The Memory Agent & Fool Me Once (10 page)

Duke remains
inside of her, kissing her tenderly as they lay joined together on the
bed.
 
She gently touches his face;
he moves his head to kiss her palm.
 
“So far, that’s been the best memory of my life,” he says with love.

She doesn’t
hesitate to respond with the same amount of love in her meaning. “Mine, too.”

Duke slowly
pulls out of Claire.
 
He lies
partially on top of her, their eyes locked, their bodies mingled.
 
He kisses her tenderly as she sensually
runs her fingers down his back.
 
Duke plays with her breasts, planting wet kisses on them, her nipples
hardening again by his touch.
 
Claire moans as she moves her hips against Duke’s, longing filling her
body, her eyes.

Duke smiles at
her, “I want to be back inside of you, too.”
 
She reaches for his manhood and fondles it until it’s stiff
and ready; she guides it inside of her.
 
Duke’s back on top pushing himself deeper inside of her, their eyes
locked; no words are needed, there is no greater feeling in the world for
either of them.

*****

The SUV is parked around the corner from the motel.
  
Whitmore, seated in the passenger
seat, watches the tracking device.
 
It hasn't moved.

“It's been over an hour, sir.
 
Shall I drive by the motel again?” The driver asks.

“No,” Whitmore responds, emotionless.

Duke and Claire lay naked in bed, spooning and spent.

“I'm going to take a shower and then we should get going,” Claire says
as she reluctantly pulls away from Duke.
 

“One more time?” He asks, flirtatiously.
 
His come hither look is really damn hard to refuse.

But Claire manages to refuse it.
 
She flirts back.
 
“I caved
to that question three times. Where did you get such stamina, especially after
major surgery?”

“You inspire me,” he says, as he fondles one of her breasts.

Claire, showing resolve, pulls away.
 
“Shower and we should get going.”
 
Claire removes her bracelet and places it on the dresser top
near the bathroom door.
 
She enters
the bathroom.
 
Duke, smiling wide,
hops out of bed.

In the bathroom, Claire turns on the shower and steps in.
 
Duke enters the bathroom and joins
Claire in the shower.
 
They soap
each other up exploring every inch of each other’s body.
 
Duke is hard again and wanting.
 
He lifts Claire up and gently pushes
her back into the shower wall. She wraps her legs around his hips as he enters
her.
 
They make passionate love as
the water cascades over their bodies.

After the shower and lovemaking, Duke leaves the bathroom with only a
towel wrapped around his waist.
 
He
heads towards the suitcase when he accidently knocks Claire’s bracelet off of
the dresser.

As he picks it up he sees the tracking device.
  
His expression sinks.
 
He doesn't look pissed or vengeful.
 
He looks completely heartbroken.

Moments later Claire, dressed in regular clothes, exits the bathroom.

She sees Duke seated on the first bed.
 
He's dressed in the jeans and tee shirt she had gotten
him.
 
She also can see the
heartbreak in his eyes even though he's trying to mask it.

She turns to the dresser and notices that her bracelet is in a different
position.
 
She's
bright,
she knows what has caused the change in Duke.

“Are we ready to go?”
 
She
asks.

“Yeah. I’m ready to go.”

Claire walks right past the bracelet, purposely leaving it on the
dresser.
 
Duke notices. Claire
leaves the room.
 
Duke follows.

Claire drives while Duke sits silently in the passenger seat looking out
the window.
 

Duke's discovery of the tracking device hangs between them and even
though Claire purposefully left it behind to demonstrate her true feelings for
Duke, the trust has been broken.
 
Not
too mention the heart.

“I have a pretty good idea what you're thinking.”
 
Claire says breaking the silence.
 

“I’m not so sure about that.”
 
Duke quips. That one sentence laced with so many different emotions.

“Two people are dead, a newlywed and a mother.
 
Your brother killed them in cold blood.
 
And he left you in the alley to
die.
 
That's twice now he's left
you holding the bag and I don't think that's a coincidence. There's some motive
behind his actions that only you can discover.
 
Justice needs to be served, Duke.”

“Then why did you leave the tracking device back at the motel?”

“Because you have somehow become more important to me than anything
else.”
 

Duke stares out the window, expressionless.

Back at the motel the SUV pulls into the parking lot and drives to the
room where Duke and Claire stayed.
 
Whitmore hops out of the vehicle and hurries into the room, the door is
wide open.

Whitmore looks around.
 
He
sees Claire's bracelet on the dresser.
 
“Shit!”

He makes a call.
 
“This is
Whitmore.
 
I need helicopter
reconnaissance
asap
for a
thirty to fifty mile radius west, north and east of mile marker four hundred
and seven on interstate five.”

The Jaguar drives along a lonely, secluded, winding road.
  
The awkward silence is so thick
in the car a butter knife could slice it.

Until Claire slams on the brakes, burning rubber to a complete stop in
the middle of the road, the back end of the car fishtailing to a halt.
 
There are no other cars around, but
that could change at any second.

“What the hell are you doing
?!?”
Duke hollers.

