Edge of Tomorrow (27 page)

“I don’t think I have time to learn about
those weapons things,” laughed Syd, “but I have had training in
field first aid. Not up to your level, of course. What kind of
medical equipment is on board Shadow-3?”

“Not as much as I would like. There’s a full
First Aid cabinet on the port side, right next to the Medic
Station—your seat. It includes the usual selection of bandages,
antiseptics, et cetera. Also, morphine syringes, needles for
stitching, splints, neck collars. No defibrillator, though,” she
giggled. “Hopefully, things will go as usual and you won’t need any
of that stuff. Where did you learn field First Aid, Syd?”

Syd looked into Shirley’s green eyes for a
moment, and then decided that her entire background would be known
by all of these people sooner or later, if they did not know
already, so she decided the best approach was to be honest.

“In the MOSSAD,” she replied.

Shirley just stared at her, mouth agape.

“I know,” said Syd with a shrug. “That’s
everyone’s reaction. I trained with elite Metsada strike teams, and
basic field medical training was required. I just hope, like you,
that I won’t be called upon to use it.”

“Wow! MOSSAD? I thought I heard Sara say
earlier that you were a college language professor,” exclaimed
Shirley.

“That, too,” replied Syd with a weak
smile.

“You are really something, Syd! I’ll show you
where everything is on Shadow-3 tomorrow, just in case. Talk to you
later.”

Shirley rushed off to find someone to tell
what she had just learned about the newcomer.

• • •

Syd wandered into the Smoking Room where
Hatch, Sara, Brawley, Price, and Brawley’s wife Betty were having
their smokes and cognac. The men were smoking thin cigars, as was
Sara, and Betty was smoking a filtered cigarette. They were all
laughing boisterously at something Sara had just said. Syd was
surprised to see Hatch and Sara smoking cigars, since she had seen
neither smoke before. She had heard that non-smokers did that
occasionally.

“Hey, Dr. Z.,” yelled Sara, “there you are!
How about a cigar and a brandy?”

“I’ll skip the cigar, thanks, but I’ll have a
cognac,” replied Syd.

Hatch poured some expensive, 100-year-old
brandy into a large snifter and handed it to Syd as Sara went on
with her story. He clinked glasses with her and smiled.

“There is great camaraderie among these
people,” Syd said softly out of the side of her mouth, not wanting
to distract people from Sara’s spotlight.

“Yes. All of the teams are like this. I’m
very proud of them,” he whispered back.

Syd sipped her excellent brandy while the
ribald laughter continued to punctuate Sara’s dissertation. Syd had
seen this sort of behavior before: a strike team getting rid of
tension before a dangerous mission. She thought that perhaps she
should join in, because she certainly felt the tension herself; but
she was an outsider here. She had not earned their trust in long
hours of training or in combat shoulder to shoulder. She leaned
against a bookcase and watched in silence, sipping her drink.

Hatch saw her wrinkled brow and stepped
closer to her.

“Problem, Syd?” he asked.

She looked at him and said, “I don’t
know.”

“Do you want to talk?”

“I think so.”

“Let’s take it outside and get some
air. It should be cooler out there now. Bring your drink and follow
me,” he said, sidling to a door at the end of the room. It lead
them outside into a balmy evening. The stars were clear in the dark
sky. They sat down on a stone bench that had been constructed in
the 18
^th
century.

“Nice evening. It must have cooled off 20
degrees. What’s the prob, Syd?”

“Nothing earthshaking. It’s just that I’m an
outsider to this team. I know about team training. I went through
that in Israel. It’s all about building trust, and seamless
teamwork. How can these people trust me? And there is no way I can
perform all of Shirley’s functions on a mission. Why can’t we both
go? Shadow-5 certainly looked big enough,” said Syd.

“Shadow-3 is smaller than Shadow-5. Do you
doubt my mission planning abilities?”

Syd thought about that while she sipped
brandy. Hatch took a puff off his cigar and waited.

