STAKE-OUTS
There was very little that Donovan wanted to start without the team's presence. Of course, Pax was ready to go barging into South Valley and demanding Ahiga's address. It took sheer iron will to keep her sane and in line with her promise. It was a very bizarre three days waiting and watching. Donovan wasn't sure he had actually spent seventy-two hours straight with Pax, especially not sleeping in the same bed. He was sure they had been together for days at a time in the jungle, but not like this. As the awkwardness slid away, Pax rid herself of the 'Remy' veneer and acted a bit more like herself [just a thankful toned down version]. However, at night, she transformed into the same foul-mouthed viper she always was. After the first night, both of them felt a bit odd sleeping together like they were, cramped up, playing 'newlyweds.' It was the weirdest damn thing either of them had ever experienced [and they experienced a lot of weird things]. Then another thing, the little scene between them after he received the phone call from Cody seemed to have changed their relationship just a tad. It was weird for Pax to finally lay her trust totally in another person, especially a man. He had also actually gotten her to talk about her son a little, to bring some of it out. Not the horror of his death, necessarily, but the good things. He discovered that her little boy had an affinity for banging spoons against pots and pans, just like his Stasia. She told him how Lee enjoyed being read to, how he liked snuggling with her, and how she never thought she'd love a child so much. While she spoke about her son, Donovan had never heard such love dripping from her words. She could talk about hating mushy shit all she wanted, but he was more than certain she had been a damn good mother. He told her that and it made her cry. It wasn't sadness, exactly, but she had never been told she was 'damn good' at anything other than taking people out. She steered him away from talk of her son [the memories were still painful] and drew them toward her time as an assassin. She admitted that the faces of her 'units' sometimes haunted her at night and that she was more than glad to be rid of it. It was the first time she had ever admitted that to him. Donovan talked about his short time in prison, rotting away for something he didn't do, and the fear that he wouldn't be released. He spoke of the hurt, the sense of betrayal, and his time away from the whole deal, pondering his life, what it all meant. He shared the story of his love for Cloe Lomax and the fact that he, too, had lost a child.
The things they shared that first night made them feel strange, but somehow weirdly…connected. Pax had only spilled her guts because she had finally found someone whom she could trust with anything, including her life. Donovan did because he, too, trusted her, finally trusted her after so long a time not. He had to admit that it was a wonderful feeling, one alien to them both, at least with each other. He liked the fact that Pax had a vulnerable side, liked that she didn't mind showing it to him. Oddly enough, in an almost twisted perverted way, it did seem as if they were married. Weird, but true. He made love to her that night and it felt like the night after he poured out his heart about his imprisonment. It was slow, easy, and not the least bit rushed. There were no games, no torturous flirting, no fighting or arguing. It was just two people sharing closeness, intimacy, and love. At the end of it, he told her he loved her and she returned the sentiment. They had said it to each other before, of course, but even the way they said it was different. The same thing happened between them night after night. Even in the daytime, it was the same. As much as she annoyed the shit out of him, he also couldn't manage to keep away from her. He couldn't count the number of times he'd go searching for her in the middle of the day, feeling like a love starved dog, until he found her. God, what was happening to him? To them?
On the third day, it was Pax's turn to search out Donovan. He had risen before her, and she actually missed the fucker lying beside her. She had come to feel the same silly way about him as he did her. Donovan was sitting out on the back porch in an old wicker chair. He was drinking a cup of coffee and staring out into the back yard. She came up behind him and laid her hands on his shoulders. He sighed a little, enjoying her touch [Jesus…what the fuck]. One of her hands came up, touching his neck lightly, before proceeding to the back of his head. She ran her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp just a little. He closed his eyes and leaned back, giving her clearer access. After a moment, her hand moved down and caressed the side of his face and down to his scruffy jaw. She noticed he had yet to shave. Her hands traveled back down to his shoulders and moved down to the middle of his chest so that her lips were even with his ear. She gave it a gentle kiss, running her tongue along it delicately. Had he made love to her today? He didn't think so. Perhaps they could go inside before everyone awoke. When she felt his body shifting, she moved back. He stood and faced her, taking her into his arms, and kissing her deeply.
