The Arcturus Man

by John Strauchs

  the great fallacies of logic—Argumentum ad Hominem. Attack the speaker if you can’t

  refute the words being spoken.”

  “I’m just not as smart as you. You’re perverting everything I say into something

  bad. That doesn’t mean that you’re right. It only means that you’re better at debating

  than I am,” she said.

  “Now the fallacy is Ignoratio Elenchi,” said Jared.

  “That’s enough. Quit it.”

  “Fine, but at most, I am agnostic. Do I need to explain that to you as well?” “No!........Do you have to be mean?” Jenny started to walk away. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t intend to offend you.”

  “Well, you did. I am disappointed in you,” she said.

  She didn’t want them to have another fight. She couldn't think. She felt overwhelmed.

  "Imagine man before our ancestors learned how to make fire. You are cowering

  in a cave hoping against hope that a predator—let’s say a saber-tooth tiger—doesn’t enter. You have no defenses against an attack. What do you do? How do you manage the

  nightly stress and fear? You invent a god who will protect you. You need a coping mechanism. And, if you are still killed by this predator, the survivors invent a god to provide some faint hope that something is better for the person who died. All world religions are grounded on this tradition. Faith is the panacea for hopelessness and fear.

  Knowledge, on the other hand, is the enemy of faith,” said Jared.

  "You keep saying that. Can you be any more cynical?" she asked. "Or course I can. Shall I?" asked Jared.

  “NO! I don’t want to talk about religion with you. You have been talking about

  the bogus reason why people are trying to kill you. What is the real reason?” asked Jenny.

  “The real reason is quite perfunctory. It’s all about a future patent. I invented an

  instantaneous analysis technology that can detect almost any material, but especially explosives. Although accuracy suffers slightly, this technology can detect at a distance of

  several hundred feet. Airports can be totally protected and even the risk of roadside

  bombs is virtually eliminated. The U.S. Government wants to seize this invention on the

  basis of national security. To guard against that, the critical technical information about

  how to make this technology work is in my head. The rest of the reason why people want

  me dead should be obvious. If this technology is developed, any international terrorist

  group, such as Al Queada, would lose its primary weapon, explosives. Terrorism could

  be stamped out. Killing me kills the technology.”

  “That’s incredible Jared. I guess I do see why they want you dead. Your technology would change everything. What about other kinds of weapons of mass destruction,

  such as chemical and biological agents?” asked Jenny.

  “As long as you tweak the sensors for the materials you are looking for, it would

  also work for those kinds of materials.”

  “I can understand that some Russians may be in cahoots with terrorist groups,

  such as Chechens, but I don’t understand why those American officials you talked about

  would want you dead. I can’t believe that a Deputy U.S. Attorney General and the Executive Director of the CIA are working for Al Queada. That just isn’t credible,” said Jenny. “No, its not! As I mentioned already, Anderson is a religious zealot—a pious nutcase radical, if you like. He actually believes the Russian cover story that I am the antiChrist or something of that ilk. On the other hand, Reisinger is level-headed and not very

  religious so I frankly don’t understand his motivation. Reisinger is a career intelligence

  officer and committed to defending America against terrorism. I am reasonably confident

  of that. I have to assume he simply doesn’t believe that the technology I developed will

  work as advertised. He must know about it. In any event, he is still a mystery to me.” “Wow! I’m sorry I asked. Now I’m really scared. You have some powerful and

  serious enemies Jared. Think about all the money and resources these guys can muster.

  You have to get help. You can’t do this alone. Should we get the police involved…you

  know…maybe the FBI…maybe some kind of witness protection stuff…I just don’t…” Jared interrupted. “Jenny, the FBI works for the Justice Department and the top

  guy in Justice is Anderson. Reisinger is CIA. Exactly who do I trust?” asked Jared. “I know. I know. I see that. There has to be someone who can help us,” she said. Jared noted that even though he always described the danger to himself, Jenny

  continued to refer to “we” and “us.” He didn’t want her to be in danger and being with him was certainly putting her in danger. He hoped she implicitly understood that if his enemies couldn’t find or get to him, sooner or later they would go after Jenny to use her as bait for him. Like it or not, he had to keep her with him. He wondered if he should explain that logic to her. She was already scared; he didn’t want to terrify her yet further. She stayed with him and nursed him. She probably didn’t save his life, but she may be

  lieve she did.

  “Jenny, I know you’re already upset about everything that’s happened, especially

  about those men I killed. I’m not a killer. Not really. I wasn’t only defending myself…defending us. Sooner or later…if you haven’t already wondered about it…you will

  ask yourself why I’m not dropping you off at Newport and letting you go back to your

  family. You can do that, of course, but you could be jumping out of the frying pan into

  the fire. They would find you and take you to use you to get to me. These are ruthless

  men. I truly believe that I can protect you and that you’re safer being with me. I can’t

  begin to tell you how sorry I am that you got mixed up in this,” said Jared. Jenny slumped down. Until she met Jared, the most frightening things in her life

  were horror movies, lightning storms, and spiders. Her face blanched. She couldn’t believe that this was happening. Bad men might be coming for her.

