POCKET CHANGE 3: HIDE and SEEK
by Sharon R.
Chapter Nineteen
A huge clap of thunder erupted simultaneously with a bright flash of lightening drawing their attention to the windows and the outline of a man standing at the sliding door, his raised hand holding something out of view. Still smirking at each other, the kids didn't see it, but it was unmistakable to the four adults who stood frozen momentarily as they processed what they had just seen, the soothing music providing an eerie irony within the confines of the room.
Carter remained still in the middle of the living room floor holding Anna where they had left off in the dance. Luka could feel Sam's grip around his waist tighten slightly, but pushed her away very slowly as he and Carter exchange a vast amount of communication with just their eyes. A nod of the head, eyes shot left or right, then Luka's hand on Carter's shoulder - Carter's on Luka's elbow, and the two were skillfully maneuvering around the house to check on the deck. It was as if they were back in the Congo made to live by signals and touches, forced to remain silent, sometimes blindfolded.
Three sides of the upper floor were almost entirely framed by panoramic windows giving them little opportunity to truly hide. As Luka slid into Anna's bedroom trying to gain access to the deck from her sliding doors, Carter corralled the women and children in the kitchen behind the large counter.
"What's going on, John?" Anna asked as she held Amanda tight to her and covered an ear.
"Shhh. Look, does Max have any reason to be sneaking around here?"
"What? No," she answered incredulously. "Why would he do that?"
"I wasn't going to tell you, but he came by this afternoon and wasn't very happy to see me."
"I'm sure he wasn't. You don't think that…"
Carter shrugged his shoulders. "We have a hell of a lot more to worry about if it isn't him."
"Why would he be sneaking around," Anna whispered loudly.
"Like I said, he wasn't exactly here on behalf of the Welcome Wagon."
"He still has a key -"
" -And Luka got a little rough with him."
"What?"
Another bright flash of lightening and clap of thunder illuminated the man again. Anna flinched as she focused on the place that they had seen the man, and where he still was. "John, I don't think that's Max. Shouldn't I be calling the police?"
"No," he said looking straight in her eyes for effect. "Just trust me on this. As soon as you get a chance," Carter said with both hands on Anna's shoulders, "you two get the kids out of here. Go in the opposite direction of that guy. Don't run to Luka and me. Understand?"
Anna nodded, then with a look to Sam, she nodded too.
"Don't run to Luka and me," he repeated. Motioning the women to stay put, Carter made his way back to the living room and inched around to the sliding door with his back against the wall.
Luka slowly bumped his way through Anna's darkened room using the edges of the furniture to guide him to the sliding door. The ocean breeze on his face and tap tap of the raindrops furiously pounding the deck told him that the glass doors were already opened. Now all he had to do was find the latch for the screen. With the moon hiding behind the storm clouds and lights turned out in the room, Luka's eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the darkness. The last thing he wanted to do was knock something over and ruin the element of surprise, so with arms outstretched and feet sliding in anticipation of possible obstacles, Luka moved towards the door with great care.
His fingers gripped the small handle on the far side of the screen door and as he started to push it sideways he hoped against hope that the rubbing friction of the runners would be drowned out by the rain. Luckily for him another clap of thunder eliminated that fear, and thankfully the sound of Luka walking straight into a two-seater Nagshead Hammocks porch swing hanging from the rafters that shaded just that end of the upper deck. Luka felt the burn of the bulky ropes as he quickly grabbed at them before the swing crashed into the deck railing.
Fighting the urge to hold his breath, Luka slowly made his way around the corner finding himself several yards behind the man dressed in black whose body was rigid against the house taking quick opportunities to peek into the living room windows. The rain pounded down on Luka who took advantage of it and slid his feet slowly across the slippery deck. Between the sound of the crashing waves, rain pouring down on the house and occasional thunder, Luka figured he probably could have just as well shouted out to the man and still not be heard, but instead he adopted the same cautious pose and propped his back tightly against the house letting the roof's overhang take some of the assault of the skies from his face.
Luka snapped his eyes shut with the next crash of thunder and found his mind back in the hut of the jungle. All those nights as he watched Carter deal with the beatings, as he fought within himself not to let on to Jules the whereabouts of Joseph and his family, he went over and over the plan he had promised Carter would win them their freedom. Ten times each night, he figured, he would list the steps they would take to grab a guard and shoot him up with the diazepam they had secreted away. It may have been fruitless, too far out to reach for, but it gave them hope and he rehearsed the 'escape' inside his head to the point that fear of retribution, should it fail, was an acceptable by-product. So there on the deck of the third level of Anna's beach house in the middle of a raging thunderstorm, Luka rehearsed the plan again to put himself in a zone, only this time the retribution would be on the women and children. There was no room for failure.