"I want you," he said. "Let's go in before everyone wakes up."
"No," she said against his lips. "Do me out here."
He looked at her incredulously. "Jonella? Are you crazy?"
"No…well maybe yes," she said with a smile. "Come on. If we go to the corner of the porch, by the swing, no one will see us. By the time someone does, we'll be done." She took his hand. "Come on, Frankie. We're both still in our nighties and I'm so naked under this robe. How about you?"
God he wanted her. Was he considering it? Oh yes he was. "We need to make it fast," he whispered.
"I know how to fire you off, don't worry about that. Come on."
* * *
By the time the rest of the house had risen, Donovan and Pax were in the kitchen arguing over who could make the best omelet. Of course, Pax should have let Donovan win that particular argument, because she was not domestically inclined. The two of them stood arguing, fighting over a saucepan, when Anneliese entered the kitchen. They didn't notice her at first. They were too entrenched in their argument. For a moment, she watched them. Eventually Pax threatened to smack Donovan on the head with the saucepan and he gave it over to her, only to have her throw it in he sink and declare: "Why the hell do you need a damn saucepan anyway?" He sighed in disgust: "Ahhhh." Pax stood back with her arms crossed, mumbling under her breath, Anneliese thought she heard her call her son a 'prick.' She laughed a little and that's when they finally noticed her. Both of them glanced at each other shamefacedly.
"Already arguing and what's it been, four days," Anneliese asked with a smile.
Donovan fixed his eyes on Pax. "Jonella can be stubborn, can't she?"
She fixed her eyes on him. "Me? Stubborn? Bullhead Donovan is calling me stubborn."
"If the two of you aren't going to cook, would you remove yourselves so I can," Anneliese asked.
The two of them exchanged a look: Bed? You betcha.
* * *
Donovan was getting into his clothes [again] when his cell phone rang. He reached over for it. He recognized the number. Cody. The team was here. Leaving Stasia in the capable hands of his parents, he and Pax took his father's car to the hotel the team had chosen. When the team members saw Donovan leading Pax by the hand into the room, their jaws literally dropped open. What was this? The two people who fought like a mongoose and cobra were hand-in-hand? Shit. What was even more shocking was that they noticed the band on Pax's ring finger. A wedding band? Oh, God. Surely not. When they last saw Jonella Paxton, they'd all heard her declaration of love for the boss, but they also knew she had left and skipped out, or so they thought.
"Boss? Either my eyes are playing tricks on me or I'm seeing a wedding ring on her finger," Cody asked, awed and stunned at the same time.
As if noticing they were caught, they each let go of the others' hand at the same time. Why the fuck should either of us feel embarrassed? "It's not a wedding ring, Cody," Donovan said.
"It looks it," he said, pressing the issue.
He sighed. "If you must know, it's a cover for her so that I can keep her from running after our target."
"Mrs. Goddamn Donovan," Jake said incredulously.
Pax fixed her blue eyes on Jake's face. God she hated this saucy little prick. "You got that right, Mr. Goddamn Shaw."
Donovan sighed. "Enough. We're never going to get anything done if you're picking at each other." He sighed and regrouped a little. "Cody we need a physical address for Raynor. Have you had any luck finding him?"
"I couldn't find anything under Tore Raynor, but I did find an address for his alter ego, Keith Ahiga." He handed Donovan a slip of paper with an address. "He has a wife and three children, ages two, six, and eight with one on the way."
Donovan shot Pax a look after that, and he could see the seething anger boiling in the depths of her dark blue eyes. Remember your promise, Jonella. Remember it, his eyes seemed to say. She had clasped her hands tightly in front of her. "A family. Is the wife in the business?"
Cody shook his head. "Nope, not from the looks of it. She's a typical housewife."
