To Ocean's End (17 page)

She leaned against him. “You don’t have to say anything. Your company more than suffices.” She rested her head on his shoulder and he rested his cheek on her head.

“Well that’s a relief. I’m lousy with words sometimes.”

She laughed softly. “Me, too.”

They finished their lunches, then split some mint ice cream with fudge, crumbled cookies, and whipped cream on top for dessert. They took turns taking spoonfuls all the way down to the last scoop. Mido happily covered the tab and they took some waters to go.

Stomachs full, they headed farther inland at Jessie’s request. The plan was, once she was on her own, to stick to land until Egypt, and then hop a boat for the final stretch. Mido and crew were tied to their ship.

Walking around Revivre became progressively easier to the point where Jessie no longer felt the need to hold hands anymore. However, she held on. She tried to convince herself it was so she wouldn’t generate any suspicion, but she knew deep down she didn’t want to let go. The closer she drew to the unspecified moment of their parting, the tighter she wanted to hold on.

A few miles into their meandering, she pulled them to a halt. She’d heard train horns. This was close enough. Any closer and Mido might figure out where she would run off to--not that it’d be that hard, since the entire crew knew she was dead set on seeing home again.

She let go of his hand and stood before him. “Mido.”

He gave her his full attention with his gentle blue eyes.

She looked at the ground. “I have to go now.”

“To...?” He pointed with a thumb in the direction of the ship.

“Home,” she said. “I can’t go through with helping lift the curse if it means that much danger. I don’t want any of you dying because of me.” Mido began to voice his protest. Jessie got up on her toes and covered his lips with hers. That shut him up. He blinked a few times, then pulled her closer and returned the kiss. She pressed her hips and abdomen flat against him and he wrapped his arms around her.

She pulled away before the kissing lasted too long. It left them both gasping for breath. Mido licked his lips and leaned in for another round, but Jessie put a finger over his mouth. “No more. This is already hard enough. You’ve helped me so much. Now I return the favor by making yours and everyone else’s lives safer.”

He took hold of the hand in front of his mouth. “Jessie, that’s not a valid reason. Our lives aren’t your responsibility.”

“The level of danger considerably drops if you remove me from the situation. I say you’re wrong.” She peeled her body from his.

“And I say you’re as wrong as all those times you tried to tell me you weren’t hungry. Just stay until Cyprus at the very least.” He kissed her hand.

“I’ve already made up my mind. I’m telling you out of respect.”

“I’ll carry you all the way back to the ship if I have to.”

They were standing far apart enough to get in a decent swing, but close enough to make it impossible for Mido to react. Jessie swung a leg and the steel toe of her boot connected with his groin. He grunted and collapsed in a heap, clutching his groin. “I’m so sorry, Mido. Please don’t hate me.” He reached for her ankle but she easily yanked free and backed away. He looked up at her with eyes full of hurt. “Good bye.” She ran off with that heartbreaking expression etched in her memory.

“Jessie don’t!”

Jessie headed for the train station. Once there, she’d buy some supplies, then hop the soonest train to Egypt.

*     *     *

It took me a good hour to help my cargo pushers unload our delivery and get the next one on. Sauna had made quick work of bringing in more business. First a delivery to Athens immediately after Cyprus, and now a separate delivery near Paris. Not the most ideal direction but France was good money. It’d be worth the few extra days.

I took a conventional ladder off my boat so I wouldn’t be limping for the next three weeks. A dock worker used a steam crane to lift Jacobi onto the docks, and once he was settled, the three cargo pushers and Sauna left for their favorite Moroccan bar, Cerveza Sonriente. Smiling Beer. Dumb name but great beer.

“I’ll catch you guys later. I need a burger fix at Milud’s.” My crew broke into hearty laughter and we bid each other farewell. I waved back and made the fifteen-minute trek to Milud’s burger joint.

Even after all these years and a self-inflicted apocalypse, Morocco was still heavily influenced by Spanish food, language, and culture. Mostly Africans and Middle Easterners filled the streets, and all the locals were at least bilingual. Despite my age, I knew only English. I’m lazy like that. So, when I saw a food sign years ago that read “Hamburguesa Divino”, that was close enough to English to grab my attention. To my delight, the place served half-pound patties of heaven with perfectly seasoned steak fries. The complete meal, I must confess, was as good as anything Mido could fix, maybe even a smidgen better than his burgers. Of course, neither party would ever know that.

