A/N: Thank you to all the reviewers for taking the time to give me feedback! I love them and they fuel my writing :-D .. Please continue to enjoy
Chapter 53
"Hey" Kate said in greeting when Mike returned to his stateroom. He figured his room would be a mess of torn up paper and Kate a crying mess. He was expecting a meltdown and yet she was standing there rather calmly looking at the wall. If anything it worried him even more as he had no clue what to expect from her.
"You alright?" He asked her, as he secured the door behind him. He really wished he could kick off his boots and relax but he had a feeling he was going to be called away soon.
"I could ask you the same question" Kate said with a wry smile as she looked at the wall. She was trying to figure out where to start in her task of pulling it down but part of her was afraid Tom was going to back on his word. That she'd only dismantle it all and have to put it back together.
"I'm fine" he said as he moved to stand behind her and placed a kiss on the side of her neck.
"You were awfully quiet back there. I figured you were rethinking the whole relationship thing given we definitely broke your 'no sex' rule" Kate said turning around to face him.
He had practically jumped out of bed like it was on fire when Ensign Mason knocked on the door to inform Mike, the the Captain wanted to see him. Which of course was just after he had started to kiss her to distraction so they wouldn't argue about her declaration of 'I love you' and him telling her it didn't count. She couldn't help it that she became overwhelmed but her ego died just a little when he dismissed it so off handedly.
So OK, she was totally fine with him kissing her in a way that made her toes curl with pleasure and while she understood he had his duties and would have to go to work instead of sexing her up. She would have liked him to look a little disappointed, if not incredibly reluctant to leave bed instead of looking like a man saved from a fate worse than death. Maybe, she was being a little too sensitive about it but she just felt edgy about the call with Granderson and it was alot to ask Mike to take on her problems with Lassiter Industries too when he had enough of his own.
"No, I was quiet because I'm not getting in between you and Tom until it affects the ship." Mike told her. She looked thoughtful for a moment before she gave a closed lip smile. She was kind of glad he wasn't taking sides between her and his best friend. She never wanted to be the woman who made ultimatums in relationships but that was probably because she knew she'd just end up losing and it was easier to compromise especially when it was a matter pride and Mike's duty to the ship and it's crew was definitely under that heading.
"And then you choose the ship?" Kate asked him, Mike knew normally if a woman asked that question like that it was a test of the relationship, a trap. Hell, even now it felt like a trap but he knew honesty was the best policy especially in their relationship. They didn't have a lot of wiggle room for mistakes or miscommunication.
"Yes, someone has to think of the greater good" he said half seriously. Kate chuckled and gave a half a shrug.
"Fair enough" Kate said with an amused smile, he inwardly gave a sigh of relief as she didn't even look annoyed at the response. He slid his hands around her waist pulling her closer to him.
"Now as for breaking the 'no sex' rule; you didn't make me do anything I didn't want to do and I should probably be feeling guilty or angry but I don't. In fact I wouldn't mind repeating the experience or getting back to where we left things off before we were interrupted" he told her as he moved in to kiss her but she pulled her lips away just before he could.
"I've woken the beast" Kate drawled sarcastically. His grin grew as there were many cliché comebacks rich with sexual connotations to be used but he refrained; opting to be serious for the moment.
"So, you ok with everything and the rule breaking?" he asked her.
"You and me? yeah, we're good" Kate gestured between them before gesturing to the wall behind her "All that, not so much" she told him.
Mike looked at the wall behind her, he took a deep breath as he was about to say something he rarely said to anyone. He looked to Kate and moved one hand to cup her chin; lifting her face so as get her to look at him.
"You know you can talk to me about anything including that wall" He told her. Kate gave a sardonic laugh and shook her head as she pulled away from him, putting space between them. They had subjects they didn't touch on like she never brought up his wife and he didn't talk about Lassiter Industries and her deceased husband. They were sore spots and yet Mike decided it obviously time to press on them.
"Yeah like you really want to know that I'm neck deep in a mess of my dead husband's creation." Kate scoffed. Mike had to admit she hit the nail on the head with that one. She was right in that he didn't want to talk about her husband as he preferred their baggage stay unopened and unacknowledged but it wasn't an option.
