The Protector (24 page)

“We’re taking that,” she asked in amazement.

“No you’re taking this,” I said as I pointed to the BMW. “I am driving this to meet some friends and leaving it with them.” 

She looked at me confused. “And what are you going to do with the BMW?”

I walked over to her and handed her the keys.

“We are taking that to Oregon.  They are going to be looking for the Explorer. Now get in and follow me. We are going to meet some friends of mine and off we will be.” I gently pushed her to the BMW. She was reluctant to follow my instructions.  She turned and faced me stopping me from walking her to the car. We stood in between the two cars. I could feel the heat radiating off her body. I could also smell the fresh scent of soap from the shower a little while earlier. Her hair was still damp and twisted into a clip on the back of her head. She had dyed it a mahogany color for me, to match the passport picture.  I liked the contrast of her darker hair with her emerald eyes. It seemed to make them standout a little bit more, even in the pale light of the garage.

“We have to go Alison,” I said wrapping my arm around her waist to get her to move. She stood her ground.

“Why aren’t we going together Jack?” She asked with pure fear in her eyes.

What was she thinking? That I could possibly leave her? I took a deep breath and pulled her a little closer to me.  I could feel her breath on my face. I closed my eyes and took in her scent. It was soft, and her breathing calm, but her heartbeat was going crazy. I half expected her to push me away but she didn’t. She looked at me with eyes filled with questions. I wanted desperately to pull her even closer and kiss her gently on the lips to assure her all would be well. But I knew that wouldn’t be a smart thing to do. I needed both of us to have clear heads for the next leg of our journey. 

“I want you to follow me to meet some friends who are going to take our place on the flight to Brazil.”

Again she looked at me with a strange expression on her face as if she were trying to read my mind.  “Someone needs to be on that plane in our place if we aren’t going to Brazil.” I said with a warm smile.” I removed my arm from her waist and held the keys to the BMW in front of her. “Now follow me and I will explain once I am back in the car with you.”  I started to turn and walk toward the Explorer.

“Jack, what if you don’t make it back to me?”  The fear that was there a few seconds ago was even more intense now. She was truly afraid I was going to leave her.

“Don’t worry Sonny, I am not going anywhere without you. I promised you I would keep you safe and I will.”  I smiled at her and turned to get into the Explorer. She stood there for a few seconds thinking about what I had said and then she got into the BMW.

A

I pulled out of the garage after Jack did and followed him down the dark street. I wasn’t sure where I was following him, but it came down to pure trust. What more could I do, my life was in his hands.  And if I didn’t feel comfortable when we reached our first destination, I had decided I would just steal his car and drive like mad someplace.  So what if they caught me, they could just add 20 years for Grand Theft Auto on to my rap sheet.

The BMW was an incredible piece of machinery.  It was smooth and took turns with incredible tightness and precision.  I had dreamed of driving a luxury car like this, but seriously never thought it would become a reality.  I chuckled to myself as I kept a safe distance from Jack’s Explorer.  If I asked him, I know his response would be need to know.  I know I didn’t need to know, but I
wanted
to know where his money came from. He seemed to have an unlimited supply of money and surprises. Obviously he didn’t earn all his money from his government salary. I had figured that out in Albuquerque. His response to me when I did ask him who/what he was – was simple, I am your protector.   All of this was quite confusing. But I felt safe with Jack and I figured my best chance to beat this and still come out alive was to stick with him.

I drove in silence, following him.  He was truly an amazing man in many ways and he was a total mystery in every way.  Hopefully on this journey to Oregon he would tell me a little, even if it was just tidbits about who he was. I wondered, was he an only child? Did he have parents? Where did he grow up?  I had figured he was married at one point in his life, as a wedding ring imprint was still on the ring finger of his left hand. Had he removed it for my sake?  Was he married still? I didn’t know and a part of me was afraid to ask him. 

In the Eastern sky, a pinkish hue was creeping up over the horizon. Soon, the saguaro cactuses would be bathed in the golden sun Arizona was so famous for. I wondered what the weather was like at home.  My body ached to be home with my friends, but before I could think any
more about them, Jack turned into a dark parking lot. I wasn’t sure where we were in Phoenix. I hadn’t paid much attention to where we were going. I did a quick scan of the neighborhood and realized that the BMW I drove did not fit the neighborhood. It stood out like a sore thumb, even in the early morning darkness. 

Jack pulled the Explorer into a space next to an old Chevy truck. I could see through the window of the BMW as I pulled two spaces down from him, that there were three people in the truck. It looked like a woman and two men. One of the men was wearing a cowboy hat and the other a baseball cap similar to the one Jack wore now.  I watched as Jack got out and walked to the rear of the Explorer. The others exited the truck Jack had parked next to. I watched anxiously as he shook their hands, and hugged the young woman. I rolled down the window about two inches so I could hear their voices. But as I did so I realized they weren’t speaking English but Spanish, I thought.  I listened intently hoping my 5 years Spanish would pay off finally. 

“Esposa,” I heard him say in Spanish quickly and glance back at the BMW. Wasn’t that the Spanish word for wife?  I watched his every move as he reached into his backpack and handed the younger of the two men a satchel of some kind. I was pretty sure it contained our airplane tickets to Brazil.  Jack zipped up his backpack hugged the young lady again and handed the younger man something else. I guessed it was the keys to the Explorer.  I continued to watch and listen as Jack walked to the BMW.  I was pretty sure he was going to continue to let me drive, but as quickly as I could, I moved the seat back and maneuvered my body over to the
passenger’s
side.  I am not sure if he saw me shifting seats, but he too shifted and moved to the driver’s side of the car.  I unlocked the car door and he slid into his seat.

