The Arcturus Man

  “So in your dieing last breath, instead of your last word being rosebud in remembrance of a sled you had as a little boy, you’re going to be saying Klaatu barada Nikto,” said Jenny.

  “That’s not quite accurate…if you care,” he said.

  “What’s not accurate? I’m talking about Citizen Kane…you know, he says rosebud right before he kicks the bucket,” said Jenny.

  “The inaccurate part is that he was remembering his sled. Yes the sled was rosebud but…as you know the motion picture was loosely based on Hearst and his love affair with Marian Davies…and according to Gore Vidal, rosebud was the pet name Hearst had for her clitoris. Of course, Vidal may also have invented that bit of movie trivia,” said Jared.

  “Now you destroy one of my favorite movies. I can never watch Citizen Kane again, Jared, without think of Marion Davies’ privates. It’s just like you to do that Jared,” said Jenny.

  “LOOK,” said Jared. “The boat with the firefly is leaving the marina. Just in time. I think Rubio is back.”

  He picked up field glasses and scanned the horizon. Sure enough, the helicopter had reappeared. The navigational lights were clearly for a helicopter.

  “Can I see?” asked Jenny.

  “Sure, but there isn’t much to see.”

  “You’re right. All I can see are colored lights. You think that’s them?” she asked.

  “I can never be one hundred percent certain, but I believe so. Remember what I said about trusting what you feel—not what you think?”

  He handed her a set of night vision goggles. “Try these and look at the boat that is leaving.”

  She put them on. “Wow. It looks like photo flashes. It’s really bright.”

  “The goggles let you see into the infrared.”

  “I remember you explaining that,” she said.

  “The earliest they’ll discover that they’ve been following the wrong boat is late morning. It might even take them a day or two if they are really cautious. We’ll see.” “I hope so. Can I use the phone?” asked Jenny.

  “Of course. But use this prepaid cell phone, not the marine phone.”

  “I want to let Krissy know that I am safe. She must be worried sick by now. I just hope she hasn’t heard anything about what happened on the island. I assume it’s all over the news by now.”

  “Just don’t let her know where you are.”

  “Of course not. I’m not stupid.”

  Jared could see that Jenny was trying to pick another fight. He wasn’t going to help her. He stayed silent.

  Jenny picked up Jared’s cell phone. It was an old Motorola StarTAC.

  “You get this from the Smithsonian?” she asked.

  “You can’t get pictures with it. It has no video games. But it works very well as a telephone. More importantly, this phone is old enough that it can’t be tracked easily. The newer cell phones can be.”

  “Right.” She dialed out.

  “Hi Krissy.”

  “Hey, Jenn. What’s happening!”

  “I hope you haven’t been worried about me.”

  “Should I be? That’s like a really weird way of starting a conversation. What’ve you been up to?” That Krissy didn’t know anything about what had happened didn’t surprise Jenny. Krissy rarely watched television and she never read newspapers.

  “I haven’t called for a while,” said Jenny.

  “Is that supposed to be like something new?” asked Krissy.

  “Anyone been asking about me?”

  “You mean Jared. No. He hasn’t called. I really don’t have time to talk right now. Call me back, OK?”

  “No, not Jared. I’m with him now. I mean anyone else.”

  “No. Why the paranoia? What have you been up to?”

  “Nothing. I was just trying to see if anyone was asking for me. Why can’t you give me a simple answer.”

  “Like what part of ‘no’ don’t you get, Jenn?”

  These were dumb questions, thought Jenny, but she had to ask.

  “I’ve been going nuts trying to write a program for my Java class. I pulled an allnighter and like the damn thing still won’t work.”

  “How’s Mom?”

  “Are you listening to anything I’m saying? I haven’t called her since last weekend,” said Krissy.

  “You want Jared to help?”

  “How can he help me? You guys still doing kissy face?”

  “He’s a computer genius. You want his help or not?”

  “Sure. Like I’ve got nothing to lose at this point. Jake’s already wimped out on me,” said Krissy.