"Or want to know that I spend my time being constantly reminded about all the lies he told me, all the things I wanted to ignore because I wanted a normal life. A life I never got, instead I'm reminded on a daily basis of the violation of my person and my friend's, how little privacy I have left" Kate said, she spoke in a low voice as shouting would only be heard through the walls.
"Kate" Mike said but Kate stopped and looked at him.
"What?" she asked him.
"Didn't Tom let you off the hook?" he asked her. Kate threw her hands up in the air in frustration.
"Yeah but who knows how long that will last and seriously I was enjoying my sex buzz before all of this was brought up and Granderson called asking for me. I'm sick of it all. I just want to forget it all and focus on anything but Lassiter Industries and Jack. I don't want to think about it at all" Kate told him.
"That can be easily fixed" he told her, as it wasn't like Tom hadn't told her she couldn't give it up and now he had a better understanding of what Lassiter Industries meant to her. She hated it with a vengeance and her dead husband. He knew he shouldn't be pleased about Kate being disillusioned by her life but he liked that she wasn't heartbroken in the sense that he'd be having to compete with her husband. He just had to make sure he didn't make the same mistakes which he knew he was safe from making.
"What? the shit storm of Lassiter Industries or my sex buzz?" Kate asked him. Mike gave a dry smile at her comment about sex, every time she said it; it just reminded him of how a little while ago they were enjoying it and how much he hungered to repeat the experience again and again. But right now he felt her emotional upheaval over Lassiter Industries was more important.
"You can't control the situation with Lassiter Industries. It will come up but we can handle that when it does but for now Tom has let you off the hook. In my opinion, I didn't think you should have been held responsible or even have to look at this stuff. But that's not relevant any more. What is relevant is that you've been given an out. Take it, pack up all this stuff and let it go." he told her, he had planned to say he could fix her lack of a sex buzz but knew it was only a quick fix. What Kate needed to be reassured that she could move forward. Preferably towards him whilst removing her clothes right now.
"Ok" Kate said feeling a little lost as she had expected an argument to ensue and was geared up to fight. For him to tell her to keep at what she was doing in case Tom did change his mind. To maybe agree that it was her responsibility to keep sifting through the crap of Lassiter Industries or something to that effect only for him to be stop her short with relatively sound advice. It was kind of helpful but it also made her feel a little deflated and unsure of herself.
"What about my sex buzz?" Kate asked, she watched as Mike wore an unreadable expression and shook his head at her. But in fact what she didn't know was that he was trying very hard not to burst out laughing as she looked too vulnerable not to take it personally.
"What?" she asked feeling a little defensive and confused by his non-verbal response.
"You're a one of kind" Mike told her.
"I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing" Kate grumbled into his chest as she assumed that a guy would take her vulnerability as a great time to pounce on her for sex. She knew she could use some relief, Mike must have read her mind as he smiled at her.
"Come here" Mike told her, he chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and waist pulling her to him once again. A warm sense of comfort washed over him holding her close but also a zing of anticipation and excitement. He was human after all, he couldn't just hold Kate in his arms and feel nothing.
"I'm sorry for being a head case" Kate mumbled as she slid her arms around him.
"If you want to apologise for something, you can apologise for biting me earlier. Now that hurt" he told her jokingly, referring the bite mark on his shoulder she had given him in her effort not to be noisy as she climax. It was like a badge of honour and just the memory of that moment when she did bite him was turning him on.
"Please you enjoyed it" Kate scoffed as she pulled her face back to get a better look at him.
"Maybe a little" he said downplaying it just to provoke Kate. She narrowed her eyes at him, whilst he gave her an innocent 'what you going to do about?' look.
"Doc" Tom said in greeting as Rachel came out of the makeshift lab carrying a CDC container. The lab itself was nearly all packed up and ready to go. From the looks of it , they just had to take the tent down the job would be done and he'd have his helo bay back. It would have been a good thing given he liked having two Helos on board but the sacrifice had been worth it. But right now it gave a sense of finality to his relationship with Rachel given that in a matter of hours they would be parting ways. He had no idea what he'd be doing but that depended on Granderson and her plans. That and if he agreed with said plans but she seemed like a competent woman, a natural leader that he could get behind.