Jack smiled at me and put the car in reverse and with the ease of a Nascar driver, he headed back in the direction we came. I stared out the passenger’s side window and said nothing. I watched as the sun slowly rose.  The dark, morning sky was fading in the west and I reached down for my purse for sun glasses, knowing I would need them. But I quickly realized that my purse was not there. Instead the purse Jack had bought for me the day before was there and there were no sunglasses.

I could hear Jack’s breathing. He continued to drive North, I assumed out of the Phoenix area.  I shifted in my seat and laid my head back on the head rest. It was going to be a long journey to Oregon I only wished I had requested a book or something to read.  I took in a big breath of air and held it for a few seconds and slowly let it out through my nose. Jack turned to look at me.  “You ok?”

I nodded. 

“It’s going to be ok, I promise Sonny.”   He removed his hand off the steering wheel and put it gently on mine which lay on the seat next to my leg. His touch sent tingles up my arm and down my body.  His hand was warm, and soft. His fingers wrapped around mine and he squeezed them in encouragement.  And then his hand was gone. In the brief second after he had pulled it away, I wanted desperately to grab it back and hold his hand in response. When he touched me I felt safe.  He put his hand back on the steering wheel and continued to drive.

The longer we sat in silence, the more time I had to think about all the unanswered questions I had. For the last few days I had trusted the man I barely knew with my life. I really didn’t know anything about him and the curiosity was getting to me.

“Who were those people?” I barely whispered. He continued to drive and did not answer me right away. For a moment I thought he had not heard the question. As I was about to muster up the courage to ask the question again, this time louder, he opened his mouth.
             

“Our decoys.  They are old friends of mine from a previous life.  Javier and his wife have graciously accepted my offer of a free vacation to South America.”  

I wanted to ask so many questions based on his response but I did not.  Instead I just nodded.  He continued though.  “They are going to drive the Explorer down to Mexico City and take a flight to Rio, pretending to be us.”  I thought about it for a few minutes and although I was extremely grateful, I was scared for the people who were pretending to be us. 

“If these people chasing us – them, realize they aren’t us, will they hurt them?” 

“They are pros Sonny. They can take care of themselves. I promise you they will be safe.” Jack turned to look at me. He smiled a reassuring smile.  He was full of lots of reassurance and I wished I shared his confidence.  I looked down in silence. There were lots of things I wanted to ask, I just wasn’t sure he would answer my questions.   After a few minutes, I looked up at him and watched as he drove.  The sun was up in the Western sky now, but the car was still dark.  I could barely make out the expression on his face. 

He shifted in his seat, obviously noticing I was watching him. He put his left arm on the door, and drove with only his right arm and ran his fingers through his brown hair. In the light of the day yesterday I noticed a stray gray hair.  It looked distinguished and once again my mind filled with questions.

Finally the curiosity got the best of me and I couldn’t help it. I opened my mouth and started to spit out the words, but stopped. He looked at me puzzled.

“What?” He said with a smirk.  “Do you have something to say?”

             
“How old are you?”

He looked at me for a brief moment and then back at the road. His face was complacent.  “Does it matter?”  I could barely make out the smile.

It really didn’t in the grand scheme of things, “I was just curious.”

J

Her hair had begun to slip out of the clip it was held in.  A piece had fallen against her cheek and I wanted desperately to sweep it off her face, just as an excuse to touch her.   She sat in the seat next to me nervous moving constantly. One minute her right leg was under her other leg, the next she was sitting cross legged in the seat.  Her hands started out folded in her lap and minutes later her elbow was on the car door and her other hand was on her the seat next to her.  I couldn’t quite understand her constant need to move. I couldn’t tell if it was nerves or just her.

I had to admit though, her question about my age surprised me, but I didn’t let her see that surprise. It seemed like an odd question. I knew the questions would come eventually, but I didn’t think my age would be the first one.  I hesitated for a second before I answered. If I told her the truth, I was sure she would cringe, especially if she thought 25 was old maid age.  But I figured the truth was best.  “Thirty Eight,” I confessed.  I hoped desperately she didn’t think that was old.

She nodded in acknowledgement. Was that old to her I thought? My mind raced as I drove. It was hard to concentrate and before I realized it, I was doing 100 mph on the highway.  I let my foot off the gas for just a few seconds, enough to slow it down and not get pulled over for a speeding ticket. “Am I old?” I finally asked.

A smile pursed her lips as she continued to stare at the road ahead of us.  I could barely hear her mumbled answer of no and after that the silence continued.  I wasn’t sure if she was taking it in, or if she was thinking about her next question. “What else do you want to know,” I finally blurted out. It was bothering me she was being so quiet.  “I will tell you what I can.” I paused for a moment and let it sink in. I know she had a lot of questions and I was going to let her ask them. It didn’t mean she would get the response she wanted or even expected. “You know if I tell you something classified, I will have to kill you.”   I said it completely serious and glanced to see the look on her face. She turned away and out the window at the desert landscape. The morning sun was bright and I could see she was squinting even with the dark tinted windows. Sunglasses were next on the list of things to get her and maybe a book or two.

It took her a few minutes before she finally answered me. “Is Jack even your real name?” 

Even though I used several assumed names, Jack was my real name, well at least part of it anyway.  “My name is Jonathan Jackson O’Brien. In my normal life, I use Jack.  Next question?”

She sighed in some sort of relief. “Thank you. For some reason I had a vision of you using a fake name with me.”

I shrugged my shoulders, “I like my name. I don’t always use my real name, but with you, I didn’t think it was fair not to use my given name.”

“I appreciate that,” she responded and shifted again in her seat. This time she moved so her body faced more towards me. I could see the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.  She reached up and took the clip out of her hair and it fell around her shoulders. I took a deep drag of her scent, somewhere between lavender and freesia and it was intoxicating.