Edge of Tomorrow (39 page)

A round of fresh drinks was at their seats,
compliments of the management. Hatch lit another cigarette.

“There is only one other dance I consider
more sensual than this one,” he said as he blew smoke toward the
ceiling.

“I can’t believe there is a sexier dance than
that one! If it had lasted any longer, I think I would have had an
orgasm!” she giggled quietly.

“We can’t have that. I like to share those
with you!”

“What’s the other one?” she asked, changing
the subject.

“It’s a Greek one, danced in most of
the taverns in Greece. It’s a slow, one-on-one version of
the
Hassapiko
. The music must
be played on authentic Greek instruments, like the
Lavouto
,
Bouzouki
, and
Naglamas
. I don’t think it works as well on the
piano. Did you ever see the movie
The
Greek Tycoon
?”

“Yes, some time ago,” she answered.

“Do you remember the dance done by Anthony
Quinn and Jacqueline Bisset in the Greek tavern? He never touched
her, but it was the most sexual scene I have ever seen!”

“I do remember that. You can teach me
that?”

“The next time we’re in Greece.”

“I can hardly wait!”

“Speaking of the piano, Bob, are you ready to
let me rest these tired fingers?” interrupted Johnnie.

“Sure, why not? Syd’s been wanting to hear me
play and this is the first chance we’ve had,” answered Hatch,
putting his hand on Syd’s knee again.

Johnnie pulled his mike closer and said,
“Listen up you Lounge Lizards! You’re in for a treat tonight! Bob
‘Broadway’ Kelly is in the building tonight and he has consented to
thrill you with his incomparable renditions of show tunes while I
take a break. So, here’s the Music Man himself, Bob Kelly!”

There was a great deal of applause,
especially from those who had heard him play before.

Hatch took over the piano and opened
with his version of the title song from
Cabaret
. That really warmed up the crowd,
getting Hatch into the mood, and he reeled off several more of his
favorites. He
loved
being Bob
Kelly.

Syd was astonished at how great he was. She
felt like jumping up and yelling, “I’m with him!”

When finally he stopped and took a sip of his
weak bourbon drink, while the crowd applauded, he asked Syd across
the piano, “Want to sing something now?”

“I don’t know if I should after that
display!” she answered.

“Come on, I want to hear you!” he
cajoled.

“OK, give me the cordless mike.”

She walked to the empty dance floor with the
mike in her hand. All eyes were on her.

Hatch said into his mike, “Ladies and
gentlemen,
my
date, the
lovely Sydney!”

There was a lot of applause, since many
recognized her as the woman who had humiliated the bully
earlier.

“Thank you, you’re so kind. But perhaps you
should wait until you have heard me. I haven’t done this in quite
awhile. For this number I should have a top hat and a cane, and
definitely not be in this tight dress!” she said

There was a lot of laughter and whistles from
the crowd, mixed with a few lewd remarks about some of her body
parts.

She really knows how to
work a crowd!
thought Hatch.

“Bob, can you play
New York, New York
?”

The crowd went crazy as she sang and strutted
her stuff in her best Liza Minelli style, though the long, tight
dress required her to improvise her moves—which the men in the
audience enjoyed immensely.

While the audience clapped, whistled,
and yelled, “
More
!” she
whispered something in Hatch’s ear, and went back to the dance
floor. When he started to play, the crowd hushed as she began
singing
I’ll Never Walk
Alone
, quite a contrast to her first number. The
lounge became completely silent as she sang, building the emotion
as she reached her final note. There was no sound from the audience
for a moment, then came cheering and applause. She bowed her head
to them, feeling very good about herself.

Hatch could not have been prouder of
her. He stood and stretched his arm toward her, and the cheering
volume increased. He sat back down at the piano and began the eerie
prelude to the
Phantom of the
Opera
, then he started singing Raoul’s part of the
duet
All I Ask of You
,
looking at Syd. She nodded and walked over and stood beside him.
They had made a connection and the duet went flawlessly, to their
own delight, and the delight of the crowd.

