She of the Sea

16 of 53 - A Tricky Breakfast

Bruce Webb sat at a corner table of a diner in downtown Tampa waiting for Dan Holt. He had kept in touch with Danno during the five years after leaving Tipstaff Security, because the two men had been friends.

Webb also harbored another, more clandestine, reason to stay in contact with his second-in-command. Ever since the day he had accidently stumbled into eleven-year-old Cassandra Drakos in the lobby of her condo, he had felt a strange, unexplainable connection to the precocious girl. He thought about her often and relived his encounter with her in his dreams.

Her haunting of him was in no way arousing or sexual. God no, he was no lecher. But he couldn't put into words or thoughts his apparent obsession with her. It was more akin to his being her protective father, but that didn't completely describe it either. He understood what it was to be protective; he doted on his son, Brandon, now ten, and he'd lay down his life for his wife, Bonnie.

His fixation on the Drakos child was something else. Maybe it had to do with his belief about the injustice done toward her mother or his guilt over being involved with her death. She had never been a threat to anyone until they invaded her home in the middle of the night. Mya Drakos had been frightened and protected her child in the only way she knew how.

After leaving Tipstaff, Webb had taken a job with a private detective agency. Given his experience in the military and his long tenure as a defense contractor, he had no trouble landing the job as a field investigator and had become successful at it. Whenever his caseload brought him to the Clearwater area, he would try to check in on Cassandra. He knew how to be careful and blend in, parking a few blocks away and setting up a chair on the beach near her condo. He studied her patterns and knew she usually went swimming around noon. She was always easy to spot being one of the only girls on the beach consistently wearing her hair in long braids.

Yesterday, he had watched her play beach volleyball. It concerned him. She was getting careless, exposing herself to prolonged public scrutiny. Tipstaff deployed high tech resources the general public had no idea existed. Facial recognition technology aboard high altitude, unmanned aerial vehicles was often used to ferret out targets hiding in large crowds. Software used to modify a child's face to match her current age had become super sophisticated. If they suspected Cassandra's location, she wouldn't stand a chance against a spy drone.

The thought of Cassandra splayed out on Doctor Armando's cutting table sickened him. He would kill the bastard before allowing that to happen. Of course, Cassandra wasn't so little anymore. She had grown into a pretty teen. As she would naturally seek more independence, it would become increasingly difficult for her handlers to keep her under control and safe.

Intel concerning Cassandra was the main reason he kept in touch with Danno. His friend would never directly reveal Tipstaff operations, but Webb could glean what he needed to know through indirect conversation.

When Danno entered the diner, Webb waved him over. They greeted each other and the waitress arrived with coffee. She suggested they should try the breakfast omelet with a side order of grits. Both men agreed.

"How's Bonnie and Brandon?" Danno asked.

"Great. Brandon is going through a growth spurt. We're having trouble keeping him in clothes." Webb fumbled in his wallet for his son's new school photo. He kept it tucked away in a sleeve along with the token Cassandra had given him the day they met. He always kept it with him.

He passed the photo to Danno. While his friend studied the photo, Webb rubbed the token between his thumb and forefinger.

"Your boy is good-looking. He'll be a real lady killer in a few years." Danno handed back the photo.