Target Alaska On Her Own

When Sean left on Captain Niro's boat, Juliana was furious. Standing on the upper deck of the Coast Guard cutter, she watched the fishing boat leave: she was again alone. Lt. Silko had been very kind to her when he boarded the fishing boat, and now he held out his hand to help her down the steps to the cutter's main deck.

"Please make yourself comfortable Ms. Del Rio; we have some blankets below and you may want to wash up. I have also brought this piece of luggage that contains clothing, which apparently belongs to you. We left the bulky testing equipment on board to be used by the FBI team."

Juliana looked up at the tall lieutenant. His crew cut, clear green eyes and clean-shaven, angled face had a certain appeal. She noticed he did not wear a wedding band, and he was perhaps only 30 and very well groomed. She became self-conscious of her rumpled appearance, with a still wet Parka, stained shoes, her hair a matted mess, her nose dripping and her face blistered from the cold. "Thank you," she said, placing her hand on the suitcase, but Lieutenant Silko took the bag from her hand and started walking. "I'll take that, Ms. Del Rio. You must be exhausted."

He showed her to a small cabin with a cot, some blankets and a very small toilet and sink. The small room may have been a holding area for prisoners but was very inviting to Juliana at this point. "Make yourself at home here and please get some rest."