Trinity Ch. 04

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Alec asked hopefully. Alec's stomach knotted up as fear shot through every nerve in his body. There was no way possible that woman could be Joshua's wife. Joshua wouldn't have done those things with him on the island if he were married, or would he?

"I'm Paige Finnegan, Joshua's wife." She replied as she offered out her hand.

Alec numbly took her hand and shook it. His face was a sea of calm that did not reveal any of the inner turmoil that plagued his mind at that moment. Memories flashed through Alec's head and his heart forcefully pounded in his chest. His chest painfully constricted around his lungs making it difficult to breathe.

"I'm sorry, ladies, that I'm so out of it tonight." Alec quietly said with a warm, but fake, smile. "It must be the jetlag or the warmer climate throwing my body off. If you'll excuse me I'm going to turn in for the night."

Vanessa's eyes had been trained on her brother the moment Paige had revealed her identity. She saw fear, shock, and anger flash across his face before a mask slid into place hiding everything. She was not sure what exactly happened on the main island, but she was positive that something did happen. Vanessa knew that she would be having a very long, in depth conversation with her brother as soon as the other two women left.

Vanessa observed the other two women out of the corner of her eye as Alec left the room. Sabrina's eyes were transfixed on Alec's back until he disappeared down the hallway. Vanessa quickly glanced over at Paige and quietly assessed the woman. It was obvious from Paige's appearance that she most likely came from money, and based on her posture and poised stance Vanessa figured it was old money. Everything about the woman practically screamed good breeding and manners classes. Paige had a classic beauty that it made it appear as if she stepped right off of a movie set from the nineteen fifties.

There was one other thing about Paige that caught Vanessa's attention. The woman's eyes definitely had the spark of intelligence in them, and Vanessa made a mental note to not underestimate this woman. Vanessa had quickly learned that she should never judge a book by its cover.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Vanessa, and I hope we will be seeing more of each other." Paige said with what appeared to be a sincere smile. "If you have some free time from your job maybe we can do lunch or something? I'm sorry to rush off, but Sabrina and I have a staff meeting to attend at the hotel."

"Don't be sorry, Paige. I understand completely." Vanessa replied with a sincere smile of her own. "I just might take you up on that offer, Paige. Sabrina, make sure you stop over again really soon because I totally had fun tonight and can't wait to do it again!"

Sabrina reacted as Vanessa hoped she would and rushed Paige out the door as quickly as possible. Vanessa was definitely going to take Mrs. Joshua Finnegan up on her offer because it was the perfect opportunity to get more information; an opportunity that Vanessa was not going to let pass her by. She locked up and glanced out the windows to make sure there was nothing roaming about in the dark night. Vanessa grabbed something to drink and headed down the hallway towards Alec's room. She was definitely not looking forward to the upcoming conversation.

She knocked quietly on the door and waited for an answer, but there was no reply and Vanessa hadn't really expected one. She gently eased the door open and had to let her eyes adjust because all of the lights had been turned off. Alec was sitting on a window seat on the far side of the room with his knees pulled up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them. Vanessa saw the silent tears that ran down his face.

It was almost as if she had been transported back in time. She couldn't count the number of times she had found Alec like this, shut off from the world and everything around him. Vanessa had to remind herself that this practically was Alec's first mission. He had helped on all the other missions, but he was more of a backup and her contact point. Alec had never really been in the field. His complaining at the end of their last mission was proof of that. Vanessa did remind him that he blew up that building, but he did that with a remote detonator. She was the one that set up all the explosives and equipment.

Vanessa wished that he had the opportunity to be in the field more before this mission came up. She watched him for a few moments before entering the room. He never looked up at her and continued to stare out the window. She knew what he was looking at, or most likely looking for, out into the night sky. Vanessa knew that Alec looked up at their star almost every night, and that night was no exception. Her heart ached in her chest as she watched him. Alec was so innocent, untouched, and it killed her inside to see him like that.

