SHADOW WORLD - THE TALE BEGINS

As the rains stops and the race begins, Jess watches on the monitor from Michaels pit box as the race progresses. Over and over she saw Michael make the laps and over and over she held her breath more times than she could count. She didn’t like him being out on the track right now. He was too vulnerable. And she wasn’t there to help watch his six. To say the least, it was nerve racking.

As the laps ticked off, Jess watched the monitor and glanced around. She didn’t like this one bit and the sooner Michael was off the track and away from uncontrollable crowds, the better she would feel. But until then, she was ever on guard for what might be lurking around the next turn on the track or who ever might be stalking them in the crowd.

The last three laps were coming up quickly and Michael had fought his way into third position. The other two cars in front of him were fast, but Harry told Michael he was faster than the cars in front of him. As Michael pulled out of his pit for the last time under a caution flag, Jess could hear Harry coaching his driver.


“Alright now listen, when they reach that first turn the guy in front of you is gonna try and close the door on the inside of ya. Let him think you’re going for that inside groove and when he shuts the door, whip out and pass him on the outside. It’s tricky, but if anyone has the balls to do it kid, it’s you. Make sure, though, you leave plenty of room so he can’t get his tire hooked into yours and spin you both out like he did in that last race where he took out Roberto. I don’t want you to end up like a vegetable so as hard as this may be for you, practice patience son. Patience.”

Jess couldn’t help but smile to herself. Michael was never a patient person when it came to fast cars and beautiful women. It was his flaw and his trademark at the same time. But she knew Michael was daring enough to pull that move off. She just hoped he could do it as flawlessly as Harry had told him to do it.

Only one way to find out. As the cars lined up for a restart, Jess watched them all ride by slowly in anticipation of the green flag dropping. The smell of rubber burning, alcohol fuel exhaust and saltiness filled the air. As the green flag dropped, Jess watched the monitor and felt her whole body tense up in anticipation of Michael making that move on the turn like Harry told him to.

As the pit crew


surround the car, Michael sits concentrating, the hydraulic jack drop the car down, Harry taps Michaels helmet and with tires screaming, Michael is back out on the couse, falling into his third position behind the pace car.

As the pace car slips down onto pit road and the cross the start finish with the green flag waving, Michael stomps of the accelerator and screams down the straight towards turn 1 at 275 Kp/h passing Kubica and downshifting to 2nd gear and 115 Kp/h thru turn 1



slipping up right behind the race leader Vettel, who was still going hell bent for leather. “Now Harry you know I am a very patient person.” Michael said over the radio as they entered Beau Rivage in 6th gear at 253 Kp/h. They scream through Turn2, almost literally nose cone to spoiler at 265 Kp/h, flying out of the turn at 270 Kp/h. Michael is not going to give an inch in his pursuit as he downshifts to 4th and drops to 158 Kp/h through Massenet. Then around turn 4 downshifting to 3rd and 126 Kp/h through Casino. Up shifting to 5th and 205 Kp/h into Mirabeau, down the short straight to first and the hairpin curve of turn 5 downshifting to 1st and 79 Kp/h into the hairpin of turn 6 at 47 Kp/h. He then upshifts to 2nd and 81 Kp/h through Portier. Stomping once again on the accelerator as he enters the tunnel, up shifts to 7th and flies out of the tunnel at 295 Kp/h in 7th gear.

Vettel seems to be matching Michael’s every move, as it appears to the spectators that the must be racing on a single rail. They both downshift and take the turn at Tabac in 4th at 161 Kp/h ..... into Piscane in 6th gear at 210 Kp/h ...... downshifting to 2nd and 95 kp/h through the right/left of 15&16, then up shifting to 4th and 195 into La Rascasse down shifting rapidly to 1st through the hairpin of La Rascasse accelerating to 95 kp?h through the infamous Anthony Noghes turn 19 at 100 Kp/h and out onto the straight away. It if there Michael makes his move. He stands on the accelerator, fakes left, then slips right and slingshots past Vettel, crossing the start finish at 299.5 Kp/h in 7th gear towards turn 1. .............. as he approaches turn 1 he down shits to 1st gear and slows to 115.5 Kp/h a full 3 seconds ahead of Vettel. “Two more laps, Michael, don’t let up son.” Harry says over the communications link. “Vettel is biting on your ass and you damn well better not break my car.”
“Ah come on Harry “ Michael said I ain’t broke a car in at least a month.” Michael does not let up as he continues to stretch his lead over Vettel, crossing the finish line and takes the chequered flag with the order staying the same behind him.
He takes the applauds of the fans on his slow-down lap a great race.
Michael is handed his Bridgestone hat and more importantly, the winner's trophy by Jackie Stewart and the Prince of Monaco.
Vettel and Kubica are given their trophies too and the national anthem of The United States rings out across Monte Carlo, The Principality of Monaco.
Michael gets his hands on the champagne and heads straight to his team to celebrate.
We have two weeks time before the Turkish Grand Prix.

Jess couldn’t help but hold her breath as she watched the last three lap pass by. Time seemed to slow to a crawl and all she could think was that Michael had best better come out unscathed or else she’d make sure he stayed extra long in the hospital. With the last lap being the hardest run lap for all three drivers, Jess was never so damn glad to see that checkered flag wave in all her life. Now all she had to do was hope Michael didn’t take an extra long time in his celebrations with his team.

Yeah. Right.

As the National Anthem finished up, Michael began his celebration with his crew in earnest. Champagne, soda, water and whatever other beverage people could get their hands on was thrown around the area freely. Hoping she could avoid all that, Jess tried to duck off to the far side of the victory box but Harry would have no such thing. Grabbing a hold of her and pulling her right into the middle of it all, he smiled broadly.

“Don’t think you’re getting’ away scot free, Jenn. That boy woulda never made it here if you hadn’ta kept him on track and made sure he was where he was supposed t’be. This is just as much your celebration as it is ours, girl. Here…have a drink of champagne. It’s good for your heart. Or is that wine? Ah….don’t make no never mind. Just enjoy the drink!”

