Ch 5
Normally he was a study in how to maintain your cool under pressure yet tonight, sitting with his sister and cousin waiting for Gordon Tracy to arrive, Piers was a bundle of nerves. Keg, hid behind an ever present paper, and Mia slowly sipped on her non alcoholic cocktail, eyes glued to the entrance of the bar. A photo sent to Mia's laptop earlier in the afternoon had confirmed the trio's suspicions, Cooper Ward was Gordon Tracy.
Piers forced his body to be still but he could feel with growing annoyance sweat beginning to trickle down his neck, no doubt staining the expensive Italian shirt he wore. They were professional hunters and gatherers yet this now, what they would do tonight, was something way out there. Securing a human, with all its possible implications was a major step for a team that had previously hunted and collected valuables from celebrities.
Playing the game had been exciting and very lucrative. Every year, Piers, Mia and Keg would be assigned a new player, and new items to gather. When asked by the player to gather this particular item, it blew the team away. Mia was willing, Keg doubtful, and he himself answered with a straight out no. All three held a meeting in Mia's L.A apartment, eventually deciding against the assignment, and Mia was about to email the game's controller when she screamed and wildly pounded the floor with her feet. Thinking his sister mad, Piers had rushed to her side, she directed him to read the email she had just opened from Control. Piers' mouth actually gaped open when he saw the amount of money they would receive if they took on the assignment. Another short meeting was promptly called, it lasted perhaps 10 seconds, decision made, and here they were, waiting to gather a human.
"Oh god, he's coming. I feel sick." Mia spluttered on her drink.
Piers reached out and gripped his sister's arm. "Get it together Mia. We are too far in to turn back now," he hissed.
Mia took a deep breath, steadied herself and forced a sunny smile on her face as she waved at Gordon, who stood at the entrance to the bar.
Gordon waved back and headed towards the trio who sat on a lounger and couple of chairs near the bar's floor to ceiling windows.
Mia stood and took Gordon's arm. "Cooper, I'm glad you made it. I wasn't quite sure you would come." Mia gestured to her brother and cousin. "This is Piers, my brother, and Keg, my cousin."
Both men got to their feet and shook Gordon's hand. Mia made room for Gordon to sit next to her on the lounge.
"Thanks for inviting me. I can see the family resemblance," Gordon replied noting the dark features of the trio.
"Yes, our mothers are sisters. Lovely French women," Piers replied with a smile.
"Cooper, what's your poison?" Keg asked holding up his half finished beer.
"I'll have the same but I can get it." Gordon started to get to his feet. Mia took his arm and tugged him back to the lounge.
"No, our treat. A welcome to the island."
"Same all round, then?" Keg asked and getting the positive headed for the bar.
Piers leaned in towards Gordon. "Cooper, Mia tells me you are a swimmer, a shy swimmer who doesn't like his photo being taken."
Gordon laughed. "I'm a diver actually, I swim for exercise, and no I'm not partial to having my photo taken."
"A diver, a surfer, and a swimmer. All round water baby. What's your star sign, Pisces?" Mia asked.
"Aquarius actually --"
"Mia! Don't embarrass the poor guy with your chick magazine questions," Piers interjected.
Mia pouted at her brother, and smiled sweetly at Gordon. "Silly girl questions, sorry Coop."
Keg returned with the drinks, and after the four toasted the island's wonderful weather, Gordon turned his attention on the trio.
"So, other than Mia shooting eye candy for a magazine, what are you two doing here?"
"Definitely, not for the surfing, "Piers replied and with a sweeping hand gestured to his thin body draped languidly over his chair, and to Keg's rather rotund form squashed into his seat. "We come here via Mia's frequent flyer points, stay in her luxury hotel room, and empty the mini bar. All on company expense, of course."
Mia sighed dramatically. "Yes, they're freeloaders. Riding on the coat tails of my success as a photographer."
Keg popped up from his chair. "I help carry the equipment."
"I don't," Piers sniffed, and sipped his iced tea.
Gordon couldn't help from laughing as the light hearted bantering continued between the three. They were obviously close, and it reminded him of the many 'discussions' he had with his four brothers. Studying the three over his drink, Gordon noticed dark features were the only resemblance they had. Mia was a live wire, her brown eyes crinkled slightly as she laughed. Her hair was dark brown and worn long so it spilled across her shoulders. The white summer dress she wore made her skin appear a berry brown. Her brother in contrast, wore a dark shirt and trousers. His skin was pale, and his hands soft, Gordon guessed he didn't labour in the sun too often. Piers looked like he needed a good feed, while Keg his cousin, certainly lived up to his name. A barrel like body clad in shorts and a loud shirt, he had white skinny legs, and thick black curly hair.
It wasn't long before Gordon relaxed into his second beer, Mia ordered some food, and Keg challenged Gordon to a game of pool. Later, nursing his third beer and watching the waning
rays of a setting sun with Mia comfortably tucked in at his side, the aquanaut was happy he had made the effort to 'meet and greet' that evening.
