Wes Samuels and Chris O’Brian were former Army pilots who had gone to work for the FBI, then “P” Branch and now the SOD Group. They had taken up a collection the previous September at Mike and Missy’s formal wedding engagement party and had announced that the large group there were gifting the couple with a three-night weekend package, all expenses paid to whatever destination they might choose anywhere in the world. Meals, hotel room, spa, whatever … The two pilots would of course be the ones flying them to wherever that might be.
Mike knew Missy had been to a lot of places now, many of which he’d been at with her. He wanted them to go somewhere Missy had never been, somewhere far away from any of the world’s many problems. While Missy had never been to Hawaii, he had crossed that off the list since that’s where John and Tracy were going. No, he wanted someplace unique that could be special, just for the two of them.
“Okay, okay … so what are your latest thoughts, then?” asked Missy.
“I’ve been thinking about Queenstown, New Zealand. It’s supposedly the adventure capital of the world and since you’re definitely my queen … well … you know. I even did some research. There are no mountain lions in New Zealand.”
Missy laughed at that and said, “Ahh, so you want to take me far, far away and are hoping we won’t be interrupted byanydistractions then. Which adventures will we go on, outside of all those in our bedroom?”
Mike chuckled and said, “That’s the fun part. There are relaxing options likesome private frolicking at Onsen Hot Pools and scenic cruises on Lake Wakatipu. Then, there are adventurous pursuits such as helicopter tours over the Southern Alps, jet boating on the Shotover River, and even bungee jumping. We can enjoy wine tasting in the Gibbston Valley, take a gourmet BBQ cruise to Walter Peak, or ride the Skyline Gondola for more panoramic views.As long as I have your full attention as we share such things, I really don’t care. It’syouthat make my day, Missy!”
“Oh, goody! I promise I’ll make your day and I’ll also make yournight, Michael. Over and over again. All of those sound great. Let’s do that! Tell Wes and Chris that’s where we want to go and let them start arranging everything for us.”
“Excellent!” exclaimed Mike. “We’ll fly out on Thursday after our wedding andreturn on Sunday, July third. That way, you can spend some time at home with your family on July fourth before returning to the Army overseas. I assume they’ll let you take leave for that long, right?”
“Oh, yes! Everyone knows how important you are to me and they want to support our marriage as much as possible. You’ve made many sacrifices on my and our country’s behalf during these past four years. I’ve been told to take as much time as I want.”
They continued to discuss their honeymoon plans for a while longer and then finally said their goodbyes. Missy then went out to see what was on the menu for supper. It had been a busy day, getting flown back from Ukraine and then being debriefed on their mission in the Operations Center. Since themission was considered to be a complete success by everyone, that had all been fairly enjoyable.
Just then both Mel and Ruby approached. Mel said, “Hey, Luis tells me you went commando during your little vacation in Russia. I had wanted him to finally get to see those special panties I gave you.” Staff Sergeant Luis DeMarco was now Mel’s boyfriend and that arrangement seemed to be working.
“No way, I’ll only wear those on missions when you’re along to police up my stuff,” said Missy with a huge smile. “Living off the land when you’re surrounded by men is, as you know, always a challenge. I try to keep things as simple as possible.”
Ruby said, “Riiiiight … hopefully, one or both of us girls will get to go on future missions with you. As I’m sure you know … we can really help with that.” She hooked one arm through Missy’s and her other arm through Mel’s and the three then made their way to the mess hall.
Chapter Nine
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
Lila woke up, got out of bed and after quickly using the bathroom she got dressed for her morning run. She had made it her habit to run for forty minutes every morning ever since her decision months earlier to attend West Point. On Friday she had graduated from high school. She and Patrick had then come down here to stay at John’s apartment the next day. John and Tracy were visiting Tracy’s family in Texas.
Patrick sat up in bed and watched her getting ready for her usual routine. He said, “Hey, are you sure you don’t want me to run with you this time?” He had asked her this question many times before but she always insisted on going out alone. “You know I worry some crazy guy might grab you while you’re out there, right?”
Lila chuckled and said, “Let him try. I’ll fry his ass quicker than he can get a hand on me. Your sister and her friends have helped teach me how to defend myself, as you well know.” Plus, of course, she was a fire witch. Hence, her threat to “fry” any attacker.
“Yeah, but I still worry. I won’t slow you down too much,” grumbled Patrick.
“Actually, you would. I’ve gotten myself into really great shape now and I intend to continue getting ready for Beast Training. There is no way I’m going to wash out due to not being physically able to handle whatever I might need to handle there.”
“Hey, Tracy had no problem and you’re now in as great a shape as her,” protested Patrick. He knew Tracy was Lila’s real role model rather than Missy. “Also, your recent times at the track are definitely good enough for West Point’s track team. You’re gonna do great!”
Lila would be reporting for R-Day on Monday, June twenty-seventh. They still had some time. Since they wouldn’t see one another very much after that, they were spending all their time being together until then. Lila’s mother had grudgingly accepted this situation and had given them her blessing.
Not only was it convenient to be there in John’s place in New York but since Sally had insisted on Lila being one of her bridesmaids along with Tracy, this enabled the two of them to see each other often. They had a hotel room booked down in New Jersey near the wedding venue for when John and Tracy returned. Sally was currently staying with Troy, of course, who had an apartment in the same building as John.
Meanwhile, Troy was having Patrick work for him, helping out with his role in the FBI Psychic Division. Troy, a finder witch, was running the New York office for that organization and had already recruited Scott Robinson, a water witch. The two of them were being asked on more and more cases, thanks to the very high success rate for all the ones they’d handled so far. Having Patrick answer the phone and manage the office while the two witches worked their cases was a win-win for everyone.
Since Scott’s fiancée Sandy D’Amato had also just graduated from high school and had moved in with Scott, Patrick and Lila were seeing her quite often now and they wereall getting along great. Scott and Sandy’s wedding wouldn’t be until October but Troy and Sally’s wedding was coming up that Sunday.
After Lila kissed him goodbye and went out the door, Patrick got up. After showering and getting dressed for the day, he prepared a nice breakfast which the two of them could enjoy upon Lila’s return. His soulmate was a witch. She was choosing a difficult path and he wanted to support her in every way possible. He had already found that doing that was what brought him the greatest happiness possible.
-----
Nikolai Vassiliev studied the man sitting across from him. Then he asked, “Can you assure me there will never be any evidence suggesting I am behind this? Yury’s death must be blamed on foreign enemies.”
Stepan Valnovitch replied, “It will be, don’t worry. And, as you have insisted, it will happen when his mistress is with him while they are outside of the country. This trip of theirs to Beijing will provide us with the perfect opportunity.”
Nikolai was YuryBorisovich’s closest associate and had carried out many investigations for that man over the years. He had messed up, however, when investigating Yury’s latest mistress MissyKabachnik. He had overreached, entering her apartment while she and Yury were away in Zurich. He had hoped to find something he could use to blackmail her with but instead, due to the surveillance camera outside her apartment, he had merely triggered her to come after him.
