Danger - A Safe Bahamian Novel - Day 12

Danger - A Safe Bahamian Novel - Day 12

(3:02 pm Monday Nov 12, 2007)

*** Shack Near Beach

Ronnie walks up from the beach tossing a bottle back and forth from hand to hand. Jack, Sam and Reg are sitting on the porch.

Ronnie tosses the bottle in Jack's general direction, "Think fast."

Jack catches the bottle by its long green neck, "What is this all about?"

"I found it floating in the water, is it one of yours? There's a message in it."

"I don't think so, I can't recall ever using a bottle like this before. This looks like a very old bottle. Let me get a knife and a corkscrew and let's see what it has to say."

"I'm already up, I'll get them and be right back," says Ronnie opening the door to the shack and going in.

A short while later he returns with the implements and hands them over to Jack who promptly gets to work. First he uses the knife to remove a waxy substance from the top of the neck and then he gets to work with the corkscrew.

Soon he has the bottle upside down and is shaking it smartly trying to get it to give up its treasure.

The bottle is having none of that.

"That's not gonna work, now I gotta get some tweezers or something," says Jack, getting to his feet and heading inside.

He is soon back out on the porch and poking about down the neck of the bottle trying to extract its contents.

"Just break the thing already Jack!" suggests Sam with impatience.

"That.... is.... not.... gonna.... happen...." Jack manages to get out as he concentrates.

Then he decides on a new approach. He takes a few deep breaths and lies down on his back. He puts the bottle above him in the air and pokes the long tweezers up into the neck and begins working on the object inside.

After a while longer, he begins to have some initial success and then soon manages to get the contents out.

"Jack, is that what you are doing to all those people who get the bottles you send off? I feel sorry for them."

Jack smiles and starts gently trying to flatten out the treasure.

(3:35 pm Monday Nov 12, 2007)

(4:20 pm Monday Nov 12, 2007)

(5:23 pm Monday Nov 12, 2007)

*** A Lonely Room

Wow! Double Wow! The block is strong right now.

*** Shack Near Beach

"Jack, come on! Don't be ridiculous! There is no way that note is from your ancestor and meant for you."

"How do you explain it then Mr. Science? How do you explain that I just sent off a note in a bottle yesterday. A note I wrote yesterday to my famous ancestor, Isamu Kato, and now today, here comes a note from that same Isamu Kato, floating up to the same spot where I sent my note off from. Explain that if you think you bad!"

"Jack, you don't even know that the message is from Isamu Kato much less being to you, much much less being a response to your note yesterday."

"Go on then! Let's hear your explanation Mr. Science!"

"Jack, listen to yourself, do you know how crazy you are sounding right up in now?"

"We're waiting for your brilliant explanation Mr. Science... waiting.... waiting....."

"Jack, think about it. You send off a message in a bottle. Right? A message in a bottle. The message is written to an ancestor of yours who used to roam these waters hundreds of years ago. Now today, a bottle floats up with a message in it. Now I grant you, that is a big coincidence right there. You have never had a message in a bottle show up the day after you have sent one off before have you?"

"No, never. This is the first time."

"OK, so you get this message that reads more like a fortune cookie in a hole in the wall Chinese restaurant than a letter to someone. And now all of a sudden you are convinced that it is a response to your letter from yesterday, from someone who died hundreds of years ago. So, what happened? You bottle fell into some sort of time warp, went back in time, your ancestor found it, figured it was from you and wrote a reply which he put in a bottle and threw overboard. Now that bottle has been, what? Floating about in the oceans of this world for all those hundreds of years and just happens to wash ashore on the day after you sent your message off? That is some serious wave mail fu you figure went on my man. And all because of what? Some faded out smudge at the bottom of the message which you say is your ancestors name?"

"Look, it is his name! OK? And what you call some Chinese fortune cookie message give me a clear answer to my letter to him yesterday. Say what you like, I am going to take it seriously and respond accordingly."

"Man, we need to call Sandilands for you now."

"It may sound crazy but I still don't hear any alternate explanation..."

"Look guys, I have been feeling stuck for days. Every time I try to get untracked, I make a little headway and then things grind to a halt again. I feel defeated and down. My mind has not been clear, my sleep has been troubled. Something is not right. I am uncentred, out of whack, off kilter. So yesterday, I was sitting out on my spot doing my breathing thing and I started to feel a little better. So I wrote a letter to Isamu and asked for his advice and help. Should I stay the course or try heading off in a new direction? Did I have a chance of success? What should I watch out for?"

"And you think that message today answered those questions for you?"

"Let me read it to you again:

My son,

women from the past can present obstacles to your goals.

If you have been walking east, running north may bring refreshing wind.

