Cuban Sun (12 page)

All at once, Sofia pitched forward smacking her shoulder on the deck with the sudden release of pressure. To avoid making eye contact with Quint she looked at her arm, scarlet welts rippled out from the epicenter of pain on her bicep. She jumped up and stared, too enraged to speak.

Quint spoke quite calmly but the blazing look was still in his eyes. “You need to take this seriously. You may really need it.” His statement startled Sofia into speaking.

“Don’t you think I know that? How can you say that to me after what h-happened the other day?” She was mortified to hear her voice tremble. With anger? Fear?

Now his voice matched hers. “No you weren’t! What the hell was that pathetic little tug? What was that going to do? You wasted the only moment you had to escape.” His voice pitched dangerously low. “Do you have any idea what I could have done to you in that position?”

She did, all too well. She once again felt the man’s white coated tongue leaving a trail of slime on her face. Sofia ran to the rail and wretched at the memory. When most of her stomach contents drifted in Biscayne Bay, she leaned against the glass railing and closed her eyes waiting for the humiliation to subside enough to face Quint. She felt warm hands, gentle this time, on her shoulders. “I’m sorry, Sofia. I’m so, unbelievably sorry.” The hands turned her around and she faced Quint, rage drained from his face replaced with only an imploring urgency. “Of course you know the dangers. You’ve already experienced some of them. I shouldn’t have-”

Sofia shook her head. “No, you shouldn’t have, but you’re still right.” She was grateful that her voice sounded steady and calm. “I don’t know everything that can happen, how could I? But, I shouldn’t have made light, I know you’re just trying to help keep me safe.”

He nodded and touched her bruise now in full bloom, and his color drained further. “I’m so sorry.”

She slapped his hand away, suddenly angry at his apology. “Would you have done differently if I were a man?” He opened and closed his mouth but no words came out. “Well?” she challenged. He shook his head very slightly. “Then how can you say that to me? You hypocrite. You say that I need to know what can really happen but then apologize for showing me. You can’t have it both ways. You either teach me or you don’t. If you do, it has to be real.
They
won’t be worried about bruises will they?”

Quint recovered and nodded. He squared his stance and said “You could always rise to a challenge Sofia. Ok then, let’s start again.” After two hours of holds, locks, breaks, and pivots Sofia was exhausted and dripping. Her walnut hair had long since escaped the wholly inadequate rubber band and now clung to her face and neck in wet, dripping clumps. Quint discarded his shirt, now soaked, for their last bout.

“Ok, this time we’re going to put everything together. I will not warn you about what I’ll-“, then he leapt. Sofia couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. His right hand closed on her windpipe, his left wrenched her arm as it did before. Sofia threw her body weight backward sending them both crashing back onto the deck. She heard a thud and a loud “Ooof!” as Quint’s breath was knocked out of him. She scrambled up onto her knees, spots still dancing in front of her eyes while her lungs frantically pumped oxygen to her brain. The spots grew bigger as a hard, tense force came from behind around her neck. Instantly she pivoted and sank her teeth into the taut skin, tasting slick salt and metallic wetness. He grunted and she ducked beneath his arm. Quint, recovering, knocked her onto her back with a knee. He landed heavily on top of her, pinning her shoulders to the sun scorched deck. She writhed beneath him to escape the burning deck with a deep, instinctive need to resist him. Quint leveraged more pressure which only increased her panic like a rabbit in a snare.

Amid the sensations assailing her body, Sofia became suddenly aware of a growing hardness on her thigh that only increased with her movements. Stunned, she ceased her struggles and looked at Quint, wide-eyed. He stopped his assault too, but continued to pin her. They were both very still. She noted the ring of gold around his emerald eyes, his heart beating strong against her chest and the tingling in her body that could not be wholly attributed to the struggle. He stared down at her, breath heavy and eyes locked, unable to release her. Slowly, her mouth closed the few centimeters separating them. Quint responded with a fervor that urged her back down to the deck. He moved slightly and her body arched to his.

“Quint! Sofia! What the hell are you guys still doing up here it’s been hours?” Joe’s voice snapped them out of the strange trance. Quint jolted upright whirling to face Joe.

