The Journey of Rick Heiden - Chapters 21 and 22
I wrote this story for Nifty, a nifty site if there ever was one. Nifty needs your donations to host this work, and some works, no doubt, that are far better. If you enjoy Nifty, please, consider donating at donate.nifty.org/donate.html
This work is the sole property of the author and may not be reprinted or reused without his written permission.
All Rights Reserved © 2021, Rick Haydn Horst
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Thank you for delving into this work; I hope you enjoy it.
Please send questions, comments, or complaints to Rick.Heathen@gmail.com. I would enjoy reading what you have to say.
This novel contains 50 CHAPTERS, and every post will have 2 chapters each.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
David and I had reached a low point. We hadn't known who to trust with the information. We talked as we wandered around Venice for several hours, not noticing much of the scenery, and the fog that rolled in helped to keep us focused. We knew we couldn't stop anyone outside our group from informing them of our whereabouts, such as a leak at Interpol headquarters. Within our group, however, David and I retreated to a more manageable size; we trusted Aiden and Maggie with the new information, but the inclusion of anyone else would have to come in time.
David contacted Aiden using Iris about eight o'clock. "Good morning, Aiden," He tried to sound more chipper than he felt. "Have I disturbed you? Good. Rick and I want to invite Maggie and yourself to come with us this morning after you've finished breakfast. Great, let us meet in front of the hotel at nine o'clock. Please, bring your bug-finder with you. We'll have to discuss that later. See you then."
David and I waited in a nearby bar, whispering to one another as we ate, having tea, boiled eggs, fruit, and a few brioches. As I was starving, I felt like gobbling down everything I saw behind the counter.
"We need to go someplace with no people," said David, "away from everything. Have you any idea where we might go?"
"Solitude is tricky here during the day," I said, "but you can find it if you know how. I may have just the spot."
When we met Aiden and Maggie in front of the hotel, David whispered a warning to say nothing aloud, but that we needed Aiden to check us all for bugs with his device. Their expressionless faces belying their deep concern, Aiden proceeded, and thankfully found no surveillance.
"No questions yet, I beg you," I said. "We're taking a little ride first."
We located the proper vaporetto dock to reach the little island of San Giorgio Maggiore across the way. The island didn't contain much else besides the large church with its complex of buildings, and some docks. When we arrived, we went straight into the sanctuary and didn't bother with the artwork or the beautiful interior. We veered off to the left, halfway through, and down a long corridor to the entrance of the campanile, the bell tower. Few people visited there so early in the morning. We paid the fee walked up to the lift.
The morning sun illuminated the buildings along the promenade of the main island. The expanse of the lagoon lay before us, and a light wind blew over the parapet walls, further chilling the morning air. Aiden and Maggie didn't even bother to look.
"What's going on?" asked Aiden.
"Something's wrong," said Maggie. "This is too much trouble for good news."
We told them everything, including how our adversaries had us followed.
"They intend to force us back to London if we wanted to go home," I said.
Aiden began shaking his head in bewilderment. "They have no right to do that!"
"Authoritarians don't care," said David. "They want their desires fulfilled, whatever the expense."
Aiden's brow furrowed. "Bloody fucking hell! Why can't these people just leave us alone?"
Maggie stood there in silence, but the line of her lips spoke of her anger.
Aiden held onto Maggie. "I just want us to go home."
"I'm sorry," David said to us. "We have something they want. We should have realized that leaving England wouldn't necessarily make us safer, so let's not underestimate who we're up against, or how far they might go to get what they want."
"What will we do?" Maggie asked.
"We don't know exactly," David said. "We can't leave until Monday, so we're vulnerable here, but I don't want to alarm the others. If we should act as if anything has changed, they'll know we're onto them. For now, we keep our eyes wide open, and this information stays among the four of us. Tell no one else, not even Cadmar or Pearce. Unless things change, we meet only in the open air, and we check ourselves for surveillance if we should meet again. Okay?"
"Do you think it's Julien?" Aiden asked.
"We don't know," David said.
"And because we don't know," I said, "we must continue to treat everyone as we have treated them. We cannot let on, in any way, that something is wrong. They will notice, they will ask, and we'll have to make up a lie. That complicates matters. We should leave them in the dark. I know that presents a difficulty under the circumstances but remember the goal; we all want to go home."
Aiden nodded, taking a deep breath.
"Okay, Maggie?" I asked.
"Oui," she said.
The entire group gathered for an early lunch, much to my gratitude --brioche doesn't go far. We ate at a little out-of-the-way place recommended by the hotel. It seemed less touristy and more authentic than the ones on the main thoroughfare through Venice. As we ate, I looked at our group around the table. We had an excellent group. I honestly didn't want to think any of them had informed them of us, and the possibility existed that they hadn't. However, I wanted to go home, and I couldn't afford to let my guard down. David once called Earth, a world of suspicion and duplicity, and I hadn't felt that more than I did then.
After a day of tiring ourselves of Venice (something I didn't think could happen to me), we returned to the hotel to discover that the seasick pills had arrived, and Cadmar reported that someone had "disturbed" his room, as he called it.
"Before I leave my room," he said, "I began intentionally setting things in such a way that I will notice if someone moved it. They touched nothing else, but I left the drone case closed on the bed. The indentation on the bedcover has changed, and they rotated the case two degrees clockwise. So, when I looked through the casing, I saw the device inside it. I touched nothing and called the two of you."
