The Krakow Klub (24 page)

John explained that, as of now, information
about the group was far from complete and that locating all their
bank accounts would prove to take far too much time. And most of
the money was not in the United States.

The assassination plot was already in
motion,
and that should be the point for their
intervention.

By now, Jim was starting to
believe that his friend could handle the situation, but he wasn’t
so sure that a great deal of innocent American blood wouldn’t wind
up being spilt before it was all over.

“Jim, relax.
This Krakow Klub
situation is
terrible, but trust that I can handle it. I
have the resources and powers to neutralize the group. We just have
to be patient and strike at the right time.”

Then, almost as an
afterthought, John added, “By the way, with all this talk of plots
and overthrows, I completely forgot to mention that another guest
will be joining us for the weekend.
I have been negotiating
to purchase a bullion vault in London. I’ve hired a stellar
assistant to manage the purchase and oversee my international
business interests. She’ll arrive tomorrow to finalize our
long-term contract. Our business will be
brief,
and that will leave the remainder of the weekend
free for relaxation. At least we can enjoy the calm before the
storm.”

Jim replied, a hurt expression on his face,
“Hey, why didn’t you ask me about that. You know that I graduated
from Oxford. I still know London pretty
well,
and I’ve maintained a fair number of contacts there. Maybe I could
have taken the job myself.”

“Jim, you’re going to be far too busy to take
on my London responsibilities. I’m very much aware of your
background
there,
and I’m sure you could have
done a splendid job. This young woman is already well connected
with London’s financial circles and has impeccable credentials and
experience.”

With that, John turned and left the room with
Akiro trotting along behind. Jim, already accustomed to his
friend’s rather obtuse pronouncements, just smiled and picked up
little Mitch. “Come on little one, we need to get ready for
dinner.” He caressed her ears. “By the way, have you made peace
with little Akiro? He’s a rather handsome young fellow.”

As usual, Mister T served a splendid meal.
Afterward
, John made a surprising suggestion.
“It’s a lovely evening and the weather is perfect all the way up
the Eastern seaboard. Why don’t we take a little ride in my
spacecraft
and check out the city lights along
the
way?
It’s truly an
awe-inspiring
sight. Besides, we need to clear our heads
before we come to any further conclusions about how we must handle
the Krakow Klub situation.”

He added, “Why don’t you bring Mitch along
for the ride. She’s already a space travel pro. Akiro’s going to
come along, too, to keep Julia company on her introductory ride in
a spaceship.”

Jim didn’t hesitate. “Great idea! I agree
that we could all benefit from spending the evening without talking
about the mess in Washington.”

“Great. Mister T will also be joining us to
navigate and I believe that he’s already placed a very nice bottle
of French brandy on board for us to enjoy while we see the
sights.”

They walked down the pathway through the
gathering darkness toward the landing site. Mister T, as if by
magic, was already in the
craft,
and the door
was open.

They took their
seats,
and John explained what would happen. Mitch and Akiro had
individual seats and chose to ignore each other.

“We’re going to travel for a short time in
stealth mode. First, we’ll rise straight up to about
two hundred fifty
miles in altitude. Then, Mister T will
put us into visible mode. If anyone’s radar happens to detect us,
we’ll just be seen as a small blip or possibly a UFO. Using visible
mode, we’ll have a much better view of the coast. With stealth,
we’d have to watch everything from the video screen. And, we’ll be
traveling
at a slow speed so that we can enjoy
the view.”

In a very few moments, the viewing port
opened in front of them. Both Julia and Jim gasped.

There, beneath them, was the easily
recognizable shape of the lower Florida peninsula with many points
of light in the populous regions. John pointed out Key West, Miami,
Tampa, and several other points of interest. The bright moonlight
reflecting off
Lake Okeechobee
looked like a giant
mirror in the
central
portion of their
view.

Next, he poured brandy for them and
continued, “We’ll be at a higher altitude for most of our trip.
Mister T will have the ship at an angle pointed a bit downward for
your best views. We’ll spend about an hour checking out the sights.
We’ll be using a slow
speed,
so just let me
know if there’s anything that you’d like to check out with a closer
view.”

The flight continued up the coast. Julia and
Jim were continuously in a state of awe. They were now members of
an elite group. The only other humans to have experienced such a
spectacular view were the astronauts.

The entire group remained silent most of the
time, each amazed by the incredible sights below. To add to the
magnificence, Mister T had created a program of classical music to
accompany the view.

A short distance north of Boston, the night
lights became fewer and fewer as they neared the Canadian border.
John instructed Mister T to turn southward and pass over some of
the larger inland cities before proceeding down the West Coast of
Florida and back to the island.

Home at last, they disembarked and returned
to the villa.

Mitch, held in Jim’s left arm, looked over at
Akiro and thought to herself,
His training is coming along
nicely. An apt pupil, and relatively intelligent, all things
considered. He’s at least smart enough to understand the hierarchy
around here.

At the fork in the pathway, Jim and Julia
went toward the house along with Akiro. Jim put Mitch on the ground
and let her hop around chasing some fireflies that had caught her
interest.

John called over his shoulder, “Goodnight.
Tomorrow we’ll talk more about the Washington, DC, issue before my
other guest arrives. See you then.”

“If you love somebody, let
them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don't,
they never were.”
-
Khalil Gibran

Breakfast the next morning was taken outdoors
on the sunlit veranda. It was a glorious day. The sky was clear
except for a few puffy little clouds that drifted overhead. A soft
breeze from the ocean stirred the palms overhead gently. John
looked around fondly at his beautiful island, but then reality
returned. He finished his last sip of coffee and rose from the
table and spoke to
Julia,
who was still
lingering over her tea.

