Immortal Espionage

by Debbie Behan

  Kev grinned. ‘Should have seen him Jake, he gave Berry back what he was given. He didn’t once turn to Berry as he asked. Well–not until the jerk let me go. If I wasn’t about to shit my pants from fear, reckon I might have laughed. When I took off I heard Berry’s frustrated cry for Jay to get in the helicopter and the pitch was of desperation.’

  Jay laughed at Kev and nudged him. ‘Funny man.’

  ‘Toughie.’ Kev pushed him back.

  Jake ignored their skylarking. ‘So Kev’s safe and you’re with Berry in the helicopter. What happened? Did he study the ground below to see where Ricco had taken Alina?’

  ‘It was strange, come to think of it,’ Jay said, and scratched his head, thinking. ‘Kev sped through the cave entrance and the sudden explosion to block it off shook the aircraft. I guessed Ricco had set off the fireworks to give him cover and time to get Kev out of harm’s way. Glancing below I noticed his men didn’t worry. Without even looking for another way in, they piled into jeeps and left. I was stressing so much about my friends I never gave that another thought. But, now you mention it, looks like they were there to capture me, for him,’ Jay said.

  ‘That’s what I figured.’ His dad frowned. ‘He’s connected with you son and now can’t be without you. The game has changed and it’s not her he chases. It’s you–except he’s never had a child with him before and is stuffing it up. This time he kept you sedated so you were calm enough to get to know him, and possibly topped it up when you started pining for your friends. I’d say he overdosed you accidently to divulge he was your father. Your grogginess was to prevent you fighting with him.’

  ‘Well, you’re right in saying that. My temper had me run up the beach, instead of pounding into him as I wanted too. My legs were lead weights. Eventually I gave up running from him. I went back to the shack, flopped on the bed and didn’t wake up until noon the next day.’

  ‘He sounds desperate to have you with him,’ Millie agreed with Jake. ‘We know this because Ricco is attached to Alina in the same way. He said when Alina left you two that he felt as if he was dying.’

  ‘I was there and yes, he was a mess. I held it together better than him,’ Jay admitted.

  ‘Most likely, as you mentioned before, having a human mother lessened the immortal connection. It made it bearable for you. There is an unbreakable link between immortals once they find their partners or family members. The kids carry the same gene that entwines those fibres,’ Millie said.

  ‘I think it is the one thing that really can kill an immortal and I believe Ricco would have died and Alina too, if you hadn’t got them back together. I believe the only reason Kalam Berry didn’t die after his wife did, was because her daughter lived. It kept him earthed, making him stay here with her. She wouldn’t realise that over these years she had taunted him. But now he has found you Jay, wherever you are he will want to be. He will use the same method as he did with her to find you. There is nowhere to hide,’ said Jake

  ‘I know what you mean. Alina was a crazy woman when she tracked Ricco, it was kind of scary. But I’m glad she did, since he was in a bad way when we found him.’

  Jake nodded. ‘It’s in their DNA. We discovered it in your blood work too. When we try to separate your skin cells they keep drawing back together. It’s fascinating. We’ve only now discovered it. If we put Ricco and Alina together we can’t pry them apart.’

  ‘I’m afraid your father needs you as he needs to breathe, Jay,’ Millie said. ‘What you do with this information is up to you. But I have a very strong suspicion that he is in your life for good now. How you wish to handle this from here on in is up to you.’

  ‘So I’m definitely his son–and immortal too?’ Jay’s eyes were wide, the weirdness of this new discovery scary and yet not. He saw advantages in living forever. He’d always wished he was like Ricco.

  ‘Yes son,’ Jake said. ‘You’re filed under top secret. We are positive by the results that you and Alina are family so by deduction, there’s no question that Kalam Berry is your biological father.’

  ‘Well then, where’s my magic powers? Where’s my speed and strength like Ricco? You know that Alina can heal and Ricco reads minds. It’s not fair, I’m meant to be immortal and yet I’m powerless, nothing special.’

  Millie came and put her arm around him. ‘Jay you have always been special and this month will be even more special as you turn twenty.’

  ‘What’s that got to do with anything?’ he sulked.

  ‘It’s when Ricco’s powers cut in,’ Jake said.

