Rogue Wave (The Water Keepers, Book 2) (11 page)

“Wait, that’s mine,” Rayne said, confused.

“I’m just borrowing it, sir. I promise I’ll give it right back,” the guard said. He held up Rayne’s wrist, and the woman scanned the device over his Watermark and tattoo until it made a loud beep.

Rayne pointed to the patch sewn into the jacket on the woman’s upper arm. “Hey look,” he said, amused. “One of those pictures on your sleeve looks just like my tattoo.”

The woman smiled. “Yes, it does, sir.”

The metal door behind the woman slid open and she said, “Welcome back, Agent Stevens,” allowing the guard to wheel him through the doorway.

They entered a large room, dark and almost cave-like, yet there was a shimmery glow all around them that flickered and floated across their faces. There weren’t any lines in this room. People streamed through with ease, passing quickly from the metal doors, straight through a wall of silvery, dancing light. Rayne felt suddenly at home. He couldn’t remember much at the moment, but
this
place…he was sure he knew.

9. ASH FAILS THE TEST

The phone vibrated in the pocket of Ash’s designer jeans. He set his wine glass on the table, grumbling in annoyance, and examined the caller ID.

“Who is it?” Voss asked in a flat tone.

“It’s the doctor.”

His father’s expression didn’t change. Voss took his knife and pierced the steak on his plate. “I thought we agreed to limit communication.”

“We did,” Ash said. “I’ll take care of it.”

He pressed the phone to his ear and without a greeting said, “I thought I told you to wait for my call.”

Dr. Jensen’s voice was rigid. “I know. I apologize. But there’s been a new development. There may be cause for concern.”

“What is it?” Ash demanded.

The doctor hesitated. “I know you told me this program is highly classified, but I may have accidentally…left a file on my desk this afternoon, out in the open.”

Ash could feel his father’s glare burning through the side of his head from across the table. “Well, did you or didn’t you?” Ash snapped into the phone. “Did anyone see it?”

“Yes, I believe someone saw the file,” Dr. Jensen said. “It was just my girlfriend’s daughter, though. I wasn’t certain at first, but she made several comments throughout the night which confirmed my suspicions.”

Ash’s grip tightened around the phone. “We discussed this matter after the incident in the stairwell. You assured me she wasn’t going to be a problem.”

“I don’t think she will be. I’m not sure she even understood what she saw. She’s just a child.”

“She’s not a child,” Ash said. “She’s a teenager. Teenagers are rebellious, insubordinate trouble-makers. She’s not to be trusted.”

The doctor’s tone was frustratingly cavalier. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Sadie’s a good kid. I can talk to her if you’d like.”

“You listen to me, doctor,” Ash sneered.” This isn’t a schoolyard game we’re playing. Perhaps you don’t understand the gravity of the situation, so let me explain it to you.” Ash’s voice went from mildly angry to dark and threatening. “The people in charge of this operation do
serious
business, and they will take
serious
measures to ensure things go their way. Do I make myself clear? They won’t hesitate to send you, or your girlfriend, or your sweet little Sadie a message you’ll all be sure never to forget. Now, if I were you, I would take a few more precautions in safeguarding your research in the future. Do you understand?”

Dr. Jensen’s voice cracked. “Yes…I understand.” He paused a moment then added quietly, “I thought you said this was a government study.”

“Well, unfortunately for you…I lied. Just follow my instructions exactly from here on out and you shouldn’t have any problems. And don’t talk to the girl about this again. We’ll take care of her.”

“Wait, you’re not going to hurt her, are you?”

Ash ignored the question. “Thank you, doctor. That will be all. I’ll contact you with further instructions.”

Ash tossed the phone onto the tablecloth and took a bite of his entrée, chewing the delicate fish more vigorously than necessary.

Voss looked up from his meal, holding his wine glass in the air and looking thoughtfully in Ash’s direction.

“What is it, Father?”

Voss’s mouth turned up, almost in a smile, and said, “For a moment, I almost thought I was listening to
myself
speak on the phone.”

Ash paused, cautious to take his father’s comment as a compliment. “Well, I learned from the best.”