"Quite right, I'm glad you did." David had squatted to study the case where it sat at eye level. He glanced up at Cadmar. "What does the device look like?"
He shrugged a little. "I'm not familiar with these things, so take my opinion for what it's worth, but maybe like a bomb."
"Oh, shit," I said.
"If it is a bomb, it's technologically advanced," he said, "not the stereotypical clock attached to some dynamite."
"Did they leave it sitting inside the case?" I asked.
"No, they placed it beneath the cushioning," Cadmar said. "The drone could still fit inside the case."
David looked up at me. "Do you know what I'm thinking?"
"If it's not run, or chuck it off the balcony before it explodes," I said, "then no."
"Nothing so dramatic," he said, rising to his full height. "It won't explode, not yet anyway."
"Why blow up an empty case?" Cadmar asked me.
"Okay, that makes sense," I said. "So, what do you think, would it go off when Cadmar placed the drone inside or remotely?"
"It's one or the other," said David. "It's not a timer. Whoever put it there couldn't know when we placed the drone inside." He contacted Aiden, our technology expert, and asked him to join us.
When he arrived, we informed him of the situation, and without a second thought, he incautiously opened the case.
"Should you treat it that rough?" David asked.
"It wouldn't go off easily," he said. "They do want the drone inside." He searched for tampering where the cushion lining attached to the case.
"Cadmar," he said, "I need you to look for any switch or pressure plate on the top or bottom of the device. Would you recognize it if you saw one?"
"Maybe, I can imagine what one might look like." I saw Cadmar's eyes change modes for the first time. He looked through the case at the device from several angles and could find nothing.
I sensed everyone holding their breath as Aiden pulled the lining away. Someone had created space beneath the padding that would surround the drone. A device, the size of a deck of playing cards, lay inside the cavity; it looked nothing like a bomb that I would recognize, and it seemed too large for a mere tracking device.
"That's not a bomb," said David. "What is that?"
"One moment," Aiden said, studying the device. "No. It's not a bomb --not in the traditional sense. And unless I'm mistaken, we're looking at a miniaturized electromagnetic pulse generator."
"Oh, I get it," I said, "why blow up the drone when you can just fry it?"
"Can you disable it?" David asked.
"Why don't we just fling it into the canal?" asked Cadmar.
We just stared at him.
"The window at the end of the hallway does overlook the canal," said Aiden. "We could give it a good bung out the back."
"That just further pollutes the water!" David said.
I leaned into him. "Trust me, no one will notice."
We swung open the window at the end of the hallway and pushed back the wooden shutters. After watching the device make an unceremonious but satisfying kerplunk into the canal, we discussed the situation in Cadmar's room. David took Cadmar into our confidence since the occurrence only made sense in the light of what he didn't know.
"You took the news better than I did, Cadmar," Aiden said.
"I'm uncertain about the British," said Cadmar, "but we know how far the Americans will go."
"I don't understand why they've played nice so far," I said. "In my experience, the American government typically takes and does whatever it wants."
"I don't understand it either," said David. "After all, we're just another valuable resource to exploit, but we can't let them take Jiyu."
"They're like locusts," said Cadmar. "They devour everything and move on."
"Maybe the British have prevented the Americans from taking more extreme measures," said Aiden.
"Possibly," said David. "For now, let us extend this good fortune as far as it will go."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"They don't know we've found the generator," he said. "Let's keep it that way. We say nothing to anyone. If they believe they have the upper hand, they may not try anything more extreme for now. That could provide the opportunity we need to get aboard the ship."
"So, who did this?" Aiden asked.
"And why did they bother?" I asked. "Shouldn't they have known that Cadmar could see through the case?"
"Unlikely. The Americans know Cadmar has synthetic eyes," said David, "but unless one of us told them, they know nothing about them."
"I wonder if they have CCTV here," Aiden said.
"For security purposes, I asked when we arrived," said Cadmar. "They don't."
"We've all divided up today," I said, "any of the others in our group might have had the opportunity."
"You think one of us told them our location?" asked Cadmar. "Did you suspect me too?"
"Not really," said David, "but Rick and I thought it best to reassess who we could trust one at a time, to zero in on the perpetrator. No offense intended."
"I'm glad you know," I said.
"So, Pearce doesn't know," said Cadmar.
"Not yet," said David. "Let us decide together to tell him. No unilateral decisions on anyone's part, okay? Step by step and together."
We agreed.
The visit to Venice proved less enjoyable than I anticipated. The rest of the weekend resulted in little more than passing the time and keeping an eye on everyone with us and around us. We questioned everything. Could we trust the ship? Might something happen en route? Would the authorities follow us in Japan, or worse, detain us upon arrival? I felt a similar amount of stress upon entering the UK for asylum with no home, no job, and no support system. Aiden said it well; we just wanted to go home.
Sunday night, I spoke with David after spending quality time together. We lay in bed, and I whispered into his ear. "I feel a compulsion to ask for something, but I know you will have reservations. I want you to think about this, but we don't have a lot of time."
"I'm listening," he said.
"You know the Americans have turned a problem into a mess. They have made the situation on Earth volatile, and it will only get worse before it ever gets better. They know about the portal in London and its location, and they know a portal exists in Japan somewhere. They know how we intend to find it. The path out could become blocked to us all. I know you would have us smash and toss these rings into the ocean before we allow anyone free access to Jiyu."
"Yes," he said.