Vanessa hoped that he wouldn't lose that innocence as time went on, but she had a feeling that tonight was the beginning of the end of that. Alec might appear to be a strong, dominant man, and in many ways he was, but under the outer shell he was still a small, scared boy. Vanessa knew that he was looking for love, and she knew that that was partially from the loss of their parents. Alec was just one of those people that had so much love to give, but the death of their parents had scared him. Vanessa couldn't begin to imagine what it must feel like to have all of those feelings locked up inside and no way to let them out.

"Hey tiger." She practically whispered as she finally moved towards him. "I thought I'd stop back and see how you were doing. I figured you might want to talk about it." Alec mumbled something, but she wasn't able to make out any of it. "What did you say?"

Alec's face lifted up to meet his sister's gaze and the look on his face made Vanessa's blood run cold. She had never seen such a hard, menacing look on her brother's face before. Vanessa knew her brother had a temper, one that he kept under strict control, but it was obvious he was losing control of the anger that was raging inside of him.

"I said..." Alec paused and took a shaky breath. "I am going to kill him."

"Who?" Vanessa asked.

"Don't fucking play stupid with me, Nessa!" Alec growled. "You know damn well who the hell I'm talking about. Joshua!"

Vanessa flinched back at his words because she wasn't expecting him to snap like that. She wasn't sure at that moment if she really wanted to know what happened on the island. Alec had never killed anyone, but Vanessa got the feeling that Joshua just might be his first. Vanessa tried to shield him from certain aspects of their jobs and killing was one of them.

"Someone seems just a little tense tonight, tiger." Vanessa teased, hoping to calm him down.

"A bit tense?" Alec's voice had begun to rise. "How would you feel if you lost your virginity; had one of the most intense experiences of your life; felt like you might possibly be falling in love; and then find out that the worthless self serving asshole is married? I had to go through that all in one fucking night!"

Vanessa's breath rushed out of her lungs in one fast gasp. He lost his virginity? Her brother was talking about falling in love? The island was obviously having a pretty damn interesting effect on her brother. She couldn't believe that he really had a fling. She thought about that for a minute and realized that this wasn't a fling. Somehow, someway, Alec had fallen in love or at least thought that he was. This was a huge moment for him, and Vanessa couldn't believe that someone had finally slipped under her brother's radar.

"You lost your what?' Vanessa finally managed to stutter.

A slight blush appeared on Alec's face, but it quickly disappeared as he gave her a play by play on what happened on the island. Vanessa was surprised because Alec did not spare any detail. He explained every single thing that happened, and he didn't leave anything out. Vanessa couldn't help the blush that appeared on her face as she heard the intimate details of his experience. There was one thing that caught her attention the most in his story.

"Who had the protection?" She asked.

"What are you talking about?" Alec asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Don't you dare try to change the subject on me, Alec Michael!" Vanessa's anger was quickly building. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? How could you be so irresponsible?"

"Do you mean to tell me that you've never had unprotected sex, oh saintly one?" Alec asked with an eyebrow arched.

"This isn't about me." She replied indignantly. "We are talking about what happened with you."

"It's the exact same thing. The only difference is with my risk I can't get pregnant, but as I just said a minute ago I'm not the one who got fucked." He shot back at her.

"You might not have to worry about getting pregnant, but you do have to worry about other things." Vanessa argued. "You might not have got fucked physically, but I'd have to say you got fucked mentally and emotionally."

She regretted the words the minute she said them, but she couldn't take them back. She saw the anger fade from Alec's face and it was quickly replaced with pain. Vanessa couldn't help getting caught up in her own anger, but Alec had to understand the severity of what had happened to him. It was her responsibility to watch out for him, and she hated seeing him in so much pain. She stepped over to him and Alec fell into her arms.

"I'm sorry, tiger, for what I said, but you have to be very careful." She whispered in his ear as she tried to calm him down. "I'm proud of you for letting your guard down and letting someone in. I am sorry though that he turned out to be such a snake. I wish that your first time could have been with someone that truly cared for you."

