Chapter
11: Trellis Bay, A Fortunate Detour.
"Jack,
I just talked to Ron" Dougy said as he came onto the back deck and caught
the bow line of the tender "got some serious bad news man".
"What is it now" Jack said as he started handing Dougy diving tanks,
BCs and weapons. "Sam Markey is dead man". "No.....no....oh fuck
no....why...how, he wasn't involved in this stuff. He was just a kid. Jesus I
can't believe it ". Jack was visibly upset. He and Sam had become close
since Sam had started as an interim less than a year before. Jack was hitting
his fist against the fiberglass, alternately swearing and crying. "Jesus I
just can't believe it". "He was with Art Dutton, did you know
him" Dougy asked. "Yes, of course I know who he is. Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Secretary Sivananthan". "They were just
leaving our offices after a meeting, heading to General A.J. Lukas's office.
Looks like someone got to Art's driver and security detail. Ron thinks they
hailed them with gas as soon as they got in the car, and then injected them
with Risen". "Oh man, I just can't believe it.....fuck.... I just
can't believe it. Sam was such a good guy. I mean we have been on the run for a
week and twice had attempts on our lives but it all seems sort of surreal. I
just recognize that it was way more then somebody after us. This sounds bad but
it almost seemed like a game. Obviously a serious fucking game but still a
game. Quite frankly when I split D.C. I figured I might be in danger but it
also was a good excuse to take some time back home and catch up on fishing,
sleeping, drinking and as it turned out some sex. Even when Shirley told us
somebody might be following us, it really didn't sink in as deadly. We got a
bunch of guns from Shirley and with Geno I felt pretty safe. Then you guys show
up and I feel really safe then the shit really hits the fan but with you, Max
and Tom, I'm like ....bring it on mother fucker....I just didn't really grasp
that others were in eminent danger. I'm feeling kind of guilty here Dougy. Even
after meeting Bob the egghead and learning how far reaching this stuff is, it
really didn't sink in. I must be some selfish son of a bitch...... Fuck man, I
got a rush when Tom took that chopper out of the sky and now Sam's dead. Let’s
face it, I know what I'm in for, you, and Max know what you’re in for, shit
even Geno and Jimmy are realistic bad asses and they know the score, but
Sam....man, Sam was just a smart, cool good natured kid. He didn't deserve to
be a victim in this whole god dam conspiracy. I'm going to stop these assholes
man. What's Ron want us to do"?
"Well"
Dougy started "right now the priority is to get a smoking gun in the hands
of Senators Bate, Amash, and half a dozen others in the Senate and House. Maybe
a dozen in military and administration. If we get even some dirt and can arrest
a few of them....hopefully gets a house of cards effect going. We
simultaneously neutralize as many of the hired guns.....well not we....we don't
do the offensive action thing, we just provide protection for the good guys,
but AJ, SOD Sivananthan,
Pete Miller, and CIA they have plenty of assassins. Anyway if we can take down
enough of both, then we maybe remove whatever it is they have on the Members
that's keeping them from supporting the GECA....right? So this by no means puts
the kibosh on this whole world wide conspiracy, but it would sure put a cramp
on their style if we can expose some of them here in the U.S. and get the GECA
to the United Nations. We should head back to D.C. And collect more
data.....which is what we do ......and what AJ wants us to do. Or we go to
Turkmenistan and shoot at twenty year old idiots with AK 47s. Should I ask the group for a vote"? "Ok
Dougy you're right, let’s head back to Trellis Bay, jump on the plane and fly
back to D.C." "Well alrighty then, no need to take a poll. I'll tell Ron
that we are coming back".
"Hey
Jimmy" Jack yelled "can we head back to Trellis Bay? We have to go
back to D.C." Yea man, no problemo amigo. Tom!! Can you take the helm?
Geno, let’s go weigh the anchor. Dougy, can you and Annie get the main
up....we'll be back on Beef Island in a few hours".
After
an hour Max received a top level secure communication from EAG headquarters. It
was now 24:00 hours, 23:00 EDT and Jack, Dougy, and Tom all wondered what the
hell a communication with the highest level of security from headquarters as
all about. Particularly when Ron and Dougy had communicated just hours before.
"Max Cunningham 0425153"? "Yes 49654dx". "Max, Charley
Watson here. President Kelly has been assassinated. Happened at 20:26.45 in the
White House. Fast acting poison, we don't know the exact compound yet but
completely lethal in one hundred and sixty seconds also complete water
solubility within seconds. It was in her water pitcher for a JCS meeting. Word
is not going the public till 6:00 tomorrow as per Secret Service SOP protocol.
