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  As usual, Julia was somewhere on the ship, interviewing or doing whatever the hell it was she did. Lisa was glad to have the room to herself and her personal masseuse and therapist, Hunter. She let herself relax as his fingers began to send waves of relief all the way down to her toes.

  “Feel good?” he whispered in her ear.

  Lisa moaned in reply.

  At that moment, someone knocked on the stateroom door, nearly causing them both to jump out of their skin.

  Hunter rose, walked to the door and opened it to find Lieutenant Delgado standing before him.

  “Hey, lieutenant. Come on in,” Hunter said.

  Delgado nodded once in acknowledgement, but remained stoic outside the stateroom. “The captain wants to see the media group on the bridge.” She moved to the next door and knocked.

  Hunter turned to Lisa. “I don’t like the sound of this.”

  Lisa slowly stood from her chair, testing her sea legs and equilibrium. Hunter moved to help her stand, placing a hand under each arm.

  “Hey, you think you can make it?” he said.

  Lisa smiled up at him. “If I don’t, you can just catch me from behind.”

  CHAPTER 14

  “At about 0900 this morning, AM2 Shackelford discovered a storm just to the east of us,” Captain Phillips told the assembled media group in his stateroom. Lisa noticed photos decorating the walls that featured a younger Phillips decked out in full flight gear, looking every bit the hero. Light filtered in through the single portal, but Lisa could definitely feel an increase in the rocking of the ship, indicating the approach of a storm. She turned her attention back to the CO.

  “I know that the media group is set to disembark tomorrow morning, but because of the proximity and the size of the storm, we are unfortunately going to have to delay that and try to outrun it,” he said. “The storm gives every indication of increasing to hurricane strength within the next few hours, and with the winds already at forty knots, I don’t want to take any chances with civilians on the flight deck.”

  Hendricks raised his hand.

  “Excuse me, sir, but since when is a carrier captain afraid to launch a plane in forty-knot winds?” he asked. “I know you’ve launched in worse weather than that, and I don’t know about anybody else, but I have a lot of other assignments I need to get back to.”

  Lisa, already feeling irritable, wanted to slap the sneer off Hendricks’ face, but gritted her teeth instead. This guy was really starting to annoy her.

  The captain seemed unperturbed by the statement, however, and even managed a smile. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hendricks, I know how you feel, but the safety of the crew and the civilians aboard the Ford are my first priority and this storm is acting erratically. It came up extremely quickly and is moving towards us, so if we don’t begin steaming right away, we’re going to be stuck in the middle of thirty-foot swells or bigger, and I’m sure you don’t want that.”

  Then, Phillips took a deep breath—apparently he wasn’t finished.

  “Also, because of the size, strength and speed of the storm, I’m afraid we won’t be pulling into Norfolk Naval Base.” He paused for the inevitable groans that echoed through the room.

  “So where are we going?” asked Blakely.

  “To be honest with you, I’m not sure yet. We have to monitor the direction of the storm and see where we think it might make landfall, then decide from there.”

  More groaning.

  A young reporter named Jones, who looked like he had just rolled out of bed in his clothes, spoke in a whiny nasal voice that made Lisa want to punch him.

  “So in other words, there’s no telling when the hell we’ll get off this tub,” he said.

  “We’ll make every effort to insure you’re all as comfortable as possible. We will provide laundry services so you can wash your clothes and of course you can use the phones and Internet access as long as it works,” Phillips said.

  And we’ll wipe your asses for you, too, Lisa thought to herself.

  Phillips continued. “I want to apologize again for the inconvenience, but sometimes Mother Nature has her own ideas and we just have to make plans accordingly. I’ll let you know of any further developments. Any more questions?”

  Lisa raised her hand. Hunter turned to her and frowned.

  “Yes?” Phillips asked.

  “Is there a head nearby? I think I’m going to puke.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Lisa once again sat in her stateroom, where she seemed to be spending a lot of time lately, thinking about her visit to the ship’s doctor. Since Hunter was starting to learn his way around the ship, he had gone off to talk to a few more pilots for his story. The media crew was stuck aboard the Ford for an indefinite period, so the CO had decided to give them a little more freedom to move around, as long as they stayed away from the engine rooms and other dangerous areas. Besides, Lisa didn’t want Hunter in the sickbay having a coronary thinking that his wife was on the verge of death. She had enough worries of her own without adding his to the mix.

  Lisa did like the way Hunter fawned over her though, treating her like a queen while never being over protective. He knew she could take care of herself, but the relationship was still fragile after their separation, and they both knew it.

  Lisa picked up the remote from her desk and flicked on the TV, hoping that there was something to watch. Top Gun with Tom Cruise blared out of the speakers. She sat down on the bed, trying to put everything out of her mind until Hunter returned. Lisa knew that what she had to tell him would blow his mind and she didn’t want to think about it too much or she would go crazy. All she could do was wait.

