The Arcturus Man

by John Strauchs

  He climbed on board and pulled out a cutting board. He cleaned and filleted the pompano. He went into the galley and pulled out a large cast iron frying pan. He melted some butter, added some Tabasco, and fried the fillets with just a little salt and pepper. Jenny had already made reds beans and rice. She browned bread crumbs in butter and poured the mixture over the beans and rice. She remembered that Jared’s mother made green beans that way, albeit these were red beans. Jared smiled when he saw her creative cooking as he set the table for dinner. It was a nice dinner.

  “Jenny, have you noticed that the lights are always on in the closet?” asked Jared.

  “Yes, I couldn’t find a switch,” she said.

  “Don’t ever turn them off, like unscrewing them.”

  “Why in the world not?”

  “That is a hot closet. As we get deeper into the tropics, everything will begin to mold. Anything made of leather will turn green. The 100 watt bulbs are just enough to keep the heat high enough to ward off molding, at least some of it.”

  “That is incredible. Sure, I’ll keep the lights on,” she said.

  “Why don’t you call your mother? You promised.” The sudden change in topics caught her off guard.

  “Good idea.” She reached for the cell phone.

  “There are no cell towers out here. Use the marine phone. We’re in range.”

  “Are you sure it is OK?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said.

  “You’re drawing them here, aren’t you?”

  Jared didn’t say anything. She hated that.

  “One more thing. I’ve been thinking for quite some time whether I should tell you.”

  “Tell me what?” she asked.

  “You need to talk to Krissy. She’s pregnant.”

  “That is not funny, Jared.”

  “It isn’t meant to be funny. It is the truth.”

  “Are you trying to tell me that my sister is expecting and that I’m not the first to know?”

  “Yes, exactly. I picked it up when we were having dinner at Mary Chung’s. At that time she didn’t know. Later, when I was helping her with her computer programming assignment, I sensed it again. She was thinking about an abortion. I know how strongly you feel about it being wrong. She is ashamed to talk to you about it because you will try to talk her out of it.”

  Jenny was dumbstruck. She sat down and tried to understand it all. She couldn’t grasp the enormity of it. Jared said nothing. He waited patiently for her.

  “I need to talk to her,” said Jenny.

  “Of course,” said Jared.

  He handed her the marine phone. She took it up on deck so she could have some privacy. She talked for a long time. She didn’t call her mother. She couldn’t. She just couldn’t.

  She was being asked to carry more than she could bear. She loved a man who was often distant from her, who could be very mean at times, and who liked kinky sex. She was thousands of miles away from her family. She missed Christmas with her family. She never missed Christmas with her family. And for all she knew, she was a fugitive from the law. People wanted to kill Jared and probably her as well. And now she was miles away when her sister needed her the most. She went back into the cabin, sat on the bed, and quietly sobbed. It was more than she could bear.

  Jared didn’t follow her even though he wanted to. She needed time for herself. Jared understood time. Time wasn’t on Jared’s side. He knew that clearly. They could be here in hours. Time definitely wasn’t on his side.

  Langley, Virginia

  Franklin Reisinger leapt fuming out of his chair. He spun the chair and grabbed the cushioned back, lifting the chair several inches. He banged it hard on the floor several times. The back still wouldn’t tilt. It was locked in a stiff, upright position.

  “How in the Hell did this happen again?” He thought. He dropped to his hands and knees and studied the mechanism underneath the seat. He twisted a knob but that didn’t seem to help. He pulled on the lever on the right side and the chair popped up, but still it wouldn’t swivel. He yanked on the lever. Finally, it released and back-tilted like it was supposed to.

  “Why don’t they put instructions on this fucking crap,” he muttered. He stood and walked over to a large walnut, hand-carved credenza and pulled out the top drawer. He grabbed a pack of Marlboros and tapped out a cigarette. He lit it and took a deep drag. CIA headquarters was a non-smoking facility, as were all government buildings, but who was going to challenge him. The regular windows couldn’t be opened. His window, however, could be opened. He had it specially installed. It cost American tax payers $7,200. He opened it a few inches. It was a very cold day and he didn’t like drafts. It was a ceremonial show of consideration for non-smokers. He called it his alibi window, not that anyone would dare complain about his smoking.

  He had a grand view from his corner office on the seventh floor—the floor of the anointed ones. It looked out on the expansive grounds and acres of trees surrounding the complex. Virginia was a beautiful state most of the time but in the winter everything was grey. The bare trees were grey. The sky was grey. Even the people were grey.

  He kept his office in the old building. Thank God his office didn’t open on the maze of new buildings cobbled together. Some of the connecting corridors were like rat mazes. His building and the igloo in front were as they were when he joined the Agency decades ago. From his window, everything was as it was and as it should be. He was careful about that.

  He heard Wanda’s voice on the intercom. “Mr. Anderson has arrived Mr. Reisinger.”

  John Comfort Anderson burst through the door before Wanda’s announcement ended.

  “Where is he?” asked Anderson, rushing in. He looked panicked.

  “Calm down, John.”

  “I’ll calm down when that damned Latvian is dead. People in Main Justice are beginning to ask about some of my actions.”

