt embarrassed to say the words “boyfriend” or “relationship”.
“A boyfriend?” asked Bryan. “I think I’m honored that you’d actually consider it.”
Danica just sat there in the dark with Bryan and blushed. He reached for her hand and she didn’t pull away. She looked at him and thought, let’s see where this goes.
===
There was a knock at the stateroom door, and Natasha didn’t really want to get up and answer it if it was only the maid. But she got up anyway.
She padded over to the door and asked, “Who is it?”
“Mrs. Dixon, It’s Mariah Gadsden from the concierge.”
Natasha opened the door slowly to show Mariah on the other side. She looked like she was shiny and alert. Natasha just felt like crawling back into bed.
“How can I help you today, Mariah?” she asked.
“May I come in?”
“Yeah, sure,” Natasha said, feeling a little weird that all she wore was a robe. Once Mariah was in the stateroom, Natasha noticed that Mariah absentmindedly twirled her hair through her fingers.
Mariah looked around, and not seeing Mr. Dixon asked, “Where’s your husband? He’s not in the shower is he?”
“He’s gone down to the gym,” Natasha said. “I didn’t feel like accompanying him this morning.”
“Well, I just wanted to extend an invitation to a brunch for all the ladies at 12:30 on the scenic deck,” Mariah said, still twirling her hair. “Can we expect to see you there?”
God, this chick annoys me with her chirpiness, Natasha thought, just like Kylee used to do when we were in BlackOps.
“Yeah, I’ll try to make it,” Natasha said; “Are you always this chipper, Mariah?”
“I try to be,” she said.
“I just wanted to sleep in just this once while Darren was at the gym,” Natasha said, laughing softly. “I spent my whole professional life getting up at the crack of dawn. I don’t think I’ve ever been that alert at 7 in the morning.”
Mariah said nothing, just more twirling of her hair. She was nervous about something, Natasha thought.
“I’ll let you get your beauty rest now, Mrs. Dixon,” Mariah said after a second. “Hope you can join us at 12:30!”
“I’ll try to be there. And could you stop calling me ‘Mrs. Dixon’? My name’s Natasha,” she said.
“All right, Natasha,” Mariah said before she took her leave.
Just before Mariah grabbed the door handle, Natasha said,
“You’re not fooling anyone with that pollyanna act, Kylee.”
Mariah turned around and stared at Natasha for a second, then bolted from the room.
Natasha watched as the other woman walked down the corridor, round the corner, then yelled, “Shit!”
Natasha only smiled. But, she wondered why Kylee thought she was fooling her, of all people. They lived in the dorms at Chicagoland together for years. If anyone knew Kylee’s bad habits and her behavior patterns, it was Natasha.
===
III
Back in her office, Mariah called her superior.
The man was genial, but Mariah trusted him about as far as she could pick him up and throw him across the room.
“My cover’s been blown,” she said, angry at herself for allowing Vixen Vincent to see through her.
“How so, Mariah?” the man asked.
“My target somehow recognized me,” Mariah said; “But I have no idea how.”
“Which target, Mariah? Natasha Dixon?”
“Yes,” Mariah said. “But I don’t understand how she could.”
“You know at some point, she’s going to confront you about your identity,” her superior said. “You’re just going to have to deny it and make her realize she’s mistaken.”
“She’s not,” said Mariah; “She’s not mistaken. I lived with her for six years in my previous life. She knows me pretty well. I must have done something she recognized.”
“She’s mistaken, Mariah,” the superior said; “You have to make that very clear to her.”
“I’ll do my best, sir,” Mariah said with a gulp and hung up.
If Vixen doesn’t believe me, she thought, I have to get off this boat somehow. She has all the cards.
Then she wondered if she could go home again to her family.
===
Natasha laid back in bed and wondered if she was wrong.
What if that isn’t Kylee? she thought. What if I just accused a nice southern girl of being someone she’s not?
“I’m sure that was her,” Natasha said aloud; “The look in her eyes told me I was right.”
I’m going to go to that damn brunch, she thought, and I’m going to ask her point blank. I hope she gives me the right answers. She’d recognize the scars on my back. She’d seen them often enough.
Natasha drifted off into sleep. But her dreams were of the past. Even the bad parts.
===
Julia arrived home after taking Miri up to school. She no sooner walked in the door when Jaime asked, “What’s Miri’s new roommate like?”
