A New Beginning Part Three:
Jonathan had gotten out of the shower and gotten dressed into jeans,sweatshirt and docksiders. As he was going out of the door, he noticed Paul, in boxers, changing the sheets. A twinge of guilt went through Jonathan.
"Hey, I got a meeting to see what's going on" said Jonathan.
"OK" said Paul. "I'm gonna finish changing the sheets and go back to bed"
"You OK with what happened?" asked Jonathan quietly.
"Yeah man" said Paul as he walked over to Jonathan. "I told you, don't worry about it. It felt awesome and was something we both needed to do."
"Cool" said Jonathan. "You're welcome to crash here long as you want"
Jonathan went towards the rear of the jet, looking out the windows to note a large number of people in jumpsuits surrounding the plane. He entered the conference room and got a cup of coffee and a half of a roast beef sandwich. He went to the head of the table.
"OK people" said Jonathan taking a sip of coffee. "Someone want to tell me why we are in Los Angeles instead of getting sunburned in Hawaii?"
Danny turned towards Jonathan. "Jon, this is Alex Myers. He is from the LA office of my company. He has found a few things out"
Jonathan turned to Myers. "Mr. Castleton, my office has determined that the request for your flight plan change came from a high ranking office in the Justice Department; although we are not sure which one or why."
"Can they actually do that?" asked Jonathan.
"Well" Myers began. "Technically no, however it was obviously done"
Jonathan flipped up the top of the laptop in the recess of the conference table. A screen saver he had written himself, pictures of Nick, and he and Nick came up in a rotation. He stared at it for a moment. Something in the back of his mind clicked. He looked up at Myers.
"Mr. Myers, please release the full powers of your office to find out what is going on." said Jonathan.
"Yes sir" said Myers.
"I want answers by 10 AM tomorrow morning." said Jonathan. "Please coordinate through Danny here."
Jonathan turned to Captain Hendrickson. "Don, file for Maui, I want to be airborne as soon as possible"
"Very Good" said the Captain, getting up. "I'll let you know as soon as we file"
Danny had walked out with Myers, as did Brandon. Jonathan picked up his sandwich and took a bite as Anthony came over and refilled his cup. "I know that look" said Anthony with a trace of concern in his voice. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing yet" said Jonathan.
"You don't want to go making enemies like that Jonathan" said Karen.
"OK guys. I take the hint" said Jonathan. He got up and walked towards the office. "Thanks again for that awesome dinner"
He walked into the office and sat down, firing up both computers. He logged on to two different servers and accounts. One was his normal and the other was one that only two people in the world knew about; and he was one of them. He hadn't checked it in a long while. After checking his normal accounts, he logged on to the other one. There was a one word message dated five months prior. "Cowabunga". He sat there in silence staring at the word.
He shut down both servers as the cockpit called.
"Jon, we are cleared for Maui and should be airborne in about 20 minutes" said the flight engineer.
"OK thanks" said Jonathan. He flipped another switch. "Brandon, I need you"
Two minutes later Brandon knocked and came in. "Hi Jon, what's up?"
"We will be airborne in about 15 minutes, heading for Maui." he started. "You are going to need to find arrangements for us. Preferably cottages, something we can move around in. You will also need to check with Danny. We will be having company."
"All right" said Brandon. "I'll be in the back office"
"Thanks. Find Danny for me will you?" asked Jonathan. "Also ask Captain Hendrickson to come down here after we take off and get settled in."
Chapter Two: Jonathan was typing furiously on his keyboard when Danny knocked and came into the office.
"You wanted to see me?" he asked.
"Yeah I did" said Jonathan. He hit the print key on the keyboard and swiveled around in his chair to get the printout. "I want you to contact your office in LA on a secured connection. I know you have them. Here is a list of things I want to know by the time your contact shows up in Hawaii tomorrow morning."
Danny looked at the list and whistled. "You know how much this kind of information costs?"
"No, but I've got deep pockets." said Jonathan getting up and going over to the small bar in his office. He poured himself a drink and looked at Danny who declined. As Jonathan was walking back across the office Sebastian announced himself with a growl and walked majestically into the office tail held high.
"It's going to take some time to get used to him" said Danny.
Before Jonathan could reply, the intercom chimed. "OK folks find a seat. We are number two for departure. We'll be rolling in 2 minutes."
Danny and Jonathan took chairs. Sebastian was content to sit and watch them until the plane started moving. His fur suddenly raised and he looked like something out of a horror movie. He let loose shrill cry as the plane rotated and he went flying up and onto Jonathan. He held the cat and scratched his ears. Slowly the cat calmed down.
"It's nice to see there is at least one thing you are afraid of" said Jonathan to the cat with a smile.
"Jon" said Danny quietly. "I've never argued with you about anything that you have wanted from my company. God knows you have the money to get what you want, and I would like to think that in 6 years we have become a little closer then just boss and bodyguard"
"We have" said Jonathan, sipping his drink. "Say your mind"
"This information you are looking for is dynamite." said Danny. "Do you know what will happen if certain people find out you are looking?"
"Yeah" said Jonathan. "That's why I'm paying your people to make sure that no one does."
"Let me get busy" said Danny getting up. "I'll be upstairs in the lounge doing some work."
"OK thanks" said Jonathan. He stayed on the couch, playing with the cat absent mindedly until Captain Hendrickson came in.
"Brandon said you wanted to see me" said the Captain.
"Yeah Don." said Jonathan. "We at cruising altitude already?"