V.P. Jim Stanley will be sworn in by noon 12:00 tomorrow. Entire White House
Staff is under suspicion. Situation very unstable. Headquarters is secure. In house security and six Special
Forces unit Pentagon detail via JCS General A.J. Lukas. Proceed home with
caution. Will have team pick up at hanger six alpha Andrews A.F.B. sorry to be
the one to report this to you...stay safe Max". "Roger that Dr
Watson. We are one hour thirsty five minutes ÊTR to our aircraft. 01:35 ETA to
take off. 06:45 ETA to Andrews". "Ok Max, see you here".
"What's
up" Geno asked as he came in. "President Kelly is Dead man". Max
said. "We are going to head back to D.C. You and Annie G. should come;
Jimmy too, might be safest". "I'm not so convinced buddy, if the Pres
is dead and that lame brain Stanley is going to be calling the shots, D.C. Is
going to be a venerable three foot diameter hornets nest that just dropped into
a ten foot high pile of pig poop. I might rather not be anywhere around there
during any of that. I might rather just be out on the water". "I
gotta agree with Geno" Jimmy said. "You boys head on to D.C. Ron is
going to need you. We will stay on the boat. Leave me the sidewinder if you
please".
An
hour and a half later they were back at the dock in Trellis Bay. "I'll go
check out the plane and call in our flight plan. You guys handle the gear and
we'll be wheels up in twenty" Max said. As the others packed personal gear
and hardware, jimmy ran to get one of his vans. By the time he returned Max was
back at the boat. "What's going on" Jimmy asked. "The plane is
wired to blow". "Oh, you have got to be shitting me" Dougy
replayed. "What did they use"? I'm not sure, sophisticated stuff,
probably an altitude detonator with some sort of plastic. Some C4 hybrid in
numerous locations. I could disarm it...maybe...I don't know, my explosives
training was a long time ago. Tom, you're a bit more up to date with the
explosives program, you want to take a look"? "Yea, let’s go, the
rest of you stay put and keep an eye out, Dougy why don't you grab a friend and
keep us covered in case the guys who planted this surprise for us are not the
same guys we shot down earlier". "Yup, got ya covered”. They jogged
the quarter mile or so to the hanger. "How did you know she was hot"
Tom asked. "I could just tell something was different so I snooped around
and found a charge under the port engine compartment. Like I said plastic of
some kind well hidden, only about the size of an egg. I assume they have a lot
of them hidden all over this thing". Tom surveyed the charge and found
another on the starboard side in the same location. "Man, I wish we had a
dog right now. Without a dog or an infrared detector, we can't be sure we can
find all the charges. We can't fly man. Not without a bomb squad and I don't think
we have one of those right around the corner. I doubt that those guys in the
chopper planted these charges. I also have a distinct feeling that we should
get the fuck out of here". "Agreed. Let's go now". "Dougy
change in plans, we are out of here". "Roger that" Dougy
answered " I am in a good covering position so you two head back to the
Boat and cover the surrounding area with a couple night scopes. Let me know
when you think it's good and I'll follow". "Got it man". "Jack
its Max; we are coming back to the boat. Change in the game plan. Grab a sniper
rifle and keep a cover on the area....but try not to shoot us. We'll be there
in five. Ask Jimmy if we can extend our stay". "Ok Max, see you in
five". "Hey Jimmy, mind if we hang around for a while longer"?
"Mi casa es tu casa. Actually make that mi barco es un barco". Was
Jimmy's reply. "Muy bueno, now grab a sniper rifle and cover Max and Tom.
Geno and I will get all the gear back onboard. Anything we need for an extended
cruse"? "Nope, all provisioned and ready to rock". "Ok
let's roll".
"We
are just off the north end of Great Camano guys" Jimmy started
"heading NNW340 degrees. We can drop off to 315 and be in Turks and Cacaos
in 356 nautical miles; just less than twenty four hours sailing time. Wind and
current will be constant. The trades low east to west at ten to twenty. We can
set the code zero spinnakers and fly. On the other hand we can head due north
and not hit land for twenty three hundred nautical miles when we hit Halifax
Nova Scotia which would put us there in seven days. Sooo....what’ll it
be". Dougy was the first to chin in "I vote Turks and
Cacaos"......"what" he added as everyone looked at him. "Ok
Jimmy set your course for 315 WNW, and let’s have a meeting in the salon.
