She nods.
“I don’t have much time left in the drone, I burned up all the energy to get to the edge.”
“Really? How?”
“Security settings in the drone allowed me to. Something Maldone must have done. Nothing to worry about, but now we don’t get to enjoy the rest of our time here.”
“Want go back now?”
Vargas nods.
As they fly back to the ship, he runs through the conversation that he listened into, and shared the video he got of Miku’s death. There was a worried tone in her voice as she spoke with him about what they were going to do next.
Waking up in the Dive Bar, Vargas carefully looks to his right. His friend was still there, locked into place. They got up, and unhooked themselves from the chairs. Yeti walks up beside them as they do, drink in hand.
Vargas says, “You know you’re on duty, right?”
“That may be true Cap, but I also have to blend in.” He jingles in the ice in his half-filled glass, “This is me blending.”
“Finish it or leave it. I came across the people in question, and we need to talk plans.”
“Back to the room then?”
“That’s as good a place as any, but did you see anyone else leave or get up.”
“Nope, you were the first the come back from dreamland.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
It was only a few short steps to the door, when they run into a crew member hurrying out himself.
Bowing his head, he says, “I am dreadfully sorry.”
“No harm done.” Vargas replies.
“Is there anything I can be assistance of, I am the lead host aboard the ship. You may call me Charles.”
Yeti leans over Vargas’ shoulder, “How about some free booze sent to my room?”
Vargas lets out a sigh, eyeing Yeti as he does. “Don’t mind my friend here. We don’t need anything.”
“If you need anything, I will be happy to assist you.” He bows slightly. “If you would excuse me, I have some pressing duties to attend to.” Flicking over his contact information as he turns to leave.
Vargas scowls at Yeti, “What was that all about?”
“Just trying to blend in Cap, that’s all.”
“While I’m in command, no more drinking while on a mission.”
Yeti waves a dismissive hand at him. “Understood, no fun while on mission.”
15
The sounds of the ship docking at their second destination was Vernon and Marie’s alarm clock for the new day. The siren’s call of sleep began to fade as the uncomfortable bed makes their bodies ache and stir. They had arrived at a small island off of the coast of Viviania dubbed, The Island. Paradise Sailing had built a tourist destination there on a little more than a few thousand acres around an active volcano. Shops, rides, tours, and all other manors of entertainment had been created there as a destination attraction. Vernon still in bed thinks about what the place will look like. He had only seen the pictures, and pictures almost never do the subject justice.
He walks over to the window to get a view of the island from where they had docked, while Marie admires him in just his boxer briefs. She takes stock of him, measuring him up and down, mentally giving herself a high-five. Vernon sees an airport in the distance, with flights coming in to the only off shore destination flights can go, and turns around to get a glance of Marie. She was pulling herself out of bed and was in nothing but her pride. Vernon watches her. Fair skin, long silky legs, curves at every level of her body, a full bosom, deep amber hair, with a pair of bright green eyes. She turns to him, with nothing but a smile. He smiles back, folding his arms, leaning against the door frame. Then whistles a cat call at her. She realizes there is nothing covering her, and quickly grabs at the blanket on the bed, pulling it off. Covering herself, her face flushes, still not accustomed to having him look at her. She believes he’s staring at the flaws she has–when to him, she is nothing more than the embodiment of beauty. The smile turns into a smirk as he starts to chuckle, shaking his head back, and forth.
She raises an eyebrow at him, glaring “Don’t look at me like that.” She slowly backs into the closet to get dressed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You know good and well, mister, and don’t be all lazy this morning. I want to go exploring.”
“Yea, yea.”
“Don’t yea yea me, snap to it.”
Vernon smiles, shaking his head, “Yes dear.”
They head down to the lower levels of the ship, next to the Dive Bar. Vernon looks down the stairs and into the bar, where he can see that most of the dive chairs have been stored away. Only about a third of what was out the other day, the empty spaces filled with tables. The exit of the ship leads down a short ramp to HaLO check point. Passengers swipe through the check to keep track of all who have left the ship. The line is short, and moves quickly. Familiar faces of people that have the same schedule as Vernon and Marie are in line with them. A few polite nods are exchanged as they exit the ship. Vernon swipes his HaLO, and the crew member raises his hand, as he had with each group before.
“Sir a few warnings first. The ship will be leaving at seven. Anyone who is caught off ship when we set sail will be stuck here. We will pack your bags for you and send them to your home once we have docked back near Saint Anthony. Second, all spell casting is forbidden here unless there is a physical threat to your life. You may use runes at your leisure, as long as it complies with all laws. Lastly no outside food or drink will be allowed back onboard with you. So please dispose of it before returning.”
“That’s a mouthful.” Vernon says.
“Yes sir, please enjoy your stay.”
A gentle breeze picks up as they walk onto the docks, bringing in the tropical air, brushing against their faces. They both take in a deep refreshing breath, reach for each other's hands, and exchange smiles as they begin to head on into the town.
