Diesel (The Mavericks Book 13) by Dale Mayer (motivational books for men .txt) 📗

we don’t have to report to anybody, which is great.”

“And yet we’re visitors on this ship.”

“Exactly,” he said, “so courtesy demands a certain amount of information. Eva’s looking for coffee and food as well.”

“That’s a good sign,” Jerricho said. “If she’s hungry, she’ll be regaining her strength.”

“Her temper’s doing just fine too,” he said.

Jerricho grinned. “She does seem to have one of those, doesn’t she?”

“Absolutely. And that’s good. It’ll keep her in good stead.”

“I’m also hearing a hint of admiration.”

“There’s nothing not to admire,” he said calmly. “She’s handled herself very well.”

“They both have. I was afraid, after seeing their colleague killed, that it would have a really negative impact on them.”

“I think Marge more so than Eva,” Diesel said, “but then Marge looks like she has been through an awful lot.”

“She has,” he said quietly. “I’m not so sure that she’ll make it.”

Diesel looked at Jerricho in surprise. “As in, you don’t think she’ll live?”

“I think she’s got a terminal disease. I don’t think, or I don’t want to think, that the Chinese had anything to do with it. I just don’t feel like she’s here long for the earth.”

“That would be very depressing for Eva. Not to mention for Marge herself, who hasn’t had much chance to do anything yet with her newfound freedom, after spending the last however many months in captivity.”

“I know,” he said, “and unfortunately it doesn’t look like, you know, given the size of those lumps … I doubt she has more than six months to live.”

Diesel sighed and sank back into his chair. “Well, I hope you’re wrong,” he said. “Everybody deserves to have a better ending to their life than this.”

“Yes, but at least we got them out, and she has whatever time she has. Be better than dying alone in that lab.”

Diesel winced at that. “Intel pick up anything yet?”

“No, the city is silent as usual. The cover story on the fire says an electrical fire started in the basement.”

“Well, that’s not exactly true,” Diesel said.

“Communist news is meant to always keep the public in the dark. It’s how they keep voter confidence,” Jerricho replied.

“Except there’s no voting,” he said, with a smirk.

“Very true. But they rule by controlling the flow of information as they want it. Remember?”

“I remember,” he said.

Just then the door opened, and Eva stepped back out. She walked toward the two men with a bright smile. “I’m done,” she announced. “So where’s that coffee?”

Diesel smiled, hopped to his feet, and said, “Come on. Let’s go get you a cup.” He looked at Jerricho. “Are you coming?”

“Absolutely,” Jerricho said. “We also have to figure out if we’re done here or what our plans are afterward.”

“We’ll be here for a little bit,” Diesel said, “but you’re right. We have to figure out the next leg of this.”

“Next leg of what?” Eva asked suspiciously, as they walked to the mess area.

“Well, you’re still not back in the US yet,” he said.

“Can’t we go on this ship?”

“It’s not going there,” he said.

She frowned. “And I guess they won’t turn it around and take us there just because I need to go in that direction, will they?” she asked softly.

“Not only that,” Jerricho piped up and said, “they could need to offload us pretty quickly. It depends on some of the commands being forwarded here.” He added, “There’s a general air of excitement around the place, as if something’s up.”

“Is it related to us?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.

“No, but, when they get a change of orders, they’ll move quickly on that order. We will have an option either to get off or to go to the next port and then get off.”

“Fine,” she said, shaking her head. “Apparently I don’t get any of the finer details in this mess anyway, so you guys decide what’s the best way to handle it.”

Diesel smiled, looked down at her, and said, “Just remember. You’re not in the lab. You’re not locked up. You’re safe here. So, even if it takes us a few more days, it’s really not an issue.”

She nodded and said, “True enough. So what am I supposed to do? Just sit back and enjoy?”

“Absolutely,” he said, chuckling. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

Chapter 8

The first day wasn’t an issue at all because Eva slept off and on for the next twenty-four hours. By the time she woke up on day two and headed for breakfast, Diesel at her side, she noted she was still being escorted. “So are you protecting me or the rest of the crew?”

He burst out laughing. “Basically nobody is allowed here without being escorted. You can’t be allowed to wander at will.”

“Ah,” she said, “and I noticed that nobody’s really saying anything to me.”

“But they’re not unfriendly, are they?”

“No, that’s true,” she said. “Just … it feels weird.”

“Think of yourself as an invited guest.”

“Well, that is how it feels,” she admitted. “I guess I was hoping for a less formal atmosphere.”

“The military does formal very well,” he said.

She burst out grinning. “Do we have any news on Marge?”

“Nope, but, after breakfast, if you want, we can stop in and see how she’s doing.”

“I’d like that,” she said. “I did stop in yesterday with Jerricho for five minutes, and she was happy to see me, but I think she was also happy to see me leave.”

“She’s tired, exhausted. Her system’s on overload,” he reminded her.

“I know,” she said. “I just want to make sure that she’ll be okay.”

“She’ll be as okay as the US Navy doctor can assure us that she’ll be okay.”

“She might have to go on a different flight home again anyway, I suppose. She was taken from Australia. So it depends where we end up.”

“You mean, where she wants to go, yes,” he corrected.

“Exactly that. We’re not limited to going back to the US.” As they walked into the cafeteria, she smiled and said, “And, of course, we’re just at the end of the mealtime, aren’t we?”

“Again it’s easier on everybody.”

She nodded, quickly walked