Half conscious, the jihadi heard a noise off to his left. He noted his fishing line was bouncing around on the water. The last thing he remembered before he passed out was, “Hey, I think I have a bite.”
Sulu Sea — Aboard the Hail Nucleus
Hail knocked on Kara Ramey’s stateroom door. She answered wearing a tight sleeveless T-shirt and yoga pants. In her right hand, she held the latest Dean Koontz novel.
“Reading a little?” Hail asked.
“Yeah,” Kara said. For some weird reason, she felt guilty.
“I didn’t know people read anymore. At least the kids on the ship would rather have a sharp needle stuck into their eyes before they read a book.”
“That’s weird, isn’t it?” Kara asked not knowing much about teenagers.
Hail chuckled and said, “It’s either, I’ll wait for the movie, or Is there an audiobook? I can’t tell you the last time I saw anyone under the age of twenty actually reading a book — in print or electronic form.”
“I like reading,” Kara said, allowing Hail to remain standing awkwardly in her doorway.
“Did you want to come in?” she asked.
“No, I wanted you to come up on the deck so I can show you something.”
Kara cocked her head to the side and asked, “Is it something cool or something stupid. Because if it is something stupid, then I’d just as soon go back to reading.”
“I think it’s cool,” Hail responded, sounding as if she had hurt his feelings.
“Yeah, but sometimes you think something is cool, and I think it is stupid.”
“Name one thing,” Hail said defensively.
Kara didn’t hesitate for even a second before saying, “Remember when you interrupted me and Nolan during my mixed martial arts training to drag me down to the galley just to show me that the ICEE machine had overflowed onto the floor?”
“Are you kidding me?” Hail shot back incredulously. “It had run for more than eighteen hours and dumped like three inches of grape ICEE all over the floor. Now that was interesting.”
Kara put her hand up to her mouth to cover a fake yawn.
Hail stood and waited for Kara’s rebuttal.
Instead, she said, “This better be good.”
“It’s cool, really,” Hail assured her.
Kara turned and walked back into her stateroom, looking for some quick footwear to wear.
“I’ll be the judge of whether it’s cool or not,” Kara said.
A minute later, Kara emerged from her bedroom with her red hair combed, and she had donned sandals. Hail wished he felt as fresh as she looked. Instead, he always felt worn out and a little depressed.
It was as if he was climbing a steep hill. If only he could make it over the top, everything would be all right. But after he reached each plateau or accomplishment, he felt euphoric for a few days. But then it was back to the climb. Again, he felt blue and defeated. Life was for the living. There were many things he was not, but living happened to be one of those things. If he still consumed air, water and food, he might do something he considered positive.
Hail walked into the hall, and Kara closed the door to her stateroom behind her.
“What’s this cool thing you want to show me?” she asked. “No, no, let me guess — one of the nuclear containment vessels broke open on the deck. Now the seagulls are green AND they can lift the ship’s anchor.”
“Wait until we get on deck,” Hail said. “And they are not green, just greenish.”
“Really, you want to play that game?” she said with a groan. “You stole me away from Dean Koontz. Just think how Dean would feel.”
“It’s worth the time and the walk,” Hail told her. “I promise you.”
They walked towards the stairway that led to the upper decks. While they were walking, Kara asked, “Are you ready for tomorrow?”
“Yep,” Hail said without elaboration.
“Did you and your lab engineers get the drones programmed, charged and ready to fly?”
“Yep,” Hail said again.
“Do you have the card table and the two chairs?”
“Yes, and I even have a cowboy hat. I thought it would add a little panache to the meeting.”
“How are you getting the gear on site?” Kara asked.
“Flying it in on a Hail cargo plane, and then I will chopper it to the location.”
“Do you have business assets in that region?”
“I’ve got Batman.”
“Batman?” Kara asked. “Wow, you do have a high opinion of yourself.”
Now they were climbing stairs and Hail was getting winded.
Hail laughed and panted, telling Kara, “Batman, as in a city in Turkey.”
Kara laughed, “You have got to be kidding me. There is a city in Turkey named Batman?”
“Of course, it’s right above the city of Robin. It’s in the Gotham district.”
Kara laughed. “Now I know you’re lying.”
“Ah, well just a little, but there really is a city named Batman and it’s pretty big. Close to a half-million people. It also has an airport and a long runway. We’re installing a traveling wave reactor in the city of Batman, so flights in and out by my company planes are not uncommon.”
“Do you have any concerns flying that far over that many radical countries?”
“Not really. We’ll fly over Armenia and Azerbaijan and then the Caspian Sea. The longest country is Turkmenistan, but it’s not like they have radar installations to protect their country. Hell, there is hardly anything in Turkmenistan that requires protection. Most of it is covered by the Karakum Desert. It should be clear flying all the way to Termez. There are no hostiles anticipated.”
Hail opened a thick bulkhead door that led onto the deck of the Hail Nucleus. The day was free of clouds. Both Kara and Hail squinted their eyes from the sun reflecting off the white surfaces of the nuclear containment vessels, stacked like massive logs on the deck. Hailed walked over to the starboard railing. Kara followed, putting her hand up to her forehead like a salute, using it as an improvised visor.
Hail stopped at the railing and waited for Kara to walk beside him.
“So, what do you think?” he asked, pointing out into the far distance. Still shielding her eyes with her hand, Kara looked in the direction Hail was pointing. About a quarter mile away was an island. It was pleasant to look at, as islands go. It had a wide expanse of beach that fronted thick green vegetation.
“OK, it’s an island,” Kara said.
“It’s my island,” Hail told her like a proud father.
“Check this out,” Hail said, leaving her at the railing. He began walking toward the portside of the ship, threading his way between a row that divided the shipping containers. Kara followed.
On the other side of the ship, Hail again pointed out at the water. Even before Kara had reached the railing, she saw another island.
“That’s mine, too,” Hail said with a big smile on his face. “They are known as the Golod Islands. Of course, I will officially change the name.”
“Don’t tell me — let me guess,” Kara said. “Hail Islands, right?”
“Nope, wrong. Well, they will be known as the Hail Islands because they belong to me. But one island, the smaller one is Tabitha Island. The other one is Courtney Island.”