• • •

They arrived back at Syd’s condo at 3:15
A.M., and she kicked off her heels as soon as the door was closed
behind them.

“God that was fun! Unzip me so I can get out
of this dress and stretch my legs!” exhaled Syd.

Hatch unzipped it, and for good measure,
unhooked her strapless bra. She wriggled out of the dress and took
it to her closet and hung it up, tossing her bra on the dresser.
She walked back to the living room in her pantyhose, her bare
breasts bouncing, and sprawled on the couch, her legs spread wide
apart.

“Oh, it feels good to be able to move my legs
apart! I forgot how confining that dress is! Of course, I haven’t
worn it in quite awhile.”

“You were gorgeous in it! You’re gorgeous
now!” exclaimed Hatch, gazing at her from the small wet bar where
he was fixing another weak bourbon and water for himself and a wine
for her. He sat their drinks on the cork coasters and lit a
cigarette.

“I was very proud of you, Syd! Your singing
and dancing was extraordinary. I haven’t had so much enjoyment in
years! Having you on my arm made me feel very special—everyone was
envious of me,” he said. “How’s that for an ego trip?”

“I felt the same way, so I won’t rag on you
for those sexist remarks! Thanks for letting me handle that
asshole. Being humiliated by a woman punished him more than if you
had done it, or the bouncer.”

“I knew you could do it all right. I was just
hoping you didn’t maim him badly. We didn’t need any more cops
around. That asshole doesn’t know how lucky he was,” laughed Hatch
as he hung his suit on hangars.

“You must have more faith in me.
I
am
a professional, and I
know when to show restraint. I only get real rough when I think
someone is in real danger. As you know, I only use lethal force
when it is absolutely necessary.”

“I’ll never doubt you again.”

“You know, I’ve been trying to get to
know you better—find out what makes you tick. I think I learned
something about you tonight. I know spies have to be good actors to
pull off all of their cover stories, but you weren’t acting out Bob
Kelly tonight—you
were
Bob
Kelly! Kat fell in love with Bob Kelly, didn’t she? She never even
knew there was a Bob Hatcher, did she? And, of course, Van Lincoln
didn’t even exist back then,” stated Syd seriously.

“I was going to tell her when the time was
right. I didn’t like hiding things from her, but it was necessary
at that time. But there really is no Bob Kelly. That’s still me,”
he answered.

“No, I don’t think so. You’re in denial as to
who you really are: Bob Hatcher, Bob Kelly, or Van Lincoln the
recluse billionaire who spends most of his time playing
International Vigilante. And God knows how many more of you there
are!”

“You’re making me sound like
The Three Faces of Eve
. I’m not a
schizo with multiple personalities,” he laughed. “I only use
aliases some places so I can relax and enjoy myself. Van Lincoln is
never sure when people are being honest.”

“I can understand that, I guess. Dr.
Steppe and Anna Klein certainly got different kinds of respect,”
she chortled. “But, whoever you are, I definitely liked Bob Kelly
tonight. He showed me a
wonderful
time!”

“Does that mean you prefer him to Hatch
Lincoln?”

“Of course not! I’m screwing Hatch Lincoln,
am I not? I don’t screw men I don’t like! Speaking of which, I
suppose the perfect end to a perfect day would be a nice roll in
the hay, but—I can’t believe I’m saying this—my pubic bone is very
sore from our previous marathon antics,” moaned Syd. “But I won’t
deny you if you’ll be gentle.”

Hatch looked at her with tenderness, not
believing how fortunate he was to have met such a woman.

“Ve haff vays to giff sie pleasure mit out
hurting sie,” he said with a mock German accent. “Get those
pantyhose off and lay back on the couch.”

“Do you mean what I think you do?” she asked,
wide-eyed.

“Yes, if it doesn’t offend you.”

“Offend me? Heavens no! Nothing you could do
could offend me! I’ve just never asked a man to do that before,”
she whispered.

“You’re not asking. It’s something I’ve been
wanting to do.”

“What about you—afterwards?”

“We’ll think of something.”

