Crystal Clear (5 page)

A
loud honk
sounded
behind her.  She shook her head to clear the memory, glanced up and noted the light had turned green
. S
he stepped on the gas pedal, no time for that now.

Cindy pulled into the resort and noted the finely manicured lawns, and landscaping.  The place was well kept,
and
maintained for the upper-class
who
liked to come and play on the weekends.  T
here was a golf course and time-shares nearby, and a fine-
dining restaurant on the premise called
,
The
Three
Seasons. 

She stopped by the office lodge and picked up her key card. 
The room was
located toward the back of the resort just off some of the prime hiking paths, or so the clerk had told her.  If she hiked to the left of her room she would come across
Lava
Island
and the
Deschutes
River
.  She thanked him, got in her little Kia and drove to her room.

Cindy noted horse stables. S
he might go riding, if she had time.  She had always loved horses, but never got the
opportunity to ride because she and her father
always moved
.  The first
priority though was to find the
satellite. 

Cindy slid the card thru the lock, opened the door and smiled when she saw the welcoming basket.  She wal
ked over and picked up the card.

“
Have a great day and enjoy your first… love, Garrett and Montgomery
.” 

Cindy grinned and put the card down. 

She strolled over and looked out her back porch. 
The view was spectacular. S
he
saw
the
Three
Sister
Mountains
and
Mount
Bachelor
from her porch
the white-capped mountains sloped towards the clouds in the distance
.  Treet
ops seemed to go on for miles.

The map
the Agency
provided for her
indicated
that
the fallen satellite
had
landed
off to the South.  It had evidentially fallen at night, so there weren’t many witnesses wh
en the satellite went down.  Cindy
hoped she wouldn’t run across any trouble. She had secured a raft for the trip down the
Deschutes
river in the morning
which
would take her within a few hiking miles of the satellite. 

Montgomery
heaped tons of things into her pack, and Cindy spent quite a bit of time wading through the things
she
thought necessary. 
Cindy
ended up with a basic survival kit after she enlisted the help of
Montgomery
’s new husband
. 

Cindy noticed the
Three
Seasons restaurant as she drove in, and decided it would be alright if she raided the Agency’s bank account for a nice dinner out.  As she pulled out the one black dress she had brought along, she changed while anticipating a juicy salmon dinner.

Cindy grabbed her laptop and walked down to the restaurant. 

As she walked inside a nicely dressed man smiled as he greeted her, “Hello, I’m Havier.  I’ll be your host for the evening.  Welcome
to
the Three Seasons.”  Havier led Cindy to a beautiful table by a brick fireplace.  “Would
you care for a glass of house B
oeurdou? We have an excellent vintage from the south of
France
.  I would recommend it with the rosemary salmon.” 

“That would be lovely, thank you.”  Cindy smiled up at him,
and
he grinned back approvingly. 

He left to acquire her drink, and she pulled out her laptop.  As she worked, Havier brought out her wine. 
She t
ast
ed
th
e full-bodied, rich flavor and
studied the computerized map where the satellite crashed. 

The area was mountainous, and the terrain reported to be rocky.  There was a section of the river not navigable and she would have to take the raft out and hike for a distance.  When she had spoken to the guide Patrick, he had told her about the level 5 rapids she would need to avoid. 

Evidently, the rapids graded from one through six.  One being a slow, easily rode rapid, while six was equivalent to
Niagara Falls
.  Not even the locals would ride the level fives.  Patrick told h
er about a time when the movie
Without a Paddle
was filmed.  They’d used the
Deschutes
as the river Seth Green and the other actors rafted down.

Since none of the locals would play the stunt doubles, they had to use mannequins in the boat as it went over.  The locals say there
were
still parts of the mannequins floating at the base of the falls. 

Cindy laughed to herself as she thought of any bystander that might come across one. 

Eventually her dinner arrived.  She could tell the establishment was high-class due to the length of service time.  Shaking her head, she took her first bit of salmon
,
divine.  Havier was a wonderful judge of excellent
food
. 

She glanced at her computer screen and noticed the satellite image fill
ed
with weather clouds that crossed the path she wanted to take in the morning.  Cindy didn’t relish the idea of getting wet.  The rafting ride
would
be enough without having problems with rain.

With decisive movements she sent her laptop to sleep and closed the lid. 
It wasn’t smart
to shut down any electrical equipment improperly.  Even if she was frustrated
,
Cindy always took the time to do things right. 

She smoothed a hand down the length of her dress and took a long drink of her champagne. 
Cindy r
each
ed into her handbag, and
pulled
out her cell,
then
flipped it open to dial
Montgomery
’s
number. 
Montgomery
would already know where she was, but it was always nice to touch base.

The phone rang, “What up girl?” 
Montgomery
sounded hyper, her usual state, and Cindy smiled again.  “You safely installed?”

