Page 73 of Kai
Hours ago, I’d overheard the shower going in Cece’s berth. After that, silence. If all went well, I was looking forward to waking up next to her. I had just finished getting into my old sweats and a T-shirt when my Tak’s alarm purred on the table. A glance at the small monitor showed me a new threat approachingSerenityat a good clip.
What the fuck?
Tapping an icon on my screen, I made sure all the lights were off, then got to work. I needed another shitshow like I needed a round to the liver. The shield was holding, and my radars showed the NWO’s boats were stationary for the night, and yet there was always a chance the guys had missed a boat somewhere. Sweeping my eyes over the cove and beyond the reef, I saw nothing but undisturbed water and the clear night sky.
And yet I knew trouble was coming my way.
I strapped my Tak back on my forearm, grabbed my weapon, and climbed over the gunwales. I took cover behind the surfboard fastened to the back of the toy deck, monitoring the threat on my screen. Bracing my Spear, I tucked my carbine against my shoulder and pressed it against my cheek. Safety off, finger hovering on the trigger, I waited in full readiness. Anyone trying to get to Cece would have to survive me.
Chapter Twenty-four
Kai
I tracked the intruders on my Tak, calculating their approach vector as they navigated the intricate reef, keeping my weapon braced and ready to shoot. They came in fast without giving away bubbles or ripples. This combination indicated advanced technology. I was chill and hospitable most of the time, but I couldn’t afford to take any chances as long as Cece was on my catamaran.
It struck me that protecting her life had become more than a mission. We’d been about to make love on the beach before my Tak alarmed. I’d been ready.Me. Ready at last. To move on. To seize the fate my grandmother had predicted and accept the universe’s gift.
Right now, leaving my post to warn Cece of a potential threat was not an option. Maybe it was better this way. With a little luck, Cece had surrendered to her exhaustion and was out of harm’s way.
She was an asset in any situation, but I could take care of whatever this was quietly and quickly, then bring her up to speed after the danger had passed. For now, she was better off in her berth, tucked away safely, and hopefully enjoying some sweet dreams that entailed me bringing her to pleasure.
A glance at my Tak showed me the threat slowing down and then coming to a stop some fifty feet away fromSerenity. That was close enough. A faint ripple disturbed the placid surface above the spot, one that would not be visible to the casual observer and could easily be mistaken as part of the natural landscape.
I knew better.
Aiming my carbine, I put my eye to the scope and acquired my target. I kept my sights on the spot, even as a sequence of infrared lights, visible only to my scope, glowed dimly a few feet beneath the water. The signals gave me pause, but I had to be careful, especially since the shield had failed and there was a chance we’d been detected.
I activated my carbine’s side-mounted laser interrogator, focused the scope on the light sequence, and got three green flashes around the ocular for verification. In reply, I clicked twice on my infrared laser, but I kept myself concealed and my aim on my target. If the NWO’s mercs thought they could dupe me, they were about to find out how wrong they were. I’d fought them long enough to understand their capabilities. They’d intercepted our intel before, and they regularly used deceit as a weapon.
The dome of a neoprene-covered head emerged slowly out of the flat surf. I homed my scope on the invisible identifier patch sewn into the top of the high-tech wetsuit. It confirmed with a green flash in my ocular. I let out another breath and waited behind the surfboard with the patience of a concealed sniper and the same deadly intent. I refused to give away my position just yet.
The head rose higher in the water to reveal a dive mask and the dual hose of a rebreather’s distinctive mouthpiece—DSV for short. A pair of gloved hands slowly pierced the flat surface and rose in the air to show no weapons. I didn’t make a sound, but the operator in the water released his mouthpiece.
“Oh, K-maaaan,” he called out, his familiar voice breaking the night’s silence.
Shit. He wasn’t super loud, but he wasn’t quiet either.
“It’s meeeee,” the male voice singsonged as the man treaded water. “Your favorite, friendly neighborhood bro.”When I didn’t reply, he went on. “You want it official?”
Hell yeah, I wanted it official. Cece was on my boat, for fuck’s sake.
“Okay, all right.” A familiar smirk flashed beneath the man’s mask, right before he shifted into his Marine mode. “ID,” he barked. “One, oh, three, seven, one. Juliet, Golf, Mike. Friendly in the water.”
Javier Guzman—aka Goof, Goofman, or Goodman, as we called him these days—was a tease and a clown, but he was also best in business and lethal to boot. If he was joking around, I was one hundred percent sure he’d cleared any possibilities of additional threats in the area. A glance at my Tak verified this. Even so, I kept my carbine on target.
“Keep the volume down,” I whisper-shouted, relying on the cove’s natural echo to carry my words to Guzman.
“Fine,” Guzman whispered-shouted back. “Are you gonna deactivate your defenses or what?”
“Not gonna deactivate shit,” I replied. “There are two of you. Who’s with you?”
“I bet the blockhead ten bucks that you weren’t gonna miss his approach,” Guzman said, using a normal voice. “He just wanted to test you, I guess.”
This could mean only one person.
“Granite better show me his face right now,” I snapped, aware of the flicker of fury and the surge of protectiveness that sharpened my voice. I resented being tested in the middle of my mission, particularly one involving Cece.
“Aren’t we in a Neanderthal mood tonight?” Guzman widened his smirk. “Not your usual, but hey, I know how it feels. So…”
