Page 35 of Alistair

Alistair woke early and stepped outside to call Clark. He knew that she was an early riser as well and wasn’t concerned with waking her.

“Morning, beautiful.”

“Good morning, handsome,” she smiled. “How are you?”

“We’re doing okay. Making some progress for sure. We’re hoping to be able to meet with the dealer today. If we can do that, the next step is the head of this operation.”

“Be careful, Alistair. I know you’re a professional. I know you’re trained. But this guy doesn’t have any qualms in killing whoever is in his path. Even Marines.”

“I know, babe. I’ve got a great team with me. That’s why we do this. No man is by himself.”

“Maybe not, but this guy has locals that need money, drugs, and don’t give a shit about anything else.”

“You might have something there. Maybe we should send a few guys into the smaller towns up in the mountain closer to where the old location was. Also, I’ll ask Hiro and the others to see if they can see anything on satellite or by drone. It’s thick forest up there, but it’s also fall. Leaves are falling, and the trees are getting barer by the day.”

“I’ll mention it as well,” she said. She waved her hand at him and wiggled her fingers. “One more trip to the pond, and we think my new and old break will be healed. I could use this hand for other more important things.”

“Baby, you’re killing me, and I can’t do a damn thing about it right now. Subject change. Did you talk to your folks? When are they coming?” Quickly changing the subject, he needed to get his mind off her beautiful hands, and body, and lips, and damn.

“Yes,” she laughed, “I talked to Mom and Dad. They’re excited about meeting you and everyone else. They’re ready whenever you get back, and the wedding is set.”

“I’ll be home soon, babe. Then we can start our life together.”

“I can’t wait,” she whispered. “Alistair? Seriously. Be careful. I love you.”

“Love you too, babe.”

“She worried about you?” asked the deep voice behind him. He turned to see his friend, Dan.

“She’s worried about all of us. And she’s ready to get married,” he smirked. “Me too, brother. I never thought I’d say that, but I’m damn sure ready to be a husband to that woman and that woman only.”

“I get it,” laughed Dan. “Meeting Finley changed my world. She was so different. Quirky. She’s brilliant, beautiful, and tolerates my insanity.”

“I think insanity is contagious for all of us,” said Alistair. “Maybe that’s Mama Irene’s gift. Making us all a bit insane.”

“Good morning, sirs,”sniffed Victoria.

“Victoria? Honey, are you okay? Are you sick?” asked Dan. He heard her blow her nose and sniff a few times.

“No, sir. I’m fine,”she said in a trembling voice.

“Victoria, you’re not fine. What’s wrong, honey?” asked Alistair.

“You’ll think I’m being silly.”

“I can promise you that we would never think you’re being silly,” said Dan. “Are you alright? Is something wrong?”

“Hayes. He hasn’t texted, e-mailed, or called in over a week. Plus, he turned his comms off! Why would he do that? He’s met someone else, hasn’t he?”

“Victoria, honey,” smiled Alistair. “I don’t think he’s met anyone else. His training is incredibly intense right now.”

“Training? But he finished his basic training,”she said.

“Yes, he did finish his basic training,” said Dan, “but now he’s doing his specialized training. I’m going to bet that our comms devices cause interference for him when working with certain equipment. He probably turned it off to avoid that. The training that he’s undergoing is the most intense training you could possibly imagine. When they get a free moment, they literally only have ten or twenty minutes to eat, sleep, shower, and go to the bathroom.”

“So, you don’t think he met someone else?”she asked innocently.

“Victoria, I cannot imagine a world where Hayes would meet someone better than you. He’s a good man, and he’s crazy about you. It will all be okay. He’ll be home soon after the training is done, and then you’ll see that everything is okay. Feel better?” said Dan.

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