A small African man with a roundish face and smile lines etched into his cheeks brightened at the sight of me. He set two plates in front of other customers and marched right over. “Why if it isn’t Captain Dyne Lavere! Welcome back, my friend. Can I fix you up with your usual?” He toweled his hands.
“Oh, yeah.” We shook hands and I sat back down. “How long has it been since the last time I was here?” I was already wincing at the ballpark answer.
“A year thereabouts. And you still look as young as the day we met.”
That comment made me wince for real. I had maybe five more years with him before my lack of aging made him ask too many questions.
“So where’s this fountain of youth you’re hiding?” He ripped a handwritten meal ticket from his notepad and handed it over to the portly chef.
I let out a humorless laugh. “I’d make myself younger if I had one.”
Milud laughed. “Okay, you got me there. So what’s new?” He poured me a tall mug of beer and thumped it on the heavily varnished counter. Foam rolled down one frosty side.
I took a couple sips. I was tired and sweaty from cargo pushing. “The usual globetrotting. Had a few more run-ins with Tethys since the last time we talked. Lost two techies during the second run-in. Hired two more, along with a bodyguard. That’s about it.”
“I’m sorry for your losses.” Milud reached for a ceramic jar and pulled out two seashells. He poked holes in them with a steak knife, then added them to the string of seashells hanging over everyone’s heads.
I raised my mug. “Thanks.”
“Of course. You honest sailors lead such dangerous lives. It’s the least I can do to honor their service.”
I nodded and he returned to his line of patrons.
Milud and I exchanged small talk between customers, him telling me about his feisty wife, how business was going, and even the weather. I more listened than talked, and summarized a few of my times with lovely women around the world. I didn’t really brag about them for fear of letting slip a tale that didn’t fit the time frame he lived in. I just enjoyed chatting with him about anything and nothing. He was one of few friends all over the globe who was oblivious to my curse. He treated me like a normal human, something my crew couldn’t do because of all the curse-related precautions they had to take. Meeting up with people like Milud helped me push my curse from my thoughts.
Shortly into my stay, Milud marched over with a plate that needed rays of light emanating from it to complete the picture. A crown of a golden brown bun resting atop a bed of lettuce, tomato, and sautéed onion, a melted layer of cheddar cheese, a juicy half pound of beef under all that melted goodness, and some mayo slathered onto the bottom bun. Milud slid the plate close to my face and rotated it so the fries lay behind the burger.
“Need any extra napkins?”
“Nope,” I said as I set one on my lap. I picked up the cheeseburger in both hands, inhaled its mouthwatering bouquet, then bowed my head and closed my eyes. “Please, God, let me enjoy this one burger in peace. It’s been too damn long.” I paused, just in case, but no interruptions came. I opened my eyes and took another whiff, then sank my teeth into the best meal on Earth. Oh, sweet, juicy, tender goodness inside a toasted bun. I savored it all the way down, then wiped a tear from my eye. Yeah, it was that good.
“How about a tissue?” Milud said with a wink.
I waved him off and he just laughed.
“Enjoy!”
For once I was. I opened my mouth for the next bite of heaven…
“Captain!”
… And stopped.
Just no. It couldn’t be. That familiar voice had to be calling for another skipper, and I had to be tricking myself into thinking I recognized the voice. I approached my lunch again.
“Captain Dyne!”
I’d gotten my mouth around the next bite when I recognized Mido’s voice. His urgent tone didn’t sound at all like he was about to join me to lunch. He, Scully, and Sauna were running right towards me. Holy hell. I hastily took another bite. What on earth required three of them to come get me? And why had I told them where I was eating?
The trio ground to a halt with noisy steps, causing other patrons to look our way, even Milud. Mido said, “Jessie’s run off! She’s trying to get back home on her own!”
That news at this moment was almost enough to make grown man me cry. I swear not being able to eat a cheeseburger in peace was part of my curse. I swallowed my second bite. “And you just let her go like that?”
“No, Captain. She… she kicked me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were getting along really well…”
“She apologized before she ran off.”
“Which way did she go?”
“The train station I think. She left me when we got near.”
“Well let’s go chase her down.” I reluctantly got to my feet. “Milud, I—”
“Here you go.” He bagged my lunch and handed it to me. “Catch you later.”
“Hopefully tonight or tomorrow. Take care!” Mido and my two cargo pushers took off running. I hurried to catch up. “Did she say why she was running off?”
Mido said, “She doesn’t want our deaths on her conscience. She thinks it’ll be her fault if we die while she tries to help you lift your curse.”
“Did you tell her how ridiculous she sounded?”
“She wouldn’t listen. Is it right to try and get her back? I came for you because I wasn’t sure.”
“When her rationalization is irrational, yes. But if she doesn’t change her mind come Cyprus then there’s nothing we can do.” We wended our way to the train station. Since this wasn’t Newport, I made an effort to not push people aside. Instead, I let my crew tactfully clear the way.
Chapter 16
Retrieval
The bustling plaza was full of open-air shops geared towards travelers and hungry people. Jessie bought a backpack, bottled water, and snack bars right outside the train station. She thought of buying a knife as well but decided to give her potential attackers one less weapon to turn on her. She managed to buy everything from a shop run by a female, along with not looking over her own shoulder too much. Even though she’d managed a clean getaway, she couldn’t help but worry Mido would catch up and know exactly where to find her. She felt like no matter how hard she tried, no hiding place would last. They’d find her just because she didn’t want to be found.
Getting a train ticket was far more nerve-racking. The line she stood in moved slow, and there were two men behind her, one portly and the other almost as short as her. There was merriment in their eyes, and when she glanced at them, they smiled and waved but otherwise ignored her. She kept reminding herself that these two men had places to go, just like her. Raping her probably wasn’t on their minds at all. Still, she put her backpack straps in death grips as she waited her turn in line.
There was a male Indian teller on the other side of the glass with no way to get at her. “Where to, ma’am?”
“How much is it to New Cairo from here?”
“Three hundred and fifty U.D. one way.” He rattled it off as if it was an answer to a common question.
Jessie winced. “I’ll take it.” She’d spent a good eighty bucks on her backpack and food. No toiletries, no extra socks or undergarments. This was going to suck.