by Ciana Stone
"You didn't exactly give me any other options, did you?" she said calmly. "Considering the circumstances, what else could I have done?"
His hands gripped harder. "Are you saying you don't want to marry me?" he asked in a tight voice, his face showing the first glimmer of anger.
"You're hurting me!" She broke away and backed up a step. "You gave your word about that and if I can’t trust you to keep–"
"And you promised to give us a chance!" he interrupted and moved toward her. "So, who is breaking their word, Morgan?"
A pounding started in her temples that made her realize how late it was and how tired she was. "Look," she rubbed her temples as she moved toward the stairs. "I didn't say that I don't care about you. It's just–oh, never mind. I really don't want to fight so I'm just going to bed."
He leaped onto the step behind her and lifted her in his arms in the same move. "Good idea!" he agreed. "Let's go to bed."
New York City
"Trevor!" Cable shook him. "Wake up!"
"Huh?" Trevor opened one eye and looked up at her.
"Get up!" She gave him one last shake and headed out the door. "There's something you have to see! Hurry up!"
Trevor mumbled and crawled out of bed. He stumbled into the living area of Cable's apartment to find her sitting on the couch with her eyes glued to the television screen. "What’s so important?" he grumbled. He flopped down beside her and leaned back to close his eyes.
"That!" She slapped him on the arm. "Mom's on the news!"
"What?" He looked up just in time to see a commercial come on. "Where?"
"It's all about some big party in Washington last night. The President and everybody were there–and Mom was too!"
"What was Mom doing with the President?"
"Hush!" She slapped his arm again. "Here it is!"
The newsman's face filled the screen. "Last night in Washington, at the home of billionaire Victor Vinsetti, the President made a surprise announcement."
The scene switched to what looked like an enormous ballroom full of people. The President was standing in front of a microphone with a band behind him. The First Lady stood off to his right. The newsman's voice described the event.
"At a reception at the home of Victor Vinsetti, the President announced that he had appointed Mr. Vinsetti as the next Secretary of State."
The scene cut away to one of the President and Victor shaking hands, standing on the stage together as the crowd applauded.
"There was enthusiastic approval for the President's appointee from the numerous political figures in attendance at last night's event."
The camera scanned out over the crowd of people, stopping on many well-known faces. Trevor was now sitting straight up as he watched closely. The moment he heard Victor's name, he was wide awake. Leaning forward, he watched closely, searching for Morgan's face.
"I didn't see her anywhere," he said, looking over at Cable. "Are you sure she was there?"
As he spoke, he saw Cable's eyes widen. "Look! There she is!"
Trevor looked at the television. Sure enough, there was Morgan taking Victor's hand to step up on the stage beside him.
"Wow!" Cable said. "Doesn't she look beautiful, Trevor? Wonder where she got that dress? Hey! Do you see that necklace she has on?"
"Shut up for a minute!" Trevor said and turned up the volume. The anchorman's voice cut off to be replaced by the sound of Victor's proposal to Morgan and her acceptance.
"What the hell?" Trevor bolted to his feet. "She can't marry him! She's already married to Dad. What the hell does she think she's doing? Has she lost her frigging mind?"
Cable looked up at him with her mouth hanging open. "Holy shit, Trevor, what's going on?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure as hell going to find out!"
"Hey, wait a minute!" She grabbed his arm as he marched by the couch. "What do you think you're going to do?"
"I'm gonna go find Mom and knock some sense in her head, that's what!"
Jerking free, he marched into the bedroom and threw on his clothes. He grabbed his boots, returned to the living area and sat down to pull them on. It then occurred to him that Cable hadn't moved.
"Come on, Cable. Get a move on!"
She shook her head, "I can't go anywhere. I have school, remember? I can't just take off!"
"What do you mean?" he jumped up and shouted at her. "This is Mom we're talking about! We can't just let her go off and marry that guy. Come on Cable, we have to do something!"
