Chapter 23 Mattie
MATTIE
The harbor stretched for hundreds of meters, perhaps even miles, a crescent of blue water dotted with vessels of various sizes and purposes.
Mattie was surprised by the absence of yachts and fishing boats. Most of the vessels were supply ships, some were big, most were mid-sized and small, all rocking gently at anchor, connected to the docks by gangplanks and mooring lines.
"Is there another harbor for yachts?" she asked Dimitri.
"I don't think so." He kept scanning the harbor operations.
"At first I thought there weren't any because the rich men who are usually invited to enjoy the resort are absent, but now I think that they are not allowed here.
The harbor has no facilities for luxury ships. This is strictly a supply depot."
"It makes sense." Mattie reached for Dimitri's hand but then remembered that they shouldn't display physical affection in public.
Tarik might be gone, but he wasn't the only immortal with bad vibes she'd encountered.
This whole place was crawling with them.
"The island is supposed to be a secret. They are playing this game better than that guy who got famous, or rather infamous for a similar operation.
I forgot his name." She turned to look at him. "Do you know who I'm talking about?"
Dimitri grimaced. "Yeah. The purpose of both was probably the same, only Navuh figured it out long before that other guy, and he did it on an industrial scale.
Come to think of it, there is nothing new about this method of extortion.
Men are weak when it comes to their base urges, and they are easy to manipulate. "
"Not you." She leaned against him, stealing a moment of closeness before leaning away. "You don't compromise on your values."
"Thank you." He smiled. "But don't mistake me for a saint. I choose what I'm willing to compromise on and what not. Some of the things I have done and am still doing are questionable."
"Like Dave?"
He nodded. "That kind of experimentation can only happen in places like this, and by this, I don't mean secret islands. I mean places where human rights are not respected."
"Like China?"
"China is not even close to being the worst offender.
It is an advanced, modern society with a large, well-educated population.
Even this island is better than some of the hellholes around the world.
Only a small fraction of Earth's population enjoys a modicum of human rights, and even those rights are gradually diminishing because people are so easily manipulated. "
As someone who had been sent to a gulag for doing what he'd been told to do by his bosses, Dimitri was speaking from personal experience, and Russia was also not so bad compared to the countries he was talking about.
She patted his arm. "Let's try to enjoy this and not depress each other by talking about things we have no control over."
The sun sparkled on the water, seabirds wheeled overhead, and the salt breeze carried the scent of distant places. Under different circumstances, it might have been beautiful. She could close her eyes and imagine that she was on vacation.
But despite what she'd told Dimitri, she couldn't relax enough to enjoy herself, and he was too busy counting the guards and observing the security protocols to enjoy himself either.
There were at least a dozen guards stationed along the docks that she could see from their current position. They wore the standard Brotherhood uniform of dark tactical gear and were armed with visible weapons.
They weren't slacking on their job either. They were vigilant, tracking every movement in their vicinity like their lives depended on it, and the looks they were casting at her and Dimitri were not friendly.
"You are right," Dimitri murmured, his hand finding hers and squeezing gently before letting go. "Let's enjoy the scenery."
"The scenery is definitely unfriendly." Mattie forced herself to maintain a casual pace even though every instinct screamed at her to turn around, walk back to the lab, and lock that secure door behind them.
"They're just doing their job."
Right, as if those nasty looks had anything to do with their job. People didn't just take strolls out here, and the guards had probably never seen two humans enjoying a day off in the open like this.
Except, this wasn't really a casual stroll. If they ever wanted to escape this island, observing the harbor's security measures was necessary, and with Tarik dead and Dave's phone in her pocket, she shouldn't be as stressed out about doing this as she was.
They continued along the waterfront, past a row of warehouses that probably stored incoming supplies before distribution. More guards were checking everything coming in and going out, even though others checked everything again at the point of entry.
"There's a guard posted next to every ship, and they're checking everyone's papers," Dimitri murmured. "Those coming in and those leaving."
