by Mark Nolan
Sarah shrugged and put on the headphones. When she was with Jake she just never knew what might happen next.
McKay made sure that Sarah was wearing the headphones and then she said, “Jake, the President wants to talk to you on a conference call about a possible job offer for you.”
“With all due respect to you and President Kaufman, whatever this is about, it’s going to have to wait until tomorrow.”
“I’m in charge of this operation, and it’s not over until I say it is.”
“It might not be over for you, but it’s over for me,” Jake said. “I did my job and I buried my knife in Zhukov’s heart. I almost died doing it too. So I’m taking tonight off for a date with Sarah Chance, whether you like it or not.”
“That reminds me, they haven’t found Zhukov’s body so there is no proof of his death. Chet Brinkter said he’s not going to pay you the balance of the money he owes you.”
Jake shook his head. “Brinkter the sphincter can sit on it and light it. I didn’t do it for the money anyway. When I tried to make him pay me money, it was just to make him pay me respect.”
“The President respects you and he wants to talk. This is top secret. It’s an offer he doesn’t make lightly.”
“He can propose it to me top-secretly and non-lightly tomorrow. Tell the President that I’m still disoriented from getting hit on the head and nearly drowning. Tomorrow I’ll be awake and alert, full of coffee, and hopefully relaxed from a night of amazing sex with a very special woman. Then I’ll be able to converse somewhat intelligently with the current temporary leader of the free world, who will soon be forgotten by the people who elected him.”
McKay just stared at Jake for a moment. Nobody ever said no to the president, let alone gave him a line of smart aleck BS. She’d traveled all the way from Washington DC for this meeting. This guy was a real wild card. “You can’t be serious.”
“After you’ve died and come back to life, you don’t worry so much about meetings and memos and what other people might think you should do,” Jake said. “Not that I ever worried much about that stuff in the first place.”
“You’d turn down a meeting with the president, just to take a boat out on the water with your girlfriend and your dog?”
“Yes, any day of the week.”
Cody barked once and nodded his head and panted Ha-Ha-Ha.
“Why do I get the feeling I should make that dog wear headphones too?” McKay said.
“Don’t worry, Cody won’t tell anyone what you say here, will you boy?”
Cody barked twice, and McKay could have sworn that he shook his head from side to side.
“Do you give me your word you’ll meet with me tomorrow and have a teleconference with the president?”
“Yes, we’ll do lunch at a great place I know. We’ll have hot toasted crab sandwiches on sourdough bread, along with cold pints of Flying Cloud San Francisco Stout. You’re buying.”
They were nearing the Bonita Yacht Harbor. The drone was still following them. It was high up in the sky and not visible to an untrained observer. The drone was armed with a pair of 12-gauge, double ought shotgun shells. When the two shells were fired simultaneously, they’d create a cloud of 18 projectiles that would spread out in a wide pattern and be almost impossible for the target to dodge or to survive.
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McKay gave Jake his phone. Jake saw that there were a lot of missed text messages and calls. “Sorry but I need to check this.”
McKay nodded and checked her phone too.
Jake’s boss had sent a text saying that he was fired from his job as a photojournalist. No problem, that was fine. Hopefully, the buffalo head prank would work out as planned. Jake’s only regret was that he’d lost his job without kicking his boss in the crotch. That seemed like a missed opportunity. The next time he got fired, he was going to get his money’s worth.
There were plenty of angry texts from Gwen. Now she was claiming that she was pregnant with his baby. Jake had a feeling that Gwen was lying. He thought about how he’d always made sure that she took her birth control pill every day. Except for that time she’d traveled alone to the Caribbean for a swimwear photo shoot. His guess was that during her travels she’d forgotten to take her pills, and had cheated on him with one of the ridiculously handsome male models.
He texted Gwen and tested his theory: I’m sorry Gwen but the baby can’t be mine. I had a vasectomy before we met. I guess you cheated on me and had an affair. We both had our secrets, but congratulations and best wishes to you and the father.