"Trevor, just sit down a minute, okay?" She pulled at his arm. "Now listen, running off half-cocked won't solve anything. In the first place, you don't even know where Victor's house in Washington is. And second, even if you go there, they may have already returned to Texas. So, wouldn't it be better to just wait and talk to Mom on the phone and find out what's going on before you go running off ready to bang heads?"
"No!" He yelled and snatched his arm away. "You don't understand! That guy is bad news, and someone has to do something. So, you sit here on your ass if you want to, Cable, but I'm going to find her."
"And do what?"
"And stop her from doing something really stupid!" he retorted as he headed out the door.
Washington, D.C.
Morgan stood leaning against the railing of the balcony outside the master bedroom. As she watched in silence, shivering in the cool air, a new day dawned. New day, new beginning. That was something her dad said to her as a child and until now, saying it brought a swell of hope and anticipation.
Today, it didn’t. Morgan sat on a chaise lounge and pulled her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and pulled the discarded tuxedo shirt Victor had worn the night before down to cover her legs.
She stared at the morning sky, her mind going over the events of the previous evening, trying to sort out her feelings. Even after going to bed she and Victor argued over the engagement. At one point she thought they would come to blows since neither of them was willing to give in.
But eventually they reached an impasse. Well, that's not true, she admitted to herself. What had really happened was he started to make love to her, and they forgot about their argument.
Now she rubbed her eyes wearily, thinking about it. In what seemed to be an emerging pattern, she’d once again let him sidetrack her, keeping her from making a decision that differed from what he wanted. She promised to consider it carefully before she decided against the marriage. But she knew he'd want an answer today.
She leaned back and closed her eyes, trying desperately to get in touch with herself and her feelings. He could be so unpredictable, one moment moody and the next cheerful. And his moods shifted so quickly. The least thing could send him into a fit of rage.
An aura of danger seemed to always hover around him, making him seem like a wild animal, beautiful and compelling, but deadly. She'd never met anyone like him.
And there was something she’d been loath to even admit to herself because it seemed so preposterous. There was something about Victor that felt familiar, as if she and he were not strangers at all, but souls who’d been connected for a long time.
She knew now her recent revelation was true. As much as she’d love Cord’s touch, and still did, she craved Victor’s. He was the dark to Cord’s light, she realized. How was it possible for her to love someone so opposite to Cord, the man she’d never be able to forget?
Was this thing with Victor a huge mistake? Joe where are you when I need you?
Just then, Victor walked out onto the balcony. "Come back to bed," he said as he sat on the edge of her chair. "You should get some sleep. We have a very busy afternoon."
She looked at him sitting silhouetted against the early morning sky, unselfconscious about his nakedness. "Victor," she reached over and stroked his thigh. "Am I doing the right thing? I mean, I just ended a twenty-year marriage that until a few months ago I thought would last forever. Now here I am, already divorced and engaged. Isn't it all just happening too fa
st?"
He took her hand and lifted it to his lips. "I understand your misgivings," he said after a long pause. "But Morgan the past is just that. Done. Finished. Trying to hang onto it only serves to bring you more pain and unhappiness."
Moving closer, he looked into her eyes. "I want to erase all that pain, to fill your days with happiness. I love you Morgan. I never even imagined I would say those words, much less mean them. I never even knew what they meant until I met you."
"Victor," she stroked the side of his face, moved by his words.
"No, let me finish," he put his finger to her lips. "You’ve shown me what it feels to love, to want to be with someone so much there is an actual physical ache when you’re parted. I want to share my life with you, to give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of. Please don't turn away from me, Morgan. Just give me a chance to love you."
She blinked at tears as she listened, and her heart softened. She’d never heard him talk this way, open up to her and show her his heart. "Oh, Victor," she whispered as tears dropped onto her face.
He took her hand from his face and placed it on his chest over his heart. She could feel the steady pulse, strong and even. "Here is my heart. You’ve captured it. So, if you must break it then do it now, quickly. Tell me you don’t love me, and I'll walk out of your life. But don't torture me by making me wait."