"That's just it, Nessa; I really think he does care about me." Alec replied. "I could see it in his eyes under that waterfall. Even the way he touched me told me that he cared about me or at least was starting to. We connected somehow, but I just don't understand how. How could he do that when he was married?"

"It is tough to explain why people do what they do. If we could figure out a way to find out those type of answers we would be millionaires." Vanessa said with a small chuckle. "Unfortunately it is just one of those things in life we need to deal with. We do have a choice though because we can either let the pain and hurt take over our lives or we can learn and grow from the experience and move on. That is up to you to figure out."

"I hear what you're saying, Nessa." Alec quietly said as he hugged his sister close. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"That's what I'm here for, Alec. I'm sorry that your prince ended up having a princess." She said with a smile. "What are we going to do about the situation?"

"The only thing we can do." Alec looked up at his sister with a wicked grin. "We go on the offensive."

* * *

Alec didn't sleep much that night because he was haunted by dreams. The events of the day replayed through his mind and seemed to get worse as the night went on. He finally gave up on getting any real rest and was up for the day just as the sun was coming up. He groggily stumbled through his morning routine and made his way into the living room to begin his morning workout. Alec was surprised to find Vanessa already up and stretching.

"Morning, tiger." She said with a smile. "You're up early today."

"I could say the same for you." He smiled back. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I heard you tossing and turning last night and figured you'd be up early. I thought you might want some company. Besides, I can't have you working out without me. Who would toss you around?" Vanessa asked with a wicked grin.

She turned around and started to stretch again and Alec took advantage of the situation. He swiftly leapt over the couch and kicked with his right foot. It connected with Vanessa's back and she pitched forward. She planted her hands on the floor and easily flipped forward to her feet. Vanessa turned and her right leg swung around with a powerful roundhouse kick. She wasn't fast enough because Alec had already moved out of her way. He had dropped to the ground, swung his foot out, and easily knocked Vanessa's leg out from underneath her. She fell backwards to the floor with a slight thump.

Alec leapt towards his sister to 'finish' her off, but Vanessa somersaulted backwards out of his way. The minute her feet hit the floor she easily back flipped over the couch and stood in a defensive position. The pair eyed each other as they circled the couch.

"It would seem that someone woke up with a whole lot of focus this morning." Vanessa calmly replied. "Though attacking me with my back turned really wasn't fair, was it?"

"Who said the bad guys will fight fair?" Alec asked with a grin. "Didn't you always tell me to be prepared for everything and anything?"

Vanessa didn't reply, but a huge grin lit up her face. Alec was definitely starting to get the hang of things. Vanessa locked eyes with her brother and twisted her arm slightly. Her arm snapped in a throwing motion and Alec ducked behind the couch to avoid the knife he thought was going to be coming, but it never did. Vanessa had faked him out and quickly moved towards him. She stepped around the couch and was prepared to strike, but Alec wasn't there. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see where he was, but she never got the chance.

A solid blow struck her in the middle of her back and she tumbled to the floor for the second time that morning. She had been slightly prepared for the first one, but she was completely off guard that time. Vanessa hit the ground and the air rushed out of her lungs. Alec swiftly reached down and flipped her onto her back. Vanessa felt cold steel press against her temple and her eyes opened wide. Alec stood above her grinning like a mad man. She could see that the safety on the gun was on, and he didn't even have his finger on the trigger. His point was made loud and clear though.

"It seems the pupil has surpassed the teacher, young one." Vanessa quietly said with a huge smile.

"I think it was probably just a little bit of luck." Alec smiled shyly back and offered her a hand up.

"Sometimes luck is the one thing that keeps you alive, tiger." Vanessa took his hand and pulled herself to her feet. "Your ducking around the couch was impressive. I knew you were fast, but not that fast, Alec."

The pair continued their morning workout in a comfortable silence and by the end of their session sweat was pouring off of their bodies. Their workout was harder and more intense than ever. The President's visit was only a few days away and they had to be prepared and ready. Their day was going to be filled with going over plans and doing more island recon. They had to be ready for a battle, if it came down to that. As they toweled off their bodies the pair stretched through their cooling down routine.