"I think you should recall the rest of our people to Japan, and we should, at least for a time, leave the humans here to resolve their own problems. They must grow at the pace they do. If by our presence, we intended to help them, we have failed, and we've placed Jiyu in a precarious position. Surely, another way to help them exists that doesn't involve placing our people or Jiyu in danger. If our people don't take the opportunity to leave, they may never see Jiyu again."
For a moment, David lay quiet and still. "I placed them on alert for recall, but things have shifted out of our favor. We don't know what will happen when we get to Japan. They could arrest us the instant we step off the ship. Our people won't thank us for drawing them into a trap. They may not see Jiyu again, but in anonymity, they remain safe at their location."
"You insisted upon the meaninglessness of your ambassador title," I said. "Well, the circumstance has made you our ambassador to the humans on Earth, but to our people, you merely coordinate. Your job never included denying anyone their freedom to choose. That's what the humans here do. I beg you to remember your leadership on this mission only extends to our little group, but to the rest of our people, you are neither their leader nor are you their master."
He stared at me for a moment, then grabbed me into a tight hug. "I love you so much," he said. "I didn't know what to do. You're right; I should leave it to their decision. It's late; I'm sure Aiden is quite busy now. I'll have him make an encoded post on the blog in the morning."
On the morning of our departure at breakfast, we met a few pleasant surprises. It seemed the fellas of our group, apart from David and I, had gotten a haircut and a beard trim Sunday afternoon. David and I had dined alone in our room, so we missed the barber visit. While everyone looked tidier than before, Cadmar had the most dramatic change. The barber had turned the wild mass of hair and red beard into a complimentary coiffure of style and taste, with a neatly clipped beard. The professional barber deserved much applause.
"How did you let them cut your hair without looking too closely at your eyes?" I asked him.
"We all went together," he said, "and Maggie suggested I should pretend I couldn't see, so I kept my eyes closed the whole time. Do you think Tamika will like it?" He sounded uncertain.
"I couldn't say if Tamika will like it, but I like it," I said. "Now, people can see what a handsome man you are."
David showed me the message Aiden posted on the blog. The odd mixture of words and many symbols would have made little sense to me if I hadn't already known what it should say. He assured me our people would understand.
After retrieving the drone and placing it inside the case, Cadmar kept a firm grip on it. We made our way down the promenade to Riva dei Sette Martiri, baggage in hand, including the box of seasick pills under Julien's arm. We kept an eye out for trouble. Once aboard the Japanese ship, it would prove harder to reach us than on land, in both a physical and legal sense. We expected something to happen on the way, and naturally, they didn't disappoint.
Upon approach, it grew more obvious which ship awaited us. While still some distance, we could see the ship didn't fit the description of an ordinary ship. I had never seen a more massive yacht in Venice than the Torekka Maru. Its innovative design looked sleek and more than modern. If concept yacht shows existed, it belonged there. It had six levels and appeared at least two hundred meters in length with a hull made of a metallic alloy.
The closer we came, the more we could see a small delegation of people in a bit of an altercation with the ship's crew.
"Oh look, and just for us," I whispered to David.
We stopped for a moment to assess the situation. In total, we saw ten people, both sides tried to get their people to stop fighting, and our arrival ended the scuffle. Our party consisted of two uniformed Interpol officers and three large crewmen from the ship. The opposition had two official persons --one each from the British and the Americans, and three, armed security officers in plain clothes. The Interpol officers wore body cameras that I later discovered streamed live over the Internet to our benefactors to prevent serious trouble. The ingenuity and forethought of Julien and his people continued to astonish me. I hated myself a bit, thinking we couldn't trust him. If anything was going on behind Julien's back, I began to believe he didn't know.
"You see?" he asked. "You have friends."
"Yes, and some enemies, too," I said.
"We anticipated it," he said.
We approached the ship, and I expected the delegation to swoop down upon us, but instead, Pearce walked to them and spoke in a faint voice. We didn't hear what he said, but one of the men, the American, nodded his head, and then Pearce stood beside him.
"What's going on?" asked Aiden. "What's Pearce doing?"
We stood staring as if time had stopped; I didn't know what had happened, but when Pearce stood beside them, it left me speechless.
"Mr. Levitt, I am Colonel Walker of the British Army, and this is Major Palmer of the United States Army. Please, forgive our lack of uniforms; we are not officially here. Let me say, it disappointed Her Majesty the Queen to hear you had left England. She looked forward to meeting you. But before you bother to board the ship, you should know that the Americans have neutralized the machine for finding the other portal if it exists. Major Palmer informs me that it's quite dead. So, please, let us not continue this. Come back with me to London, and I'm sure we can plan for your safe return to Jiyu from the portal there. If we leave now, you could easily be home by nightfall."
David ignored him.
"What is he talking about, David?" asked Julien.
"That will have to wait, Julien," he said. "Chaps get aboard the ship." Our people complied quickly, especially Cadmar, who held the drone. David turned his attention to Pearce, who remained at Major Palmer's side. "What could they possibly have offered you?"
"You were why I loved Jiyu, David," said Pearce, "but you could never outweigh the love for my family. I'm sorry, please, forgive me, Davi. They left me no good options."
David slowly shook his head in disbelief.
"You'll regret this if you leave," said Major Palmer. "Your machine-"
"Is fine!" yelled David. He took my hand as we backed onto the gangplank and had no intention of turning our backs on them. The Interpol officers stood near the plank, barring further entry. "We found and removed the device Pearce planted in the case! There will be no deal! You cannot have us, and you most certainly will not have Jiyu!"
