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FISH TOYED WITH WAYS to skirt the issue, but Lexi was right. She’d know if he lied. Didn’t mean he couldn’t take a few liberties with the truth. Besides, he was sworn to secrecy about his final training mission, so he couldn’t tell Lexi everything. Not if she was thinking about becoming an operative. If she followed through, she’d have to face her own Kobayashi Maru, and knowing it was a setup would defeat the purpose of the test.
Might as well get it over with. “Summer between my freshman and sophomore years in high school, my parents sent me away for a month on what they called an adventure camp to toughen me up. I was the typical Jewish city boy—being a good student was the road to success. The whole ‘my son the doctor’ or ‘my son the lawyer’ trope. In school, PE was my downfall. I was an overweight nerd.”
Lexi had never seen him in that physical condition, and her expression said she was having trouble buying it.
He laughed, flexed his biceps. “I know, hard to believe. But it’s the truth. So, there I was stuck in a camp in the woods. With bugs. Snakes. Rumors of bears. Living in tents—which we had to schlep to the campsite and set up ourselves. Hiking. Cooking over an open fire. Trying to catch fish to cook over said fire.”
“You hate fish,” she said.
“And now you know why.”
She furrowed her brows. “I don’t get it. If you got the name in high school, why didn’t it stick until now?”
“How about we finish another time?”
“You’re kidding, right? Keep going.”
He sighed. “The camp had a lake, so water sports were included. Swimming, canoeing, neither of which were at the top of my skill set.”
“And fishing,” Lexi said, smiling.
“As long as one remembers it’s called fishing and not catching, I did okay. One day, about a week before the camp session was over, they packed us up and took us to a nearby river for a white water rafting trip. I was in better shape, but I wasn’t looking forward to careening through rapids in a rubber boat.” The memories washed over him like the waves on that river.
“Six of us, plus a guide who actually knew what he was doing got into the boat. Of course, four of the guys were your typical jocks. Nothing anyone did was as good as the way they did it.”
“Bullies,” she said. Her voice had lost the undertone of teasing.
He nodded. “Everything was fine until one of the guys decided I wasn’t pulling my weight paddling, and his buddies joined in. The guide was too busy getting us through a rough spot to stop it, and probably thought it was harmless taunting. Boys will be boys.”
“What happened?”
He gave a wry smile. “Nothing. I’d already had three weeks of their pettiness and bravado and was pretty good at ignoring it. In fact, we’d reached a kind of truce. I’d thought they’d begun to accept me. Not as one of them, but as someone to let be.
“The guide firmly suggested that if they didn’t lay off, we’d be doing a real-life capsizing drill. He’d told us what to do and had given a quasi-demonstration—on land, before we left. He thought that would shut them up, but instead, they thought it would be cool. Three of them jumped out of the raft. The fourth one, who was sitting behind me, shoved me out, then jumped in.”
“You were wearing life vests, though, weren’t you?” Lexi’s gaze was fixed on him, concern etched on her face.
“Of course. But vests don’t keep you from hitting your head on a rock, or swallowing half a river, or being tumbled around when you’re not prepared for the plunge. Or when the spot is in the middle of a class three rapids, and not the safe section of river the guide would have chosen for an optional capsize exercise. Or for the shock. The river is fed by glaciers, and it’s damn cold year-round.” He tried a grin. “Takes your breath away.”
“But you’re okay.”
“Sure. Now.”
“You weren’t okay then? Nobody rescued you?”
He hung his head. Said what he’d tried to convince himself had happened. “I don’t think those guys were malicious. I think they didn’t realize I was in trouble, and by then, they were too far away to help. The guide pulled me out, I puked up aforementioned half a river. Had a mild concussion, but I refused to let them send me to the hospital—or worse, home to my parents as a failure. It went down as an unfortunate no harm, no foul accident, and my parents never knew.”
“What happened to those boys?”
“They were on latrine duty for the rest of the session.”
Lexi gave a quiet chuckle. “Okay, I can understand why you might not be fond of swimming, but that still doesn’t explain how you got your nickname if it wasn’t at camp.”
“That’s another story.” He got up and carried his coffee mug to the kitchen, rinsed it, and set it on the counter. If his hands were shaking, he pretended not to notice.
You could have told her the summer from hell merely laid the foundation for becoming Fish.
***
LEXI RESISTED THE URGE to follow Marv to the kitchen to offer comfort. Never had she known him to want comforting. Judging from the way his coffee mug trembled in his hands, the summer camp incident had burrowed deep into his psyche. She understood. First, the teasing and bullying. Then, the sense of betrayal when they’d thrown him into the river. The pure physical trauma, the fear of almost drowning. Because, life vest or no life vest, if you breathed water, nothing else mattered.
