Chapter Nine

Rick lifted the binoculars to his eyes. The anti-glare orange-coated ED lenses made it possible for him to see inside the glass walls of Saber’s penthouse from the building that was under construction next door. They weren’t his M24s, but apparently the CIA had some toys of their own that weren’t too shabby. He moved his line of sight to the café down the street where Linder and King were ostensibly relaxing. He zoomed in and smiled. “How’s the rakija?”

“I wish,” Linder said through the communication device in Rick’s ear.

“Any movement from inside?” King asked.

“He’s still just sitting there plain as day on the computer. Probably planning world destruction while he eats a Hot Pocket and watches episodes of Xena.” Tate commented from next to Rick. “Guy’s got balls, I’ll give him that. Here I sit, an officer of the Central Intelligence Agency, staring at one of the most wanted hackers of the last decade. King, I know your team is all about taking him into custody and making him pay for crimes, but I gotta say I would give my right nut to turn him into an asset.”

“Who says we can’t do both?” Rick asked.

Tate looked over at him. “Don’t tease me, I’m still turned on from your and Keiji’s brief scene earlier.”

“Excuse me?” King asked.

“Nothing!” Keiji’s voice came over the comms.

“Ah, there’s our third,” Tate said with a smirk.

Rick smacked him upside his head.

“Ow! What did I say? We’re broken up into thirds. He’s part of the third group.”

Tate winked, and Rick couldn’t help but chuckle. The guy was an irreverent tease, but he couldn’t help but like him. He was also really enjoying working again as part of a team with mission focus. Kinda took him back to his early days in the Army. Oh, he enjoyed his job, but there were days when he felt more like a cat wrangler with the lower ranks who reported to him, and admin duties could be migraine inducing.

Tate took the binoculars from Rick and aimed them back at the penthouse. “We’ve got movement. Target has left the office and is moving in the direction of the exit. Everyone hold their positions.”

“Dieu merci.”

“What’s wrong, Phantom? Not used to the tedium of stakeouts?”

“Pretty sure he’s just tired of you chattering in our ears, Negan.”

“Negan?”

“Yeah, you have a goofy-ass huge smile and never shut up.”

Rick even heard King’s deep laughter resound in his communications device at Keiji’s quip. His call sign had always been Rebooter, and he informed the team of this before they left the apartment. In fact, it had been Gutierez who had given him his name, and he refused to use another one.

“All right, target is due south of our position and heading our direction. Time to get to work.”

“My apologies, sir. Won’t happen again.” Too many years in the Army had Rick nearly snapping to attention at the tone of voice from his OIC. Not that King held any actual rank of officer, but he was by proxy.

Their plan had several steps that needed to be completed successfully in order for them to achieve mission success. Keiji and BB were up first.

“That’s your cue Phantom and Pikachu. Target has device visible.”

BB and Keiji had to get close enough to get the malware onto Saber’s cell phone. Fortunately, the guy wasn’t so paranoid that he used an EMP shield on his cell phone, which they’d already determined was a burner thanks to BB’s tracking skills using some NSA software. From their position they watched BB and Keiji approach Saber’s position from the west.

“Be advised it looks like the target is headed for the pedestrian tunnel between Budva and Becici. He gets to that entrance before we achieve first blood, and we are FUBAR.”

The concrete and steel corridor traversed a hundred and fifty meters, acting as a shortcut from their current position to old town Budva, which was a maze of cobblestone streets, narrow allies, and buildings that dated back to the earliest Christian era.

“Roger. Standby,” BB said. “Can you stall him?”

King and Linder stood from their table outside the resort café and Rick watched as Linder stumbled right into Saber, laughing.

“Oh, my God I’m sooo sorry. Guess I had one too many rakijas. Hey! Are you a local? How do you say that? Is it rak-i-jas? They are so delish but I don’t want to come off like a total uncultured American tourist. Oh this is perfect, sweetie. This guy can take our picture. We only have selfies and let’s face it, half of them look like part of our heads are missing. I’m not very good at the whole aim high and turn into the camera trick. TikTok University showed me what to do, but it never comes out right. I have three chins and look like a beached whale. Do they have whales here?”

Rick couldn’t see Saber’s face but he could only imagine the flummoxed expression at Linder’s magical performance. Next to him, Tate had his head buried in his arms as he laid out on the rooftop silently laughing.

“I’m sorry, man. My girlfriend didn’t mean to ambush you. But can you take our photo? She would really appreciate it and it would make my night go a lot better if you know what I mean.”

“Just give me the fucking phone.”

“You don’t have to be rude about it.” Linder pouted. “Never mind. Come on, sweetie. You told me you would take me to that blue grotto. Maybe we can have the whole place to ourselves and get a little frisky.” She sauntered forward and placed her finger on Saber’s chest. “Have you ever fucked in the ocean? Is it as amazing as everyone says? Or, oh, is the water too cold now? I don’t want there to be any shrinkage, if you know what I mean.” She ran her gaze all the way down Saber’s body and stopped at his groin. “Although I doubt you suffer from any problems like that.”

