Category Five (6 page)

Donovan stood in the semi-darkened passageway. He could see Lauren seated at one of the stations. She had a blanket pulled up over her shoulders. She looked small and vulnerable, though Donovan knew she was anything but. The cut on her forehead had been bandaged. She'd pulled her wet hair away from her face. He was caught off-guard by how beautiful she looked. His thoughts fell back in time to a moment not unlike this one…when they'd flown their first hurricane-hunting mission together.

T
hey'd met before a series of reconnaissance flights. Donovan didn't believe in love at first sight, but since the moment he laid eyes on Lauren his life had never been the same. He'd first seen her at a pre-flight briefing, and he'd been totally wrecked by her startling green eyes, her delicate features. He remembered sitting transfixed at the way her face magically lit up when she smiled. She was tall, five foot nine, graceful and athletic. Donovan had been mesmerized by the way she moved. Each insignificant gesture, from brushing her mid-length auburn hair behind her ear, to walking across the room, seemed charged with sexual energy. She was all business as she addressed the team and discussed what she expected from the Eco-Watch flight crew. Donovan was captivated by her intellect, her command and poise as she spoke. After three days of flying sorties out of Miami, he couldn't stand it any longer. He'd asked her out to dinner and to his surprise she'd accepted. In a short time he'd learned that she was an only child, born in Baltimore and now living in Virginia. Her father had been career Navy and they'd moved all over the world as she grew up.
She was eight years younger than he, had done her undergraduate studies at Princeton, then earned her master's and a Ph.D. in earth science from MIT. Three magical evenings later, it felt as if they'd known each other for years. After dinner, they'd walked to the beach, and he'd leaned in and kissed her. Later that evening, she'd come to his hotel room and they'd made love.

That night marked the beginning of the best year of his life. For nearly twelve months, they'd traveled, laughed, grown close in a very short time. It was perfect. Donovan could feel all of the barriers he'd carefully constructed slowly begin to peel away. Lauren was a remarkable woman…right up until the day she'd left.

He'd returned from a flight and she'd met him at the hangar. He could still picture her standing next to his old Range Rover. She'd worn a light blue sundress, her hair tumbling down around her shoulders. She seemed to him the most beautiful woman in the world, and his heart soared. He took her in his arms and hugged her, but when he went to kiss her, she turned and accepted it on her cheek. It was then that he saw her eyes brimming with tears. In a blur of anger and pain Lauren demanded to know who Elizabeth was…was she the blond woman she'd seen him with? Tears trickled down her face as she stood defiantly, waiting for his answer.

Donovan lowered his head—he couldn't believe his two worlds had overlapped. He knew instantly what Lauren was talking about…what she'd somehow seen. The last thing he'd ever do was to be unfaithful, but there was no way he could explain. The blond was Stephanie VanGelder, the niece of the man who'd raised him. She was someone he'd grown up with; Stephanie was like a sister to him. He also couldn't tell her about Elizabeth. That name was one of the few links with the man he used to be. Donovan's carefully crafted existence hinged on his silence. With tears streaming down her face, Lauren waited for the answers he couldn't give. She shook her head, then whispered quietly to him.
She explained that she didn't want him ever to try to find her. Then she said goodbye. Donovan heard the unbearable words as if they were spoken down a long tunnel. She'd been so direct and succinct. He'd been caught completely off guard. All he could do was stand there, his life shattered, as she got into her car and left.

Devastated, and despite what she'd asked, he'd tried to find her. But she'd moved, left her job…and vanished.

D
onovan remained motionless, caught up in his powerful memories, until Dr. Simmons began a small round of applause. Lauren looked up and smiled in recognition of Donovan's actions. Embarrassed at the attention, Donovan nodded, then moved back through the cabin.

“Well done, Captain.” Dr. Simmons extended his hand. “Not only for saving Dr. McKenna, but getting us off the island.”

“You're welcome,” Donovan lowered his head. From past experience he instinctively hated being the center of attention. Lauren looked up and their eyes met briefly. She nodded her approval at Dr. Simmons words.