"Captain" she said, she moved to the table by the wall and placed the container on it. She used her cold tone, the one he had learned from months of coming into the room meant she didn't want him around because she didn't want to be interrupted by him. He felt a twinge of annoyance at wanting a warmer welcome. They lapsed into an awkward silence as Tom couldn't help but get distracted by her. The graceful movement of her body, the way her long hair created a curtain as it fell from her shoulders... Tom immediately shut down the thoughts as they started leading into an area of his brain that was reserved only for his wife.
"I wanted to let you in on the situation" Tom said, breaking the tenable silence between them. Wishing not for the first time he could just say what he wanted to instead of acting like a decent human being.
"How we are heading to Baltimore since coming into contact with Mrs Granderson?" Rachel asked as she moved to the computer and started sifting through the screens for something. He had no idea what and figured it was more of a distraction than anything else.
"Yes" Tom said frowning as he wondered how she knew.
"Tex informed me" Rachel said answering the question, he couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of annoyance at not being the first one to share the news with her. But given it had been an hour or so since they had last contact with Granderson and her people. It was unrealistic to believe the news wouldn't be shared between the crew.
"I want you to come with me after my men have secure the dock as I'm sure you'd like to see the labs Mrs Granderson has secured to manufacture the vaccine" he said trying to keep his tone casual as it was up to Rachel if she wanted to go.
"You must be relieved to know that I'll soon be off the ship and someone else's responsibility" Rachel said wryly, as she closed down the windows on the computer screen and turned off the computer.
"Actually I was thinking about how I was going to miss all of this" Tom confessed even if it sounded somewhat reluctantly said. Rachel stepped back from the computer and looked directly at him and quirked an eyebrow as she hadn't expected him to say so given they spent most of the past few months railing against one another.
"Really? You have a funny way of showing it" Rachel commented, especially given the invisible line they tiptoed and slightly stepped over once if one didn't count the almost kiss after she had managed to save the lives of those in the tent. The kiss on the Vyerni counted as stepping over the line. It might of been necessary for her to pass along the message but she remembered him kissing her back and for longer than necessary. She also knew she could have kissed Tex. The man fraught with less entanglements, the man who made her smile and laugh when she felt beaten down by the world but at the time Rachel couldn't deny herself the chance to kiss Tom. Not that she would ever admit that out loud.
Tom took a moment and nodded looking thoughtful as he knew in some ways she was antagonising him. She wanted him to react but he wasn't entirely sure what either of them would get out of it. Especially given the circumstances that they would be parting ways and he was most definitely finding his wife and kids.
"I know I give a lot of mixed messages but I want you to know that I deeply respect you and I'm grateful for your hard work" Tom said, he hated how stilted the words felt as they came out of his mouth but he didn't have the guts to say what he wanted to say. That and his attraction to her was really none of her business and he didn't want to put either of them in an awkward position when they could part at least as friends.
"Thank you, I feel the same" Rachel said with a soft but slightly disappointed smile that belied her words. He knew why she felt the way she did and appreciated her for not making a scene as he in his own way felt the same. An awkwardness settled between them from having to acknowledge and ignore what was between them.
"Anyway, if you could prep a case with the vaccine to take with us to show Granderson and her scientists that would be good." Tom said to her, Rachel nodded in agreement.
"Of course, it's already done. Do you know where are the labs from the docks?" Rachel asked him. She didn't know why she was prolonging the conversation but part of her didn't want to let go of this moment with him as she felt like it was probably going to be the last time they would ever be alone. She idly wondered if this was their private goodbye and if maybe she should be saying more than making small talk.
"I don't know exactly, I just know they've secured an Avocet building somewhere in the city" Tom said with a shrug.
"Avocet, it's-" Rachel began but Tom cut her off.
"Yes" Tom said saving Rachel the time on stating the obvious as they were both completely aware of what Avocet did in the past and also it meant the labs there would hopefully be fully equipped to handle the task of reproducing the cure.
