Sakira

by Robert blanton

  “You need an island,” Catie said. “Then you would know exactly who is supposed to be there and who’s not. And if they stole something, you could stop them from getting it off the island.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Marc mused. “ADI, search for islands with low or no populations that are isolated from any major countries. Okay, we’ll table that for now and come back to it later. Setting up production requires money. At first, I was planning to use the money from Hyperion to start a corporation and raise capital that way. Now I’m worried that will just expose us to compromises. So, I think we keep the core technologies private and just go public with the derivative technologies.”

  “What does that mean?” Catie asked.

  “Yeah, you lost me there, too,” Blake said.

  “Sorry. By core, I mean the batteries and the fuel cells for now. But we design the cars and trucks and take those designs to existing companies or start a new one. We use our control over the core technology to control where the new cars and trucks can be built. That way we can force the wealth to be spread around more equitably, without having to have total control of each company.”

  “That sounds good, but it also sounds like it will take a lot of time,” Blake said.

  “Yes, just to build the manufacturing capacity for the batteries will take hundreds of millions of dollars. If we go too slow, we expose ourselves to industrial espionage for a longer period of time, and could lose control of the technology before we have the impact we want.”

  “So, you need something that will generate a bunch of cash right away,” Blake said.

  “That would be nice, but there just aren’t that many billion-dollar opportunities lying around. And they take years to generate cash,” Marc said with despair. “Look at Google and Facebook and how long it was before they were really worth much.”

  “You need to find a treasure ship,” Catie said.

  “What?” Marc asked. He was shocked at the suggestion. Catie was usually more practical than that.

  “Sure, you have those fighters that can act like submarines,” Catie said. “And you have Hyperion, even if the Navy won’t let you sell it.”

  “That sounds good, but it’s not like there are a bunch of treasure ships lying around just waiting to be discovered,” Marc countered.

  “But they are,” Catie replied. “Just look at the San Jose they found off of Colombia. It’s worth like seventeen-billion dollars, and they just found it; we talked about it in my history class. I checked, and there are dozens of Spanish and Portuguese treasure galleons that were lost between the fifteen hundreds and the late 1850s.”

  “I don’t know,” Marc said, skeptically.

  “ADI, how many sunken treasure galleons are there that haven’t been discovered?” Catie asked, determined to prove her point.

  “The records show many ships that were lost at sea. It is not possible to determine how many actually sank versus were captured by pirates or had their crews mutiny,” ADI said.

  “Pooh,” Catie said.

  “So, you can’t tell us how many ships are sitting on the bottom of the sea waiting to be discovered?” Marc asked.

  “I can do that. There are eight ships sitting on the bottom of the sea in relatively intact states. There are twenty-four others that are in a close debris field that can be identified as one ship,” ADI said.

  “What?” Catie squeaked.

  “How do you know that?” Blake asked.

  “When we arrived here, the captain of the Sakira had the crew do a complete survey of your planet. That survey included a detailed mapping of the ocean floor,” ADI said.

  “Where are these ships located?” Marc asked. “Are any in international waters?”

  “Which ships?” ADI asked.

  “The ones that are intact,” Marc replied.

  “The eight ships are in international waters,” ADI responded. “Four are Spanish galleons, one is Portuguese, two you would identify as Viking, and one is a U.S. warship and the other a British warship.”

  “Tell us about the Spanish and Portuguese,” Marc said.

  “There are two Spanish galleons about two hundred miles southeast of Bermuda. They are in very deep water, so there has been no continued damage from storms or marine life. There is another one that is one hundred miles east of Cancun Mexico, in the Gulf of Mexico. Las Cinque Chagas is three hundred twenty miles northeast of the Azores; it is also in deep water. And one Spanish galleon east of the Philippines. I have the coordinates if you require them.”

  “Whoa, Manna from heaven,” Blake exclaimed.

  “Well it looks like we’re going to become treasure hunters,” Marc said. He looked at his daughter, who was just beaming. “Blake, we’ll need to extend the lease on Willie. Do you think your guy would be up to doing some treasure hunting?”