“Fuck this.” Saber grabbed the phone from King. Snapped a quick photo and tossed it back to him, practically running for the tunnel entrance.

“Tell me we got it?” Linder asked.

“Affirmative,” BB confirmed.

“That was a brilliant performance by the way,” Rick said as he kept his eyes on the pair down on the street. He tried to find Keiji and BB but the two were nowhere to be seen.

“Why thank you,” Linder said while doing a little curtsey.

Tate tapped Rick on the shoulder and pointed to the table King and Linder had vacated where Keiji and BB now sat idly sipping waters.

“Damn, you really are a phantom. I did not know the two of you were in the vicinity.”

“Yeah, for a software engineer Pikachu is a sneaky little fucker. He just might have a future in intelligence after all. And if my eyes didn’t deceive me, Goat has some skills too. Did you actually get Saber’s fingerprints?”

King’s self-satisfied smirk filled the entire viewfinder of Rick’s binoculars.

“That I did.”

“Ho-ly sh-ee-t.”

“All right, first blood achieved. We can’t do anything until the target gets back to home base. Keep communications open and enjoy a couple hours of free time. Meet back at the dugout by nineteen hundred.”

They all signed off. Rick removed the two-way communication device from his ear and stood for the first time in hours. He groaned as there were a few more cracking sounds than there’d been a few years ago. “What are you going to do with your liberty?”

“I’m thinking a nice dinner and a glass of wine. I’ve had nothing but snack foods and coffee since I left Milan two days ago.”

“Rough life.”

“How about you and Keiji? Going to do some sightseeing while you’re here?”

“Yes, I’m going to show him to a bed.”

Tate’s laughter echoed across the rooftop so loud Rick was glad the time for clandestine activities was over. “I’ll bet.”

“Again, get your mind out of the gutter. The guy has barely slept since we left D.C.”

Tate held up his hands. “Okay. Okay. Let him get a nap in, but as a prolific traveler I’ll just say that it’s always better to start your sleep cycle with the time zone you inhabit no matter how tired you are. Otherwise your internal body clock gets all kinds of cranky.”

“So what do you suggest?”

“Go back to the apartment while nobody is there. Fuck each other’s brains out, then get some supper. After that he can sleep. BB embedded a GPS tracker in the malware to track Saber’s movements. If he gets back to the penthouse, and we need Keiji’s expertise, we’ll wake his ass up.”

The idea had significant merit. He took his phone out and sent a text to Keiji. It only took half a second before Rick got his answer.

“Oh yeah, that looks like the response you were hoping for. Have fun man. All teasing aside, the two of you look good together. Like in sync, you know what I mean?”

“I do. It’s only been a few days. And stressful ones at that, but I don’t know. It just feels good. Like he fits a kind of missing piece of me.”

“Life works in mysterious ways. I’ve chosen a solitary life and ninety percent of the time I’m fine with that, but there are days, you know?”

“Hey, I’m sure there’s somebody out there who’s looking for a smartass boy band look-alike who lies for a living.”

“Ouch. Never mind, I hope you get limp dicked.”

Rick reached out and put his hand on Tate’s shoulder before he turned away. “Don’t tell me you’re the type of guy who can dish it out but not take it. Listen, I’ve never been one to believe in some magical mate destined for each person. But I know humans crave intimate connections. We are capable of deep love. So don’t allow circumstances to control your willingness to be open to possibilities. Believe in yourself and create your own destiny.”

Where did all that come from? Rick had never been one to philosophize on the probabilities of happily ever afters. He knew there were no guarantees. He watched close friends get their lifelines severed by acts of hostility. Ones who were fathers, husbands, wives, mothers. And every single one of them had said that relationships were hard fucking work. Those moments of reality between social media posts where compromise, frustration, anger, and tears all contributed to building a life with another person were worth it. Life was worth the risk. And Rick didn’t fear failure. But he feared the emptiness of apathy.

“Fuck, man.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled and shrugged before turning his back so he didn’t have to face Tate’s judgment.

He turned around and blinked when he saw nothing more than a view of the Adriatic Sea. Tate had vanished silently in the moment Rick turned his back. Goofball the man might be, but Rick would do well to remember that he made a living in the gray lines of life and could strike with a surgical precision that would end a person’s life before they even felt the blood trickle down their skin.

He finished putting away his gear. Keiji had said in his text that he would meet him back at the apartment. Rick’s heart rate accelerated in anticipation.

Rick cradled Keiji’s face in his hands, mirroring Keiji’s hold on him. Tilted his chin up. Pressed his lips against Keiji’s, tasting with a gentle touch. The kiss lingered with their lips barely touching, brushing across each other before Keiji pulled Rick in and kissed him with a demand. Rick grabbed him, held on, and answered in kind. Keiji was everywhere, his heat surrounded Rick, consuming him. The certainty of their desires and intent was exactly what Rick needed.