"How did Kate take that news?" Rachel asked him, that question surprised Tom. It shouldn't have but it did given that how Kate felt was completely irrelevant to the mission at hand.
"Not well. Is there anything I should know? I know you've been reading in Avocet's medical research" he asked Rachel. The woman shook her head.
"Not anything relevant to the virus, while yes some of their work helped me gain a better perspective on my research. The company itself researched and implemented the gene therapy trials in treating autoimmune diseases and neurological disorders and disease such as alzheimers. Highly illegal and morally questionable but nothing I can see would be relevant-"
"That would lead to Kate having concerns on how Granderson and her people found and secured the building" Tom said, he could understand Kate's paranoia connecting the dots to a beautiful conspiracy on that one.
"Given what happened on the Vyerni, what I read in the research and the studies conducted I can understand her being afraid of anything related to Lassiter Industries" Rachel said somehow reading his face and seeing that he wasn't entirely ready to contemplate Kate's thoughts as a possible reality as he wanted a good outcome. He wanted allies not another enemy to fight.
"Do you know what happened to her on the Vyerni?" Tom asked her out of curiosity.
"With respect, it's not my place to share that information" Rachel told him, she might have told him nothing but her words were chosen carefully which meant that Kate had confided in Rachel. Not wanting to push and frankly not wanting to know exactly what happened to Kate on the Vyerni; he dropped the line of questioning.
"Right, how are you feeling about this?" Tom asked Rachel.
"Do I have the same reservations as Kate?" Rachel asked to clarify, Tom nodded. She looked thoughtful for a moment and shook her head. "No, but then I want to be hopeful we've found allies" Rachel told him.
A couple of hours later,
The Nathan James set down it's anchor just a 15 minute boat ride from the docks of the main shipping area of Baltimore.
"It's good to be close to home again" Mike said to Tom, his sentiments were definitely shared by everyone in the room as they looked out to the dockyard. It was eerie how still everything was. There was no signs of life on the dock, not even bird life even the water was still. Though none of this dimmed the anticipation of the next step of their mission or the excitement of being so close to home soil.
Mike found it only uplifted his mood as he was running off a delicious mix of a coffee fix and sex. His stateroom wall back to its original condition. All of Lassiter Industries information was packed away into a box and sent to be stowed with Dr Scott's lab papers. He had to admit Kate didn't look happy during the process of it but after it was done and gone. Kate had decided it was time to indulge herself. Her words, not his. Not that he didn't mind having sex and frankly now they crossed that line, he couldn't find an argument to say 'no' especially when they had protection and it meant a lot of pleasure, smiles and laughter. It was like recapturing the past but even better given it was now in the present and not him hiding in some fantasy his brain cooked up to escape reality.
He also felt an incredible ego boost from having sex. Given the way Kate came alive in his arms, the bite marks on his shoulder all made him smile and feel incredibly satisfied with himself.
"Dr Scott and the second the landing party ready go?" Tom asked breaking Mike from his thoughts and not a moment too soon given that Mike's mind was taking him to places that he shouldn't be thinking about given current company and his need to pay attention to the task at hand.
"Yeah, they're just waiting for the green light and you" Mike informed him.
"My going, it's non negotiable" Tom said, gearing himself up for an argument or at least Mike to make some snide remark as he knew Mike disapproved of him leaving the ship. It was even harder given they were supposed to be coming home to a welcoming party whereas now it was a desolate dock with no signs of life with no idea what the political terrain was going to be. Tom like Mike obviously wanted to believe that there would be no enemies on their own home soil but they couldn't take the risk of being wrong.
"I know, but the second landing party can't leave without you" Mike said stating the obvious, he gave Tom an odd look like 'pull your head in' or at least that's how Tom interpreted it.
"Right" Tom said feeling a little stupid for jumping the gun and assuming Mike would pick a fight with him. "So how does it look out there?" he asked moving the conversation along instead of dwelling.
"Quiet; kind of like the calm before the storm" Mike commented.
"Lassiter's paranoia rubbing off on you" Tom said, Mike had to fight not to smile at the comment given the sexual connotations that could have been taken from that statement.
"Just a comment" Mike assured him.