Jess didn’t like any attention drawn to her, especially right now, but what was she to do? If she acted any differently than all the other times she was in victory lane with Michael, it would draw suspicion and she didn’t want to draw anything to her or Michael right now. So with a bright smile on her face, she took the Champagne bottle and took a swig before handing it back to Harry. The next thing she knew she was being pulled by each crew member into a bear like hug and eventually by Michael himself. As they hugged, Jess passed on one brief message she knew he would understand.

”Reassignments for the others.”

When they finally pulled away from each other, still wearing that bright smile, they once more shared that look between them that spoke volumes. Before she knew it, she was thrust into the whole celebratory festivities and like being caught up in a whirlwind, there was nothing she could do. For the next few hours, Jess, along with Michael and his crew, enjoyed the afterglow of his victory on the race track. Finally, as the festivities began to settle down and all the interviews to the different media outlets was given, things began to return to normal and the crowd was all but gone. Even the crew began to drift away and get things cleaned up to be hauled back to the race shop for preparations for the next race.

The sun was almost set when they started walking back towards Michael’s hauler. Jess’ eyes were scanning everywhere at the same time. Looking around and not seeing anyone in ear shot, she finally spoke to Michael quietly as they hurried along.

”I don’t think we’ll be heading to England, Michael. We need to lay low. At least until we can figure out what the hell is going on. And the longer we stay out in the open, the more of a target we make ourselves. I don’t suppose you’ve got any friends we can call on do you?”

Michael hugged Harry tightly, then poured a bottle of champagne over Harry's head. He then grabbed a bottle of gatorade, raised it in the air and said loudly. "GENTELMEN ...... YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!!!! ....... First I want to thank each of you for a job well done. None of this would be possible without your dedication and hard work. Everyone is to take a week off, with pay of course, then it is time to get back to work. For now, enjoy yourselves, tomorrow get everything on the transports for Turkey. I'll see you in Istanbul in two weeks. Again thank you for a job well done." Michael, then walked to his dressing room, showered and changed clothes. When he came back out the crew were busy packing as he walked over to Jessie and they walked quickly to the bus

.

Michael unlocked it and they climbed up the steps and into the salon. When Jessie asked if he had any friends he could call on, he just smiled. "Well we could fly up to the my family's Villa,



on Isle de Porquerolies,



off coast of southern France. My mother would be most pleased if we did. I am sure she watched the race." Michael said as his expression softened upon reflection. "This is the first Monte Carlo race that she has not been here to watch ....... At ninety-one the trip is just too hard for her."

Jess furrowed her brows.

”Not exactly what I had in mind when I said ‘lay low’ Michael. But….it might be a place we can regroup and try to figure out what’s happening. I don’t particularly like how things are going down. And with the security the villa offers, it might just be what we need to keep us from being open targets.”

Seeing the look on his face at the mention of his mother, Jess couldn’t help but give him a soft smile.

”Besides….I’d love to see your mother again. And I know she’d love to congratulate her son in person. So lets head on over that way. I need to go back to the hotel and retrieve my things then I’ll meet you outside when you come to pick me up.”

She turned to walk back down the steps to the bus then stopped and looked over at him with another small smile.

”Good job today. I knew you and Harry would bring that trophy home.”

Walking down the steps, she slipped out of the bus, glanced around then headed through the all but deserted parking lot. As she made her way towards the place she left her car parked, she noticed there was another vehicle parked close to it. It was a large SUV with blacked out windows and she knew that meant only one thing.

Taking a deep breath and continuing on, she pulled the key to her car out of her pocket and held it between her index and middle finger of her left hand. When she approached her car, she looked down at the lock and just as she was looking like she was putting her key into the lock, the doors to the SUV opened up and four men got out. Instantly they were on the offensive.

The first one came at her with a knife and she side stepped the swipe then made a downward jab with her left hand. The key to her car was buried in the mans neck and blood spurted from his corroded artery, spraying her in the process. As that man slumped over, she quickly grabbed him and backed up against the SUV and placed him before her as the driver pulled out a pistol with a suppressor on it. The bullets hit his dead friend instead of Jess.

As the driver shot the dead man Jess used as a shield, she pulled the gun from dead mans belt holster and fired off three shots on the driver. Two hits to the chest and one to the head. As the third man came around the rear of the SUV Jess dropped to the ground letting go of dead man and rolling under the vehicle. She fired one shot at the third man striking his ankle and when he fell she fired a shot into his head as well.

That left man number four. She looked around for him but she couldn’t see him anywhere. Slowly she rolled beneath the vehicle and did a quick check on the passenger side of the vehicle. No sign was found so she quickly rolled out from under the vehicle and jumped up onto the running boards. Tucking the gun int the waist of her pants at the small of her back, she reached up and used the luggage rack to help pull her up onto the SUV’s roof.

She’d no sooner gotten herself pulled up onto the roof when she heard the gun fire. Quickly reaching behind her, she pulled the gun from her jeans and got to her feet firing off two shots. One hit the man in the shoulder but the other caused his head to explode like a melon. Quickly assessing the area once more to make sure there were no more threats, she laid down on the roof, reached down and opened the drivers door then leaned over and peered inside as she stuck the barrel of her gun inside.

Quickly swinging into the drivers seat, she turned the key and fired the engine then pulled the gear shift into drive and hit the gas. As she drove away she pulled the phone from her jacket and dialed Michael’s number. As soon as she heard his voice, she spoke up.

”Get out of there now Michael. You and I both are the targets. I’ll be around to get you in five minutes. I won’t be stopping so be ready.”

Hitting the End button on her phone, she turned the SUV towards the gated area the drivers busses sat. The guard tried to make her stop but she didn’t even slow down. Crashing through the gate, she hurried towards Michael’s bus. Things had just gone from bad to worse.

“Thank you Jessie, I really do have a great crew and Harry ..... Well Harry is the best, a bit of a mother hen sometimes, but still the best. He has taught me a lot and was one of the world’s best drivers in his day ” Michael said “He worries a little too much sometimes though. Guess he hates loosing almost as much as I do.”

