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Lei Lu decided every morning should start with an orgasm. In bed. In the shower. On the kitchen counter. Where, didn’t matter. Morning orgasms were the best way to start the day.
Immediately followed by carbs and coffee.
Everybody else seemed to be dragging a little as they loaded the boat. Most brought blankets and would probably sleep on the two-hour trip to Mouchoir Bank. In their business, it was common practice to grab sleep wherever, and whenever, you could find it. Lei Lu didn’t think she could force herself sleep.
Once underway, Nita signaled for Lei Lu to join her in the back of the boat. “How are you feeling?”
“Surprisingly well,” she enthused. “I slept like a rock, woke refreshed, and feel like I have more energy than I have all week.”
Nita laughed. “You sucked pure oxygen for hours yesterday. Your body is loving it.” She quickly took Lei Lu’s vitals. “Everything looks good. It would be fine if you wanted to dive today.”
Lei Lu squealed with joy then hugged her friend. “Thank you.”
“The one you really need to thank is Shakespeare. If he hadn’t gotten you on that new bottle as quick as he did, you wouldn’t be sitting here with us.” Nita gave her an extra squeeze.
“Oh, I thanked him last night, and again this morning.” Lei Lu beamed.
“We could have lost you yesterday,” Nita said in all seriousness then smiled. “He’s one hell of a man. I’m glad you found him.”
Both women stared at Shakespeare, backlit by the gauges on the dash. “I’m glad he found me.” Lei Lu had so many questions about their future, though. “How do you and Daniel do it?”
Nita raised her eyebrows. “Are you looking for new positions already?”
“I’m not talking about sex, I’m talking about your married life.” Lei Lu wasn’t explaining it very well, but that could be because she hadn’t really defined her questions. “Shakespeare lives here on Grand Turk. Hell, airplanes only fly here a few days a week and I doubt anyone is going to let me borrow Black Swan every time we’re home. I work in Washington...basically. And then there’s the problem that we’re gone all the time.” She threw her hands up in the air. “How the fuck is this going to work?”
Nita simply shrugged. “I have no idea. But I do know, I’m not the one you should be asking. That man behind the wheel with the great-looking ass is the person you need to be talking to, not me. There is one piece of relationship advice I will give you; talk to each other. Often. If you want this relationship to work, then work at the relationship. Sometimes I get so fucking mad at Daniel I could shoot him. Then there are other times I think he gets the raw end of our marriage. But we make it work. I refuse to think about the alternative”
“But, how—”
“Don’t ask me. Ask him.” She pointed to Shakespeare. “And now that I know you’re physically fine, I’m going to sleep. Bella has her days and nights backwards, so she was jabbering away at midnight last night. I’ve only slept two hours and I really want to dive today. This should be interesting.”
Lei Lu knew that once the plane was out of the water, which might happen before sunset, the team would be ordered back home. General Lyon might give them an extra day, but as usual, Black Swan would be in the air by nighttime, hiding in the darkness. They’d be required to land at Quantico and have their black jet inside the hangar before the first rays of the sun pass the horizon.
Katlin and Alex were sitting on the starboard side, quietly talking. This was Lei Lu’s opportunity to ask for some personal time. She wanted to stay in Turks and Caicos for another few days, at least. She and Shakespeare needed to experience life other than on adrenaline during a mission.
Sitting down beside Katlin, Lei Lu asked, “Can I take a few days personal leave after this mission is considered complete?”
“Alex and I were just talking about that.” Katlin smiled over at her fiancé. “We’d like to stay here for a couple of days. I’d love to do more diving, and to be honest, I’d love to lay on a sandy beach rather than that hard packed shit in the Middle East.” She reached over and laid her hand on Alex’s thigh. “We were thinking about going to Costa Rica to the Callahan compound, but why leave here? We would waste an entire day getting there. To answer your question, I’m putting in for leave also. Nita and Daniel have the rental for several more days and they, too, want to stay.”
Katlin shrugged. “Technically, we’re due five days leave after the long mission we just completed. I plan to ask for every minute of it. The worst they can say is no. If that’s the case, then we’ll all go home.”
Lei Lu stood up. “Thank you for asking for leave for the entire team. If granted, I plan to stay here.”
Katlin smiled up at her. “I figured that.”