Jake didn’t want to be cold hearted, but after everything Gwen had done to him, he was simply fighting fire with fire.
Gwen texted back and cursed at him for not telling her about his vasectomy. But she didn’t deny having an affair. Jake’s hunch had proven correct. He’d never actually had a vasectomy, but by playing the trick on Gwen, he’d discovered her unfaithfulness.
Jake received a text from his attorney, Bart Bartholomew. The text said that a judge had dismissed Gwen’s restraining order against Jake. Bart had also filed a restraining order against Gwen. He’d negotiated a deal that made Gwen go into drug and alcohol rehab, for her own good. SFPD officer Denton had been charged with multiple felonies, and she was being held without bail until her trial. If convicted of all charges, Denton could be sentenced to dozens of years in prison. A sum of $50,000 had shown up in Jake’s name from a mysterious corporation in Virginia. However, nothing had been paid to Sarah by the FBI.
After Jake’s near-death experience, money didn’t seem all that important to him. He sent a text and told Bart to give the 50K to Sarah and tell her it was the FBI reward that she’d previously been denied.
Bart texted back and asked Jake about his dream of opening a winery. Jake replied that Sarah had a dream too, about running a veterinary clinic. She brought me back from the dead.Let’s work on one dream at a time—Sarah’s dream first.
Jake also asked Bart to file an appeal in Sarah’s lawsuit. Keep the recently deceased Max Vidallen’s law firm busy, and prevent them from collecting from Sarah. Look for a way to win the appeal and overturn the verdict.
McKay put her phone down and said, “That was Congressman Anderson. He asked me to give you his thanks and to tell you that he and Katherine now consider you a friend of the family. You’re always welcome at their house.”
“I’m glad I was able to help them.”
“Do you realize what that means? If Daniel wins the presidential election, the house you will always be welcome at will be the White House.”
“I don’t care about the White House, but please tell me Katherine and her baby are doing well.”
“The baby is doing fine, but I’m sorry to say that Katherine has breast cancer and will begin treatment soon. If she becomes the next First Lady, she’ll begin her term in DC with a bald head and a newborn baby.”
“She’s a strong person. My bet is she and the baby will come through this okay.”
“Jake, I also want you to know that you were instrumental in putting a stop to a conspiracy.”
“What was Zhukov planning? Why was he trying to stop Congressman Anderson from going to Washington?”
“To prevent him from voting on a bipartisan bill that would authorize appropriations for biomedical research.”
“Why would that be important to an assassin?”
“This bill had a little-known rider added to it. An additional provision regarding funding for a university scientist who found a mouse that is immune to cancer. When the white blood cells from that mouse are injected into other mice, they become immune too.”
“If that could be duplicated in humans, we’d have a world without cancer.”
“Yes and the vote was to determine whether or not to award government research grants for the project. Zhukov was paid to make sure the bill for funding did not pass. But thanks to the Secret Service and our friends in law enforcement, Daniel was able to vote and sway other voters. The
bill passed in spite of Zhukov and his employers.”
“A potential cure for cancer could be worth billions. Wouldn’t Zhukov’s masters want to profit from that somehow?”
“Yes, but the cure is so promising that the scientist is keeping his company private, to avoid the stock market and all of the compromises that come with it.”
“That might not sit well with the elite, who want their fingers in every pie.”
“Once this treatment is proven successful, their lucrative cash flow from the current science would drop overnight,” McKay said. “So their plan was to put a stop to the progress of the new medical science, protect their investments in the competing companies, and continue to earn windfall profits.”
“Meanwhile, thousands of people would die because the cure was sabotaged.”
“Many of the people affected would’ve been children. The potential new treatment is very promising for child cancers.”
Jake frowned. “Were any of the drug manufacturers involved in this?”
“No the corporations that manufacture the various treatments currently in use were not aware of this new competitor on the horizon.”
“I admire Daniel for putting himself in danger so those children will have a chance to live.”