  Jenny turned to Jared. “My sister needs some help with a computer program. Java! Can you help her?”

  “Give me the phone,” said Jared. “Hi Krissy. What seems to be the problem?”

  “The problem is my program doesn’t work.”

  “You connected to the Internet? Broadband?” asked Jared.

  “Like an umbilical cord, Jared.”

  “E-mail it to [email protected]. “

  “I need a pencil. Do it again,” said Krissy.

  “E-mail it to [email protected]. “

  “You have Eclipse…SDK?” she asked.

  “Yes. Are you sending it?” asked Jared.

  “It will take me a few minutes. Hang on.”

  “Take your time,” he said.

  “OK, here it comes,”

  “Got it. Stay on the line,” said Jared.

  “Let me explain what the program is,” she said.

  “No need. I’ll figure it out.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” said Krissy.

  It was like Mozart reading sheet music. He could hear the melody and the beat of the program with his eyes. It was clearer than speaking in English because there was no obscurity in meaning. There was no ambivalence in intent. Jenny couldn’t hear the conversation, but watching Jared at work…something he was clearly really, really good at…was mesmerizing. Unbelievably, he was typing faster than she had ever seen anyone type…and he was writing pure code…not copying words from another page. He typed non-stop for about ten or fifteen minutes. It might have been longer. She lost track of the time watching him.

  “There! I renamed it ‘Krissy-dot-Java.’ Rename it again with whatever is appropriate for the class you are taking. It’s also compiled. I’m sending it back now.” “No way!” said Krissy.

  “Trust me. It will work just fine.”

  “No way! The file’s huge Jared. What did you do?”

  “Just trust me Krissy.”

  “Yea. Yea. I trust you, but you’re not the one getting the ‘F’ if this turns to shit,” said Krissy.

  “I promise you it isn’t shit. Call me if you have questions. This number doesn’t block caller IDs. You’ve got the number. OK?”

  “Thanks, Jared. You saved my life,” said Krissy.

  “You quite welcome Krissy. Remember, source code is free speech. You want Jenny now?”

  “Yea.” She had no idea what he was talking about.

  Jared handed the phone to Jenny.

  “Like is this some kind of bull shit Jenn? Is he for real?” asked Krissy.

  “Trust him Krissy. I told you. He is a genius,” said Jenny.

  “If you say so. Jake’s supposed to be a computer geek but he couldn’t do this and he tried all night. This has been driving me crazy since last night.”

  “OK, I have to go. Call Mom and tell her I’m fine.”

  “You keep doing that. Call her yourself,” said Krissy.

  “I just don’t want a lecture right now. Please.”

  “Fine, Fine. I’ll call.”

  “Love you Krissy.”

  “OK, back at you. Bye.”

  She snapped it closed and handed the phone back to Jared.

  “Thank you for helping her.”

  “I am happy that I could help,” he said.

  “I’m really tired. I’m going to turn in. Are we safe for tonight?”

  “We’re safe. G
o to bed.”

  “Good night,” she said.

  “I’ll be along soon. I have a few more things I need to do.”

  Jared watched Jenny hesitate just a step as she approached the cabin they had been sharing. Maybe it was a half step, but he saw it. She went into the cabin. She paused for a minute. She could have gone to the smaller cabin on the left, but she didn’t.

  About an hour later Jared slowly opened the cabin door. Jenny was sleeping soundly. It was a deep sleep. She was dreaming. She was high on a mountain and a warm wind was blowing her hair. Her grandmother was there and they were speaking in Runes, at least what Jenny imagined Runes might sound like if they were spoken words. He wasn’t in the dream.

  He undressed in the dark. As he pulled back the blanket to slide in he noticed she was still wearing her bra and panties. Walls were going up. He gently kissed her forehead and settled into his pillow. He was very tired too. He heard the rain drops as he started to doze off. The wind began to pick up.

  “Good night, Jenny,” whispered Jared.

  “Can we get closer to the boat?” asked Rubio. The firefly was exploding in his Starlight Scope. Siemels boat was heading south.