He was now only feet away and marveled at how the guy didn't even know he was there. He waited and after the next round of lightening faded, Luka grabbed the man from behind and struggled to reach for his outstretched arm and the mysterious object in it.
As another crash of thunder rolled over the house, Carter flinched - the vibrations rattling the wine glasses in the cabinet next to him. What was taking Luka so long, he wondered. Something bumped against the sliding door and he suddenly realized that Luka had taken the man by surprise. Next it was Luka's face pressed up against the glass as the man tried to restrain him. Without thinking, Carter pushed open the sliding glass door. As he reached for the screen to open it, Luka and the man entangled together in a struggle fell through it directly on top of Carter who was painfully aware of the very beautiful, very hard ceramic tile floor his head was about to make contact with.
The man was strong - very strong, and seemed to know all the right moves. It was apparent that he did this - whatever this was - for a living. They fell to the floor with a thud, their arms wildly in motion, legs kicking and pushing at each other. Attempting to get his balance, Luka tried to prop himself on his arm, but the palm of his hand couldn't get a grip on the floor through the puddle that was slowly building to the size of a pond underneath them. It was exhausting, but Luka was not about to stop until he had subdued and disarmed the man. No words were exchanged, no time to think about talking, just grunts and groans. They were both slippery from the rain and had to resort to grabbing at each other's clothes to gain some sort of advantage. It seemed like…
…Only minutes had passed since Luka disappeared into the bedroom and Carter stationed himself next to the windows, but when a fight erupted on the deck and inadvertently made its way into the house via the screen door, Anna and Sam both knew without talking with each other that they were not going to follow Carter's advice. The crash as all three men collided with the floor, then the fierce, determined fight that continued, frightened the women who just couldn't stay put. As lightening flashed upon the multi vehicle pile-up in the living room, Anna took the opportunity to finally throw the light switches that the men had earlier turned off in deference to the candles.
"No," yelled Amanda as she ran towards the men. "Get off him."
The little girl tugged at Luka, then hit him mercilessly over and over. "Get off him," she screeched as her small balled up fists pummeled Luka's back. "Get off my daddy."
Luka held the front of the man's jacket in both fists as he sat on top looking down into his face. Amanda's voice was the first they had heard among the ruckus and he heard every word. "Jesus Christ, Bob, why didn't you say something?"
"I was busy trying not to get killed by you two crazy fuck-wits."
Luka's laugh was part amusement, part relief as he pulled Bob to his feet and gave him a huge bear hug. "My God, it's good to see you."
"See?" Amanda said to Sam. "I told you he'd get here." It was hard not to stare at Amanda and Bob in the middle of the room as father and daughter once again found each other.
"Hey, Princess," Bob yelled taking Amanda in his arms and spinning around, "I missed you." There was a soft side to Bob, and now it was evident what brought it out in him.
Amanda pasted a big grin across her face and put a small hand on each of Bob's rain soaked cheeks. "I missed you too, Daddy. I just knew you'd find me."
"Not to bust up your Jerry Springer reunion," Alex interrupted, "but is Dr. Carter, like, dead?"
All eyes went to the spot on the floor where they had been fighting and where Carter remained on his back, his arms outstretched and motionless.
"John?" Anna went to his side and put her hand on his chest instinctively feeling for a heartbeat, but emotionally wanting to feel his warmth.
"What the…" Luka got back down on the floor next to Carter, checking his neck for a pulse, then holding his head in place. "How long -?"
" -I don't know," Anna answered, short with him. "The lights were out." Shifting into doctor mode, Anna started checking his arms and legs for abnormalities.
"Is that blood?" Alex asked pointing to Carter's white shirt.
"Blood?" Luka's eyes were still refocusing and he squinted to get them better acclimated to the bright lights. "Bob, was that a knife in your hand?"
"No. Night vision scope. My knife is still strapped to my leg," he said raising his pant leg unveiling a very large, most assuredly illegal, hunting knife."
"Cool!" Alex couldn't help that one escape.
As Luka pulled up Carter's shirt searching for a source of bleeding, Sam came around to the other side. "Luka, no. Look, it's just candle wax," she said holding up a large red pillar candle that had been extinguished. "You guys knocked over the table when you fell through the screen."
As Carter moaned and struggled to get his eyes open, Luka reached over to Bob and grabbed a small flashlight velcroed to his fancy spy-guy utility belt. "Pupils equal and reactive," he said plying Carter's lids open and violating them with the bright light. Putting the flashlight on the floor, Luka checked Carter's head with both hands. "I don't feel any crepitus."
