"The pleasure is all mine," Michael replied in a thickened, Costa Rican accent that gave Angie chills. She was tensed and her heart was pounding into her throat, wanting to scream as Rollie held her hand tightly with his other hand down at his side.

He looked at Angie then and reached out for her free hand, which she finally lifted up, "Oh, yes, nice to meet you," was all she could stammer out as Michael kissed her hand lightly.

"And you, Senora Tyler. Lucy has told me so much about you. Your wonderful friendship and how much you have done for her! You are a most excellent and trusted friend and I hope we shall become good friends as well," Michael said, his voice warm and gracious.

Angie pulled her hand away jerkily, seething. Michael quickly turned to catch Lucinda's eyes, which had never left her husband's face.

"My dear, this calls for a grand toast. And this house wine simply won't do. Would you be the wonderful love of my life and retrieve the champagne from our room. You know the bottle I speak of?" he asked her, charmingly.

"OH! That would be wonderful! Why didn't I think of that! Yes! Oh Ricardo, you are so thoughtful! You guys, wait right here. I'll be back in a jiff. This champagne is absolutely the best you have ever tasted. Ricardo brought it from his own private stock!" Lucinda exclaimed, her face shining with her admiration of her new husband. He kissed her on the cheek and she giggled and turned to leave. She began to walk briskly out and Michael called to her, turning away from Rollie and Angie;

"Lucy! Don't wear yourself out, my dear. We will be here. Take your time, and I will talk with your two best friends and get acquainted."

"Oh!" she said, giggling and slowed her pace, "you're right of course, Ricardo. See you guys in a moment…" and she walked slowly out of the restaurant.

Michael watched until she had left the room and then turned around to meet the altercation that he knew was waiting.

He sat down, motioning for them to sit for neither Angie or Rollie were saying anything, just looking at him angrily. Angie was first to open her mouth, unable to contain herself any longer.

"How dare you use Lucinda for one of your undercover missions! How dare you trick her like this and why marry her? Are you crazy? Are you just in all of this for the kicks or what? Do you know what you are doing to her? She is a human being and my friend, do you understand that? You can't do this to her, you can't!" she told him, her voice raised as Michael swept the room with his eyes for ears listening.

"Lower your voice!" he hissed back at her, as Rollie stood up, his fists resting on the table.

"That's enough, you son of a bitch! I don't know what the hell you are doing here and frankly, I don't want to know. But, what you have done to Luce…you had better disappear! Tell her something but you, my ex-friend, are not going to destroy her life like everyone else that you have touched. Have you forgotten Mira?"

"Sit down, Rollie!" he told him, standing over the table, his face close to Rollie's, "sit down and I will try to explain what is going on."

"Forget it, I told you I didn't want to hear it. We are here for a movie, and that's it. You don't enter into the picture, no pun intended. We are not helping you with anything here. We will tell Lucinda if you don't, do you hear me?" Rollie replied, just as forcefully.

"You don't care about what this will do to Luce, do you? Just another woman to play around with and then jump up and leave. Do you ever think about all of the women you leave behind, Michael? Care to know how Mira is coping after losing your child?" Angie asked him, clamping onto Rollie's arm as he sat back down.

Michael's jaw clenched tightly as his fist tightened and he sat down himself, glaring at them both; "I know you think I am the coldest bastard on earth. Guess what, I am!" he said, his face not showing remorse, "I won't explain what I am doing here but I will tell you that I saw Lucinda at Dingo's wedding and knew she was perfect for this job. Luckily, she was totally clueless as to who I was or even that I was there right in front of her when we took Pappas and Skartsounis down. She was so into you and Rollie, your wedding that day. It was easy to blend into the walls there. I knew she had worked with you, Rollie. I knew she would be my ticket into this area of Costa Rica. I am not exactly welcomed here with open arms. Under the cover of Ricardo Conte, here with his American actress wife making a movie, I will be able to do what I need to do and have access to what I need to finish my work."

"How do you do it? How do you live with yourself, making love to her, feeding her all these lies and knowing all along that you will leave her, knowing that you will destroy her and any other relationship she could have in the future?" Angie asked him, her eyes starting to tear. The thought of what Victor Loubar had done to her was raging inside of her as she thought of Lucinda making love with this monster and not realizing who he really was or what he did for a living.

" Tell me Angie, you seemed to have survived your little tete-a-tete with Loubar. He didn't really rape you, you- in fact enjoyed the whole thing until he told you the truth, right?" Michael replied, cruelly and distastefully. Angie looked at him in horror, her whole body starting to tremble as Rollie jumped up and lunged over the table at him.