Meanwhile on the flight deck,
"Hey, you getting sick?" Tex asked Kate as they stood on the flight deck; he was all geared up to go with the second landing party but they were of course waiting for the approval as the first party had yet to secure the meeting place on the docks.
"No, why?" Kate asked him as they watched the first landing party ride off to the port where the second party would soon join if nothing was amiss. Kate wore her sneakers and her usual garb of 3/4 tights and a long sleeve shirt. She also had on a large hi-vis winter jacket usually worn by the flight deck crew in colder temps. It was completely buttoned and zipped up to ward off the chill of the day as a brisk breeze came off the ocean chilling her legs.
"You're flushed" Tex told her, he propped his sunglasses on his cap and adjusted the grip on the rifle the navy had provided him with.
"It's windburn. Excited to be getting off the ship?" Kate asked him, changing the conversation before he could comment about her mussed up hair and just assume she was glowing in some kind of post coital glow. She really didn't think that existed but the smiling was hard not to do especially given that meant not thinking about Mike, tangled sheets and delicious memories add in the fact that she had dismantled the crazy wall of notes and was no longer on the hook for Lassiter industries. Well, she felt great. She just wished she and Mike had had a chance to go a second round on the sex after she'd packed away the wall. Like a celebratory sex session... Kate mused with a smile.
"You look excited to get rid of me" Tex drawled breaking Kate out of her thoughts. She realised he'd taken her amused smile out of context.
"Just hoping you'll bring me back some boots" Kate said to him with a hopeful smile as she'd love a new pair of boots.
"Maybe I could find you some real pants" He offered in good humour.
"That would nice, some corduroy or-" Kate started, ready to list off a bevy of things she'd love to have but Tex cut her off.
"Yeah well, I don't think we'll be stopping by Macy's" Tex said dryly with a smile. Kate mustered up enough of an act to look disappointed.
"Gee that's a shame" Kate replied as she stuck her hands into the pocket of the jacket and dropped her head so half her face was covered by the collar of the jacket.
"You know, it's not that cold. It's barely below 60 degrees" Tex informed her as he watched her suffer though the less than pleasant cooler temps.
"Yeah well not all of us are born with a downy pelt covering our bodies to keep us warm like you" Kate remarked dryly, Tex grinned at her; not even insulted that she had just compared him to an animal.
"Hey, I'll have you know the ladies love something to hold onto" Tex said in good humour as Kate made a face of disgust from the mental images. She was about to voice how it was too much information when his attention was pulled away by Rachel walking onto the flight deck. She could understand his distraction as he had it bad for Rachel. Kate leaned in close to him and smiled enjoying the moment as it gave her more material to tease him with.
"Why don't you just tell her that you love her and want her to make babies with her" Kate said in a low teasing tone to Tex so now one could overhear them but then no one was paying attention to them as the crew on the deck were too busy fussing and faddling with the second RIB making sure it was prepped to go.
"Is that what the Commander said to get you?" Tex asked her in an equally low voice to her.
"Excuse me?" Kate asked him. He gave her a 'Do I look stupid?' look before answered.
"I'm not blind. I see the way you two look at one another when you don't think anyone is watching and you're sharing the same bed. It doesn't take a genius to know what you two are doing and I know you're not braiding each other's hair and talking about the kardashians" Tex said to her.
"You're ridiculously obsessed with those women" Kate told him in a dry tone. Tex gave an unapologetic smile.
"What women?" Rachel asked as she joined them.
"The Kardashians" Kate informed her.
"Who?" Rachel asked looking lost.
"I could kiss you for saying that." Kate told her as Tex looked at Rachel like she'd grown a second head given it was hard to find someone who didn't know the women.
"Ok" Rachel said a little unsure of how to take Kate's declaration of intention.
"How could you not know about the Kardashians?" Tex asked Rachel.
"Give Rachel a break. She's been busy studying at viruses for the past 5 months not US weekly like us plebeians" Kate told him with a playful shoulder shove.
"Fair enough" Tex said accepting the excuse with ease, he turned to Kate "and I know what you've been up to with the other thing" Tex warned Kate.
"What thing?" Rachel asked being nosy while at the same time Kate muttered "God I hope not".