Finally, Hatch said, “I agree that Shirley’s
medical training surpasses whatever training you received in
MOSSAD, and she knows the weapon systems. If she also could speak
17 Middle-Eastern languages, and God knows how many dialects, and
if she knew Tabriz and its surroundings, and if she knew how Hamad
and his henchmen thought—then, yes, she would be going instead of
you. But she doesn’t—you do. There is not room for both of you, and
I believe your skills are more important to the success of the
mission.”

“And I thought you just liked my company,”
laughed Syd.

He put his arm around her and said,
“Syd, don’t be harsh with me. I
do
like your company, but that did not enter into my
decision.”

She leaned against him, enjoying their
closeness, not knowing what to say next.

“My God! I can’t believe my arrogance!
I’m treating you like I had the right to make decisions for you!
Please forgive me, Syd! I’m treating you like a damned asset. Those
people in there get paid very well to do my bidding—six figure
salaries, perks, mission bonuses, $10,000,000 life insurance
policies! I have no right to make
your
decisions. In fact, I should have offered
you compensation for this,” Hatch babbled.

“Don’t even go there, Hatch!” she
snapped, straightening up and looking at him. “Besides, we’ve
already had this discussion at lunch yesterday. This is my problem
and I thank you for helping me resolve it. I will do whatever you
think best, but I will
not
be
paid
to do
it!”

He saw her dark eyes flash, or were they just
reflecting the starlight?

“Why not? You know money is not an issue with
me.”

“I said don’t go there, Hatch! If you paid
me, I’d be working for you, right?”

“Yes, but …”

“And if I worked for you, and if I wanted to
…” she said, interrupting herself to kiss him on the lips, “… say,
kiss you sometimes in the future—just if—then I couldn’t do it,
could I?”

Hatch was stunned! Although it was a quick,
light kiss, the taste of her lingered on his lips, the taste of her
cognac and lipstick. He involuntarily ran his tongue over his lips,
savoring her lingering presence there.

“I said
if
,” she said, her voice more in control. “I
like to keep my options open. Who knows what a girl might want to
do to such an arrogant man!”

“And if the arrogant man wanted to
kiss
you
, he couldn’t if you
worked for him,” he said hoarsely.

“Exactly. Why preclude possible future events
just for the sake of money,” she whispered.

She took a sip of her brandy and looked at
him over the lip of the glass, then put the drink down on the stone
bench, her eyes not leaving his. She wanted to be kissed by this
man, feel his arms around her, and be wanted for just a moment.

“Well, Mr. Arrogance. Time has passed, it
must be the future. Are you going to kiss me properly, or not?” she
said, heart pounding.

He put his drink down and turned toward her,
taking her into both his arms. He leaned and kissed her gently on
the lips, feeling their softness. When they broke the kiss, she was
smiling.

“Now, isn’t that better than arguing?” she
whispered in his ear.

“You’re one hell of a woman, Sydney Steppe.
Thanks for putting me in my place!”

“Now that I have more or less forced you to
kiss me, I should apologize, but I won’t. I’ve wanted to do that
since we first met—certainly since lunch yesterday. I know your
problem with relationships, but I needed the kiss anyway.”

“I had a talk with the wonderful Dr. Zorrina
yesterday, and she might have cured me of my problem. At least, I
hope so. If I kissed you again, it wouldn’t be trickery on your
part, would it?”

“I don’t think so. I got my kiss, what do you
want?”

“I want to kiss you again. May I?”

“This is not a child’s game! Don’t ask, just
do it!”

He stood up and she arose with him. He pulled
her body to his, as he had done yesterday, feeling her breasts and
thighs against him. She put her arms around his neck and they
kissed deeply, gently chewing each others lips, touching tongues.
They broke for air and just held each other for a long moment.

“I was trying to wait for our second date,”
Syd mumbled in his ear, “but I wasn’t sure when that would happen,
if ever. You don’t think I’m a hussy do you?”

“Of course not! Our lives have been so
hectic, everything moving at the speed of light. At least, thanks
to you, we found another moment alone.”

“Do you think they’ve missed us? Or I
should say,
you
. Maybe we
should go back inside,” she said, although reluctantly.

“Not yet. I want to savor this moment. It’s
been a long time since I held a woman in my arms like this. I mean
…”

“I know what you mean. It’s been over three
years for me, too,” she whispered. “I feel so safe in your arms.
It’s really hard being a woman who has to be strong like a man most
of the time. Sometimes, I like to be just a woman.”

