Future Past Perfect

Perfect: Five

After some discussion between Faison and Nathan, the two decided a private boat would be arranged for the next evening. Britt and Faison would stay behind, because as Faison pointed out, this was between Nathan and Cassidine; he had no place getting in the middle. Hedging his bets, Maxie thought as she listened to him. He would, however, supply them with the necessary weapons and personnel to breach the compound.

"These are not men who work for me," he added seeing Nathan's skeptical expression. "Consider them entrepreneurs. They work where the money is." After some more conversation, Faison tired of the planning suggesting instead that they meet for supper. "We will get nothing done without sustenance. And we have a whole day to prepare otherwise."

Britt and Faison left with the promise of meeting them at a restaurant called Alena's. Christine emerged after their departure, looking even more annoyed than she had when Faison had dismissed her.

"You heard what he had to say?" Nathan asked.

"All of it. You're not really going to trust him are you? There's no record of a Cassidine compound on Anafi, Nathan. He's setting you up. The man is insane."

"I'm not disagreeing with that but Britt wouldn't let him do anything that would jeopardize our chances."

Christine rolled her eyes. "Britt Westbourne? Come on, Nathan. She's not capable of controlling Cesar Faison. Besides, I've seen her background file. She's deceitful at best-"

"She's also Nathan's sister," Maxie interrupted coldly. "And they are our only chance of finding my son quickly."

Christine whirled on Maxie, giving her a narrow glare. "Oh? The WSB counts for nothing then? I'm sure your father would appreciate that."

"I'm sure that my father would want us to whatever it took to get my son back!" Maxie snapped.

"You're incredibly naive." Christine shook her head dismissively. "Nathan knows Faison isn't to be trusted. He probably would have turned down Faison's help if you hadn't jumped in before he could. Look, Maxie, I know you miss your son, but you may have just given Valentin a huge advantage. The longer we're here, the more time he has to prepare. Nathan knows that even if he won't say it out loud. If Faison had credible information, Nathan would be on that boat tonight. But he doesn't. There is no compound on Anafi. So, if something happens to any of you because of Faison, it's on you."

"That's enough," Nathan snapped, his eyes flashing a warning look at Christine who returned it with a defiant glare. Maxie watched the interplay between the two of them with mounting jealousy. Whatever silent conversation they were having didn't include her. The truth of that stung and she wondered briefly if Nathan had been completely honest with her about Christine Donely.

"Is she right? Did I make ruin our chances to find Jamie?" Maxie asked. She dropped her eyes away from Nathan, unable to look at him in the moment.

"No, Maxie. No you didn't. Even if Faison's right about Anafi, there's no way we would be able to arrange transportation tonight. Anafi is at least ten hours by boat. And going any other way would mean we would announce ourselves on the island. We'd fail before we even had a chance to begin. This gives us time to look into his intel and make sure he's right." He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her. "Don't think for a minute that you've done anything wrong."

Maxie let him comfort her for the moment. Over his shoulder, Maxie caught a glimpse of Christine's face as he bent to hold her. For the briefest of moments, Christine's face was a jumble of naked emotions. Her eyes flicked over Nathan, reflecting a desire so sharp that it took Maxie by surprise. She had seen other women ogle Nathan before but none with such a fierce expression. She believed Nathan when he said nothing had happened between them and that he didn't have feelings for her outside of friendship. But the look in Christine's eyes made it perfectly clear that she most certainly had and still did.

Christine met Maxie's eyes and the desire for Nathan was replaced momentarily by stark anger and resentment before she regained her composure and assumed a neutral face. She smiled bitterly at Maxie, giving her a gentle shrug of her shoulders as if to say, "Can you blame me?"

Nathan released her from the hug, but held her hand in his. "There's nothing we can do except plan. Heading to Anafi now without proper backup and intel would be a bad idea." He kissed her forehead and smiled gently at her. "We should get some rest before dinner."

"You're not still considering having dinner with that man, are you?" Christine interjected sharply. "Nathan-"

"We are having dinner with them," he answered, turning a cool gaze on Christine. "I haven't seen my sister in more than a year. And he might have more information we can use. You're welcome to join us."

"I'd rather not have dinner with a criminal," she muttered. "Look, I'll just start preparations for tomorrow. See if I can recruit any nearby agents to help." She arched an eyebrow at him in question. "Unless you want to use Faison's mercenaries?"

"No, I appreciate the help. Thank you."

Christine shrugged and turned away. "No problem. You two go rest up then. I'll secure the house."

Nathan led Maxie back to the staircase, his hand entwined in hers. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep in his arms but Jamie was out there somewhere waiting for them to rescue him. Every inch of her screamed for action but Nathan was right. Nothing could be done at the moment. The best thing to do was rest and prepare. She followed him up the staircase, glancing back over her shoulder at Christine Donely who remained still as a statue staring back at them with a blank, hard expression. Nathan considered Christine an ally but Maxie couldn't shake the notion that she was more adversary than friend.