Surprise to Start a New Year
She had not been able to get what she wanted for him before Christmas, so she had given him other things. However, when the searched for items finally arrived, Ryan was as excited as a little kid, bouncing around until everything was just perfect
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Ryan held her lover close, and felt as though she had an angel on one shoulder, and a devil on the other, arguing as to what she should tell Altaaf about the phone call from Carolina, and the envelope that had been in the package of photos. Strangely, the angel looked like little Sara, in her mind, and the devil? Well, it was no surprise that it looked like Frankie, all bare chested and smoking, smirking at her.
"Keep it to yourself, Firecracker. Do what works for you, baby, fuck everyone else." Frankie grinned, in her mind's eye, smirking at her moral dilemma.
"Nono." Sara wagged her little finger at Frankie, those big eyes so innocent and sweet. "Be good."
That's it...Ryan knew she was losing her mind. If her internal moral compass was being personified by a tattooed, smelly, homicidal drifter or a Elmo hating toddler, Ryan was in deep shit.
She pulled away, and turned to dish up the food, using the time to ponder her choices, and imagining the argument of her shoulder devil and angel. Ryan kept glancing at Altaaf, while they set things out, and when they sat down to eat, she took a bite, only to lay her fork down after swallowing. "Altaaf...there was more than pictures. Aunt Carolina gave me something that is...well...there was a letter in there, for you." She got up and took the white envelope from a drawer in the small desk, the one in the kitchen where she kept receipts and menus.
Ryan sat back down, and laid the item on the table, then she started eating, again, imagining Sara standing on top of a beaten Frankie, fist triumphantly in the air at winning the match. She really needed a nap, or some medication, or something, thanks to her warped imagination, that was for sure.
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"He's cute." She leaned to glance at the photo. The rugrat looked just like him.
Ryan had been around the Jacks family, not to mention Frankie and Alex, for far too long to know that they were safe. If Caro found them, then anyone else with good intel and resources could find them. Far better that they take control of the situation, than to have it all backfire.
"Altaaf, we have to do something. If Aunt Cari can find them, then others can. I think it would be better if we got them out of there, and maybe my aunt can get Sufi a job over here? At least they would be a lot safer." Ryan picked up her fork and began to eat, again, trying to hide her own emotions about the woman and child that could steal her lover away from her. "Maybe Bane and Sergei could go in and...or we could go. You and me? We can get in and get them, quick and dirty, bring them out to safety." And then I will have to watch you leave me for them, a ready made family.
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“This…girl? Sufi? You loved her, didn’t you? I know she was mad at you but she has your kid. Are you going to want to…” Her green eyes were looking into his hazel ones, trying to read him. “Altaaf, I will go in there and help you no matter what. You are my friend, first, and I stand by my friends. I just…if you want her…it would be totally understandable, I mean, she is your first love and the kid…I mean, his name is perfect, for crying out loud…your culture and all that it…” Ryan was a tough cookie. She had been through dealing with Consortium crazy and Alex crazy and Frankie crazy. But this hurt, just thinking about losing him. She suddenly realized that playing house had somehow created something more, and if he didn’t feel the same, then the home she had longed for all her life might evaporate.
Ryan stood up quickly, taking her plate to the sink to rinse and put in the dishwasher with a lot more force than it needed. The water ran over her hands, in the deep sink, and she stared at it, trying to blink back the tears that burned behind her eyelids. “I’m such a horrible person. Here you are, with a little boy and the girl you love in danger, and I’m so selfish. All I can think of is that I don’t want to lose you. I just don’t want to lose you. I’m a bad person. I’m awful!” She slowly turned the water off, and walked out of the room, nearly running up the stairs to the bedroom. For the first time in her life, she felt truly ashamed of herself. He was good and kind and noble, and he had obligations, and there was a kid, for Chrissake! But all she could think of was that she loved him…yes…loved him. And now he would certainly want to dump her for the woman he had loved since he was a kid, and the kid they had created. She went into the bedroom, to the bed they shared, and flopped down on her stomach, across it, so miserable she couldn’t even cry. She just crossed her arms and buried her face in it, too ashamed of herself for being such a brat, and miserable knowing that she should be happy for him, getting what he always wanted…a family that was truly his own. How selfish was she, to begrudge him that happiness?
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She reached over, to touch his cheek, and look into those beautiful eyes. "There is a room down the hall. We can totally fix up the coolest kid room, ever. Rocker will love him. We just have to go get them." First things first, they had to get there, get in and get the kid and his mother. It was all easier said than done. She was an American, he was a wanted criminal in his homeland. "I'll get Aunt Cari to use her connections and narrow down the area, and we can make a plan, right? You know that area. It's going to work. It has to work." Ryan kissed him, with a small sigh. "I'm with you. I wouldn't be anywhere else."
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Before they left, she had put a temporary color wash in her hair. The red was too obvious, too eye catching, so she made it dark, so she might fit in better. She also bought clothes that were just like most of the women wore, plain and without adornment. Ryan figured that with a scarf over her head, she would blend in, which would help Altaaf keep his eye on the prize…that being his son and the boy’s mother.