When Keg offered Gordon his fourth beer, the red head signalled a no with his hand. "I'm a bit tired, Keg, been a long day. I might call it a night."
Mia snuggled in closer to Gordon. "Aw, no Coop. We are having so much fun. Why don't I get the Mia special to help revive you?"
Gordon looked down at the girl next to him. "The Mia special?"
"Don't get too excited, Cooper," Piers said. "Mia only made it up last night with the bar attendant. I wouldn't try it." Piers shook his head and made a face.
"Ah, well -" Gordon started to decline but Mia was insistent.
"Oh come on, one taste. Keg liked it. Didn't you Keg?"
Keg grimaced and pointed to Gordon's empty bottle. "How about another beer, Cooper?"
Not keen on trying any new concoction, Gordon quickly nodded "Yeah okay, one more to end the night. Sorry Mia, don't like to mix the drinks."
Mia huffed. 'You're missing out, Mia's special was really scrummy. The bar guy even said he'd put it on the drinks menu."
"And offer money to people who could finish it," Piers finished with an evil smile.
Mia's eyes threw daggers at her brother.
Keg handed Gordon the beer. Gordon drank deep. The quicker he finished the drink, the sooner he would be in bed. Bed, it was somewhere he'd loved to be at this moment. Sound asleep, listening to the waves...
"Cooper."
Gordon's head snapped up at Mia's voice. The dark haired girl was looking at him with concern.
Gordon yawned. His body suddenly felt like it was weighted with lead. "Uh, sorry, guys. I don't think I'll be able to finish the drink. I'm beat."
Gordon placed a shaky beer on the bar table, and tried to stand. He found his leaden body wouldn't listen to his head, and his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool.
Mia held Gordon's arm, her voice seemed to come from a long distance away. "Are you okay, Cooper? You don't look too well."
Gordon's head fell onto the back of the lounger. He was exhausted. The beers really packed a punch.
"I ha.. have to get back to..." Gordon's words drifted away and he didn't have the energy to complete the sentence. His eyesight was getting blurry.
The young man tried to stay awake but the feeling of lethargy was too strong. He felt people tugging at his arms, pulling him upwards, onto his feet, when all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep. Someone peered into his
face and asked him a question. Gordon couldn't understand a word they were saying and was too damn tired to respond. He swayed as a wave of blackness completely overwhelmed him and his senses knew no more.
A dead weight between them, Keg and Piers half carried and half dragged Gordon out of the bar. After explaining to concerned staff that their friend had had a bit too much to drink, Mia joined them and helped propel Gordon up
the pathway to the hotel room.
At the room's door, Mia swiped the key card, pushed it open and helped the two men lay Gordon on the bed. Quickly, they removed the aquanaut's watch, his wallet from his jeans' pocket, his shoes and lastly his shirt. Piers
gave a low whistle as he appraised Gordon's torso.
"Great muscle definition, and those arms -"
Mia nudged her brother. "Put your tongue back in your mouth, Romeo, we have work to do."
Piers dragged his eyes from Gordon's well defined stomach muscles to watch his sister take a black hand-held device from the bedside drawer. "Do you know how to work the scanner?" He asked.
"It can't be hard. I guess we just plug it in and run it over him," Mia replied looking around for the nearest power point. She found it, plugged it in and pulled the scanner over to where Gordon lay.
"Chances are, Control is wrong, and he doesn't have a chip. I mean, who implants chips in their kids like they were dogs?" Keg asked.
"Billionaires maybe? Must be hard to get through customs though, imagine the inconvenience," Piers replied, his eyes on his sister as she moved the scanner up and down Gordon's body.
"I don't think someone is going to implant a chip in their son knowing it will go off every time he leaves a supermarket, besides I can't find any in him," Mia said. "Flip him over and I'll scan his back to be sure."
Keg obliged, pulling the young Tracy over onto his stomach.
"Again, very impressive physique...but look at those scars!" Piers pointed to the series of silvery white lines near Gordon's back bone.
"Yeah, I saw them when I first met him but didn't want to scare the poor guy off. Hi, I want to take your picture, ooh look at your scars."
Keg shrugged. "Perhaps that's the reason he doesn't want his photo taken."
"I don't think so...oh!" Mia stopped as the scanner started to beep. "He really does have a chip in him."
All three studied the area where the scanner beeped. It was on Gordon's right shoulder. Mia pressed the area, and could feel a small hard lump just beneath the skin.
Mia shot a warning glance at her brother. "No jokes about chips and shoulders."
Piers held up his hands in mock defence. "Hey, you said it, not me!" He moved to grab his cell phone from a nearby desk.
"Okay, we know what to do now. Mia, do your stuff. I'll ring Control."
Mia quickly collected and prepared the materials she would require to surgically remove the chip.