  His mum smiled. ‘As far as we can work out from Ricco’s old diaries, two weeks before his birthday he had a growth spurt. It was then he developed his large solid build and gained his unusual gifts. The transition ceased at the hour of his birth. He said he aged ten years. Went to bed at twenty and woke in the morning and looked in the mirror at a thirty-year-old. Nothing like his former small-framed self.’

  ‘That must have freaked him out. It blows my mind imagining such a shift and yet I know it to be true,’ Jay said. ‘I have already started feeling strangeness, but no powers yet. So I may start getting muscly at any time.’ Jay held out his arms and flexed his biceps.

  ‘You are well formed Jay, no need to worry if that side of it doesn’t change. It didn’t with Alina but maybe females are different,’ Millie comforted him.

  Jake was serious. ‘If you do grow, you and Kev need to be careful. No skylarking for a while. Ricco even had to learn how to shake hands, as his strength was quite dangerous.’

  Kev put out his arm. ‘Maybe I’ve got that weird DNA as well as it seems I want to be with Jay all the time.’

  Millie laughed and stood up, getting a needle ready. ‘It may take time to get the results,’ she informed them after taking blood samples from Kev. ‘So go amuse yourselves for a while. There are still other tests we want to run, but Jay–you need to sort out what part in your life Berry will play. He will fret for you as you may for him now you’ve found each other. Your feelings are going to get in the way if you’re not conscious of why you feel as you do. Spend your time here wisely and learn to control that which might make you fail.’

  Jake took Jay by the arm and walked him to the door. ‘What your mother is trying to say, Jay, is if he needs you as we think he does, you have a huge bargaining chip. One big enough to maybe stop him trying to kill your sister. How you deal with him will determine how you will all survive as a family for centuries to come. You now hold the key. Use it wisely.’

  ‘I get it, and it’s all right. I won’t do anything stupid. I love Alina and Ricco. And even though they’ve lost faith in me, I will prove my loyalty to them and I promise to bring them home. I’ll show Ricco and you that I can beat my old man, the other one.’ Jay grinned. ‘Not you though, you still scare the pants off me.’ His dad laughed and gave Jay a clip over the head for being cheeky.

  He and Kev took off laughing and went back upstairs to well… none of your business.

  ~ Chapter Thirty Seven ~

  Fooled or a Fool

  Kev’s immortality test came back negative. As usual he turned the news into a positive. ‘I’ve no intentions of leaving you Jay, even after death.’

  ‘Till death and beyond!’ Jay raised his glass and toasted him with juice.

  They had begun as good buddies and always would be. Kev was confident in who he was. That had been a big part of why they got on so well, as he let Jay be himself.

  Kev smirked. ‘You won’t say that when I rattle my chains to scare future lovers off.’ He cracked up laughing at Jay’s expression. ‘Well, unless I dig them too,’ he teased, and got a punch from Jay for even mentioning he may possibly fancy someone else.

  ‘Come on boys–this here is serious.’ Jake stopped them getting into another argument. ‘You’re both so possessive.’

  ‘Jay is.’ Kev rubbed his arm.

  Jay’s serious features turned into a smile and he hugged Kev. ‘Sorry mate. Just don’t stir me and I won’t wa
nt to kill you.’ They both laughed.

  ‘They’re in Paris,’ Millie cried out from the other room.

  The three of them got up from the breakfast table and peered over the top of her head at the screen.

  ‘Not picking up the exact location but they did get off this plane that landed in Paris and have not yet boarded another.’

  ‘Well, we found them and you know what you are up against. The rest is up to you son,’ Jake said. ‘Let your instincts find Alina by letting go of your earthly thoughts and allow the inner self to guide you.’

  ‘Our gayness is rubbing off on you, Dad.’ Jay teased him for the way it sounded and got another clip across the head for being a smart arse.

  Two days later Jay set off with Kev to find his sister. He had to talk to Ricco of his plan to entwine Alina’s DNA fibres with her birth father’s. Jake and Millie were acquainted with the technical term, but Jay’s mind simplified it. He just had to get them together. Let the kin magic do the rest.