“Sorry, we ended up doing more than I thought we would.”

Sofia was calmed to hear Quint’s voice so collected and some of her panic at being caught left her. Joe regarded the both of them with a narrowed eye.

“Right... looks like you were doing more than
anyone
expected. Sofia was extremely grateful for the heat of the day as it had flushed her cheeks to a lush red that hid her embarrassment. She got to her feet and retrieved her towel and water in order to avoid meeting Joe’s sharp eye.

“Joe, come on, you know what positions people get themselves into with this kind of sparring.” Quint replied in a jocular tone.

“All kinds of positions by the look of it.” Joe’s voice held an edge that normally wasn’t there.

Quint put a hand on the older man’s shoulder. “Joe, just stop. You could read anything into one image of sparring. You and I did the same kinds of blocking and escape. What if someone were to have walked in on us? They could have conjectured anything. Right?”

Joe nodded though his suspicion did not diminish. “Well anyway, Helena sent me up to say that you’ve missed lunch but she’s preparing an early dinner and you’ll want time to make yourself decent.” Sofia heard the emphasis on the word “decent” and mortification washed over her afresh. She couldn’t wait to be in her cabin, away from the accusing look Joe threw at her.

TWELVE

After a shower and changing for dinner, Sofia took a deep breath as she pushed open the cabin door. She winced from the pain in her biceps and fresh embarrassment flooded her. What must Joe and Helena think of her, not to mention Quint? The sound of raised voices grew as Sofia drew closer to the dining area. Just around the corner, she paused at the sound of Joe’s raised voice, his anger added barbs to his words.

“She’s done Quint. We can’t have this kind of thing going on in such a high stakes situation. She goes back tomorrow.”

Disbelief enveloped Quint’s words, “Joe, first, the whole thing was my fault and it won’t happen again. I shouldn’t have…anyway, she isn’t to blame.”

“How can I know that? Yesterday I would have said that you were a focused professional. Now? I don’t know what the hell you’re doing and it’s because of her!”

“Weren’t you the one teasing me that I had some kind of crush on Sofia even before she arrived? Asking me if I had interest in her? You didn’t seem so concerned about it then!”

“That’s because I thought you could handle yourself. When it affects the project, the situation needs to change and I’m changing it!”

Sofia’s breath came fast and forceful. She covered her mouth to avoid being discovered only feet away.

A lighter lilt joined the two other voices, “Calm down please, both of you. Now, Quint, Joe’s right that we can’t let this chemistry between the two of you affect the project.” Sofia heard Joe grunt in satisfaction. Helena continued in a slightly sharper tone. “Nor can we fault either of them for acknowledging their feelings. If you will recall Joe, I believe you and I were guilty of that as well. So, I don’t believe Sofia should go home. She’s performed very well since she arrived here especially given that she has never done this kind of work or been involved in this kind of project before.”

Joe grunted, making his doubts clear.

“Joe, you know it’s true.”

“You may have a small point Helena. But, that does not mean I condone this kind of behavior. Quint, you will keep your relationship with Sofia strictly professional until we are done with this project. Understood?”

“Of course, Joe. I understand.”

Joe continued as if Quint had not spoken. “And if I even so much as get the slightest inkling that something is going on between you two, you are both out.”

Helena sighed. “Quint, can you go fetch Sofia? She’s probably dying from embarrassment and nerves thinking we’re going to fire her. Let her know she’s safe from the firing squad will you?”

Not wanting to be discovered eavesdropping, Sofia turned and tiptoed as fast as she could down the hallway and to the stairs. She went halfway down, the huge dose of adrenaline in her body nearly making her fall down the last few steps. She made a concerted effort to turn calmly and go back up the stairs slowly, one at a time. On the top step she met Quint who looked as though a war of emotion was being waged on his face but rearranged his expression promptly when he saw Sofia.

“Here you are.” Quint said in a surprisingly steady voice. “I was coming to get you for dinner. I knew you must be wondering whether to come up or not.”

Sofia nodded. “Is everything ok? I was a bit worried.”

He looked at Sofia closely and said, “Ah, you heard.”