"Ok
guys, here is the bottom line. In my talk with God, or Bob or whatever you want
to call him, he basically said that we, meaning humanity, were most likely done
for when they showed us how to survive and save our atmosphere. They were
taking odds that we would not make it. The odds were pretty well stacked
against us.....still are. Obviously they have the technology and ability to
tell when our atmosphere hit the tipping point. So, he told me that even though
they figured we would parish, they really hoped we didn't because they actually
cared for us. I guess you could say they love us; just what you would expect
from God...right? Anyway the other thing we had going for us was that we had
figured out how to digitize information which is the major tipping point of any
civilization. You see, it's only a matter of time now before we start to
digitize our own minds, and as he told me, it will take a lot less time than we
might think. We were already close to reverse engineering the human brain and
downloading most of the data into chips. Now we enhance most kids at birth,
with nano chips of additional information and calculation capacity. The main
reason that they decided to help us out was because only one out of around a
hundred of the life forms they have created over the last six hundred million
years make it to this stage and apparently we got there quicker than any other
species. We, that is homo sapiens originated in Africa, where we reached anatomical modernity about 200,000 years ago which is when our
biological evolution mostly stopped and began to exhibit full behavioral modernity around 50,000 years ago which is when our
technological evolution really took off. So this kind of rapid evolution just
didn't happen every day and our creators kind of took a special interest in us.
Problem with us though is that this rapid evolution in technology and
increasing mastery over our environment has generally tended to give us a bit
of hubris. In other words, we can be selfish jerks, and that's why the odds are
against us. They love us and really do think of us as their favorite children,
but you know we are kind of like the kid that grew up to fast or maybe more
like the spoiled kid. We got the toys but most of us don't tend to be satisfied
with what we have. Anyway, enough with the analogies, we had a fighting chance
since they gave us all the technology we needed and rendered all our fossil
fuels noncombustible, but as is incredibly crystal clear at the moment we are
still uniquely able to trash ourselves none the less. So, as I said, they
didn't give us very good odds even sixteen years ago when they visited and
their prime directive from then on was complete hands off". "But
dude, hands off wouldn't seem to include sending Bob here to fill you in on
things" interrupted Geno. "Correct you are my intellectual friend.
You see, Bob was out on a bit of a winger. In fact he flat out told me we were
probably toasted. He did however give me the exact locations of every secret
storage location, every clandestine distal action facility, every piece of
machinery and military equipment, every personal training and staging area, and
the big Lebowski .......every single person involved. Ok, not actually every
person, but at least the four thousand five hundred and thirty five high level
bastards that are in control of this totally out of control, fucked up
conspiracy. Bob was not supposed to visit me, nor was he supposed to give me
enough information to stop these fuck heads before they fulfill their mission
and gain power, wealth, and control at the cost of millions of lives in the
short run and our entire atmosphere in the long run. Seems like such an irony
to me that someone would doom our planet for the purpose of controlling it
while it slowly suffocates and dies. Pretty fucking stupid if you ask
me. Now they have killed our President.....clearly the best one we have
had in a hundred years. And we have a Meat head to succeed her who is bound to
take us down a road of disaster. So, Max, Dougy, what should we do? Actually,
Annie G, I really need to hear what you are thinking. What should we do
now"? "Sweetheart, whatever you think is ok with me, it's all been a
pretty surreal deal and I have spent my life trying to study and save creatures
that live under the ocean. I know as well as anybody what greenhouse effect can
do to the ecosystem. I really think we should do whatever we can to stop these
fucksticks.....even if it means we don't make it. I really love you Jack, I
love all you guys, and I think at this point we are all in this together. I
mean if the GECA doesn't pass, and these guys actually get gas burning and the
world goes down that road, than life as we know it is fucked
anyway....right"?
"As
my friend Geno likes to say Absofuckingloutly! Everybody in"? "All in
Jack, what's the next move". "Ok I'm the only person alive who knows
EVERYTHING and people are trying hard to kill me. Is there any way we can
download all this info in my head"? "No Jack, I mean if you had ever
had enhancement procedures we could pull a chip, or if we had a lad with
sensors, not here though". "Ok, we do it the old fashion way, I feed
it all into our computers, and we hope we don't get blown out of the water
before we can transmit the data to the Calvary". "How long do you
need"? Jimmy asked. "It's a lot of info. I figure 24 to 30 hours, and
we can't send any signal from here. Not even the secure frequency Max has to
Ron.....nothing. We can't take any chance" Jack answered.
