Looking around, I saw we had a small audience. A couple of heads were peering out of their doors, and my boss Chris was standing outside hers, gazing on in surprise.
“Wrong room,” I announced. I turned to Chris, “I’ll just be a second, then we can go down and get some breakfast.”
I retreated to my room, straightening my clothing and grabbing the retractable baton which I collapsed and slipped under my belt. Just in case they had friends. With my jacket on it was invisible.
The phone rang, and I thought about letting it go, in case the hotel had some complaint. I picked it up anyway, ready to fire back about their lax security.
“Jack. Ana Isabel. Just listen. You may have some men come to visit you. Don’t let them in. Stay away from them. Carlos will be there soon.”
“They were already here.”
“My God! Are you alright? That bastard!”
“I’m fine. They’ve left. I’m going down to breakfast with Chris now. Carlos can meet us there.”
“Be careful. They will try to get to you.”
“Not these two,” I assured her.
“Did they say anything?”
“They said they had a message from Don Reinaldo. To stay away from you. They accused me of sleeping with you.”
“The asshole! He doesn’t own me. Are you sure you’re Ok?”
“Right as rain. I can’t say as much for the big guy they sent to deliver the message. Look, we can talk about this later, Chris is outside waiting and I’m sure she has lots of questions.”
“Please be careful. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. I’ll see you later. Don’t worry. Bye now.”
I heard her soft goodbye as I hung up the phone. My wrist hurt from punching the little guy. I massaged it as I opened the door.
Chris was standing there staring at me. “Want to tell me what the hell is going on?”
“They had a message for me. They should have phoned it in.”
“Don’t wisecrack! That looked serious. The one guy couldn’t move his arms when they left. What was that about?” She sounded angry.
I slid my arm around her waist and guided her to the elevator. “Come on, I’m starving. It was a simple misunderstanding. They misunderstood my relationship with the Major and I set them straight.”
Over breakfast she wouldn’t let it go, and I explained a little of what was going on, not going into any detail about my relationship, whatever it was, with the Major. Carlos and an associate found us in the restaurant and he introduced himself and his friend. I invited them to join us for coffee, after which he insisted we ride out to the base with him. He was quiet, but looked capable. His friend wasn’t much bigger than me, but he had a dangerous look about him. I was lucky these two hadn’t come to visit me.
At the base it was business as usual. I delivered the training, and had lunch with the class. Pablo was assisting me, and by this time he understood the working of the program mods as good as anybody. Made my work a good bit easier. I never saw Ana Isabel, and the subject of the morning visit didn’t seem to be public knowledge so we stuck with idle conversation.
The training classes went well, and we had a few different people drop in for a while, but the brass kept their distance, as did my favorite Major. By 5 o’clock we were shutting things down, and I was wondering about the evening plans. Pablo was still sticking around, always near, and in an exceptionally good mood, but he didn’t seem to be aware of my early morning visitors.
With the gear packed up, he gave me a smack on the back. It hurt. I was sure the shot I’d taken earlier was going to be sore for a while. I did my best to hide the pain.
“Great job. I’d say your trip was a huge success. Ready for some drinks?”
I smiled. Was I ever ready. “Lead the way compadre. Time to celebrate.”
The Officer’s Club seemed to stay busy, and this Friday night was clearly no exception. We found Colonel Ortiz at the bar, competing for Chris’s attention with the General and their coterie. As I approached, the Colonel turned and passed me a large Scotch, neat. Good man.
“Senor Jack! You and Chris have done a splendid job this week. Thank you so much.”
“I’m glad it all worked out so well,” I told him, before taking a large gulp from my glass. Damn, I needed that. The General was speaking to me, talking about their installation plans as soon as the final delivery was made. I was barely listening, nodding when it seemed appropriate, while I scanned the crowd for Ana Isabel.
“She’s not here,” Pablo said softly.
I turned and looked at him.
“Ana Isabel. We haven’t seen her today.”
Sadly, it looked like the message had been delivered, and one of us had decided to heed it. Oh well. Probably for the best, as much as I hated to leave things as they were.
I pounded my drink, and over my second I joined in the conversation, talking about some more features, and the final installation. They were also discussing having another training class, which Chris was negotiating. It almost didn’t seem fair; she had the men eating out of her hand.
I heard a hush in the room, and turned to follow the looks of many of those around me. The crowd was parting and Major de Borbon was striding our way. She looked devastating, in an outfit that clung to her body, wearing a necklace so bedecked in jewels I was surprised the weight of it did not drag her down. The sapphire nestled in the top of her cleavage was the size of a quail egg. She headed straight to me, stood on her toes and gave me a peck on the cheek.
The quiet of the room seemed to burst like a bubble, and I could barely hear her over the sudden cacophony. “Sorry I’m late. I had to take care of a few things.” She had a hard look in her eye when she said it, and I was glad I wasn’t on her bad side. At least I hoped I wasn’t.
Pablo placed a drink in her hand. “All done. Everything went perfect. I don’t remember any project going so smoothly.”
She smiled. “I’m glad. Although I guess there were a few bumps along the way, but nothing Jack couldn’t handle.” She smiled and raised an eyebrow at me, almost questioning.
“Nothing major, Major.”
She wrapped her arm around my waist, and gave me a squeeze. She must have felt the baton around my waist because she shifted her hand. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that.”
The Colonel turned to us. “Drink up! It’s time for the party. It’s a day to celebrate!” He had his arm around Chris; it appeared he was winning the fight for her attention. But the General hadn’t given up. He was glued to her other side, leaning down and whispering in her ear.