Pierre revved the car's engine and sped off. In the front seat, the two men seemed to be whispering while talking, but after a while, Thalia stopped trying to listen to their conversation. Her eyelids are also heavy, a sign that she is sleepy. She said that she might not be able to sleep again, but maybe because of the fatigue, her body finally gave in.
She didn't know how long she fell asleep, but it seemed like she was lost in the world for a few hours before she opened her eyes again. When she woke up, the sun was high in the sky, proof that she had woken up at noon.
She lifted her head from Dean's duffel bag that she had turned into a pillow, and tried to figure out where they were. The winding dirt road seemed to be smack in the middle of the wilderness. The ocean must be nearby, yet she couldn't orient herself no matter how hard she tried.
Eventually, she gave up and instead studied Dean's rugged profile. His hair is messy now and a little beard is growing on both of his jaws. His eyes were fixed on the road, and neither he nor Pierre had spoken since she had woken up. When he seemed to notice her, he immediately turned to her.
"You're awake."
"Am I? Because I feel like I'm still in a nightmare."
His facial expression softened. "I'm sorry."
I'm sorry? Is that all he can say?
She just turned to the trees they were passing, until the trees thinned out, revealing a small house up ahead. It had a white stucco exterior and a flat tin roof, nothing fancy, but bigger than she'd expected and incredibly isolated. She also sees another Jeep parked in front of the house, and two large motorcycles and also...is that a child's bicycle?
Apart from that, she can also see the white sand and the crashing of the waves on the beach. She also saw a speedboat there docked at a small pier.
Dean helped her get out of the Jeep, his warm palms soothed her trembling hands.
"Are you cold?"
"A little," she lied. Because the truth is, she was really cold in wet clothes.
"Come on, let's go inside the house so you can change--"
The door of the house suddenly opened and a tall man wearing camo pants, a white t-shirt and black boots appeared. He's also handsome, but his face has an arrogant aura.
She knew he was the one named Tatum, Dean's commanding officer.
And as he approached them, Thalia stared at Dean with concern. "It looks like your friend was not happy when he saw me." She whispered to Dean.
Dean didn't even have a chance to answer her, because Tatum came closer to them and gave him a sharp look.
"You've got to be kidding me," Tatum said instead of greeting. Then he angrily turned to Dean. "What got into your head to bring her here?"
-----
Dean has already concluded that Tatum will not be happy with him taking Thalia to the beach house, as he expected from Pierre and especially from Tatum. But instead he met the captain's gaze and said, "Doctor Ricafort is not a threat to us. But she's an asset."
Tatum stared at Thalia from head to toe. "An asset," he echoed, and seemed unconvinced.
Other women might have recoiled under that harsh glare, but Thalia just shrugged her shoulders and stared back at the captain. "I don't want to come either. But Dean didn't give me a choice."
The frankness of her tone is what made Tatum's eyes glaze over.
So Dean immediately intervened in the building tension. "Thalia was held captive in Esmeralda, Tatum. An American general interrogated her. I just escaped her."
"Did you search her to see if there were any wires attached to her?"
Thalia snorted. "Oh, for Pete's sake, it's obvious from what I'm wearing. Does it look like there are wires attached to me?"
"And if it wasn't for her," Dean continued. "Until now we don't have a potential lead to the virus. Thalia thought that the virus might come from water."
Tatum's gaze became even sharper. "You mean waterborne?"
"We don't know yet, but I have already obtained a water sample from the village of Esmeralda. All that is needed is to test it ASAP."
"I think I know someone who can help us with that," said Thalia. "He's a--"
"There's no need for that," Tatum interrupted. "We will hire our own people to handle it."
Thalia laughed sarcastically and then turned to Dean. "You didn't tell me I'd be receiving such a warm welcome here."
But before the tension in the air exploded, the door suddenly opened and Ina Reyes waltzed out. Tatum's sexy and beautiful wife.
Ina approached them and she frowned at the grumpy captain. "What are you doing, Tatum? You should let her change her clothes first before you cross-examine her." Then she turned to Dean. "Hi, Dean. Welcome back."
He nodded at Ina. "Ina, she is doctor Thalia Ricafort. She was working at a clinic in Valera until there was a little problem there."
Without hesitation, Ina anchored Thalia's arm and pulled the doctor away. Both beautiful ladies are just the same height, but Ina is just sexier and more seductive.
"Don't pay attention to Tatum," Ina was assuring her. "He's really rude if you don't know him well yet. And he's naturally a suspicious person, so..."
The two women finally entered the house so he didn't hear what they talked about. Tatum still doesn't seem happy with what he did, while Pierre just leaned on the Jeep and just observed them.
"I like that doctor," said Pierre. "She's got a backbone on her."
"She also has a guts." The pleasure in his voice was obvious, so he cleared his throat. "After we left the camp, she would have even returned the water sample. I just stopped her from doing so, and I took it instead."
"What else do we need to know, besides possible water transmission?" Tatum asked and they started walking into the house. "Did you see some of the bodies of the infected?"
Dean shook his head. "No, because they are inside the body bag. But we can add coughing to the symptoms we already know. Oh, before I forget, the general mentioned the name Meridian referring to the virus."
"Meridian?" Tatum echoed.
"Maybe that's what they call the virus. Also, this is definitely a cooperative effort between the U.S. and San Jose, that's why the American general interrogated Thalia. I think our government's calling the shots here."
*****