“It was a group effort,” Donovan added. “I'm glad it all worked out. I am sorry about Victor, though. There wasn't anything we could do for him.”

At the mention of Victor, everyone became silent.

“Can I get anyone anything?” Donovan said after an appropriate interval.

“I could use a slug of bourbon.” Dr. Simmons studied his hand as if to see if it were still shaking.

“Sorry, we don't have any alcohol on board,” Donovan explained, then added, “Though that directive might come under review.”

“What would you like me to do, sir?” Nicolas got to his feet and eyed the cockpit door.

Donovan couldn't take his eyes from Lauren. “Why don't you go up and keep Michael out of trouble? I'm going to stay back here for a while.”

“Yes sir. There are some dry clothes in the back if you want to change.” Nicolas sidestepped Donovan and hurried forward.

Donovan took a deep breath and made his way to Lauren. Her face broke out in a gentle smile; her eyes found his. He stood next to her and could see she was tinkering with her shattered computer. He couldn't believe she could have lost a fellow scientist, nearly drowned, and could now fuss with a computer that had obviously been destroyed. All he found in her magical green eyes were more questions.

Lauren looked up, waiting for him to speak.

“I don't think your computer is going to make it.” Donovan didn't know what else to say. His mind was a blur of images. A million questions flew through his mind and he discarded every one of them. He eyed the lavatory at the rear of the plane and considered the promise of dry clothes.

“I know,” Lauren replied, and pushed the pieces away from her.

“Well…I was just taking a break, thought I'd change into some dry clothes. I'm glad you're okay.” The tension between them had just gone off the chart. It felt like the temperature in the cabin had suddenly risen twenty degrees. He mentally cursed himself as he walked away from her. It served him right, he decided. Nothing more had happened today than running into an ex-girlfriend. Furious with himself for expecting more, he grabbed the spare flight suit and stormed into the lavatory.

L
auren leaned back against the seat and felt the first waver of emotions. She didn't know what to do. She fought for control,
staunchly refusing to unravel in the back of Donovan's jet. Yet the guilt and remorse cascaded down and threatened to shatter her resolve. If she knew the right thing to do, she'd do it in a heartbeat. But she'd left him for valid reasons. Despite how wonderful he was on the surface, there were things about Donovan Nash that she couldn't accept. He possessed a mysterious side she could never quite pin down. It was almost as if he were two different people. She thought back to the day she'd overheard the ominous message on his answering machine. Donovan had been in the kitchen. He must have thought she was out of earshot. Lauren had distinctly heard a woman's voice, calling to confirm a day, a flight number, and a time for Donovan to meet Elizabeth. She was arriving at Dulles International airport. As if to confirm her worst fear, Donovan had quickly erased the message. More than anything, Lauren had wanted to block out what she'd heard, but couldn't. The next day, she'd driven to the airport at the appropriate time. She'd spotted his Range Rover and waited. Across the parking lot, she finally saw Donovan—walking hand in hand with a beautiful blonde. The woman was pressed close to him, her face beaming. Lauren couldn't miss the unmistakable flash of a wedding ring on her hand.

The drive back to Washington had been a blur of tears and anger. When she'd confronted him later, his face had drained of color. His shocked look told her everything she'd needed to know. It was obvious he'd been caught cheating on her. She knew in that instant that she could never stay with him. She'd chastised herself over and over for missing the obvious clues. The fact that they never went out much, or spent any time with his friends. How much he'd resisted any of her attempts to get him to attend public functions. His sterile apartment, which she'd chalked up to his being a bachelor, was obviously a safe house for his extramarital affairs. She'd fallen for a married man and hadn't seen it coming until it was too late.

She'd already endured the first month of their breakup when she discovered that she was pregnant. More than anything she wanted the baby, but she didn't want Donovan. It was an easy decision; the last thing she wanted was to break up his marriage. As she'd told herself a thousand times since then, she'd done the right thing. But if that were the case, why was her heart telling her something different right now?

Lauren heard the door to the lavatory open. She felt Donovan's presence as he came up from behind her.

