Trinity Ch. 02

“Excuse me, do you happen to know what time it is?” The princess asked him.

“It’s just about two o’clock.” Alec tried to keep his frustration to himself. The woman sounded like her head was inflated with air.

“Thanks, I like totally appreciate the help. I must have totally left my watch in my car.” The woman replied with an inane giggle. Alec felt a hand slid up over his bicep. “What’s a big, strong man like you doing out here all by himself?” She flirted with him.

“Look princess…” Alec looked up to politely tell the woman to leave him alone, but the words died in his throat. His eyes gazed into a pair of emerald ones that he knew so well. “What the fuck did you do, Vanessa?”

Vanessa’s laughter rang in his ears as she twirled around. Her beautiful red hair was gone and a bright, blonde color was in its place. His eyes took in her transformation and he was amazed. She could have walked right past him and he would have never had known it was her. Hell, she walked right up and had a conversation with him and he didn’t have a clue.

“Do you kiss your sister with that potty mouth, mister?” Her voice still had that airhead quality to it. “Do you like?”

“I’m in shock, Vanessa, I didn’t know you dreamed of looking like a pop tart.” Alec sweetly replied.

“Bite me.” Vanessa said as she placed her bag back onto the cart. “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful, Alec.”

“You’re right, there are a thousand other reasons to hate you.” He shot back at her.

They playfully argued with each other until it was their turn to fly out to the island. Alec ended up loading their luggage onto the chopper himself because Vanessa was flirting with the pilot to the point he was completely distracted.

She was definitely playing the part of the stereotypical blonde to a tee. Finally, Alec was able to get into the chopper and climbed into his seat. Somehow, Vanessa had managed to talk herself into the co-pilot’s chair. He didn’t bother putting on the headset to block out the sound of the whirling blades. Alec was happy to have the distraction and focus on his own game plan.

He took in the beauty of the Pacific Ocean and was amazed by the colors. The water looked so refreshing and the sky was bluer than he could ever imagine. He felt a peacefulness engulf him, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Alec hadn’t felt this calm or relaxed since his parents’ passing. Something down in the water caught Alec’s eye and he leaned closer to the window to investigate. A pod of dolphins were frolicking and swimming in the ocean far below him. Dolphins had always fascinated Alec because of their intelligence and playfulness. The animals looked so free down there in the water. Alec wondered what it must be like to be like that, to be so free. What would it feel like to have that weight lifted off of his shoulders for once? To have all the burdens he’d been carrying around for years disappear?

Was it possible that Vanessa was right? Was he too uptight? Alec reflected on his life for a few moments and realized that Vanessa did have some valid points. He really didn’t have fun anymore or allow himself to just relax and unwind. Vanessa teased him about being a bit of a slob sometimes, but that was just one of Alec’s quirks. He didn’t allow many things to be out of his control in life and being a bit messy allowed him to give up a bit of control. It may have sounded stupid or even on the verge of insanity, but Alec had somehow gotten himself into a very controlled routine. Alec glanced towards the cockpit and could see Vanessa’s blonde hair floating in the slight wind inside the helicopter.

He decided that maybe it was time for him to have a little fun. Alec didn’t think he could be as flamboyant about it as Vanessa, though he was ready to have some enjoyment. He planned on keeping his eyes open, and who knows, maybe he might find an attractive guy on the island to have a fling with. He knew having a relationship was out of the question, or was it? He definitely had a lot to think about.

Alec could see Vanessa waving back at him out of the corner of his eye. She was pointing to something in front of the helicopter. Alec moved forward so he was right behind her seat to see what she was pointing at. The horizon was nothing but water before, but now there was something new to see. The Terror Islands had come into view and it was an impressive sight. It looked like there was a volcano on one of the islands, which immediately gave away which island the park was on. As the helicopter got closer to the islands Alec could make out the tops of different park rides towering above the tree line. All three of the islands appeared to be covered in jungle.

A large sigh of frustration escaped from Alec’s lips from just looking at the terrain. All of those trees were definitely going to cause problems because it provided way too many hiding places. It was going to take more time than he expected to cover that much ground. Alec moved back to his own seat and went over things in his head. It was going to take a lot of concentration and patience to just deal with this new ditzy version of Vanessa besides having to deal with the mission as well. He had to enjoy the peace and quiet while he could because he didn’t see it lasting very much longer.