"There are only three goddamn million of you!" yelled Major Palmer. "And you have that whole planet to yourselves. We need resources and arable land."
"You have your planet, and we have ours," I said. "Why must you have both?"
"We don't want it all," said Palmer, "just some of it. We can pay you."
"Pay...," said David in disgust, "you don't understand us. Your offer is unwelcome, and your money has no meaning there."
"We could just take it from you," said Major Palmer with menace.
Anger welled up inside me for what they had done, and what they might do given a chance. "Cadmar was right!" I yelled. "You are locusts! The impending wasteland of your world may be the harvest of your people indulging in your incessant greed, but you will not consume ours!"
David pulled me from the gangplank onto the ship. He guided me indoors, and he held me out of the sight of the people on the cobblestone, as the Japanese crewmen retracted the plank. Captain Okamoto, a slightly overweight, kind-faced man, waited patiently, clearly understanding the intensity of the situation. He looked a bit taller than Maggie with a simple smile and an air of authority in his voice. He and his crew welcomed us with a long low bow. We did likewise in appreciation, but there were also western handshakes all around with a friendly greeting.
As we pulled away from the promenade, I peeked behind a curtain to see that the delegation had retreated from the water's edge and begun the walk back toward San Marco Square, taking Pearce with them. The Interpol officers stood recording the departures of both groups. I felt sure we would meet with these people again in Japan, or others just like them, but I desperately wanted to be wrong.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Pearce's deception and betrayal sent us reeling. It hit David hardest as they grew up together, and while all of us felt angry, Cadmar expressed the utmost disappointment and anger.
"And that demonstrates the reason, when our people come to Earth for service, that we ask them to refrain from having relationships. If they catch you, someone will use them against you!"
The ship's steward kindly provided the remainder of our group a meeting room to discuss our situation. The room looked as one might expect aboard such a vessel, with rounded and smooth finishes of woods with nautical coverings.
"David had a relationship with me," I said to Cadmar. "How is that different?"
"Pearce probably had a relationship with this person for years and has at least one child by the sound of it. David has kept his word, and only at the end of his time here did you meet, and you were coming to Jiyu to live. It seems, whoever is with Pearce doesn't want to leave Earth, providing the weasel told them about it at all."
"Pearce did the wrong thing," David said, "but we must remember he is just a flawed human like the rest of us."
"Are you forgiving him already?" Cadmar asked.
"Forgiveness or no forgiveness changes nothing, Cadmar," said David. "For ourselves, we must try to understand his point of view, learn what we can from it, and move on. Emotions are running high right now, and yes, you're understandably angry and disappointed. Pearce and I grew up together, so how do you think I feel? After I arrived here, I spoke to him every other Sunday without fail for ten years, and not once did he mention a relationship or that he had children. I feel like I didn't know him at all."
"He didn't have his fertility controlled," I said.
"So, it seems," David said.
"I watched Pearce," said Maggie. "When you told them that you found the device, I thought he looked pleased."
Everyone looked at her. "Honestly?" I asked.
Her expression informed me what a stupid question that was.
"Maybe, he wanted you to find it," said Julien. "What sort of device did he plant?"
"An electromagnetic pulse generator," said Aiden.
"So, what should we learn from Pearce?" Maggie asked.
"That you can't trust people," Aiden proffered.
"No, Aiden, we can trust people," said David. "If we search within ourselves and know our trustworthiness, other people just like us must exist. We must hold onto that, or we follow the example of those who oppose us. They trust no one. They make demands and take what they want. What we should learn is that, given the right leverage, we are not incorruptible, and we must guard against that. Many of you have family here. I will ask that you do what Pearce either wouldn't or couldn't do. If they try to get to you, please, come to us and let us help you. Julien, as our liaison, you're probably the most vulnerable. Can you ensure your wife stays safe before we leave the mobile service area?"
He nodded and took out his mobile, "Oui, she will not like it, but I will make the arrangements." He left the room for the deck.
"As for the rest of you," said David, "could our adversaries get to you?"
"My grandmother is up in years," said Maggie, "but she's not someone to mess with. As a young girl during World War II, her family went through a terrible ordeal. She's tough, and she would die before she let them use her."
"My parents and I don't have a close relationship," said Aiden. "If they think it would make a difference to use them, they're mistaken."
"I love my birth family," I said to David, "but I've left that life behind. You are my family now. You all are."
"I have no one," said Rocke. "My parents had no other children. I'm a bachelor, and my remaining parent died last year. As a ship's captain, I guess I married the sea."
"Haven't you gotten tired of living alone?" Cadmar asked.
"Oui," he said with a bit of a sigh, "I left the captain's chair for many reasons, including that one. I needed a change once the treatment cured me. I needed to live and fully appreciate that gift. As I told Monsieur Cadmar, Monsieur David, you can count on me, whatever you need."
"Rocke, please just use our first names, there is no need for formality," David said, "You're among friends here."
Tres bien, merci (Very well, thank you)," he said. "I will endeavor to remember, David."
A few minutes later, Julien reentered the meeting room. He sat down, his head in his hands in exasperation. "Oh, merde, my wife is furious. I fear I will have ongoing repercussions from this."
Once we entered the Adriatic, the Captain took the time to show us around. They built the ship as a concept ship, and it had some unique engines. Everything looked clean and well maintained. The ship had six decks, with amenities that included a helicopter pad, a pool, a hot tub, a sauna, a spa, a gym, a formal dining room, a breakfast room, a meeting room, two lounges, and twelve enormous guest cabins. The cabins had every modern convenience, with a queen-sized bed, a bathroom with a shower, a seating area, and a secure place to stow our bags and clothing.