He nodded absently. After this meeting, Pax would definitely need to talk and vent. "Very good. Monica, dig up Ahiga's CIA profile. Get any information you can find. If you need clearance, we'll get it. Jake and Alex, I want you to start staking out a club called South Valley. I'll give you the address. Study Ahiga's face, learn his habits, follow him if you have to. Pax and I will station ourselves outside his residence and keep an eye on the wife and children."
"Hey, Agent Shaw," Pax called sweetly. "There's this little gal over at South Valley who is perfect for you. Her name is Iona, but I think she has a few teeth missing. You wouldn't mind that, would you?"
After the impromptu meeting was dismissed, Cody and Monica began setting up the computer and surveillance equipment they would need while Alex and Jake went out to rent a couple of vans. Pax had managed to persuade Cody to let her see photographs of Ahiga and his family. Donovan hadn't witnessed this exchange. She carried the photos over to the corner of the room and sat down with them. It appeared that she was reading something, and perhaps her behavior wouldn't garner Donovan's attention right away. If he caught her doing this, he'd shit. Since hearing Ahiga had a two-year-old, she needed to see the boy. She impatiently flipped through the photos, barely glancing at Ahiga and his wife. Toward the middle of the pile, she found a surveillance photo of the mother with her children. She drew in a pained gasp when she gazed down into the face of the youngest child. He looked just like her Lee. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a sob. The pain. The incredible gut wrenching pain. She felt as if she was going to lose her mind. Whimpering pitifully, she stacked the other photos on top of it. She couldn't look at it anymore. Why was she being punished this way? Was it some kind of retribution thing because of all the people she killed? Was that it? Why was it fair that this monster had produced another child so much like her Lee? Why was it fair that this monster had reproduced at all? Jesus. Fucking Jesus. Oh God. If she had a gun, she'd blow her brains out. She couldn't take this.
Donovan looked up when he saw Pax bolt into the bathroom. Before she ran inside, she tossed a folder down on the floor. Several photos slid out. Carefully, he approached the discarded folder and could hear Pax getting sick. He kneeled down and shuffled through the pictures. Furious, he gathered them up and whirled around to face Cody and Monica. "Who the fuck gave her this?"
Startled, both of them looked up. "Uh…Boss…I did," Cody said. "She-ah…wanted to see them."
"Jesus fucking Christ," he roared. "Do you realize what you've done?" He stopped. Of course Cody didn't know what he had done. They didn't know. He shook his head and tossed the photos onto a table. "Take them and put them away. If she asks to see them again, don't let her. Whoever does it will answer directly to me. Understood?"
"Ah…sure," Cody stuttered. He had never heard Donovan explode like that.
Donovan was about to go to the bathroom to see about Pax, but before he could, she came out on her own. She had washed her face, but her eyes were still red from crying. He went to her and gently touched the side of her cheek. "Are you okay," he asked softly.
"Fuck no," she whispered, "I'm not. He…He looks like Lee, Frank. Why is that fair? Can you tell me that? Why? I'm being punished, I know I am, punished for the shit I did. You don't have to yell at them. I asked and he gave over. I needed to see."
"I'm sorry, I'm so damn sorry," he said before taking her into his arms and holding onto her tightly.
With wide eyes, Monica and Cody watched the exchange. They had seen Donovan and Pax at each other's throats, cursing each other out, fighting, spitting, and clawing, but never this. He was tender with her, gentle and loving. They wondered if he had been lying when he said their marriage was only for show. It seemed as if they felt they were the only two people in the room, and both Cody and Monica felt like intruders. He was about to lay a deep kiss on her until he realized that they weren't exactly alone. As they had done earlier, they broke apart hurriedly, embarrassed again. Pax went one way, Donovan another.
Hours later, Cody and Monica had the hotel room set up almost perfectly. They had everything they needed to keep tabs on everybody. Most of the time, Donovan lingered with his agents and awaited Alex and Jake's return. He glanced over his shoulder at one point and saw Pax gazing out of the window. She was playing with the ring on her finger and mumbling under her breath. In just a few days, he had learned more about her than he had ever extracted from her the entire length of their bizarre relationship. He ached to go to her, to hold her, but he hesitated. Why? Why am I hesitating? Why should we give a fuck what anyone says or thinks? We love each other. What's wrong with that? He made a move to do what he wanted, but was interrupted by the arrival of Jake and Alex. It was time to stakeout.