“You should be proud of yourself too Jake. You probably helped to save the lives of an untold number of child cancer patients for years to come.”
Jake thought about this as they drove. He was reminded of the times he used to take his dog Gracie to visit the child cancer patients at the hospital. He decided that when he had the meeting with the President, he’d give his full attention to whatever it was that the man wanted to talk about.
Easton drove the Suburban into the parking lot at the Bonita Yacht Harbor and stopped near the docks. Jake, Sarah and Cody got out and walked down Dock A to Slip A-37.
They boarded the Far Niente, and Jake opened two bottles of Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale for himself and Sarah. He poured bowls of food and water for Cody. Sarah went to use the head.
When Jake was alone and had a moment of quiet, he suddenly felt a strange sensation come over him. He got goosebumps on his skin and heard an odd little song in his head. It reminded him of something he’d read about. How people with epilepsy may sometimes hear music right before the onset of a seizure.
Jake went out onto the aft deck of the Far Niente and looked around the marina. He didn’t see any threat, but he felt that something was wrong. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He seemed to smell danger, if that was even possible. He could only guess that he might be experiencing some kind of new phenomenon related to his recent near-death experience.
Cody ran up and stood by Jake’s side, then growled and showed his teeth. The hair on the back of Cody’s neck was bristling.
“What is it Cody, what’s wrong here?”
Cody started barking, and he ran to the lines that held the Far Niente tied to the dock. He pulled on one of the ropes with his teeth.
Jake decided to trust his gut instincts, and trust Cody’s attempt to warn him. He untied the cleat hitch knots, and freed the lines so the boat could leave the dock. Cody suddenly alerted and looked up above them as if he was looking at a bird. Jake followed his gaze and he saw it too. A flying object in the sky that was getting closer. It looked like a drone and it was coming straight at the boat, and coming fast.
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Cody started barking and running back and forth. Jake opened a cabinet and took out a pump shotgun with a Salvo 12 suppressor attached. His weapon had a long barrel and a choke set for maximum distance. A quadcopter drone came into range, and Jake opened fire. He shot it out of the sky, the way a hunter would shoot a duck. The drone fell into the Bay, sank under the water and then exploded, creating a geyser of bubbles.
Jake took the shotgun with him as he ran upstairs to the bridge. He started up the twin engines and cruised out of the harbor and onto the open water of the Bay. Once he’d left the land behind, he felt like a load had been lifted off of his shoulders. He hoped there was only one of those drones, but he continued checking the sky around him, and he kept the shotgun within arm’s reach. He was thinking that Zhukov must have had an accomplice. Or else he’d left behind a surprise with a mind of its own.
The Far Niente sailed along smoothly. Sunshine sparkled on the blue water. Jake got a smile on his face in spite of it all. He was alive, and life was good. Sarah came upstairs and joined him on the bridge. She brought the cold beers with her. Jake heard her coming and he hid the shotgun in a storage cabinet. He didn’t mention the drone to her. He only said that that he’d felt like getting away from it all. After a pleasant cruise he set anchor in a quiet spot he knew of, and they went downstairs to the galley.
Jake found some spaghetti sauce in the freezer that was from Amborgetti’s Restaurant. He threw together an easy dinner of pasta and salad. He opened an amazing wine to go along with the humble meal. An aged vintage bottle of Château Margaux red blend from Bordeaux, France. Jake knew he could probably sell the bottle for over a thousand dollars, but Dylan had said to enjoy his wine collection, and Jake was going to do just that. When Sarah tasted the wine, her eyes opened wide and she looked at the bottle in wonder. She’d never tasted anything quite like it before. It tasted like bottled poetry.
After dinner, they sat on the couch and Jake dimmed the lights. He played a slow version of the song Free Falling on his Seagull, cedar-top, acoustic guitar. While Jake played the guitar and sang, Sarah got comfortable. She kicked off her shoes, took off her glasses and removed the band holding her ponytail, so her hair fell loose about her shoulders. She felt totally relaxed and free on this boat out on the water, sipping fine wine and listening to live music played by the man she was falling for.
