Chapter 1
Lincoln
Thwump, Thwump, Thwump.
Lincoln Wallace awoke with a start for the fifth time in his seemingly unending trip to an unknown location. He was still unsure as to why he stepped onto the helicopter in the first place, and now the sound of the rotors chopping through the air was reminding him again that he was not dreaming. He looked out of the window and noticed the water still a deep blue. That fact alone, he had learned, told him he was still somewhere over the ocean. Which ocean, he had no idea.
He settled back into his chair and closed his eyes, taken back to the last time he heard the sound of helicopter rotors and it was doing the opposite of calming him into a restful sleep. He stood instead, and went to the back, pouring himself three fingers of scotch and downing it quickly. How in the Hell had he come to this?
The sound of delicate knuckles brought him out of his deep slumber and when he looked at his alarm clock it read 3:45, fifteen minutes before his normal wake up time. It was completely illogical, but for some reason, that fifteen minutes felt more valuable then the entire seven hours he had gotten prior to it. He slid his right hand under his pillow and felt for the butt of his Glock .21, "old habits," he thought to himself. He had never had a reason to sleep with a gun in the six years since leaving the service, but then again, who knocks on a door before four in the morning? Especially in this neighborhood?
He stepped out of bed, not bothering to put pants on. He figured that anyone knocking on a door at this hour expects the person answering not to be dressed, or in his case, completely naked. If they didn't expect it, they damn well deserved it. He moved to the front of the door, silently gliding across the floor, and peeled the electrical tape off of the peep hole. An old trick he learned during special operations, the tape kept from casting a shadow across the door when he moved up to it, giving his position away to the caller.
Peering through, he was even more perplexed. Putting the gun on the table, he opened the door and stood in the frame, in all his naked glory. He watched as she stared at him, starting at his shoulders, which were broad and sculpted, over his tight pectorals, carved abs, and pausing at his penis, hanging between his legs.
"What do you want," he asked snapping her out of it.
"I didn't finish," she answered, barely peeling her eyes away and meeting his.
"I told you I wasn't interested."
"And I told you that you were."
"You never said you were psychic," he said as he moved from the door.
She walked in and looked at the drab apartment. The furniture was sparse, a small chair and table. There was no comfort, no television. Everything he owned looked to be second hand. She couldn't help but let her discontent show on her face.
"Charming," she commented.
"Hey," he said, still standing in the middle of the floor without any clothing. "You visited me."
"Would you put some pants on please," she asked, trying and failing to look away.
"Why," he responded.
"So we can speak about this."
Lincoln sat on the table and made a motion with his hand, asking her to sit.
"I was in bed, you woke me up, and if I make you comfortable you will stay longer. Say what you need to say and get out."
"Fine," she relented and sat in the chair, disturbingly close to the naked man. She hated herself for finding him attractive, then again who the Hell wouldn't she thought. He was in great shape, and he wasn't suffering downstairs either. His hair was cut short with a perfect shape to his head, the kind that meant he probably wouldn't look right with hair, and his face was covered in stubble, the attractive kind. She noticed that her leg was a mere inch from the head of his lengthy member.
"You can begin," he prompted and she realized she was staring again.
"You have the experience and the skills that we need for the position of head of our security. We want you to train our people."
"I don't know what you have been told . . ." he paused waiting for her name.
"Karla."
"Karla, but I work construction. You know those assholes you speed past and scream at because they hold up traffic on the way to work? That is me."
"For the past six years, yes. But before that you held a "special" position inside the special forces, correct?"
"No," he lied. "I was a part of the support division out of Fort Drum." He hadn't had to recite his cover story in so long that he had thought it would be more difficult.
"Mr. Wallace, we know all about it, and we want it in our organization."
"I am happy here," Lincoln responded unconvincingly. "I don't need a job."
"Look," Karla said with a little force. "I am a lawyer, I have done it for long enough that I know when people are lying, even to themselves. You used to do the kind of work that changed lives, that had the possibility to effect millions. Now you jack hammer the streets amidst car horns and expletives."
"That work you speak of," he said standing, and in the meantime bringing his penis to within inches of her face. "It isn't as grand as you think. It takes a little piece of your soul every time. I had to leave while I had a little left."
"OK," she said. "How about this," she stood up with him, not because she was ready to leave, but because his penis being that close to her face was embarrassingly making her mouth water. "Just come and visit the compound, train the second in command to take over. We will pay you thirty thousand dollars for three weeks work."
He thought about it for three solid minutes, the entire time she switched from staring at his body, to staring pointedly at the wall. Finally, he made a decision. He turned and walked into the bedroom and shut the door. She thought for a second that that was her cue to leave, until he reappeared in a t-shirt and jeans.
"You have three weeks."
He heard the door to the lavatory open in the back and Karla appeared refreshed. She was wearing a grey pencil skirt cut just below the knee and a white blouse tucked into it. It was cut low at the top, revealing a generous bust. She was sliding into a matching grey business jacket as she sat down in the seat next to him.
"Wake up, she said. "We are almost there."
"Just a shade under a week too," he responded. He had gone from a Town Car at the curb outside his apartment, to a private jet, to another Town Car, to a boat, to a helicopter, all of which took close to thirty-six hours. "Are we on the other side of the world yet," he asked sarcastically.
"Yes," she responded pointedly without a hint of humor.
He looked out the window and noticed the water turning a lighter blue, signifying the coming land. He stood from the seat and stretched, walked back to the lavatory and relieved himself. When he returned, she beckoned him to the chair and instructed him to put on his seat belt. When he looked out the window, he saw their destination, a lonely island in the middle of the ocean. From his seat, he could see the perimeter covered in white beaches and palm trees, and the middle of it was occupied by a huge mansion and numerous outbuildings.
It looked like paradise, but he couldn't shake the feeling he was having. What does paradise need with his kind of expertise?
Kennedy