“Would reciprocation be in order?” she asked,
smiling.

“That’s a new word for it, but definitely!
Now lie back and enjoy!”

Syd’s Condo, Marco Island, Florida

Monday, August 13, 2001

8:30 A.M.

Syd and Hatch were sitting in the living room
having coffee as Hatch checked his messages. They had showered
together earlier, and while he was dressed already, she had on just
her light shortie robe.

Sunday had been a lazy day. They had slept
late, then spent the afternoon at the beach, just playing in the
surf, talking, and reading. They had packed a picnic lunch and a
cooler filled with beer, water, and wine so they could eat and
drink when they pleased, no further planning required. Monday had
finally arrived, and Syd had to face reality again, no matter how
much she had enjoyed her fairy-tale weekend.

“Anything serious?” Syd asked as Hatch put
his Blue Phone down.

“Mostly routine. One call bothers me though.
My Chief-of-Station in Rome left a message saying one of our agents
was killed in a shootout. It was supposed to have been a routine
pick up of some intelligence document,” he said, sipping his
coffee. “I’d better call him and get more details. It’s afternoon
there now, so he should be available.”

“I didn’t think Triple Eye people did
dangerous things. I thought that was reserved for Lincoln’s
Liberators,” said Syd.

“It is very unusual for Triple Eye personnel
to be hurt—much less killed—gathering data,” he mused. “I’ll call
Carmelo Cifelli now and find out what happened.”

While Hatch talked with Cifelli, Syd went to
the bedroom and dressed in jeans, yellow blouse, and white
sneakers. When she returned, Hatch was just finishing his call.

“Ciao
!” he
said as he hung up.

Turning to Syd, he said gravely, “It’s worse
than I thought. I have to go to Rome and sort this thing out.”

“How come that doesn’t surprise me,” Syd said
flatly, disappointment in her voice.

“Why don’t you come with me, Syd? I’d love to
show you Rome! My place there is fabulous! It’s an old renovated
castle, moat and all!” he bubbled.

“And a drawbridge, I’ll bet!” she said.
“Hatch, I have a job to call about today, and I have to find a
place to live in Miami! I can’t go off to Italy with you! As much
as I would love to! I have a life, and I can’t let you steal
it!”

She got up and started pacing. He knew he had
to defuse the situation and change her mind.

“Maybe there’s a compromise. When do you have
to report to work?” he asked.

“Hatch! I have to find a place to live—and
move!”

“I know, I know. I asked
when
?”

“Classes start September 17. I have to report
on the tenth for a week of orientation,” she replied.

“Good! We have four weeks,” he said.

“You’re not listening! I have to …”

He held up his hand to stop her, saying, “I
heard you! You can tell Mrs. C. what you want, the areas to look
at, and she can take care of it for you. She can line up several
choices for you. All you’ll have to do is pick one. It will save
you a lot of boring house hunting, and she’s an expert at things
like this.”

“Hatch, I can’t keep letting you do things
for me. Mrs. C. should be doing your work, not mine!”

“She has plenty of spare time, especially
with me out of town, and she likes you. She’d love to do it!”

“As if she would have a choice,” laughed Syd.
“You think, she jumps.”

“Look, we’re just getting to know each other.
Just think of it as your last vacation before you start back to the
daily grind. We’ll be gone a week—we’ll have a ball! Dinners,
shopping, dancing! Sex! Then I’ll bring you back, if that’s what
you want,” Hatch implored.

“Damn you, Hatch! You know I want to be with
you! You’re not playing fair!” she groaned.

She stopped pacing and went to him, put her
arms around his neck, and looked into his eyes. He bent and kissed
her.

“This trip will be a true vacation. No Shadow
trips, no dangerous stuff. Just fun and lovin’,” he urged.

“Hell! I’ll do it! I know I’m thinking with
my hormones, not my head, but you do that to me! Let me call the
University and get things squared away. By the way, what do you
tell your people at Klaus Haus? They know you spent the weekend
here with me,” she said. “Now you’re taking me on a business trip
to Rome?”