Rachel smiled as she had a pretty good feeling what the 'thing' was given Kate's evident awkwardness to discuss it with Tex. Kate rubbed a hand over her face suddenly looking incredibly tired.
"He believes I'm eating too much sugar and making a big deal out of it" Kate said with a smarmy smile as Tex made a face at the visuals she providing him.
"I'm looking after your well being. I got nothing against sugar in general, it's the type of sugar you're partaking in that concerns me. It's not healthy" Tex told her.
On the Mainland,
"You know it wouldn't hurt for you to take it easy" Boyscout told Anna, they were lying down on a rooftop a few yards away from the co-ordinates Granderson had given the Nathan James to make port. It was only luck that they were here.
They stopped in 'Little Tokyo' for lunch and to catch up with the head of the local Yakuza who preferred to be called Ninkyo Dantai. It didn't change that they were a crime syndicate nor did it change who they were but they had locked down their part of town before Baltimore became a hot zone and held onto their piece of town and it's residents keeping them safe. Somehow they had only lost a few people to the virus yet the rest of the suburb hadn't caught as much as a sniffle even though they had a few outbreaks. Even some of the people had survived being infected. Those who survived knew that they were immune, no one knew how or why they were spared.
Some believed that the spirits had kept them safe and steeped themselves into their old traditions to show their gratitude and reverence for being spared. While their distaste for the syndicate still remained they had learned to respect that they were a necessary evil and the only reason Granderson and the others hadn't been able to get to them or know about them.
This was only because Ninkyo Dantai kept the pocket suburb and it's residents safe from the other sects and unwanted elements like Granderson mainly through misinformation and remaining neutral from the power grab just like Anna was. They more distasteful means but Anna wasn't one to judge as she was no better but they had helped her when she needed it. She was sure the only reason they had helped her was because of her Japanese ancestry.
Either way, she had been grateful and she made sure to maintain her 'friendship' with them and the lunches tended to be more about an exchange of information than about socialising given they had radio contact with other Ninkyo Dantai burrows on the East coast. So they kept Anna informed on anything about Nathan James over the air waves, Lassiter Industries. She and Boyscout in turn kept them informed of Thorwald and the others as she was in the inner circle among other things. They of course weren't a fan of Boyscout given he didn't speak Japanese and his attitude was generally perceived as disrespectful. Normally Anna went to the meeting alone but Boyscout was really stuck on not leaving her today for some reason.
So lunch while it had been slightly awkward given Boyscout was there had turned out more productive than the meeting with Thorwald and the other head honchos which had been thoroughly unproductive but at least it was nice to see that they were all focussed on different goals and still unable to make an alliance successfully work. It was like they all missed that class about team work and sharing.
Either way they had been concluding their lunch when the call of the location and time for Nathan James to rendezvous with Granderson came in. So they finished up and Anna paid her respects before she and Boyscout took off to the advantage point which was where they were now.
Perched on a rooftop a few blocks away looking through binoculars at the location. Nathan James was further out in the bay while a RHIB had just pulled along side the empty dock. In an ideal world they would have been down on that dock first but it was Thorwald territory and with Granderson's people on the way, it just spelled trouble and thanks to Thorwald and Granderson using Jamming technology there was no way to send a warning that could be understood by the Nathan James.
They also couldn't make themselves known because Boyscout didn't have a large enough army to take on Thorwald or Granderson let alone both at the same time and Anna was trying to stay under the radar until it was absolutely necessary. Thorwald she could handle, she could talk herself out of trouble with him but Granderson. Well, Anna knew she would never be able to survive her.
"Where do you think Thorwald is hiding?" Anna asked purposefully changing the subject. She hated when people told her how to look after herself. She watched through the binoculars as group of seven soldiers secured the area on the ground. She could only think that the ship was keeping an eye on the buildings.
"He's gotta be here" Boyscout said as he looked on the scene with her, as two black SUV's pulled up at the location. "There's Granderson's people" he added.