  “What kind of questions are they asking? What do they know?” Now Reisinger was getting excited.

  “They don’t know anything but we have to be careful,” said Anderson.

  “You know, we could just forget this whole thing. He’s not that important.”

  “What has gotten into you? Of course he’s important. Why do you think I’m doing all of this.”

  “To be honest, I’ve never been all that clear about why we’re doing any of this, John. Has his name come up yet?” asked Reisinger.

  “No, never. I’ve been very careful.”

  “My God, I hope you’re right.”

  “Don’t blaspheme.”

  “Get off your high horse, John. There’s no one else here.”

  “Jared Siemels is an outrage to God. Surely you don’t have to be convinced of that. Franklin, we’ve been of the same mind about this from the beginning, have we not?” asked Anderson.

  “Not really John. How many times have we gotten rid of people who were a nuisance? I can scare remember. It was always easy and it was always risk free. I feel the same way about this Jared guy. He is a nuisance. Whether he is an abomination to God is really your spin. This time, however, the situation seems to have gotten out of hand. It’s making me nervous John. This thing isn’t risk free—not if people at Justice are getting curious about your religious crusade.”

  “I am controlling the situation. There’s nothing to be concerned about. I had no idea that you didn’t see how vital it was to cut out this cancer. You certainly haven’t talked like this before.”

  “You ever hear of Watergate, John?”

  “This is God’s will.”

  “Cut the crap. We need some real world solutions. Do nothing. I’ll take care of this. Do nothing! Understand?”

  Anderson was distressed. He couldn’t afford to lose Reisinger. He turned away slightly and pressed the sharp cross beneath his shirt deep into his flesh until it hurt. He was failing God and there had to be penitence. There had to be atonement. There had to be penitence.

  “Of course. Of course. I understand
. You have nothing to worry about, Franklin,” said Anderson.

  Reisinger walked over to his window and lit another cigarette.

  Anderson saw that he had to defuse the situation.

  “So, do you know where Siemels is?”

  “Yes, we triangulated his marine phone transmission this afternoon. It lasted long enough that we have a good fix and probably know his direction.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Probably going to Panama. Makes sense. We found a boat registered there under one of his aliases,” said Reisinger.

  “Panama! Isn’t that good news.”

  “Probably! We have some military officials who are willing to help us pick him up. As soon as he enters a port, he’s ours.”

  “Why do you say probably?”

  “If he goes into the Kuna territory, the Panamanians won’t help. They don’t want any problems with the Kuna who basically govern themselves. We have no contacts with the Kuna.”

  “Who are the Kuna?” asked Anderson.

  “They are an indigenous people who live in that region.”

  “So what should we do?”

  “Just sit tight. The Colombians have been sitting in Miami waiting for my call. I made it an hour ago. They’re already on their way to Panama. Hopefully, we can get another fix if he uses the marine or sat phones again.”

  “I’m surprised that he made traceable calls. I thought he was smarter than that,” said Anderson.

  “Yes, that surprised me too. In fact, it worries me.”

  “Why’s that?” asked Anderson.

  “Because he seems to be luring us in. I think he’s planning something.”

  “He’s one man. What could he be planning?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t like not knowing,” said Reisinger. “I am also a tad concerned that the White House is showing some interest in him.”

  “What are you talking about? Who?” asked Anderson.

  “Weller, for one. The President wants Siemels invention; you know the weapons detection thing.”

  “I saw something about that but why would they want to waste their time on another hair-brained contraption. Don’t they have enough already?”

  “The thing might really work.”

  “Nonsense. I received a PS a few days ago from a special agent offering to help to get Siemels to cooperate. He said he didn’t want Siemels to know that he was reaching out to me. I asked my secretary to check into to it. She said it was nothing,”

  “PS?” asked Reisinger.

  “PeopleSoft…it’s our internal messaging system.”

  “You deferred to your secretary to make that judgment?”

  “Of course. I can’t respond to every message I get. I probably get a hundred of the darned things every day.”

  “Who was the special agent?” asked Reisinger.

  “I don’t know who it was. Why do you care?” Anderson shuffled through a stack of papers on the edge of his desk. “Here it is. It was someone named John Cabet.”

  “Cabet? Are you sure? Can I see it?”

  Anderson pushed the memo across his desk.

  “Cabet is an acquaintance of Siemels. That is odd. And he was offering to twist Siemels arm to get him to give up the technical information about the invention?”

  Anderson glanced at the memo briefly. “Yes, it seems so.”

  “I wish you would have told me about this earlier, John. I thought you would keep me informed about any information you get that relates to Siemels,” said Reisinger.

  Anderson saw the growing concern in Reisinger’s eyes. He didn’t want to fan the coals any hotter. It was clear that Reisinger was on the edge. He couldn’t let him go over. There was a lot at stake. He needed Reisinger. Everything could be lost if he loses him. There was a time to be pious and there was a time to be intelligent. If Reisinger couldn’t see that he had to do God’s work, it wasn’t Anderson’s fault. He would pray for him later. He would come around. He had to. He tried to change the subject.

  “I’m the top guy at Justice and I don’t have an office this nice,” said Anderson.