“I hate to inflate your ego any more than it already is, Vanessa, but you were right about what you said.” Alec said without glancing at her.

“What do you mean more than it is?” Vanessa’s laughter bubbled through the room. She glanced over at her brother. “I was right about what?”

“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?” Alec glared at his sister.

“I just want you to clarify what exactly I was right about. From the way you talk it doesn’t happen that often, so I want to cherish this moment.” Vanessa said with an innocent smile.

“What did I ever do to deserve her?” Alec asked as he looked up at the ceiling like he was praying. Vanessa leaned over and punched him in the shoulder. “Why can’t you hit like a girl?” Vanessa’s fist pulled back again, but Alec raised his hand in protest. “Okay, okay, you win. You were right about love at first sight.”

“You still feel that way even after everything that happened?” Vanessa quietly asked. She normally enjoyed being right, but she wasn’t happy that being right that time meant Alec being hurt.

“Unfortunately.” Alec meant for his laugh to sound upbeat, but it sounded bitter even to his own ears. “I can’t help this feeling that there is something more going on and I just need to find out what it is. Is that just wishful thinking on my part though?”

“People always think the best of the one that they love.” Vanessa gave her brother a sympathetic smile. “If it makes you feel any better, tiger, I get the feeling there is more going on here than meets the eye as well. It’s kind of strange.”

“Well, when there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call?” Alec kept his face as smooth as possible to hide his amusement.

“Fuck you, Alec!” Vanessa snapped. “You know I hate that damn movie. It creeps me out.”

“You do realize that most people wouldn’t be afraid of that much marshmallow.” Alec couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore. He knew that Vanessa would freak out.

“It’s not like the stuff was just laying around. It was walking and talking and crushing cars for God sakes and…” Vanessa’s voice trailed off as she watched her brother howl in laughter. It had been a long time since she had seen him laugh like that. “Look, tiger, I don’t mind being the butt of your jokes if it’s going to raise your spirits, but in the future can we please not pick things that will freak me out?”

Alec simply nodded his head at his sister because his laughter was stopping him from verbally responding. He knew he needed something to make him laugh and teasing his sister was always a sure fire way to do that. As his laughter continued Vanessa flipped him the finger and went to take her shower. Even though he had made light of the moment Alec was also sure that something just wasn’t right. As his laughter died down a plan formed in his mind and he smiled. Sometimes the simplest plans are the ones that work the best.

* * *

Later in the afternoon Alec found himself creeping up a back stairwell of the Mauna Loa, the largest hotel on the main island. Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on the earth and Alec could understand why the hotel was so aptly named. The hotel was one of the most massive buildings he had ever seen and it had five smaller buildings attached to it. The executive offices for the park were located on the top floors of the main, central building of the hotel.

Earlier that morning Vanessa and Alec hacked into the park’s security system and pulled up blueprints for all of the buildings. They were part of the security team, but for some reason they weren’t given access to building blueprints. It didn’t take them long to figure out where the executive offices were located. Alec looked over the schematics and determined the fastest way into the top floors without being detected. There were back stairwells and elevators for the maintenance team to use without being seen by the guests. Alec didn’t want to walk up that many flights of steps, but if he took the elevator it would risk too much exposure.

Vanessa had come with him and was able to distract the employee in the maintenance office long enough for Alec to retrieve a pair of overalls and a hat from the storeroom. He had also picked up a toolbox on his way. There were heating and air conditioning ducts that ran throughout the building and as luck would have it there was an empty office located right next to Joshua’s. Alec was hoping to be able to use the ducts and get some useful information.

Alec was able to get to the top floor and quickly moved down the hallway. He found the empty office and stepped inside before anyone saw him. Alec flipped the lock in place to ensure that no one would be walking in on him. He gently set the toolbox down and pulled the schematics out of his inside pocket. Alec spread them out on the empty desk and found the correct duct he needed. He removed a screwdriver from the toolbox and walked over to the wall that the two offices shared.