Broken ground and secret generals are to be avoided without sure preparation.

Strike with stealth and with power and victory is yours.

Surely you can see that that is an answer to my questions."

"Jack, that is just some sort of mumbo jumbo riddle paper. Admit it."

"Later, guys, I'm gone. And let Reg go after I leave. He is not going to cause us any more trouble."

"Hey," says Reg, "can't I go with you?"

"No offense Reg, for one of the bad guys, you seem like a nice enough guy, but I don't know you or trust you."

"You must trust me some Jack, you just said I wouldn't cause you any more trouble."

"He's right Jack, you did just say that," teases Sam.

"Look, I know what I just said OK. I just said to let him go after I am gone and I just said I don't trust him. Let's let things stand like that please."

(6:41 pm Monday Nov 12, 2007)

(7:28 pm Monday Nov 12, 2007)

*** In The Very Spacious Salon Of A Mega Yacht Anchoured Off the North Shore Of Great Guana Cay, Abaco

"Sisters, we have a big problem on our hands. We need to deal with this quickly and move on. Bring Golden Child and the man in please," says Moon Daughter.

Horse Rider and Dirge Singer leave and return a short while later with Golden Child and Fred Malone. They have Fred under guard.

"Moon Daughter, is this really necessary?" pleads Golden Child.

"Well, it would not had been if you had not been so impulsive little sister. You know the rules. Why did you have to go and do this?"

"I can't explain it Moon Daughter. It just sort of happened. Haven't you ever lost your heart?"

"I have never been in the position to allow myself that luxury little sister. Golden Child, I want you to examine you heart very carefully and make sure that you really have lost it to this local boy."

"Oh, I have Moon Daughter, I am sure of it," smiles Golden Child without hesitation as Moon Daughter tries to hide a grimace.

"No, I want you to take some time and examine your heart very carefully. Will you do this one thing for me little sister?"

Fred is sitting in a chair, loosely bound and under guard, but smiling and unreasonably happy. There are some noise canceling head phones taped to his head and laying tunes so he can't hear what is being said, but everyone except Golden Child looks very serious and quite upset.

Golden child looks beautiful and radiant.

Not that the other women in the room don't look beautiful as well. In fact, thinking about it, Fred cannot ever remember being in the presence of a group of women who looked more beautiful than these ever in his life. And he had been around some beautiful women in his time. He had done a stint in his younger years as a location finder for photo shoots for some of the world's top models. Some serious beauty around then, that's for sure. He took his time and looked around again, smiling all the while. There was just something about these women though. He just couldn't put his finger on it yet though.

(9:31 pm Monday Nov 12, 2007)

What a trip the day had been for him so far. The last few days really, but today especially.

He and Golden Child, he still felt a bit funny calling her that, but that's how she seemed to want it and he was happy to oblige, had been walking along the beach at dawn, holding hands and talking about their lives and dreams. Then these female, seal types had come up silently out of the surf and captured them. He had tried to resist at first, but he noticed that Golden Child did not seem to be too worried and he had eased off in the struggle department. Good thing too he soon realized. These women certainly seemed to know their business.

"Yes, I will do it for you Moon Daughter."

"Thank you little sister. Now, please leave us for an hour or so, I want to talk to this Mr. Malone of yours."

"Yes, Moon Daughter. I will be up on the fly bridge should you need me," says Golden Child getting up to leave.

She smiles and waves at Fred as she passes in front of him.

He sees this change and begins to get tense. He is very alert and starts to struggle against his bonds. He sees the woman who seems to be in charge here motion with her head and the music dies and the woman behind him removes the headphones just before Golden Child leaves the room.

He calls out her name and she turns and smiles, "I wont be gone long Fred, Moon Daughter just wants to ask you some questions. Just tell her the truth and everything should work out fine. Please trust me with this."

He decides to do as she asks and relaxes, "OK, I will, come back soon."

And Golden Child slipped silently out of the room. Little did he know that it could very well be and out of his life depending on what happened in the next hour or so.

(10:05 pm Monday Nov 12, 2007)

*** A Lonely Room

Well gentle reader, it doesn't look like I am going to get the day and a half done today unless things pick up tremendously for some crazy reason. It does look like I might get the day's quota done by a reasonable hour and try and get a decent night's sleep. Perhaps tomorrow.

(10:14 pm Monday Nov 12, 2007)

When Jack walked out of the shack earlier in the day, he had taken the borrowed moke to the airport and parked in the lot by civil aviation. he walked out to his friend's plane and checked it out.

Now he was hight in the air and cruising around in the dark, mostly just thinking, but doing a little scouting at the same time.

(10:26 pm Monday Nov 12, 2007)