Hamburguesa Divino was an outdoor walkup and sit at the counter place. There was room for maybe twenty customers elbow to elbow. One stool on the end had my name on it. I carefully took off my trench coat without exposing my gun, draped it over the chair back, and fastened a button so no passing breeze or klutz could inadvertently expose the weapon. That would be everything short of fun to have the quasi-children pop up during vacation. I plopped onto the stool and put my fists on the counter. Didn’t even bother looking at the menu.

A small African man with a roundish face and smile lines etched into his cheeks brightened at the sight of me. He set two plates in front of other customers and marched right over. “Why if it isn’t Captain Dyne Lavere! Welcome back, my friend. Can I fix you up with your usual?” He toweled his hands.

“Oh, yeah.” We shook hands and I sat back down. “How long has it been since the last time I was here?” I was already wincing at the ballpark answer.

“A year thereabouts. And you still look as young as the day we met.”

That comment made me wince for real. I had maybe five more years with him before my lack of aging made him ask too many questions.

“So where’s this fountain of youth you’re hiding?” He ripped a handwritten meal ticket from his notepad and handed it over to the portly chef.

I let out a humorless laugh. “I’d make myself younger if I had one.”

Milud laughed. “Okay, you got me there. So what’s new?” He poured me a tall mug of beer and thumped it on the heavily varnished counter. Foam rolled down one frosty side.

I took a couple sips. I was tired and sweaty from cargo pushing. “The usual globetrotting. Had a few more run-ins with Tethys since the last time we talked. Lost two techies during the second run-in. Hired two more, along with a bodyguard. That’s about it.”

“I’m sorry for your losses.” Milud reached for a ceramic jar and pulled out two seashells. He poked holes in them with a steak knife, then added them to the string of seashells hanging over everyone’s heads.

I raised my mug. “Thanks.”

“Of course. You honest sailors lead such dangerous lives. It’s the least I can do to honor their service.”

I nodded and he returned to his line of patrons.

Milud and I exchanged small talk between customers, him telling me about his feisty wife, how business was going, and even the weather. I more listened than talked, and summarized a few of my times with lovely women around the world. I didn’t really brag about them for fear of letting slip a tale that didn’t fit the time frame he lived in. I just enjoyed chatting with him about anything and nothing. He was one of few friends all over the globe who was oblivious to my curse. He treated me like a normal human, something my crew couldn’t do because of all the curse-related precautions they had to take. Meeting up with people like Milud helped me push my curse from my thoughts.

Shortly into my stay, Milud marched over with a plate that needed rays of light emanating from it to complete the picture. A crown of a golden brown bun resting atop a bed of lettuce, tomato, and sautéed onion, a melted layer of cheddar cheese, a juicy half pound of beef under all that melted goodness, and some mayo slathered onto the bottom bun. Milud slid the plate close to my face and rotated it so the fries lay behind the burger.

“Need any extra napkins?”

“Nope,” I said as I set one on my lap. I picked up the cheeseburger in both hands, inhaled its mouthwatering bouquet, then bowed my head and closed my eyes. “Please, God, let me enjoy this one burger in peace. It’s been too damn long.” I paused, just in case, but no interruptions came. I opened my eyes and took another whiff, then sank my teeth into the best meal on Earth. Oh, sweet, juicy, tender goodness inside a toasted bun. I savored it all the way down, then wiped a tear from my eye. Yeah, it was that good.

“How about a tissue?” Milud said with a wink.

I waved him off and he just laughed.

“Enjoy!”

For once I was. I opened my mouth for the next bite of heaven...

“Captain!”

... And stopped.

Just no. It couldn’t be. That familiar voice had to be calling for another skipper, and I had to be tricking myself into thinking I recognized the voice. I approached my lunch again.

“Captain Dyne!”

I’d gotten my mouth around the next bite when I recognized Mido’s voice. His urgent tone didn’t sound at all like he was about to join me to lunch. He, Scully, and Sauna were running right towards me. Holy hell. I hastily took another bite. What on earth required three of them to come get me? And
why
had I told them where I was eating?

The trio ground to a halt with noisy steps, causing other patrons to look our way, even Milud. Mido said, “Jessie’s run off! She’s trying to get back home on her own!”

