26. April 14, 2023
Cherry
“Part the Red Sea, this is fucking cold,” Cherry muttered. She was paddling her board out to where Midas and TB already were, Steel and Demon on either side of her. “Why can’t we do this later in the day when it’s warmer?”
“Waves are lowest right now, plus we needed to talk sooner rather than later. Besides, the water is always going to feel cold.”
They sat straddling their boards in the bay.
Steel—playing the part of surf instructor—had led Midas, TB, Cherry, and Demon through the basics on the beach, and now they were in the water, ready to make their first attempt.
Demon had admitted to her in private that he couldn’t wait to see TB attempting to hop up on the board with his broad frame and weight.
He’d even put a body cam on for the occasion, which the behemoth hadn’t appeared to notice yet.
She could only imagine the razzing the poor man was going to get as soon as Midas posted the videos to the group chat amongst the guys .
Demon was filling them in on lunch and what they’d seen on the tour of the farming operations, but Cherry couldn’t concentrate.
Normally, she’d have no trouble shoving distractions to the back and focusing on what needed doing, but yesterday had been a bit overwhelming on multiple levels, and her brain was having trouble connecting the dots.
You’re with me right now, and that’s all that matters.
That’s what he’d said before she got into the shower.
At the time, she’d just taken it as a declaration.
But after a few minutes alone in the shower, her brain started chasing her own tail.
It reminded her that this was temporary.
Her proposal and he was only adhering to what she wanted, but damn if it didn’t bring home the point that she wanted so much more with him.
“Hey,” she said suddenly. “Has anyone talked to Waters since we left?”
There were smirks from all the guys, with the exception of a scowl from Steel. Midas informed her, “We talked to him when we were discussing whether or not to bug Zion’s meeting. Guess where his happy ass was? On a plane to China. Didn’t even make it two days, the fuckstick. What a pussy.”
“You wait until it’s your turn,” Steel warned. “You’ll see what it’s like when you can’t even make it a whole morning at work, let alone a full day.”
“Oh yeah?” Midas asked. “What about you, Mr. High Intensity? Think you’ll be any better?”
The assassin grunted, looking out to the waves. “Already had my chance. Fucked it up. That only happens once in a lifetime, hermano .”
His eyes came back to Cherry, a flash in them that he’d said too much, and then it was gone. He shut down faster than blast doors on a nuclear bunker.
Cherry made an attempt to rescue him before anyone pushed. “That has to be a cause for celebration for you guys. Steel lost his first bet in a year. ”
Blessedly, they took the bait. Midas informed them, “God was the closest with his five days. He is never going to let up that he took Steel’s money.”
“The boss man was prompted,” Steel grumbled.
“If somebody hadn’t pushed him, he’d have made it the whole twelve weeks, just out of spite.
” Steel’s words sounded irritated, but when he caught Cherry’s eye, he winked and gave her a nod.
Good. He wasn’t mad. In fact, it seemed he approved and was grateful for the save on his blunder. She smiled back.
Midas had been named leader of the project in Waters’ absence, so he rallied them back to the topic of their meeting.
“All right. Back to work. So tonight, TB will watch the villa, Steel will take the farm, I’ll be monitoring the cameras, particularly the orchards, to help Steel out, and D will search the research building. ”
“Why can’t Demon watch the villa?” Cherry asked. “He’s already there.”
“I’d prefer to be the one there,” Demon admitted, “but I’ll know more than TB about the medical equipment that might be there.”
“D told us what he suspects about the tunnels under the buildings,” Steel added.
“We want to see how far they go out and in what directions. Could be dead ends with underground levels, but I’m betting no.
If these guys are Salieri members, the diamond mines showed us that they have escape routes in their spaces.
I’m betting one comes up in the outbuildings somewhere.
Probably several. My guess? The machine barns.
D said the one you saw was awfully neat and tidy, including a huge open space in the middle. ”
“Maybe the machine or vehicles were out in the trees?” she guessed.
“Maybe. Not buying it.”
“What about me?” Cherry asked. “What do you want me to do?”
“You?” TB asked with a snort. “You’re going to be tucked up in bed behind a locked door.”
Cherry felt her teeth clench and her body go rigid.
“I am not some delicate fucking flower you need to keep in the hothouse or risk the danger of me wilting and dying. I’ve been doing this as long as all of you.