""Everything is off, implanted devices, cell devices, GPS, radar, old
fashion radio, everything..... Fucking lights...everything. We are total silent
running baby….total old school, just a sixty two foot catamaran, Mylar hi-tech
fabric sails, a twenty five knot trade wind from the east, and we skate along
on a broad reach at fourteen knots with three hundred miles of open water in
front of us”. Jimmy said as he headed to the helm station. Unlike Geno, Jimmy
had installed and auto helm years ago. It was something he needed in the
charter business, but like Geno, he did prefer to handle the helm of his vessel
in a good blow. This was just such a night with a new moon, clear skies, and
fantastic stars.
“I’ll
start downloading all the information. Jimmy can you ask Max to come back
down’? “Sure man, see ya in six hours”.
Max
came down to the salon. “What do you have in mind Jack”? Jack spoke as he typed
information into his computer. “We are traveling silent, no problem with
navigation, we are totally cool with dead reckoning and we can always grab a
sight with the sexton if needed but I think we should keep on a heading for
Turks and Cayucos. He will be there in 30 hours at this speed. I am going to
get all this data down so it can be transmitted as needed. There are thousands
of different locations, but I have all the coordinates, logistics, topography,
geography, and security memorized…..oh and all the people involved. So when I
get this all logged in the computers and backed up, how do we want to play it?
We will only have a short period of time before we get tracked, located and
attacked by some douche bags again. We probably want to have a good plan to
make the most of what we got”. “Well Jacky boy, if you just happen to know
anyone in the Bahamas that has a good old fashion short wave HAMM radio, then I
think I have a pretty good plan”. “Hey Geno, Jimmy” Jack yelled as he continued
to type at his keyboard “is Chauncey still have his place on the west side
Grand Turk in Hawks Nest Bay”. Yea answered Jimmy “Last I heard, I haven’t been
there for a few years”. “Did he still have his gig at the JAGS McCarthy Air
Field”? “Last time I talked to him he did. I don’t think he would ever leave
besides he owns most of that field”. “Cool” said Jack “Chauncey has every piece
of radio equipment ever built, and he happens to live in a prefect anchorage
that just happens to be right on our present heading, and he just happens to
still owe me twenty bucks”. “Ok then” said Max “I will spend the next ten hours
putting together a hit list of top priority agents, agencies’, assets, and
private contractors we can count on. Now as you identify places and all the
associated data, I can match them up with whatever asset we can call on in the
same proximity. If we can get enough of the fucking traitors in our own
government arrested at the same time, and hit enough of the installations at
once…..we might….might just have a chance to save the fucking world”…..” well”
replied Jack “It would be pretty cool if we could just pull it off”. “And it
would just totally suck if we don’t” Annie G. added as she headed below to go
to sleep
I
believe if your friend has the short wave HAM radio set up you think he does
then I can use a little trick we used in the service. We learned how to find
the right frequency with the right set up and hook our processors and hard
drives up to the radio and actually shoot bits of data out on the airwaves.
This is somewhat like broadband or wi-fi, but using short waves bounced off the
stratosphere So we could send um anywhere, and probably not be detected because
shortwave and single side band radio communications are so antiquated as an
intelligence gathering medium, that nobody bothers to monitor them anymore. We
got a couple messages through to HQ that went undetected that saved our asses.
Just maybe we can get one through that will not only save our asses but the
rest of the god damn world too".
"So"
Jack replied to Max's idea "it sounds as if the key will be in who we
tell"..... "Right? I mean we need to get all this information into
the correct hands. If we land on somebody who is in on this then we are dead.
If we land on somebody who's not in on it but doesn't have the clout and
horsepower to do squat about it then we are still dead. Does Ron alone have the
JU- JU to pull off thwarting this big and deep a plot"? "No...Probably
not" answered Max. "Ron would sure try, and he has connections, and
he's not afraid of anything or anybody, but we really need somebody at the top
.......the very top. President Kelly would have been top of the list but she's
dead and I don't trust that dickwad Stanley". "Ok then Max, along
with agents, we need heads of state, past heads of state, top senate and house
guys, top military guys, and all of them have to be trustworthy because if we
send all this evidence to just one dickhead that's involved, then forget it, we
are all toast and the earth is fucked".