  * * * *

  Arriving in Paris was a dream. Jay had always wanted to visit the city. However with his new power to track, as Kalam could, he wondered if he’d even get to see it. Or would this overpowering sensation to track ruin their first day? His senses were high. With his birth date so close his body had begun its transformation. Before they left home, Jake commented that he noticed Jay had begun to evolve into a grown man. Kev agreed and licked his lips in a sensual way at Jay, so Jake clipped him that time for the rude suggestions. Jay and Kev laughed at the fun with Jake before they waved him goodbye. He was a good sport and Jay liked that he always treated Kev as part of the family.

  Outside the airport, they jumped in a cab.

  ‘Hotel Cadre in the city,’ Jay said as the cabbie kicked over the engine.

  In their room they threw their bags on the bed and stood out on the balcony admiring their view of the city. Jay fought the urge to turn and look south east of the city. Surely they could make time for some enjoyment before they went searching, he thought as he ignored the sensation.

  Inside he unpacked his case but doubled over from the painful twist in his stomach that had him move to ease it. ‘Sorry Kev, but I must follow my gut. It’s pulling me now!’

  ‘Jay, can’t we just—’

  With a reef of Kev’s hand, Jay had them out the door and in the lift pressing the button, for the lobby. ‘Sorry Kev, it’s too strong. They must be close.’

  Kev sulked. ‘We had no privacy while staying at your folks. You said we could enjoy a couple of days’ fun first before we started searching.’

  ‘I know and I promise to make it up to you when this is sorted.’ Jay put an arm around his shoulder.

  ‘By then your real dad and mum will be here and probably Alina and Ricco.’

  ‘Kev please–just help me find them and I swear it will be all about you after that.’

  On Jake’s suggestion Jay had phoned Kalam Berry. The call was vivid in his memory. ‘Hi Kalam, Kev and I are coming for a visit.’

  Jay heard him call to Sharon and repeat it. Both sounded stunned and yet happy.

  ‘Son, you don’t know how much your mother and I have looked forward to getting together with you. We want to do it right this time. No surprises.’

  In the days that passed they had spoken a few times and each time Jay got more confident he could trick his father into meeting Alina. The last time they spoke Jay told Kalam that he and Kev were going on a lovers’ holiday so he didn’t come looking for him. Jake warned Jay, that Kalam’s immortal instincts for him, would sense he was on the move. It was best to be upfront with Kalam regarding their whereabouts. Rather than Kalam freak out and think he was hiding from him again.

  Jake and Millie both insisted Jay kept in touch with Kalam weekly to stop him fretting. Kalam sounded surprised but thrilled at the first call. After the second and third call he settled. He sounded more relaxed and confident after that and pleased he had control of Jay.

  ‘What if Sharon and I join you in Paris?’ he suggested. ‘Sharon can get some shopping in while you are with your friend. Then maybe at night we can catch up over dinner, give you a chance to get to know your mother better. You’re all she talks about.’

  ‘I want to know her too but I owe Kev so much. I want to make it up to him for sticking it out with me. Give him alone time with just me for once. ’

  Kalam sounded deflated. ‘I understand son, sure.’

  ‘Dad, my birthday’s next weekend. Come then and celebrate it over a meal at a nice restaurant with us. Organize a flight for next weekend and Kev and I will pick you up at the airport. We can book you in where we are staying. What do you think?’

  ‘That sounds great. We look forward to it.’

  Jay heard that little sigh he made when he relaxed around him, and he sounded much happier. ‘And Kalam, do bring a suit because we’ll go somewhere to your liking; my treat.’

  He laughed and joked with Jay on the choice of what he believed was nice in comparison. They still hadn’t spoke of his work. He and Kev had done a number on Kalam and Sharon’s careers and Jay wondered if they even had a job now. But for the moment he couldn’t let past vendettas come to the surface and spoil the mood. He had to get Kalam to stop chasing Alina and for now, he was the bargaining chip.

  * * * *

  The turning of a corner had them in a quaint shopping hub. Kev spotted a boutique restaurant. ‘At least come for coffee with me.’ Kev pulled at his arm but Jay had stopped statue like, riveted to the spot. His eyes scanned the area, sensing his sister.

  ‘I believe Alina and Ricco are in that restaurant,’ he whispered.

