He walked along the pond and then turned back up toward the cabin, opting to move around to the side of the structure. He stopped by an apple tree, pretending to inspect the growing fruit. All the while, his brain churned, thinking. Had the agency found him? Had they come to retire him? He could feel the pounding of his heart throughout his body, his senses were heightened, his body outwardly relaxed. He walked around the back of the cabin, but heard and saw nothing. He made his way back to the front of the cabin and was about to step up onto the porch when a blur caught his eye.
He staggered back as the impact of a body hit him. He felt the heat and weight of it, he heard snarling and growling close to his ear. His arms came up instinctively to fend off whatever had jumped on him. His heart had nearly jumped out of his throat. The form clung to his back like a crazed monkey and he could feel its hot breath at the base of his skull. He swung around and then he heard giggling and snorting. He then felt cool air hit his back as the body fell away and he turned in a crouch, ready to attack. His eyes widened. Flea!
Agent Zed, whom he was very well acquainted with, stood before him. His dark eyes narrowed and his mouth bracketed down in a scowl.
“You here to kill me?” he asked in a flat voice.
“If I were, you’d already be dead. I’ve been here for a couple hours watching you,” she said laughing, then snorted, shaking her head. She slapped him on the shoulder and walked up onto the porch and sat in his rocking chair.
“Then why in the hell are you here? And how did you find me?”
“The top brass wants you back at the corral. Got several operatives out combing the country for your happy ass. I told them you loved fishin’, suggested they hit the panhandle of Florida or along the Gulf coast. As to how I know about this place, I followed you here last year, after the debacle in Djibouti. You and Agent Vector got really screwed on that assignment. I also know where Agent Papa, Agent Vector, and Agent Lima live as well.” She shrugged elegantly. Xander’s eyes narrowed dangerously; he didn’t like being followed. The smile on her face widened.
“You sure you weren’t followed? We both know not to trust the agency.”
“Don’t worry, I’m good that way, as you know. I tend to travel off-grid. I decided to come here, figured I needed a little vacay too. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. This is a nice place, dude,” she said grinning and waggled her dark tapered eyebrows.
Xander could feel his shoulders relax. Zahara Demir, Agent Zed, nicknamed Flea, was one of the top operatives that the agency had. She was a diminutive woman, fast and deadly. She could present as a teenager or woman, depending on her appearance. She could move nearly invisible among the masses and her exotic coloring could place her origins in many countries. With a complexion of soft olive skin, dark mahogany hair and green eyes, she was just on the edge of beautiful. He’d worked with her on several occasions over the years and knew she could have killed him easily. If she’d been at the cabin for a of couple hours watching him, then she’d wanted him to know she was there when he’d first felt her presence. Like himself, Zahara was a ghost.
Xander gathered his thoughts by relighting his pipe, puffing and drawing the glow in the bowl. He let the plume of smoke circle him before he spoke. He watched as she pulled a pink straw from her jacket pocket and began to chew on the tip. He grunted to himself. What was he going to do with her? He wasn’t going back, at least not for another week or so. He damned well needed this downtime.
“I don’t know why you bothered coming here. You know I’m not going back until I’m damned well good and ready,” he stated bluntly, settling on the porch steps.
“Oh, if I wanted to take you back, I could take you back.” She grinned in a challenge. This caused Xander to snort with amusement at her cheeky declaration. She always thought too highly of herself, though in all honesty, she had a right to.
“Right, you and what army?” he said with a snort, then his eyes opened wide when she blew through the straw, a hard-quick puff. His hand flew up to his neck when he felt the sting of a tiny needle. He pulled out a small dart and looked incredulously up at the grinning Zahara.
“You fucking bitc…” Agent Echo fell down the short steps to the ground, unconscious. Zahara laughed and shook her head. That boy always did underestimate me, she thought. She got up from the rocking chair and went to the door of the cabin and carefully opened the door. She leaned in and let out a breath, there was a control panel just inside the door. It was disarmed. She walked into the structure and looked around admiringly. The cabin boasted large windows and when she looked closer, she saw that the windows were bulletproof. She grinned.
She turned away from the windows and went to the kitchen and opened the solar refrigerator. Reaching in, Zahara grabbed a beer, then tossed the cap into the trash. She walked around looking at the furnishings, which were mostly leather and wood. Well-made and comfortable. Above the large open room was a large loft area. She saw several bookshelves and figured she go check it out later and grab a book to read. Walking to the large fireplace, she kicked at the logs stacked neatly beside it. Beside the