* * *

The helicopter gently touched down on the main island, its blades slowly spinning until they stopped. The pilot rushed around the side of the helicopter to help Vanessa out, which caused another sigh to slip from Alec’s lips. As the man helped Vanessa down she allowed her body to rub up against him as much as possible.

“Thank you so much, I like totally appreciate the help. People are never nice these days.” Vanessa allowed another girlish giggle to flow from her lips. This was turning out to be more fun than she expected. “You must be pretty strong to lift me down like that.”

“Not a problem, ma’am, anything I can do to help.” The pilot replied, with a touch of pride in his voice. His chest was puffed out and he was definitely trying to show off his muscles.

“How late do these helihoppers fly?” Vanessa asked as she twirled some of her hair around her finger.

“They’re called helicopters, ma’am, and the last run back to the mainland is at ten o’clock at night when the park closes.” The pilot grinned back.

“Thanks again for the ride, mister, it was totally fast and a little rough. I really like it like that.” Vanessa winked at the pilot and moved around the helicopter to help Alec. When she walked up to Alec the sight that greeted her actually made her miss a step and stumble.

“You’d think all that air in your head would stop you from tripping, Vanessa.” Alec lazily smiled at her.

Vanessa didn’t even hear what he said to her, she was too focused on his appearance. Alec was normally pretty conservative with his clothes, even though he had a body that made most men jealous. His shirt was unbuttoned completely, exposing practically every muscled inch of his upper body. Alec’s hair was normally well kept and perfectly styled, though now it had that purposely messed up look to it. At some point he must have changed shorts on the trip over because at the airport he had on a pair of jean shorts that came down to his knees. Alec had on a pair of jean shorts now, but the shorts were mid-thigh length. He was definitely showing off some skin, which was totally not like him.

“What’s with showing off your pasty skin, Alec?” Vanessa asked as her eyes trailed over his body. She could see the slight flush on his neck and face. “Don’t get me wrong, stud, you look great. I’m just wondering what caused this change?”

“I’m just following someone’s lead on blondes having more fun, and since I’m the natural blonde, I figured why not.” Alec grinned at her.

“Well, it’s about time!” Vanessa exclaimed. The pendant on Alec’s chest caught her eye as the sun reflected off of it. She quickly pulled her pendant out and made sure it was visible. “Now let’s just see if we can find our contact.” She added quietly so only Alec could hear.

They scanned the crowd, without being too obvious about it. A lot of people were milling about the park’s loading entrance, but no one really caught their eye. Alec and Vanessa were getting a lot of attention, from both men and woman alike, though neither of them noticed. They stood there for about twenty minutes before frustration started to kick in.

“This is getting ridiculous, Alec, I haven’t seen our guy yet. I hate it when people are late.” Vanessa complained. Her foot started impatiently tapping the ground. “Talk about unprofessional.”

“Well, it’s not like we were able to call ahead and give our arrival time.” Alec sighed. “You really have to learn some patience.”

Vanessa was about to respond when something caught her eye. There was a woman standing towards the back of the crowd, and her eyes were definitely looking for something, or possibly someone. Vanessa almost dismissed her until she saw something reflecting light around the women’s neck. It was too far to tell, but Vanessa would have bet money it was a pendant.

“Looks like our thinking that Backdraft was a man was way wrong.” Vanessa quietly said to Alec. He gave her a questioning look and she pointed out the woman without being too obvious. “Let’s try to initiate some contact.”

Vanessa and Alec weren’t going to have to do that though. The woman in the crowd had already stopped looking around and was headed their way. She was around five foot eight inches with midnight black hair that was bobbed at chin length. She moved with a grace that any ballet dancer would envy. Vanessa looked at the woman; she seemed petite even though she was pretty tall.

The woman gave Alec an appreciative look as she approached, but had dismissed Vanessa almost immediately. So it was going to be like that? The woman was lucky she was their contact; otherwise Vanessa would have kicked her ass. Vanessa tossed her hair back and couldn’t help the grin that appeared on her face. She was still going to have some fun with this woman, contact or no contact.

