Chapter 5 Marcus
MARCUS
Pale morning light breaks through the canopy, signaling to every bird in the area to sing its morning song. Allegra’s camp is still as I stalk the perimeter, checking for prints or signs of disturbance.
There were no visitors last night. Or if there were, our encounter scared them away. Any hope I had of staying incognito disappeared with last night’s activities. If anyone is watching, they’ll know I’m here too.
But why would anyone be watching? Unless there’s something Allegra’s father isn’t telling me. As far as I’m aware, he hired me for general security. He wasn’t expecting trouble.
I pull the sensors out of the earth and wipe them off before stowing them in their pouch for tonight. The charge must be running low, and I make a mental note to pull out the solar battery pack when we break for camp later.
I’ve got my camp packed up and am quietly waiting by the time Allegra emerges from her tent. She stretches her arms above her head, making her sweater ride up and revealing a band of pale skin at the top of her leggings.
She yawns as she gets the gas stove going, unperturbed that it’s almost 0700 and we’re losing daylight.
But this is her hike, not mine.
Allegra left a hiking plan with her father, and I have a copy in my pack. It’s a long hike today, and I’m eager to get going. But instead I wait in the undergrowth, watching her pack up and not letting her see me until she’s ready to go.
She shoulders her pack and sets out along the trail. I count out ten feet before I fall into step behind her. She doesn’t acknowledge my presence or break her stride.
It’s easier going now that I don’t have to hide.
I keep my distance, watching her strong legs move and the easy way she carries all her gear.
She’s not a novice to the wilderness, and I wonder how many other hikes she’s done.
Although the new gear indicates this might be her first overnight, which is a hell of a thing to throw herself into.
Allegra doesn’t look back, although she must know I’m behind her. When the terrain allows, I drop back further. I don’t want her to accuse me of hovering.
I get why she’s pissed at her dad. I’d be too if I had a shadow following my every move.
Her father should have insisted on sending security with her if he was so concerned. I get the feeling she would have hated the idea, and so he decided to go incognito.
He could have paid for a research assistant or two. Other people on the team who would have justified security. But instead he hires me to follow her discreetly. Rich person’s logic.
I wonder how much of her stubborn independence is rebellion against her father, or if she really is driven by scientific enquiry.
The trail turns upward, and for an hour we’re scrambling over rocks. We come to a ridge with views over the valley, and Allegra slides her pack off and stretches her shoulders. It must be lunch break.
She doesn’t turn to me, and I choose a spot where a boulder between us gives the appearance of distance.
She pulls a food pouch out of her bag, and I do the same. We eat in silence, her pretending I’m not here and me keeping her always in my sight.
My phone pings, and I pull it out of my pocket. There’s one bar of signal, and messages from the last two days flood in.
Joel checks in and reminds me to get in touch if I need anything.
It was through Joel that I got the job. The man has contacts all over the place. Ralph contacted him looking for security in the area as the trail started on Wild Heart Mountain. Joel put him on to me, thinking rightly I’d be up for a job that’s more exciting than laying concrete.
My leg twinges, and I rub it absentmindedly.
A bullet caught the edge of a nerve, and it twinges occasionally, not that I’d ever admit that to anyone.
Like all the injuries I sustained during service, they’re my personal battle scars.
I got used to not telling the doctor about them, afraid they’d deem me too unfit to keep operating, which finally ended up being the case.
It’s easy to say something doesn’t hurt, but high blood pressure is harder to fake.
It’s not unusual for guys to have elevated blood pressure after the shit we go through.
That, combined with the bullet wounds and the shoulder injury, had me unfit for Teams. It’s a hard truth, but to be an elite operator, you have to be operating at your highest. I hate that I was honorably discharged, but I understand it.
There’s a missed call from my sister.
I glance over at Allegra, and she’s leaning on her pack with her eyes closed, not going anywhere anytime soon.
It will be 0600 hours in Kaitaia. But Keely’s a farmer. She’ll be up. I put in the call, and it rings for a long time before she answers.
“Hey bro, I thought you’d gone off grid again.”
“I’ve got a patch of signal. What’s up, sis?”
Allegra’s eyes snap open at the sound of my voice, then narrow when she sees me on my phone. I wiggle my fingers at her.
She scowls and closes her eyes again.
“Have you thought about my offer?” Keely asks.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. Keely wants me to come back to New Zealand and run the farm with her. It’s a good offer, a second career now that my SEAL days are over. My ribs grow tight when I think about the end of my SEAL days.
“Still thinking about it,” I tell her.