  “No, that never occurred to me. I guess I understand though. They’ll use me to

  kill you. Jared, this is horrible. What are we going to do? It’s just a matter of time until

  they find us Jared and I don’t care how incredible you are. They’ll bring as many men

  and as many guns as they need and they’ll kill us both,” she said.

  “That’s why we’re going to Panama. I need to draw them to me in an area where

  I have an advantage, even if they come in numbers. I know one area in Panama really

  well. I’ve been going there for years and I have friends there who will help us,” he said. “Panama? You can’t be serious.”

  “You have to trust me on this Jenny. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I

  have friends there who will protect you while I take care of this once and for all—or at

  least for the time being.”

  “I trust you Jared. You know that,” she said. “Suppose they find us before we get

  there?”

  “I have a plan for that part too. It will take a little luck but I think we can escape

  discovery until we get to Panama. Staying in the open ocean makes it easier to avoid detection. They have hundreds of square miles to search. It’s a lot better than trying to hide

  along highways and motels. On water, we can go in any direction.”

  “But if they did find us?” asked Jenny.

  “That would be very bad for us. I can’t let that happen. I have to admit that we

  are pushing the edge of our time envelope. If we are caught on open water, there

  wouldn’t much that we could do to save ourselves,” said Jared.

  This was too much to take in. Sh
e felt overwhelmed. She needed to talk about

  something else. She didn’t want to think about ruthless people tracking them…about

  people who wanted to kill them.

  “Tell me what happened on the island,” she said.

  “Can we talk about that later? I am just going to upset you more.” “I am already upset. I don’t see how it can get any worse. Just tell me what happened.”

  Jared waited for a few moments.

  “Thirteen paramilitary types landed on the island to assassinate me. I killed all of

  them save one, the leader of the group. I already told you about him. He got away. He

  was one of the men who attacked the homeless man in Old Orchard Beach. Do you remember the man who startled us at the pond? (She nodded yes.) He was an advance

  man casing the island…probably part of the planning for the attack.”

  “My Gosh! Jared. ”

  Jenny couldn’t absorb the reality of what Jared just said. She stood up and began

  pacing.

  “So many people. So many people. Well, it was clearly self defense, wasn’t it?”

  she said.

  “Of course it was self defense,” said Jared.

  “No wonder you’re acting so odd right now. This is a horrible thing to have on

  your conscience…even if it was unavoidable…I guess necessary,” she said. “It doesn’t bother me. I had to protect you and I had to protect myself. My only

  regret was that I was so stupid as to let them harm me.”

  It was troubling to hear Jared say that killing men didn’t bother him. Again, she

  didn’t know how to react to yet another disturbing revelation about Jared.” “I was arrogant and overconfident. I won’t make that mistake again.” Jenny was silent. Jared stood and opened a compartment above the kitchenette.

  He pulled out Pandora’s Box and put it to the side. He then slid out a small metal box that

  was hidden behind the paneling. He opened it. It was full of money.

  “I have about $25,000. There are some credit cards here too. Take whatever you

  need if you want to run ashore and get anything. I have to run into town to get some materials. I’ll be right back”

  She was alarmed.

  “Suppose they come while you’re gone?” she asked.

  “It’s too soon for them to be here. Moreover, they won’t do anything in a public

  area. We’re anchored in an active harbor. I won’t be gone long. It’s safe right now.” “Alright, if you think its safe,” she said. She was still uneasy about being left

  alone.

  Jenny was about to say that he shouldn’t be walking that much. He could open

  his stitches and there was always the worry about internal bleeding. She didn’t say anything. She needed time to think.

  Jared took a wad of cash and left. She waited until she heard him walking off the

  deck and then she went back to the stateroom. She walked back into the galley and

  opened the cabinet above the sink. There it was. Jared’s secret wooden box! What was

  he hiding? Why was it the only thing on the boat that was locked? She stared at it for a

  while longer and then went back to the cabin. She curled up on the bed and tried to fall

  asleep.

  She bolted up in bed and ran out to the galley. She pulled open the junk drawer

  next to the sink. The gun was gone. The Walther PPK was no longer there. She stared

  into the drawer for a long time…thinking. It was too much. She went back into the cabin

  and climbed back on the bunk. She fell asleep. Emotional fatigue drained her.

  Jared stepped into a coffee shop for a double espresso. When he got his coffee he loaded it with sugar and sat on a stool near the window to unwind. He needed the caffeine. He sipped at it—slowly.

  He casually glanced out the window. Suddenly, he spotted a small, frail, black woman sitting on a bench on the wharf. It was the same little woman he saw at Ashley‘s and other times since then. It was Mary Thomas. She was more than a hundred yards away, but it was the same little woman. It was the same faded black dress and the same limp yellowed lace. He gulped down the espresso and ran out of the shop toward the bench. He lost sight of her when he left the window. As he opened the front door, she was gone. It troubled him. He thought about it the rest of the afternoon.