That he’d shared it meant a lot. Because, she knew, if he had wanted to keep it buried, he’d have found a way to deflect her insistence to tell her. She knew how to worm information out of people—plenty of practice on the force—but she also knew how to read Marv. He did tell her, which meant he was willing to share.
Which meant a lot more than the kiss.
Maybe the distraction of watching the movie was the smartest way to pass the time. Time until what? They’d had the eighteen hundred hours sitrep, more than an hour early. Her home had been violated, but Adam and Scrooge weren’t pursuing it. Their next move, as she understood it, was a meeting with Merlin tomorrow. Would they get to John Gunther himself, or an underling? She’d had to jump through quite a few hoops before she was admitted to Dalton’s inner sanctum.
She pondered the comparison. It was as if Merlin was a dark side version of Blackthorne, Inc. A public façade, with a hidden underbelly where the secret stuff happened. Only Blackthorne’s secret stuff helped people. Merlin’s helped only John Gunther.
Marv came back, a shaky smile on his face.
She turned toward the television and unmuted the sound. “Should I rewind?”
“Nah. I know what happened.” He sat in one of the easy chairs and angled it for a better view of the screen.
They might have gotten rid of the elephant of the kiss, but Marv’s confession created a new level of awkwardness.
“Normally, I’d say this would be a good time for a drink, but I’m guessing we’re supposed to remain clear-headed,” she said.
Marv’s eyes were fixed on the television. “Yep. House rules. If you looked, there’s no booze in the apartment. Depending on the circumstances, it’s at the discretion of the operative on duty as to whether adult beverages are permitted.”
Which meant Marv thought they were still on alert. If he was sure nothing was going to happen until morning, he’d have—what? Suggested they find a liquor store that delivered?
After several uncomfortable moments, they both seemed willing to lose themselves in the movie. As the final credits rolled, Marv grabbed the remote and shut off the set.
At Lexi’s scrutinizing stare, he said, “I’m fine. Yeah, the memories always open the old wounds, but the healing process speeds up with time.”
Lexi stifled a yawn.
“Come on,” Marv said. “Nobody yawns after Die Hard. I think they can revoke your citizenship for that.”
She smiled, glad he was back to normal. “Long day.”
“Agreed. Shall we attempt to put together something for dinner? Sadly, I’ve never figured out how to get a container of Nana’s chicken soup into my go bag.”
“Come up with a way and you could make a fortune.” She stood. Cooking—assuming there was anything in the kitchen—would be another welcome distraction.
The offerings were meager. Apparently, Blackthorne couldn’t make fresh produce and other perishables appear at a moment’s notice. “We’re not allowed to go out, but is there a grocery store on Blackthorne’s approved list that delivers?”
“Don’t know.” Marv opened the door to a pantry. “I’m sure they’ll have it covered if we’re going to be here more than a day. I’m a wizard with a can opener, however.” He found one in a drawer and flourished it like a magic wand.
She found the freezer stocked with boxes of prepared meals. “We could nuke one of these.”
Marv stepped behind her, ostensibly to peruse the offerings, but he rested a hand on her shoulder. “Are we good?”
She turned and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “We’re good.”
“Then let’s eat. Anything but pizza.”
“Agreed. These are mainly single-servings, so pick what you want. I’m going to have the Mandarin chicken.” She pulled out the box and headed for the microwave.
Marv found a package purporting to be a Salisbury steak meal. “Microwave dinners. Nana is undoubtedly getting a chill down her spine.”
They sat to eat, although Lexi pushed her food around more than eating it.
Marv tapped the table next to her dinner. “In the words of Nana, ‘Eat. You need to keep your strength up.’”
She smiled at his exaggerated Yiddish accent and took a bite.
Marv finished first and took his container to the trash. “No dishes to wash is a perk,” he said, “even if the food’s mediocre at best. But it beats having to forage. You haven’t lived until you’ve had to survive on lizards, snakes, and the occasional bug.”
“I saw canned tarantulas once. Online. Didn’t buy them.”
He cringed. “Smart woman.”
Lexi went to the wastebasket and disposed of her dinner. “Not no dishes. There are two forks and a couple of coffee mugs to wash. Who’s on cleanup?”
Marv’s phone rang. She’d picked up on a few of his custom ringtones and thought this was Manny’s. She stiffened. What now?
“Frisch,” Marv said.
A pause.
“Roger.” He put the phone away, a confused expression on his face.