Keg sat on the bed near Gordon's head. He actually would have preferred to be back in the bar, drinking beers and playing pool. This part of the operation was definitely not what he wanted to do or see.
Piers spoke briefly on the phone before turning back to his sister. "Control's sending the retrieval team. They're not too far away so we don't have much time. How long before the drugs wear off, Keg?"
"With alcohol? Could be awhile. You'll have to tell the retrieval team to monitor him though, in case he doesn't wake up. Unfortunate side affect."
Mia held a scalpel up, it glinted in the light. "I pray he doesn't wake up when I cut him with this."
"Is it sterilised?" Piers asked.
"I guess it is. I pulled it straight from an unsealed pack, and scalded it to be sure. " Mia shook her head in disbelief. "This is too unreal, I'm a photographer not a surgeon."
"Looks good on the resume, photographer, can perform minor surgeries," Piers quipped.
"Better add druggist and kidnapper," Keg frowned. "Come on, Mia, get on with it, the retrievers will be here soon, and you know they get narky if we're not ready."
Mia scrubbed up in the bathroom, snapped on rubber gloves, doused Gordon's back in disinfectant, and prepared to cut into his shoulder.
"You two better hold him in case he stirs and thrashes around. I don't want to add too many more scars to the collection he already has."
Keg and Piers held onto Gordon's arms as Mia prepared to cut into his shoulder. Keg looked away as Mia made the incision. Gordon's body twitched slightly. Piers watched with fascination as Mia carefully probed the cut area for the chip with tweezers.
"Ah, here's the little sucker." Keg dared a quick look and almost gagged when Mia showed him something resembling a bloody grain of rice in a plastic cup.
"Are you going to sew him up?" he asked weakly.
Piers studied Mia's handiwork closely. "Pretty neat surgery, Mia, but he's bleeding badly."
Mia pressed several thick bandages to the wound soaking up the blood. She then put some more disinfectant on it and then set about threading a large needle with surgical thread. "This is so bad. The poor guy is going to want
to hunt me down and kill me for adding another scar. That's if the infection doesn't set in and kill him first."
Keg had to turn his head away once more as Mia sewed the wound together.
"How's that?" Mia asked her brother once she had finished. Piers face showed his disapproval. "Sewing's obviously not one of your strong points, Mia."
"Huh! I'd like to see you do better." Mia placed a cotton wad over the wound and secured it with surgical tape. "All finished. Did I spill any blood?"
"Your talents as a photographer are wasted my dear, there is no mess on the bed or the floor." Piers started to bundle up the surgical material and stashed it in a plastic bag.
Mia checked Gordon's pulse and his breathing. "We better get him into the recovery position while we wait for the retrievers."
After Keg repositioned Gordon, Mia sat by the young Tracy and gently smoothed his hair from his brow. "I'm really sorry Gordon Tracy. Hell of a first date. Poor guy, I promised he'd be in bed before nine."
"Yes, well he is in bed, and I'm sure he passed out just before nine, so no broken promises, my dear." Piers responded dryly.
The sudden rap at the door startled the trio; they all quickly jumped to their feet. Piers approached the door cautiously.
"How many towels did you bring?" He asked the door in a loud whisper.
"Three and they're fluffy," was the muffled reply.
Keg nodded at Piers indicating the password was confirmed, and Piers slowly opened the door. Three men dressed in black fatigues entered the room. Two held a stretcher. Keg helped the men place Gordon onto the stretcher.
Mia threw a blanket over Gordon, and tucked it in.
"Check his breathing, "she spoke to the man who entered the room first. "He could stop breathing anytime. I have also removed a microchip from his right shoulder; the wound also needs to be checked for infection."
The man's face was impassive as he responded, "We have medical equipment in the van."
"Where are you guys taking him?" Keg asked with curiosity, as he watched the two men take the stretcher out the door.
"To a plane, Control will contact us there. Thank you for the item. Make sure you leave no evidence. Your money will be sent shortly." The man's stony features did not alter as he nodded his goodbye, and exited the room. He followed his colleagues bearing the stretcher to a dark coloured van parked a few steps away.
Piers lingered at the front door, looking on as Gordon was loaded onto the van, and the vehicle departed. Assured that no one was watching the retrieval process, he quietly shut the door. "Item successfully hunted and gathered."
Mia blew out a long breath as she sat down heavily on the bed. "I need a drink and not that non alcoholic shit I was drinking all night."
Piers went to the bar and found a drink for each of them. "Mind you, our mission is only half over. We only have till dawn to erase our tracks."
Keg collapsed back on the bed next to Mia, he let out his breath with a whoosh. "Let me settle the nerves first. I am sooo glad that is over. I need a friggin' holiday."
Mia nodded emphatically. "Yeah, I hear you Keg. I want to fly far away from these boring little islands, and their mocktails. Who's for shopping in Paris?"
Piers raised his glass at his sister's suggestion. "Paris it is."