Chapter Nineteen
Destination International
The old fishing trolley chugged relentlessly out to sea. It was underway at the maximum speed it could muster, which wasn’t very much. No doubt its former owner would replace her with a more seaworthy vessel that is if he didn’t spend his bag of gold on vodka, women and song first.
They would be out of nationally controlled waters soon and into international waters. That wouldn’t mean much to the forces in these areas though, if they chose to investigate and catch us. I was hoping that it wouldn’t come to that, but I couldn’t dismiss the radio hailing that had been going on for the past half hour. Someone out there wanted to know what we were up to and they were asking it in Russian.
I glanced at the green flashing indicator beacon light on my wristwatch. Things would be okay. They just had to be after all the ordeal that we’d already come through. I hadn’t alerted the couple laying out on the moonlit deck lost in each other’s arms kissing each other’s face off, as to the imminent problem we might be facing. They’d had enough distractions already in their young life together, without adding a new fear to the mix.
Relief shot through me as my watch spoke, “Come in Shalako, Mother Goose calling.”
“Read you loud and clear Mother Goose!”
“Are you aware of possible bogey in pursuit?”
“Yes, let’s make this a hole in one.”
“Affirmative, the Eagle is landing.”
I shook my head at the man’s brashness of wordology on the other end of the radio.
The seaplane I had just recently noticed began to bank around and lose altitude and I adjusted the navigation of the fishing trolley to compensate. I saw the plane touch down in the distance, as the moon highlighted the kicked up waves, of its landing. I didn’t have to go far though before I caught the darker shadow of a fast approaching pontoon boat. I began to slow the fishing trolley down to a stop.
The pontoon pulled alongside, as the ship’s radio crackled with harsh activity. Trent handed Deshavi down into the boat and then followed. I slipped over the ship’s side and landed in the boat a little unsteadily. A strong hand steadied me and I thanked the man, who it belonged to.
“Can’t be losing you now after all you’ve come through!” The hand’s owner said.
In the moonlit darkness I saw a hand outstretched toward me and I gave it a firm shake with my own.
“The names Flint and it is an honor to finally meet you Sir.”
I glanced at the man more closely in the semi darkness. So this was the man that Chantry had brought in to serve as my replacement, when at the time he had been nothing but a teenager. An extremely capable teenager. I hadn’t thought Chantry would send someone so important for a pickup errand. It would appear that I had underestimated my old friend yet again.
“The honor is mine.” I responded softly, as the pontoon boat pulled alongside of the shiny seaplane.
I was in for another surprise as I stepped inside of the luxurious interior of the plane. Chantry held up a glass of wine with a genial smile of welcome, “I knew you could do it old friend! If anyone could it would be you!”
I sat down heavily beside him and I took the wine glass from him. “I do recall you having a few doubts, as to the success of our endeavor.”
He waved a hand through the air dismissively, “Glad to be proven wrong!”
As Trent and Deshavi sat down across from me and Chantry the plane began to move forward. We talked for a while after takeoff, but general weariness coupled with the peace of being free on good terms soon had my eyes closing.
Chantry did his best to sleep, but sleep rarely came to him anymore. He wasn’t the only one, who was sleepless it would seem. Shalako’s enchanting granddaughter sat wide-awake, with her love’s head resting on her shoulder. Her own head rested over against his in a way that only people, who love each other, would do. Her hands were endlessly massaging the big hand that lay in her lap.
It was a touching sight and well worth every penny of the several million dollars that Chantry had spent to help this mission become a success. She noticed him gazing at her in the darkened cabin and her head straightened.
“Oh no, my dear don’t stir on my account! I’m just an old man that can’t sleep anymore.” He said softly.
Her face was hard to read just as her grandfathers was at times. “May I ask a question of you Sir?”
“Certainly!” Chantry said quickly in response.
“Why?” She asked.
Now that was a big question, Chantry reflected to himself.
“I’d like to think that I would’ve done anything that was needed to rescue anyone, in such a circumstance, as yours my dear. But the truth is I would never have risked the lives of two of my operatives the way your grandfather and Trent did for you. It was little enough to enable them and give the mission the best possible chance with the funding that is available to me. I gave the chances at success to your grandfather at less than ten percent, but he wouldn’t hear it. He was going to save you and that was that and look where we are now. We are living in the moment of prayer’s result, which no mission percentage rate can ever quantify. This mission truly has been a miracle in all aspects and you are very lucky girl to have these two men on your side!”
Deshavi nodded before asking, “What did my grandfather do with you when he was younger?”
Chantry chuckled softly, “Oh, I suppose you could say, a lot of crazy type things like he just did, only then he was younger, but he can still get it done apparently. Gives me continued hope for myself in my advanced years.”
Silence reigned for a little while in the darkened cabin and Chantry decided to volunteer something about Shalako that he knew Shalako would never speak of himself. He just wasn’t the type to brag.
“I do many things for those who ask something of me, but I give out very few favors. Your grandfather has the most favors of anyone I’ve ever dealt with, at two. He redeemed one of them in order to gain my help. He didn’t need to, but he insisted it be considered as such. That favor he redeemed was hard earned. In effect, your grandfather saved the entire world from nuclear war once. The world was never going to give him credit for what he helped to avert so I decided that I would at least in a small way offer my own appreciation.”
Deshavi’s eyes had grown large at the mention of nuclear war, but Chantry doubted that she could appreciate her grandfather any more than she already did. Everyone on the planet should know and appreciate what Shalako had done for them. Since that wasn’t possible, at the very least his granddaughter should know.
“What was the other favor for?”
Chantry seemed to stare off into the distance as he answered, “After my wife died I became very low and your grandfather talked me out of blowing my brains out, when few could have.”
Chantry glanced over at the sleeping Shalako, “He is as good a friend to have, as any I have ever had.”