Morgan looked at him for a long time, searching his eyes and listening to the words of love that echoed in his mind. Then she looked into her own heart and the answer was there.
"I can't tell you that because I do love you." Even as she spoke the words in an unsure voice, she realized that she meant it. She loved him. Not in the way she loved Cord. But she loved him, nonetheless.
"You love me?"
"Yes, I love you."
He jumped up and pulled her with him. He smiled, and he lifted in his arms and spun her around. "Say it again!"
"I love you."
He carried her into the bedroom and lay on the bed with her held her fast to him. "Sleepy?" he sat and unbuttoned the shirt she wore.
"Huh uh," she murmured and pulled him back down.
One Week Later
Washington, D.C.
Morgan bowed deeply to Juro who issued a short nod then turned away. She watched him move across the room and replace the bokken on the wall rack.
I had surprised her to find him waiting for her that morning, informing her that Victor was out for a few hours and that she should change and meet him in the dojo.
He put her through a strenuous workout, beginning with a vicious hand-to-hand sparring match and followed by a painful lesson with the swords. She couldn't remember ever having been tested so severely.
Why is he even bothering with me? Did Victor tell him to?
He turned and walked past her. Just as he reached the door, she called out to him, "Juro, wait!"
Stopping, he turned and looked at her. His face was set in its usual hard mask.
"You don't like me very much do you?" she asked.
He seemed surprised by the question. "Is it important?"
She shrugged, "I don't know. It's just I feel there's something about me that rubs you the wrong way and I don't know what it is. And if you don't like me, then why do you bother with me at all?"
"You must not allow your skills to diminish with disuse. There may come a time when your skills are all that stand between you and obliteration."
"What makes you say a thing like that? Do you think someone will try to hurt me? Is there some upcoming battle I don't know about?"
He shook his head. "You decide and choose your own battles and your enemies. I merely serve to assist you in honing your skills. That is the way of a warrior. Nothing more."
She watched him closely as he spoke. A feeling was growing within her. There was something more, something he was not saying. Opening her mind, she reached out, trying to touch his thoughts. A low reverberating tone filled her mind.
He stepped closer to her until their faces were mere inches apart. She could feel the power that emanated from him. The sound increased in volume as he looked into her eyes.
She felt as if her entire soul was being consumed by the sound. It was as if many voices were joined together, many minds focused in that one eternal tone; being channeled through the man who stood before her.
An alarm rang in her mind, but she was so caught up in the sound she didn’t heed it. Her vision began to cloud as she stared into the endless black eyes. Shadowy, nebulous shapes swirled around them.
Like a moth to a flame she was drawn deeper into the void, unaware of the danger that awaited. Deeper she fell, her mind being filled with visions she couldn’t identify or interpret.
Normal vision returned abruptly as Victor's voice cut through the sound. "Morgan? Where are you?"
Guadalupe Mountains
The first thing Cord noticed when he woke was the absence of pain. He checked himself over and could find no bruises, cuts or scrapes. There was also no evidence of a wound on his left hand, which was a little unsettling. He knew something had bitten him. How had the wound healed so completely?
His surroundings seemed familiar. When he got up to look around, the reason for his perception became clear. He was in the cave where the nuclear waste had been hidden. Now the cave was empty. The tankers were gone along with all evidence that anyone had ever been there.
The question uppermost in his mind was how he'd gotten there. Could he have dreamed all of what he thought had happened? Was the old man, Joe, and everything he experienced in the mountains nothing more than something created in his mind?
He couldn’t accept that. Perhaps he was mistaken. He couldn’t be in the same cave.
It didn't take long for him to find the entrance. He stepped out into the sun and squinted, his eye watering as he looked around. Sure enough, the familiar landscape of the dry lands stretched out around him.
I guess it was all just a dream. He thought as he started for the main road.