“I’d hate to have to sell this place,” she says quietly. “It’s our land.”
“I know, sis.” My hand clutches the pounamu, and I feel the weight of my father and his father who wore it before him. I’ve lived in the States since I was fourteen years old, but the pull of the ancestral land still tempts me.
“Don’t you think it’s time to come back to your roots?”
“Fuck, Keels, you sound like Grandpa.”
She laughs a throaty laugh. “I feel more like Grandpa every day. Farming isn’t for the weak. I’ve got aches and pains like I never had before. I could use a strong man about the place.”
“Can’t find one to marry you?”
Keely laughs. “Not in this town. There’s only one set of teeth between them.”
I chuckle, which elicits a frown from Allegra. She’s trying to ignore me, but I can tell by the tension in her neck that she’s listening.
“Look,” Keely says. “I know you loved being a SEAL, but have you thought about what you’ll do now that it’s over? Maybe it’s time to come back home, do something quiet.”
I lean my back against the boulder and stare up at the sky. Perhaps she’s right. It is time to do something new. And farming avocados is a lot less stressful than being a SEAL. It would bring my blood pressure down. Not that I’ve told Keely about my health issues.
“Maybe,” I say noncommittally. “Or maybe you should stop being so picky. Teeth are over-rated.”
She laughs and I join in, all the while keeping my gaze on Allegra sitting stiffly against her pack. Without looking at me, she stands up and shoulders her pack.
“I got to go. Don’t feel too bad that you can’t find a man. All the good ones leave.”
“Go fuck yourself.”
I grin. “Love you too.”
She hangs up, and I slide the phone into my pocket. I can joke with Keely because I have no doubt she’s perfectly capable of looking after herself. If she hasn’t settled down with anyone yet, it’s because she hasn’t found anyone who meets her high standards.
I’ll look into farmhands for her when I get back to civilization.
I’m still in touch with the community, and I tightened the bonds when I was back for Dad’s tangi.
Keely’s too proud to ask for help, but I’m not.
I’ll see if there’s some grunt who can help her out while I decide what the fuck I’m doing with my life.
Being a SEAL is all about your team. You should never have to do life on your own.
When I glance up, Allegra’s on the move. I pack up my gear and fall into step exactly ten feet behind.
My senses remain alert as we walk. Surrounded by fresh air, with a gun in my pocket and a hint of danger, I can almost imagine I’m back with the Teams, doing what I love. Almost.
A few hours later, and we reconnect with the stream. It’s wider here, and the water flows along in an angry current.
Allegra stops by the bank and slides her pack off.
I observed her from a distance yesterday, going through her precise routine, and today I keep a little closer, crouching at the edge of the tree line out of sight as she gets her sample pack out.
She pulls out her camcorder and records a piece to the camera.
She doesn’t bother to redo her hair, which has come out of its plait and is waving about in loose strands.
I smile to myself, thinking she looks like a stereotype of a mad scientist with her hair waving everywhere. A very pretty mad scientist.
She’s meticulous in her work, checking her GPS coordinates and recording everything in her logbook. She’s so engrossed in what she’s doing that for the first time today she seems truly relaxed, as if she’s forgotten I’m here. I crouch in the shadows, not wanting to break the spell.
She puts on her gloves and selects a beaker, and without stopping to change her footwear, wades into the stream.
I stand up and watch her. The rocks are slick with water, and the current tugs around her legs.
She bends down to take a sample, her jaw set in determination.
I’m not sure what she’s collecting or why; her father didn’t brief me on those details, but she takes it seriously.
It makes me wonder if there’s more to Allegra Simpson than a rich girl playing at scientist. She seems to know exactly what she’s looking for.
She lifts up her vial of water and frowns. Her gaze goes to another part of the river, and she steps onto a rock to reach it. But the rock is slick with water, and her boot slips. Her arm jerks out for balance, and her other foot splashes into the water.
I move on instinct, crashing through the water to reach her.
I catch her elbow and steady her before she goes down.
Her weight leans against me for a moment, and I catch her scent of chamomile and fresh air.
I’m back in the forest two nights ago with her body under mine.
Awareness flares in my veins, and heat jolts through me.
My hand lingers on hers, not wanting to let her go.
She glares at me and jerks her elbow out of my hand.
“I’m fine,” she grits out.
Her body shakes, and her leggings are soaked from the near fall. But she’s too damn proud to show me any weakness.
I hold my hands up, aware that I’ve broken one of her rules, and retreat the required distance. Back to my position, watching her from the shadows. Aware of the silent barrier she’s set between us.