That news at this moment was almost enough to make grown man me cry. I swear not being able to eat a cheeseburger in peace was part of my curse. I swallowed my second bite. “And you just let her go like that?”

“No, Captain. She... she kicked me.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were getting along really well...”

“She apologized before she ran off.”

“Which way did she go?”

“The train station I think. She left me when we got near.”

“Well let’s go chase her down.” I reluctantly got to my feet. “Milud, I--”

“Here you go.” He bagged my lunch and handed it to me. “Catch you later.”

“Hopefully tonight or tomorrow. Take care!” Mido and my two cargo pushers took off running. I hurried to catch up. “Did she say why she was running off?”

Mido said, “She doesn’t want our deaths on her conscience. She thinks it’ll be her fault if we die while she tries to help you lift your curse.”

“Did you tell her how ridiculous she sounded?”

“She wouldn’t listen. Is it right to try and get her back? I came for you because I wasn’t sure.”

“When her rationalization is irrational, yes. But if she doesn’t change her mind come Cyprus then there’s nothing we can do.” We wended our way to the train station. Since this wasn’t Newport, I made an effort to not push people aside. Instead, I let my crew tactfully clear the way.

Chapter 16

Retrieval

The bustling plaza was full of open-air shops geared towards travelers and hungry people. Jessie bought a backpack, bottled water, and snack bars right outside the train station. She thought of buying a knife as well but decided to give her potential attackers one less weapon to turn on her. She managed to buy everything from a shop run by a female, along with not looking over her own shoulder too much. Even though she’d managed a clean getaway, she couldn’t help but worry Mido would catch up and know exactly where to find her. She felt like no matter how hard she tried, no hiding place would last. They’d find her just because she didn’t want to be found.

Getting a train ticket was far more nerve-racking. The line she stood in moved slow, and there were two men behind her, one portly and the other almost as short as her. There was merriment in their eyes, and when she glanced at them, they smiled and waved but otherwise ignored her. She kept reminding herself that these two men had places to go, just like her. Raping her probably wasn’t on their minds at all. Still, she put her backpack straps in death grips as she waited her turn in line.

There was a male Indian teller on the other side of the glass with no way to get at her. “Where to, ma’am?”

“How much is it to New Cairo from here?”

“Three hundred and fifty U.D. one way.” He rattled it off as if it was an answer to a common question.

Jessie winced. “I’ll take it.” She’d spent a good eighty bucks on her backpack and food. No toiletries, no extra socks or undergarments. This was going to suck.

The teller tapped in the ticket info on the tablet front of him. “Would you like your balance on your receipt?”

She hesitated. “Yes.” She wasn’t going to like the number either way.

“Alright. Just need your confirmation for the transaction to be final. Press right over there, please.” He pointed to the thumb scanner at shoulder height.

Jesse pressed her thumb on the pad and two pieces of paper popped out of the stainless steel counter. She took them, thanked the teller, and walked off. The larger piece of paper had her train ticket number and boarding info. The other her account balance. She stopped walking when she read the balance. $13.50. That’s all she had left to get to Cyprus. She felt sick to her stomach; she should’ve had more money than that.

Jessie looked around the platform and spotted an ATM near the end of the ticket booth line. She fast walked up to it and waved a forearm in front of the screen, then navigated the menu to transaction history and read through the short list. Everything was correct. She’d forgotten about the 10% income tax Cyprus took from its citizens’ paychecks. That explained the other forty eight bucks she was missing. There was nothing she could do to get it back. She ended her inquiry.

She walked towards the trains on leaden feet, head bowed, and ticket in hand. She should probably give up now, get the money back, and return to Mido with a mountain of apologies. But if she did that, then what?

Maybe she was jumping to conclusions too fast. She could find work in New Cairo, couldn’t she? She was a farm girl but she could learn new skills, like she’d been learning how to fight on Dyne’s ship. There just had to be a way around her financial obstacle.

According to her boarding pass, her train awaited her on platform twenty, and it was leaving in fifteen minutes. Heart pounding, she started walking in the direction the signs pointed. Each step felt like a horrible mistake but she didn’t know what else to do. Going back meant giving up and giving in. Going forward might mean she’d be stuck in New Cairo for an indeterminable amount of time, unless she could sneak onto another boat. Staying put was absolutely out of the question.