"Creepy what?" Alex asked.
"Crepitus," Sam answered quietly. "Means crackling or bone fragments."
"John?" Anna put a hand on his shoulder as he began to regain consciousness. "Hey, do you know where you are?"
"Errgh," Carter managed as he slapped Luka's hands off his face and head, "Oh, man…"
"John, just stay still." Luka motioned to Sam to take his place holding Carter's head. "Anna, do you have a medical bag here? Stethoscope, BP cuff, Ophthalmoscope?"
"Sure. In the closet there," she said, pointing behind Alex who was more than willing to jump in the mix.
As Anna did a quick BP, Luka worked to keep Carter's restless arms at bay. "Carter, just let us do this," he said finally reverting to a typical wrist restraint as he gently straddled Carter's hips without actually sitting on them.
"110 over 70," Anna reported taking the stethoscope out of her ears. "John, do you know what happened?"
"For crying out loud," the patient whined, "don't you people have better things to do?"
"Hey, King Tut," Bob bellowed as he bent over Carter's head, "why is it that we're always meeting up in such wacky circumstances?"
The stars Carter had been seeing finally began abating and he squeezed his eyes shut a few times as he focused on the man above him. "Hey," he chuckled, "it's Vivian!"
"Oh, my God," Anna let out alarmingly, "he's altered." She was immediately put off by Luka and Bob who joined in Carter's laughter. "Come on, this isn't right. We have to get him to the clinic. Maybe medivac him into Elizabeth City."
"Alright, slow down," Luka said trying to stifle his laughter as he turned on the light on the ophthalmoscope and shone it on his hand while adjusting the magnification, "Vivian sweetheart, I need you to move away so I can get a look in his eyes," he said while, again, laughing.
"Come on," Anna implored, exchanging confused looks with Sam.
"Yeah, okay." Luka looked through the scope and guided it to Carter's eyes. "Neck or back pain, Tut?"
"No, but I'll probably be stiff tomorrow."
"Maybe we can get Vivian here to give you a back rub."
"Do you mind?" Anna asked, wanting to take over from the totally not serious Dr. Kovac. She looked over at Sam whose puzzled face still gave no relief.
"Dancing by the Nile, ladies loved the style," Luka mumbled as he checked Carter's neck, then looked in his ears with an otoscope.
Carter picked up where Luka left off. "Rocking for a mile, he ate a crocodile."
"King Tut," they sang together as Bob erupted, unable to withhold the laughter any longer.
"Someone should tell her, you know," Carter said to Luka as he cleared his neck and helped him to sit up against the chair.
"Anna, my name is Bob," he said as he shook her hand. "In the haze of twilight sleep, my mother officially named me Vivian."
It was a dry sense of delight as the three men watched and waited for the inside joke to sink into Anna and Sam who were none too amused. With a good understanding of the payback they would have to endure, they extinguished their laughter, a hand over the mouth, gazing at inanimate objects generally doing the trick.
"Here," Anna said to Carter putting a bag of ice on the back of his head, not very gently, "it appears you're having problems thinking rationally."
"Owww. Hey!" Carter grimaced as he took the bag and held it there himself. "I'm an injured man here. How about some sympathy."
"Yeah? I wouldn't push it if I were you, Tut."
Luka and Bob meandered over to where Carter was still parked on the floor.
"Seen anybody?" Bob asked in a hushed voice.
Luka sat down and looked one more time at Carter's bump growing on the back of his head. "Nope. I think we threw them.
"Bob, you going to fill us in?" Carter asked with a hint of seriousness in his voice.
"Later, when small ears aren't standing at attention," he said not wanting to stir the pot any more than it already had been. "So Kovac, were you really worried about the potential massacre that could have ensued with my night vision scope?"
"Considering the size of knife you wear," Luka said as he poured himself a tall glass of wine, "I'm surprised that candle wax was the only thing that was spilled."
"I could have taken you if I wanted," Bob answered with a glib smirk.
"Let's remember the facts, Vivian. Who was pinned to the floor? Not me."
"Ah, but I was capitulating at will." Bob opened one kitchen cupboard after another as though he owned the house. "I knew who you were and had no intention of taking you at full force. Jesus Christ, what doctor doesn't have a god damn bottle of scotch in the house?"
"This one," Anna answered holding out a wine glass. "All I have is the wine the guys got today."
Bob took the glass and poured himself a healthy serving of the red wine. "Eech, might as well be apple juice," he complained. "Suppose a cigarette is out of the question."
