Chapter 26
Alec watched her closely, looking for the slightest grimace, any twitch, frown, anything to signal that she was in physical or mental pain. He was looking for any sign that she was different. But she was the same Parker he'd grown accustomed to- scarily efficient and unwavering in her determination to get the job done.
They'd flown half a day's journey to a place that didn't appear on any conventional map Alec had ever seen and were literally dropped off at the coastline of a sparsely populated island to a waiting boat and instructions to follow the pre-recorded GPS coordinates. Their destination was an uninhabited island from which they were to don the assembled diving gear and swim to their target location, Domino Island.
"This is crazy," Alec mumbled softly to himself as they anchored the small boat and prepared to wade their way into shore. He was second guessing himself again for coming on this wild goose-chase.
"It's not crazy," Parker contradicted, as she eased herself into the thigh deep water, holding her small supply bag over her head, "it's the way she works."
Alec didn't realize he'd spoken out loud but he turned to Parker and sighed as he made his way to the edge of the boat and prepared to jump, his annoyance at their predicament rising with each passing moment.
"We could have stayed in civilization and found a way to get ourselves out of this," he countered and slid off of the boat's side and into the surprisingly cold water. He bit his lips and said a silent oath as the unpleasantly frigid liquid chilled him to the bone in seconds.
"How do we even know she isn't just going to kill us if we give her what she wants anyway," he called to the back of Parker's head.
She answered without missing a beat, "we don't. But we couldn't sit there and know for sure she would have if we didn't do as she said."
Parker asked herself the same question- only earlier. Even as Sonia's henchmen thrust the instructions at them back in London and drove them to the airport, without so much as a chance to devise a plan, she wondered if they stood a fighting chance. Then she realized they were pelted onto the private plane with no guards, no further communication besides their small instruction booklet and no assurances from the duo that they were going to follow the plan set before them. It dawned on her then that that level of trust came with a certain amount of leverage. Sonia didn't need to accompany them or even offer any other ultimatums. All she had to do was sit back and wait for a reasonable amount of time to collect her quarry and if she did not get it she could end Alec's life with the click of a button. Come hell or high water, Parker decided that she would not sit idly by and watch him die.
She knew he'd been watching her. She could sense his eyes assessing every move she made, looking for something changed about her. But she couldn't let him know that she remembered- well, remembered some of it anyway. She remembered the first time they met- atop that building doing the Dubenich job, and she remembered bits and pieces of him, old memories, flashes of things that wisped around her consciousness like different scenes from a million movies. What stood out most to her though, was him; How kind he was, how caring. She could sense his compassion and she felt that when he loved he did so openly and unconditionally. She remembered that she gravitated toward him because his ability to look beyond people's faults was something so unlike anything she'd ever known or experienced.
She couldn't tell him though- not yet. Not when she didn't quite know what it all meant and not when they needed to focus on the task at hand. Certainly not when it could all be taken away.
Her thoughts were far as she sloshed through the last bit of surf and walked straight toward a sun bleached tree to deposit her bag. It wasn't until she felt Alec grab her from behind and pull her deeper into the thick tree cover that her focus on the present returned.
His arm held her firmly, pressing the length of her back against the hard expanse of his chest.
"Company," he whispered into her ear and she tensed instantly. She inched her head to meet his eyes so she could look where he indicated and sure enough there was another boat moored against some rocks further along the beach.
He scanned the bruises that still peppered her face. He hadn't been that close to her since he'd kissed her as she lay on the table, and as he saw the welts and discolored flesh around her eyes and cheeks he forgot for a tiny moment where they were. All he wanted to do was wrap her in his arms and make the rest of the world disappear. He couldn't stand the thought of her having to confront anyone else- and he really couldn't stomach her feeling any more pain.
"I'm going to check it out," he whispered firmly before she could assume the task upon herself. He tore away from her instantly and moved deeper into the forest that lined the beach, using the trees for cover.
Parker knew his intention immediately and froze for a moment before deciding that they should always operate as a team. She moved stealthily behind him alerting him only when he'd reached within easy throwing distance of the seemingly abandoned vessel.
He opened his eyes widely upon seeing her, his expression one of admonishment but she ignored him and looked at the heat scanner in his hand.
Alec's shoulders slumped as he sighed futilely at his attempt to scold was disregarded. He lifted the scanner and waved the palm-sized device in a wide sweep from left to right. He was looking for a tell-tale red color to flare indicating where their company was keeping watch but nothing red indicated on the sensor besides his body heat and Parker's. Alec waved the machine twice more before he decided that its reading was accurate and they were indeed alone.
"There doesn't seem to be anything or anyone else here," he spoke in a regular volume and Parker's body relaxed marginally.
"I'm going to have a look at the boat," she announced even as she was already bouncing away from him.
He pocketed his heat seeker and followed close behind, confident that no one was going to jump out and surprise them.
It was only when pulling the boat free from its wedged anchor between the large, sharp rocks that Parker grimaced for the first time for the day and Alec was quick to rush to her aide.
"What…what is it?" he asked in a small panic, his eyes running quickly up and down her body searching for the offending injury.
She squinted and hissed her release as she held her right rib area.
"That's new," she breathed as she stepped down from the rocks, leaning against Alec's strength as she did.
"I think this is all a part of Sonia's whoo doo wearing off," he assured her as he easily lifted her off of the rocks and onto the shifting sand beneath.
Parker looked up at him curiously.
He shook his head when he realized that he'd spoken out loud.
Dammit Hardison, he chided himself, we really don't need to talk about this now.
"I just mean that, uh, you're becoming a bit more…you," he explained, hoping desperately she would let the issue rest.
Parker stared at him for a moment and decided it wasn't the right time or place for force further clarification out of him. She gave him a curt nod of her head and thinned her lip in acquiescence before turning her attention back to the boat.
Alec knew new Parker wasn't supposed to feel pain and while a small part of him relished the small revelation, a larger part of him worried what it meant for their trip.
He followed her eyes and the unspoken shift in priority and he climbed back over to the boat.
He rocked the wood and fiberglass vessel hoping to free it loose enough to lower but it was wedged too firmly against the rocks. He decided instead to look into the boat and search for any information about who it may have belonged to.
Anchoring his foot against a rock and pulling himself over the bough he was able to catch a quick glimpse into the boat before a deep creaking sound alerted him that the boat was not as sturdy as it appeared. If he attempted to climb any further it would tear like wet toilet paper, he was sure of it.
"I can't see into the boat," he called down to Parker, "it's not safe. I think it's been here a while."
That information struck Parker as odd. The island was in the middle of nowhere, with no charms to attract an expedition and too out of the way to encourage islanders from the closest mainland to rendezvous. The only plausible reason Parker saw for anyone to visit that sandbar would be to do the same thing they were planning to do- sneak onto Domino's island.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Alec asked as he jump landed in front of her.
"That this isn't Sonia's first salvage mission…yes, I'm thinking that too," Parker assured him.
"So now for the obvious questions- where's the first crew and why didn't it work the first time?" Alec asked as he looked out toward the barely visible tip of Domino island.
"…and do we risk their fate?" Parker chimed in as she too looked toward their objective.
She silently wondered if they had a choice.