“The moment I knew that I had completely crossed the line and that there
was turning back was the moment you could see again.
 
From that moment on, every single moment between us was
real.
 
I felt it.
 
I know you felt it and hopefully still
feel it.
 
I know I do.”

Duke doesn't respond.
 
His
expression is blank.

“Your brother is a killer, Duke.
 
Without any
back-up
I'm walking into a death
trap.
 
The hero ball is in your
court.
 
What
you’ve done in the past is over
,
you can’t change it
.
 
But you have complete control over your
future.
 
It’s up to you.”

Claire shifts gears and guns the car into drive like a drag racer
seconds before a log truck comes barreling up behind her.

*****

The jaguar pulls up and parks behind the jeep parked next to Haley and
Riker’s cabin.

As Duke and Claire get out of the car, Haley and Riker appear on the
deck, guns cocked, aimed and pointed at Duke and Claire.

“Some welcoming committee,” Duke quips.

“Baby brother, welcome back from the dead.
 
Who's your friend?”

“She's a cop.
 
I seen her at
the Last Chance, she's the one that busted Moose,
”
 
Haley
informs Riker.

“Is that right?
 
You a
cop?”
 
Riker asks Claire as he
leers at her with menace.

“No I'm not,” She answers confidently.
 
“I'm special agent Claire Gray with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, northwest branch.”

Everyone looks stunned that she had the balls to answer so honestly.

“My shield is in the glove compartment if you want to see it,” Claire
continues.

“Well,
ain't
you got balls,” Riker responds,
impressed.
 
He looks at his
brother.
  
“You sure don't got
brains, bringing a fed to my hideout.”

“She brought me,” Duke quips.

“Come on in, let's have a drink.
 
Toast to life and death,” Riker encourages with his gun.

Riker and Haley lead Claire and Duke into the cabin.
 
“I’ll get the drinks, Haley offers as
she heads for the bar.
 

Riker pushes his brother towards the couch.
 
“Have a seat, baby brother.”

Claire goes to take a seat next to Duke when Riker stops her.
 
“Not so fast, tough chick.
 
Let's see if you're packing.”

Riker gives Claire a body search, a lecherous one.
 
Duke stands up to stop it.
 
“Cut it out, Riker.”

“Just making sure she
ain't
packing,” Riker
shrugs.

Riker pushes Claire towards the couch.
 
She stumbles but Duke steadies her as she takes a seat to
the left of him.

Haley arrives with two cocktails.
 
She hands one to Riker.
 
Haley and Riker each have a gun in one hand and a drink in the other.
 
They click glasses in a toast, then
down the drinks.

“Okay, I say we kill them.
 
I get the fed,” Haley giggles.

“It's not like you haven't killed before, right Riker?
 
Twice now, a mother
and a young agent,” Claire states.

“Three times actually, two mothers and a young agent,” Riker boasts.

Every word out of Riker's mouth stabs Duke.

“Why did you kill the jewelry store owner right in front of her
daughter?” Claire wants to know.

“Because I have mommy issues.
 
That's why I killed the security guard to make it look like Duke did it,
so he could rot on death row,” Riker snarls as Duke grimaces, his heart
breaking again this day.

“Oh come on, any idiot knows that just because two guns are the same
make and model doesn't mean they shoot the same.
 
You learn that in criminal 101.” Claire quips trying to
deflate Riker’s cockiness.

Haley slugs Claire with the butt of the gun she's holding.
 
It doesn't razz Claire in the
slightest, but it does allow Claire an opportunity to check out the make and
model of it.

“I'm betting the gun Trailer Park Tammy here is holding is the murder
weapon.”

“Safe bet,” Riker replies, quite impressed with Claire, which riles
Haley.

“Why?”
 
Duke quietly asks.

“When mom was dying from cancer she called me in to see her.
 
She was pretty drugged up and out of
it, but damn she wanted to make a confession.
 
She apologized for not loving me as much as she loved you.”

“That's not true,” Duke insists.

“Oh yeah it is, I always knew something was up, that I was never as good
or worthy as you.
 
You
wanna
know why?
 
Because, baby brother, it turns out we
have different daddy's.”

“No.”
 
Duke is finding this
hard to believe.

“Before mom got married some sick fuck forced himself on her.
 
And then she had me.
 
All those years growing up I tried to
please her, never worked.
 
So I
said screw it, I'm
gonna
make dad happy.
 
My
real dad.
 
My first stab at
pleasing pappy...”

Riker picks up a throw pillow from a chair.
 
“I suffocated our mother.”
 

“You killed mom
?!”
 
Duke is completely horrified.

“What the fuck, she was going to die anyway.
 
I just sped things up,” Duke flaunts his unfeeling response
in Duke’s face.

Claire looks heartbroken for Duke who is devastated by the news.
 

Claire glares at Riker.
 
“You are one sick prick.”

“Baby brother, would you like to see how I killed our mommy?”
 
Riker shoves the pillow in Claire's
face, attempting to suffocate her.

Duke rises to stop him.
 
Haley cocks her gun in his face.