Rick felt each layer of his shields being stripped away with his clothes, laying his soul bare to Keiji. The exposure flooded his system with equal levels of adrenaline and dopamine, fear and pleasure coexisting as he surrendered. There were no promises, no demands; the relationship he and Keiji had embarked on was an entirely new type of battlefield than Rick had ever experienced. There was a fire that burned as he watched Keiji look at him. He felt a foundation form, a certainty that together they had the chance to stand for every dream, forsake the security of solid ground and give up the fear within. Here they stood amid a mission that had the ramifications to disrupt the world with their failure, but logistics and probabilities were far away. Keiji was in his arms.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking about right now, but if I never live past this day, then I’ll die knowing I inspired that expression on another man.”

“People don’t really talk that way, you know?” He whispered against Keiji’s cheek. Rick drew Keiji in, surrounding him with emotions he couldn’t yet put into words.

“I know, but they think that way.”

Keiji’s smile was a beacon in the darkness that had fallen outside. He gripped Keiji’s bare ass and lifted him up. Keiji’s gasp had Rick smiling into their kiss. In the darkness he moved toward the bed. Keiji’s hands sliding over Rick’s skin, his hardening cock rolling against Rick’s abdomen. Rick found a wall to brace Keiji against. Their mouths and tongues kissed and licked trails of fire everywhere they could reach. Across shoulders and taut collarbones. Rick found a sensitive spot on his lover’s Adam’s apple and exploited the discovery until Keiji shook in his arms. Keiji bucked against the wall and the force sent Rick stumbling backward. The back of his legs found the side of the bed and he cradled Keiji’s head as he fell. They scrambled until Rick happily ended up on his back; the pillows strewn across the room as a sacrifice to their battle for dominance.

Their bodies fit together like puzzle pieces, chests and shoulders rubbing together as fire licks of sensation heated their bodies and dampened their skin. Keiji made his way down Rick’s body, exploiting Rick’s sensitive spots until Rick remembered their window was open and sound carried. When Keiji took him in his mouth, Rick linked his hand with Keiji’s. He was burning alive and happily sacrificed himself upon the flames of passion. He wasn’t ready for the conflagration to consume him entirely. Keiji glanced up at him and even in the darkness Rick saw the question and the need mirrored in their inky depths. He slipped his hands underneath Keiji’s arms and pulled him up, flipping their bodies on the bed, their legs interlocking.

Rick lined up their cocks and rocked against Keiji’s body. “I bought supplies.”

“Then get them out and fuck me.”

“Soon.” He nuzzled the side of Keiji’s neck as he wrapped his hand around them and stroked, twisting when his hand slid against the sensitive heads of their cocks. Keiji’s sounds filled the air in the sexiest song Rick had ever heard. His heart kept the rhythm of their passion.

“Rick,” Keiji moaned.

The sound of his name on this man’s lips took Rick to another level of need. He captured Keiji’s lips in a kiss that caused his lungs to burn with need. But he didn’t need air as long as Keiji was there. Although he loathed to separate their bodies for even a moment, he straddled Keiji’s hips as he reached across to the bedside table and the lube and condoms he’d left there when they got back to the apartment. He snagged them and dropped them on the mattress. Rick had every intention of getting inside Keiji but there was one thing he absolutely needed to do first.

He kissed his way down, inch by inch, reveling in the tremors of lean muscle against his lips as if they begged for more.

Keiji rested his fingers on Rick’s head, holding him in places where his body screamed for more. He wanted this so badly. Wanted all of Rick. He was so lost in his head that the first touch of Rick’s tongue against his hole sent shockwaves through him. He’d only had one other lover who liked to rim. There was something almost more intimate about the touch than a heavy cock pushing into him. Rick’s delicate lapping against his ring had Keiji nearly mindless. His body opened; his mind sought some mythological connection to the man in his bed. How was it possible to crave a bond that exceeded the physical plane? Rick’s slicked fingers entered him, and Keiji imagined that the touch of flesh within flesh merged their cells, creating an unbreakable link.

“Please, please. I want you.”

He was vaguely aware of Rick covering his cock with the condom, and the snap of the lube cap set his heart racing in anticipation. Rick lined his cock up with Keiji’s hole. Their eyes met. The azure of Rick’s burned brighter than any flame Keiji had seen. He groaned as Rick pressed inside him. Inch by inch a supernova filled him until Keiji knew there must be a beam of light emitting from every pore of his body. He caressed Rick’s back, the slick skin hot to the touch. The man must have a furnace within him that fueled the cords of muscle. God, he loved this.

Rick thrust within him, a rolling pace, deep pushes in and out that sent Keiji into the stratosphere. His gasps and groans a lurid soundtrack. Eventually Keiji closed his eyes as he panted Rick’s name over and over.

Rick sped up, the angle grinding over Keiji’s prostate. It was too much; it was never enough. His body couldn’t decide if it wanted to reach for more or push away in a desperate search for relief from the sensations building inside him. He shook in Rick’s grip, his body quaking from its very core. He reached for his cock only to have Rick slap his hand away and take command of every inch of his body.

“Fuck! Oh my fuck! I’m coming!”

He shattered. His body releasing into Rick’s grip and his mind traveling beyond the realm of reality into the ether of a new existence.