MERCURY'S SECRET

by Tobias Roote

  At the bottom, I stopped long enough for him to jump onto the fuel tank and we were off. Now Alice was holding onto me again I felt the warmth from her flowing back into me. It seemed to restore me from my nights activities and I unwound a little as the sun shone bright and the blue sky promised a hot day, perfect weather for a day on the beach, except I wasn’t expecting one.

  I had a plan, it was going to require the whole day and I hoped to be gone by nightfall, but I needed to pull Alice along with me and that meant explaining and then persuading her to follow the plan until we got off the Island and somewhere safe.

  I didn’t think we would be at risk today, but I was prepared in case I was wrong. I knew most of John's background, enough to know that the people that would come for him and Abbey would be utterly ruthless. I wasn’t put off by that, I came from similar stock. In fact, if they pushed my buttons they might just find out what made me ‘ numero uno’ in my previous career.

  Wishing we had more time and with a growing sense of relaxed comfort emanating from the warm body lying against my back, I longed for a full day, fervently hoping that we wouldn't be chased, followed or spooked. At best I wanted to be in a position to double back and help John if the opportunity arose. At worst my gut told me we wouldn't be going back. It and I had a lifetime of experience reading the trails and smelling carrion on the wind; there was death in the air. I intended for it not to be ours.

  Thirty minutes later, we slowed so I could judge our position and then turned off onto a small track which would take us to the beach. I had been keeping an eye on the rear view mirrors all the way and deliberately took a convoluted route through old rarely used tracks in the groves which would have shown up any surveillance.

  I was pretty sure we were in the clear. I had checked the bike first thing for any GPS devices, and yes, I was that paranoid, and had switched off my phone, removing the battery. I didn’t think Alice hadn’t bought one yet and she was unlikely to be hiding anything that could track her in that skimpy outfit! She was not going to be amused when she couldn’t have a change of clothes, but I had planned for that, sort of.

  We continued on to the beach which was another mile or so, via small tracks that would be difficult for anyone not knowing the area to find. It would be unlikely from here on in, that we could be traced and I began to relax as we approached the parking point, a stand of olive trees that provided almost total cover.

  Mercury leapt off and at my command ran a Silent patrol. It would keep him busy and quiet. He always got too hot on the beach so keeping him working in the shade did him good.

  I pulled the bike onto its ramp as Alice pulled the backpack off the bike. I took her hand, and like lovers, we walked towards the beach which was just over the rise. At the top I stopped. Whistling to Mercury to remain on Silent patrol I watched as Alice took in the small sandy bay and the pristine waters.

  She turned to me and smiled. Why did I not like that glint in her eye?

  I was not surprised when she took off her top and shorts and bending over giving me the benefit of her rump, she unbuckled her sandals, and coolly made her way down to the sandy beach.

  What a girl! I thought pensively, shaking my head with disbelief. I was going to have my hands full I could tell. I sighed and continued down to join her as she pranced around the small beach. When she began doing cartwheels and handstands I decided wisely not to get involved and instead called Mercury to me and we found the remnants of our last shelter and built it back up to give us some relief from the sun.

  When I turned around, she was standing looking at me, and she waggled her fingers. “Come on Danny Boy, let’s have your clothes off, this is a nudist beach after all, and I have been waiting to see you naked!” she teased.

  I sighed yet again, with the thoughts going through my head I wasn’t on the right wavelength for her attentions, but I had to keep her mind on me and off other stuff, so I shucked my shorts, pulled off my shirt and kicked off my sneakers.

  “Happy?” I asked smiling at her.

  Her surprising reaction was to come up to me and walk around me slowly, looking me up and down. When she reached the scars on my back, she sucked in through her teeth as she let her fingers trace their indentations. “Mmmh! bullet, probably 9mm, another, same calibre.” I flinched as she moved her finger down. “Shrapnel, I think,” fingering a jagged scar above my left buttock.

  She circled around to my front and studied the long scar across the top of my leg. “This looks like a knife cut.” She proceeded to examine my chest drawing herself closer so her nipples scraped along my stomach. “Been through the wars, have we Soldier?” she huskily asked as she put her arms around and hugged me to her.

  She placed her face lightly on my chest before continuing.

  “When you live in Africa you get to see wounds like that every day. Most of them don’t heal as cleanly as yours, some never heal at all. Without medicine or proper surgery many die. Many of them just kids, boys who know nothing else and are measured only by the amount of kills they have to their name.” Her head now lay heavy against my chest while I remained still.

  I realised Alice was more than just a girl with wanderlust. Her knowledge was not anecdotal, she had lived on the edge, experienced those memories first-hand. I could sense pain under the surface. I wanted to know this young woman very much.

  I put my arms around her. She pulled in close as I felt hot tears running down my chest continuing to hold her until she recovered her poise. Releasing me from her clasp, she wiped the remnants of tears away, turned back towards me and faced me squarely her glare now fixed on me.

  “So, Dan! Why don’t you tell me what’s going on: why my Dad is scared; why Abbey is terrified; why you have been skulking around all night up and down the hills. Why you are acting as if we are being followed and why is Mercury behaving like he’s running point for you.... In short Dan, why don’t you tell me what the FUCK is going on?”

