“I hope Charlie’s all right,” Selena said.
Decker slid the jack under the chassis. “He’ll be fine. He’s built like a brick outhouse.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am, and you two are heavy, so get out and let me jack this baby up. Quicker we get a new tire on her, the quicker we’re where we need to be.”
30
Decker opened his eyes to a white room filled with sunshine. Exhausted from the chase, and the long wait to see if Charlie would be discharged from hospital, they were all feeling bruised and hurt. He had presumed his old friend would be conscious by the time he got to the hospital and all would be well. That hadn’t happened. When they got there, a grim-faced Diana explained what the doctors had already told her: Charlie had suffered a severe head injury and was still unconscious. There was talk of comas. He would have to stay in overnight.
Now, Decker yawned and stretched his arms. The sun in the room grew brighter. They had forgotten to close the blinds last night and now the sunlight streaked across the room, projecting slats of shadow on the wall at the end of the bed. He yawned and pulled himself up until his back was leaning on the headboard. Outside, morning was already underway in Havana but there was no sign of Selena except a crumpled pillow beside him and the sound of a shower running in the en suite bathroom.
He yawned once again and contemplated the mission. He’d had no time to indulge in actual thinking since that dreamy afternoon in the convent back in Guanajuato. Turning to his right, he cast his eye over the view outside Cade’s house, available to enjoy through the slates of the open Venetian blinds hanging down over the window.
It was spectacular. The house was on the Via de la Mar, set just behind a line of low sand dunes. Beyond those, the playas del este were a long strip of bright gold sand punctuated with coconut palms and royal palms and thatched beach huts. Behind this, a strong ribbon of turquoise sparkled in the sun. This was the Straits of Florida, and like most days, it was buzzing with swimmers and jet skiers and windsurfers. Lively Spanish floated on the warm morning air. Laughter and shouts of joy. Children played with their parents in the warm sand. For a moment, Decker almost felt like he was on vacation.
He shifted in the sheets, comfortable and naked. He just slept better that way, he mused. Then, his thoughts returned to contemplating the mission. The revelation that Professor Nathaniel Danvers was suffering from the mother of all Napoleon complexes had been a bitter blow to the crew, but they had taken it in their stride. Even Diana had risen to some of the hard physical challenges the mission had presented.
The en suite door opened to reveal a semi-naked Selena Moore. She was wrapping a towel around herself as she stepped into the bedroom and flashed Decker a smile.
“Even more beautiful than the beach,” he said with a twinkle his eye.
She leaned forward and began brushing her wet hair. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”
“That’s what I was hoping. Good shower?”
“You can say that again. Back in the Lacandon Jungle I was starting to think I’d never be clean again.”
He laughed. “I know how you feel. Too bad I was too exhausted for one last night.”
“You weren’t that exhausted,” she said with a wicked grin.
“You can talk! And there was I, thinking you were an up-market lady.”
She flicked her hair back and walked over to her clothes on the chair. “Please Captain Decker, you’ll make me blush.”
He laughed but said nothing. Just relaxed into the sheets and enjoyed the moment. Then Diana knocked on the door.
“Come in!” Selena said.
“It’s just me,” she said. “I just got a call from the hospital. They say Charlie regained consciousness in the night and he’s okay.”
“Thank heavens for that!’ Selena said. “I was worried sick.”
“Any word on when he’s getting discharged?” asked Decker. “Don’t forget, we still have to rescue Atticus and Professor Diaz, not to mention secure the capstone. We might have to do the rest of the mission without him.”
“I don’t think this will be necessary,” Diana said. “They say he can come home today, so I guess that means here.”
Decker grinned. “Or the Avalon, right?”
Diana smiled and left the room, closing the door behind her.
“So, what’s next?” Selena asked.
“We pick up Charlie and get him out of there. Then, it gets tougher. Danvers is still holding your father and Professor Diaz hostage, for one thing. Think about Diaz for a second. He’s a renowned physicist and engineer specialising in waveguide technology and directed energy weapons. This much we definitely know. From this, it’s easy to work out he needs this man to operate the Stormbringer.”
Selena was doing up her jeans and reaching for a top. “The problem is, how do we know where he intends to use the device?”
“To know that, we have to wait and see if Cade’s CIA buddies can tell us.”
They finished getting dressed and stepped out onto the patio where Cade was already rustling up a breakfast of pancakes and syrup. “You guys sleep well?”
“Not really, Mr Thurman,” Selena said. “You might remember, that not only was an old friend of mine hospitalized, but also that my father was kidnapped by a lunatic who thinks he’s a Maya king with the divine right to destroy the world with a doomsday device.”
“And you don’t hear that every day,” Riley said, mouth full of pancake.
“Sorry,” Cade said. “Just being polite.”
“Of course you were,” Selena said. “I apologize. It’s just that after yesterday and
