Page 33 of Thorn

Being on the run, hiding from boogeymen, Juliette decided, was not an easy thing for anyone without proper training. And here she was, probably one of the least able people to keep herself at a distance.

Here she was scrambling for survival when she couldn’t even take care of herself in her normal day-to-day life.

In America, her father had arranged for Roxanne to be her home companion. On days when the world was a dizzy mess, Roxanne would help Juliette get herself to the bathroom, helped her dress, made sure she ate, made sure Juliette had a bucket for when a meal didn’t stay down, made sure she was safe.

On good days, when Juliette could get around on her own, Roxanne would spend the day writing. She was a novelist who wrote sweet romances. Roxanne wrote the stories where she could live vicariously through her characters and be beautiful and beloved, swept off her feet and have great sacrifices made in her name. It was Roxanne’s reading her manuscripts out loud and talking about her characters that had inspired Juliette to try on the mantle of thriller-hero – someone who knew what to do to get out of a mess.

As a veterinarian’s assistant, Juliette wouldn’t have any of the necessary skills in her muscle memory. Juliette had decided to make believe, gathering her strength from characters who were vital and strong. Characters who survived. Those who ran successfully to the finish at the end of their plot lines.

Juliette thought about Roxanne and Toby back at the house her dad had bought for her on the Virginia-side of Washington D.C. They were probably curled up right now in front of a fire, Roxanne drinking a cup of tea and snuggling up with Toby curled at her feet as she read over her project.

Her dad was probably nursing a glass of scotch as he flipped through the newest medical journals. He lived a few miles away in the city proper. She saw him at least once a week when he picked her up to take her into work with him at his laboratory at Montrim where he had a DARPA lab.

There, he’d check on her progress.

Since he was the foremost scientist in stress disorders and brain injuries, Juliette knew that if anything could be done to make her better, it would happen. She was the fortunate survivor who got the cutting-edge care not yet available in mainstream medicine.

And that gave her hope.

It helped her in her darkest moments when she simply couldn’t stand her brain any more. The times when she thought that she’d had enough suffering for one life time, and she just wanted some peace.

The dark moments when nothing at all mattered.

When all she wanted was for the pain to stop.

Chapter Seventeen

Thorn

Brussels, Belgium

Saturday, Nineteen Fifteen Hours

Honey followed behind Thorn and Gage as they walked through the door of room 601 at the hotel, straight over to the table where Honey, once again, propped his phone after he opened a video link with his encryption capabilities.

“Good, you’re back,” Nutsbe said by way of greeting. “I hope you had a good dinner, because we’re about to get you moving again. Time is uber tight, so strap in. Lynx?”

“Thank you.” Lynx gave him a nod. “Okay guys, we have a contract in place. But the suits upstairs want me to remind you all that foreign soil means foreign laws. We can’t help you with warrants and such. It is expected that you will to conduct yourself in ways that are befitting your positions, will serve the United States, and will not get you into trouble while abroad.” She paused. “That said, we certainly do have a mystery on our hands. Why did our client think that Juliette and her child were kidnapped when Brigitte believes that Juliette doesn’t have a child?”

Honey leaned in. “Yes, let’s start there. Is there a child in harm’s way?”

“That’s a question we need boots on the ground to help us figure out,” Nutsbe said. “Here’s a rundown of what we know right now − I’m creating a time line and a facts sheet that will go to your cloud files. I’ll have it ready as soon as possible and keep it updated − Okay, what we have now is that Dr. David DuBois was born in the United States to parents who held French citizenship. Father deceased. Mother now lives in Toulouse. David DuBois received his master’s degree from The University of Toulouse. He received his MD and PhDs in the United States and worked for the US military for a time before settling in Lebanon where he had research grants and taught graduate classes at the American University. The last time he was in France was almost two years ago. His trip at that time was only for the day, with no over-night stay. He was travelling from Beirut and back.”

“That seems odd,” Lynx said. “It seemed odd when I read it the first time, and it seems even odder when I hear you say it.”

“Agreed, I’ll flag it to see if we can’t figure out why he was there,” Nutsbe said to her then turned back to look into the camera. “The timeline − DuBois was in the Middle East doing research in a private facility and teaching at the American University in Beirut. When he moved back to the United States, at the government’s request to work for DARPA, he brought his adult daughter Juliette with him. Juliette Marie DuBois has a green card that says she holds French citizenship.”

“You checked with France to see if there are birth records connected to Juliette?” Thorn asked. “Maybe that was her kid down in Toulouse this morning, and the child is living with someone else. Maybe the reason for Juliette’s trip to France was to visit her child?”

“A vital statistics search was conducted, and the reports passed to us by our client. There are no birth records – no recordsat allthat include the name Juliette Marie DuBois or any permutation thereof,” Nutsbe said.

“Are you serious?” Thorn was hunkered into the tight circle that put all three operatives faces on the camera. “But she must have had French paperwork to apply for her US green card.”

“That’s true. She presented paperwork, which was apparently counterfeited.”

“Could she be…I don’t know, an operative working for the Mossad?” Gage asked. “Maybe that’s why Brigitte knows her and wants her back. Obviously, that wouldn’t be the first time that issues have come up around DARPA scientists and Israeli agendas.”

“Whatever the gig is, David DuBois was down with it,” Thorn said. “I wonder if that was by choice or by some kind of force.”

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