When Jessie had agreed to Michael’s idea of gong to the villa, he was relieved. Michael did not like the way things were going either. The reassignments and change in the planned operation, was troubling and could only mean one thing, someone close to them had been compromised or worse flipped. If there was one person on the team Michael trusted unconditionally, if one in the espionage business could indeed totally trust anyone, it was Jessica Bishop. “Good .... Mama will be glad to see you again to.” he didn‘t add that Mama Degarrio thought of Jessica as the daughter she never had. “I’ll call the airport and have Charlie get the Bell 4312 fueled and warmed up, I’ll call Harry from the Villa.” As Jessica stepped off the bus, Michael picked up the SEC25, secure phone, and dialed the airfield and spoke with Charlie, he then called the villa’s secure line to inform the security staff of their estimated arrival time. Just as he hung up the SEC25, his cell phone began to vibrate and chatter. He reached in his jacket, lying on the couch, and took the phone out of its inside pocket. “Th.....” Michael began and was immediately cut short .... ”Get out of there now Michael. You and I both are the targets. I’ll be around to get you in five minutes. I won’t be stopping so be ready.” Jessica’s voice said and the phone went silent.

Michael tossed the cell phone his jacket that was lying on the couch, stepped quickly to the master bedroom of the bus. There he grabbed his shoulder holster and deftly slipped it on, opened the closet door and grabbed a “bug out bag” he always kept packed turned and stepped quickly back into the salon. There he wrote a typed quick note, on the bus’s computer and sent it to Frank‘s , who drove the bus, cell phone and told him to take to the bus to the transports, and that he was staying in Monte Carlo for another couple of days and would be flying out. He then slipped on his jack, placing the cell phone in the jacket’s inside pocket. It was then that Michael heard the sound of a crashing gate and squealing tires, slipped one of the S&W 40 calibers out of the shoulder holster, holding it with one hand with the barrel pointed up, and stepped off the bus. As a speeding black Ford Expedition approached, there was the distinctive chatter of an AK47 and bullets against metal and asphalt. Michael dove to the ground, rolled and jumped to his feet, like a parachutist hitting the ground, and ran towards the SUV. Jessica slammed on the brakes and turned the wheels, causing the SUV to slide and spin around, just as it reached Michael’s location. He jumped on the running board, grabbing the luggage rack rail with one hand and began returning fire, as Jessica sped back towards the destroyed security gate. The chatter of the AK47’s and bullets striking metal filled the air again as Michael fired six rounds, two rounds each hitting each of the assassins in the chest and the third round hitting each in the head. Michael looked around hurriedly, holstered his weapon, reached down and opened the front passenger’s door, grabbing the top of the door and swung in. Pulling the door closed, with a slight wince, he looked at Jessica and said “Well, you still know how to show a guy a good time, Jess.”

Always with the joking. If she had the chance she would have punched him right in the arm as hard as she could.

”Yeah, well, those air headed bimbos you hang around with all the time are too boring for you so SOMEONE has to.”

It was obvious now, after the attack on Michael, a whole team had been sent to take them out and that meant they had to be cautious of everyone they came in contact with. And that meant she’d have to leave her bags at the hotel and pick them up later. Oh well. They were well hidden so they wouldn’t be disturbed and even they were found no one would be able to trace them to anyone.

As Jess drove the SUV for all it would give her, she rushed through the parking lot just as she was seeing two more SUV’s rush in. Letting a slew of curses rush past her lips in Israeli, she began taking evasive maneuvers to avoid the oncoming vehicles that were now in a deadly game of chicken with her and Michael.

”Look in the back and see if they have anything worth using in the cargo area. I can’t imagine these guys would show up without something worthwhile tucked back there.”

There were precious few moments for Michael to find out what, if anything was back there but Jess knew if there was anything worthwhile, Michael would make damn good use out of it.

Michael, flipped the center console down, looked between the split front seat and into the rear seat, let out a soft, slow, long whistle and said calmly in his mock radio DJ voice ........ “And the hits keep coming.”. There in the back of the SUV was a bomb. The bomb was made up a pair of five gallon gas cans, three propane tanks, two clocks, M-88 fire crackers, and six bags of explosive ammonia nitrate fertilizer. He tuned back around and looked at Jessie ...... "Well the hardest part of playing chicken is knowing when to jump." He then pulled out his pistol, then unbuckeled his belt, slid it off and said "Turn this sucker around, lets see if these guys have any balls, we jump on three." Michael then aimed his 40 caliber semi automatic at f the M-88 firecrackers.

Jess had no idea what Michael had found nor did she WANT to know. Whatever it was, it was bad enough he didn’t want to have any real part to do with it. Unbuckling her seat belt, she headed for the SUV’s coming at her. Keeping the wheel steady, she never took her eyes off the targets. As they grew closer, she heard Michael counting down.

“Three…..Two…..ONE!”

At the very last second, Jess threw her door open and time stood still. What took only a few seconds in reality seemed to play out in slow motion like something from an action movie. She jumped out onto the hard pavement of the parking lot. Tucking herself as best she could to minimize the damage of the jump to her body, she rolled violently across the pavement and finally stopped. Her hands covered her head and she curled into a little ball as she waited for the impact of the vehicles.

What she didn’t expect was the sound of an explosion and the shock wave of that explosion to rock her body to the core. She was dazed, confused and her ears wouldn’t stop ringing. She felt a hot white pain shoot through her left arm as she blinked and tried to figure out where she was.

All around her was a debris field and pieces of vehicles littered the pavement. Slowly getting up off the pavement, she staggered slightly as she got to her feet and looked around. Her face was smudges with something black on her chin and she had a scrape on her forehead towards the right side.

Looking around she saw a body lying on the pavement across the way from her and she whispered Michael’s name as she ran over to it. When Jess finally reached him he was just coming around himself. He had a nasty cut on his right arm and like her, he had some scrapes and dirt smudged all over his face.

”Michael….come on….let’s go. We have to get the hell out of here now.”

