Blue Hope: (Book 2) (Red Hope) Page 20

  Adam got in his Porsche and drove onto the beach-front road that led up to the secluded neighborhood where Keller's house resided. He parked his car and began walking along the beach, enjoying the cool mist from the breaking waves. When he finally reached the last and largest house, he saw the For Sale sign. He dialed the number and arranged to meet the realtor in thirty minutes.

  Adam trudged through the sand back to his car and waited. The realtor showed up and Adam followed her through the huge access gate. He drove past mansion after mansion on the way to the last beach-front property. Keller's Ford Mustang was still parked in front. Sand had begun to pile up in little dunes on the windshield.

  The realtor walked up the spiral front stairway.

  “Follow me, Mr. Alston.”

  His emotions were still raw from the morning’s tabloid nastiness, but spending some money might make him feel better.

  She unlocked the front door and they stepped into pure luxury. Slate floors and vaulted ceilings. Their voices echoed throughout the three-story beach house. The realtor took him on a tour of all of the rooms. When she got to the kitchen, she instinctively opened the refrigerator, looked in, and closed it. She then turned to talk with Adam.

  “It's been on the market for a while now and the price has been reduced to two point five,” the realtor said, casually looking at Adam for a reaction.

  “I can give you two million. And I can wire it immediately.”

  “Well, it's just like any mortgage, Mr. Alston. We'll have to fill out forms and it'll take about a month to close on it.”

  Adam looked pained.

  “Okay,” he said. “It’s a deal. Can I stay here today?”

  “In the house? You want to stay here? That's a bit unusual.”

  “I just want to sit down and rest somewhere nice for a few hours. Please?”

  “Well, okay. You're pretty famous, so I doubt you'll host a rave here. Just lock the doors on the way out. If you need to get back in, the gate access code is 2MURCHMONEY.”

  “Of course it is,” Adam laughed.

  After the realtor left, Adam wandered around the home like visiting the scene of a crime. Each wall had pictures of Keller Murch and his friends and accomplishments. Over the extra-wide mantel was just one photograph — an image of Keller and fellow astronaut Molly Hemphill holding wine glasses together, obviously toasting some great event.

  Sitting on top of a piano was a photo of Keller with his arm around an older man that looked just like him. It was signed “Keller, you’re the best son in the world. Love, Dad.”

  Adam laid down on the big red sofa that sat in front of the panoramic windows overlooking the ocean. He closed his eyes to think about the day. He thought. He drifted. He looked at the windows and the ocean was replaced by a black backdrop with stars everywhere.

  “Adam?” a familiar voice rang out peacefully.

  He sat up, nearly floating off the red sofa. Yeva was standing out on the balcony. Adam walked through the door to the balcony to stand next to Yeva.

  “Look at all those stars,” she said.

  “Yeva, I'm sorry about what happened.”

  She turned her head to look at him.

  “It's okay, Adam. It's all okay.”

  She stared out at the stars again.

  “What should I do?” Adam asked.

  She smiled and then held his hand.

  “You must do what is right.”

  The sound of his cellphone ringing jolted Adam out of his deep sleep. It was still daytime. The ocean still roared outside. The phone rang again. It was the realtor.

  “Mr. Alston? You'll have to leave. Mr. Keller's former assistant is coming by the house to check on it.”

  “Okay, thanks. I had a good nap.”

  The realtor laughed. She had to. She'd just made an enormous commission from Adam.

  “That's great,” she said. “I'll be in touch with the paperwork.”

  Adam walked down the spiral stairs, looking back at the house which he was buying with his hard work. As his Porsche sped down the freeway toward Texas, one thought kept bugging him. Chris Tankovitch's last words were, “The drive home will give you time to ask if downing beers with Wilhelmina all night was worth it.”

  The only problem was that nobody knew her name except Adam.

  CHAPTER 46

  The Island Of Fiji

  On the West side of Fiji is a large marina, home to both small boats and enormous yachts. Many belong to local fishermen, but an influx of tourists keep them all busy, providing food and entertainment in the form of deep sea fishing treks. Normally a destination for postcard beauty, today the entire island sat under an overcast sky with large waves slapping against the beach. The fishermen stayed in the marina.

  Alexis Tankovitch and her assistant Regina walked along the wide boardwalk out amongst the boats. A large white boat sat far away at the very end. As they approached, the four-story boat bobbed up and down. Alexis could just see the name on the side — “Deep SEAK Explorer.”

  “Do you think the water is too choppy?” Regina asked, pulling her hair back under a ballcap.

  Alexis turned toward her.

  “Don’t know. Maybe? The captain said to meet him at three o’clock and they’d make a decision to go or stay in the harbor.”

  They reached the bottom of the gangplank that took them over to the boat. Alexis put one foot onto the heaving gangplank and grabbed the railing.

  “Here we go!” she said with excitement.

  The two of them walked up to the top, but stopped short of stepping onto the boat. Just a few feet away was a man with a dark complexion wearing a white polo shirt and a captains hat. He smiled wide when he saw them.

  “Director Tankovitch, I presume?”

  “Yes, that’s me,” she said with a laugh, “and this is my assistant Regina.”