“You certainly feel like a woman to me,” he
laughed. “All woman!”

He kissed her again, without asking
permission. They kissed more passionately this time, exploring each
other’s mouths with frantic tongues. While his left arm held her in
a bear hug, he ran his right hand up and down her back, and over
her firm butt.

“I’m weak in the knees!” she said when they
broke the kiss. “Let’s sit a minute.”

They sat down on the bench and each took a
swallow of brandy, breathing heavily.

“Dr. Z. would be very proud of your progress
so far. Do you think you need another session with the venerable
Doctor?” asked Syd.

“What do you think Dr. Z. would tell me to do
next?” he smiled.

“Well, she might advise you that what worked
once may work again. Kat’s petting rule might very well be the
proper approach,” she smiled back.

“But tell Dr. Z. that it was pure
torture!”

“And you loved every minute of it! I could
tell by the way you told the story!”

“I suppose we could try,” he pouted. “But
this is not a good place to do heavy petting. I suppose we could go
and find a car and use the back seat,” he chortled.

“There is one thing that Dr. Z. doesn’t
understand,” said Syd.

“What’s that? She seems very knowledgeable to
me!”

“The Doctor doesn’t realize that Ms. Steppe
doesn’t know whether she has the self control that Kat had. How did
she do it?”

“I don’t know. She was an extraordinary woman
in many ways I never understood,” he answered. Then, he sat bolt
upright. “Why, you sneaky thing! You’re a woman in Z.’s clothing!
You have me talking about Kat as if she were actually dead, instead
of a ghost haunting me. Maybe I’ve finally let her go!”

He pulled Syd to him and kissed her again,
with great passion. This time she took his right hand and placed it
on her left breast. He felt its firmness, and felt the hard nipple
on his palm.

“Dr. Z. is very happy!” she mumbled.

“How about Ms. Steppe?”

“So is she,” purred Syd.

Moments later, Syd broke the embrace,
breathless again.

“I think we should go back inside now. You’ve
had enough therapy for now,” panted Syd.

“What? You don’t trust me, do you? Neither
did Kat,” he laughed.

“I trust
you
. I’m not sure I trust
myself
! I don’t want to rush things and ruin our
chances. I don’t want to panic you so you’ll drop me like a hot
potato! Until I find out if you are good enough for me!” she
laughed, punching him on the shoulder.

Although she was elated, Syd felt curiously
uneasy. What did the future really hold for her? How safe was this
upcoming mission? She shivered though the air was warm.

Triple Eye Office, Istanbul

Saturday, August 4, 2001

9:35 A.M.

After breakfast, the team assembled in a
large room which they referred to as the “War Room.” There were
several computer stations lined up in two rows. There was also a
large screen on the far wall. It reminded Syd of a NASA mission
control room. The crew took seats at computer stations, as did
Sara, so Syd followed their lead. Hatch went to the front, stood in
front of the large screen, and addressed the group.

“Yesterday, I programmed some satellite
passes over the target area. There should be a digital file in our
central system at Langley named
Tabriz.sat.08032001.
I want Carl and John to
pull up the building and analyze it for structural weaknesses—soft
spots. I need to know how to knock it down with the least
expenditure of ordinance—and fast. John, put the building on the
big screen when you have it created in this system. There will be
IR and X-ray readings in the file to help in your analysis. Mike
and Sam, start plotting a flight path to and from the target. I
want to maximize stealth and safety. Avoid known SAM sites. Also,
check the weather for today and tomorrow.”

“I’ve got a model built,” said John T.
Blanchard, the Offensive Weapons System Specialist. The image of a
four-story building appeared on the big screen behind Hatch. Syd
looked at it carefully as Hatch continued to give instructions to
the team. She was certain that she had seen the building before,
but from quite a distance. There was a lot of vacant land around
it, the perimeter of which was encircled by chain-link fence with
razor wire on top. She had gone there once with her sniper rifle in
an attempt to kill Hamad. She had failed because of the distance
from the building to the closest cover.