As
they sailed along at an average speed of fourteen knots, on a broad reach, in a
twenty knot trade wind blowing from ninety degrees, due east, a trail of
glowing phospheresance was left in their wake. Jimmy was steering by compass
and stars with a clear view of the Corona Borealis ahead and slightly north.
The moon was half full; enough to light up the waves, but not to much to drown
out the stars. Jimmy was smiling ear to ear since this was
the absolute prefect condition for the Nanny Lou and he just loved sailing his
vessel at night under prefect conditions. With their heading of three hundred
and fifteen degrees and a due east wind, she had a true wind angle of one
hundred and thirty five degrees. At a speed of fourteen to sixteen knots, the
apparent wind angle would be pushed forward to about one fifteen to one twenty,
which was the fastest point of sail for a long cat, and the most comfortable.
Jimmy had made this particular passage many times before in his life, and
though he had logged millions of hours at the helm of a sail boat he was still
just like a kid on Christmas when the conditions were good and he got to sail
his boat at high speed in the open water. A school of porpoises decided to have
some fun in their bow wake, which was rather common in these waters, and swam
along side of them jumping, and playing tag with the bows of both sponsons. Two
of them would cris-cross, one over one under, between sponsons and jump inside
to out over the bows, and land in the water outside the hulls just as the next
two would start the same routine. This went on for hours in various forms,
porpoises like to play and they really like to show off to humans. Jimmy swore
that once when they were playing, that one porpoise would watch him from a foot
or so under the water and not do a trick or jump unless Jimmy was looking right
at him. Once the porpoise was sure Jimmy was watching he would launch out of
the water, over the bow, land between the hulls, dive under the next hull only
to breach the surface again with a backwards arc that reached an apex of at
least twelve feet. Jimmy said that during the whole arc, the
porpoise was looking right at him making sure that his acrobatics were being
watched and appreciated. "Just a bunch of playful, good natured show
offs" Jimmy use to say and he claimed it was always good luck when they
came around to play and show off.
Annie
G. came on deck and climbed up into the helm station after getting a few hours
shut eye. "Hi ya honey" she said to Jimmy in her usual sweet and
somewhat maternal sounding voice. "How are you feeling"? "Well,
I got a tell ya, dream boat, it doesn't get any better" Jimmy answered as
a puff brought the Nanny Lou's speed to over sixteen knots. "Wow, she is
really humming along nicely isn't she"? Annie asked. "Yep, this is
her favorite point of sail, that's for sure, and we couldn't ask for better
wind". "I'm going to get something to drink, you want anything"?
"You going to brew some coffee"? "Yes, but then I was going to
make Spanish"... "Hummm, count me in, but don't let me drink more
than two or I'll be baked". Annie disappeared below and returned twenty
minutes later with two Spanish coffees complete with sugar melted to the rim of
the glass by flaming 151 proof Rum. Spanish coffees where regarded by everyone
aboard as one of the best tasting, fastest acting, dangerous, alcoholic beverages ever
concocted. "Ok, now I'm in heaven" Jimmy said. "You know, that's
one thing I've been wondering about since jack talked with our alien higher
power friend Bob". "What's that" Annie G asked. "If there
is a heaven......or at least what happens when we die..... I mean that would
have been my first question if I got a one on one conversation with the big
guy". "Did Jack mention anything to you about it"? "No, I
guess he didn't" Annie said. "Well, it is kind of like the biggest
mystery of mankind you know. I think the major purpose of every religion is to
assure us that things will be cool when we die". "But Jimmy, aren't you the one with the total live in the moment
philosophy" Annie asked. "Why yes I am, but it would be less
disconcerting to rest assured that one’s post death experience will be pleasant
and rewarding". Jimmy said but them added. "Then again, post death
could involve having your body sent to a morgue where the mortician happens to
be a gay necrofeleack". "Nice thought Jimmy..... Only a mind as sick
as yours........."
"When
we going to be in Hawks Nest Bay" Annie asked Jimmy. "At this rate we
should be there in about twenty two hours. That is if the wind stays with us.
It should but will probably lighten up some during the daylight when things
heat up. If the trades stay over twelve knots, which they should, we will be
all set and in by just after midnight tomorrow". Jimmy's prediction proved
true and the Nanny Lu got a visual on the tower lights at McCarthy Air Field in
Hawks Nest Bay on the south east corner of Grand Turk Island.
No comments:
Post a Comment