“Welcome to the Isle Of Terror, I’m Sabrina McKnight. I couldn’t help but notice that you two looked a bit lost. Can I help?” The woman asked.

There was something about her though that rubbed Vanessa the wrong way. It might have been the hungry look she was giving Alec. One would think that this Sabrina hadn’t had a decent meal in at least a month by the look she was giving him. While Sabrina was busy drooling over Alec, Vanessa had the chance to get a good look at the pendant. She knew instantly that it was Covenant issued. It was difficult to describe, but from what Vanessa could tell it resembled an exploding fire.

“My name is Alec Clark, and this is my associate Vanessa Lane.” Alec said with a grin. “We’re new employees on the security team, so we’re just waiting for our park contact.”

“Well, that makes my job a lot easier.” Sabrina’s laughter bubbled. Vanessa’s shoulder tensed at the sound. Sabrina was definitely grating on her nerves. “You’re both with the security force?” Her eyes wandered over Vanessa questioningly.

“That’s right, Sabrina, we put the secure in security.” Vanessa said with sweetness dripping off of her tongue. “That’s a gorgeous pendant you have there. Where did you get it?”

Sabrina’s hand wrapped around her pendant without thinking, which Vanessa understood. They were both very protective about their pendants as well. Sabrina’s hand shifted a bit and opened revealing the back of the pendant. The image of Stonehenge was clearly visible to the both of them and that was all the confirmation they needed; they had found Backdraft.

“It’s been passed down through my family for generations.” Sabrina said as she eyed their pendants. “It seems we share the same good taste in silver.”

Alec and Vanessa’s hands reached for their own pendants and gently flipped them over, acting like they were adjusting them. Sabrina saw the image on their pendants as well and barely nodded her head. She grinned at both of them and motioned to them to pick up their luggage.

“Why don’t you get your bags and I’ll show you to your room. I hope you don’t mind, but you’ll both be sharing a room. The park is a little short on staff quarters right now.” Sabrina smiled.

“That’s like not a problem at all, Sabrina, we’ll be totally cool sharing a room, won’t we, Alec?” Vanessa was back into airhead mode. She turned her back to them and bent down to pick up her bags, allowing her skirt to ride up a bit. Unfortunately a man was walking by and saw her. He didn’t pay attention to where he was going and walked right into Sabrina, almost knocking her to the ground. Alec was able to catch her before she landed. “Hey mister, you better watch where you’re going. That was like totally rude.” It took all of Vanessa’s strength to stop a grin from appearing on her face.

“Show us the way, oh fearless leader lady.” Vanessa said with a crack of her gum.

Vanessa glanced over at Alec and could see he was trying hard not to laugh. Were her eyes deceiving her or was her brother actually having fun? Things were getting curiouser and curiouser by the minute. Backdraft turns out to be a woman, and then her brother was actually having a good time. Vanessa was pissed off that their contact was a woman because she was totally hoping for some hunky guy Alec could have some fun with.

Just as the thought crossed her mind a hot guy in nothing but a pair of board shorts walked past. The guy had muscles in all the right places with hair the color of melted chocolate. Vanessa was just about to point the guy out to Alec, but she saw Alec’s gaze linger on the man. Before Vanessa could say anything Alec looked over at her and winked.

“Damn, Vanessa, I could suck him dry in a New York minute.” Alec whispered to her.

God damn it if she didn’t almost choke on her gum. Vanessa stumbled for the second time that day. Alec was turning out to certainly be full of some surprises today. Sabrina gave Vanessa a look over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. Vanessa was itching to knock that bitch’s lights out. She totally understood what real blondes had to go through and made a vow to never make fun of blondes ever again, well except for Alec.

Sabrina led them down a path that ran around the outer edge of the island. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. The jungle trees and foliage were lush and fragrant. As they were talking they could hear different animal noises echoing from deep within the jungle. Vanessa looked over at her brother, realizing they hadn’t known about the animals. This could make things even more difficult.

“Sabrina, what types of animals are on the island?” Alec questioned.