* * *
South Valley was jumping tonight. Jake and Alex entered the club decked out like ravers. They had literally memorized every line and curve of Keith Ahiga's face. If they saw him tonight, they'd be sure to recognize him. The thumping music drummed into their heads, vibrated in their throats, and nearly made the fillings in their teeth throb. Jake saw the woman Pax had spoken about. She was out on the floor performing again. Hideous. Fucking hideous. However, she did seem vaguely familiar to him. He wondered [in the same vague way] if she had ever performed in Chicago before. He shook it off and held on tighter to Alex's arm. Every few moments, they would give the all clear to everyone listening in.
* * *
Keith Ahiga's home was a sprawling mansion on several acres of prime land. If Donovan had to guess what it was worth, he'd say around two million. The house was large, sprawling, and lit up like a cathedral. Not much had been happening in the last two hours. They had seen dozens of housekeepers and such coming and going. Apparently, the Ahiga's were preparing for a party of some kind. Every now and then, Pax demanded the night vision binoculars. If anyone wanted to spot Ahiga, it was she. Donovan was afraid she was trying to see the child, trying to torture herself more. He was worried about her and they had talked a little about it, but she didn't want to go into it. She would, eventually, but not now.
"Looka here," Pax said, "this must be the wife."
Donovan took the proffered binoculars and looked out. A pregnant woman was climbing out of a snazzy BMW, heralding two of her sons, and a few packages. "What a normal picture they paint."
She huffed. "Whatever. This shit isn't fucking normal. Wonder if he knocked her up before he married her or after? Oops, sawry Frankie. Forgot that's how you got your daughter."
He laughed a little. "I'm not offended, it's okay."
"What a happy little family. Looks really disgusting," she said, screwing up her face.
For ten minutes or more they traded off the binoculars. After another ten minutes, conversation had died down between them. It was so quiet in the van that they could hear crickets chirping and frogs begging for rain. It was still and calm, almost too calm. Donovan glanced at Pax. She was transfixed on the house, obsessively scanning it. He turned away for a moment, but ended up looking at her again.
"Jonella," he said suddenly, breaking the silence, "Have you ever thought about getting married?"
The question stunned her a little, shocked her. She laid down the binoculars and gazed at him curiously. "Married? Me? Uhhhh, nope. Wait a minute, Frankie, you're not fucking proposing to me, are you?"
Am I? He shook his head and smiled a little, his face reddening just the slightest bit. He felt caught. "I thought that's what you'd say. No, I'm not asking, I'm just curious."
He wouldn't look at her when he said it. You big liar. "You know, if I was somebody else, I'd say yes."
Could you be someone else? "If you were someone else, perhaps I'd ask."
When the subject was abruptly dropped a few moments later, neither of them broached it again. What should have been an awkward silence between them wasn't. It was comforting not needing to speak a word.
"Fuck me," Pax cried out suddenly.
"What," Donovan said, "What is it?"
"It's the fucker. It's the fucking fucker."
He ripped the binoculars from her hand and brought them up to his eyes. She was right. "We can't move on him yet, Jonella. Wait until he leaves again."
"Goddamn, I hate this fucking surveillance shit."
"We'll take shifts, rotating every two or three hours," he said. "I'll inform Cody, and he can have Jake and Alex on standby."
"Frankie," she protested.
"Try to sleep, Jonella, I'll take first watch."
"You prick," she grumbled.
He glanced at her with a wicked grin. "Stop trying to arouse me. Shut up and go to sleep."
She held out her left hand. "Take your fucking ring back, Frankie. The goddamn honeymoon is over."
He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him. He kissed her softly. "You wish. For the hundredth time, Jonella, try to sleep."
"Yes, my dearest sweetest love," she said sarcastically. "Witless fucker," she mumbled as she settled back.
