Second Chances (27 page)

Did the man’s knowledge of this kit mean he was solidly Eidolon? Lyle had got the feeling that Gideon—Major Sterling—felt some ambivalence toward the organisation, but what about his men? Could they be trusted? Who did they really report to? Whose orders did they follow?

“So, if I show you this stuff, what it all does, you can tell me where you want it, yeah?” Harry had specific orders, to allow Tate to dictate how he wanted the room set up. Gideon must trust Tate’s skills as well as his allegiances if that was the case, which was good enough for Harry.

“I’ll need showing rather than just telling. You know how this kit runs in the field? I never even saw most of it before. I can’t say where it should go because it’s unfamiliar. Could we set it up how you think, then adjust it as time goes on? Will you be around a while?”

“My orders are to help you establish this set-up, so until it’s finished, I’m all yours. Unless we have a problem, that is, and I get called out. We have several options. We can group according to usage–you know, all the cctv for the whole island in one place–or we can go for zones. If you’ve got eyes and ears and countermeasures set up in one zone, we could group that all together. We’ve got the surveillance and counter surveillance measures, cctv and radar, communications…”

“Movement sensors - the stuff they use to record animals using trails - that kind of stuff too? Night vision cameras? Audio-trips?”

“Among other things we have to do is make sure the EMSEC is kept to zero.” Harry paused, seeing Tate’s blank look. “TEMPEST?” he queried.

“Currently, technobabble to me, but I’ll learn if you’ll teach me.” Lyle knew what Harry was meaning, but figured it was best to play dumb. He hadn’t actually had a lot of experience with the gear, just had seen it operating and had ducked under and round it a few times.

“EMSEC, stands for Emission Security or Emanations Security. Compromising emanations. Basically, anything that can be read by an electronic device which puts your security at risk.”

“Inadvertent data leakage. I get it.”

Harry smiled. “TEMPEST is the code word for it all, that’s all. We need measures in place to make sure we don’t do it. There are lots of backronyms for it—you know, mnemonics people have made up after the fact—but personally I like Tiny ElectroMagnetic Particles Emitting Secret Things. Very technical.” He grinned. “Sweet, simple and to the point.” He grabbed a bunch of wires and peered at the back of a computer.

Lyle watched, wondering whether Harry Garvey might discover the GSM bug he had set up in Gideon’s office before he could get anything useful out of it. Hopefully not, the EMSEC and TEMPEST stuff was unlikely to be fully operational before bed time. Fingers crossed.

Too, he wanted to see if he could get some hardware into Pierce’s hut, but he’d have to tread carefully on that one with so many new people running around the complex. He’d use some of the new equipment that had come in for her place; hopefully it would be fall far enough within the safe EMSEC parameters Harry had talked about to go unnoticed.

“Good, let’s get the gear positioned, the technicians out from under our feet, and then you can start showing me how it all works, so I can get to thinking how to get it to gel with the rest of my shit.” Lyle grinned. This was fun. This was home ground for him, stuff he knew and stuff he enjoyed doing. He felt properly useful for the first time since the trials, since Richard’s death. If this Harry guy shared his passion he’d maybe just found a new friend, if he could be trusted. That was the biggie though, wasn’t it? At the end of the day, it all boiled down to who they could trust and with what.

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Sunday 27th January, Mystery Island

In a life full of stupid things, this had to be the stupidest.

Flynn was trying very hard not to mutter under his breath, but he wanted to. In his mind was nothing but a litany of curse words, a Hollywood version of Tourettes, nothing but R rated words shading over to NC-17. Goddamn motherfucker – he never trusted Jude, and now he knew why.

Aiden was saying something behind him, probably of the soothing words variety, but he was too pissed off to listen. This had to be over as of yesterday. Enough stupid shit in his life! Couldn’t he have a normal life? Well, as normal as a life could get with your Dad murdered by the Russian mob and him wanted for theft … okay, so not a normal life at all. But not embroiled in this cloak and dagger shit again.