  Lisa sat on the bunk and stared at Tom’s image, thinking about how much he had always reminded her of Hunter, right down to the goofy grin. The few short years they had spent together had been both wonderful and turbulent, like an amusement park ride with no end. She had never loved anyone as much as she loved Hunter, and the six-month separation only served to intensify those feelings. She had missed him terribly, and apparently he had missed her, too. Since they had reunited, they couldn’t seem to get enough of each other or do enough for each other. Sometimes it was like a dream and if it was, Lisa never wanted to wake up.

  As soon as she had that last thought, the door to the stateroom burst open and Hunter strode into the room as if seeing her was the only thing that mattered. That realization made Lisa feel like dancing.

  “Well, what did the doctor say? Are you going to be okay? Does he know what’s making you sick?” Hunter fired the questions off before the stateroom door had even closed, slamming shut with an echo that reverberated down the ship’s passageways.

  Without even thinking, Lisa blurted out, “Hunter, I’m pregnant!”

  Hunter’s jaw hit the floor.

  CHAPTER 16

  Lieutenant Charlie Duncan could not believe his luck. A young enlisted woman he had been eyeing since she had first come to the Ford was now with him in his stateroom. He knew there was a high probability that they would be caught, but for some reason, he didn’t care. It was weird, like he had simply lost all inhibition. Yet caution was the last thing on the weapons officer’s mind as they sat on his bunk and he kissed her long, shapely neck, then slipped her unbuttoned shirt down and began working on her lovely shoulders. Her skin was warm to the touch and smelled delicious, like fresh cinnamon.

  A few more buttons came undone and Duncan glimpsed the tops of her breasts, probably the firmest he had ever seen, and the color of milk chocolate. He’d always loved younger women, and she was no more than nineteen or twenty. Only twenty-five himself, it wasn’t like robbing the cradle, but the younger ones had a fire in them and this one was about to burn him to the ground.

  Her hands caressed Duncan’s face as he worked his way over the left shoulder and down the arm. She moaned softly.

  “Oh, lieutenant, you do that so well.”

  By this time he was ready to explode. He slipped a hand under her bra and felt a nippl
e, teasing it gently with his fingertip as it became rigid. The girl’s right hand crept up Duncan’s leg, stopped at his crotch and began to massage it. She found the zipper, pulled it down and then stuck her hand inside to fondle her prize.

  It was Duncan’s turn to moan.

  He reached behind her and undid her bra, letting it fall to the floor, then put a hand on each breast and gently squeezed. He gazed into the young woman’s eyes.

  “I know you want this as much as I do,” he whispered, hoping that he sounded seductive enough to get to the next level.

  “You’re right,” she whispered back.

  The woman stood and began to slowly unbutton her blue battle-dress uniform pants, and Duncan thought he had never seen a uniform look so good. She let them drop to her ankles, giving the lieutenant a glimpse of shapely, muscular legs, and he felt his heartbeat quicken. He reached down and caressed a thigh. It was even softer than he had imagined.

  “I shaved them today—just for you,” she said in a sultry voice that made Duncan shiver.

  Duncan smiled and started unbuttoning his shirt. This was going to be the best sex of his young life, and Seaman Jessica Blount was more than happy to oblige.

  CHAPTER 17

  It was his second day aboard the USS Ford and the CIA operative knew the storm was a bad sign. The fact that it had appeared quickly and was intensifying faster than normal was a classic indicator that the target was making its move. The ability to control weather was still incomprehensible to the human mind. It was like having to learn physics all over again—natural laws just didn’t seem to apply in this case. The power this being possessed was almost…godlike. He wondered what the target’s next move would be. One thing this case had proven was that he had to keep his eyes and his mind open at all times, because anything was possible.

  But the man had definitely seen his share of strange things during his time in the CIA, which was why he was assigned to this case in the first place. Because of his background in parapsychology and physics and his interest in all things strange—ghosts, black holes, time warps, string theory—the CIA operative was offered, and was selected to take on the bizarre cases, the cases that defied rational explanation.

  And this case was turning out to be the strangest of them all.

  It had taken him almost a year to track down the target after discovering there had been a change of identity that had somehow been undetected. Fooling the CIA was no easy task, yet it had been done and the agency had a hell of a time reacquiring the target. By that time, it was discovered that the target was on the move and had managed to get on board the Ford.

  But for what reason?

  Headquarters had gotten him on board without a hitch and so far, his cover was working—no one had a clue as to his real identity, or his real purpose. He hoped to keep it that way. The longer he could work undetected, the better chance he had of figuring out exactly what the target was up to, and a plan of action.

  But what kind of action could you take against a power that defied all rationality? He figured he would cross that bridge when the time came.

  The man took another sip of coffee and stared at the report he had just written on his laptop. Satisfied, he clicked on another program and opened a file, then began to read, hoping to find some kind of pattern, something that would give a clue as to what might be happening and what, if anything, could be done.

  Everyone and everything had a weakness, and the operative was determined to find it, because deep in his gut, he knew that before it was all over, the lives of every person on board the Ford could depend on it.

  CHAPTER 18

  Hunter slowly closed his mouth and blinked his eyes. “You…you’re pregnant?”

  Lisa wore a wide grin. “You heard right, Daddy. I’m gonna be a baby mama,” she said.

  Hunter grabbed a chair from the nearby desk and sat down.