How the hell they were going to get out of there still had to be worked out but they couldn’t stick around and wait for the rest to show up. They’d be sitting ducks now. If they could just make it away from the track, things would be better for them.

Michael, had kept his weapon trained on the M-88 firecrakers, while watching Jessie from the corner of his eye, as she counted down "Three - Two - One, opened her door and lept out. He reached across with his free hand and steadied the wheel for two more counts, released the wheel and fired his weapon as he too leaped from the speeding vehicle. His mind seemed to replay the horrible crash in Brazil, as the SUV exploded and he hit the ground,and rolled, as intense heat rolled over him like a tidal wave. .........The next thing he knew he could hear Jessie's voice calling his name. She sounded like she was down a deep well calling to him. As he opened his eyes the world spun as her voice became more distinct. ....... She was saying ”Michael …. Michael….come on….let’s go. ..... come on….let’s go. We have to get the hell out of here now.”
As he got to his feet shakely, he grabbed her arm and they began to run. They ran down between two buildings, turned right and across a narrow street, around a corner and into an alley. Stopping briefly to collect their thoughts, Michael asked "What do you say we don't do that again real soon. ..... You hurt?" He looked at he dirt smudged face, as he gentely pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and tenderly traced his finger over the scrape on her forehead. Michael then saw that the sleave of her jacket was partially burn away and her arm was the color of a deep sunburn, just below the sleave of her navy blue Degarrio Racing T-Shirt.

"Well you look to be all in one piece." he said Then looked around as they ducked behind a stack of wooden fruit crates. "Wait right here." Michael said as he stood and opened the back door of a small resturant, stepped inside and came back out a moment latter with two dish towels, one was wet and the other dry. He knelt down and took the wet one and began to gentley wipe the smudges from her face.

As they made their way between the buildings and across the narrow ally, Jess was constantly looking over her shoulder. It wouldn’t be long before the local authorities showed up and they had to be well on their way out of the area by then. Already she could hear the sirens in the distance but she also knew they had a little bit of time. When they finally stopped and collected their thoughts, Jess was still rather stunned and moving on instinct and training alone right now. Just like Michael.

When they ducked behind the crate of fruit, Jess closed her eyes and breathed deeply trying to calm herself. When she heard Michael’s muffled voice, she opened her eyes and gave him an odd look. Was he for real? Was SHE hurt? Obviously he didn’t assess his own damage first. When he reached forward to move the hair form her face she moved her head back slightly then remembering it was Michael, she caught herself and looked down. She knew he understood where she was coming from and knew she was aware of who it was too.

When he emerged with the towels and started washing her face, Jess snatched the towel from his hand and quickly washed her face then handed it to him to do the same. As he washed his face, she tore a strip from the dry towel then carefully wrapped Michael’s arm where he’d been cut. As she tide the strip of cloth tight enough to stop most of the bleeding, she shook her head.

”Why are they targeting us, Michael? What the hell did we do? I don’t get it.”

As she finished she let her hands rest on his arm for a moment then looked up into his glazed eyes that were clearing with each second that passed.

”We’ll have to find a place to lay low until nightfall. If you still plan on going to the villa, we’ll have to enter by the water. They’ll be all over that place like a peel on a banana. And here I thought we were gonna be able to see some of the royal wedding. Oh well….weddings aren’t my thing anyway.”

She peered over the top of the fruit crates and looked around. Not too far away was a souvenir trailer that had been closed up and locked. Ducking back behind the crate, she thumbed in the direction of the trailer.

”First things first….we need to change clothes. There’s a vendor trailer right over there we can duck into and get what we need.”

Glancing all around, she looked back at him and nodded.

”Coast is clear. You ready to move?”

Michael, just smiled faintly as Jessica pulled away, then snatched the towel away. He understood completely her reaction, even though his actions were totally benign of emotion other than the concern for a fellow allie and agent. When she indicated that they should lay low until nightfall, Michael just nodded in agreement. Their minds must have been working in perfect synch as she gestured to to the vender trailer and said ”First things first….we need to change clothes. There’s a vendor trailer right over there we can duck into and get what we need.” . When she said the coast was clear, they both got up and walked quickly to the trailer. While Jessica watched, Michael reached in his jacket and removed a smal leather case, that resembles a key case. Opening the case he removed a set of lock picks and in a matter of seconds the padlock opened and Michael gestured for Jessica to climb in. He shut the dorr behind her and leaned against the trailer next to the door nonchalantly.

Jess didn’t waste time. As soon as she got inside, she unzipped her boots then shouldered out of her jacket and winced. Her arm burned like hell and it would need tending to soon but for now, all she could do was take the wet towel and wipe it off as best she could. Gritting her teeth, she wanted to yell at how tender the burn was but she had to keep things on the QT. Next was the t-shirt and jeans. Quickly pulling a long sleeved t-shirt out of the box, she hoisted it onto her body then grabbed a pair of sweat pants and pulled them onto her legs, settling them on her waist. Last but not least, a ball cap. Reaching back and twisting her hair then pulling it up onto her head, she stuck the cap on her head to hold her hair in place. Looking around some more she took a jacket, a couple of insulated beverage containers, a medium sized duffle bag, stuffed some more clothes into it for her and Michael both and grabbed a couple of bottles of water.

Once she was done, she knocked on the door twice, waited a second then knocked once. When she received the all clear signal from Michael, she stepped out of the trailer then kept watch for him likewise as he went inside and got a change of clothes. Like Michael, she leaned up against the trailer looking like she was supposed to be there all along. As the sirens grew closer, she knew there would be a gaggle of people all around and soon. Hopefully Michael would be able to hurry up and they could slip away quickly. Finally Michael emerged and Jess gave him a quick once over then smiled and nodded.

”Well, you look like one of those crazed race fans I see at the tracks all the time.

Her smile faded and she grew more serious.

”You OK? We need to get that arm sewed up before you lose too much blood. If we can get someplace out of the wide open, I can sew it up for you. Like I did before.”