In some cases, longer. How do you think I recruited God and Waters?
I can be just as sneaky and invisible as you. ”
Demon reached out, pulled her board closer, and put a hand on her arm to calm her. “Hey. No one is saying you’re not capable. But what if someone comes looking for us? If one of us is missing, you can distract. If both of us are missing? Suspicious as hell.”
She deflated slightly. She didn’t like it, but she understood the logic. It was doubtful that anyone would come looking for them in their suite, but depending on when they left and how long they were gone, it might be odd if she were seen without him.
“Couldn’t I just say we were playing a newlywed game, hunting each other out for some racy sex?”
The team averted their faces, trying not to laugh, but it wasn’t working well.
Blushing, she corrected herself. “Whatever. It’s all an act, you gits.
Fine. I still haven’t gotten that information to Zion about Ka-Bar,” she reminded them.
“I could cover your exit from the property by distracting him with that after dinner. Is that okay, or is it too dangerous to do without my overprotective ‘husband’?”
Demon nodded. “That would work. Distraction would help.”
“How much time would you need?”
She could see him calculating time in his head. “Thirty, forty-five minutes? I’d need to get upstairs, change, get out. Should be enough time.”
“Okay. I’ll plan for an hour. Just in case the security staff is extra diligent.”
Steel piped in, “Next wave coming in, D take Cherry in. We’ll follow, with me bringing in the back end.
We’ll catch three or four waves each, then we can seem to agree to go to eat together and head to the café Ka-Bar was last seen at.
Gem is going to wander in around eleven thirty and try to give us any intel they found.
If they can’t get to us directly, we’ve got plan B to meet with whomever it is. ”
“What’s plan B?” she asked.
“Ladies’ room,” they said in chorus.
“Well, that’s not cliché at all.”
“But it works,” Steel said with a shrug.
Demon looked out over the water. “Get ready, Cherry. I’ll hang back. If you have trouble, I’ll be right behind you.”
“Just don’t run me over,” she grumbled. She got into position on the board, and as the wave began to push her in, she popped up onto the board without too much difficulty.
Unfortunately, when she stood, her balance was precarious, and she only made it about five seconds before feeling herself start to lose her footing.
“Jump, fireball!” Demon reminded her.
Leaning back and to the right, she gave herself as much push as she could into the air to clear the board, her hands and arms immediately going over her head to protect it.
She felt the leash around her ankle pull tight, and then she hit the water.
The whitewater passed over her, and it felt like forever that she was underneath, but it was really only a few seconds.
When her head burst through the water, she heard a chorus of wolf whistles in the background and clapping.
“Way to go, Esme!” one of them shouted.
Suddenly, Demon was on her right in the water and holding onto his board, his grin huge. “Excellent job for your first time!” he praised.
“I fell off,” she sputtered. Her eyes, nose, and mouth were full of salty water, her hair in her face where it got ripped free of the knot she’d had it in to keep it back.
“Yeah, but the pop-up was awesome. Midas and TB probably won’t even make it into a standing position the first time.” He steadied her board so she could clamber back on it and paddle to shore to be out of Midas’ way, who was next.
He defied Demon’s prediction, managing to at least get his feet under him in a crouch, but as soon as he tried to stand, he fell off.
There was worry for a couple of seconds as the board seemed to flip over right on top of him, but apparently, he ended up deep enough that it didn’t touch him.
“Remember, dude! Hands over your head!” Demon reminded him.
Midas rolled onto the board, gave Demon an obscene finger gesture, and began to paddle into shore.
Cherry turned her eyes out to the waves where TB was getting ready for the next wave.
“What’s the bet?” she murmured.
“He’ll make it,” Midas said confidently.
“I bet lunch for a week with all that weight and height, he lasts three seconds,” Cherry said.
Midas laughed. “Oh, ye of little faith. I’ll take that bet. I say he makes it in one go.”
Demon chuckled. “You’re both wrong. He’s not even gonna pop up.”
Contrary to Demon’s opinion, TB did manage to pop up on the board. He also lasted more than three seconds. But the wipeout, Cherry had to admit, was epic. The best part? He screamed like a five-year-old girl as he went ass over tea kettle right into the impact zone.
“Sweet,” Midas commented. “That’s so going in the chat tonight.”