  Regina waved.

  “Captain Nadino?” asked Alexis.

  “At your service,” he answered, tipping his hat.

  “Permission to board the ship?” Alexis asked.

  “Yes, of course.”

  The captain motioned for them to follow him. He walked up a flight of stairs and across a hallway to a door with “Alexis Tankoffish” written incorrectly on a sign with tape holding it down. Alexis laughed.

  “I’ll have to get the sign fixed. Anyways, this will be your room, feel free to drop off your suitcase. Some of your team arrived a few days ago — they are down by the sub,” the captain explained.

  The two ladies walked into the room and put their suitcases into the cubbies in the walls – the cubbies were tilted to prevent the contents from falling out during rough seas.

  The two women walked back out and closed the door behind them. The captain smiled.

  “Good, now let’s go to the bridge.”

  The walk to the bridge took them up another flight of stairs and through several hallways. Their small talk focused around the technical aspects of the ship. Long gone were the diesel engines – this boat used marine gas turbines set deep in the hull of the ship. The huge quantities of air needed for the engines came in through a byzantine path of intakes all fronted with chevrons to sling any moisture out of the air. As a scientist, Alexis was fascinated.

  Once on the bridge, things were lively. Seven sailors walked around, speaking with each other and checking computer terminals.

  “Do you think we have a good chance to get out to sea tonight?” Alexis asked.

  “Good question…” he trailed off.

  The captain turned to his navigation specialist and spoke with him for a minute. He turned back around.

  “There is a lull expected in the next hour and we can leave then. A huge storm is still over the dive site, so we’ll have to play it by ear.”

  “That’s good news,” Alexis said with anticipation.

  “My crew is just as excited about this as you are, Ms. Tankovitch. We’ll try to get the sub there as soon as possible. Both of our sub crew are prepped and read
y for the dive.”

  “Both?” Alexis asked.

  “Yes, we have two trained engineers that always take the sub down.”

  “I thought it held more than two people?”

  “It can hold three if need be.”

  “That’s good to hear,” she smirked. “I’d like to speak with you about a special favor.”

  The captain laughed, anticipating what she was going to ask.

  “No ma’am, we cannot put you at risk like that.”

  “Are the two engineers in danger?”

  The smile left his face.

  “Ms. Tankovitch, there is always danger when you go down to the bottom of the Tonga Trench. It is the second deepest place on the planet, just short of the Mariana Trench.”

  “Yes, but we’re not going all the way down.”

  “Maybe,” the captain speculated. “But we’re going very close.”

  Alexis looked determined. “Again, let me ask you — are the two engineers in danger?”

  The captain stepped back.

  “Not exceptional danger. They are highly trained and the sub has a proven safety history.”

  “Great, then I’ll stay out of their way and not make a sound.”

  CHAPTER 47

  Planning hangar

  NASA Jennings Manned Spacecraft Center

  Fort Worth, Texas

  Several men hammered the lid shut on a crate in the old 1950’s-era hangar. The side of the crate read FRAGILE, SENSITIVE EQUIPMENT. Chris Tankovitch walked along the side of the box, feeling the rough lid. A forklift ambled over and picked it up, setting it gently on a truck. Chris climbed up to the driver of the truck.

  “Drive carefully. I need this to get on the plane at DFW airport in one piece.”

  “Sure thing, sir,” the driver answered.

  Chris hopped down and walked over to the corner of the hangar where a group of six people stood watching him.

  “I wish I was going with you guys,” he said with disappointment. “You’ll like Adam Alston. He’s a real American hero.”

  The men laughed.

  “That’s not what the tabloids say,” said a tall man sporting a gray buzzcut.

  Chris shrugged his shoulders.

  “Don’t believe everything you read, fellas,” Chris said, shaking each of their hands.

  “I appreciate you all freeing up your schedules on short notice. You’re experts in your fields of archaeology, paleography and geology. This is a hush-hush mission and I need your help.”

  A chorus of “You got it, Chris” and “Happy to help” rang out.

  “When you arrive at the airport in Zambia, get that crate and transfer it to a truck. It contains all of your equipment,” Chris said.

  “What then?” the buzzcut guy asked.

  “We’ve arranged for some guides and some, well, protection along the way.”

  “Armed guards?”

  “Well, you’ll be in Angola and let’s just say you may need some ‘leaded’ protection.”

  Chris’s phone rang. He looked and saw it was from Adam.

  “Hang on, fellas, it’s from your soon-to-be leader.”

  Chris walked away from the group.

  “Hello?” Chris answered the phone.

  “Hi, Chris, this is Adam.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m in New Mexico, but I should be there by nightfall. Or tomorrow.”

  “Well which is it?” Chris asked in a frustrated tone.

  “Probably tomorrow,” Adam answered.

  Chris glanced over at his science exploration team. Then looked away from them again.

  “Look Adam, the team is leaving in four hours, you need to be with them or you’ll miss the transportation truck they’re taking from Zambia into Angola.”

  “I’m driving as fast as I can,” Adam answered.

  “Okay, you’ll have a special standby flight, good for when you get here.”

  “Chris, I have something to say to you.”