  Anderson opened the door to the private bathroom. He had seen it before, but it was a source of envy every time he visited. It had a dressing area. There were three pressed suits hanging, as well as a dozen white starched shirts. Six pairs of polished shoes were lined up beneath the massive armoire. The shower was immense. He turned back toward Reisinger who continued to stand at the window. He blew his smoke toward the crack in the window but there already was a blue haze in the office. Reisinger was silent.

  “Who did you send out of Miami, this Rubio Matos guy?” asked Anderson.

  “Yes, Rubio.” Reisinger answered without turning around, without looking at Anderson.

  “Can’t we use our own guys? Do we really need this wet back?”

  “Rubio is better than our own guys and we can trust him. He is very intelligent man and he is very efficient, very professional.”

  “He screwed it up in Maine. How professional can he be? Did he even graduate from grammar school?”

  Reisinger spun around and glared at Anderson.

  “We don’t know what happened in Maine. Suffice it to say that we all underestimated Siemels. Present company included. Moreover, Rubio is college educated.”

  Reisinger over-annunciated “present company” included. Anderson struck a nerve again. He didn’t mean to. This wasn’t the time to be critical. He was making things worse. He pressed down on his cross until he couldn’t bear it.

  “Yes, of course we did. I admit it. I should have known. I’m sorry,” said Anderson.

  Reisinger walked over to the door and opened it.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it. I’ll phone you on your private cell when I learn anything new. Stay calm,” said Reisinger.

  Anderson understood that he was being encouraged to leave.

  “I have every confidence in you Franklin. Every confidence. Be assured.”

  He walked out. Reisinger shut the door. Anderson heard the lock click.

  Panama, El Porvenir Early Afternoon

  StarWind arrived in El Porvenir at the northern tip of the San Blas region in Panama. Jared eased the boat up to a rickety wooden dock that ran about 75 feet from the island. El Porvenir is small. There is a single air strip, a two-story control tower, a rustic hotel consisting of thatched huts, some homes, and the Kuna administration building. Idelfonso was waiting at the end of the dock. Jared tied off the boat and helped Jenny climb to the dock.

  Jenny watched Idel as he walked to them. Idel was an elderly man with platinum hair, a dark felt hat, clean white shirt, striped trousers, and flip-flop beach shoes. Despite the flip-flops, he had elegance and an air of nobility in his demeanor and movement. It was evident to Jenny that he was somebody important. Jared had explained that he was the local chief, the Saila. Jared said this title wasn’t really equivalent to chief as we understood it from Native Americans in the United States, but it wasn’t clear to her what it really meant. She knew it was important, however. Jared said that he was the spiritual leader, as well as the political leader.

  She couldn’t guess his age. He had a very dark complexion and a wide nose. She imagined that Christopher Columbus could have met a man like him when he came into the New World. Then she remembered that Jared told her that Columbus was considered to be a criminal by the Kuna people. She understood that part. Idel carried a short wooden stick with what looked like a bullet on one end. That was curious.

  He removed his hat and bowed slightly as Jenny approached.

  “Hello. Hello, Jared, my friend. It is so good to see you again,” said Idel. He embraced Jared but waited to be introduced to Jenny. He did not look at Jenny until Jared began the introduction. Jared once told her that in some cultures looking at another man’s woman could be considered offensive.

  “Idel, this is Jennifer Nilsson,” said Jared.

  Idelfonso looked into Jenny’s eyes and embraced her warmly.


  “I am so pleased to meet you Miss Nilsson. We have been preparing for your arrival. It is wonderful to finally meet you. I am so sad about the difficulties that have followed you,” said Idel.

  Jenny looked to Jared. “You explained our difficulties?”

  “Yes, Idel is a very close friend. I have explained everything. The gracious Kuna have welcomed you and will take care of you while I attend to other matters that cannot be avoided,” said Jared, primarily for the benefit of Idel.

  “Yes, that is true Miss Nilsson, I was…”

  “Please call me Jenny,” she said.

  “But of course, Jenny. As I was saying, we made reservations for you at the Coral Lodge. They have marvelous over-the-water villas and excellent services, but in discussing this with Jared, it was agreed that this may not be the best considering the circumstances. A Kuna family has agreed to welcome you into their home. They live on the Isla La Maqina. It is perhaps a touch primitive and not what you are accustomed to but I assure you that you will be treated as if you were a member of the family and you will be protected while Jared is away,” said Idel.

  “While Jared is away?” repeated Jenny in her mind. She knew he had to leave her behind, but it was happening…it was happening now. It was upsetting to hear it. Idel held Jared’s hand as they walked off the dock. Jenny noticed that Jared allowed it. That was unlike Jared. He didn’t like to be touched by people.

  The three of them walked up the beach to a small restaurant. Like many of the small buildings, it looked like a small hut with a palm thatch roof and bamboo and reed sides. Idel opened the door and held it for them. They sat down.

  “Jenny, I have just a few moments of business to discuss with Jared. Please forgive us,” said Idel.

  Jenny understood. She stood up and began to leave the table area.

  “No, No. That is not necessary. Please remain seated. This will only take a few minutes,” said Idel.