“Donovan?” She hesitated as he stopped and turned. She could see the flash of annoyance that crossed his face.

“Yes?” he managed politely, waiting impatiently for her to speak.

Lauren hadn't expected him to act so distant. His blue eyes were cold and forbidding.

“I did want to thank you for everything you did today. You and Michael were wonderful.” She bit her lip as his expression remained icy.

“Just doing my job,” he said flatly, then turned to go.

As he walked the dozen steps to the flight deck, she wanted to call out to him. The silence between them threatened to choke her. Without looking back he opened the cockpit door, slipped inside, and carefully shut her out.

Lauren felt her eyes well with the first hint of tears. She lowered her head and tried to erase the scornful look Donovan had given her. She wasn't sure what had set him off. What did he want from her? Whatever it was, Lauren was positive he'd be even angrier to discover he had a daughter. Lauren knew in her heart that what she had to tell him wasn't what he wanted to hear.

She thought of Abigail and absently fingered her smashed computer, glad she'd had the presence of mind to grab her laptop from the wreckage. Lauren sniffed as she fought her emotions. At least she'd get a new computer, one without Cheerios stuffed into
the printer port, compliments of Abigail. Lauren shook her head and smiled weakly at the memory. She turned the computer over to see her daughter's handiwork. The smile vanished at the sight of the perfectly clean holes.

Lauren studied the printer connection. There was no way the Cheerios had magically removed themselves; Abigail had packed them hopelessly deep. Lauren hadn't had time to have it repaired before she'd left. The first pinpricks of suspicion began to creep to the surface: this wasn't her computer. It was in her computer bag. It was the same make and model. But it wasn't hers—it couldn't be. The image of the black boots flooded into her brain. Had someone swapped laptops? If she'd died back in the culvert, no one would have known. The implications rocked her as she mentally went through the classified information stored in her hard drive. Schematics of highly classified, miniature radar components were at the top of the list. The Pentagon had allowed her access to the systems for her hurricane research. She understood fully how guarded they were about the data; it was straight out of the latest hi-tech missile guidance platforms.

Lauren rubbed her arms at a sudden chill. She remembered her detailed orientation at the Defense Intelligence Agency. Her first week at DIA had focused on security. She glanced at the closed door that led to the cockpit. Last winter another breach of security had taken place in Russia…and it too, revolved around an Eco-Watch jet that Donovan Nash was piloting.

T
he wheels of the Gulfstream kissed the concrete. Donovan ignored the sun-drenched September day, relieved to finally be home. After his disastrous journey to the cabin to try to talk with Lauren, he had returned to the cockpit. Michael had been supportive, but finally Donovan had withdrawn and became lost in his thoughts, and he and Michael had flown the last hour in silence.

Donovan finished the appropriate after-landing checks. Eco-Watch's facility was tucked into the far northwest corner of the sprawling Dulles International airport. The large complex housed not only the two Gulfstreams, but also a Bell 206 helicopter. The structure was comprised of a two-story office suite as well as a large maintenance area that wrapped around two sides of the main hangar. The facility had been modernized in the last two years. There was now room for a total of four Gulfstreams and the expected increase in staff. As always, they'd radioed ahead. The ground crew would be standing by to receive them.

“Wonder who that is?” Michael remarked as their hangar came into view.

Donovan saw the same helicopter Michael did. It didn't look familiar. As they made the final turn into the ramp, the large blades on the mysterious helicopter swung into motion. Just to the side of the helicopter sat a U.S. Customs vehicle. It was standard procedure for Customs to meet any international flights.

“My guess is it's here for our passengers,” Donovan studied the helicopter. “They're sure gearing up for a quick departure.”

“You get the feeling that this mission is a little different from most? Usually the scientists aren't treated like VIPs.”

Donovan agreed. He also knew the last minute call to retrieve Lauren and her team had come from the Pentagon. It was all very strange. As Michael swung the big jet around on the tarmac, Donovan scribbled down the registration number of the helicopter. Moments later, they shut down the two engines and Michael threw off his harness.