  “Look, Adam, Connie is not ready to talk to you.”

  “No, look, Chris, I want to thank you for helping them feel safe.”

  Chris was taken aback by the unexpected appreciation.

  “I was available,” Chris said coldly.

  Adam paused.

  “I want to talk with Connie and the kids. She won’t answer her phone.”

  “That’s not going to happen. You go to Africa and save the world again by finding another anti-gravity cube.”

  Adam sighed.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t go on your expedition.”

  Chris called Adam’s bluff.

  “That’s fine. I’ll just tell Connie about how you beat Keller Murch to death on Mars.”

  Adam was the lone car speeding east on the freeway through New Mexico. He instinctively let his foot rise off the gas pedal, coasting over to the side of the road. His Porsche came to a stop on the gravel, sending a cloud of dust.

  Adam mumbled something incoherent.

  “What?” Chris asked.

  “I thought you said you didn’t get any of our video from that excursion.”

  “Of course I did, Adam,” Chris said with unusual satisfaction. “We saw the whole thing.”

  “We?” Adam asked in a sudden panic.

  “Yes, we. We decided to sit on it until we figured out what to do.”

  Adam didn’t know what to say.

  “Just let me talk to my family,” Adam begged from the side of a lonely highway.

  “No. Just get your ass to Africa. When you get back, you can see about rebuilding your family.”

  “Chris?” Adam asked.

  “Yes, Adam. Do you have anything more to add?”

  “Thank you,” Adam said with cold clarity.

  CHAPTER 48

  Fiji Harbor

  Pacific Ocean

  “Throw off the lines!” Captain Nadino yelled to his crew. One by one, the chains were released from the dock, sending the large research vessel towards the ocean.

  The captain turned back toward his two NASA guests, Alexis Tankovitch and her assistant Regina.

  “Do you get seasick?” he asked.

  “Not usually,” Alexis answered over the noise of chains retracting into the hull of the boat.

  “You will on this trip. The seas are going to be rough.”

  “I’ll manage.”

  “You’ll have to,” he laughed.

  When they were safely out of the harbor and heading east toward the Tonga Trench, the captain invited his guests to follow him through the cavernous hallways toward the back of the boat. At the end of the long trek, he pushed open a white metal door. Below them was a large flat deck. It took up the back quarter of the ship. Sitting perched in a metal cage was the coveted submarine. It was more of a diving sphere with a submarine framework built around it. The sphere was eight feet in diameter and housed three seats and all of the sub controls.

  The three of them walked down an external flight of metal stairs, all the while staring at this amazing machine in front of them.

  Captain Nadino climbed up onto the platform and reached down to help Alexis climb up. She overcame her pride and took his hand. He hoisted her up.

  “This is state-of-the-art technology in deep sea diving,” the captain said with a proud smile on his face. “It can reach the deepest parts of the ocean: the Mariana Trench and the Tonga Trench. There is only about 400 feet difference between the two.”

  “Interesting…” Regina said, climbing up onto the platform.

  The Captain gave a hand signal to an engineer working near the hatch then followed up with an inaudible command. The engineer nodded.

  “Please, Alexis, climb up here, on top.”

  The engineer opened the entry hatch. It was a huge cone-shaped piece of metal that revealed the true thickness of the diving sphere wall — nearly six inches of steel. It had a window embedded in it. She stared over the rim of the hole and into the sphere innards.

  The captain
laughed. “Are you sure you want to climb in there and descend twenty-some thousand feet? Not even I am that brave.”

  Alexis looked into the sphere, lips pursed with determination. She rolled her head sideways to look at the captain.

  “I can’t think of anything more exciting.”

  CHAPTER 49

  Alston family home

  Fort Worth, Texas

  The garage door rose up slowly, creaking every inch of the way. Adam had meant to oil the chain on the opener for years, but just never got around to it. He stepped out of his Porsche and gently closed the door. The sound of the engine pinging and cooling down faded into the background. Adam walked down to the mailbox and opened it. Nothing. There was a piece of paper taped to the inside of the mailbox with a note about forwarding all mail to Chris’s house on Mount Olympus. It had Chris’s mailing address. Adam ripped off the piece of paper and put it in his pocket.

  He walked back into the garage and opened the door leading into the laundry room. The chirp of the tripped security alarm caught his attention. It had been a long time since he heard that familiar sound, but the old code silenced it quickly. Adam was glad the code hadn’t been changed. As he rounded the corner into the hallway, it was obvious where the shotgun blasts had torn into the walls near his son’s room. Adam stretched his hand over the holes to judge how big of a drywall patch would be required.

  They must’ve been so scared, he thought and shook his head. Damn, I failed at my one task as a father.

  Adam went into his bedroom and gathered some clothes for the trip to Africa. He grabbed a suitcase out of the main closet and stretched it open on the bed, filling it with clothing and other necessities. Adam opened the armoire and pulled something out, wrapping it in his old leather jacket before laying it all on top of his suitcase.

  In the stillness of the quiet house, Adam stared at his luggage for a while and sighed. He walked through the rest of the house, touching mementos that reminded him of how his family used to be. He looked into the backyard — the swingset and the bicycles were gone.