Mpumalanga, South Africa
Natalie flipped over the tiny, pink bat that was clinging to her finger and checked its tummy. She examined the white spot which was visible through its translucent skin. It needed more milk. She released a drop of the mixture from the syringe and it spilled onto her thumb. The pup lapped it up eagerly, its head jerking up and down unsteadily as it drank. She put it back into its cage.
An elephant on the farm had decided to push over a bat box, and Natalie had involuntarily become the surrogate mom to eighteen baby pups. Exhausting work, as they needed to be fed every two hours, day and night.
She was looking forward to when they would start lapping on their own, when she would be able to stretch the shifts to four hours and get more sleep. Bruce said it would be excellent training for her if she were to be accepted into the Legion; sleep was a luxury that was hard to come by. To Bruce, every cloud had a silver lining.
He had been on the phone with the general for more than an hour. He put the phone back on the cradle.
“Natalie, come here, please,” he called from down the hall.
She popped her head out of her room. “Am I in?” she asked excitedly.
Bruce smiled, the one that made the sides of his eyes crinkle into crow’s feet and lit up his suntanned face. “You’re in. Laiveaux had to pull a few strings, but he managed to do it.” He pursed his lips and frowned. “You start in six months.”
She punched the air and whooped then became quiet. Was that disappointment she had seen in Bruce’s face?
He turned around and sauntered into the kitchen with his long-strided lope, his hands dug into his pockets. She knew her adoptive father well. The slant of his shoulders, the way he frowned. Bruce was sad.
Bruce hollered from somewhere in the kitchen, “I’ll ask Sergeant Ellis to begin your preparatory training tomorrow morning.”
Natalie sped down the hall and into the kitchen, gripping him in a bear hug. “Thank you, Dad. Thanks, thanks, thanks.” She pulled his face towards hers and rained kisses on both his cheeks, knowing how it embarrassed him.
He smiled, pushing her away. “Pleasure kiddo, but stick to the program. If Ellis tells you to jump, ask him how high.” He handed Natalie a mug of black coffee. “Laiveaux has given me the inside info on your training program at the Legion.” He looked at her for a while, his eyes narrowing. “It’s going to be tough, Nats.”
Natalie nodded, opened the fridge, and took out a carton of milk.
He walked to her and took her shoulders, holding her at arms-length. “It’s going to be more difficult than anything you’ve ever done in your life, more difficult than anything you’ll ever do again.”
She nodded.
“Remember, you need to stick it out for at least four months before you’re going to be accepted. Afterward, they won’t kick you out, but the training will get harder,” he said.
She took a sip of milk from the carton. “Are you sure this will work, Dad? I’m tired of being afraid.”
Bruce lightly punched her shoulder. “Don’t drink out of the container, learn some manners.”
He grabbed the carton from her and took a long gulp from it. He looked at her and smiled, a white mustache on his upper lip. He wiped it away with the back of his hand. “I know it will work, Nats. The Legion will teach you to survive anything.”
Bruce handed the carton back to Natalie. “And I know you’ll be safe for at least the next five years.”
She put her arm around Bruce’s waist. “The SMS I received was a shock,” she said, taking another sip from the carton.
He hugged her shoulder. “I know, Natalie. I recently started receiving these messages as well. At first I didn’t believe them either, but my sources in Mozambique confirmed Perreira’s whereabouts. Come, I’d like to show you something,” he said and led Natalie to his study.
Bruce opened a drawer in his desk. He removed a file. It was stuffed with newspaper clippings, maps, and photos. He arranged the media on his desk. “This is the intel I’ve received during the past two weeks. And it all checks out. Dates, exact locations.” He glanced at his daughter. “I regularly receive SMSs with URLs directing me to telephone conversations between Perreira and Callahan.” Bruce chuckled. “It feels unfair. I’m always one step ahead of them.”
“So why not take them out and get it over and done with?”
“Natalie, we need to get the entire organization. You know that.”
Natalie nodded, deep in thought. “Are you sure he's dead?” she asked, hugging Bruce’s arm.
“I was there, Nats. I don’t want to get into the gruesome details, but I assure you he was dead.” He gently took her shoulders. “The doctor confirmed it.”
“But what sicko would want to impersonate my dad, even though he's helping us?”
Bruce shrugged, placing the bits of paper back in the file. “I don’t know, Nats.”
Natalie was lost in her thoughts for a moment, rubbing her upper lip with her finger, then glanced at Bruce and smiled. “Do I get to choose my own name?”
Bruce grinned. “Laiveaux said your identity has been confirmed.” He slipped the photos in a pocket in the file then turned around and bowed with a dramatic sweep of his arm. “Once you complete your training, you shall be known as Lady Alexa Guerra.”
“Alexa,” she said. “Alexa Guerra.” She rolled the name around her tongue. “Alexa Guerra.” She hugged Bruce’s arm and smiled. “I like it.”