  “You bet he will. This is even more exciting.”

  “We’ll probably need two guys, divers.”

  “I’m not sure my guy’s a diver,” Blake said. “He lost both legs in Iraq.”

  Marc grimaced. “Get him anyway. Maybe we’ll come up with a third that dives. Just trying to keep the circle small.”

  All this time, Catie had been squirming, wanting to interject. She jumped into the pause between Marc and Blake. “But we’re not going to be hunting. ADI knows where the ships are.”

  “But we have to look like we’re hunting,” Marc said. “We can’t just march in and say we found some treasure ships when we’ve never even been looking for them.”

  “Oh!”

  “And we’ll need to recover them,” Marc added.

  “I see,” Catie said.

  “Where do you want me to ship the Mea Huli and when?” Blake asked.

  “Let’s go with Antigua, we don’t want to tip our hand. When is the last cruise you have booked?”

  “Grrr, I’ll have to check. I know I have one over the fourth, but after that, I’ll have to check with Macie. We don’t usually get booked too far in advance. In fact, why don’t I try out my new phone.”

  Blake called Macie while Catie and Marc sat waiting impatiently. When he hung up the phone, they both asked, “Well?”

  “She confirmed the booking for the fourth, and said they had a tentative one for August eighth,” Blake said. “I asked her to try and cancel it without costing too much and explained that we were going to move the Mea Huli to the Caribbean.”

  “And?” Marc asked.

  “Well, she’s not too happy about us moving to the Caribbean,” Blake said. “She hates the idea of losing the commission.”

  “Oh well,” Marc said. “Now, are we going to do some diving?”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  They spent the rest of the day diving around Molokini. When they were tired, they cruised to Molokai and had dinner at Paddlers. The next day they cruised by the North Shore Sea Cliffs as they made their way back to Honolulu. Blake needed to get the boat ready for what he hoped was his last charter. Catie agreed to crew for him.

  Once Catie was off on the cruise with Blake, Marc made the call he had been dreading.

  “Dr. McCormack, please; tell her it’s Marc calling.”

  It was only one-minute before his ex-wife came on the line. Marc had been expecting to be on hold for at least five minutes.

  “Marc, is there a problem with Catie?” Dr. McCormack gasped.

  “Sorry, Linda, I didn’t think. Catie’s fine.”

  “Oh good, you scared me. What do you need?”

  “I need to talk about Catie. I have a change in business plans and need to move to the Caribbean in a few weeks.”

  “What? Are you sending Catie home?”

  “You tell me. I can hang out in Hawaii for another three or four weeks, but I’d rather head out sooner. I’m not sure how you feel about me taking Catie out of the country.”

  “Oh!” She sounded relieved to Marc.

  “What do you think? We would be in Florida, Antigua, maybe a trip to Bermuda.”

  “We
need to talk,” Linda said. “Where is Catie?”

  “She’s out with Blake on a charter,” Marc replied.

  “Okay. I can clear my calendar at three, can you call me back then?”

  “Sure.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Marc called back at three, twelve o’clock Hawaiian time. Linda came on the line right away. “Hey, sorry about having to make you call back,” she said.

  “No worry, I know what a doctor’s schedule is like,” Marc replied.

  “Thanks for being understanding. How is Catie doing?”

  “She’s only been here two-and-a-half weeks, but she seems to be loving it. We taught her how to scuba dive; she’s a natural.”

  “That’s good. How are the two of you getting along?”

  “Fine. Has she complained?”

  “No, not that. She seems genuinely happy,” Linda said.

  “Oh good. You had me worried.”

  “Sorry. The point is, I was wondering if you would consider keeping her full time,” Linda said with a little sob.

  “What, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You wouldn’t be talking about giving up your daughter if nothing was wrong.”

  “I’m not giving her up. She would still come visit; we’d just switch roles.”

  “Why?”

  “You know my problem.”

  “The depression.”