Jessie heard a polite beeping behind her. She and several other people shuffled to the side to make room for solar cart bearing an elderly couple and their luggage. The couple was dressed a little warm for the sweltering atmosphere but they didn’t seem to mind. They were holding hands and smiling contentedly. Jessie tried picturing her and Mido in their place. Her heart wrenched. It was effortless to envision herself with him, even when they got old and wrinkly. Mido would always have those gentle eyes and his charming smile.

Jesse raised her chin and forced herself to walk bravely. Mido was just one amazing fish in the sea. There would be others. She just had to get over him and the way she’d left him. She mentally sent another apology his way and hoped he’d forgive her.

She found and boarded the rear of the bullet train with a handful of minutes to spare. The sharply dressed stewardess tore off the stub and handed back her boarding pass. Jessie made a beeline for the front. If Mido somehow found her train, she wanted to be in the last place he could possibly look. No one paid her any mind as she squeezed past one passenger after another. The train was sleek and compact, and full of soft colors on the inside. The outside was a shiny metal. All this would bring her one giant step closer to home.

Why wouldn’t this train ride stop feeling like the worst decision of her life?

*     *     *

Sauna, Scully, Mido, and I made it all away to the train station’s ticket platform, and we were breathing hard by that point. The platform was this huge, vaulted place teeming with people, overhead announcements, and muffled train horns. We stood in the middle of it all and craned our necks at all the boards listing arrivals and departures.

“Is Cyprus closer to Libya or Egypt?” Scully asked.

“Egypt,” Mido and I said in unison.

“Does she have the money to make it all the way to New Cairo?” Scully asked.

“Yes,” Mido said, starting off.

I grabbed a chunk of tank top. “Whoa there, Mido. Think with your brain and not with your heart in situations like these.”

Mido reeled himself back to my side. “I am using my brain.”

“So which platform are you headed to?”

Mido opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and bowed his head. He pointed. “That way, Captain.”

“See? One of the perks of living too long: I know very well how to not rush into action.”

“So which one?” Mido asked.

“Gate twenty. It takes off in five minutes. Start running.” None of us had quite caught our breath but we sucked up our next round of running, moving at almost a sprint. People looked at us but, thankfully, it would be easy for anyone to assume we were struggling to be punctual. No one yelled at us and many moved out of the way in plenty of time.

We reached terminal twenty in record time and Mido--his behavior stopped me in my tracks. No pun intended. He just plowed past the stewardess and boarded the train. Sauna and Sauna pulled up besides me, then Scully moved for the train. I grabbed a sleeve. “Don’t be stupid, too. He’s gonna get himself arrested, unless we make a clean and getaway.”

“And how are we going to do that now?”

I searched the station. Most people were going about their business but a stewardess from Jessie’s train was shouting at Mido.

An overhead female voice said, “Code Zulu, terminal twenty.” The voice went on to speak the same thing in two other languages.

A second stewardess near the rear of the train hung up a receiver and at the same time the voice stopped. Oh, goodie. And on top of that two uniformed authorities started walking this way from several terminals down. Their black uniforms stuck out among the colorful masses. “Start walking. Casually.” I stuck my hands in my coat and wandered towards the train’s nose. Sauna and Scully walked on either side of me. Scully nailed the whole casual thing but Sauna couldn’t take his eyes off the train.

“You three, stop!” the stewardess said.

Only a guilty conscience would react to a voice behind their back. I kept moving. My boys didn’t. I took a deep breath to keep my cool as I stopped as well. I more snarled than whispered, “Why are you two stopping?”

“Lo siento, Captain,” Sauna said.

The stewardess confronted us with a hand over the stun gun at her hip. Oh, that would be fun to get zapped by a lady in a skirt and heels. “Just stay right there. I saw you arrive with your idiot friend who illegally boarded the train.”

Scully said, “Our idiot friend is trying to save another friend from making a terrible mistake.”

“You expect me to believe anything that comes out of your mouths?”

“But it’s true!”

I put my hand on his shoulder. “Don’t waste your breath.”

“That’s more like it,” the stewardess said. “Now, the four of you will be escorted to the security hold for questioning.”

Scully said, “Hey! We didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You are his accomplices,” she said, pointing at the train. “You did nothing to stop him from breaking the law. That makes you equally responsible.”