Mattie watched as a construction crewman approached the gangplank of a supply vessel. He handed the guard a folded document, which the guard examined with painstaking thoroughness before finally waving him through.
"They seem to be vigilant. Everyone gets checked," she whispered. "Coming and going."
"Even the ones who are just running back to grab something."
A man in work clothes jogged up to a different gangplank, looking rushed, but the guard stopped him just as firmly as the first, demanded papers, and did a quick pat-down.
Only when he was satisfied that the guy wasn't trying to smuggle anything out of the island did he allow him to board.
When the same worker emerged a few minutes later carrying a coil of rope, he was stopped and checked again.
"Thorough," Dimitri said.
"Overkill," Mattie corrected. "He just checked the guy before letting him onto the ship."
"They are not taking any chances."
They walked a little further, past a section of dock where larger cargo containers were being unloaded.
Here, the security was even tighter. Every container was opened and inspected before being allowed to pass.
Workers stood idle while guards poked through crates of construction supplies.
What were they checking for? Stowaways? Weapons? Drugs?
All of the above, probably.
"Security is tight," Dimitri said, echoing her thoughts. "Too tight."
That was her impression as well, and to continue the pretense of the stroll seemed futile. "Can we go back now? The guards' suspicious looks are wearing me down. They seem so aggressive, like coiled cobras ready to strike."
"Just a little longer. I want to see more—"
"We've seen enough." She tugged at his hand, trying to turn around. "Please, Dimitri. I don't like it out here."
He looked at her, and whatever he saw in her face made his expression soften. "Okay. Okay, we can go. That dresser isn't going to restore itself."
She'd forgotten about it. "We still need to find the supplies I need. Do you think we can get them here?"
He chuckled. "Suddenly, you are not as eager to go back."
"No, I am." She let out a breath and resumed walking. "I will ask Nuri. I'm sure she knows where I can get the stuff."
He nodded. "I will have to come back here by myself. It's just that it looks less suspicious with you walking with me. A couple taking a stroll looks innocent enough."
He would have been right if this were anywhere else but this island.
"There's nothing to see anyway," she said. "We're not getting off this island through this harbor unless you can make us invisible and we can float onto one of the ships through the air."
Dimitri frowned. "That gives me an idea."
"What?"
"Gliders. We could use gliders to float through the air. The invisibility would be tougher to pull off."
"Well, well, well."
The voice came from behind them, but before she could understand what was going on, they were surrounded by four immortals.
Mattie's blood ran cold as she recognized the speaker as one of Tarik's gang.
With his shaved head and mean face, he wasn't easy to forget. He had been there that night and had watched Tarik attack her, looking amused.
He and the other three formed a loose semicircle around her and Dimitri that cut off any easy escape. Their expressions ranged from hostile to murderous, and they were looking at Mattie and Dimitri like rabid wolves.
"If it isn't the little human whore and her scientist boyfriend." The bald one took a step closer, his smile widening. "Fancy meeting you here."
Dimitri pulled her closer to him, and she could feel the tension in his body, the way his muscles had gone rigid, preparing for violence.
"We don't want any trouble," Dimitri said, his voice deceptively calm. "We're just heading back to the lab."
"Trouble?" The bald one laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. "Who said anything about trouble? We just want to talk."
"Then talk. But let us pass while you do that."
The immortals didn't move. If anything, they drew closer, tightening their formation and eliminating any gaps Mattie and Dimitri might have slipped through.
"See, here's the thing." The bald one's cold smile had faded, replaced by something even more menacing. "Our friend Tarik turned up dead this morning. Heart ripped right out of his chest. Nasty way to go."
Mattie felt her heart lurch. She should have known that they would come after her. She should have never agreed to come out of the lab.
"I heard about that," Dimitri said. "Terrible thing, really. Did he have enemies?"
The bald one cocked a brow. "We've been asking ourselves the same question. Who would do something like that? Who would have a reason to want Tarik dead?"
"I'm sure he had plenty of enemies." Dimitri didn't sound sure at all.