“Jim and I need to continue the discussion
about our partnership. It won’t take more than a couple of hours at
most. In the meantime, just relax and enjoy yourself. As of now,
I’m putting the Washington, DC, discussion on hold. We deserve at
least one last weekend before the proverbial unpleasantness hits
the fan. But, I’m not going to promise that I won’t be doing some
strategizing.”

She waved her hand as if to shoo them on
their way. “I’ll be fine. I’ll study the model of the island some
more;
tha
t
is,
if I get
motivated. Other than that, I’m just going to relax. But I’m making
no promises about the Krakow Klub. I’ll probably be spending
considerable time trying to come up with ideas of how to deal with
them.”

Instead of going
to
the
villa, she moved over to one of the lounge chairs and stretched
out. She had been overwhelmed by John’s story and the danger from
the Krakow Klub. Now, she just needed some time alone in which to
relax and clear her mind. Mister T came out to clear the
table,
but she gave him a quick wave and asked
him to come back later. Right now, she just needed solitude.

She closed her
eyes,
but
dreadful thoughts continued to creep into her mind.
It was
such a peaceful place. She seemed so far from
danger and could hardly imagine
a plot
to
overthrow the government existed. Eventually, she was able to put
such thoughts from her mind and drifted off to sleep.

Unknown to her, Akiro and Mitch had crept out
to the veranda. Mitch, ever the plotter and schemer, saw a perfect
opportunity. Her little nose sniffed the air and confirmed the
presence of one of her favorite snacks. Ah, yes, it was bacon!

She got Akiro’s attention. He had caught the
delicious aroma, too. Mitch gave him a sad look as if to say that
she’d love to have a
treat,
but the table was
just too high for her short little legs.

Akiro saw the opportunity to win some points
with
her,
so he jumped up in the chair that
Julia had just vacated. His legs were a little longer than
Mitch’s,
so it was an easy feat for him. From
there, he stood on his hind legs with his paws on the edge of the
table. He looked around guiltily to see if anyone might be
watching. He knew that a scolding would be in order if he
were to be caught
.

Julia continued to nap on the lounge
chair.

Being the little gentleman that he was, Akiro
stretched his neck out and picked up several pieces of bacon from
the serving dish. Mitch smirked. Then, he hopped back down and
dropped the precious treats at her feet.

She examined each piece carefully before
selecting
a perfect
specimen. She took her
selection and then daintily munched away. After that first bite,
Akiro knew that he could join in.

The two polished off the remaining bacon and
then, ever so quietly, slipped back into the house.

Julia stirred and slowly became aware of her
surroundings. She jumped up and checked her watch. There would be
little time left for her to study John’s model before they
returned. She’d have to hurry. As she dashed through the living
area toward the office, she was quite surprised to see two furry
little creatures lounging on the sofa together.

It seemed that peace had been declared.

Out on the veranda, Mister T began clearing
the table. He looked at the empty bacon dish. “Hmm. I could have
sworn that there were half a dozen pieces left. I did a complete
inventory of the table a few minutes
ago,
and
they were there.”

He returned to the kitchen with a slightly
confused look on his face.

****

After leaving Julia, Jim and John headed for
La Cucaracha. John got into the passenger side and
Jim
into the pilot’s seat.

“Try it out. Don’t worry about an accident.
It has
technology that prevents a collision or
crash landing. Just use the joystick gently until you get the hang
of it. Pull back gently on the joystick to go up; to go down,
just push
it forward. Left movement of the
joystick turns
left,
and right movement turns
right. Your speed is controlled by the trigger switch. It’s as
simple as that.”

Jim took the control and hesitantly lifted
them off the ground. It was much easier than he
expected,
and soon he was skillfully maneuvering them
back and forth across the island. After a few minutes, John
instructed him to hover over the dock area.

“Jim, just keep us motionless for a while
with the joystick in the neutral position and no pressure on the
speed trigger. I need to talk to you without interruption or
distraction. I asked you to be my business partner. As I said
before, you’re the only person that I could trust with the
knowledge of the power at my disposal.

“My original business plan was for us to
modify some of the Mylean technologies for use here on
Earth
—m
aybe the water purification technology
for starters. But, this Krakow Klub is a dangerous situation, and
it commands our immediate
attention
. I’m going
to have to put my
other
plans on the back
burner for now.

“Surely, we can come up with a plan to
outsmart and outmaneuver the Krakow Klub, but after that, we’ll
want to get back to the issues in Washington, DC, that require our
attention. We’ll have to find a way to turn things around and get
us off this destructive path. I’ve considered all this for
ages,
and I’ve got some rather interesting
ideas as to how to use my powers for changes. With your help, I
think we can make a big difference in our world.”

Jim suddenly
sneezed,
causing him to press the joystick forward rather
violently. The little craft shuddered and started a rapid descent.
The clear, blue waters were rushing up at
them,
and
crashing
into the ocean
seemed unavoidable. Jim
appeared temporarily
paralyzed
and did not neutralize the joystick.

Suddenly, even though Jim’s hand
remained locked
on the joystick, La Cucaracha slowed and
then gently stabilized at an altitude only a few feet above the
waves that lapped at the beach.

John wiped his brow in relief.

Jim was still quite ashen and obviously
shaken.

“Damn, Maxxine told me about all this safety
technology, but I never thought that I’d experience it firsthand,”
John exclaimed.