CHAPTER 34
C HAPTER 34
A s soon as the old man appeared, Rae knew he was Amiya’s father. He shared his daughter’s slender build and striking features. Kurien’s skin tone was marginally darker, his face craven. But neither his wounds nor age erased the man’s looks. And magnetism.
Rae stood near Curtis, back by the main exit, with a clear view of faces turning and watching as the daughter rushed over and embraced Kurien. He leaned heavily on an ivory-handled cane, so only one hand was free to hold his daughter. But the pleasure and joy and pain were all evident.
Rae did not notice the second man until Amiya turned and greeted him. It had to be Jiyan, a gentleman in his late fifties whose deeply lined face rearranged itself as he smiled. He kept close to Kurien, but did not touch him. Jiyan searched the terminals hall, spotted Curtis, and nodded a greeting.
Then the third man appeared.
Ajeet’s similarity to father and daughter only went skin deep. He was immaculately groomed, not a single hair out of place. He accented his skinny build with the latest fashion—tightly tailored trousers and half-zip cashmere sweater and pointy-toed boots. His clothes might have looked beautiful on a Paris runway, but here in New Bern, they were almost clownish. But there was nothing humorous about his expression. Or gaze.
Four men stepped through the arrivals gate behind Ajeet. The four all wore the semiofficial black-on-black security uniform that only added to Ajeet’s evil-clown persona. They were all overly tall, overly bulked-up. The largest was a brute whose hands could not fit through Ajeet’s briefcase handle, so he carried it with two fingers. They all wore earpieces with the dangly wires. Rae heard Curtis snort softly.
Then she realized Holden Geller, their own security guy, was laughing. When she looked over, he said, “Stick those jokers between slices of sourdough, my guys have lunch all taken care of.” He asked Curtis, “I’ll stay with our incoming guests. We’ll travel in the Navigator. One of my Rovers will be on lead. Elena will stay with the second Rover and handle the luggage. You coming with us?”
“No. I’ll follow in my vehicle. Once we’re underway, I need to connect with Amiya, have everyone on a conference call.”
“No problem.” Holden waved his crew forward and moved to join them.
The closer Holden and his people came to the hulking four, the smaller they seemed. Rae thought it was dangerous how Elena was the one going up against the largest guy. Holden’s crew looked too young, too clean-cut, too . . .
They connected with the four, and Rae found herself breathless.
Holden’s group flowed like water, or so it seemed. They streamed around the much larger men, smooth and fluid, and suddenly the four were halted. Little more than rocks in the stream. Holden and his crew determined the currents. It was their flow. Their operation.
Elena looked like an elfin sprite next to the brute. Just the same, she formed an effective barrier between the guard and Kurien. The man tried to swat the lady. Again. Both times, she simply flowed the assault away. Water and rock. The guard snarled loud enough to attract attention. Elena gave no sign she heard.
The brute dropped the briefcase and grabbed at her. Elena laughed and flowed around those massive hands, deflecting without giving an inch.
All the while, Holden and Jiyan ushered father and daughter toward the exit. Moving them farther and farther away from the four. And Ajeet.
The colonel sauntered over, accompanied by several of his fellow marines. Rae heard him ask Holden, “Everything good here?”
“Just another day at the office, sir.” Holden followed the officer’s gaze back to where Ajeet stood and steamed. He pitched his voice loud enough to carry. “I was about to explain to the gentleman there how he didn’t want to make a scene.”
Ajeet barked a single word Rae did not need to understand. The four reluctantly disengaged and stepped back.
The colonel kept his gaze locked on Ajeet. “You need any help with that crew, give us a shout.”
“Roger that, sir.”
Ajeet scowled, tried to move toward the pair, and was halted by a trio of Holden’s team. Outrage grew as he realized what was happening, his team blocked, father and daughter moving slowly toward the exit.
Then he spotted Curtis.
Ajeet’s outrage had a target. “You!”
The terminal went so quiet, Rae heard Amiya softly tell her father, “Please let me help, Daddy.” Kurien appeared so intent upon Curtis, he might not even have heard his daughter. “My dear young man.”
“Hello, sir.”
Ajeet swatted futilely at the three blocking his progress. He stabbed the air between him and the departing pair. “You’re not going anywhere with that man. ”
For the first time since entering the terminal, Kurien addressed his nephew. “It is time you recognize ‘that man’ for who he is. That man is family. ”
Rae watched the nephew stagger back a step. As if Kurien’s words carried physical force.
Kurien went on, “If you wish to continue our conversation, that man will supply you with my address.”
Ajeet’s fury mounted at the realization that Kurien was traveling without him. “I demand to come with you!”
“You ‘demand.’ How interesting.” Kurien waited until Jiyan positioned the wheelchair, then allowed Amiya to help him settle. “Do you actually wish to declare yourself my enemy? In public? Here? Of all places?”
Ajeet seemed to become aware of the watching faces, the people treating this as rare theater. “That is not what I said!”
“Is it not?” Kurien reached for Curtis, gripped his arm, and continued. “ That man will arrange an appointment when you and I might speak. Be on time. And, Ajeet, take careful note. Your goons are not welcome. Not in my temporary home or in my hotel. That man can assist in finding them a suitable alternative.”
Soon as father and daughter departed, the rest of Holden’s team effectively vanished. Rae watched as they stepped back, flowed away. Water.
Which granted Ajeet the opportunity to stalk over. Rae might as well have been miles away. Or invisible.
The man could only see Curtis. He clearly did not care who watched now. Or heard him say, “You think you’ve won ? You think those words from a feeble old man mean anything at all ?”
The emotional display created a new lens. Rae viewed this man she once loved at a level far below skin and sinew. She saw how similar he was to Kurien. And to Amiya. Down where it mattered most. The strength, the goodness, the integrity. The ability to stand there, the focus of this man’s wrath, and not even blink.
“You think you matter ?” Ajeet’s laugh carried a manic glee. “You think you have a job ?”
Curtis remained silent. Unmoved. “I’ve taken the liberty of reserving you a room at our—”
Ajeet chopped the air, silencing Curtis, then waved his guards forward. “You see this man? You see him? ”
But the guards were very much aware of what Ajeet chose not to notice. How the colonel and others in uniform remained close at hand. Watchful. Ready.
Ajeet formed a meaningless smile and lowered his voice. “Your days of groveling for crumbs dropped from your master’s table are over. You just don’t know it yet.”
When Ajeet and his security departed, Curtis approached the officer and his team. “I’m very grateful for your presence here today, Colonel.”
“For a minute there, I thought I was back in Kabul.” He watched Ajeet shout his way into a waiting ride. “Don’t see that level of theatrics very often around here.”
“We have a history.”
The colonel grunted. “Let’s hope you also have a future.”
Curtis took a card from his pocket, wrote swiftly. “You know the Fortunate Harbor Hotel?”
“Heard of it.”
“I’m head of the parent group.” Curtis offered a tight smile with the card. “For the moment anyway. I want you five and your families to come be my guests. Full access to the beach club, plus dinner in the main restaurant. My private number is there on the back. Call or text and I’ll make all the necessary arrangements.” He started away, then paused long enough to add, “As you’ve just heard, it’s probably a good idea to take up this invitation sooner rather than later.”