The crew kept the galley exceptionally clean. We met the chef, a man known as the highly respected Chef Shima. Whatever Chef Shima wanted, he got.
David and I returned to our room to unpack and relax a bit before lunch.
"So, what do you think of the room?" he asked.
"How can I possibly cope with only one private deck, daddy, and no hot tub?"
He laughed. "This ship is too much."
"It is," I said. "I think it's beautiful outside, but the inside, I don't know." I shook my head. "I noticed before we left, but they made the table in the meeting room with veneer. They used veneer on all this too. I don't know much about ships, but do they build them all this way?"
"Well, this is a concept ship," he said, "perhaps it's just how they built this one, and they put most of the money into the exterior and the engines."
"That's possible, I suppose," I said.
David smiled at me and held me tightly.
"You made me so proud earlier," he said between kisses.
"Did I?"
"You stood up to those people on the promenade. You've grown, you know that? You would never have done that before."
"I got angry," I said. "I had grown so accustomed to doing what authority figures asked of me, keeping silent with my head down. I don't know that person anymore. Do people on Jiyu get angry? Everyone seems friendly. Do they consider it bad form to get angry?"
We sat on the couch of our sitting area with his arm around me. "Don't worry about that. Anger gets a bad reputation on Earth, but we recognize anger as a normal human emotion. People get angry all the time, even on Jiyu. The question is, what do you do with that anger? Anger passes on its own most of the time, so let it. Don't fight anger or revel in it; neither response is healthy. Just let it pass."
"Aiden curses and yells, is that a healthy response?"
"Not really," said David, "but that was his frustration. Frustration feeds anger from a sense of powerlessness, or from not accepting the personal choices of others. People on Jiyu don't seek to control anyone, and we accept the decisions of others, especially in matters that don't involve ourselves. We all must give to others what we expect from them."
"What do you do when they don't return that in kind?"
"We communicate with one another. All this has a rub though, these ideas and concepts function on Jiyu because we all live by them, and it creates harmony. Not that we're perfect with it, but we do try. Most people here don't think that way. The people of every society here must give up part of their freedom to live there. You don't have the freedom to steal, murder, or rape people, but the cultures here have cultivated people with the desire and the freedom to take advantage of one another in many ways, control their actions, and limit their choices. In doing so, it hinders people's ability to mature. That's part of the infantilization I spoke of before. They never become empowered, and it leaves their lives filled with frustration. They never learn to make good choices, and they never learn what serves them. They think what serves them gives them what they want in the moment.
"Many people here do what the authorities tell them, because either formally or by example, people taught them to listen to authority, and they never master themselves. Many people here only refrain from doing things because law enforcement exists, so the system threatens them into complying. Then, of course, we would also find people so far gone no amount of authority or threats would make them behave themselves. People on Jiyu don't need such things, and many people here don't either. They're ready to live in Jiyu. It's a shame everyone else is holding them back. The people holding them back, their lives have remained controlled, so they seek to control others because doing so is acceptable here. They want to feel empowered in some manner by taking power away from someone else, and the cycle gets repeated over and over.
"This world has produced people who react to frustration and anger rather than respond to it. Frustration alone doesn't necessarily induce anger because we can utilize it to motivate ourselves. The people who live in Jiyu's environment don't live in continual frustration, so anger doesn't become a common or constant companion. As a result, people there seem friendly. Our world works nothing like this one."
"Do people on Jiyu have the freedom to murder, rape, and steal?" I asked.
"Yes, of course, and all of us do those things as much as we want," said David.
"But those things don't happen on Jiyu," I said.
"My point exactly."
A knock came upon the door.
"Entrees vous seafood plate," I said, using an exaggerated southern accent.
The door opened, and a young Japanese man stood there, eyes wide. He laughed. "Seafood plate?"
David smiled, gesturing for him to come inside. "Just a joke, young man, what can we do for you?"
He entered and closed the door behind him. "Sir, I had that exact question for you." The man who spoke English with clarity looked seventeen years old and about five feet eight. He wore an untucked, well-made white button-up shirt with grey pants made of linen. "I am Saburo, the head cabin boy, assigned to assist anyone who stays in the master cabin. I keep the room clean and tidy, change the sheets, take care of your laundry, and I bring your meals to you if you prefer to eat in the cabin. I also deliver messages, among many other ship duties."
"You sound like a busy man," I said.
"I am. However, your needs are my priority. I have no other tasks on the ship that I cannot drop to assist you, in or out of the cabin." He handed David a wireless communication device. "This will make finding me easier on a ship this large. Just push the button, and you can talk to me. A charger for it sits by the bed."
"I wouldn't exactly feel comfortable with having a servant," David said.
He smiled. "If it makes you feel better, you can think of me as a personal assistant. The position of cabin boy may sound a bit menial and servile, but it has a long history and has adapted to the modern world. I have an excellent job here with benefits, a great deal of upward mobility, and I have ambition. So, please, don't think of me as a servant. I see this job as merely a step in my journey to captaincy. I enjoy what I do here, and I look forward to doing it for you as I have dozens of other couples. With that said, can I do anything for you, sirs?"
"Do you know the stop on this journey?" I asked.
"We stop for fuel, water, and provisions in Mumbai. Anything else, sirs?"
