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“That’s so boring.” Diego wasn’t looking at him now, focusing instead on his tablet.
“Don’t you manage that now? I thought it would be interesting.”
He recovered a bit, but he noticed his casual response seemed a bit forced. He didn’t look up from the tablet, his tone dismissive. “It’s really busy, so I’m not sure when.”
“I could probably get Mari to show me, since you’re busy.” Buck pushed, wishing like hell his instincts were quieting with this conversation. Unfortunately, they weren’t. It’s not like he wanted Diego to be involved in anything that would jeopardize everything they had built, but none of this had a good feeling to it.
He didn’t make eye contact and said, “Look, I’ve got to get back to work. These plants won’t move themselves.” He straightened and brushed past Buck to get to the other side of the aisle, away from him.
Buck left the greenhouse and went back to the ready room.
The guys looked up when he entered. “Were you able to talk to Diego?” Kat asked.
“Yes, and I feel he was evasive, nervous about the shipping job. I think he’s hiding something.” He got a dropping sensation in his gut, suspecting that Diego could be the leak.
“D-Day,” Joker said. “Get out there and follow Diego. Report where he goes.”
D-Day shot Buck a sympathetic look before grabbing his computer and exiting the room.
“Now it’s a waiting game. We’ll see what D-Day has to say.”
* * *
D-Day blended in with the other workers, transferring seedlings to the cart. He was wearing typical clothes and a hat pulled low over his eyes. About ten minutes after D-Day arrived, he saw Diego leave the greenhouse. As soon as he rounded the end of the structure, D-Day started after him. He gave a quick peek around the corner and saw Diego climb into a golf cart, then tool off.
After waiting a safe time, he walked to the area and grabbed another golf cart, starting after Diego. He kept to the side of the path for as long as the jungle allowed. Once it got too dense, about fifteen minutes in, Diego ditched the cart. D-Day followed on foot, keeping to the shadows. Diego was jumpy as hell. He started at a bird call, nervously looking over his shoulder.
Finally, they came to a small warehouse in the jungle, and to D-Day’s eye, it looked like it was new construction. Diego slipped inside. D-Day went to the building, but he couldn’t see inside. The windows were covered. But the glass was cool to the touch. In the back, he found a state-of-the-art generator purring along.
D-Day keyed his comm and relayed the information to Joker, but there was no response. He must be too far out. Noting the location, he went back to the ready room.
At his report, Joker’s mouth tightened. “Get jocked up. We’re going to raid the warehouse.”
* * *
Mari was just finishing up a batch of roasted coffee, feeling out of sorts and disappointed. Buck had left early this morning, and she couldn’t fault him for it. He had a job to do, and he’d spent considerable time with her yesterday.
She shivered at the memory of the man’s face, and it was going through the plantation that the body was Juan Barrantes. Mari was saddened by the news as the man was like an uncle to her.
Juan hadn’t ever married or had children, just worked his butt off for sixteen years for their family. It drove home to her that she didn’t want to be like that and end up alone with her life cut short.
She sighed. What life? She didn’t really have one, and Buck was showing her how wonderful it was to get out in the world and enjoy herself. Before the grisly discovery, she had been having such a good time. Her thoughts had drifted to seducing him right there in the new field in the grass and sunshine.
Diego busted into the roasting shed without knocking, his tone brisk. “Mari. I need you to come with me. I want to show you something.”
“You scared the hell out of me, Diego, she said, her hand to her hammering heart. What?” she asked, shutting down the roaster and turning back to him.
“I’d rather show you.” He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, a sheen of sweat coated him. He darted wary looks out the window. “It’s really important. I could be in some trouble.”
She pulled out the chaff tray. “Trouble? What kind of trouble?” She dumped it in the basket, then wiped it clean.
“Mari, just come with me, and it’ll be clear,” he said in exasperation. He grabbed her hand and drew her out of the roasting shed. He had a golf cart parked nearby, and he slipped into the driver’s seat. “Come on. Get in.”
Since Diego wasn’t interested in talking, Mari’s thoughts went back to Buck and her life. There was another nagging thought that kept surfacing. She noticed while she had been on this trip how she easily read the room, then adjusted herself to fit into the vibe, adapting to different people and situations. When she was in the US, she was the marketing executive, the face of the company, and she had to look the part, but now she wondered if she was confusing that persona with who she really was, deep down. That woman who simply enjoyed roasting beans for a really good cup of coffee.
She let her father dictate to her what was successful and what wasn’t as if she was keeping track and she determined what to do and how to do it by measuring how well it was working for him.
She bit her lip. Had she built an identity around her ability to be successful in everything she did, and redefined herself in light of that success? Her idea of success was all about her work, so closely connected to family, she wasn’t sure where she started and they left off. Had she been structuring her goals to fit her father’s needs and standards?