She didn’t like to mention the last time she had to sew him up because she almost lost him during that mission but at least she was trying to get her mind working once more like it should be. Glancing over her shoulder, she looked back at him with a worried look on her face as the air filled with the sound of sirens and screeching tires.

”Exit stage right?”

Michael stepped down from the vendor’s trailer, after leaving two hundred dollars in cash on a box in the trailer. He was dressed in his torn, black jeans, tactical boots, a Harry Shawnacy T-Shirt, with a picture of Michael’s Crew Chief back in Harry’s racing days emblazoned on the front, a black Team Lotus jacket, Michael stepped down from the vendor’s trailer, after leaving two hundred dollars in cash on a box in the trailer. He was dressed in his torn, black jeans, tactical boots, a Harry Shawnacy T-Shirt, with a picture of Michael’s Crew Chief back in Harry’s racing days emblazoned on the front, a black Team Lotus jacket,Michael stepped down from the vendor’s trailer, after leaving two hundred dollars in cash on a box in the trailer. He was dressed in his torn, black jeans, tactical boots, a Harry Shawnacy T-Shirt, with a picture of Michael’s Crew Chief back in Harry’s racing days emblazoned on the front, a black Team Lotus jacket, with his holstered S&W M&P 40’s underneath, Dale Earnheart style sunglasses and a red Ferrari Racing ball cap, carrying a black BMW racing sports bag. “Well I have seen a few of those.” Michael said when Jessica commented that he looked like a crazed race fan. “At least I am not wearing checkered flag Bermuda shorts holding a Foster’s can in my hand.” He said as he closed the door to the trailer and relocked it. When she asked ”You OK? We need to get that arm sewed up before you lose too much blood. If we can get someplace out of the wide open, I can sew it up for you. Like I did before.” He replied “I’m good for now, you can do your fine embroidery once we get out on the water.” grinned then added, as the warble of sirens grew louder, stood on one leg the other bent and cocked as if to start running and his arms with elbows bent at his side, in his best Snaggel Tooth imitation “Sufferin’ succotash running all the way.”
Jessica and Michael stepped out of the alley and walked briskly away from the race site, down a narrow street made a right walked two block then made a left, Michael hail a taxi down and opened the rear passenger door, as Jessica climbed in he slid in next to her, setting the sports bag between them. “Le public s'arrime à Quai Jean-Charles Rey, s'il vous plaît.” ( Translation:The public docks at Quai Jean-Charles Rey, please).
“Comme vous voudrez monsieur.” the driver said as he drove off towards the docks. Twenty minutes later, after riding in silence, the arrived at the docks. Michael handed the driver a one hundred dollar bill.

“Je vous remercie monsieur, félicitations pour votre victoire monsieur Degarrio .... ne vous inquiétez pas, j'ai la mémoire courte lorsque les autorités savoir qui utilise mon taxi “ (Translation: Thank you sir , congratulations on your victory sir Degarrio .... do not worry I have a short memory when the authorities inquire who uses my taxi the driver said) said quietly then drove off.

Michael just stared at the retreating taxi, then he and Jessica began to walk quietly down the docks. There berthed between two sixty-five foot luxury yachts set a forty-four foot Formula off shore boat. “That one should do.” Michael said quietly as he looked around at the other yachts nearby, not seeing anyone, he set the sports bag on the rear seat, reached in his jacket, removed one of his pistols and stepped onto the boat. He tapped lightly on the cabin door, waited a few seconds, opened it and looked down the darkened companion way. Seeing no one, he looked around at Jessie. “Catch the bow line, then climb aboard.” he said at he untied the stern line, lifted the rear seat and switched the battery selector to both, and quietly lowered the rear seat. Michael then reached in his back pocket and withdrew the lock pick set, stepped to the helm turned on the engine compartment blowers and selected silent exhaust. As Jessica stepped on board Michael started the engines and slowly pulled away from the slip. Once they had cleared the harbour bouy, Michael tuned of the running lighs, the radar, GPS Navigation system and eased the three throttles full forward.

Jess was never so glad to be out and away from population so much as she was now. She finally had a moment she could breathe and recap the events that took place. AS Michael headed the boat for open water letting the boat glide along as fast as they dared, Jess sat looking all around them. Even in the sky. Until they reached the villa, and perhaps even after that, she’d not rest. She couldn’t. Her and Michael’s lives depended on her vigilance.

She glanced at Michael and saw the look on his face from the side. He was just as concerned and vigilant as she was and it brought some comfort to her knowing she wasn’t in this alone now. But what didn’t make sense to her was the call she received on the way to the race track. Her instructions had been specific but there was no way she could have carried them out.

How could they have asked her to do that? There was no indication Michael had flipped OR was any sort of threat to the company. So why? Or was it just to throw her off to what was really happening? Either way it troubled her greatly. Not only because she was ordered to so it but because she was ordered to do it to Michael of all people. Surely they had to know they were too close…….

That’s when it hit her. The realization of why this was happening hit her like a ton of bricks. Glancing at Michael again, she wondered if he’d figured it out as well. Looking away, she knew there was no way to hide the truth form him if he saw her right now. She had to get her act together and figure out what her next move was going to be.

Unfortunately, as she sat there thinking about all of it, she could only come to one conclusion: Leave Michael behind. If she left Michael, he’d at least have a better chance of surviving and reaching it to the safe house than if they stayed together. Besides, she might be able to use herself as a decoy and pull them off Michael’s trail giving him time to reach safety.

The only thing that troubled her about that was the plan itself; leaving Michael behind. She’d worked with him since they first came on board with the company and now because they’d grown TOO close for the company’s liking, they were both being targeted for termination. How screwed up was that? Two agents have learned to work with each other so well the company didn’t take kindly to it and were forcing them apart one way or another.

The more she thought of it the more ill it made her feel. She should have known better than to get close to anyone. It always, ALWAYS, ended the same way for her. Since she was a child that’s the way it had been for her. And it was the way it had to be now. And she wasn’t sure what hurt more. The fact the company had turned on her or the fact she was going to have to leave the only person she’ trusted and had grown close to in her adult life. While she wouldn’t admit it right now, in the back of her mind she knew it was the ladder of the two that hurt her more than anything.