"Do you know us and our situation?" David asked.
"Yes, the captain apprised all the cabin boys of your group and your situation," he said, smiling. "He felt it would help us to help you and provide us with an idea of what to expect."
"That's excellent. You said you could do laundry here," said David. "That's great, but we have a bit of a problem. When we came back to Earth, we thought we would stay in London with the cool weather. Most of us only have cold-weather clothing, Rick and I only have two suits like these, and we're heading toward the equator, so you can imagine how uncomfortable we will get. How can we acquire some summer wear?"
"I will have to give that some serious thought, sir. You've made a reasonable request, but an unprecedented one; guests usually bring the clothing they need. I will ask and get back to you today on that. In the meantime, you can stay inside where we have climate control."
"Would the captain and crew frown upon nudity by the pool?" I asked. "We have no wish to offend anyone."
"I take it you have nothing to swim in either." Saburo smiled. "I would never dare to presume by suggesting it, but nudity by the pool is not uncommon, and you're welcome to do so on the open sea, but not while docked in Mumbai due to their local laws."
"Excellent," I said. "Could we have our clothes washed later today? They have a treatment to keep them clean, but they would probably feel fresher if properly washed."
"Certainly, just call me, and I will take care of that."
Afterward, we left for a delicious lunch, and we appreciated that Julien informed the chef about our eating habits; we eat more.
On the early morning of the third day, we entered the Suez Canal at Port Said. Things aboard the ship had taken on a more comfortable feel. We failed to acquire clothing more conducive to hot weather and had taken to walking around in just our pants with the trouser legs rolled up. Maggie did the same and wore a cropped tank top that she brought.
The captain invited everyone to the bridge's upper deck to witness the spectacle of the container ship convoy proceeding north. I noted one consistency about them. The shipping yard had packed them all as full as they could get them --some dangerously so. I didn't have much knowledge of such things, but a possibility occurred to me. The value of carrying what they brought with them must drastically exceed the cost of taking the ship through the canal, as I had to presume it wasn't free.
As we observed the ships from the railing, I stood between David and the captain. "Captain Okamoto, how much does the canal authority charge these ships for the passage?"
"The last I heard they charged them over fifty-five million yen."
"We're not familiar with yen," said David. "Would you know the equivalent in British pounds?"
"Roughly three hundred and eighty thousand in pounds, I believe."
"That's a lot," I said. "Does it cost that much for us?"
"No, our fee is inconsequential," he replied.
"Speaking of fee," said David, "or rather a `small precious gift,' when will you want that?"
The captain appeared uncomfortable. He tried to tell us without speaking loudly, but the wind and ship noises prevented us from hearing, so he invited us somewhere quieter. When we got to his office behind the bridge, he offered us a seat. It had a generous space with a desk and a seating area decorated with a detailed map of the world on one wall, and an ancient map of Japan sealed beneath glass on another.
He asked if we would like some whisky, but we politely declined. I decided to get to the point. "The small precious gift. I'm curious why you hadn't already mentioned it."
"I hadn't mentioned the treatment because I have already received it," he said.
"You have it, already?" I asked.
"Who gave it to you?" asked David.
"I agreed not to say anything," said the captain, "and I hoped you wouldn't ask."
I had no difficulty guessing. "Captain Dupre gave it to you, didn't he?"
"I hope that will not upset you," he said. "He is an honorable man, and although he didn't say it explicitly, he cares a great deal about you all."
David gave a little smile. "No, there's no reason for it to upset us."
"What did he tell you?" I asked.
"Captain Dupre told me he was willing to provide it," said the captain, "and that he didn't want the rest of you to know or feel obligated do it. He said your enemies had put you through enough, and he swore to help you get home whatever he had to do."
I looked at David, and he had a faraway look in his eyes.
"Do you have any other questions, David?" I asked.
He shook his head. I thanked the captain for his honesty, and before we left for our cabin, I assured him of our silence on the matter.
I laid upon our bed, and David lay beside me on his side, his arm propping his head. "I don't know what to say," I said.
"I believed Rocke when he said he would help us. He didn't want us to know, taking no credit."
"Besides the apparent desire to help in the most honorable way he could," I said, "perhaps he didn't want us to object, or maybe he didn't want us to worry about it. Let us stick to our word and say nothing to him unless it becomes an absolute necessity."
"Agreed."
My eyes lingered upon David. His bright amber eyes shone in the light from the window. I ran my fingers through his hair; he closed his eyes and smiled at me. His smiles took hold of my insides, and they reminded me of my luck in having him in my life. "A change of subject," I said, "did you know I sometimes watch you while you sleep?"
He opened one eye. "That might sound creepy if I didn't love you so much."
"That thought has occurred to me."
"Do I entertain you while I sleep?"
I could feel my forehead furrow. "I could never relegate you, in any way, to anything as mundane and superficial as entertainment."
He raised an eyebrow. "That's flattering of you to say."
"Was it? Well, I apologize, I never had the intention of resorting to flattery. I merely stated the facts of the matter; I assure you I do not find you the least bit entertaining."
"That takes a great weight off my mind," said David in sarcasm. "For a moment, I wondered what brought on such aberrant behavior. So, why then do you watch me sleep?"
I looked him in the eye. "Hmm, now that I think about it, I shouldn't have mentioned it. If I tell you, you'll accuse me of idolization, and that will lead to a rabbit hole of a conversation with magic food and tiny doors. I don't want to go there." I tried not to smile.
