Redemption

by Ever N. Hayes

  “Huh?” She craned her neck to meet my gaze and kissed me. Her hot breath gave me chills.

  I shuddered, licked the salt off my lips and smiled. “What’s going on? You seem like you have something else on your mind.”

  “No. I’m good. Keep going.”

  She reached back for my swimsuit but I blocked her hand. What the? Did you seriously just do that? “Tara, seriously …”

  “I said I’m good. What else do you need?” She turned to face me now, tugging her suit bottom back up.

  Boy did you blow that! “This is not you.” It isn’t either of us.

  She was quiet for a minute before she shrugged and splashed water around casually with one hand. “I don’t know …”

  Clearly you do.

  “I’m sorry, Ryan. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I was enjoying this. I just can’t shake this bad feeling. I can’t think about anything else.”

  “Okay …” I somewhat stuttered. “What do you mean? What feeling?”

  She wasn’t smiling anymore. “Don’t you get the feeling that there’s something going on we don’t know about?”

  I had no idea what she meant. I didn’t feel like there was anything going on at all. My focus at the time didn’t go much past her body. “I have no idea—”

  “Come on, Ryan.” She stood up. I watched the water funnel off her shoulders and into the well-defined canyon between her breasts. I reluctantly looked away, glancing up at her face as she continued. “I don’t like the idea of this rescue mission … and I know you don’t either. No one does. But it feels like there’s something else going on … it just doesn’t feel right.”

  I could tell she was frustrated that I wasn’t on the same page, but her concerns were so general and ambiguous. I had no idea what she was trying to say. Mars and Venus... She was usually pretty blunt—pretty clear—sometimes even too blunt and clear.

  “Tara, everything’s going to be fine.” I struggled to find the right words to ease her mind. My eyes dropped back down to her strained bikini top and her well defined … I shook my head. Eyes up, Ryan. “None of us are going on that mission. Danny promised me he wasn’t going. Worst-case scenario, the mission fails and all those people die, but it doesn’t change any of this for us.”

  Tara settled back down into the water, restricting my view to her face—or the back of her head now, actually. She wasn’t saying anything, just gazing out to sea now, but she didn’t look any more reassured. “Tara, no one’s going to be able to get to us here. We are safe. I pr—”

  “Don’t.” She pointed a finger at me. “Don’t say it.”

  “Fine.” I reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled her back against me. “I only want you to be happy here. I want you to know you’re safe.”

  She turned her face toward me and gave me a weak smile. “I know.” She kissed me one more time. “And I appreciate it.”

  I knew my speech hadn’t solved the problem. If anything, she was even more distant now. I tried tickling her but playtime was over. She pushed my hands away and kicked off toward shore. “I’m gonna go check on Ollie.”

  Dang it. “Okay. I’ll be right up.”

  She shook her head. “No, you stay down here and hang out with everyone else.”

  Ouch. Why do I feel like I should take that personally? She was swimming away again. I slapped the water as she walked up the beach, that beautiful backside peeking out the sides of her bikini bottom, swaying with each step. Way to go, idiot! Real smooth.

  As Tara made her way up the hill, I emerged from the water and grabbed a towel off a beach chair. I sat down and put it over my head. I didn’t even hear Hayley walk up. “What’s going on, Dad?”

  I flipped the towel back off my head and squinted up at her. “Nothing.”

  “Tara didn’t look happy.”

  “I don’t even know what to say.”

  “Well, did you say something to—”

  “No! Nothing…at least I don’t think I did. We were just playing around out there, and I was—”

  “I don’t need those details, Dad. None of us are blind.” She gestured towards the others. “I only ask because she seemed happy when she went out there with you and then…”

  “I know. Tell me about it.”

  “Is everything okay with Ollie?”

  “Yes.” I sank back into the beach chair. “I think. I don’t know. I thought everything was okay, but for some reason she’s all freaked out about this rescue mission.”

  “Seriously?” Hayley sounded like she didn’t believe me. “You think she’s upset about the rescue mission?”

  I stayed silent. What else would it be?

  “No, Dad, none of us are even going on—”

  “That’s exactly what I said. I thought I could ease her mind somehow. I don’t know…I probably said the wrong thing.” This time, as much as I expected her to, Hayley didn’t disagree with me. At least not vocally.