The private jet was luxurious, a brand new one that Caro had ordered. But Ryan spent much of the flight sleeping, or preparing. When the announcement came that they were thirty minutes from landing, she was cleaning her pistols with Bane, who was crisply giving her instructions. Glancing over, she saw that Sergei was also prepping weaponry, offering various pieces to Altaaf. They had each been given GPS devices that could help them locate places, and get back to the plane. The devices could also help Bane keep tabs on them. Carolina had specially flown into the city, days prior, and was glad handing the locals with a factory that her company was building there. Jacks Industries provided many jobs to the locals, most for the lower caste people often with large families and no jobs. She went out of her way to hire women, and promoted education. Given the millions that her businesses brought to the local economy, the local politicians fell all over themselves to kiss her rather perfect posterior, but many old school types resented her insistence on hiring women and pushing for equality. Carolina specifically made sure that all religions were respected, even providing rooms and mats for prayers. But that was not enough to appease all of the hardliners.
Politics and commerce were not important to Ryan Jacks, not now, not when she had more than she ever expected to lose. Bane was looking at her, hard and without any mercy. “If it goes sideways, I have orders to get you out.”
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“Ryan…”
“I won’t leave him.” Her green eyes flashed, that typical Jacks stubborn streak a mile wide. “We’ll be fine. Quick and dirty. Get the girl, the kid and get the hell out.”
Bane nodded, and he glanced at Altaaf. He liked the kid, and liked how good the guy was for his charge. “He’s good. That kind of training never leaves you. It kicks in, makes you just do what has to be done.”
“I know. I’ve had good teachers, Bane. I’m even wearing the bra that Aeon gave me.” She snickered, knowing what he thought of the woman that they had not seen in years.
“I’m surprised that Roberts didn’t steal it.” Bane knew Frankie was a touchy subject with Ryan, but it was a funny joke.
“It would have been more Alex’s color.” She smirked, and then sighed, as the plane landed. “Showtime, huh?”
Bane stood up and flexed, when they stopped by the hangar. He looked at Altaaf, and handed him an iPad. “The addresses and all are in here. Here’s some local money, and some passports for you both. They are fake, but the best fakes, both American. The other documents say you are press, working for the AP. It might help. You kitted up?”
Ryan nodded, patting her hidden gun and knife. The little leather backpack she carried had another pistol and some clips.
She looked at Altaaf, determined and ready to do what they needed to, but worried that he could be caught, and if he was, he was dead. Likely, they both would be. “We get in, get out and go home, right?” She hugged him, pressing her forehead against his. "We can do this."
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"I have GPS trackers in both your bags." Bane put his hand on Altaaf's shoulder. "Look, kid, I know you can handle yourself. But if you get into trouble, you send the signal, we'll come in with some kind of help. I have orders from the boss, and I don't want to piss that woman off." He turned and pointed at Ryan. "No heroics and no taking stupid chances. I don't need you getting shot again, missy."
She climbed on, and stuck her tongue out at Bane. Ryan couldn't remember if she had told Altaaf about how she got shot in the knee. He had probably seen the scar and thought it was some childhood injury. Oh, well, if she hadn't, she could tell him later, when they got home.
Home...we need to go back home...with the kid and his mom. That should be fun...not.
Taking the iPad, Ryan held on, glad for his strong, hard body and how good a driver he was. This bike was nothing like her Harley, and Mumbai was nothing like Victorville. So many people, all packed into such a small place. There were kids, sad eyed and they looked so thin. Swallowing hard, Ryan focused on the task at hand. If they could keep her lover's son from such a fate, then this was all worth it. He was driving fast, darting in and out of traffic, and people honked and gestured, saying things that Ryan was pretty sure she could translate the general gist of.
"Up on the left! Up there!" Their first turn blipped on the screen, and she squeaked a bit as he turned, the sharp move taking them so very close to a bus.
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After the kids left, she looked over at Altaaf, worry on her face. "How long should it take? What should we do, to blend in?" Just standing there seemed a bad idea. One man on the street had a short table, with obviously handmade jewelry, just cheap little baubles, and she knelt to look at them, trying to seem like she wasn't just waiting for someone, but that she was at home in the culture. In the same language he had used, she asked the man how much, for a pretty little bracelet. Altaaf had taught her some phrases, and her accent was not the best, but she spoke quietly, trying not to be her usual brash self.
The man looked her over, eyes narrowed, and signaled with his hand, a price that was simply ridiculous. It was not that she couldn't afford it, but to blend in, she had to act like she knew what she was doing. Ryan shook her head, and the man held up six fingers. Again, she shook her head, and she held up three, then he held up four, and she nodded. She gave him the money, and took her prize, putting it around her slender wrist with girly pleasure. The man made money, she had a pretty, and they were able to look more like they belonged there.
She scanned the area, her eyes picking up faces looking out of windows, people still curious. So many people! Ryan saw the boy coming back, and she went to stand by Altaaf, not touching him or showing overt affection, as that was probably frowned on in that culture. But she spoke quietly to him, before the boy reached them. "I hope she was there." If they were lucky, they could get the woman and boy and be gone, quickly.
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She was very upset when the boy had told them that Sufi was home with Kamil, and that the little boy was sick. Her understanding of the conversation had been limited, but she did get it, and she heard the concern in her partner's voice. It was a good thing that they had a medic standing by on the plane. If the child and his mother were ill, they would get them to the States, and to good medical care. Carolina had access to everything. Before they climbed on the bike, she gave Altaaf's hand a squeeze, and she whispered in his ear that it would be okay.
Samir looked really content on there, even though it made Ryan so nervous. She knew Altaaf was watching out for the child, so she kept her mind on the GPS, and she was happy to see that the boy was not leading them astray. It took a bit of time to get there, but when Altaaf pulled the bike up, the area was much more quiet than the one they previously stopped at, and a bit more poor looking.
Ryan got off, and went around to the front to help Samir down. Looking to her lover, she shrugged. "Now what?"
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