He smiled and kissed me, which, of course, led to more kissing, and one thing led to another at that point. On such occasions, we had no problem with the ship, but the time would pass too quickly, and we would return to the typical blandness. We didn't have much else to do onboard the vessel, it didn't suit our needs. One of the lounges had a blackjack table, a roulette wheel, a poker table, and a full bar. We don't gamble or drink. No one wanted to see anything from the ship's film collection. As for their library, they only carried books and magazines written in Japanese. Not even I found them all that diverting. We looked forward to our morning exercises, and we had our time by the pool. The crew probably found us as dull as we did our time aboard the ship.
On the Arabian Sea, we had water to the horizons and fathoms below us. It created a sense of isolation and insignificancy.
Up until then, as the weather held out, neither David nor I required the pills we brought. I asked Julien if anyone had needed them yet, he told me he had used them since we boarded the ship. The rest of us hadn't needed them, but the ocean could change rapidly, and it did. About the midpoint of the Arabian Sea, Captain Okamoto called us into the lower lounge with some news.
"I've seen the radar of our path to Japan," said the captain, "and we have a problem. An atmospheric depression is building over the Indian Ocean. The weather service has alerted us that they expect it to become a typhoon."
"Do you have a plan?" Julien asked.
I looked at the faces around me. We all knew what it meant. We would experience a delay and needed to reach land soon.
"When I agreed to make the journey," said the captain, "I knew time was an essential component, but we cannot take the ship anywhere near a typhoon. We have a scheduled stop in Mumbai. We will wait for the storm to die down before we proceed. I know you're disappointed and impatient; I am too, but we have no choice."
"On the contrary, Captain," said Cadmar, "given the circumstances, you will find that we have patience. We should avoid harm."
"Well spoken," said Aiden.
The captain seemed pleased that we did not view it as the problem he expected and left to prepare for an extended stay in Mumbai.
"How many days might this take?" asked Maggie.
"No one can fully predict a typhoon," said David, "so anywhere from a few days to more than a week."
"That may give us time to see Mumbai," said Rocke.
"Perhaps," I said, "but from everything I've read, I wouldn't exactly call it a tourist city."
"What languages do they speak in Mumbai?" Maggie asked me. "Is it just Hindi and English?"
"They speak Hindi and Marathi," I said. "English too, but I shouldn't think everyone will speak it. Then you'll hear combinations like Hinglish."
"Like Spanglish, I suppose," said Aiden. "Do you speak Hindi or Marathi?"
"Unfortunately, no --not even a hint," I said.
"Well, that's inconvenient."
"I'm sorry that I won't know every language for us; I'm not a protocol droid."
At dinner that evening, the captain informed us that the number of vessels traveling east requesting assistance would overrun the Mumbai docks. We understood and could cope with sojourning moored in the harbor among the masses, but that night, while David and I chatted after our amorous activities, the topic came up.
"So, what's wrong with that?" David asked.
"We will swelter from the wind that may come from the moistened, heated depths of central India where the temperature could reach well above 90° Fahrenheit or 32° Celsius."
"It sounds like One City in mid-summer," said David. "If that's the case, some of us should probably go into Mumbai to acquire something cooler for everyone to wear. I'm sick of those pants."
"I'm sorry," I said, "I couldn't guess we would need hot weather gear in November, and even the stores in Venice seemed to have nothing but winter wear."
"Yes, I noticed that, too," he said. "It's not your fault, my dear: `Circumstance, circumstance, for all is circumstance.'"
"Is that a quote from someone?" I asked.
"It's a quote by a character in a book I had read who quoted an even older work from Michiko, one of Jiyu's most-read writers.
"Do you know the whole quotation?" I asked him.
"Hmm, let me see if I can remember it," he said. "Sometimes, I wish I had enhanced memory.`They believe their gods and fates abate, to await their timely ambitions bechance, but I see the world prevailed upon by a singular entrance; circumstance, circumstance, for all is circumstance.'"
"Okay," I said. "What does it mean?"
"The universe has no plan," he said, "no external input. Things function here from causation, one thing leading to the next in an intricate tapestry of causal chains, and at any one moment in time, we have only the current circumstance. And while we might make an educated guess, we cannot always know what the future will hold. I think you would enjoy the book, but I'm sorry, we were talking about our circumstance of the heat. You know, I'm sure Cadmar is pleased he got his hair and beard cut. Can you imagine how hot that would've felt?"
"Like a sheep in the Congo in dire need of shearing," I said.
I heard David giggle in the darkness. "We have no idea of the time," he said. "We probably should sleep. For all we know, the morning may come in an hour."
He kissed me goodnight. I laid my head on his shoulder, and he ran his strong hands along my back. Before long, I fell asleep, and then suddenly, the sun blazing through the windows awakened me.
After a quick cleanup at the sink, other morning preparations, and breakfast, we all stood upon the deck. I noted that, as usual, Cadmar carried the drone case, and Aiden held the bag which contained our pistols.
Once the ship had reached the harbor, we maneuvered to dock where a refueling ship would pull alongside us. Due to our size, the harbormaster subjected our vessel to a downgrade on our position at the docks. Usually, we would have docked at the section reserved for yachts, but the incoming typhoon had filled it with boats and ships waiting to sail east. When we had a look at the industrial side, they appeared as most of them do; they were dirty, but to their credit, the workers kept them tidy and organized despite the dirt, as well as more efficient with refueling --according to Captain Okamoto at breakfast that morning. He said getting fuel wouldn't take long. The real problem came from the time it took to acquire provisions. Chef Shima and a few crewmen would go to the market to collect what we needed. Upon hearing this, I mentioned our clothing predicament with a hearty "Hear! Hear!" from our group at the table. The crew invited us to go with them.