  “How did it happen? I mean, when…how did you find out?”

  Lisa laughed. “I think we already know how it happened, Romeo. I found out when I was in sickbay. The doctor gave me a pregnancy test, and it turned blue. That’s why I’ve been ill—it’s morning sickness.”

  The still-raw memory of their first miscarried child entered unbidden into Hunter’s mind and was just as quickly ushered out. He would not let that tragedy rob him of the joy of having another child.

  Hunter smiled and held out a hand and Lisa slipped hers into it. “I guess you know how I feel about that,” he said.

  “Yeah, but why don’t you tell me anyway.”

  “I think it’s awesome—the greatest thing that could ever happen to us. And you’re the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”

  Lisa leaned towards Hunter and gave him a deep, long kiss that hit him like a cattle prod. Her tongue tasted good in his mouth and he never wanted to stop.

  When they finally did, Hunter was out of breath. Lisa sat back on the bed and they both took in the sight of each other, their eyes communicating what words never could.

  That was when the door flew open and Julia Lambert swept into the room, camera dangling from her neck and notepad in her hand.

  The trio stared at each other for an awkward moment before Julia finally spoke.

  “Oh, am I interrupting something?”

  Hunter thought he noted just a hint of sarcasm in her voice, but couldn’t be sure. He stood up. “No, I was just leaving. We were talking about Lisa’s little bout with seasickness,” he said, winking at his wife.

  A theatrical frown appeared on Julia’s lips. “I hope she’s okay. I’d hate to lose a roommate.”

  Lisa remained expressionless, but Hunter could tell that Julia’s eyes made her uncomfortable, as if those powder blue orbs were probing down into her soul.

  “Actually, I’m okay now. It was just nerves. How were your interviews?”

  “Very insightful,” the blonde said as she walked between the pair on the way to her rack. Hunter smelled a faint whiff of musk and a sudden animalistic urge nearly took hold of him, but he somehow shook it off.

  Julia dropped her camera and notepad on her rack and then glanced at Hunter. “So, this is your husband?”

  “My better half,” Lisa said.

  Hunter found that although he wanted to, he couldn’t seem to stop staring at the woman. Her translucent blue eyes mesmerized him, seduced him, and called to him like a voice on a radio inside his head, even as her mouth spoke words he could no longer seem to hear.

  Lisa reached up and touched Hunter’s arm and the spell was broken. He looked down at her, dazed.

  “Are you okay?”

  Hunter nodded slowly, laying his hand on top of hers. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just a little hypoglycemic, I guess. Maybe I’d better go eat something.”

  “Yeah, maybe you’d better,” Lisa said.

  Hunter leaned down and kissed his wife on the cheek and then turned and nodded at Julia as he left the stateroom. Was his mind playing tricks on him just then? Or had he seen a faint smile slither across Julia’s lips?

  PART TWO: REVELATIONS

  CHAPTER 19

  Lieutenant Commander John MacIntyre sat up in his rack, rubbed the back of his neck and let the grogginess slowly drain from his head. This FLEETEX, or fleet exercise cruise, was designed to put the ship and its crew through their paces and prepare them for duty, but it was taking a toll on him, especially with a massive storm on their tail.

  The communications officer wondered how far away the hurricane was now. He knew that last night it had been a category three and was continually gaining strength as it moved northwestward. But it still bothered him; it had come up too quickly and was gaining strength too fast for a typical hurricane. It was as if some other force was driving it. He hoped that he was wrong, that it was just an anomaly and nothing more.

  Mac quickly showered and shaved, ran a brush through his short, blonde mane, donned his khakis and made his way to the officer’s wardroom, squeezing past several sailors as they swabbed tile-covered dec
ks near their berthing areas and work centers and prepared for the day’s inspections.

  That was when he saw her, or at least, thought he saw her. He was hoping it was a case of mistaken identity, because she was the last person Mac wanted to see, especially on board his ship. He only caught a glimpse of blonde hair and a profile, but the resemblance was spooky. He picked up his pace, nearly jumping through each doorway as he made his way through the ship’s narrow passageways, trying to catch up to what he hoped was only a ghost.

  When he got to the area where he had spotted the woman, there was one ladder leading down and another leading up. She could have taken either one. He was going up anyway and climbed to the next deck, then headed towards the wardroom, following the smell of bacon and eggs. His stomach rumbled in anticipation.

  Mac opened the door to the wardroom and there Julia Lambert stood in tight black jeans and a low-cut black shirt, waiting in line with a tray, several eyes ogling her from various parts of the room. She turned to look at him and Mac saw a mix of amusement and disdain in her icy blue eyes. MacIntyre’s only emotion at that moment was anger.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked a little too loudly, drawing stares from all directions.

  “Why, John, I thought you’d be glad to see me.”

  “How long have you been here? Why haven’t I seen you before now?”

  “I’m here doing a story for my magazine and I’ve been eating with the enlisted personnel, doing interviews, that sort of thing. Is that okay with you?”

  Mac felt like his head might explode at any second. “No, it’s not okay. Since when do you work for a magazine? I thought you were with some environmental group. What happened to that?”