Dishes flew as well as the glasses of wine as he grabbed Michael's coat as Michael ducked the wild swing that Rollie threw at him. The commotion had caused people to look up then as Rollie took another swing at Michael who met his punch and grabbed him in a vice hold under the arm, twisting his arm behind his back. Rollie clamped down in pain. The two looked at each other as Michael pushed him against a column by the table. Angie stood up and ran over to them, her face drained of all color as Michael looked over at her and coldly told her;

"Sit down!"

Hearing Rollie gasp again in pain as Michael tightened his grip, she did what he told her to do. She sat down. The manager was heading toward the table and Michael released Rollie, straightening his jacket and smacking his face with both hands.

"Great stunt work, Rollie! You had me going, old boy. This movie is going to be a killer!" Michael remarked, slapping him on the back then as he moved away from the column. The manager smiled then as Michael slipped him a crisp one hundred-dollar bill for the trouble.

"What's going on?" Lucinda asked, seeing the broken glass in the floor and spilled wine. She saw Rollie looked rather shook up and Angie was as white as a ghost. Lucinda put the champagne on the table and put her hands on her hips.

"Rollie here, was showing me a stunt from the movie, dear. He really got into it, I am afraid. We even scared poor Angela here to death. I am sorry, you know how boys can be when they play?" Michael told her, kissing her on the lips deeply as he welcomed her back to the table.

Angie was nauseous at his deception. She wanted to leave right then, to leave Costa Rica, and take Lucinda with her. Michael had gotten so many people killed and hurt with his "job" that he had forsaken all others. He seemingly cared nothing for Baiel and Eckvara's sacrifice in their attempt for Czewt's capture. He used Mira for his own lust and then left her, after shooting her so that she wouldn't kill his star witness, not caring about the baby she lost that day. He had used Dingo unmercifully in forcing Nick Kapis to bring Skartsounis out into the open. And he had just made her feel as dirty as he could with Loubar. He was very good at what he did.

Lucinda smiled then, as Rollie looked down at his lap, the sweat pouring down his face. Angie noticed that he looked ill and with all the exertion he had just done, she was worried too.

"Rollie, you don't look very well…" Luce commented, frowning.

"Yeah, got a bit overzealous there, Luce - in my demonstration here to Ricardo," he said, emphasizing Michael's cover name.

"I think I will go back up to the room and lay down. Must be the climate and all, Luce. I am sorry. I think I am going to beg off this dinner. Some other time, alright?" he added as he stood up, a bit woozy. Angie stood up, supporting his arm as Michael watched them, silently.

Lucinda looked at both of them, shaking her head and making a sad face; "Oh, I wanted to have such a nice dinner with my friends. Are you guys sure?"

"I better take him back, Luce. We want to be sure he is rested. A big day tomorrow, you know. We all need to be ready for the first shoot."

"Yeah, true. But, hey! We will have dinner tomorrow night?" She asked, still not throwing out the towel.

"Sure, tomorrow…" Rollie answered, and looked at Michael, his eyes meeting the steely determination that had festered in his former friend's eyes.

"It was a pleasure meeting you both. I am sorry you have become under the weather, Rollie. Hope you will feel better soon?"

Rollie nodded as Angie helped him around the table. Lucinda still looked puzzled as Angie touched her on her shoulder softly and whispered in her ear, "don't worry, we will talk later!" she said.

Lucinda grinned then and patted her hand. As Rollie and Angie walked out of the restaurant, Michael Sanchez looked over at his new wife and asked her, "what did Angie say to you, my dear?"

"What? Oh, you know- girl talk. We got some catching up to do…that's all. Oh Ricardo, I am famished. Are we eating or what?"

"We are eating, my dear, of course. No use in wasting this champagne now, is there?" and he popped the cork on the bottle, grinning.

**************************************************

Angie barely got Rollie back to the bungalow before he collapsed on the bed, exhausted. He was completely drenched in sweat and so fatigued he could hardly move.

"Rollie, did he hurt you?" she asked, her mind reeling at the recent past events.

"No, not him…" Rollie said, breathlessly, his chest hurting from breathing so hard.

"I don't understand?" she asked him, "shall I get a doctor?"

"Yeah, better and tell him that it's Malaria…I am having a relapse…"

"What?"

"Ange, please- get the doctor. I had Malaria as a child, had the treatment with quinine but I'm resistant now. Been having relapses every now and then, not as bad as this though!" he managed to get out before completely stopping and passing out.