As he crested a hill, he could see the dirt path that led from the main road to the cave. A Jeep bounced along the pitted path, kicking up clouds of dust as it sped toward him. Cord tensed. Could it be more of Cassie’s friends, returning to finish the job?
A sense of relief swept over him as he recognized the driver. Big Jeff. Cord took a seat on a clump of rocks beside the path and waited. A sound made him look up. A falcon circled high above, its powerful wings carrying it floating through the cloudless sky effortlessly. Cord allowed himself the luxury of admiring the bird, then looked to the approaching vehicle.
Big Jeff stopped the Jeep and turned off the engine. "Hey, man! You speak English?"
Cord thought Jeff must be joking around, so he nodded, and Jeff continued. "I'm looking for a fellow about your size named Cord Alexander. Know anything about him?"
The look on Jeff’s face gave Cord pause. If Jeff was pretending, then he’d gained acting skills he’d never had before. It occurred to Cord that maybe he wasn’t as injury free as he’d assumed. Maybe his face was still messed up and Jeff didn’t recognize him.
Jeff studied the man's face as he waited for an answer to his question. Suddenly, his eyes widened in surprise. "Cord? Goddamn, man! What happened to you?"
His comment led Cord to believe he was really messed up. But however bad he might look, it was a huge relief to see Jeff. "Good to see you, Jeff."
"What happened to your hair?" Jeff blurted out questions in rapid-fire succession. "Where have you been? Have you been out here the whole time? Did you know you’re as dark as an Indian? How come your hair’s white? And what’s wrong with your eyes? Do you know how long we been looking for you? Do you got any idea what kinda shit’s happened?"
Cord couldn't help wonder if reality was anything like what he'd dreamed. If so, then things were a real mess. "I'm sorry, Jeff. I know it was crazy to go off–"
Jeff cut his apology short. "Hey, man, that’s okay. I got just one thing to ask."
"
Sure Jeff, anything. You name it."
The big man's face split in a wide grin. "Are you ready to take names–"
"And kick some ass!" They both finished in unison with a laugh.
"Well, hell!" Big Jeff boomed, "let's go!"
As he started toward the Jeep, something made Cord stop. He felt like he was forgetting something. Maybe it was just a symptom of shock, or some head injury. He didn’t know why, but he was not ready to leave, as crazy as it was, even to him.
"Not yet."
"Why?" Jeff asked, "aren't you ready to get out of this damned desert?"
"Yeah, I just–I just need a minute.”
“Sure man.”
Cord told Jeff as much as he could about what had happened; about getting caught and beaten up and then found by the old man and nursed back to health.
"This old man wasn't tall and stocky with a gray ponytail, was he?" Jeff asked as Cord finished. He got out of the jeep and came to stand in front of Cord.
"Why?"
"Well," Jeff scratched his belly, "it was the weirdest thing. I was sitting in this restaurant eating some barbecue and drinking a few brewskies when this old dude just came over and sat down. I figured he wanted some money or something, but he started telling me about some ole ancient warrior and queen of the universe shit. Hell, I couldn't understand half of what he was going on about."
Jeff lit a smoke before he continued. "Anyway, I told him to just go on and get outta my face."
He inhaled deeply on the cigarette and shook his head in amazement. "So anyway, at first I thought this sucker had made me for a pigeon, and he wanted some money. But then he tells me straight out where to find you. Now, ain't that the weirdest thing you ever heard?"
Cord shook his head and looked up at the falcon circling high overhead. Jeff told Cord about how he had been driving day and night to get to where the old man directed him. In the middle of his narrative a large wolf appeared on the top of the boulder directly behind Cord.
"Holy shit, man!" Jeff's face blanched. "Look out!" His feet began doing a whole lot of moving, but his body acted like it was running in place.
Cord jumped and jerked around. For a split second he thought maybe what he was experiencing was just another dream. Maybe Jeff was just a figment of his imagination. Just like the dog that wagged his tail and worked his way down to Cord.