As Lei Lu walked toward Shakespeare, she thought about Katlin and Alex. His company took him all over the United States, but they were able to get together every time the team returned from a mission. They made it work.
Shakespeare held out his arm, pulling her into his side. He kissed her on the forehead before returning his attention to the depth chart. “Everything okay?”
“I got a clean bill of health. I can even dive,” she added with satisfaction. She looked around the wheelhouse noticing that no one was nearby. “Can I ask you a serious question?”
“Certainly. But I’m not going to guarantee you’ll get an answer that you like, but it will be honest. And if it’s my middle name, you still have to guess.” He teased.
“I already know your middle name.” She lied but loved it when his eyebrows shot up. He went on tiptoes and whispered in his ear. “Stud. Muffin.”
His burst of laughter swelled her soul. She loved that she could make him laugh.
He gave her a quick peck. “Was that your serious question?”
“No.” She looked down at the deck beneath her feet. This was an eye to eye discussion, and probably not the right place to have it, or the right time. But time was the problem. They were running out of it. “I want you to know that I love you, but I live in Washington, D.C. and I work all over the world. I get called away with only a few hours’ notice. I want you in my life, but I don’t know how to make that happen.”
Shakespeare kissed her forehead again. “Me neither. But we’ll figure it out.” He laid his lips on her temple. “May I ask you a serious question?”
“Same rules apply,” she bantered back.
“I have to go home, to New York City, in five days for a meeting. While there, it’s my parents’ fortieth anniversary which means a mandatory appearance.” Shakespeare cringed. “It’ll be a black-tie, designer dress event with almost the entire New York City social register attending. Would you go with me and protect me from all the unmarried socialites?”
Then he quickly added, “And will you allow me to buy you a designer dress? You go pick it out, of course. I just want to pay for it.”
Damn, he was so fucking sweet. “Shakespeare, you don’t have to do that.” She then backed up. “To answer your question, yes. I would love to go with you. But you don’t need to buy me a dress. I actually have several designer dresses that I could wear.” True, she had bought them on sale from a secondhand shop where she and all the Ladies of Black Swan frequented on a regular basis.
“No. I want you to have the best,” he insisted. “I want to show you off in a custom-made dress by one of the biggest name designers in the world.”
He melted her heart. “I want you to be proud of me standing next to you, as long as you know the dress doesn’t make the woman. I’m still me underneath the glitter and glam. And I promise I won’t embarrass you. Social etiquette was part of our training, and I’ve attended multiple formals in my job. If you want me to go as your bodyguard, I have several dresses that conveniently hide my weapons.”
“Fuck, no. You’re going as my girlfriend.” He grinned. “But the fact that you carry a gun underneath a formal gown is hot as hell.”
He then apologized. “I’m sorry. Wear whatever the hell you want. Just know, if you want a new dress, I’ll buy it for you. I guarantee my mother will be in a Christian Dior original, my sister-in-law prefers Vera Wang, and you will see every designer in the world represented. I just didn’t want you to feel out of place.”
She smiled up at him. “My place is by your side. The only person I care about impressing is you.”
“Christ, I love you.” His strong arm smashed her to his body.
“Just let me know the time and date. I’m not sure where I’ll be.” That reminded her of her good news. “Katlin is going to ask for several days leave for the entire team once this mission is over. My plan was to stay here until I have to return to Washington.”
“That sounds perfect.” He kissed her temple once again. His arm stayed around her until they started to approach Mouchoir Bank.
As they approached the site of the sunken airplane, everyone stared at the Russian submarine floating topside perpendicular to the salvage ship and the American submarine, forming the pi sign. Several dozen Russian sailors sat atop the dry sub, cameras and cell phones in hand.
Katlin immediately got on her cell phone and had conversations with the captains of both American ships. “We’re going to let them watch. The decision came all the way down from the Joint Chiefs. There is nothing secretive about anything that’s going to happen today.”
The Russian ship wasn’t the only change. The salvage ship had moved within ten feet the buoy attached to the wing on the deepest side. Floating barriers to absorb and contain any fuel circled the area.
Lieutenant Danner and a boat coxswain appeared within minutes and quickly came aboard. “We prefer that only four divers go down at a time today. We were able to empty the fuel last night but the barriers will remain in place. We didn’t drain the hydraulic fuel and there’s always other liquids that escape. We tried to be as environmentally friendly as possible. My team will work in two-hour shifts since we’re in dry suits with our air supply coming direct from the ship.”