“She’s a very nice girl around Miri’s age who is studying to become a psychology researcher,” Julia told her second oldest.
“Oh,” Jaime said. Then, “Mom, when can I go back up to Belvidere and see the horses?”
“I was thinking that we’d go tomorrow so that we can plan our move up there in October,” said Julia. “That soon enough for you, James?”
“Yeah,” Jaime said and went to go find her sister and brother.
Julia sat down on the sofa and stared into the back yard. It didn’t seem like that long ago that Miri was playing hide and seek out there with Ryan.
“I wonder where Miri could be?” Ryan called out, listening for Miri to giggle. The two year old was hiding behind a stand of trees.
Ryan began to count, “One. Two. Three. Four... I’m coming to find Miss Mirielle!”
The toddler giggled. She thought her daddy was funny.
Ryan headed right for where she stood, and soon came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder and said, “I found you, Miri!”
He picked his daughter up and she squealed with delight. Standing on the porch, Ryan could see Julia smile.
“My turn, Daddy,” Miri said. “You go hide.”
Ryan went to hide behind the same trees where Miri was just hiding. He could hear the little girl attempt to count, “One. Two. Fwee...”
She ran over to the same trees and found her daddy. “I finded you, Daddy!”
“Darn, I thought this was a good hiding place!”
He picked up his little girl and headed back to the house for lunch. He only had an hour for lunch, then it was back to work. Miri didn’t like it when he would leave. “I’ll be home soon, Miri. I promise.”
“Pwinky swear?”
And he’d pinky swear.
Before she realized it, Julia was crying. Damn, she thought, it’s not easy letting your kid go to college, no matter how close they are.
She wondered how Jasmine and KateLynn did it with their daughters being so far away.
===
IV
Bryan walked Danica back to her car and asked, “When can I see you again?”
Danica pretended to think about it and said, “Whenever your schedule permits, Bryan. I work at the gun range a couple times a week, but am usually free in the evenings.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. “You know you’re a beautiful girl, right?”
“That’s what I’ve been told, though I don’t see it. I’m just me.”
“That’s what I like about you,” said Bryan; “You don’t have that sense of entitlement. You just live life and do what you do.”
“It was the way I was raised, Bryan,” Danica said; “Even though there are a few people in my family who are well known, like my Uncle Jere, for example, I don’t take advantage of it. My parents would have my head if I started that nonsense.”
“I like your parents and I haven’t even met them yet!” Bryan said.
“My dad has always been the quiet, hard working one, and Mom is the brains. They work pretty well together,” Danica said. “I’m really lucky to have parents like them.”
“They did their job well,” Bryan said. “You’re the hardworking, no nonsense type. A little bit of an independent streak in there as well.”
“Thanks,” Danica said, blushing.
“I should let you get home so your cousins can grill you about our date,” Bryan said smiling. “I’ll call you next week some time. That okay?”
“Sounds good,” said Danica as she got into her car. “And I’m sorry I jumped all over you about your following me.”
“No need to apologize,” Bryan said; “I understand where you were coming from.”
“I’ll talk to you next week, then, right?” she asked.
“I’ll look forward to it,” he said.
Danica started her car and drove off while Bryan watched.
He couldn’t help but wonder if she was the one. Then he dismissed the thought, thinking, it’s been one date. You can’t possibly know that after one date!
However, he did look forward to seeing her again.
===
Mariah Gadsden didn’t realize it, but Natasha Vincent would confront her about who she really was. She’d want the whole sordid story about how Mariah got mixed up in DeepCon, and ask about the sacrifices she made to be part of a secret agency within CIA.
She’d ask if it were worth it, Mariah thought as she was getting things ready for the brunch that afternoon. Was it worth leaving your family for? she’d ask.
Mariah knew there would be questions that she’d be uncomfortable answering. Natasha was the kind of person who demanded answers. Mariah knew that from their past together. When she was still a backwoods hick girl named Kyle Lee. When she ran away from her home in search of adventure when she was 17.
She didn’t even think that Natasha knew her real age. Sometimes, Mariah even forgot that she was nearly five years older than she said she was when Morbus recruited her years ago when she was really 25. She was actually closer to Natasha’s age than she was to Julia’s.
Mariah remembered when it was just her and Natasha as the only females in BlackOps. They were pretty close.
Then it dawned on her how Natasha knew Mariah’s real name.
===
