“Sucks.” I turn back to the lesson.
“Hud is wondering how you knew what he should do.”
I look back. “Didn’t, it’s what I learned about the pool. It took me a little to get used to the wall and manufactured current. His foot is in his head, I just gave him the difference from ocean to pool so he can work it out in a way that his foot is a help not a hindrance.”
He nods and I feel warm just as his paint shows across his eyes. That’s weird. He leans closer. “Appreciation from the ancestors.” He walks away and I realize the Badass surf class is in front of him. His back has a big tattoo that looks like the changing paint colors. I turn and pull Peggy away from the gawking with her mouth hanging open.
“When did they get color changing ink?”
I pull her along. “Don’t know. That looks like it moves. He said appreciation from the ancestors. I got a blast of warm inside. Like a hair dryer turned on under my skin.”
“Mikey said healing is like that. They healed her when we were short on Protectors. She had a stick from the roof sticking out of her stomach when the dipshit shot a chopper down over Stella’s lab.”
I stop short and she bangs into my arm.
“What?”
I close my eyes and take a breath. “I’m trying to decide whether I should ask. I’m not asking. I need to eat before I’m on.” My feet move again.
“We have an hour and a half.” She’s good with time.
“Yeah, I need a shower and to dry my mop.” The mop takes forever. “Alder has us booked for the show later,” I explain.
She gets it and heads to the stairs.
§*§*§
Cruise ship
Hud
She was right. The wave sucked me in and my balance was off but moving my arm forward a few inches gave me a center that balanced my braced foot and weighted my other for turning the board.
The woman does everything like she knows exactly how it feels. Her old-fashioned red suit with the silver outlined red arrow head that has a sword over a silver maple leaf on her right chest and hip made holding her eyes hard. Once I was up and steady, she dropped out. I missed getting a better look. On my way back for another run, she had the T and shorts that are standard issue covering that suit. She wasn’t just army; she was elite and that does cover a lot more than army.
“You brace work.”
I smile at the little President that never misses anything. “Yeah, with the tips it worked great.”
“Tip for brace?”
I nod. “Moving my arm forward centered me so my other foot was navigating. The different way the pool works was helpful too.” I shrug. That covers all the tips she told him and me.
He freezes. “You autistic.”
Shit. I can’t lie to a President. I give a quick scan noting Citiali, Jordan and Stella here with Barber and Silva. Fuck. “Not that I know for sure but Ranger’s said they’d test me. I’m different and never talked much. I liked being a loner or joining in with what I liked doing. They said probably Asperger’s but I never took a test.”
Alder nods once. Stella puts her hand out and Silvahands her money. “Steve Knight is my uncle, he’s autistic too and sent to BUDS then a SEAL Satellite. FBI had Alexia, she’s Webs ol’ lady. She’s got Asperger’s but now it’s just called autism spectrum, like that matters. Her dad, the Director, let her go to the Ops office in Providence. She was second to their top IT, a profiler and other shit I didn't pay attention too. She’s smarter than me about people. She lived at Quantico for a few years and studied the agents. The government is fuckin crazy but singular focus means you never forget the objective. Uncle Steve and Alexia don’t.”
She’s a Prince. “Knight from Mass?” I met Alexia with the babies on a ride I joined in with the Bits going back up to Phoenix.
She nods. “He was VP of the original Badass Chapter until my Uncle Ricky married his daughter Elizabeth. Now she’s VP and Ricky is President.”
Now I freeze. Ben and Elizabeth Knight, I say it seeing it on the tree. It struck me when I saw it. Ben is POT in the north who started the Princes of Prophecy and put the first woman on his Security. That was Stella’s mom. Ben Knight is Teller, his IT twin, Phoenix and the woman President, Aylen’s dad. Steve has an impressive line.
“He does, Brother, and his wife was Axe’s daughter. Let’s get in, the instructor is getting impatient.” Citiali gets me moving with a stutter step.
That’s really an impressive line. Knights are part of Thunderhawk and Blackhawk lines. Shaking it off, I hand the little President a small board that should work for him and take the board I just dropped on the rack. The Knights... Alder gets me out of my head.
