A Touch Of Lightning (COMPLETED!)

Chapter 62 Water Locked 1

       

Chapter 62 Water Locked 1

They waited at the bottom of the ramp to the ship, Michael focused intently on his phone. Apparently sending emails or texts. Out of the corner of his eye, Callin caught Michael surreptitiously taking a picture of him, and decided to ignore it. He found that he didn't really care what Michael did, as long as he got him on that cruise ship.

"At least I've got clothes on for this picture!" He thought with a wry grin.

He glanced around the docks, analyzing the way people moved, how they were dressed, what they carried. Sorting them through filters of danger, interest, and non-threat. He understood by the sheer amount of luggage he could see being loaded onto the cruise ship that it was just getting ready to leave on its voyage. The excited voices of the passengers up high on the ships decks reached his keen ears, confirming that this was indeed the ships departing dock.

As Callin scanned the crowds of people streaming by, two men walking in the middle of the crowd caught his eye. He focused in on them, watching closely. Looking for what it was that had snagged his attention. Then he saw it. They moved like warriors. Like big cats, perfect balance in every step, and sharp-eyed. Predators amongst the sheep. And they were trying to blend into the crowd, trying to stay in the very middle. Callin narrowed his eyes. He didn't like it at all.

"You see them, don't you?" Michael asked, his voice full of fascination.

Callin didn't look at him, instead keeping his focus entirely on the two men. They were dressed similar to everybody else boarding the ship. Shorts and light T shirts and sandals. This put their many scars and tightly corded muscles on display. The build of fighters, with the scars to match.

"Those two are dangerous. Want to call your resourceful friend Richard and ask him to look into who they are?" Callin said.

To his side, he saw Michael grinning and shaking his head in amazement.

"Heh. Can't hide anything from you, can I? They are part of my Gray Team. A team of Special Forces that will be accompanying me on my cruise, for multiple reasons. They are supposed to be undercover, to blend in. But apparently their disguises need work as you spotted them instantly."

Callin said nothing, lost in thought. What exactly was he getting himself into? He was beginning to wonder if getting on this cruise ship was really the best idea. The thought of being trapped out on the middle of the ocean with a man with as many secrets as Michael and his teams made Callin nervous.

The rhythmic slap of a helicopter's rotors beating the air into submission distracted him from those thoughts and he looked out over the big parking lot behind them. It sounded like massive drums being beaten in the sky, each wave of sound having a physical presence that was almost felt more than heard. He watched as one of the biggest helicopters he had ever seen descended to the parking lot, a sinister black machine, its bristling weapons looking like bared fangs and claws to Callin. Once again, he was reminded of Michael's deep resources.

"Your friend moves fast." Callin remarked, watching as a group of five men, all wearing identical black suits and carrying identical black, rolling luggage, climbed out of the helicopter.

Two of them grabbed the tied up thugs and pitched them bodily into the open doors on the helicopter. Callin noted their strength, their same deadly grace.

"More Special Forces?"

Michael nodded. "Yes. They are the Rip team I called in. A team created to protect and evacuate, if needed, an individual in enemy territory, no matter where, no matter when."