She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t realize the boat was slowing until she looked up and saw Michael heading for an alcove that the entrance was barely visible from where they were. Obviously he’d been here before or else he wouldn’t have known it was there. AS the boat slowed to a crawl, he maneuvered the vessel between some jagged rocks and they found themselves in a quite location with no houses above them and he parked the boat in such a way that no one could see it.

Blinking, Jess moved so she could help guide the boat in and drop anchor. As Michael killed the engines, the sound of water gently lapping at the fiberglass sides was the only thing they could hear. Both of them were quick to do a visible sweep of the area and after a few tense moments they knew things were safe for the next little while.

Jess nodded then made her way down below as Michael prepared things up top. Rummaging around the boat she found a sewing kit, a clean towel and a first aid kit. Coming back up top, she watched as Michael finished up his tasks then she motioned for him to come sit on the rear seat.

”I won’t be able to numb it but that’s nothing new for you.”

As Michael finally made his way over and sat down removing his jacket and shirt, Jess prepared the needle by sterilizing it in alcohol then threaded it. Carefully untying and unwrapping the bandage on his arm, she wrapped the clean towel around his arm under the cut then poured some alcohol on the cut. AS Michael winced then grit his teeth, she looked over at him apologetically then she picked up the needle and thread and started closing the still seeping wound. To take his mind off what she was doing, she talked to him.

”So….I take it you’ve been here before. Let me guess….with that blond I saw you with a couple of years ago here. Am I right? Harry didn’t care for her. He said there was sailboat fuel between her ears. I have to say I agree with him on that one. But I understand why you go for those kind of women. No really… I do. They fit the mold. Oh you know what I mean. Have you seen a drive on your circuit with an ugly woman on his arm? I didn’t think so. Just don’t settle for a woman like that, Michael. Boring is fine but gold digging just won’t do. Besides, your mother would be highly upset if you came into her home toting something like that on your arm.”

She knew Michael didn’t really like to talk about this subject but she knew it was the one thing that would take his mind completely off the fact she was stitching his arm without a numbing agent. And it was working. She could see Michael look at her and she could see he was getting madder and madder at her. By the time she was done talking, she was done sewing his arm up and she swapped the arm in alcohol again, cleaning the blood off him before she wrapped the cut in clean bandages.

”There. All done. I kept the stitches small so you shouldn’t have a very large scar when it heals. They’ll need to be removed in about a week. And try not to use that arm TOO much less you rip them open and your find yourself in the same position.”

She could see the anger still in his eyes as she sat there for a moment looking at him then she broke contact and started gathering up the things she used to get him stitched up.

”I’ll take these back down and put them away.

Without looking at him, she made her way back down below to do just as she said she would.

Michael, eased the forty-four foot boat through the narrow passage, avoiding the rocky reefs the lay a few feet below the surface, placing the single inboard engine in neutral, he used the throttles for the outboard engines to swing the forty-four foot boat around within its own length. One in position, he pressed the anchor winch button to drop the bow anchor. Once the bow anchor had rested on the bottom, Michael placed the out board engines in reverse to set the anchor, he then let out some anchor rode, turned off the winch and told Jessica to secure the anchor line.

After securing the line, Jessie carefully walked back along the rail, her eyes searching the cliffs and rocks that surrounded them. She made her way back to the cockpit and down the companion way into the cabin. Michael could here her opening and closing closet doors and drawers. Shortly she returned up on deck, carrying a first aide kit, a towel a bottle of alcohol and a small plastic container. She motioned for him to come sit on the rear seat and said quietly ”I won’t be able to numb it but that’s nothing new for you.”

As Michael finally made his way over and sat down removing his jacket and shirt, Jess prepared the needle by sterilizing it in alcohol then threaded it. Carefully untying and unwrapping the bandage on his arm, she wrapped the clean towel around his arm under the cut then poured some alcohol on the cut. Michael winced then grit his teeth, “You and Nurse Rachett go to the same medical school?“ he asked and grinned as she looked over at him apologetically then she picked up the needle and thread and started closing the still seeping wound.

Then she talked to him.

”So….I take it you’ve been here before. Let me guess….with that blond I saw you with a couple of years ago here. Am I right? Harry didn’t care for her. He said there was sailboat fuel between her ears. I have to say I agree with him on that one. But I understand why you go for those kind of women. No really… I do. They fit the mold. Oh you know what I mean. Have you seen a drive on your circuit with an ugly woman on his arm? I didn’t think so. Just don’t settle for a woman like that, Michael. Boring is fine but gold digging just won’t do. Besides, your mother would be highly upset if you came into her home toting something like that on your arm.”

By the time she was finished, Michael was nearly furious, didn’t she realize that those women were just a part of his cover and nothing more. That he had to play the rich arrogant playboy sports car driver. She was right though that blonde had been a real air head. As she gathered the items to return them below and started below, Michael said calmly “Jessie, we have worked together a very long time, ever since the Company and Mossad teamed us up. Now it seems we are targets. Waylund and Darruis have been “reassigned” just as we discover a secret WMD facility with Biological capabilities. Does that seem strange to you? ...... We know that Angelic Dupree is a triple agent and we know that someone had cut a deal with her to give us the chip. Now who could make such a deal?” Michael paused and Jessica could amost see the wheels turning in his head. “Who was it that deciphered the code and the schematic so quickly that explained what the weapon was nuclear but failed to see the biohazard label. “There is no one I repeat NO ONE, in the company I trust more than you. Whoever targeted us knew we would go to England, start snooping around, now how would they know that? And who has the power to send us there and then reassign us?”

Jess listened to Michael and she didn’t want to believe what he was telling her but when he laid it out like that, she couldn’t ignore the facts. Not when they slapped you so hard in the face like these did. Still, she refused to believe what he was saying. At least right now. Without another word, she went back downstairs and after putting some of the things away she’d gotten to patch Michael up, she stopped and leaned her hands against the small sink in the bathroom.