  “Yes. It’s not getting better, and I don’t think Catie is happy here. She sounds so much happier when I talk to her on the telephone now. I think it would be better for her.”

  “You do realize she’s on vacation, it would only be natural for her to be happier.”

  “I know. But if you don’t want to keep her, I’ll understand.”

  “That’s not it. I’d love to have her. I just want to make sure you’re sure.”

  “I am. We can revisit it every year. When I get better, she may want to stay with me.”

  Marc could tell Linda was crying. “This is a big sacrifice for you.”

  “It’s for Catie.”

  “Would you be okay if I homeschooled her?” Marc asked. “It would make things easier and keep her busier. She has never done well with long breaks.”

  “What about other kids?” Linda asked.

  “I could get her involved in some sports and activities, so she socializes. She never seems to have friends from school anyway.”

  “That’s right,” Linda said. “So, you’ll keep her?”

  “Of course, for as long as you need me to.”

  “Thanks. I’ll have my lawyer draw up the necessary paperwork. But do what you need to. I don’t have a problem with her traveling outside the U.S.. It’ll be a good experience for her.”

  “Do you want to tell her, or should I?” Marc asked.

  “Would you tell her?” Linda said. “Make sure she knows how much I love her.”

  “I will, but why don’t we wait for a bit. I think it would be better if Catie were asking to stay.”

  “Do you think she will?”

  “She’s pretty excited about the things we’re doing. So, it’s a good possibility,” Marc said. “And then you wouldn’t have to be the one giving her up.”

  “I’d like that. Bye,” Linda sobbed as she hung up the phone.

  “What else can make my life more interesting?” Marc thought.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  On Sunday at 10:00, Blake made his way to the Kealoha bar. It was quite a ways inland and mainly catered to locals. Blake liked it because you rarely saw a tourist in the area. It made for a nice break from the harbor where all the bars and restaurants close by mainly catered to tourists. Besides, he liked the bartender Kal. He’d met him in the waiting room at the VA.

  “Hey, Jarhead!” Blake called out as he entered the bar.

  “Hey, we don’t serve swabbies in here, they can’t hold their liquor,” the bartender hollered back.

  “Bring me a drink, and I’ll show you who can hold their liquor,” Blake shot back. “Make it a double.”

  “Kind of early for you to be hitting the booze already?”

  “I just finished a four-day cruise with a bunch of self-entitled rich people. I really need that drink.”

  “Give me a break. You spend most of your time on the bridge, and you can’t convince me that sailing around on the pleasure palace you call a yacht is hardship duty.”

  “Maybe not hardship, but it can drive a man to drink,” Blake said, as he shook Kal’s hand. “Haven’t seen you for a few weeks, how’s it going?”

  “I’m doing okay for a Hawaiian who can’t surf,” Kal said. “My friends take me out kayaking once in a while.”

  “Sounds nice,” Blake said. “What would you think about signing on with Marc and me?”

  “Doing what?”

  “Driving the boat, providing security, some other stuff we can’t talk about yet.”

  “Nothing illegal?”

  “We might stray into the gray area a bit, but nothing illegal, no smuggling, no drugs or anything like that. We just feel we need a few more people we can trust.”

  “I don’t know, not sure I could handle being around a bunch of self-entitled rich people, much less waiting on them.”

  “I’ve done my last charter. We’re moving onto bigger things. You interested?”

  “Sure, what would it pay?”

  “You’ll live on board mostly, that’s free. If we need you to be ashore, we’ll cover cost. Pay is one thousand dollars per week. If we hit something really good, a small share of the profits.”

  “Are there likely to be profits?”

  “I’m definitely counting on it.”

  “How much might I wind up with?”

  “I can’t promise you anything. We could come up bust, but if things work out, you could own this bar.”

  “I don’t want to own a bar,” Kal said.

  “Well, spend the money on something else. Upside, you’ll be set for life, downside, you’ll have fun sailing around the Caribbean.”

  “You’re heading to the Caribbean?”