  “Do you want me to go talk to her?” Hayley placed her hand gently on my right shoulder. I shrugged. “Dad, don’t take it personally. Girls can be weird sometimes…or so I’ve heard.” I smiled, and she took my hand, pulling me up. “Come hang out with the rest of us for a while. By the time you get up there, I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

  Hopefully. Tara wasn’t easily upset. There had to be something deeper to what she was feeling. But I didn’t know if even she knew what it was yet.

  ELEVEN – Under Where?

  ---------- (Wednesday. July 27, 2022.) ----------

  While everyone was down at the beach in the cove, Lazzo was waiting for a chance to sneak back into Danny’s room for another look at the book. He could hear Kate downstairs singing something about loving a bushel to Ollie, but he knew she’d be taking him back to Ryan and Tara’s soon for a nap. When she finally left and had been gone about a half hour, he checked his watch. He figured he had a good twenty minutes to look around—the time it took for someone to climb the hill from the cove—so he snuck out of his room and into Danny and Kate’s. He made mental notes of where everything was in the room, from Kate’s clothes on the bed to Danny’s stack of papers on his nightstand. Lazzo carefully and methodically moved objects in a specific order to make sure he could reverse the sequence and leave everything exactly as he found it. When he finally moved the panel and punched in the key code on the safe, he took one last look out the window. He was alarmed to see Tara nearing the top of the cliff trail, meaning he had less than ten minutes to flip through the book. He swung the door open and stared in horror at the inside of the safe. The book was gone.

  When Lazzo had recovered enough to think clearly, he rapidly put everything back in place. Then he hurriedly looked around the rest of the room. The only other place he could think of where the book might be was Blake’s office. He swung open the door and quickly stepped out of the room, nearly plowing into Kate and Ollie.

  Kate jumped. “Lazzo?”

  “Kate.” Lazzo tried to remain calm.

  “What are you—what are you doing in my room?”

  “This is rather embarrassing.” He couldn’t look her in the eyes.

  “Okay …” Kate took a few steps back.

  Lazzo didn’t like the look on her face—obvious distrust. He tried to think of something quick. “I … I ran out of underwear.” He could feel sweat running down his backbone. “But don’t worry, I wasn’t looking for yours. I thought maybe Danny—we’re the same, uh …” He stopped talking. He didn’t know if she bought it.

  “Yeah …” She laughed awkwardly. “You could have just …”

  “Asked?” Lazzo smiled. “It’s really not that easy. I’m so sorry. I’m so embarrassed.”

  “I was going to suggest laundry.” She smiled uneasily.

  He noticed with relief she hadn’t backed any farther away. “I’m afraid that wouldn’t have solved my—er—problem with what I have—or don’t have.”

  “Ah. So. Well, did you—”

  “No.” Lazzo shook his he
ad. “I couldn’t get myself to try your—I mean his—I … no. I’m okay. I’ll wait until next week if I have to. I’ll have someone buy me some from the market.” He hoped his embarrassment and stuttering had sufficiently masked his initial guilty response.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, please. It’s okay. Please don’t tell Danny. You have no idea as a guy how …” He looked away, still acting.

  “Don’t worry.” Kate laughed again. “Your secret is safe with me.”

  Lazzo headed back to his room and sat on his bed, still trembling. That was too close. Way too close. He had been so close to being caught in the act. If he hadn’t seen Tara coming up the hill, Kate would have walked in on him and then … then what?

  But now what should he do? He couldn’t risk going back into Danny and Kate’s room. If he were caught again, he was sure no one would believe him no matter what he said. But where was that book? Was Danny carrying it with him now? Was it in Blake’s house?

  Lazzo was in a full panic. He was running out of time and couldn’t chance being caught snooping again. He had to start thinking about another way to get the information the Libyan commander wanted. At that moment it occurred to him that he hadn’t thoroughly explored the van in the Waimea Bay parking lot. Was it possible he’d missed something there?

