The rest of the flight was quiet, uneventful.  Heather wove in and out of sleep, again and again, wrapped in his arms and thinking about what Archer had said earlier.   Don’t let yourself get emotionally involved with this guy… any more than you already are.  She admitted defeat on that one.  For all of his arrogance and misfired ambition, he promised one thing that no other man ever had – he promised to cherish her.  Such a small thing, but just what she needed most.  The whole night she found her subconscious torn between her need to escape and her need to be with him forever.  There was absolutely no future in what was between them, but what if circumstances were different?  What if she could tap into his brain and maybe find out why he chose this life?  When she woke to morning light and emerald hills stretching out forever, barely covered by the clouds that brushed past her window, she had nearly forgotten those concerns that made sleep so difficult the night before.  They had just reached Ireland, and for a moment she was entranced by the shades of green – the fields, the trees, the ocean -  woven together, a velvet tapestry stretched across the earth.  She guessed it would be a couple of hours before she reached Dublin. 

            After finding something to eat in the back room, she freshened up and sat back down next to Castor, who was still sound asleep… as she studied his face, she found herself wondering about his past.  What would make someone choose this sort of life, aside from the money?  Could it really be worth it all… living a life of virtual loneliness where nobody is considered trustworthy?  Perhaps it was the sense of power.  She really didn’t know at this point, but the curiosity gnawed at her.  As she stared out the window absentmindedly, she tried to guess what the next move would be.  Agents were everywhere.  She knew this.  They could be waiting on the runway for all she knew.  If she wanted to find out more about him, she’d have to act now, before the plane landed.

            A warm, insistent touch on her hand a few minutes later tore her away from her thoughts.  She turned to meet those gorgeous steel blue eyes, the same eyes that startled her three days ago in that hotel room in Brazil… but now she found herself looking at them in a completely different way.  “Baby…”, he murmured, “we’re almost there, right?  I’m so damn tired of flying.”.  His voice was hoarse and dry.

            “I think we are… everything is so green.  It’s gorgeous.”

            “No.  You’re gorgeous.”, he replied, breaking into a small smile then falling into silence for a moment.  “I had a dream about you… it was wild.”

            Her instincts told her this might be the break she was looking for.  “Really?”.

            “We had a little girl… she had your eyes, and she was blonde too.  She looked just like you.”.  He leaned back in his seat, staring into space as if to recollect every detail.  “Damn, she was something else.  But I know that kind of **** could never happen between us.  It was one hell of a dream, though.”.  Castor turned to look at her again, and Heather thought she saw a hint of bitterness flash across his face.  “You can’t raise a kid in this kind of lifestyle.  You can just imagine how ****ed up she would be.  She wouldn’t have friends… wouldn’t do what other kids do.”.

            She studied him carefully as he spoke to her, realizing that he was admitting so much more with his body language and his eyes than he ever could with words, no matter how much he claimed to trust and cherish her.  His hands, clenched in tenuous frustration, pounded lightly on the arms of his seat.  At times he was completely at ease… those were the times when he was in control of himself and his emotions.  When he had to face his malleability, the nervous tension came on strong and sent him flying.  This time around, he was off the ground before she even saw it coming.

            “What did you and Pollux do when you were kids?”

            “What?”

            “Did you have a pretty good life growing up?  What did you do for fun?”

            Castor smirked playfully as he pondered,.  “Baby, we were rich.  We had a privileged life.  We weren’t like other kids.”.  He leaned back in his seat to pull his cell phone from his pocket, then gestured at Pollux, who was still asleep.  “We had the best education money could buy, but little brother was the natural genius.  He had the chance to go to MIT, but pissed it all away… no, that’s not quite right… he negotiated his natural talents onto a path that offered better opportunities.”, he said, sneering and laughing softly under his breath.

            “And what about you?  You’re no dummy… what were your plans for the future?”, she ventured, knowing she had to be cautious.  The whole subject of Castor’s line of work was still a delicate thread that held them together – one that neither of them wanted to acknowledge.  She realized this when he turned to face her with cold steely eyes.

            “Like I said, we weren’t like other kids.  I never got respect growing up… my efforts were never acknowledged.  When I was a little older, I decided that no one was ever gonna walk all over me… I would take whatever I wanted, however I wanted.  Now I’m doing it.”.

            Heather mulled over his words as the plane touched down.  When she looked out the window again, she saw nothing but forest and open green fields… they were at yet another secluded landing strip.  The cool, humid air clung to their clothes as they stepped out, and she nonchalantly looked around for any sign of reinforcements.  There was a small white shack at the far corner of the runway, but no other people for miles around.  She wondered how many of these little airports were scattered around, only used by people with a real need for secrecy, legitimate or otherwise… they were probably everywhere.  Castor stormed ahead of them, taking a call on his phone. 

“Are we in Dublin?”, she asked Pollux as he trudged behind them. 

“A few miles away, I think.  Hey…”, he said, grabbing her arm.  She turned to face him, and for a brief moment saw the family resemblance he shared with his brother.  “I heard everything on the plane… your clever attempt at analyzing our childhood.  I know why you ask so many questions.  Cas may be blinded by love, but I’m not.”.

Heather looked to see Castor and the pilot in front of the shack, their backs turned away from them, and Pollux jerked her arm gently to grab her attention.  “He said I have

 the brains in the family… but he has the connections.  I owe a lot to him, and I don’t want to see him get hurt.”.  His voice, thick and malevolent, frightened her deeply.  Pulling away from him, she joined Castor and the pilot inside the shack, feeling his brother’s eyes boring through her with every step.  She hadn’t anticipated this… it never dawned on her that his younger brother would be so protective of him, out of love or loyalty.        

            She stepped through the door to be greeted with a kiss and a tight embrace.  “Sinclaire…”, he cooed as he nuzzled her ear.  “It’s gonna go down so sweet… we’re meeting up with them tonight.”.

            “Tonight?  Where?”

            “Citron… it’s in the Fitzwilliam Hotel.  I think you’ll love it…. I hope you will.  I have a room reserved for us there.”, he said, his voice brimming with eagerness and hopeful acceptance.  He wrapped his arms around her again, and she knew that Pollux was watching them disdainfully, standing just outside.  She looked the masked pilot carefully, up and down… it wasn’t Sean.  “Baby, it’s going exactly as planned.  All of it.  In less than 24 hours, I’m gonna be 15 million richer.  The smell of money will be on my hands!”.  He shouted and whooped, lifting Heather off the ground.  A BMW had already pulled up outside the door, and as they piled in she looked behind them.  A pair of armored trucks were being loaded with the cargo from the plane.  If she were to find out where it would be taken, it would be tonight at dinner.       Castor’s knees were bouncing nervously, and he rubbed his hands together.  Pollux stared out the window insolently, his arms crossed, and she could almost feel the anger radiating from him.  She would have to find a way to keep them from talking alone together, and when Castor began nibbling her ear and caressing her hands, she realized that wasn’t going to be a problem.