Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

time, charging straight at her. It was ugly, the huge mouth wide-open, showing teeth. Its bulging eyes fixed on her. Instinctively she thrust the net in front of her to protect herself. The cod rocketed so fast through the water that he burst into the net, nearly striking her anyway. She just managed to shove the net to one side, avoiding the contact, but he was so strong and swimming so fast he nearly jerked her arm out of the socket. Adrenaline rushed through her veins and without thinking she lifted the net out of the water and tossed, throwing the fish out.
    She watched it fly through the air in a high arc and begin its descent.
    Her stomach dropped. No sound came out of her mouth, although she really did try to call out a warning. The sixty pound cod landed almost on top of Lev, furious, fighting, flopping and jumping, snapping with his teeth. Lev whipped out a gun and aimed it at the ferocious fish.
    “No! My boat,” Rikki shouted.
    He did a little dance, trying to get away from the thrashing creature, catching at the gunwale, prepared to leap over the side as the fish snapped at him.
    Laughter bubbled up. Lev, the ruthless assassin, was about to abandon the boat because of a fish. He shot her a long look of reprimand and drew a lethal-looking— big —knife. Rikki nearly drowned herself laughing as he stabbed down and caught the fish with the blade and heaved it back into the water.
    “That was dinner,” she called. “I thought you’d be happy.”
    225

    “You’re not going to be laughing so hard when you get back in this boat,” he predicted ominously.
    Lev watched Rikki prudently disappear beneath the water. The last he saw of her were her laughing eyes. He found himself grinning. So she was throwing fish at him. He shook his head and poured himself a cup of coffee from the thermos he’d brought. He wanted to be down there with her, but he’d be content with getting a foot in the door, so to speak.
    He studied the rocky shores. There was a wild beauty to the coast, a primal feeling of untouched wilderness, even though houses and small villages dotted the bluffs. Just beyond the shoreline, dark forests stood tall, great redwoods and groves of eucalyptus and cypress. The clear sky had slowly disappeared under a layer of mist, which was thickening to a pale shade of gray. He watched it come in, fingers of fog drifting lazily, pointing toward the shore.
    The seagull cried out again, drawing his attention. The fisherman was on the move. Lev sighed. He’d known his government would send someone to make certain he was dead. He had hoped they wouldn’t move quite so fast, but he was a liability to them if he was out from under their control and they had to make certain.
    Everything in him settled. Emotion was gone and his survival instincts took over. He’d been waiting, had planned, and he was ready. Now that the cleaner was finally here, he could breathe again. This was his world and he was very familiar with it. Life or death. Cat and mouse. He rolled his shoulders and felt the calm that came to him with every assignment. He had a purpose, a mission to carry out, and this time, it was to secure a new life for himself.
    There was only one real threat to him and that was Ralph. He knew he would do whatever he had to do to protect Rikki. He had every intention of meeting with Ralph and “pushing” his memory to the back of his head before the fisherman found him—and he would find him. He wouldn’t leave a stone unturned before he went home and reported back to his masters.
    Lev reached for the bird and this time it was easier connecting. The bird circled above the blue sea and made his way back toward the harbor.
    Moving high in the fog was a surreal experience, the bird’s sight mainly on the sea and the activity below it, looking for an easy meal. The dizzy, disorienting feeling caused by his blurred vision always threw him for a moment as he adjusted to the difference in his sight.
    The seagull took him along the shore, past craggy rocks and windswept trees, and then around the bluff to the other side of Albion Harbor. Lev directed the bird to spiral down for a better look. The fisherman had returned 226

    his rented boat to the harbor and was making his way along the bluffs, stopping occasionally to talk to a few people. In spite of the clothes and cap, Lev could not miss that fluid, rolling walk.
    Petr Ivanov. Lev recognized the way he moved. He’d run across Petr more than once, a robot