  “No, the rain and winds are getting too strong. I want to set her down for the

  night,” said the pilot.

  Rubio was uneasy flying. This was a convenient excuse.

  “OK, let’s go back to the hanger. We can pick them up again in the morning.” “The weather should clear up by late morning.”

  Jenny was up first. The sun was up. It was a cold morning but the sky was clear. She decided to take her shower later after Jared was up and out of the stateroom. She went to the galley and put on coffee. She turned on the TV and found a local news channel.

  “ Human remains were found at the home of reclusive millionaire Jared Siemels. They are being sent to the crime lab in Augusta for further analysis and identification. The circumstances of the massive explosion and…..”

  She didn’t want to hear any more. She turned it off as Jared walked into the galley.

  “Sounds like they don’t know if that’s me or not. They might not be looking for me that hard as long as they aren’t sure. There are no dental records to match me with.”

  “You might be right,” she said.

  “Did anyone know that you came to the island?” asked Jared.

  “Sam Bentley at Sevigny’s Marina rented me the boat. He must be wondering by now what happened to it.”

  “I’m sure that they found the boat by now. Did you tell him where you were going?” asked Jared.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you going to make some breakfast?” asked Jared.

  “OK, what would you like?”

  “Whatever you’re having would be fine. Can you first give me a hand with the lines? It’s time we left,” he said.

  “Sure!”

  They pulled in the lines and Jared eased the boat out of the slip and entered the harbor. It was a windy day and the ocean was choppy. White caps were appearing from time to time. It was a four foot sea. The constant rocking was beginning to bother Jenny. As Jared picked up speed and headed into the wind, the rocking intensified.

  “There is some Dramamine in the medicine cabinet,” said Jared.

  “I just need to eat something. Something with some sugar. I think I’ll be alright. I’ll get us some breakfast.”

  “Great!”

  Jared pulled out a nautical chart and mapped a heading to Ocean City, Maryland. He set the GPS. Going farther out into the Atlantic would save time but the ocean would be rougher. He heard a pan falling, followed by the sound of broken glass.

  “It’s nothing. Just a coffee cup,” yelled Jenny from the galley.

  She came back with fried egg sandwiches about fifteen minutes later.

  “Thanks, we’ll take turns, OK?” asked Jared.

  “Is this you’re way of avoiding sexual stereotyping?” she asked.

  “I would have said the same thing if you were a man.”

  “Yea! Sure!” she said.

  “OK, you can do all the cooking and cleaning if that makes you feel better about it,” said Jared.

  “So where are we going? What is the plan?” asked Jenny. She wasn’t going to banter with him.

  “Well, in gross numbers, we have about 2,100 miles to go. I am going to try to average about 22 knots.”

  “Which is what?” she asked.

  “That’s about 25 miles an hour.”

  “Where is two thousand and some miles going to get us?”

  “Officially, we’re going to New Orleans! At least that is what I want our pursuers to think?”

  “How long will it take to get there and why New Orleans?”

  “Compound question….I thought…”

  “QUIT IT,” said Jenny.

  “Sorry. If we were really going to New Orleans it would take us from seven to nine days, depending on how long we stopped along the way and how many hours we’re under power,” said Jared. “But I already told you that we’re really going to Panama.”

  “Oh, yes. I forgot that. You did. More than a week? I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “Call Krissy or your Mom whenever you want. Just use the cell phone…but we need to be near land or in a harbor.”

  “Of course,” she said.

  “I was planning on going about twelve hours each day and then spending the night somewhere. We should average about three hundred miles a day. We carry about 350 gallons of gas so fueling is not an issue. Are you up to it? We have to reach our safe harbor before they find us. It is critical,” said Jared.

  “Of course. How are you feeling? That is the question.”

  “I am on the mend. No problem. When we round Florida, we’re going south to Panama. They’ll be watching for us on the route to New Orleans,” said Jared.

  Jared glanced up casually as Rubio’s helicopter passed overhead. They weren’t spotted. Rubio must have finally discovered that he was following the wrong boat. He now knew that Jared that tricked him and he was searching Jared’s probable route. This was going well.