"In the house, yes. But it stopped raining. Cushions for the deck furniture are under the tarp." Anna wasn't quite sure about this man and was glad he would be giving her a few minutes alone with Carter. "And the sea oats on the dunes are protected. Use the bucket of sand out there for your butt."
She's a tough one, Bob thought. I can learn to like her, maybe.
"Well, I think you're wrong," Luka gave Bob as he walked past him towards the sliding door. "You analyze things too much. I could take you any day."
"I'm never wrong," Bob said as he stopped while getting a cigarette out and tapped it down on his wrist. "I don't do wrong. In my line of work, being wrong costs lives."
Luka gave him a playful shove, one which Amanda had seen as she trailed her father. Reaching out she shoved Luka back with a look of defiance etched across her face. "Leave my father alone. You can't hurt him too. He won't let you. He's stronger than you."
"Hey, hey," Bob said as he knelt down and looked his daughter in the face, "that's no way to talk to our friends."
"He's not my friend. Not any more," she said with a burning look of contempt at Luka.
"It's alright, Bob." Luka stepped back to give them space. "Let it go."
"Outside, Princess," Bob quietly directed Amanda. "Just you and me. We have a lot of catching up to do."
Patting her on the shoulder, Bob waited until she had stepped out onto the deck before confirming with Luka what he had assumed. "She knows?"
Luka nodded. "That I was the one, but not much more." Bob's sigh and the silence in the room made the situation that much more uncomfortable. "It's okay. Really. She has a right to be angry." Bob hesitated, but Luka's eyes directed him to his precocious ten year old daughter who had found a deck chair the furthest from the doors and was waiting. "Go. Just… it's okay."
"In case anyone has noticed," Alex said taking over the room, "I haven't eaten yet. Not only is my developing brain going to shrink from lack of protein, but the bet I have with Amanda for my night time blood sugar is about to go down the crapper if I don't get some real food into me."
...
Bob tossed what was left of his glass of wine over the side of the deck, then took one last drag on the cigarette before stubbing it out in the bucket of sand. "Do you want to tell me about Luka?" Amanda scooted over on the lounge chair and let her father squeeze in next to her.
"He was wrong," she said defiantly.
"How do you know?"
"Because Mommy died. He was wrong and it cost lives, just like you said."
"Hmm. I'm not always right, Princess. I do my best but I'm not perfect. Luka wasn't wrong. He doesn't like what he did, but there were a lot of factors involved forcing him to make a split second decision."
"Why did it have to be Mommy?"
"Because you mother made a very bad choice to get involved with evil people." Bob stopped to gage her level of understanding and her willingness to learn more. "You know I would never lie to you, right?" He waited for her nod. "Do you want to know more?" She paused but he knew she'd nod again. "Your mother had a gun and was about to shoot Dr. Carter in the head."
"No. She wouldn't do that."
"Yes, she did, Amanda."
"No, she wouldn't." She just didn't want to believe.
"Luka saw it," Bob went on knowing that he had gone too far not to give her the whole story, and that what she didn't know she would just fill in the blanks with assumptions and fantasy. "He did it to save Dr. Carter's life. He knew that if he didn't shoot his gun, many more people than just Dr. Carter would get killed. It's called choosing the lesser of two evils." Nestling her head in his chest, her tears finally flowed freely. "I think Luka loved your mom and ever since then he has hurt inside. I don't know if you'll ever understand what it's like to hurt someone you love -"
" -I do," she said with a heavy heart. "I do, but I still don't like him."
...
Anna found Luka sound asleep splayed out on the upholstered chaise lounge chair half his size in Carter's bedroom. They had sent Carter to bed early to chase away the predictable headache that had finally emerged, but with occasional monitoring.
"Hey, Mother Goose," she said whispering while nudging his shoulder, "wake up. Go get some sleep."
"It's okay," he answered groggily, "I don't mind."
"It's a concussion. He doesn't need intensive care."
"Mmm, I know, but still…"
"Still, no need to keep you up all night. I can hang out here too." With no response from Luka except a deep wakening breath and glance out the window, Anna stepped in front of his face. "Do I need to spell it out for you? I'd like to be here, Sam would like you to be with her."
Eyes connected, eyebrows raised concurrently, and the Croatian light bulb finally turned on. "Ohh," he said, standing to leave, "Ohh, I ah… Okay. Goodnight then." As he got to the door, he turned to remind Anna of the procedure. "He should be woken up every couple of hours and -"
" -I know."