Damn him
, she thought.
How does he do that
? Sofia didn’t deny it. “I didn’t mean to put your job at risk Quint, or mine. I’m unbelievably embarrassed.”

“Look, I’m just as guilty. Let’s just put it behind us and move on with the job. As Homer has it, “We will let this be a thing of the past.” He gestured for Sofia to walk ahead of him.

Sofia passed him and felt better for the quote but also saddened. Did Quint mean that they were going to put the whole event behind them in order to complete the job? Or, she feared, did he mean to put their kiss behind them as though it had never happened, and worse, would never happen again? Sofia opened her mouth and shut it again, not knowing how to put the question into words. How could she ask such a thing without seeming juvenile? A few steps later Quint and Sofia arrived into the dining room. Sofia glanced up at Helena and Joe, and greeted them. Helena’s eyes held a kind sympathy and she returned Sofia’s greeting and motioned for her to sit. Joe’s expression on the other hand, remained hard, though the cutting edge of his scorn had dulled. Sofia couldn’t help but thinking.
He is so easy to read. He would never have survived in my family
. Some people had a natural talent for hiding their true thoughts. Some, like Sofia had to acquire the skill for survival and still others couldn’t completely hide strong emotion no matter what they did. She suspected Joe fell into the last category which seemed strange given his past in career activities.

Joe brought her out of her thoughts. “Tomorrow we’ll reach Havana in the late afternoon. We’ll need to stay off shore for the night and can put into the harbor the following day.”

“Are there not enough port staff to allow us in tomorrow night?” asked Sofia.

Helena joined the conversation. “There are, but we want to give the impression that we are taking our time, which is why we’ve taken the less direct route down. We don’t want to seem too eager or aggressive.”

Sofia nodded, seeing the wisdom in this approach. Sofia added, “It may give us time to map out the rest of the residence and get a feel for the mood of the city.” Then she paused, remembering. “Oh, wait. I forgot that you’ve already done that Joe.”

Quint’s head snapped up and Helena knitted her brows as she looked at Joe.

Quint spoke to Joe, “You have?”

Joe shrugged. “Just what we’ve already done. I’ve met Castro and some of his handlers but have always been restricted to the communal and patio areas.”

Unfortunately, Quint picked up on Sofia’s confusion and asked, “What did you mean by that Sofia?”

Well, hell
she thought. Obviously, she had seen more than she was supposed to and had definitely seen more than Joe wanted Quint and Helena to know about. But why? Was he just eager to get on with the job? It was likely that he just did more work and had not let them know. On the other hand, something about his manner, the way he kept passing his hand over the table gave Sofia pause. Was he deliberately not telling them? She hesitated, she didn’t want to upset Joe and lose her job but she damn well wasn’t going to lie either. With his talent for reading her mind, Quint would likely know if she were. “Well, my first morning on board I ran into Joe coming out of the engine room and then after the attack I tried to locate you on the laptops inside. I found several active surveillance cameras inside the main residence, and in some more remote locations. She paused and continued choosing a diplomatic approach. “Perhaps I’ve made an assumption.” She knew that she had made an assumption and that she was right. The swish of Joe’s hand across the table before speaking confirmed it. Joe cleared his throat.

“Smart woman. Yes, there are other cameras. I would prefer that I had the opportunity to tell you in a
prope
r setting, but I have been successful in planting cameras in several areas. I accomplished this on our last visit while you two.” Here he nodded at Helena and Quint, “while you two were engaged in discussions with the Finance Minister.”

Helena shook her head. “But why not tell us then?”

Joe took her hand and glanced between Helena and Quint assiduously avoiding Sofia’s gaze. “I apologize sincerely my Desert Rose. To you and Quint. I should have, but with all the drama over the Caracciola and the effort of getting Sofia on board, it completely escaped me.”

Quint leaned forward, arms on the table. “So why not tell us during the last couple of days? It sounds like you’ve been monitoring the cameras and recording data?”

Sofia noted the hand sweep again, as if dislodging crumbs from the table.
This should be a good story,
Sofia thought. She now came to recognize this motion as a deceptive technique and wondered that trained operatives like Quint and Helena did not pick up on it.