  “Yeah, and probably some time off of Portugal, maybe the Mediterranean.”

  “That would be nice. I’d sure like to be able to spend more of my time on the water.”

  “Think about it.”

  “I’ve thought about it, I’m in,” Kal said. “I’m tired of serving drunks like you.”

  “Hey, you would be working for me, so you’ll still have to get me a beer now and again,” Blake laughed. “But of course, you’d be able to get one for yourself, too.”

  “Sounds good. When do I start?”

  “We’re shipping the boat to the Caribbean on Thursday. It takes three weeks to get to Antigua ...”

  “Antigua, now you’re talking!”

  “Yeah. We’ll definitely need you in three weeks, with travel and prep. So, give your notice and start any time after two weeks from tomorrow.”

  “Great.”

  “We need at least one other guy. Someone who can dive and can handle security like you. Someone you’d trust with your life.”

  “Does it need to be a guy?”

  “As long as she’s good with a gun, I guess it doesn’t matter.”

  “I have someone in mind. She comes here once in a while. I knew her back in Iraq. But she has a little baggage you need to know about.”

  “PTSD?”

  “I don’t think so. She was a chopper pilot; she’s doing island tours now. But she was raped back in Iraq.”

  “That really sucks, but if there’s not PTSD, why would that matter?”

  “Well, the three guys who raped her turned up dead.”

  “Good for her. She didn’t trust the brass to take care of it?”

  “No, she started out that way. She reported it, they held an article thirty-two hearing, but found there wasn’t enough evidence.”

  “How’s that? Did she wait too long to report it?”

  “No, she went to the hospital an
d got the rape kit done right away, reported it to her CO.”

  “So why did he let the guys off?”

  “She and a friend were out drinking. The bartender brought over a couple of drinks; said they were from the guys at the end of the bar. The two of them were already feeling pretty good, but hey, free drinks. Liz, my friend, says she thinks the drinks were roofied. Her friend drank her drink, and most of Liz’s too. Later, she went to the head but never came back. Apparently, she passed out. They found her later, and some nice lieutenant walked her back to her room. So, Liz wasn’t all that much out of it when the guys offered to walk her home. They led her to a secluded area and well …”

  “Didn’t they find the roofie in her system?”

  “Just a trace. Anyway, the CO said she was drunk, and he couldn’t rely on her testimony. Threw the case out.”

  “So, the guys show up dead sometime later. Did she do it?”

  “I’m pretty sure she did, she’s like a fourth-level black belt in Krav Maga, but everything pointed to ISIS. They were cut up pretty bad.”

  “She didn’t shoot them?”

  “No, just used a knife, all three at the same time. There wasn’t anything that pointed to her, so they didn’t pursue it. But it tanked her career. She missed the next two promotion boards and had to leave.”

  “How did she wind up in Hawaii?”

  “She’s staying with her parents while she gets established. Her dad’s Navy and he’s stationed here. He just left on deployment last month.”

  “She sounds like my kind of girl,” Blake said, “but Marc has his daughter with him, so I’d better check with him. I think he’ll be okay with it, but better safe than sorry. I’ll check with him tonight and let you know.”

  “Good.”

  “Here are a couple of our cards. If you know or hear of someone else, we might be willing to swing a third.”

  “Got it. She’s usually in here on Tuesday with a girlfriend. Give me the word by tomorrow, and I’ll talk to her and let you know.”

  That night Blake checked with Marc. Marc was fine with Liz, so Blake texted Kal later that night to let him know that it was okay to speak to her about the job.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  That night Marc listened to the next message.

  Message-4:

  “Captain, I hope things are going well for you now. I wanted to make sure you had a chance to internalize everything. The most important thing to realize is that although the DI is not malicious or particularly self-aware, it does have protocols that it must follow. You need to be careful in how you interact with it to avoid triggering a protocol that requires it to contact my homeworld, or worse yet, issue a self-destruct for the ship. You can ask it about the protocols and even what will trigger them, but it is complex, so there are no perfect answers.