Scully tried to protest but I snapped at him to stop digging himself a hole. The stewardess was legally correct. On top of that, the two security guards were only two trains away and approaching at a fast walk. I looked around the station for a solution to our predicament. We needed--I looked past Jessie’s train and broke into a grin--a bigger problem than a minor law infringement. I tapped Sauna’s arm. “Sauna, I got it. Look beyond the top of the train.” I pointed to the rusty thing.

He looked at the water tower, then scrunched his brows. “What do you have in mind, Captain?”

I headed for the nose of the train and the end of the platform, bringing myself closer to head-on with the water tower. “Scully, keep them off me. Sauna, go help Mido open some windows.” I set my burger bag on the ground and took off my coat and set it beside my coveted lunch.

Sauna shoved the stewardess on his way to the train door. She yelled, “Hey!” and ran after him.

Scully took a defensive stance in front of me. The security guards were one train away and had started running the moment Sauna shoved the lady. “Hope this works, Captain. If they have stun guns, we’re in trouble.”

“I need maybe a minute. Don’t give them any reason to use one and we’ll be fine.” I reach for the tower and focused on the water inside. As much as I hated using my demon powers, I couldn’t think of a better solution to our predicament. I clenched my teeth.

Alarmed and angry voices sounded from inside the train. Sauna pushed his way off as I began creating a whirlpool in the tower’s drum.

“Captain, the windows don’t open!”

My concentration on the water faltered as I held my arms up like a musical conductor gesturing to a section to play louder. “That would make too much sense.” I resumed strengthening the whirlpool with horizontal arm circles. “Keep the doors open.”

*     *     *

“Jessie!”

Jessie gasped. She thought she recognized the voice but she had to be imagining it. There had to be another Jessie on the train. Her heartache had to be tricking her into thinking she was hearing Mido’s voice. She tucked her feet onto her cushiony chair and wrapped her arms around her legs, leaning against the cabin wall.

“Jessie!”

She froze. That had to be Mido’s voice. But... why...? Why would he come for her? She leaned over the empty aisle seat and peered down the walkway. Mido was steadily working his way towards the front of the train, grabbing headrests as he checked each occupied seat. He looked up, then stopped when their eyes met.

Jessie’s heart started pounding. She cowered back in her chair, scrunching herself up in as small a ball as she could.

“Jessie!”

Second later, Mido stood before her, panting and sweaty. He reached for her but stopped when she cringed. He paused, then dropped to one knee and propped his elbows on the empty seat, looking up at her with blue eyes full of relief. He wore a smile beneath his concerned, yet relieved gaze.

“Please come back, Jessie.” He held out his hands, palms up, fingertips inches from her boots, his handsome eyes filled with pleading.

He’d really come back for her... just for her. Despite all the danger her company posed, and what bodily harm she’d inflicted on him, he’d willingly given chase, and now here he was, kneeling before her, breathing hard and with an open invitation to fly into his arms. Jessie wanted to cry.

She eased some tension from her limbs and delicately placed a hand in his. He wrapped it in both his hands and began massaging it. He said, “Please?”

Her vision blurred with tears. He cared about her. He really, truly, genuinely cared about her. He didn’t care about what she’d been through and how her body had been used; just cared about her and her wellbeing. She unwrapped her other arm and reached for him. He rose into the empty seat and pulled her into safety of his arms. She returned the hug as tight as she could and began crying. “I’m sorry.”

“Shh. You don’t have to say anything. Just please come back.”

Oh, god, she would. Yes she would. She tried to say as much but she was crying too hard. She never wanted to leave his positive energy bubble ever again. Mido kissed the top of her head and rocked her gently, whispering words of comfort.

*     *     *

I focused on the tower as Sauna faced the security guards head-on and Scully ran over to help. I hoped I could break the tower before too many guards arrived. Rusty as the thing was, it was still sturdy. I closed my eyes and felt where the water flowed, my mind riding along the pipe that dived into the ground and led to filtration tanks and a huge network of pipes. Everything was watertight, like it was supposed to, except for the welding where the drum and vertical pipe met. I opened my eyes to confirm what my mind saw. Rusty streaks lined the pipe. I close my eyes and felt out the weakest spots with the water’s touch.