As part of her training, Lei Lu had worn that type of dive suit before. She’d felt like an astronaut on a spacewalk. The overalls were sealed to the gloves and thick rubber boots. Like an astronaut, the helmet attached with a stainless steel ring that sat on the shoulders. The large glass face shield allowed the diver to look all around. Since the entire suit was constantly filled with air from the ship on the surface, breathing was unencumbered. As a bonus, there was a communication line so the diver could talk not only to the ship, but to the other divers. For safety, lights and cameras were attached to their helmet and suits as well as a scuba tank affixed to their back.
Lieutenant Danner continued with his briefing. “Were going to try to lift the plane completely intact. It’s trickier than if we were to disassemble and raise each piece separately. We’re going to attach lift bags both underneath and on top to help maintain the integrity of the plane. Before we pump any air into the bags, you must be a minimum of fifty feet away from the lift zone.”
Smiling, he suggested, “The best view is going to be at about twenty feet from the surface. We’re going to try to control the lift, but as divers you know air expands the closer we get to the surface, and thus it moves faster. Thankfully, the water here is so clear. It’s just beautiful.”
“I would personally appreciate it if you would be as careful around the coral as possible.” Shakespeare folded his arms over his chest.
“We do everything we can to preserve the environment, but unfortunately, this is a huge airplane and the lift bags are necessary to get it off the bottom.” Lieutenant Danner held Shakespeare’s gaze. “I’m not going to lie to you. The coral underneath the airplane will probably get crushed by the bags, but we’re doing everything within our power to minimize that damage.
“When the plane is on the surface, you need to get out of the water immediately. We’ll be attaching straps to the cranes so the plane doesn’t drift away. This entire process is extremely dangerous, but we’re pleased that you are willing to photograph and video this lift. It’s going to help us so much in our training. We truly appreciate it.”
Eight hours and forty-two minutes later, the small cargo airplane was set on the salvage ship’s deck. Whoops and hollers came from everyone watching, including the Russian sailors.
Everyone was pumped, and exhausted. The typical end of a successful mission. Oli had brought a cooler of beers and everyone toasted before Shakespeare fired up the engines.
Clanging bells filled the air. All the Russian sailors ran toward the open hatch and disappeared.
“We need to get the fuck out of here. Grab something and hang on,” Shakespeare yelled as he pushed the controls all the way forward. “We’re going to try to outrun that submarine’s wake.”
The dive boat zipped across the gentle waves as the Russian submarine started to slowly move out to sea, causing a huge displacement of water. Although it rocked the big Navy ships, it could easily swamp the dive boat as Shakespeare pointed it back toward Grand Turk.
Katlin’s phone rang. When she finished the conversation, she moved to Shakespeare. “The American submarine captain said that was the Russian’s way of saying fuck you. He was proud that you recognized what was happening and we were gone before the wake hit us.”
Shakespeare smiled. “I call no joy.”
All the women laughed at the fighter pilot term for a missile that didn’t hit its target.
“I’m so glad that everyone got to dive today.” Lei Lu took a slug of beer.
“I’m just thankful everything went smoothly. When that one bag started to deflate, I was afraid the entire plane was going to tip over.” Katlin fake-shivered.
“Those guys knew exactly what they were doing.” Tori said.
“You got that right.” Nita clinked the neck of her bottle to Tori’s.
“I’m going up to the bow and catch some rays.” Harper grabbed her towel and headed that direction.
“What you really mean is that you’re going to go up front and sleep.” Grace grabbed her beach towel. “She stole my idea.”
Lei Lu stood next to Shakespeare, lost in worry. What if they were not granted leave? Would tonight be the last time they were together for weeks? Maybe even months? Would he forget about her? She sure as shit couldn’t forget about him. She was astonished at how quickly they fell in love, but she was positive it was love. At least on her side.
Shakespeare held out his arm and she automatically moved into him. “You’re thinking too hard. I don’t like that frown on your face.” He kissed her forehead. “We can talk more about it tonight if you don’t want to talk—”
He squinted then pulled back on the controls. “Take the wheel. I’m going to the flying bridge.”
Oh, fuck. Did he see the Russian submarine up ahead?
“What’s going on?” Katlin asked as she moved next to her.