Sabrina dropped her pace back so she was walking in between Alec and Vanessa. A huge grin erupted on her face, though it didn’t really reach her eyes Vanessa noticed. Sabrina seemed intent on acting like Vanessa wasn’t there, not that Vanessa minded. Sabrina glanced around to make sure there wasn’t anyone else in hearing distance.

“There aren’t any animals loose on the island.” Sabrina quietly said. “It’s all sound clips that are broadcasted through hidden speakers. Isle Of Terror does have animal habitats, but the broadcasted sounds make the jungle feel more realistic. The island also has another special animal exhibit, but I’d rather show it to you. Besides, words can’t really describe it. Just wait until you see it.”

Sabrina led them to a small docking station where a small boat was waiting. She helped load their luggage on board to save time. After a few moments the boat was leaving the main island and was headed towards the closer of the other two islands. Vanessa figured that that must be the employee housing and storage site. It made sense since the third island was further away from the other two islands. Vanessa could see that Sabrina was still sneaking glances at her brother. That woman was going to be in for a rude awakening. Vanessa leaned against a railing and smiled. She couldn’t wait to see Sabrina’s face when she learned that Alec was gay.

* * *

Sabrina had left Vanessa and Alec to unpack their things and would return in a little bit to give them a tour of the main island. Alec was impressed with the setup the park had for its employees. The employee housing was just that, large houses set up like a small community. All the buildings were ranch style houses that could house up to three employees.

“I still say kicking Sabrina’s ass isn’t a good idea, at least not until the mission is over, Vanessa.” Alec said to his sister with a sigh. Vanessa had been ranting for the last five minutes about how she thought Sabrina was a total bitch. “You were the one that decided to go with the whole valley girl persona. I guess you’ll take time to think things through a bit more in the future before making this type of decision.”

“You’re just defending her because she’s falling all over herself to impress you. My God that woman has as much tact as a hooker trying to land a trick.” Vanessa practically snarled.

“Someone sounds a bit jealous that she isn’t getting all the attention.” Alec grinned at her.

“That’s hardly the case, Alec. I’m glad you’re getting some attention.” Vanessa sighed. “I just wish that you were getting some attention from someone of the male persuasion. By the way, Alec, when did you start sucking people dry?”

Vanessa thought that the comment would cause her brother to blush hard enough to cover every inch of exposed flesh. Alec surprised her by giving her his trademark grin.

“That’s classified information, miss busybody. I thought you wanted me to find a hot guy for some island fun.” Alec replied.

“I still do, even if that means me getting stuck dealing with miss stick up her ass all by myself.” Vanessa giggled. “I wonder if I can pry that stick out and beat her with it?”

Their conversation was ended by a knock coming from the front door. Vanessa and Alec’s body went into defensive mode automatically. Alec walked over towards the door and glanced back at Vanessa. She was already leaning in one of the doorways with her left arm behind her back to conceal the pistol she was holding. Alec reached for the doorknob as he pulled a gun out of the vase that sat on a table right by the front door. He slowly opened the door to reveal Sabrina standing there.

“Hello again, Trinity and Phoenix.” Sabrina smiled at them as she saw the weapons in their hands. “My, my, you two are very good at your jobs. That’s great because it’s going to take the three of us to pull this off. We are going to have to work as a team to make sure everything goes smoothly, but before we start getting a game plan ready I thought you’d both like to have a tour of the main island.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Backdraft, doesn’t it Trinity?” Alec asked. He could see that Vanessa wanted to give him a look of death, but she couldn’t do that with Sabrina standing right there.

“It sounds like a totally freaking awesome idea.” Vanessa smiled sweetly. “Just let me grab my purse and some gum.”

The ride back to the main island went much faster than the way there. On the first trip they were riding against the ocean’s current, but on the way back they sped quickly across the water. The group quickly disembarked and headed into the park itself. Sabrina explained that the park’s hotels for the guests sat at the bottom of the dormant volcano, but she would take them over there tomorrow to check out the buildings. The rest of their day today would be going over the park layout. Sabrina picked up two park maps from an information booth and handed them to Alec and Vanessa.

“This will give you the general layout of the park and where all the rides and attractions are at.” Sabrina said. “The overall layout is pretty basic, so it shouldn’t take you much time tonight to memorize it.”