Lifting her head to look at her reflection, she studied the face in the mirror for what seemed like forever then shoved the door to the medicine cabinet open, retrieved some Tylenol and set the bottle down. Stepping out of the bathroom, she rummaged through the duffle bag she filled from the souvenir trailer. Kicking her boots off and pulling the sweat pants off, she pulled on a pair of shorts.

Taking the hat off and running her hands through her hair, she gathered up some peroxide, a clean towel and wet it then sat down on the edge of the bench like bed. Pulling her arm around, she wiped the burnt area off, wincing slightly. It hurt like hell right now and would until the worst of it had healed. And each time she got a shower it would continue to smart. She couldn’t wait for the skin to heal over it soon enough.

Once she had washed it off, she took the peroxide and while she tried to hold the towel in place and dump some of the peroxide on the burn, she was finding it difficult to do. To add to her frustration, her mid was still going over the facts Michael had blatantly pointed out to her. Finally she could no longer contain it and she threw the towel to the other side of the boat and kicked the bed on the other side of her.

”Dammit!”

She felt moisture filling her eyes and that pissed her off even more. The day was going to hell in a hand basket and Jess wasn’t dealing well with it right now.

Michael waited a few moments, then walked down the companion way and was leaning against the bulkhead of the galley when he heard Jessica, close a cabinet door then kick something. He waited a few moments and said softly "Jessie, you alright? ........ I know this all points to Darius or Wayland, possibly both and the fact they have been flipped. But you and I both know what jumping to conclusions without sufficient intelligence can result in. So lets just keep an open mind, at least until we can access the company files. Look we have both had a long hard day, we are both tired and stressed. .... Lets see what we can rustle up for something to eat ..... Hell we're pirates, we've blown up at least two cars, pillaged a vendors truck, commandeered a boat and taken off across the high seas, might as well steal a little food too." Michael grinned at her then added ...... “After we eat, I'll take first watch, you hit the sack and I'll awaken you in a few hours to relieve me." He then turned and started rummaging thru the galley.

When Jess heard Michael’s voice she angrily wiped at her eyes and turned her back to him so she could collect herself. As she heard him talk to her she knew he was right but that didn’t stop her from being angry. She would just have to hold it inside until she found the proper target to release that anger on. Until then, she’d do what she could until she could slip away from Michael and give him some breathing room.

Taking a few deep breaths, she nodded her head and cleaned up everything she’d used to get their wounds cleaned up.

”Fine. Food and rest. Three hours. We have about six hours until sunset so that gives us both three hours of rest. And I’ll leave the cooking to you. Unless you want me to set the smoke detector off again.”

She heard him chuckle and saw him shake his head as he finally decided on what they could eat. About half an hour later, they were both sitting up on the deck of the boat enjoying some of the sun on the private alcove. It was a beautiful day after all and it was a beautiful, secluded setting for them to rest.

Jess was stretched out on the rear seat using the side of the seat as her backrest. She remained barefoot and she’d roiled her t-shirt up exposing her midriff. She’d found a bathing suit she could have worn, if she liked more string than material. She just ended up throwing it at Michael when he made some joke about how it would look good on her. She couldn’t help but laugh with him when it hung off his ear like some sort of strange earring.

They found some soup and some bread and cheese in the small fridge that was still good. At least it was something with protein in it, Jess thought. As she finished up her bottle of water, she enjoyed some of the sun that shone down on her. When she finished her water, she stood up and stretched.

”Three hours, Michael. No more. Swear it.”

She knew he would honor the agreement if she made him swear and by the look on his face when he did, she knew he had every bit of intentions of letting her sleep longer. She walked over to the gangway and took the first few steps down when she stopped and looked over at Michael again.

”If it is one or both of them, I’ll make them regret doing this to us.”

Slipping back below she slid onto the bed, checked her gun for firing readiness, stuck it under the pillow then laid down and closed her eyes. Despite the fact she was being hunted, she was asleep in just a few minutes. The lat things she thought before she drifted off to sleep was the fact she felt more tired than she thought she really was.

"Three hours, I swear, see no fingers crossed." Michael said with an innocent little boy's expression on his face, as he held up both hands, "Now off to sleep with you young lady." Jessie went below and after about twenty minutes, Michael crept below, opened the cabin door and sneaked a peak in at the now sleeping Jessie, with her hand tucked under her pillow as usual. Michael shook his head slowly and thought to himself, ( Will we ever beable to sleep as normal people, without our hands grasping a weapon and our dreams filled with pleasant things? Will the nightmares and faces of those we have lost or those we have killed not invading our slumbers? ....... This is the life we have chosen, this is the price we pay for our conviction to the principals we hold dear. ....... This is the price we pay so others may sleep safe in their beds. ........ I have no regets on the path I have chosen.) Michael then silently closed the cabin door and went back up on deck into the warmth of the sun. Off in the distance he heard the unmistakable rumble of the engines of a patrol boat. He tensed, moved to the helm and withdrew his weapon, holding it at his side. The sound grew closer, then faded into the distance.

An hour and a half into his watch, as he was programing the auto pilot for the voyage to the villa, his secure cell phone chattered. Picking it up off the console he saw the number for the villa appear on the screen. "Bonjur ..... this is Michael he said." A familiar voice responded in semi broken english ...


"And who but my son, who no telaphona his mama after he win race. Who no telaphona his mama to say he safe, after big exploseon that deestroy his fancy bus. Who but heem answer the number he give his mama if she get worried. You justa likea yur Papa ..... You no tella your moma things .... You not wanta your momma to worry. Is what mommas do, they worry about their sons."

Michael could not help but smile "Now momma you know I can take care of myself. In fact I was about to call you. You up for a couple of house guests for a few days?" he said

"I think you get your brain all scrabbled like cottage cheese in lasagna. With all that big hurry drive in circles all the time. What you ask me this thing? Who you bring, that crazy man who helps you drive with so much hurry?" Michael's mother asked

"No momma, not Harry, not this time. I thought Jessica Bishop and I would pay you a visit if that is alright." Michael said

"You bring that nice girl home with you. She too good to be chasing around world with my crazy son." she said "When you come? Today?"