The words coming out of Flynn’s mouth were enough to make a sailor blush, but for some reason, Aiden was fine with it. His face didn’t color in the least when a particularly violent and descriptive curse rolled off his lover’s tongue. It… amused him. “Flynn, we’ll find him, okay? He’s around here, I’m sure,” was all he could really manage to get in.

Dante trotted by his side, oblivious to the other man’s anger, and occasionally darted forward to inspect something. “The cafeteria is right up ahead,” Aiden pointed out, catching up to Flynn and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Fantastic. You don’t like violence, right? Might want to stay here.” He shrugged off Aiden’s hand and sprinted for the building. There was a door that would be wonderfully dramatic to slam through. He did like a dramatic entrance every now and again.

“Flynn!” Aiden swore and bolted after him. Violence or not, he wasn’t going to let him out of his sight again.

Flynn burst through the door, into a mostly empty, bland room. Sitting at an otherwise empty table, now looking up startled, was Jude. Goddamn it. “You sneaky motherfucker!” Flynn bellowed, stalking over to him with his hands balled into fists. “Why’d you sell us out, huh? What’d you get out of it?”

Lyle had forgotten Flynn had turned up. He hadn’t seen him yesterday. Quite why he was now here and having a go, he couldn’t work out. “Sell you out?”

Lyle set his cutlery aside, a bit peeved that his lunch was being interrupted but realising it was over for now. Quite the Prima Donna, Flynn would make enough of a scene, especially in front of his squeeze, that he was doubtless going to have to ask the cook to refresh his plate once the tiff was over.

“How long have you been Eidolon’s bitch? Was this the plan all along? Why the fuck us?” Flynn was just thinking this would make a beautiful table to flip over and bludgeon Jude with, but Aiden grabbed his arm from behind, slowing him down. Damn it, didn’t he tell him to wait outside?

“Hello, Mr. Parker.” Lyle smiled, ignoring Flynn.

“Just Aiden,” he said routinely, wondering why the formality with Flynn about to rip his throat out. “Flynn’s back,” he added with a weak laugh.

“Ignore me if you want, fuckhole, but then I’ll just tear your place apart looking for your thirty pieces of silver.” This smug prick needed his ass kicked up between his shoulder blades.

“If I understood your question I could try and answer it, Flynn. Welcome to Mystery Island, by the way.”

Flynn snorted derisively. “Mystery Island? What the fuck, is this Lost now? I ain’t the Korean guy or the fat guy. What about you? Who are you? I’m gonna guess Shannon. You look like you’d fuck your brother.”

“Erm…Sorry, I’ve never seen Lost. Never read Lord of the Rings either. My education is lacking.”

Flynn slammed his flattened palm on the end of the table, making the silverware around Lyle’s plate jump. “Answer the fucking question, you traitorous dickshit. What did you get out of selling us all to Eidolon?”

The temptation was to rise to his feet, but Lyle squashed it. Right now that would up the macho posturing, and meanwhile he could keep a table between him and Flynn. “Why don’t you get some food and we can see if we can sort this out while we eat?”

“Eat me! What does Eidolon want from us?”

Aiden wrapped his arms around Flynn’s waist from behind, holding him in place. He probably couldn’t hold him for long if he got really upset, but it would minimize damage at least. “Flynn,” he warned, glancing over his shoulder at Lyle. “I’d answer his questions.”

“That, I am still working out. Certainly it’s nothing to do with disaster relief or any ‘humanitarian mission’, as Pierce called it…” Lyle smiled at Aiden again, completely aware that it would wind Flynn up if he appeared to be hitting on Aiden. The guy was cute though, and deserved better.

“You mean you don’t know what we’re here for?” Aiden asked, uncomfortably resting his chin on Flynn’s shoulder.

“You know this prick probably sold you out to Vale, right?” Flynn told him, keeping his eyes on the smug blond bastard. “He knew he kidnapped you, and didn’t care. This seems to be a recurring theme with you, Jude.”

Aiden winced and stared at Lyle. “You knew? That whole time?”