Cody’s nose smelled plenty of pheromones in the room. He could understand where this situation was going. He went out through the open sliding glass door and sat on the aft deck, sniffing the cool salty air and giving his two favorite people their privacy.
Jake finished playing the song and he set the guitar on the coffee table, then put his hand possessively on Sarah’s thigh.
She gave him an innocent look and said, “Jake, are we ever going to consummate this relationship?”
Jake smiled, and he leaned in for a kiss, and Sarah did too. He kissed her sweet mouth, and she kissed him back and made the urgency of her feelings for him very clear. The setting sun painted pastel colors on the sky and water, far away seagulls called to each other, the boat rocked with the movement of the sea, and the two souls who were destined to be lovers began a slow and romantic seated dance on the couch.
Jake kissed Sarah all over her face—her lips, her cheeks, eyelids, nose, and chin. He then kissed his way down her neck and shoulders. Sarah let herself slide onto her back on the couch. She just enjoyed how Jake’s lips and fingertips traveled all over her body, as he slowly removed one piece of her clothing at a time and lovingly kissed each area of newly exposed skin. Sarah felt like Jake was playing her body the way he’d played the guitar. Coaxing a sweet melody from the musical instrument and making the chords sing with true feeling. Soon she was wearing nothing but white cotton bikini briefs with a whimsical Hello Kitty design.
Sarah whispered, “You missed a spot.”
“Oops,” Jake said, and he kissed her belly button.
“Sorry I’m not wearing sexy panties,” Sarah said.
“That’s okay, I’m not either,” Jake said.
Sarah started giggling, and her tummy bounced up and down against Jake’s lips as he kissed her there.
Jake pulled off Sarah’s last piece of clothing and then his kisses made her head spin like she’d taken a new drug. The feeling grew more urgent and more intense by the minute. Sarah put her arms up over her head and gripped the couch cushion behind her. Her breathing was ragged, and her body rocked, and then she cried out his name. After the stars collided in Sarah’s brain and she came back to Earth, she reached down
and grabbed the hair on top of Jake’s head and pulled him toward her. Her voice was thick with emotion as she spoke only three words.
“Come. Here. Jake.”
The romantic style of lovemaking was over now, and she kissed him hard on the mouth with hunger as she wrapped her arms and legs tightly around him. Jake pinned her down with his muscular body, and they rocked the yacht in a storm of spontaneous combustion that sent waves rippling across the water. Sarah spoke passionate words in French as they made love. Time seemed to go on forever. They each felt as if they had become one entity where two souls connected and joined into something brand new and magical.
After the moon had smiled down on the lovers for some time, and they were spent and exhausted, they curled up in each other’s arms under a throw blanket. In the moonlit waters outside the yacht, small waves splashed against the hull. Fresh salty sea air came through the open sliding door and caressed their warm skin. They held each other close while the yacht gently rocked with the movement of the water. Their breathing slowed, and they fell asleep and dreamed of a future and a life together… until they were old and gray-haired and spending their time sailing the Far Niente in warm blue waters and visiting tropical islands.
Shooting stars flew overhead and burned glowing trails across the night sky as the astral constellations seemed to align and foretell a highly emotional future for Jake and Sarah. But what kind of future it would be was still an open question that only the two of them could answer, together.
EPILOGUE
Early the next morning in San Francisco, the sun sparkled on the water of the bay. An ocean breeze drifted across the city, carrying with it the familiar aromas of freshly baked sourdough bread from local bakeries, and gourmet coffees being brewed at endless neighborhood coffee shops.
At Aquatic Park, the urban beach park across the street from Ghirardelli Square, people were walking and jogging on the promenade, doing yoga on the grass, and tossing flying discs to their dogs on the beach. Tourist couples were taking photos with selfie sticks. And several people were sitting and drinking cups of sea salt caramel mocha lattes they’d purchased at the nearby Ghirardelli Chocolate Company.