wrath of the Sea Queen (67 page)

"
I think we
a
re ready if you are, Vin,
"
Ben said.

"
Good.  Salma, could you please put the room keys in an envelope?  I
woul
d like you and C
a
eli to go out through the front as if you are going for a walk.  Drop the envelope in the night drop, but don't let anyone see you do it.  That way
,
they won't know we have left until tomorrow morning.  I
wi
ll put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on both doors when Ben and I leave.  We
wi
ll take the luggage rack and go out the exit on the far left toward the back of the building.  There is a dark blue van with no back windows parked close to the building. 
M
eet us there in
fif
t
e
en minutes.
"

The ladies left the room first.  When they reached the lobby, Salma stopped at the coffee pot where she and C
a
eli both filled large
, insulated
cups and placed lids on them.  Salma put several of the creamer cups and sugar packets in
the po
cket
of her raincoat
, along with a few stirring sticks.  Though C
a
eli did
n
o
t like coffee, she knew Vin did.  If they were going to be on the road again, after the long
, exhausting
day they
had
already endured,
Vin might
need something to help keep
him
awake.

Salma noticed that C
a
eli's hand
shook
as she lifted the coffee cup, though she quickly tried to hide it by holding the cup with both hands. 
The sign merely
cemented
Salma
's
resolve t
o examine
C
a
eli
once they reached the new location.
  Barraging her with questions right now would not accomplish anything except increasing her stress; heaven knows C
a
eli did not need that on top of everything else.

C
a
eli kept watch as Salma nonchalantly slipped the envelope containing the room keys into the overnight box.  She asked Salma to wait for her by the reception desk while she hurried down the hall to one of the restrooms.  She was only gone for about five minutes, though Salma could have sworn she saw C
a
eli leaving the pharmacy across from the restroom.  Salma dismissed it, thinking C
a
eli may have decided to get something to help settle her stomach. 
She would ask her about it later. 

They made their way out
of the lobby
without incident.  All was going well until they stepped outside
the front doors
and the forest of camera flash
es
attacked them in
flickering
bursts
from all sides
.

"
Dr. Erickson, what do you think about the protests?
"

"
Dr. Erickson, look this way!
"

"Who was your donor, Dr. Erickson?"

"
Dr. Erickson, will you
be
leav
ing
the conference?
"

Dozens of voices shouted questions at Salma.  She stood there, frozen, not knowing how to
respond to the mob of photographers and reporters surrounding the front entrance.

Vin waited five minutes before helping Ben to his feet.  He
easily
provid
ed
Ben with a little extra lift in his step.  They made it look as if
he
w
as
pushing the luggage cart and Vin was guiding it from the front.  In reality, Ben was merely walking along, using the cart for support, though he didn't really need it.  Vin's unseen support was more than sufficient. 

Ben
continued to be
fascinated by Vin's ability to control the
air
.  Although Vin
had
tried to explain it many times, Ben could
n
o
t grasp the nature of be
ing able to do such a thing.  It
defied
his
logical
understanding
.

They reached the exit and walked down the sidewalk to the waiting van.  Ben noticed that the security camera on this side of the building
had been
conveniently blocked by a leafy tree branch that
was jammed
in front of it.

"
I
wi
ll get th
e luggage
loaded into the back.  You go ahead and grab a seat.
"
  Vin loaded the
bags
and watched for C
a
eli and Salma.  When they still
hadn't
arrive
d
by the time he
'd
finished, Vin began to
pace in a
worr
ied state
. 
Finally, h
e went up front to talk to Ben, who was sitting inside on the bench seat with the side door open.  Vin leaned with his back against the van, hands resting halfway in the front pockets of his blue jeans.  The wind lightly played with his dark hair as he kicked the toe of his tennis shoe against the curb repeatedly.

"
Give them a few more minutes.  They might be stalling.  You
a
re already anxious
about C
a
eli
,
"
Ben suggested.

"
Ben, what do you
know?  I
'
m sure you
ha
ve noticed
,
"
Vin asked without preamble as he continued to watch the direction from which the ladies should be arriving.

Ben did not need to ask
for clarification
.  He knew exactly what Vin
meant
. 

"
Yes, I
ha
ve noticed.  All I can tell you
with certainty
is that she
wants
to talk to you, privately.
"

"That much, I know."

"
S
he
ha
s
been trying to
talk to you
all evening, but between your distraction
s
and her nerves, it
obviously
hasn't happened yet
.
"

"
Her nerves? 
Wh
y
would she be
nervous
to tell me
about anything
?  We share everything.
  What
exactly
have I missed
, Ben?
"

"
Even if I did have the answer you
seek
, it would
n
o
t be my place to reveal it. 
Try not to
think of her
as
being
nervous about what she has to say, but rather about how she wants to say it,
"
Ben
offered an alternate possibility
.

"
I
understand
, but that doesn't make me feel better
. 
In fact, it worries me
more
. 
I know she has wanted to talk to me, and I have not been completely available to her
for those brief moments when
she
has
actually
been
well enough to talk. 
That is going to change. 
I
wi
ll make
the
time.
"

"
Don't worry.  Whatever it is, I have no doubt that you two can handle it.
"

About that time, the rain started again, so Vin hopped inside the driver's seat to wait.

A hand fell on C
a
eli's shoulder and another on Salma's arm.  They were both pulled back in
side
the lobby.  It took a moment for their eyes to readjust to the dimmer lighting after the whirlwind exposure to all the flashbulbs.  When they could see again, they found two men standing in front of them.  Their backs were turned to the media mob out front as they stood, side by side, effectively blocking the ladies from the mob's view.
  Salma stood tall, confidently facing the men, while
C
a
eli leaned against a tall, brightly painted, concrete fountain for support
.  She rested one arm in the third tier collecting bowl conveniently at her elbow level and the other
,
the hand
holding Vin's coffee cup, rested
across her midsection.

C
a
eli immediately recognized
young Private Burks from their recent road trip.  She did not know the middle aged, white haired man
in matching
military attire. 
C
a
eli
assumed
he
was another member of Nathan's unit.  From his age, the scar on his eyebrow, and
his
air of authority
, she
also made the assumption
that
th
is was th
e colonel Nathan had mentioned
.