  CHAPTER 7

  I took Alice by the hand as we walked the short distance to the shelter which wasn’t just for protection from the sun, it gave us privacy from the hills behind us.

  Sat on the hot sand I thought about things for a few minutes while Alice watched. I knew she would be able to tell if I lied or skipped stuff. Her brief explanation of her time in Africa told me clearly that despite her young years, she knew the way of things in the world. She could handle the truth I just needed to phrase it right.

  I told Alice everything that had transpired over the last twenty four hours excluding her accidental involvement. I gave a brief explanation of her Fathers career as I knew it, but made no mention of Abbey’s. I only told her I had been a soldier which she accepted, her nod leaving me in no doubt a fuller explanation would be required at some point.

  “So, they are in grave danger and are going to do a runner while we do the same, but in a different direction?”

  “Effectively, yes.” I agreed.

  “And you're happy to do this?” she looked sternly at me, perhaps questioning my willingness to protect her, I thought.

  “No. Yes. I mean, no! I’m not happy about leaving my friends to manage alone, but, yes, I am happy to be giving them one thing less to worry about by keeping you out of reach of their enemy.”

  “But....” she tried to interrupt, I held my hand up to halt her.

  “As we don’t know these people I consider your Father to be a better judge of the situation. Unless anything changes I intend to do as he asks.” I paused while I watched her face closely for a reaction, negative, or otherwise.

  “They can take care of themselves Alice, both of them; and they have their employers behind them whoever they are. There are also other issues that you and I are unaware of, so it may prove counter productive to get in the way,” I explained.

  Finally I saw as Alice reacted and went into full guilt-mode. I had been expecting it because nobody takes news like that and keeps their cool. Watching her very closely now I sensed when she almost lost
it, then brought it under control again. She was strong, no doubt about that and bright. She handled it much better than I would have expected.

  “We need to go back!” she panicked, her hands grabbing mine her grip incredibly strong.

  I could see her desperately trying to take it all in. Her eyes wide, her breath gulping, I could see thoughts flying through her head as she picked them up, examined and discarded them searching for something she could do to stop what she deep down knew she couldn’t control.

  “No, we need to follow your Father’s plan, they may have already gone. Everything was imminent and you were the only factor that they couldn’t account for. My gut instinct tells me that we moved at exactly the right time, before they knew our whereabouts, or before they arrived. If we went back now, we could walk right into them.”

  We sat quietly, on our knees facing each other while Alice digested everything I had told her.

  Finally, her shoulders sagged as she leaned back and I could see the run of her thoughts ending as she realised that anything she thought up was irrational and that we were better off keeping out of the way. Her grip loosened, but she kept hold of my hands.

  “Your Father and I discussed the possibilities and left ways for us to communicate with them without compromising our safety, we just have to trust that they can handle whoever it is that’s coming after them,” I added, hoping to settle her mind.

  “What’s the plan, Dan?” she giggled a little nervously as she realised the way it came out and I smiled. She was beginning to get a grip and we were now moving forward.

  “Well, I don’t know about you, but I need a swim and then a bit of kip in the sun. I was up all night as you know and I think we are going to need some rest before the next part of my plan unfolds. We will need all the energy and strength we can muster while we escape to a safe area.”

  I stood up pulling her with me and as she came upright she leaned in provocatively, deliberately letting herself fall against me. My skin tingled where her naked body briefly brushed against mine.

  She placed my hands on her shoulders and I gently grasped them feeling the soft fine toned muscle moving beneath my fingers. She slowly caressed me from my shoulders to my loins, I shuddered internally as something inside me awoke from a deep slumber and began to uncoil.

  As her hands reached my hips she spread her fingers and moved them around to grab my cheeks pulling me in firmly towards her. Her eyes raised up to meet mine looking down at her.

  Gazing into my eyes as if searching for something then, obviously seeing what she wanted, pushed herself up a little using just her toes, her small firm breasts rubbing deliciously against my chest until her mouth met mine. She kissed me deeply until, despite my best efforts, she felt me begin to respond to the heat of her body, her hips wiggling minutely to deliberately excite me.

  Then releasing me she slowly turned away and walked towards the placid and crystal clear sea, turning once to smile demurely, knowing full well the effect she was having on this ‘Old Man’.

  I groaned following her down the hot sand and into the water. I welcomed its cool embrace after the heat of her against me. It was going to be a long day and I thought back to yesterday and Abbey’s request for me to protect Alice, idly wondering if she knew then what she was asking of me.

  We spent a good thirty minutes in the sea and then we rested on the beach where the water gently lapped at our legs while the sun warmed us again. I looked at Alice, her skin was already lightly bronzed and she had no tan marks from clothing, I wondered about that.

  Africa wasn't generally a place for nudity and it didn't sound like she'd been near a beach anyway. Her body looked well toned which spoke volumes about her fitness as well as her diet. I guessed that a western diet of burgers and fries was not so readily available. I remembered reading somewhere that fish was a major food source in many African countries.