  He knew this might be his last chance to go back to Kauai since there would supposedly only be one more strategy meeting—Saturday—before the aircraft carrier left, and who knew how security would change around the ship’s departure. He grabbed his sweatshirt and headed down to the cove—needing to leave before the Pack came back. The others were hanging out at the top of the cliff trail so—to be courteous—he asked if anyone needed or wanted to go with him to Kauai. Kate smiled at him and he looked away quickly, pretending to still be embarrassed. He breathed an inward sigh of relief when no one else wanted to go. “Okay, I’ll be back in two hours.”

  When Lazzo reached the Waimea Bay parking lot on Kauai, he hopped into the van. He searched the glove compartment, visors, and ashtray. Nothing. In frustration he slammed his fists against the steering wheel. There had to be something here. This was Libyan intelligence. They wouldn’t just leave a van here and hope he came up with a use for it.

  He slammed his head back against the seat rest, and a sharp object stabbed him in the back. “Aya … Ouch!” He turned around and pushed against the sharp object. Then he noticed the seat cushion had been cut on the side. He reached inside the slit and pulled out a rough lump of coral with a piece of paper wrapped around it. He unfolded the paper and read the words aloud.

  “Car equipped with satellite diffuser. Switch next to ignition. Switch releases magnetic pulse that kills all electronics in twenty miles. You will travel invisibly. Safe house is at your disposal. Can be hiding place, storage site, prison, etc. Four guards there to help you as needed. If pulse activated, we will know you are coming and we will be ready. Allah be with you.”

  This was exactly what he had been looking for and should have easily found—had he only sat in the driver’s seat before. Not having any idea where the book was anymore, he couldn’t just take it and run—his original plan—but he still needed it. And now Lazzo knew exactly what he must do to get that book. He just needed the opportunity to present itself.

  He still had a chance. He just had to force Danny’s hand.

  TWELVE – Snow White (Hayley)

  Four days later.

  ---------- (Sunday. July 31, 2022.) ----------

  The USS George Washington was parked a half-mile offshore, but it was so huge it seemed we could reach out and touch it. The carrier had finished its planned loop and settled into the Kauai Channel for the night. The Hexagon had called Danny and let him know it was parked in our “dark” zone—so they couldn’t see it. They wanted us to let them know immediately if anything went wrong—though I suspected the carrier would notify them on their own if they needed to. From various vantage points in the tree house we used our telescopes and binoculars to watch people scurry around the deck, completing an assortment of drills and tasks. Danny pointed out Captain Baker and Brock. I’d already heard plenty about those two from all the Pack members so I observed them a little closer than the others—out of curiosity. Launch day was finally upon us.

  Grandpa thought we should build a huge bonfire down in our cove and have a farewell celebration of sorts for the 348 people on that ship. “Maybe for 346 of them, Ryan,” Keena said, and we all laughed. Yeah, no one will miss the prick and his fat sidekick. We grilled hot dogs, burgers, steaks, vegetables, apples—my favorite—and s’mores and popped open a bottle of champagne. We went all out, and then we sat on the beach and watched the lights on the carrier. At some point Sam mentioned taking one of our boats out to the carrier to see it up close from the water. It was almost completely dark, with no moon out yet, and pretty much everyone else was heading up to go to bed—but Emily and Abbey were thrilled by the idea, so Reagan and I volunteered to ride along. I could tell Danny was considering coming with us, but Kate pulled him away. I hugged him goodnight.

  “Be careful,” he said.

  “Sure thing.” I gave him a quick hug.

  Tara and Dad were talking to Emily and I couldn’t help but overhear most of it.

  “Please, Mom.”

  “It’s not safe, Em. It’s dark and—”

  “But Abbey gets to go. Reagan will be there … and Hayley.”

  “It’s actually not a bad night.” Dad jumped in. “It’s kind of a once in a lifetime experience.”

  “Ryan.” Tara clearly didn’t like him taking sides—or the opposite side.

  He should have kept his mouth shut. “Tara.” I stepped over to them. “She’ll be okay. I’ll keep her right by me.”

  Tara looked out at the boat one more time, then down at her daughter whose hands were clasped together in a pleading manner. “Okay—”

  “Yes!” Emily jumped up and down and hugged Tara.