"I reckon Thorwald's in the warehouse facing the area" Anna commented as Thorwald might be politically savvy and charismatic to garner a large following to his cause but he was inexperienced when it came to the tactical side of his operation. His soldiers were just like him; petulant and impulsive. They liked the power of holding a gun. His fighting style was more reactive than active in his attempts to take down Granderson and steal power. It was why Anna never took up his offer to join him. He had no realistic plans to meet his long term goals and he didn't like being told what to do or even taking advice from anyone as he felt he was king. The pompous ass... Anna thought.
"Pretty stupid given the direction of light will reflect off the scope of a rifle and binoculars" Boyscout commented as they watched the state troopers jump out and talk the soldiers at the docks.
"How else will Muttley make his shot?" Anna asked him, a wry smile playing on her lips.
"Do you ever call anyone by their real name? Do you even know my name?" Boyscout asked her. Anna lowered her binoculars as she could only stomach so much of the Nathan James being lulled into false security by Lieutenant Pete Norris. If there was ever a man who deserved to be put down it was him. She looked at Boyscout and raised an eyebrow.
"SCPO Wolf Taylor, would you like me to recite your serial number?" she asked.
"Why can't you call me by my name?" he asked.
"Because you're the epitome of a boy scout" Anna drawled, he shook his head as he turned his attention back to the docks.
"Looks like the Captain has joined the party" he informed her, Anna picked up her binoculars and saw that he was correct as a second RHIB pulled up to the dock with 5 more soldiers and two civilians judging by their clothing though one was dressed in kevlar. The one in kevlar turned his head and Anna couldn't believe her eyes.
"Well, I'll be fucked six ways to Sunday" Anna murmured. She figured the man to be dead or at least stranded on Gitmo. The fact that he had managed to get on the Nathan James seemed short of a miracle.
Then again the Nathan James managing to get this far was an amazing feat of it's own given that the ship looked to be in good condition. Though that was only from a distance. She wondered why she hadn't seen Kate disembark with the others in the second party to arrive at the dock. She tried not to think it meant she was dead as she needed her to be alive.
"If you want help with that let me know. I'll clear my schedule" Boyscout quipped in good humour.
"Raincheck. Has your comm team made contact with the ship?" Anna asked him so he would give up teasing her.
"Been trying but no luck too much interference from Granderson's camp. Speaking of the devil" he drawled, they watched as a third SUV rolled up and the woman in question came out of the vehicle to greet the Captain and the others from the ship.
"She must be feeling brave. Maybe you should try a snatch and grab" Anna said.
"Granderson?" he asked in disbelief as they had once talked about that but agreed it wasn't worthwhile.
"No, she's a waste of resources" Anna said.
"Agreed, what about the brunette? she looks pretty important" Boyscout commented given how the state troopers were hovering around her and slowly if not purposefully shepherding her into the SUV.
"Too risky, she's practically got her own security detail" Anna told him, the little meet and greet with Granderson's people and the Nathan James party was starting to wrapping up.
"I've already organised for the Captain to be followed. See where they go to" Boyscout said, he turned his head and murmured orders into his radio before he continued to watch with Anna.
"They're going to be taken to Avocet building. But you should definitely put a tail on the bearded lothario down there. He'd be the one to grab" Anna told him.
"You know him?" he asked as he focussed in on the man she was talking about.
"Yes, his name is Tex Nolan, ex-special forces went private sector a few years ago. He should be in Gitmo-" Anna started to fill him in on the details but Boyscout cut her off.
"And we should care about him because?" Boyscout asked, Anna wondered idly if she heard jealously in the man's tone but dismissed it given Boyscout could have a goddess of a woman with just the crook of his finger. She on the other hand was just a shadow of a woman at best and knew it since before the outbreak her love life was non existent. So if he was entertaining her as an option for sexual partner then Anna knew he was definitely scrapping the bottom of the barrel.
"He's been on the ship. If anyone from that party is going to stray it'll be him and the state troopers didn't give a crap about him which means he'll be easy pickings" Anna told him, she gave a sigh as the people below piled into the vehicles and started off.
"I take it this Kate you talk about wasn't down there" Boyscout commented as they rose to their feet.
"No" Anna said with a sigh.
"We'll work something out until then we should leave before Thorwald's people catch us" he said.