“I had no idea. The first I heard about it was when Breslaw told me what had gone down. I’d been looking into Vale because of what was in Stan’s diary, but other than that I knew nothing.”

“Bullshit! You worked in that goddamn funeral home every fucking day. You mean to tell me Vale, the boss whose ass you kissed so rigorously, snuck something by you, you sneaky piece of shit. Flynn didn’t really know if Lyle knew, but it wouldn’t surprise him in the least. It took one liar to know another, and Lyle was just so full of lies, he could have given Flynn a run for his money.

“Okay, let’s just… let’s not talk about that now. What’s more important is finding out what we’re doing here, right?” Aiden said, diverting their attention from those horrible days.

Flynn tried hard not to snarl, but it was difficult. “Jude knows. You’re working with them, aren’t you? What the fuck are they planning to do with me?”

Lyle cast a glance toward the kitchen, hoping Aiden might get the hint, even if Flynn didn’t. They were not alone, nor in a place where they wouldn’t be interrupted. “I have no idea what anyone— except perhaps Mr Parker here— has plans on doing with you… Now, ask the nice lady in the kitchen and she’ll feed you, perhaps then we can talk.”

“Fuck you, you pompous butthole. Stop talking to me like I’m a child.” He was just going to keep being a smug bastard, huh? If he wouldn’t give him the info willingly, he could get it other ways. Did he actually think he could act like a prick and that would be the end of it?

Quite why Flynn was so set against him, so convinced he was a bad guy, Lyle had no real clue. Yes, he had worked for Vale, but only as an assistant mortician. He’d tried to save Flynn from an ass whupping when they first met in Vale’s office, but that was all. The rest had been threats and accusations from Flynn that made no sense to him. Apparently the kid was intent on keeping up the same pattern here too.

Almost on cue, at the mention of being fed, Aiden’s stomach growled loudly. He frowned, his nose wrinkling in embarrassment. “Flynn, let’s get something to eat, okay? Lyle’s not going anywhere.”

Flynn glanced back at Aiden with a scowl. Always playing peacemaker. How did those people get through life without being gutted like a trout? It was always a mystery to him. Must have been nice. Still, if Aiden was busy eating, maybe he could find out what Lyle was hiding, “That’s the problem, hon. None of us are going anywhere, and this fuck knows why. But we’re not good enough to know the truth.”

Aiden’s eyes flashed over to Lyle, regarding him curiously. He had seemed detached before the trip and after the news, if he remembered correctly. But then, maybe he didn’t remember correctly. Everything up until Flynn had come through the trees the other night had been a blur. Silently he pleaded for Lyle to tell them something, anything. Flynn’s last words, though, struck a chord with him. Flynn’s not telling the entire truth, either, about what happened while he was gone. I know it.

Lyle held his breath, hoping Flynn would listen to Aiden. Come on fellas, get the hint… The cook is Eidolon. Big Brother is watching you… “Truth is always subjective, Flynn. The most I can do is tell you what I know, which isn’t a lot. I’m not going to tell you anything, though, if you keep calling me names and threatening me with violence.”

“Oh, fuck you, princess. If you’re gonna act like a snobby piece of shit, you oughta be able to take what that gets you.” He carefully removed Aiden’s hands from him and turned to face him. “You want to have a bite to eat, why don’t you. Is there any place to clean up around here, or are we just pissing in the forest like dogs?”

“Over there.” Lyle gestured, indicating the nearest facilities, those attached to the gymnasium.

Flynn flashed him the finger, not looking at him, waiting for Aiden to answer.

“Umm, over there,” Aiden replied, pointing to where Lyle had gestured. He’d had no idea there was a bathroom there, but Lyle seemed to know the place better than the rest of them, so he figured it was the case.”

‘Kay.” Flynn kissed Aiden on the forehead. “You eat something, and if Jude makes any suspicious moves, nail his hand to the table with a fork. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He then patted Aiden on the back, gave him a reassuring smile, and headed out the way he’d come in. Lyle wasn’t going to talk, huh? Fine. He could see what he was hiding in his quarters. Sneaky little bitch – two could play that game.