  “But—but …” She placed a hand on Emily’s shoulder. “You put that life jacket on and you stay with Hayley. I want you back at the Big House in an hour.”

  “Okay, Mom. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

  “One hour.”

  “I’ve got her, Tara.” I watched Emily run off towards Abbey.

  “Thanks, Hayley.”

  “Of course.”

  Lazzo walked out onto the docks with us. I asked if he wanted to go, and he shrugged and hopped in.

  “Sure, why not? I’m still wide awake.”

  We shoved off and headed toward the aircraft carrier. Once we got beyond the cove the wind started picking up. It was almost chilly. I snuggled against Sam for a little extra warmth—as he steered us towards the carrier. Suddenly Lazzo stood and stepped away from Reagan. He was holding something in his hand—pointing it at Sam. A gun! “Stop the boat, Sam,” Lazzo demanded.

  Abbey opened her mouth to scream, but Lazzo covered her face with his hand, pressing the gun to Reagan’s forehead as she moved toward Abbey. “Sit back down, Reagan.”

  “Lazzo, what the hell?” I stepped towards him and away from Sam—grabbing Six’s leash and trying to get closer to Reagan. “What are you—”

  “Sit down, Hayley.” He swung the gun toward me. “Right here.”

  Reluctantly, I did as I was told. Six was snarling. With one hand I gently covered his mouth. With the other I motioned for Reagan to sit down. “Lazzo, what is this?”

  He ignored me. “Sam, you move over here.”

  “Lazzo, don’t be stupid.”

  “Sam, this might not be the best time to call me stupid.”

  “Sam, do what he says.” I patted the seat beside me.

  Lazzo’s body was calm but his eyes were wild. I’d never seen this Lazzo before. Clearly this wasn’t some prank. His voice was angry. “Anyone screams and I shoot you all. You keep her quiet.” Lazzo pointed at Abbey.

  As Lazzo moved behind the boat controls I slid down the bench towards Rea
gan. Emily was hidden behind me now. “Lazzo, talk to me. What are you doing?”

  “What I must, Hayley.” Lazzo fixed his eyes on Sam, who had moved across from us. “Sam, don’t get any ideas. The gun isn’t there anymore.” He waved the gun in the air, implying he’d taken it from the box under Sam’s bench.

  Sam stood back up. “Lazzo—”

  “Sam,” I cautioned.

  “Shut up, Sam.” Lazzo trained the gun on him.

  I had a bad feeling about where this was going. I wanted to tackle Lazzo and push him off the boat, but I couldn’t possibly cover the space between us quickly enough. And even if I could, Danny had told me Lazzo was a member of the Libyan Special Forces at one point—not too long ago. Me—even in all my fury—I still probably couldn’t take him.

  Reagan had placed herself between Lazzo and Abbey. This had to be a terrible déjà vu for the vice president’s daughters—being held at gunpoint by a Qi Jia officer. If Lazzo still was one. Could he have had ulterior motives this entire time in Hawaii? Had the hard-working, friendly, volunteer for everything, person we’d all come to know and appreciate been an act—an impostor? I didn’t want to believe that yet.

  “Tell us what’s going on.” I was trying to keep his attention on me. “Please.”

  Lazzo rubbed his eyes. “I can’t, Hayley. I’m sorry.” He moved over to the boat motor, never taking his gun off Sam. “This has to be done.”

  Lazzo turned the motor on and pushed the throttle forward, simultaneously firing the gun—the revving engine somewhat masking the gun’s discharge. The bullet tore into Sam’s chest, propelling him overboard. I heard myself scream, and I jumped up to go after him, but Lazzo yelled. “You jump in, I kill the other three.”

  I froze on the edge of the boat looking frantically into the inky black water as we moved away from where Sam had fallen in. There was no sign of him and I couldn’t hear anything other than the sloshing of waves against the boat. Panic spread through my body, revealing itself in my shaking hands. I spun towards Lazzo ready to explode but froze at the cold glare in his eyes. He was going to shoot me too. I shouldn’t have untied Six, but I did. He’d been lunging against his leash but it had held. Now loose, he flew at Lazzo. Lazzo killed him mid-jump with another gunshot. “That was stupid, Hayley,” he yelled, pulling back on the throttle.