  Her eyes were closed and her head back, her dark brown tresses still dripping from the sea. She looked very desirable leaning back on her arms, her breasts glistening and the water still running in small rivulets some of it pooling in her navel. I could feel myself stirring as my look took in her body which glistened from myriad pearls of seawater that defied gravity and held to the skin of her breasts, chest, all the way to her loins.

  I needed a distraction and looked around the beach. Not working! So I leapt up and went back into the water where I could at least cool my feelings a little. I continued to watch Alice as she leaned forward raising her knees to rest her arms on as she looked at me suspiciously.

  A glint in the sky caught my eye. It looked like a plane, must be high up I thought as it was so small, usually they were much lower than that as they took off or landed from the local airport. Probably just a flyover. I decided my suspicious nature was getting the better of me and looked to the hill behind the beach scanning for a small four legged sentry.

  Mercury had been on guard all this time and had been quietly patrolling the beach and nearby grove. I called him with a short whistle and he rewarded me with a small ‘whuff’, to let me knew he was no longer on Silent patrol and he raced down the beach and leapt into the water splashing Alice in the process.

  She laughed delightedly and came back into the sea to frolic with him which made him all the more excited as he thrashed around in the shallows.

  Leaving them to play, I proceeded up the beach and walked behind the dune where the lean-to was built and uncovered a large box that had been bolted to a concrete plinth. Something in what John had said prompted me to look inside and the combination lock quickly sprung under my guidance. After I had opened it and careful of snakes, I started pulling out the diving gear and checking through it.

  There were two sets, both of them belonged to John and Abbey, but I had on occasion borrowed them when the desire took me. As I took out the second tank I saw a wooden cigar box in the bottom of the store. There was a note attached. I recognised the clear handwriting.

  ‘Dan, you might be glad of this. John’

  I picked it up, it was heavier than I expected. It wasn't sealed shut and I opened the box. Inside was a plastic bag containing a pistol and with it a lumpy silencer, I recognised it as a Glock. I quickly looked up to check on Alice and seeing she was still in the water, pulled out the gun, unwrapped it from its plastic bag and quickly checked its load. Good! A full magazine plus two spare clips in the box. It would do fine.

  I wrapped it back up, silently thanking John for his foresight and his choice of kit. The man was a bloody marvel. Hiding it amongst the weight belts for the time being I began to move the kit down to the corner of the cove out of the sun and close to the sea edge. We might use the gear later on and I needed to be distracted from Alice.

  She saw me with the diving gear and called out to ask if I needed help, but I just told her to carry on. It was only two loads and I was already going back for the second when I glanced up and saw the glint of something up in the tree-line. It could be nothing, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I scanned the rest of the area without appearing to do so and continued walking up the beach to the scuba gear.

  Where the box was located would take me out of sight of anyone above and I carried on towards it as if nothing had changed. My old instincts kicked in and I began quartering the area above the beach from the location where I had noted the glint. It didn’t take more than a few seconds to note the movement. One person, dark clothing. Surveillance? If so he wasn't very good. I would take no chances.

  Once back at the box, I removed the gun from its bag, swivelling the silencer onto the end of the barrel, I gently slid a round into the chamber. I ran for the cover of the sharp gorse, not looking forward to the possibility of spiking myself on its rapier sharp thorns while totally naked, but not wanting to waste time dressing.

  It didn't take me long to get above the location where I had seen movement. I anticipated whoever it was had just arrived and was moving into position when I had seen a reflection. I hoped it would be a
minute or so before he began to miss me. I didn’t know whether they were hostile; I would be ready either way.

  Keeping down and working from memory, I judged where I would come out to be directly above the visitor. Sliding the safety I bought my gun to bear on the top edge as I crabbed my way silently up and over the ridge, a two handed hold on the gun for accuracy, as the target came into view. Years of experience dropped into place automatically giving me immediate feedback on threat level. Male, short cropped hair, dressed in black jacket, trousers, boots, all military grade. No handgun visible, no sign of radio earpiece. A knife stabbed into the ground beside him.

  Lying prone about twenty feet away he hugged a sniper rifle, a bulky silencer attached to reduce the sound of the shot to a mere cough. I could tell from the angle, it was aimed in the direction of where I was last, waiting for me to reappear. Finger stroking the trigger, he meant business. I recognised the stance and the tension in his body; he would shoot when I reappeared from behind the dune.

  An amateur. His downfall was concentration, it was too intense. He had blocked out everything between him and his target so he didn’t hear me coming; barefoot, with the sun in front and no clothes to create any friction sounds, all the advantages were mine. If he turned, seeing me naked might give him a split second’s pause, I would use that.

  I reached him in seconds, placed the gun near the back of his head and squeezed the trigger. The quiet, but deadly impact drove his skull forward as the bullet exploded out the front of his forehead. He never even knew I was there!

  I learned from bitter experience never to give the enemy a chance. These guys wouldn’t have in my position. I knew now the game was on and we were a valid target. I kept down and spun around on my heel checking around me in case I had missed a second gun. Something made me look up. I caught a glint of reflected light as whatever it was up there caught a thermal and banked taking it out sight. Strange.