“Your family,” he said. “We can’t let this be known to the general public. In fact, it won’t go past this room. We have told your family that your ability was enlisted in Belize and for that I offered you a job in Seattle, which you took. So far we have evaded their calls to you, saying you were in meetings or on a business trip.” He waved his hand as if it weren’t all that important to him. “Bottom line, your new cell phone is waiting for you in Pensacola along with some of your own clothes. I believe your parents are waiting for you at their home. Your secretary told them you would be stopping in on your way back from Pensacola.” He looked at her with a serious stare. “Just don’t tell them the truth. As far as they know, we deal with paintings. You buy and sell them all over the country for us.”
I work for an art dealer. Jayde was having a hard time believing this whole thing. “Don’t worry; I won’t be telling anyone,” she assured him. “It’s not exactly believable anyway.” As opposed to the art dealer scam.
“Good. I am obligated to let you know what will happen if you do tell–”
Jayde slid her chair back standing abruptly. “Excuse me. Captain, if you could shove me in the direction of sickbay, I think I need to have this looked at and then I will get ready to leave. Thank you so much for your hospitality.” Pinning the CIA man with a stare that would’ve made Jayde’s father proud of her, she said, “You know what; I am just not in the mood to have any more threats put to my person. I’ve just been chased through the jungle by people who wanted to kill me. Don’t worry; I will keep my mouth shut.”
Scott and Maverick had stood and offered to take her to sickbay. So they left the room, Scott leading, Jayde in the middle, and Maverick bringing up the rear. It took them about ten minutes of maneuvering inside the floating city before they arrived at a door that had a gold caduceus on it.
“Here we are,” Scott said and opened the door.
It was much bigger than Jayde had been expecting. A voice announced to them, “Be right with you.” A black woman moved a privacy screen around a bed before she walked toward them. “You must be Jayde, the lieutenant’s wife,” she said with a smile, then her eyes moved over the two men with her.
Jayde found herself smiling in return. The woman had a winning personality. “Well, I am Jayde.” She stopped as she recalled what the CIA man had said.
“Well, Jayde, I’m HMC Rogets. Why don’t you just have a seat over there and we will look over your arms and hands, get you fixed up in no time.”
Jayde looked to Scott and Maverick and they nodded, then she did as she was told. As soon as she sat on the exam table, the men disappeared out the door.
Rogets was very thorough but gentle as she cleaned out, sterilized, and dried Jayde’s wounds. “I heard the corpsman say what you had done for Lieutenant Kincade. That makes you a hero.” She smiled as she turned her tender touch to the swollen cheek. “Sorry,” she said as she witnessed Jayde’s wince.
“I’m no hero,” Jayde said. “Tyson is the hero. He saved us.”
There was a noncommittal sound from the woman working on her injuries.
“He did. I would have died long before if not for him,” Jayde insisted.
Another mumble.
“Is he…is…Tyson…Lieutenant Kincade…doing all right?” Jayde finally asked after hemming and hawing about it.
HMC Rogets smiled. “I was wondering how long it was going to take you to ask about him. Do you want to see him?”
The door opened and Scott walked back in. He smiled at them both. Jayde looked back at the woman next to her. “Maybe just for a minute. If that’s all right.”
“Of course it is.” HMC Rogets gestured towards the curtain. “He is behind there, still delirious though, so he drifts in and out of consciousness.”
Extremely nervous, Jayde slid off the exam table and went to the pale curtain that was drawn around a bed. She could hear monitors beeping and raspy breathing.
A bit unsure Jayde moved the curtain aside slowly. She slipped in and stared down at the man lying there. He hadn’t regained much of his color and that scared her. His face was still covered by hair; his eyes, although closed, seemed tense around the edges.
At a snail’s pace, Jayde reached out and stroked his hair. It was filthy, and yet it felt so good to her. Just to be able to touch him once again. Her other hand gently traced the side of his face, its fingers moving along his scruffy beard.
“Well, Mr. Kincade,” she spoke softly. “This certainly has been an adventure I will never forget. Thank you for getting me through it safely. I will never forget you.” Jayde leaned over and kissed his forehead.
“Carrie,” his raspy voice said.
Jayde started at that. Was he waking up? Then it dawned on her that he’d asked for Carrie. It was as if her heart had been ripped out of her chest with that one name. Her dark eyes welled up with tears as the curtain moved to admit Scott.
“We need to get going. The COD is ready to leave,” Scott said in a gentle voice.
Jayde wiped away tears and nodded. Like I know what in the hell a COD is!
“Carrie, please,” Tyson mumbled one more time.
Scott looked between the man lying on the bed and Jayde standing next to him. “He is not sure of what he is saying,” Scott tried, reaching out a hand to her in comfort.
She dodged him. “Don’t Scott. Please. I am sure he knows exactly what he is saying.” Jayde struggled to remove the titanium band from her finger. Finally it was off and she placed it on Tyson’s pinkie finger. “He is asking for her. Let’s just go.” A glance down at her finger showed a tan line from the week she’d been a wife. It seemed so naked.
Jayde reached out for Tyson one more time before stopping herself. “Goodbye, Tyson Randolph Kin-cade,” she said before she turned and left.
As she buckled in for the ride back to the United States, Jayde noticed Scott and the other members of the Megalodon Team standing there on the flight deck. All of them saluted her and she waved as the door slammed shut and the chopper lifted into the sky.