The Protector by Dawn Marie Snyder

Tel Aviv was amazing. She had described everything I had already given to them, as well as the smells and the background events that played out. Her observations skills were unparalleled in our world.  The whole time, she fidgeted, not sitting still for more than a few minutes. I had moved to the stand behind her watching her every move.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    9 Burque
     
    A few hours later I had her safely on a plane back home to Albuquerque.  The sigh of relief that came out of her mouth when she sat down in her seat was quite funny.  I couldn’t tell if it was a relief to her to be out of the safe house or a relief to her to be going home, or both. We didn’t talk much on the plane, her eyes were heavy once she sat down and she quickly fell asleep.  I watched her as she slept soundly in the seat next to me.
    My mind wandered back to the conversation I had with Seth before we left the safe house.  I had thanked him for staying in DC.
    “No, don’t thank me. Just don’t get all wrapped up in this.”  His eyes were dark and there was worry in the tone of his voice.
    “I won’t,” I had replied not looking at him.
    “Jack, the way you look at her, the way you want to protect her.” His words were more of a statement rather than a question. Protecting her was my job, how I looked at her, well that was another story. “I’ve known you for a long time, and I have never seen you like this with anyone,” and he emphasized anyone. “Not even Paige.”
    His words had stung a bit as I remembered the woman who had once had most all of my attention, but was never the center of my attention.  Seth had put his hand on my shoulder, “Jack, distance yourself, when this is all over, you will need to walk away from her.”  Seth’s words rang true. When this was all over and hopefully for her that would be soon, we would go our separate ways and I would probably not see her again. However I had a feeling I would continue to watch out for her from a distance. I didn’t think I could ever get her out of my head.
    I replayed the Tel Aviv handoff over and over in my head. There had to be something I missed, someone I missed.  Even Alison’s account of the event, as detailed as it was, had missed someone or something.  Albuquerque was going to be my opportunity to see who had set this up.  I figured Seth would have to either return to Tel Aviv or work with the Israelis to find out who took Professor Hasan’s place.
    Alison still slept soundly next to me. Her breathing was no longer labored and I didn’t worry so much about her having another asthma attack. We had not discussed what would happen once we reached Albuquerque. It was going to be awkward for both of us no matter how you framed it. Alison had to walk back into work after losing her boss, as well as act like nothing was going on. All with some man hanging around her attempting to protect her at all cost.
    I had been to Albuquerque only a few times in my life. But as we flew over the Sandia Mountains and the Eastern edge of the city, I was struck by its expanse. It was a beautiful clear afternoon and it was one of those clear days you only hear about in the Eastern half of the US.  The valley was almost orange in color as the sun hit the red earth.  The Rio Grande sliced through the middle of the Valley dividing the city in half.
    Alison awoke a little earlier and was watching over my shoulder as the plane banked for its landing approach.  “It’s pretty isn’t it? I love it when the mountains turn pink with the sun. It’s amazing.” A tender smile came across her face.  “You can look out either side of the plane and see for miles and miles, all the way to Santa Fe or south toward Socorro.”  I had to admit that it was quite beautiful.  To the West there was nothing but wide open space and a mountain that peaked out of nowhere.
    O ur plane completely circled Albuquerque so we could make our approach to the run way from the West. The