“It sounds like Hamlin’s little girl already knows more than she should,” Voss said, savoring the scent of his wine before taking a drink. “Perhaps we should eliminate her; take care of the problem now before it gets out of hand.”

Ash dropped his fork. “Eliminate her? I hardly think that’s necessary. I mean, yes I wanted to scare the doctor, but we can’t just kill her.”

His father’s eyes narrowed. “And why is that?”

Heat spread through Ash’s chest. “Because…she’s just a girl. She’s not even on our list of targets. And somehow it just doesn’t seem right…”

Voss slammed his hand into the table. “Son, you’re thinking with your emotions again. Compassion only makes you vulnerable. Now, tell me again. Why aren’t we going to kill her?”

Ash’s mind suddenly jumped back to his youth, remembering the way his father tried to teach him critical thinking and strategy. His father wasn’t planning to kill the girl, at least not yet. He was just testing him, presenting a scenario to see if Ash would answer correctly. And of course, his answer had been wrong, just like always.

Ash straightened in his chair, tone steady, answering as if he were a student in a classroom. “We’re not going to kill her because the move would be premature. In order to realize our endgame, we must keep our assets in place without detection. Killing her would only draw attention and compel our opponents to fortify their resources.”

Voss blotted his mouth with a napkin. “Your reasoning is sound, but the analysis basic. Why don’t you take another moment to ponder the scenario and let me know how you would elaborate?”

Ash stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the tile floor. “Yes, Father,” he said, frustration leaking through his control. “I’ll be sure to get on that, right away.”

He snatched his phone from the tablecloth and shoved it in his pocket, ready to storm away from the room.

Voss’s voice bellowed slow and deliberate. “Wait…” he said, with a level of command to match the general of an army.

Ash stopped and turned toward his father, eyes rolling up toward the ceiling.

“We’re not done here,” Voss said. “There are still a few things I need you to take care of.”

Ash shifted his weight as he folded his arms. “What is it?”

Voss didn’t move from his relaxed position in the dining chair. “We’re done with the doctor’s so-called tests. It’s time to move on to phase two. Make sure every local news station and paper in the greater Los Angeles area has the story on their desks by tomorrow night. I have a meet set up with our source from Banya Friday morning to get the ball rolling there as well.”

Ash nodded. “Of course, Father. I’ll take care of it.”

Voss took the digital tracker from his pocket and skimmed through the screens.

“If your head was in the game, you would have brought this information to my attention an hour ago,” Voss said. Ash looked at the floor as his father continued. “The girl has called Rayne Stevens eight times since our man intercepted the Healing Water this afternoon, all within the last ninety minutes. Read her last few texts,” Voss instructed, handing the tracker to Ash.

Ash reviewed the frantic messages. The girl, Sadie, was clearly concerned about what she had seen in the doctor’s office and was planning to tell Rayne everything as soon as she could get a hold of him. The fact that Rayne had returned to Banya for more water and was out of reach, would work greatly to their advantage.

“What do you want me to do about it?” Ash said.

“Keep her quiet,” Voss scowled. “Just give her a nice scare…for now. If you think you can handle that.”

Ash slammed his father’s tracker on the table in frustration. “I’ll get it done.” Then he turned and left the building without another word, ignoring the bright smiles and thank you’s from the restaurant staff as he passed.

Why did he even try to appeal to his father? Nothing he did was ever enough.

The engine purred to life when Ash took the driver’s seat of his Lotus. As the wheels peeled out of the parking lot, Ash’s foot jammed harder on the accelerator. He sped the sports car down a side street until approaching Coast Highway then swerved around the corner, barely checking for oncoming traffic. He didn’t care. A fatal crash might be a welcomed change.

Ash used to swerve in and out of traffic for the thrill of it. Now, it was just an escape. He turned the music louder, as if the blaring rhythm could somehow obliterate the pointless absurdity that was his existence.

10. THE STARS

When the torturous dinner with Dr. Jensen was finally over, he dropped me and my mom off at the hospital to pick up her car. Then the two of us drove back to our house in silence.