  “Was is it? Is that them?”

  “No, it’s nothing. Just sightseers!” It was an easy lie.

  The first day after leaving Newport and twelve hours later the StarWind was in Ocean City, Maryland. Jenny and Jared spent the night in the Bahia Marina. They had a good meal. On the second day the ocean was rougher. They entered through Oregon Inlet at the Outer Banks and cruised down Pamlico Sound. Although Jenny was gradually getting used to rough waters, the Sound was a relief. They anchored off of Brown’s Island to spend the night. When Jared rounded Cape Lookout and left the barrier islands, they finally entered the Gulf Stream.

  They saw Rubio’s helicopter in the distance from time to time. Twice, it passed directly overhead at low altitude. Prior to each pass, Jared covered “StarWind” with a temporary name plate. Somehow he knew ahead of time. He quickly removed the false ship name as soon as Rubio was out of range again. Jenny was in hiding each time and Jared wore a yellow rain slicker and cap. The rain gear was justified by the heavy bow spray.

  The daytime temperatures rose each day. The ocean was calmer. The color of the water changed to brilliant aquamarines. The sunsets were spectacular. Jenny spotted pods of dolphins. Flying fish leapt from their wake and flew until they landed in another swell. Although she was studying marine biology, she hadn’t spent very much time at sea. Her excitement was wonderful to see. Her enthusiasm was a tonic for Jared. Jenny was surprised that she was beginning to enjoy the voyage. It no longer felt like December— especially not like December in New England. More importantly, it looked like Jared’s trickery was working. They hadn’t been found yet. She should have had more confidence in him.

  By the third day they were in Savannah. They anchored for the night in the Green Island Sound. The next day they finally reached Florida and entered the Indian River from Mosquito Lagoon at Allenhurst, just north of Titusville. Jared knew that
time would be saved by staying in the Atlantic, but Jenny still didn’t have her sea legs even though she seemed to be tolerating it much better. She hadn’t thrown up for two days now. They kept up a brutal pace. Time was critical. If they were discovered at sea, it would all be over. They would be dead.

  They spent the night at a Mom and Pop marina at Sebastian Inlet near Melbourne. It was relaxing to get away from the heavy regimentation of large marinas. As Jenny was examining one of the nautical charts, she noticed that the Bahamas weren’t that far away. She had never been to the Bahamas and thought it would be nice. Jared reminded her that visiting a foreign port could complicate matters with the Coast Guard and foreign customs and immigration services. She didn’t bring it up again.

  On the fifth day they went into Biscayne Bay and sailed west of the keys, arriving in Naples on Florida’s west coast. Jared found another small marina on Barron River and refueled and restocked the boat. The next leg would be across the Gulf of Mexico. The route would depend on the weather.

  Their conversations over the past six days were perfunctory. The words were sparing. They were both cordial and even friendly at times, but the warmth and closeness were gone. Now that the temperature was in the 80s, Jenny spent an hour each day, some days more, sunning on the foredeck. Sometimes she was topless but she was never completely nude. Jared would find an excuse to go to the cabin to work. The discomfort for both was palpable. Jared sunned himself on some days to help his wounds heal, but never when Jenny did. On one occasion when Jenny was tanning, she asked Jared to put sun screen on her back. He did but then retreated to his cabin again. They still slept together, but they hadn’t made love since they left Eagle’s Head. The ocean was in dead calm. There was no wind.

  Rubio was furious. He was a fair and reasonable man. He didn’t blame the pilot. He was angry with himself. He respected Jared’s abilities He is the one who insisted that they not get too close to the boat. That was his mistake. When they finally realized that Jared had moved the firefly to a new boat, it was too late to do much about it. Jared had slipped away. It probably happened in Newport. Rubio didn’t know where to go now. They searched but couldn’t find Jared’s boat. Rubio knew that he had changed its appearance, but knowing that didn’t help much. More importantly, the distances were now too much for a helicopter. Rubio needed to find some other way of finding Jared again.