Sam had never even considered the President’s relationship with his father, but he had no doubt that she was telling him the absolute truth.
“After all, with your finances and your standing around the globe, who could possibly be entirely convinced as to where your true loyalties lay?” the Secretary of Defense said.
Sam knew that it was a hollow threat.
She, of all people, knew exactly how much honor meant to him. His word was like an ironclad bond, and when he gave it in service to his country, there was nothing and no one who could force him to break it.
“That’s rubbish, ma’am, and with all due respect, your naiveté nearly got me killed this month.”
“Should I take that as your formal request for resignation?” She asked, a seductive smile just forming.
“No, would you like to ask me for it?” It was Sam’s turn to be provocative.
She paused, her head tilted just slightly to the left, as she mulled it over.
“I would like that, you know I would, but I am duty-bound to the defense of this country, and in that regard, I’m obliged to retain the services of the most competent person for any position.” She eyed him up and down and then said, “And you, Reilly, have the most extraordinary credentials, which make you particularly useful. You’ve been an exemplary Navy SEAL, with the highest marks on record of any recruit, a highly-respected leader in marine biology and in the maritime world, and since you’re wealthier than any playboy pup, the world opens its arms wide for you, whereas any other official investigator would have their arms tied. No, we need you, Reilly. Just try not to fuck up our mission the next time out of your own good will.”
The elevator door then opened, and she stepped out.
“Yes, Madam Secretary.”
The elevator continued its descent, and Sam couldn’t help wondering,just who was blackmailing John Wolfgang?
Sam Reilly took the helm of his newly built ship, Second Chance II, as it sliced through the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean. Aliana was at his side, as beautiful as ever, and they were sailing alone through some of the most pristine islands on earth.
“Where did the name Second Chance come from?” Aliana asked him.
“It’s exactly what the name says — it’s my second chance.”
It was an answer, but Sam knew that it wasn’t what she wanted to know.
“But, there’s more to it, isn’t there?” she persisted.
Sam considered evading her question, or even making up a simple answer, as he’d done so many times before, but today was different. Aliana was different, and he had no desire to lie to her about it as had been his usual reaction to that question.
“Did you know that my mother was a very good sailor?”
“No, you haven’t mentioned it before, or even said much about her for that matter.”
“She was Australian, and in her youth had won a number of the Sydney to Hobart races.”
Aliana’s gaze widened as he spoke.
“She and my father used to be very well matched. They loved each other almost as much as they loved the sea. As you can imagine, my brother and I spent more time on the ocean than we did on land.”
“I didn’t know you had a brother.”
“I don’t anymore, he died many years ago.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Aliana said, throwing her arms around him.
“It’s okay,” Sam said quietly, but there were tears in his eyes. “My brother and I were both good sailors, but we were driven to prove ourselves to our father who was the skipper of the racing yacht. So, one year, when the Sydney to Hobart race advisers considered whether or not to cancel the race based on the tremendously violent and unpredictable weather patterns, my brother and I decided that’s how we would prove ourselves.”
A part of him hoped that Aliana would accept his answer and not push to hear more about how it happened, but another part of him wanted her to make him continue.
She persisted.
“What happened?”
“It was a particularly bad storm. More often than not the sea can be as kind as it can be unforgiving, but on that night it was entirely unforgiving. My brother and I had received numerous reports of other ships dropping out of the race, or being dismasted. Worse, we learned that one ship had already sunk. But, like all young fools, we thought we were invincible. At about three a.m., while desperately needing to furl our headsail before the wind literally knocked our ship over, a small loop caught hold of a cleat at the front of our yacht. I noticed it, and should have gone forward. It would have been easy to unclip it, or at worst cut, but I hesitated. I was frightened. I knew that the sea was more interested in being unforgiving that night than it was in being kind. As it was, my older brother noticed my hesitation, and he told me that he would go and do it instead, and that we would then try to ride the enormous wave at a thirty degree angle, so as to avoid broaching.” His tears were falling more frequently now.
“It’s okay, it wasn’t your fault.”
“My brother was an exceptional sailor. He alone could have beaten my father, and on that night, he saved my life. He unclipped the catch on the headsail, but while making his way back to the cockpit, he was caught by a secondary wave that crashed down from the other side of the one we were riding. There was no way he could have known it would happen, and by the time the water that crashed over the deck had dissipated, I could no longer see my brother. I sent out the alarm, and I tried my best to remain at the same location, but I never did see my brother again.”
“My god, that’s awful,” Aliana said, holding onto him as she spoke.
“I promised myself that night that if I survived, I would never return to the sea again. I meant to keep that promise too. I had completed a master's degree in marine biology, but the next day I joined the U.S. military and became a helicopter pilot. My mom blamed my father, and try as they might to repair their relationship, she never forgave him for it. When I got out of the Corps, something just told me that it was time to come back to the ocean, to give myself a second chance at the life that I was meant to have. I’ve been trying to recreate that night for years so that I can finally say goodbye to my brother properly, but I have never found just the right conditions.”
“So, tonight, you sail on towards your second chance and this time, with me.”
“And I am so very much the happier for it,” he said as he kissed her. “Come back with me.”
“Where?”
“Wherever the perils of the world take us. Anywhere you want to go. Just come and do it with me.”
“I would love to, but I still have my PhD to complete,” she said. “And, I intend to keep my promise to head up the research department for the Wolfgang Corporation.”
“When you’re finished with your studies, give me a call. Work for me, we could certainly use someone with your background aboard the Maria Helena. Your corporation will still continue to produce brilliant medical research where it can help people in ten, perhaps fifteen years’ time, once it’s beaten the various ethics committees. Work with me, and I promise that you will get to see firsthand what a mind like yours can do for the good of the world in the present, rather than the future.”
“If I work with you,” she said, grinning lasciviously, “am I still able to sleep with the boss?”
“Not usually, but for you, I’ll make an exception,” he said, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.