  The windows were hard to see through. ‘Kev, you go. He will talk to you. Tell him of our plan.’

  Kev looked nervous.

  ‘Don’t worry, if he runs I’ll find him again.’ Jay smiled with confidence. ‘If he doesn’t trust me near Ali, beg him to meet me alone.’

  Kev agreed and disappeared in through the entrance door. Within seconds Ricco came out with her, moving fast, yet not clumsy enough to cause a disturbance. Jay waited at the corner of the building, the only way out. When Ricco saw him, it was the shock of seeing Jay that stopped him in his tracks.

  ‘Ricco please, hear me out. Jake and Millie have given me an idea that’ll work if you help me. Meet me at the fountain in the park here after you get Alina to safety, as it seems you don’t trust me around her.’

  That was all he got out. Ricco gave no answer or indicated he’d return. They moved along the footpath so fast the blur that was them faded into nothingness in milliseconds.

  Kev ambled out, with hands in his pockets. ‘He spotted me and left. Sorry Jay.’

  ‘The changes in me shocked him into stopping. It was just long enough for me to ask him to meet me there.’ He pointed to where they were to rendezvous. ‘All I can do is hang around and hope he comes back.’

  Kev frowned at the idea of sitting there for hours in such a romantic city.

  Jay grinned. ‘I’ll go over and wait. Why don’t you go and order us a takeaway meal. Hell, grab us a bottle of wine and we’ll make it a picnic in the park.’

  ‘I’m being a pain. I get this is important to you, but my selfish side wants you to myself for a while–that’s all.’

  ‘Kev, I promised you a good time as well, and you’re not being a pain. I’m the idiot that wants not only you, but my dysfunctional family too. Won’t settle for less and as usual you’re the one having to be understanding. How you put up with my crap is beyond me.’ Jay watched him and wished Kev was enough. He deserved so much more.

  ‘You’re doing the best you can Jay.’ Kev punched him good-naturedly in the arm. ‘And if I’m buying I get to choose.’

  Jay liked the way he got over things almost immediately.

  ‘Fine but none of that sushi crap,’ Jay griped as he left.

  Kev’s chuckle was cunning, letting Jay prepare for the worst meal ever for ticking him off.

  But Kev didn’t ha
ve a mean bone in his body and had Jay thrilled when he arrived back with his favourite, a hot chilli pizza and red wine. The pizza was the best they had ever eaten and rolling around on the grass they fought over the last piece. Eventually Kev gave in but when Jay reached for the last piece, it had gone. They both looked up to see Ricco standing there eating it and smiling at them. ‘Some things never change.’

  ‘Hey that’s mine,’ Jay grizzled.

  ‘You disturbed my dinner, and the way I see it you owe me. Sorry.’

  ‘Mongrel.’

  ‘Spoilt shit.’

  Jay reached for it. ‘I’ve missed you shit head.’

  ‘Me too,’ Ricco said, grinning, ‘but the pizza is still mine.’ He held it up so Jay couldn’t pinch it and he did try. Once free of the octopus hand that grabbed at it, Ricco stuffed the whole slice in his mouth. After he swallowed it he sat on the grass beside them and finished off both their wines. ‘Mmm not bad–now tell me what this plan is that couldn’t wait till I had eaten.’

  Ricco listened and asked a couple of questions, most of the time allowing Jay to explain what he had found out.

  ‘So you expect me to bring Alina to him so they can meet face to face. Is that what I’m hearing?’

  ‘Well no, well sort of.’ Jay was unsure of the rest of it. ‘Actually, got it half worked out. I’m positive they must touch each other as well.’

  ‘Go on.’ He sounded intrigued and had not said no as yet.

  ‘Well, I’m picking Berry and Sharon up at the airport on the Saturday. It’s so they don’t surprise us and come sooner. I booked us into the Hotel Castle so we can go to Disneyland Paris before dinner. We’ll be so preoccupied that Kalam’s senses won’t be fully aware. If he does sense a stronger pull he may believe it’s me evolving and getting stronger. If I stay close he won’t even feel Alina. When he does, it will be too late. She only needs to touch him. When he turns to look at her, well, Jake reckons with her being more powerful than me, it will be enough to link them.’