I examined Rayne’s property as we pulled into the driveway, hoping for some small clue that he might be home, that for some reason he was there all this time and just didn’t happen to hear his phone, but his house looked completely deserted, not a light on in sight. I was beginning to worry something had gone horribly wrong after he left to pick up the Healing Water. In the past, he was never gone this long.

Mom and I started walking up the drive, but I turned back around. “I’m just going to run over to Rayne’s for a minute,” I said.

She grabbed my arm before I could leave. “Honey, wait a second. Can we talk about this for a minute? What’s gotten in to you tonight?”

“Nothing,” I said. “I’m fine. I just really need to talk to Rayne.”

I turned my back to walk away, but Mom reached for my hand. “Sweetheart, I know things are confusing with you and Rayne right now and you have a lot on your mind, but could you please give me just five minutes before you go?”

Mom’s face looked so forlorn I couldn’t bear to say no. “Oh fine…” I said, giving in.

I followed her as she moved to sit on the wooden bench in front of the house.

Even though she initiated the conversation, Mom hesitated, gazing up at the moon and avoiding confrontation. “Wow, the sky looks so clear tonight,” she mused. “I remember when you were younger, you used to love to come out here and stare at the stars. Sometimes I’d have to practically drag you back in the house.”

I looked up, following her gaze. “Really?”

Mom chuckled. “You don’t remember? You used to talk about it all the time. You were obsessed with the stars for probably two or three years. And you had that imaginary friend; what was he called…Diamond-eyes? You used to say you loved the stars because they reminded you of Diamond-eyes, because he told you whenever you were scared at night you could look at the stars to remind you he was out there protecting you, or something like that.” She paused and looked back at me. “Is any of this ringing a bell?”

“Um, yeah. Kind of,” I said.

Of course, I knew exactly who Diamond-eyes was. It was Rayne. I had given him the nickname when I’d met him as a child. But when he and I had talked about it before, he always made it sound like he had only talked to me in person once in my childhood, when I was seven years old. Did I really have such a great memory as a child that I would talk about that one visit for several years afterward? It didn’t seem likely.

“Now that I think about it,” I said. “I do remember Diamond-eyes. But are you sure I mentioned him for such a long time? I thought he was just a short phase, like for a month or two.”

Mom laughed. “Are you kidding? He was all you ever talked about since you were seven years old up until you were at least nine. You would always come back from playing around the neighborhood or from school, saying things like, Diamond-eyes taught me how to jump rope or Diamond-eyes told me a story about a princess today.”

“Huh,” I said, wondering aloud. “I had no idea.” I sat for a moment, thinking and looking at the flickering lights in the sky. Everything my mom said seemed strangely familiar, like I could almost picture Rayne’s face through my childhood eyes.

I thought all the images of Rayne in my head were just dreams, but was there a chance they were actually memories? Was it possible Rayne was really there with me all those days back when I was a child? Maybe it
was
possible. Maybe he didn’t just watch after me from the shadows. Maybe I knew him, like he had been a real part of my life from the moment he agreed to this assignment; or at least for the first few years. But if this were true, it would mean…he lied to me.

No, that would just be silly. Why would he lie to me about something as simple as that? Why would it even matter? I glanced up at Rayne’s house across the street. It still looked completely vacant, and he probably wasn’t even there, but I wanted to run over and pound on his quaint white door anyway, just to be sure.

Then it dawned on me. My mom had successfully avoided the real subject at hand for long enough. I turned my attention back to her.

“Come on, Mom,” I teased. “I know you didn’t drag me over here to talk about my invisible childhood friend. Just say what you wanted to say already.”

She fiddled with the strap on her purse. “Well…I just wanted to apologize for springing the weekend getaway-thing on you like that,” she said. “It really didn’t come out the way I was hoping. The truth is, I was kind of putting it off because I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go through with the trip myself. But I have to be honest; you took the news much harder than I was expecting. I mean, the way you bit Mark’s head off at the restaurant…you would think he was some kind of serial killer or something.”

“I know, Mom. I’m sorry. I guess I’m just starting to feel like he’s not the right guy for you.”