Black Star Bay by T. C. Miller

Author:T. C. Miller [Miller, T. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Timber Creek Press
Published: 2016-10-03T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

SEAWIND MOTEL BRIDAL SUITE

“I’ll be out in a minute…I’m unpacking my makeup,” Joanna called from the bathroom. Jake sat on the edge of a bed that seemed like it could cover a football field. His hands were folded in front of him as he stared at a fixed spot on the carpet. The check-in process at the front desk had gone smoothly enough and he made a big show of picking her up and carrying her across the threshold of the Honeymoon Suite in case anyone was watching. She played the role of a shy but eager bride to perfection. They swept the room for bugs and found none.

If he took his eyes off the fixed spot on the carpet, he might have noticed her watching him in the vanity mirror. If he glanced up for even an instant, he might have seen her smile at him. Instead, he maintained his gaze on the part of the carpet pattern that looped back on itself in an endless dance of golden thread. Undercover is different this time.

“You okay?” Joanna stopped unpacking and turned to face him.

“Going over the cover story to make sure I didn’t missed anything.”

“Is being married to me that tough?” she said with an impish grin that looked a lot like flirting.

“Actually, that’s been the easiest part.” He watched her reaction to the remark, but couldn’t tell what she might be thinking. Falling in love with her’s a bad idea…Remember the Philippines.

It was years ago, while on a highly-classified mission for the NSA in the jungle. A husband and wife team, Carlos and Maria from a local village were assigned to guide him to the site of a black ops helicopter crash. They destroyed the classified equipment and documents on board by pouring sulfuric acid on them from custom-made ceramic-lined canteens. It would have been quicker to destroy the wreckage with explosives, but the noise would have alerted communist rebels and limited their escape time.

They were preparing to leave after collecting dog tags and other identifying material from the dead crew, when an enemy patrol stumbled upon them and started firing AK-47s. Maria took a lethal burst of fire to the face in the first few seconds and faced imminent death. Her husband steadfastly ignored Jake’s pleas to leave his mortally-wounded partner behind.

The enemy patrol was rapidly advancing, and mission protocol demanded that no witnesses be left behind to undergo interrogation. He told the husband in Tagalog he couldn’t let him live if he chose to stay.

Carlos looked Jake in the eyes and replied that he understood. He stood before Jake could take action and calmly walked toward the patrol while firing his weapon. He was hit by a dozen rounds and died before he hit the ground.

Jake blended into the cover of the jungle and escaped unscathed. He remembered the determined look on the villager’s face and knew that he would never leave a soul-mate behind either.

“You look like you’re really deep in thought…Care to share?”

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