Angie scrambled for the telephone. The hotel and the movie set both had physicians on staff but only the hotel physician was familiar enough and had the medications available for treatment. Angie watched as the Costa Rican physician examined Rollie and took some blood. Angie gave some history from what Rollie had just told her and Rollie came around after an IV was started and fluids given. He was able to tell the doctor that he had Malaria as a child and about his relapses. The doctor frowned, wanting medical records sent but Rollie laughed, telling him that the outback doctor didn't exactly have a fax machine.

The nearest hospital was contacted and Rollie was airlifted that night. Angie was taken by the same helicopter back to the mainland, to San Jose. The hospital was alerted ahead of time and a room was already waiting as Rollie was quickly placed in bed, with medication started. Angie stayed in the room with him, able to converse freely with the nurses and doctors who came and went. Rollie stirred and tossed, burning at times with fever and then, cooled down quickly, the fever and rigors stopping. The attending physician, Dr. Rosario finally came in the early morning hour, smiling as he saw Angie sleeping soundly in the chair next to her husband's bed.

Rollie was awake. He hadn't tried to wake Angie. She looked so exhausted that he hadn't had the heart. He felt better for sure as he smiled back at the doctor.

"So, what's the news, that old Malaria got me going again, Doc?"

"Well, Senior Tyler, I afraid it is a little more complicated than that, you have what is known as Blackwater Fever. It is a rare but known complication of the type of Malaria you have known as Falciparum Malaria. You were treated as a child with quinine and then developed a chronic condition, yes?"

Rollie nodded, a bit spooked by all the technical lingo. Angie had stirred during this interaction and was listening intently, still wrapped tightly in a hospital blanket in her chair.

"Well, your blood tests show some hemolysis and your urine is spilling some blood as well. This is expected with this type of complication. It will resolve in a few days. We have started you on Primaquine and you should take it for the next fourteen days. You should be feeling better now."

"Yeah, I feel alright, doc. In fact, don't know why I am still hooked up to the bag, here?" he asked, looking up at the IV.

"No problem, we will discontinue it now that your fever is down and you have started to react to the Primaquine. We can release you this afternoon. I will fill a prescription of Primaquine for you so that you may take it back to Corcovado. You should not strain yourself and get plenty of rest, Mr. Tyler. We want you to stay in a remission. Is that understood?"

"Yeah, guess that cuts out the fun," he said, looking to Angie who grinned and swatted him on the arm.

The doctor had the nurse remove the IV and Rollie ate lunch in the hospital with Angie at his side. The food was tolerable but plain as Rollie try to chew it, looking at Angie sheepishly.

"I'm sorry about this, Angie. Guess I should have told you about this stuff. It's just that I haven't had a bout of it since I was twenty-five, you know. Thought it was gone, and well, I guess I had other things on my mind."

"Hey, as long as we know what to do and I will be on you to take your pills!" she told him, pointing a finger at him as he grinned.

"I love it when you get all motherly!" he told her, knowing it would coax her to retort.

She started to say something but stopped and he frowned, "I'm learning, Rollie. See, I am starting to really know your devious little mind."

"You're no fun today," he scoffed and tried his roll, "Ugh, tastes like cardboard," he remarked, putting it down in disgust, "we need to get out of here and back. Syd must be shooting bullets now, without the sequence setup this morning."

"He called Rol. They switched to another shoot for today, just for you. Luce called as well. She was really worried…" Angie said, as her voice trailed off and she grew quiet.

Rollie looked over at her, shoving his food away and sat over the side of the bed, dangling his feet, "Hey, come here."

Angie got up, still wearing the dress from the night before, but wearing one of Rollie's shirts over her as well. The tail of the shirt was longer than her dress and the sleeves which would have been down almost six inches past her arms, were rolled up to her elbows. She came over to him as he took her in his arms and just held her against him, his chin resting over her shoulder.

"Listen, I will tell Luce with you about Michael. There is no way that he is going to get by with this stunt. I don't care if it is a mission to save the entire earth from global annihilation, he will not do this to her any longer, okay?"

Angie looked at him; her smile, his answer.

"What he said to you in there, that was beyond all reason. It was the cruelest, ugliest kind of attack against you. I want you to know that what he is doing to Luce will be stopped. I only wish that I could have prevented it from ever starting," he continued as she started to cry.

"Rollie, I just can't understand what has happened with him. Mira said he was once a wonderful and caring man. What he said to me last night, it hurt so much. It was like rubbing salt into a wound, you know?" Angie said, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.

"And he knew it would hurt you, the bastard. I'm calling Mira back in New York when we get back to the lodge. Maybe she knows someone, a connection. Maybe your uncle knows how we can stop him from this insane game he is playing here."

"Yes," she replied, smiling, "call Mira and Uncle Guillarmo. And then, we ARE telling Luce."