The small town was made to look like an old German town from Earth. Small wooden houses, with shops lined up down a main street with all different manor of knickknacks, and then of course good old fashioned eateries. Since humans have moved over to Eden there was only one nationality, Astrum. There had been a war that lasted decades, ravaging Earth. What was left of humanity had gathered under one flag, leaving Earth for greener pastures. The natural born Edenians have a weird fascination with Earth, the birthplace of humanity. Having never been there themselves, they recreate and adopt the building styles from Earth from what information remains in the Archives.
As Vernon and Marie leave the docks, headed toward town, they pass through a shopping area surrounding the docks. Trying their best to push past all of the tourist traps as they do. Each having a moment of weakness with a piece of eye candy on display, catching their attention as they walk by. They each tell the other they don’t need the things they see and keep walking.
Their victory over shopping was done for now, and they travel down the street gawking at the architecture. Coming to the first intersection, there is grey smoke billowing out of the top of a few chimneys. More shops line up on either side of the road at the intersection they’ve reached. Both paths seem equally interesting, so they stop to take a closer look at what is around them. Marie gets a whiff of smoked meat finely seasoned that smells lovingly cooked, and her stomach makes an audible grumble of approval in hopes it would filled.
Vernon tilts his head as he hears her stomachs requests, and looks over to her saying, “Are you hungry babe?”
“Yes, I’m starving.”
“Alright, so I guess we should get something to eat then. Is here good?” He points to the building in front of them.
“If this where that divine smell is coming from then yes.”
Marie takes off ahead of Vernon toward a small wooden house that has smoke flowing out of the back. The wood is painted a light, almost baby blue color with the trim a bright yellow. Small hand painted dolls line the windows,
positioned to look as though they are waiving, with a backdrop of lacy white curtains. Vernon walks up to the door, and grabs for the handle, allowing Marie to walk in first. He had always been taught by his father to be a gentleman, and it was one of the many reasons that Marie loved him. Upon entering, they are welcomed, seated, and served their drinks within minutes. Vernon quickly peruses the menu and finds French toast, one of his guilty pleasures. Marie looks through the menu, but can’t decide. With so many good choices laid out in front of her it was hard for her to committing to just one.
The waitress comes back for the order, giving Vernon the chance to get a good look at her. She was a short blonde maybe five feet tall, skinny, and no more than nineteen years old. She had a very bubbly personality, but looking at her eyes told a different story. Dark rings encircle them, with bags in tow. They were well hidden at a distance but up close Vernon could see them. He felt bad for the waitress, trying to imagine the long hours she had to have put in to get that set of matching luggage. Marie, on the other hand, has paid no extra attention to anything other than the menu.
She asks the waitress, “What’s the best thing they have here?”
“Well ma’am if you’re asking me, that would be the biscuits and gravy. I’m absolutely addicted to them, and you would not believe how hard it is to work here. I have to smell them cooking all the time, and serve it out to people as well. It’s close to torture.”
“How can I say no to that. That’s what I’ll order then, as long as it ok with you?”
“Yes ma’am, that is a perfect choice.” The waitress winks at her.
Once the food hits the table, there wasn’t much talking going on between the two. Ambient noises around the restaurant fill the space as an older couple from the ship talk about the view from their room, kitchen staff calling out orders, and the two waitresses going around checking on everyone. The meal was suburb, Vernon had not had French toast that good in long time, if ever. For Marie, she was in food bliss. There were tiny moans of mmm, as her eyes dance slowly around beneath her eyelids with each bite.
Sufficiently filled, and the meal paid, they head out the doors to see a tour bus had pulled up, waiting for passengers to be taken around the island. This was the thing they were looking for, a way to see around the town and have a guide. As an additional stroke of luck there wasn’t a large crowd waiting to board.
They look each other in the eyes, saying in unison, “Perfect, no crowds.”
16
A loud precession of bangs rattle Vargas’ door. Rolling to his back, he pulls up his overlay to see what time it is. Four am. He rubs at his face, forcing himself out of bed. Another set of thuds hit the door.
“Just a second.” He yells. Grabbing clothes off the floor, throwing them on.
Phillips stands in the doorway staring down at Vargas, dressed in a suit similar to the other times they had crossed paths.
“Can I help you?” Vargas asks, not holding back the aggravation in his voice.
“You have not reported anything to my boss about your investigation. He is not a patient man when it comes to matters like this one. He’s requesting your presence.”
“Do you know what time it is?”
“Yes time for you to follow me.”
Phillips reaches his large hands past the door for frame, grabbing Vargas’ shoulder, pulling him out of the room. Vargas yelps. Phillips raises an eyebrow at him, and then gestures down the hall.
“Alright, alright.”
He knew the way this time, and the walk wasn’t nearly as ominous as the first time he got there. The doors open to Maldone, in the same pose and posture as the last time he saw him. Seated upright, with his fingers steepled.
“Mr. Mitchel, if I would have heard something from you sooner, I would not have needed Mr. Phillips talents of persuasion to get you here.”
“Didn’t know I had to report in to you. Since I don’t work for you and all.”
“Well that would be a misunderstanding. You are currently under my employ, and I not only expect results, I demand them. This is all, of course, with routine check-ins.”