  Newport, Rhode Island Late Morning

  Jenny was woken by a hatch slamming. She glanced at her watch. She had slept for more than an hour. She thought she shut her eyes for only a few minutes but it had been more than an hour. She was off balance. She felt very tired. Her entire body felt heavy. She glanced out of the port hole and saw strange men climbing around on the boat. She panicked.

  Jared peeked in.

  “Not to worry. They’re gassing us up, refilling our water and other supplies.” “You could have told me,” she said.

  “You needed more sleep.”

  “Are we still in Newport?”

  “Of course!” said Jared.

  “Oh.”

  “Go back to bed. I can take of this myself.”

  “No, I want to help. What can I do?” asked Jenny.

  “Alright, if you really want to.”

  “This is a great boat, but I wish it was just a little bigger.”

  “Carver makes cabin cruisers much bigger than 36 feet, but really large boats attract a lot of attention that I don’t want. I wanted a boat that was comfortable, generally at least, but that could be somewhat anonymous.”

  “I guess that’s important if every nation on earth is hunting you.” Jared ignored that. He didn’t want another argument.

  “What exactly are you doing?” asked Jenny.

  “I need the boat to be more anonymous. I need to change its appearance—just a

  little bit.”

  “And how are we doing that?”

  “You have to understand how people actually see things. At a distance, the brain

  searches for recognizable patterns. It could be the life rings on the side. It could be a shape. It could be spacing between things. It could be a color. If these patterns change, even slightly, it is not the same thing that was seen before.”

  “Why are we doing this?” “We are being followed. I think by this Colombian. I spotted a helicopter following us…tracking us actually. It’s gone for the moment. Probably needed to refuel.”

  “You didn’t say anything. When did you discover this?” Jenny was frightened again. “Are you telling me that it is going to happen again?”

  “Someone planted a tracking device—a little infrared flashing beacon—on the boat. It’s called a firefly. I noticed it when we first got on board. People can’t see into the infrared region. I can see it, or at least just enough to notice a faint flash.”

  “Jared can see like a cat. So what else is new?” thought Jenny.

  “Why didn’t you throw it overboard? Why didn’t you tell me? When were you going to tell me that we were still in danger?”

  “As long as they thought that we didn’t know about the beacon, I was sure that they would keep their distance for the time being…and they have. They would be willing to wait until we are in a less populated area, such as at sea. That is why I didn’t throw it overboard. I didn’t tell you because…one…I was feeling very weak at the time…and two…I didn’t want to alarm you. I don’t think we’re in danger.”

  “How can you say that? They tried to kill you. People have already been killed. Are you kidding? They are watching us and you say we’re not in danger,” she said.

  “I don’t think they’re watching us now. No! I would sense it. They are not going to try anything in a busy harbor, especially not Newport. As long as they think they can track us with the beacon, they are going to keep away at a safe distance.”

  “So that’s why we are going to change the appearance of the boat?”

  “Yes, exactly.
I’ve been watching them. They are far enough away…actually flying very high…that they can’t see real details,” said Jared.

  Jenny felt safe with Jared, or at least she used to. Seeing him wounded made her lose confidence in him. Was it safe with Jared? She wasn’t sure now.

  Jared left the cabin and went up on the deck. Jenny followed. He began to open the bundles and boxes he brought back.

  “I bought you some clothes. I hope they fit. If you hate them we can take them back. The underwear was a mystery so if it’s not right you may have to go back and get what you need. Some more is being delivered later this morning.”

  Jenny began opening the bags and boxes. The clothing was expensive. The underwear was utilitarian.

  “This looks OK…for now.”

  “I bought you some sanitary pads and Tampax.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t need that right now, but thanks. I know that took some courage to buy.”

  “Why would buying Tampax require courage?”

  “Never mind! I’ll need it later. Thank you for getting it.”

  He pulled out blue plastic tarps, light rope, scissors, duct tape, and large pieces of marine canvas sail cloth.

  “Take the blue plastic and cut it to fit some of the colored parts of the boat. Cover those areas with the plastic with the tape. Pay close attention to the fly bridge and cover the red canvas with the blue plastic. Imagine how the boat looks like from the air,” he said.

  “What happens if they return before we’re finished?”

  “Not to worry.”

  Jared climbed up to the bridge and removed the firefly. He climbed down and jumped off the boat. He slowly walked down the ramp and through the maze of interconnecting pier ramps. Jenny couldn’t get over how fit he seemed despite the obviously serious, if not incapacitating wounds he suffered just the night before. Or was it two nights ago? She had lost track of time. He was a walking miracle. No, he was Jared and Jared was a megagenius. She grabbed the field glasses from the table and watched him.

  “Wow, he found a boat that looks very similar to ours,” thought Jenny. He was far enough away that she couldn’t hear him, but it looked like he was calling out to the boat. No one was on board. She saw Jared climb on board and climb up to their fly bridge. The firefly found a new home. She watched Jared walking back. He had a smile on his face.