The hired vehicle had limited room for people. After the chef, and his two crewmen helpers, climbed aboard, we had only four seats left. David, Aiden, and Cadmar had no interest in shopping, but of course, they wanted something else to wear. That simplified who would go, Maggie, Julien, Rocke, and me. We paused at a bank to exchange a few euros for rupees, and since we received a decent exchange rate, we hadn't had to trade much.
Many parts of the world had open-air markets. They often moved from one town to the next on a set rotation, and everyone in the villages knew when to expect it. However, Mumbai's size made it capable of supporting a permanent market that opened daily. All markets have food sections, where Chef Shima wanted to make a beeline, but Mumbai had a highly productive textile industry. That made clothing a snap to get and not too expensive, provided you knew how to haggle and could recognize a name-brand knock-off when you saw one. They dropped us off at the unimaginatively named "Fashion Street" and would collect us in two hours.
I suggested we stick together. In the past, I had read conflicting reports about the safety of Mumbai and thought we shouldn't take chances. Even though Julien already had warm weather clothing, he came along as police protection. I felt sure that David only agreed to stay behind because Julien would accompany us. That may sound overprotective, but I would have felt the same if the positions had reversed that day. Julien seemed content to keep an eye on things as he walked behind us a few paces.
"So, do we know what we're looking for?" asked Maggie. "And can we trust these sizes?" She held up a shirt bedecked with cartoon characters.
"I know what I'm looking for," I said, "and yes, I should think they would have correct sizing. However, a shirt that fits big on me will fit David and Aiden, but Cadmar will take one size larger. Shorts will prove a different matter entirely."
"Oui (Yes)," said Rocke, "David's legs, and your special problem. You will have a challenge unless you intend to buy something baggy."
I smiled at Rocke. "Baggy would never cross my mind. And I've discovered my 'special problem', as you call it, isn't a 'problem' at all."
Maggie giggled.
"So, Rocke," Maggie said as we strolled along the vendor-lined sidewalk, perusing their quality knockoffs, "when will you reveal more about yourself? Your reserved nature has us quite curious. Is there more to you than the captain of a ship?"
He shrugged. "What would you like to know?"
"Stop beating around the bushes, Maggie," I said. "Rocke, she wants to know if you're gay."
Maggie gave a feigned gasp of shock and playfully backhanded me on the arm. "Rick!" She exclaimed, "Dois-tu etre Monsieur Blunt? (Do you need to be Mr. Blunt?)
"Tu as pris trop de temps (You took too long)," I said. "Want to know something? Come out and ask."
Rocke laughed. "Je suis desole, Je pensais que la reponse etait evidente. (I'm sorry, I thought the answer was obvious)," he said, staring at me with a knowing smile.
"You shouldn't blurt things out, Rick," Maggie said. "Rocke might have taken offense, some people do."
"I appreciate your thoughtfulness," said Rocke to Maggie, "and at one time, I might have felt offended when I had not accepted the reality of it. I consider myself a 'recovering Catholic', and my point of view has changed a great deal over the years."
"I'm pleased you're doing better now," I said to him.
"Just so you know, Rocke," Maggie said, "never get into a religious conversation with Rick. It's not worth it."
Rocke picked up a snowy white long sleeve linen shirt with a Mandarin collar. "I get the impression that his ideas about it mirror my own, so there's no need," he said and turned to me. "What do you think of this?"
"Nice, but it looks big for you. You look like you wear my size," I said.
"I was thinking of Monsieur Cadmar," he said.
He made me smile, knowing why he thought of him. Taking the shirt, I whispered, "He will look great in it."
When the van returned, we had everything we needed. I couldn't wait to see David in the shorts I had found, and I bought several. I intended to take one to our tailor to copy them and make them available for David whenever he wore his out. I even made sure Aiden and Cadmar had a few pairs as well.
The next morning, as expected, we sat in the harbor, along with many eastbound cargo ships delayed by the typhoon. It had grown into a category one by then.
In the silence of our vessel, just before sunrise in the dark stillness, a horn from a nearby ship blared out, startling David and me.
"That's a terrible way to awaken someone," David said, holding me.
"Still beats the alarm clock from hell."
I heard David make a sleepy laugh in my ear. "It feels a little warm in here," he said. "Have you slept?
"I slept well enough, and it does feel a little warm," I replied, rubbing my cheek on his shoulder.
"You know," said David, "sleeping like this is making it hotter than if we slept apart."
"Did you want to sleep apart?" I asked while yawning.
"I wouldn't care if I never slept again," he said, squeezing me. "I want to be right here. I'm just thinking of you."
"I wouldn't want to sleep apart," I said. "We could always try sleeping on the deck, though."
"Hmm," he said, trying to stifle a yawn, "I fail to see how that's an improvement."
We had a knock upon our cabin door, an unusual occurrence at such an hour. David leapt from the bed and opened the door to find Captain Okamoto.
"There has been an incident," he said.
Fully awake, I jumped from the bed. The shadow on the captain's face didn't conceal his somber expression.
"What incident? Where?" asked David.
"At the dock," he said. "It's Julien Le Gal. He is dead."