Vargas sneers, “I do not work for you. Our paths have crossed, that’s all.”
Maldone’s eyebrows raise. “Oh. I was under the assumption that you were here on a secret assignment. One that required anonymity, and distance from any prying eyes or ears.”
“What does that have to do with this?”
“And another thing, we had a deal, for this anonymity and distance to solve a murder. Returning my stolen goods in the process. Which sounds awfully close to someone I might have working for me.”
Vargas rubs at his temples with his index and middle fingers.
“I see you have begun to understand the situation that you’re in. So if you don’t mind, fill me in with what you have found out.”
Vargas runs through everything he has come across within the last day. Maldone listens carefully, never showing any change in emotion or body language. He just absorbs the information, and thinks upon it.
“This video, do you still have a copy of it?” He asks.
Vargas nods. “I do, but I’m keeping a copy of it for now. It might prove useful to me while I search down this masked woman.”
“Who said it was a masked woman?”
“The John’s did, to the guy that hired them.”
“They may have been misled. The masked person is not of your concern, let me handle them. Concentrate on the Johns.”
“What!?”
“Do I need to repeat myself, you have been quite apt of hearing in our conversations thus far.”
“I heard you, but if you didn’t get what I was saying, it was from shock. You want me to not try to pursue the masked woman, man, person thing. Why the hell not?”
“I have heard rumors, and judging from the sources, you are not likely to find them in the first place. If you waste your time looking for them, you might lose the opportunity to get my stolen item back.”
“There aren’t that many people on this boat. Make the maids search through all the rooms looking for a mask.”
Maldone shakes his head. “I could do that yes. There would be a backlash from that, one which I do not want to deal with. Then there is the murder, and theft. If news were to get out that I was unable to handle something as tame as this on my own boat, within my presence, it invites others to try. That is not something which would be good for my business.”
“So you’re trying to tell me to forget about the real killer?”
“On the contrary, spend as much time on that as you wish. I only require you do so after my goods are returned.”
Vargas lets out a dissatisfied grunt. “You’re a piece of work aren’t you Davon Maldone.” He pulls up the video and sends over a copy. “If that’s all, I’ll be going now.”
“I’m glad we could come to equitable terms Mr. Mitchel. Have a nice day.” Maldone says with a wolfish smile.
Phillips is standing on the other side of the door, and grunts at Vargas as he walks by.
“Same to you big guy. Try not to wake me up so early next time. I’m grumpy when I don’t get enough rest.”
Phillips gives a disapproving glare, and then heads into Maldone’s office.
By the time Vargas reached his room, it was barely five in the morning. He proceeds to fling his clothes in every direction, wanting to get back into bed as quick as possible, and crawls back under the covers. It was way too early in the morning for him to be thinking about anything other than sleep. So he convinced himself that it would be in his best interest to get more of it. Sleep would help him have more brain power later.
As he stirs awake, there is a warmth around his upper chest, and along his back. He looks down to see arms wrapped around him. Amber had crawled into bed with him, he could smell her floral shampoo she always uses. Settling his head back down on his pillow, he lets himself indulge in her warmth. It had been a very long time since he has felt anything close to the comfort
of this moment.
He slowly turns, her arms still wrapped around him, and he faces her. Remembering she was a heavy sleeper, he combs some of her hair out of her face. She was blissfully sleeping at his side. Thoughts ran through his head of want and desire. His body was telling his brain this was right, his brain was trying to figure out how it might have been a mistake to take her as a part of his new unit. She was someone he had deep feelings for. There may be dangerous situations they get into, and with her around, it could compromise his actions.
Amber is a strong woman, and incredibly smart. When he was looking through her personnel file, he finally saw just how smart she was. Her aptitude tests were perfect scores. Strength, use of magic, technology, information, and even reactions under pressure. It was all laid out there in front of him. The only thing the test didn’t show was if she had the ability to lead. Which there was no doubt in his mind that she could. All the time he had spent with her before they joined the Paladins showed that to him.
Vargas goes down a list of all the positives and negatives to being with Amber in his mind. He wouldn’t have to lie to her, because she would be going on the missions with her anyway. She was competent and strong, so he didn’t have to watch over her in a fight. She might be doing that for him. There were other reasons he could mention, like the primal needs he feels for her, or even the undeniable attraction for her anytime she is around him.
The only down sides were that of his position, and what it might look like. He lets out a small breath, and makes his decision. Leaning in he closes his eyes, and softly kisses her lips. She lets out a little moan, and opens her eyes. Stretching in the process. She can feel Vargas pressing against her lips, and kisses back. Opening her mouth wide as she presses harder against him.
She pulls back, taking in a breath, placing a hand on his chest. “You said no?”
“I know I did. I was wrong. One of the biggest reasons that I asked you to be a part of my unit is because I wanted to be with you again. I don’t know what I was thinking over the last couple of days, trying to push you away.”
Cypher Theorem Series Box Set: Books 1-3, The Zero Class, Shadow Moon, Dragon Fire: A Science Fiction Fantasy Page 28