"No momma not today maybe tomorrow." Michael said

"You come tomorrow no maybe." Michael's mother said and the phone went silent, she had hung up. Michael just shook his head. His father might have run the families businesses but Mamma Degarion had run the family. And mama ALWAYS got her way, Michael thought.

Michael went back to programming the auto pilot and adjusting the VHF radio, checking the engines, checking supplies on board and generator. He looked at the name on the boat "SUBTRAFUGE" and was trying to think of a way to alter it. Soon four and one half hours had lapsed, Michael stepped down below and lightly tapped on the master's cabin door. "Jessie, it's Michael, time for your watch."

Jess awoke with a start and instantly her hand was around the grip of her gun and her finger was poised to lay on the trigger. She blinked and looked around then remembered where she was and what had happened. Rolling over, she called out to Michael letting him know she was awake.

”Be right there.”

She rolled out of the bed and washed her face and combed her hair before she walked back up on deck. The sun was exceptionally bright and she was glad she found a pair of sunglasses to help protect her eyes. Stretching the rest of her sleepiness away, she looked around the place then sat down and looked over at Michael.

”Everything OK with the boat?”

Jess knew Michael wasn’t one to sit idle while they sat here and waited for nightfall. Knowing him the way she did she knew he had gone over everything with a fine tooth comb. As the sun began to seep into her body, she felt her senses coming back to peak performance. She also knew that if they could just get to the villa, they could figure out what the hell was really going on, or at least find a good starting point, then get some sort of plan together. She still didn’t plan on telling him she was leaving. It was better he didn’t know. That way he couldn’t talk her out of it and he couldn’t stop her.

Besides, Jess was convinced now more than ever that the fact she and Michael were still together made them a deadly team to deal with and by separating, whoever was after them would have to split their forces as well to track her down away from Michael.

Michael smiled faintly, as Jessica sat down and asked if eveything was alright on the boat. "Well, considering it is stolen from some wealthly spoiled brat. That has not one clue as to how to maintain a vessle like this, it is surprisingly in fairly good shape. I have programmed the auto pilot fot the villa, did some work on the radio, so we should be able to monitor and interpol or Coast Gaurd transmissions. Our fuel status should be sufficient to get us to the vila. That is if we don't need to make too many high speed runs. These damned engines drink fuel faster tha pouring it out on the ground, at full speed." Michael reached up with one hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was not until this moment, that he realized, just how tired he was. The fatigue was apparent on his face, as he reached over for a nautical chart of the southern coastline of France and began to study it. "Jessie could I get you to make some coffee?" he said wearily.

Jess shook her head.

”No. What I will do, is help you get down below so you can rest like I did. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. And please don’t see if I can make you. Again. Now….lwt’s go.”

Michael got ready to argue but one look at Jess and he knew she was in no mood to play who’s the better agent right now. With a frustrated sigh, he finally nodded his head and stood up to go below deck. Once he was down below, Jess checked the GPS and fuel as Michael had.

In the meantime, she pulled out the operators manual for the boat and read through it, The boat had quite a bit of capabilities. By the time she got done reading the manual, the sun was just about set so she went down to wake Michael up. Like her, he slept with his hand beneath his pillow. She gave half a smile then walked over and leaned against the bed. Reaching out she moved an errant strand of hair from his brow. As he blinked his eyes open, her smile increased a little more. Her voice was hushed as she spoke.

”Thought you’d like to take a look at those charts before the sun went down.”

Michael’s hand instinctively tightened on the weapon under his pillow, when Jessies touched his forehead, then as he opened his eyes, seeing Jessie smiling down on him, he relaxed, swung his legs over and placed his feet on the deck of the cabin. Reaching up he rubbed the stubble on his face and said and single word "Coffee." He then stood up, slipped on his shoulder holsters and made his way to the head, where he washed his face and shaved. A shower would have to wait until later, they were like a sitting duck anchored here in this protected cove. It was a minor miracle that the patrol boat, Michael had heard earlier today had not reappeared. As he stepped out of the head, thru the galley, where he grabbed a cup of coffee, and climbed the steps of the companionway onto the deck in the growing dusk, Michael said a silent prayer of thanks. Stepping to the console, he sat his coffee cup down on the chart table neaxt to the wheel, slipped one of his pistols out of its holster and laid it on the console. Michael then turned the blowers on and asked Jessie to untie the line that secured the anchor. As she was stepping forward to the bow pulpit, Michael, selected silent exhaust, started the four engines, easing the throttles a bit forward to let them warm up. After Jessie had released the anchor rode from the bow stanchion, Michael turned the anchor windless on and began retracting the anchor rode, slipping the two inboard engines into forward, he eased the craft forward releasing the anchor from the sea bed. He then backed off slowly as the windless brought the anchor up. After it was against the anchor chock, he had Jessie, lock the chain tentioner. Michael then shifted the inboard engines into neutral, shifted the port outboard engine into forward and the starboard engine into reverse, throttled the two outboard engines up slightly and swung the boat around in its own length. After he was pointed out of the cove, Michael throttled back the engines, shifted the outboards to neutral, then shifted all four engine to forward and eased out of the cove. He rounded the rocky point and headed southeast out from coast and into the blue Mediterranean. Jessie had stepped down into the cockpit as Michael eased the craft forward. “Hand me that chart will you please, Jessie.” he asked

Jess handed Michael the charts as he boat got under way. This was always the part that could be the deadliest. If there was a boat waiting just outside the cove, they’d be sitting ducks unable to defend themselves. Pulling her gun and readying it for use, she held her breath as they eased the boat from the cove.

As the open waters came into view, there wasn’t a vessel in sight for a good ways in any direction. Sighing softly, she set her gun down close bu then looked at Michael and gave him a smile then patted his shoulder gently as she turned to pick up the binoculars and give the open waters a better look.

”Looks like we’re clear for a ways. Open this baby up and lets see what she can do for us.”