“Yeah, it’s a really nice place.  The waiter’s even named Havier.  Not the normal place I would choose for my vacation, but after eating the salmon, I am not going to complain.  You should see the mountains from here, they look huge.  I suppose it isn’t quite as exotic as
Colombia
, but it’ll do in a pinch.  How’s Garrett?” Cindy took another bite of salmon. 

“Being Garrett, he’s worried about you being out on your own for the first time.”

“He knows I’ll be fine.” 
She knew
Montgomery
’s
husband wo
rried over all the team members.
Cindy tried to reassure her.

“That’s what I keep telling him.  I believe I recall saying something about him being a macho pig last night.”
Montgomery
chuckled on the other end of the line, “Yes, name-calling has commenced.”

Cindy couldn’t help the large grin that spread across her face, “Luce, you’re wonderful.”

“I know.  So, are you headed out first thing tomorrow?
You’
re scheduled fo
r rafting in the morning, but I’m aware of
how much you hate the rain.  I
watched
the news for your area, and they say to expect it.”

Again, Cindy grimaced, “Yes, I’m still planning to go.  I can’t let a little weather get in my way this time.  There’s a time frame that I have to work with.  The boss wouldn’t like it if the other guys got to the spot before me.  Imagine the rant he’d go into.”  Cindy could envision
Killroy
storming around the office and threatening her job.  “It wouldn’t be good for his ticker.”

Montgomery
laughed over the phone.  The sound was good to hear.  Once again, Cindy was glad
Montgomery
didn’t allow the relationship she had with Chase affect their friendship.  The on again
,
off again relationship they had developed came to light during the last mission.  Unfortunately
,
Cindy didn’t feel the same way about Chase she believed he felt about her. 
S
he’d move on eventually,
Cindy
just didn’t come across men that she believed would want her.  After all, who would go for the, by the way,
I’m a spy
routine. 

“
Cindy,
take time for yourself tonight.  You never know what will happen tomorrow.  It could be a long time before you can do your own thing again depending on how this mission pans out.  Is there a h
ot tub on site?”

Cindy sighed and thought of the pool area she passed on her way in, “Yeah.  That sounds like a plan.  Perhaps I’ll get my suit and go swimming for a little while.  The hot water would be nice.  Hey, I’ll talk with you later.  I’m almost done with dinner.  I think I’m going to be decadent and dine on the Crème Brule and then take a dip.  You talked me into it.” 

Cindy
grinned
again as they said goodbye, and placed her phone back in the small handbag she carried with her.  Havier came back a few times to check on her, and smiled graciously when she ordered her desert.  She left a generous tip for him and headed back to her room.

Changing, Cindy checked
herself in the bathroom mirror. C
omplete in red bikini, she grabbed a towel, and a book
,
and
headed out to the pool.  The area was lit by floodlights that illuminated the
water
in a soft blue glow. 

Cindy sighed as she eased her aching muscles into the steaming water of the Jacuzzi.   She stretched.  It was a long flight from
Colombia
, and her arms and back
were
stiff with fatigue. 
Tomorrow would be no different.
Cindy leaned her hea
d against the edge of the tub.

*
***

A man in the pool directly across from her watched patiently.  His query
was unaware of being observed. H
e’d have it stay that way.  The target was rather beautiful with her chocolate brown hair wet and streaming down around her to billow in the water around her body.  He could think of a few things he would like to do to
her
body. 

Eyes narrowed to slits and they traveled the length of her.  From her long, smooth legs up flawless skin, over her pert rounded breasts barely concealed in the skimpy bikini she wore, scraps of r
ed fabric dared
him like no other.  He felt himself harden at the thought, and his hands itched to do unimaginable things to her that would probably shock most people, but then, he wasn’t most people. 

A wicked smile formed on his mouth at the fantasy he started to create in his mind.  This
would
be quite the assignment.  He licked his lips as he watched her climb out of the Jacuzzi tub exactly fifteen minutes from when she slid
into the frothy water.  Water ran
in rivulets down her sleek body, yes, this
would
be interesting indeed.

Cindy toweled off, and shivered as she wrapped the fluffy cloth around herself.  Looking around, she didn’t see anyone watching her, but she did notice a couple swimming in the pool nearby.  The man was fit with dark, sandy
blond hair. The woman clung
to him laughing. 

She shook
her head,
probably just her jangled nerves. 
Cindy pulled
the towel closer around her chest,
and
grabbed her things
making
her way back to the room.

The pavement was hard against her bare feet, but she didn’t mind.  She would go without shoes all the time if she could get away with it.  Cindy climbed up the wooden staircase to her room, and paused in the hallway.  She felt uneasy.  As she approached her hotel room door,
and
kept alert.

Nothing appeared out of place.  She swiped her key and shoved open the door.  Stepping inside, she looked around.  To the untrained eye it would appear as though no one had been inside her room, but she knew differently.

Nothing had been taken, but the welcom
e basket had been moved. H
er toiletries case
set
in a slightly different position, and her toothbrush now
lay
at the top of the bag. T
he drawer in the nightstand next to the bed
stood
slightly ajar.