" -Soon, I guess," he said sheepishly as he checked his watch. "Yeah. Right. I'll see you in the morning then." Thoughtful enough to close the door behind him, Luka walked quietly towards his own bedroom but stopped short when he saw the light on under Sam's door. He started to knock but quit, his knuckles just inches from the wood panel as he second guessed himself. It wasn't closed all the way and through the crack he could see the long white linen curtains sensuously flying in the post-storm breeze that she had welcomed through the large sliding doors out to the second tier deck. His eyes closed to picture her standing alongside the flapping curtains, he was startled back by the sound of her voice.
"You stalking me or just studying the paint on the door."
"How did you know it was me?" he asked pushing the door open and taking a few steps inside.
"Feeling, instinct, women's intuition - call it whatever you like, but really it was your big honking feet that gave you away."
Sitting on a white wicker chair, Sam had on a light pink satin robe tied loosely at the waist, one of her oversized t-shirts underneath. She didn't own pajamas or a negligee for that matter. Her standard evening attire was sweats or t-shirts. It never mattered to Luka.
"That new?" he asked with a hint of a smile on his face.
"Anna's idea."
"And that?" he asked pointing to a candle lit by the bed. "Optimistic?"
"Hopeful."
"The kids?"
"In bed."
"Bob?"
"You mean Vivian?" she asked taking a sip of wine. "He's sleeping in Amanda's room. I believe he took the Little Mermaid bed. How's Carter?"
"He'll be fine. Might be grumpy tomorrow."
"That's okay. I told Bob I'd take the kids to that lighthouse up the road. Want to go?"
"Sure."
In those few minutes they had exchanged more meaningful conversation than they had since leaving Chicago more than a week previous.
"You want to talk about Africa?" he asked reluctantly, still on the opposite side of the room.
"No."
"Make love?"
"No." Making her way over to Luka, Sam put her arms tightly around his waist and let her head cozy into his chest through the white silk shirt he was still wearing. "I just want you to hold me. I just want us to sleep together."
...
Carter looked so peaceful curled up on his side sound asleep. Anna leaned over and gently stroked his cheek, then his forehead, going from the rough stubble of his beard to the smooth skin above. His hair had gotten longer since their time working together back in Chicago. Perhaps thinner on top, but he was compensating for it by letting the length on the sides go.
"That better not be you, Kovac," he mumbled with his eyes still shut. "I'm not that desperate."
"I hope not." Anna let herself sit on the bed next to Carter and continued stroking his forehead. "Feeling okay?"
"Yes." He groaned as he turned onto his back. "I'd feel better if you and Luka, better known as Mother Teresa, would let me get some sleep." He was barely awake as it was.
"I'll, um, let you do that then and sit for a while over here," she said looking back at the chaise lounge.
"You can sit here," he said half asleep, patting the bed next to him.
She contemplated it and looked back and forth between the bed and the chair. He did say sit. Not lie down, not get naked, not consummate a long ago crush. Just sit.
"Stop thinking so hard about it," he mumbled still patting the mattress next to him. "Come talk to me."
Anna crawled up onto the bed and sat next to Carter who raised an arm inviting her to lie down next to him. It was only natural to curl up into him on her side and drape her arm over his chest. Before long, they were both securely sound asleep.
...
"You okay in there, cowboy?" Bob stood at the bathroom door listening to Carter heave into the toilet. "You been driving the herd very long?" he asked as Carter finally came out with a wet, cool towel in hand wiping his face.
"No. That was it."
"Need me to call up that hot doctor of yours? She left for work a couple hours ago."
"Ah, that's okay Bob. This happens with concussions. Hopefully it will all be uphill from here."
"Good to see you finally gettin' some tail. Was beginning to wonder of you drank at a different bar, if you know what I mean."
"Ya kill me, Bob," Carter mocked heading upstairs to the kitchen. "And Anna and I are just friends."
"Uh-huh. I read people for a living, Carter. You're too old to be using the 'just friends' excuse."
"Gee thanks. What's this?" he asked looking at Anna's computer.
"Girls took the kids to some museum?"
"Yeah," Carter said studying the one picture on the screen. "Wright Brothers."
"Amanda used Colleen's digital camera and took pictures. Anna was helping her upload them and save them to disc."
"Bob? Take a look at this."
Both men moved in closer to the screen to get a better look. Reaching in front of Carter, Bob increased the size of the photo of the two kids standing in front of the replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer.
"See that?" Carter said pointing to someone in the background. "It looks just like the guy who pretended to be a cop back in Chicago."
"You sure about that?" Bob was not exactly baffled. More like stunned.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Where are they? Where are the kids?"
"Um, went to the Corolla Lighthouse I think. Bob, what is it?"
"I'm going after them," he said running to the door. "You have to get to Anna. If this is who I think it is, nobody is safe. Nobody."