“I have no idea. He just told me to take the wheel. He’s up on the flying bridge.” Lei Lu checked the depth gauge. Everything looked okay to her.
“Grab your binoculars,” Shakespeare called to everyone on the boat. “Whales.”
Everyone scrambled to their bags and grabbed whatever they had to enhance their sight.
“Two of them, at one o’clock. Looks like a mother and a calf. Look for the plume of water, kind of like a miniature geyser.” When everyone ran to that side of the boat, it tilted slightly. “Lei Lu, come on up here. I’ve got the wheel.”
Nita handed her binoculars as she started up the ladder.
At the next spurt, everyone’s excitement piqued.
“I can follow them but there’s an international law that says anything closer than one thousand yards is harassment and illegal. I’ve only seen a mother and calf a few times.”
“Where’s the rest of their pod?” Nita asked as she clicked the picture.
“That’s a humpback whale,” he explained. “They are independent and adults rarely travel together.”
For the next ten minutes they followed the whale and her calf as they headed for deeper water.
“Did everybody get the pictures they want?” Shakespeare was playing tour guide and good host. Lei Lu loved it. “I’m going to head back toward Grand Turk now.”
They both went down to the control room as everyone else settled around the boat. As they approached Grand Turk Island about a mile from the wall, Lei Lu wondered out loud, “Are those fishing boats?”
“No.” Shakespeare grabbed the radio and called to the other boat captains. Thirty seconds later, they had their answer. Shakespeare veered that direction. “Have everybody grab the binoculars again. They’re in for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
“What is it?” Lei Lu bounced on her toes.
“Five humpback whales bubble feeding.” His smile was so huge. “Hurry and round everybody up. Have them come here and I’ll explain what’s happening.”
As Shakespeare joined the other four boats, huge whale tails disappeared under the water.
“Damn, we missed it.” Nita lowered her binoculars.
“No. That’s just the beginning. We have about two minutes, so I’ll try to be concise.” Shakespeare explained, “Humpback whales are solitary, but they come together for bubble feeding. What happens is they dive down five or six hundred feet and start circling around a school of krill blowing bubbles.” He used his hands to demonstrate. “As they get closer to the surface, they tighten the circle. When they reach the surface, they open their mouths, filling them up with krill. Sometimes they’re so close together they practically touch. Keep your eyes on that part of the water and look for bubbles like you would for a diver coming up.”
He put the boat in idle far enough away that the current wouldn’t shove them into the other boats.
All of a sudden, black points appeared on the surface that grew until the whales were ten feet out of the water, their mouths open. Exclamations came from every boat. Lilly was so enthralled watching them that she forgot to take pictures. “Did anybody get a good picture?”
“I got a few.” Harper brought her digital camera over and showed everyone.
“I got it on video.” Alex smiled as he watched the replay.
“Oh my gosh, there they go again.” Grace pointed to where five huge tails disappeared under the surface.
“I’m going to be prepared this time and actually get a photo,” Lei Lu promised herself and the others.
For the next thirty minutes, they watched the wonders of nature.
“I hate to be a party pooper, but we really need to go.” Shakespeare went back to the controls and took them back to his dock.
She and Shakespeare saw the men in uniform at the same time. Oli joined them. “Any idea what’s going on?”
Oli checked his satellite phone. “None. Nobody called me so it can’t be that bad.”
Over her shoulder, Lei Lu heard Nita call Daniel.
Katlin and Alex threw the deputies lines to tie the boat, but as soon as it was close enough, Oli leapt onto the dock. They weren’t able to hear the conversation, but knew everything was okay when the police commissioner flipped them the thumbs up.
While his men tied the boat to the dock, Oli leaned in. “Six Russians caught the three o’clock flight to Trinidad. I’ll report it to Interpol, but they’re gone.”
As they carried the last of the tanks into Pop’s Place, the sun was sinking and would be gone within the hour. Lei Lu’s cell phone dinged with a text message as did all the other phones of the Ladies of Black Swan. They exchanged glances before anyone pulled out their cells.
Great job. Get Black Swan into the air as soon as possible. Refuel at Naval Air Station Jacksonville Florida. Debrief at 1:00 p.m. conference room number three.
Fuck. Tears came to her eyes as Lei Lu looked at Shakespeare. He had several hours of work to do; filling the tanks, gassing the boats, closing out the day’s books.
Their time had run out.