"No, but Frank and Dan can handle things for the moment, this baby pretty much flies itself" said the Captain. "What's up?"
"After we get to cruising altitude, send a secure message back to the home office." said Jonathan. "I want the Gulfstream on Maui by tomorrow afternoon."
"Sure" said the Captain. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, but its gonna be kind of tricky. How hard is it to change a transponder code?" asked Jonathan.
"Nothing to it really" said the Captain. "Why?"
"I'll tell you when I know" said Jonathan. "On the way over look over things and find out if there is a runway the Gulfstream can land on that is quiet and out of the way. Also one on Hawaii"
"Oh Lord, there goes my license" said Captain Hendrickson.
"Don't worry" said Jonathan. "It's nothing I can't get you out on bail for" Despite the look on the Captain's face, Jonathan knew that there wasn't a single person on this plane that wouldn't do what he asked in a heartbeat.
"I don't want to know" said the Captain.
Jonathan smiled and shook his hand and went forward and upstairs with Sebastian draped over his shoulders. He sat there happily purring away. There he saw Danny.
"Hey" said Jonathan. "Add 10 guys from your office to that list, dressed and armed for World War Three. I want them where we are by tomorrow night"
He walked back out before Danny could say anything. He went back into the forward lounge and dropped the cat on the couch. He walked over to the bar, found a small bowl and placed some cat food from a box behind the bar in it and placed it on the floor. Sebastian growled his thoughts and went over to the food. Jonathan went to the computer on the table and turned it on. It, like all others on board were hooked to a single server. He flipped through the files until he found what he wanted. He opened the file and read it silently. He didn't even hear Paul come up behind him.
"What's up?" asked Paul. " I thought I heard you come in. What's that Nick's Journal?"
"Yeah" said Jonathan. "I was looking for something. Sorry to wake you up."
"What?" asked Paul, sitting on the edge of the table.
"I don't honestly know" said Jonathan. "Something, anything he wrote those two weeks after he killed his father. I'm not sure what I'm looking for"
After a while he shut down the system and decided to go back to bed. Sleep sounded good. He didn't think he was going to get much in the next few days. He went into the bedroom followed by Paul. They both got undressed silently and got into bed. They both fell into a silent sleep.
Chapter Three: Jonathan woke up as the plane touched down in Maui. He quickly got dressed and went out of the bedroom. He went into the lounge and picked up the phone and called the cockpit.
"Everything OK?" he asked as the Captain picked up.
"Yeah no problem." he said. "The Gulf is on the way. General Aviation can't handle us, but American Airlines is being gracious and letting us rent some space at their hanger. They will take care of the plane."
"Great" said Jonathan. "After you get it settled in, check with Brandon. He has made arrangements. Stay close"
"No problem" said the Captain. "You ready to tell me what's going on?"
"Not yet" said Jonathan. "I'm not sure myself"
Jonathan walked back towards his office. As he entered, he noted Sebastian sleeping on his desk. Brandon was sitting on the couch watching the cat.
"You sure that thing is tame?" Brandon asked.
"Hasn't taken a hand off yet." said Jonathan going behind his desk and picking up Sebastian. Half asleep, he curled up and settled down into Jonathan's lap. "Where are we?"
"Presidential Suite at the Marriott" started Brandon. "Ten other suites, ten other rooms. Atrocious prices but at the last minute can't argue. Transportation is waiting down below."
"OK" said Jonathan. He scratched Sebastian's ears "You be a good cat". He put the cat on his leather chair and got up. "Let's go"
Jonathan met Danny at the front doors of the plane. "We are ready. My people will be here around 2pm tomorrow afternoon. The information you wanted will be ready sometime tomorrow"
"Sounds good" said Jonathan. "I want to keep as low a profile as possible"
They left the plane into the cars and were swiftly transported to the hotel. Brandon had made arrangements that everything was ready for them at arrival. Jonathan was soon sleeping in the Presidential Suite, the rest bedded down in various locations throughout the resort and Danny's people on patrol.
In the morning Jonathan had gotten up ordered breakfast from room service and was reading the paper with his eggs when Paul wandered in to the living room of the suite from his own bedroom.
"This jet lag is going to kill me" said Paul. "How do you deal with it."
"I have gotten used to it and lots of coffee and sunshine." said Jonathan. "It takes some doing to get used to it."
"Yeah OK whatever" said Paul. "We going running this morning?"
"Sure" said Jonathan. "I just ordered breakfast. You want some? Then we can stretch and go."
"OK" said Paul. "Caffeine sounds good."
The rest of the morning passed quickly and quietly. Following the run, which attracted a small amount of attention with Jonathan and Paul running with an escort of three bodyguards, Jonathan had showered and was on the verandah of the suite staring out over the lagoon when Danny came in.
"You don't want to know how much you just paid for this information" said Danny, handing over a folder. "I gave the figures to Brandon. First time I've ever seen him turn white as a ghost."
"Whatever" said Jonathan, absorbed in the material. "I'm sure it didn't bankrupt me"
Sitting down he flipped through the pages, stopping at one about 8 pages in. He looked up. "When are your people due in?"
"In about 4 hours" said Danny. "I really need to know what's going on. You order ten people from the shadow office and won't tell me why. The last time you ordered them, we were going to see Nick's father. What is going on?"
Jonathan pulled the page he was reading out and handed it to Danny. "I want to meet this person"
Danny looked at it. He looked back at Jonathan. "You telling me its going to take ten of my people to do that?"
"No" said Jonathan. "I think it may take ten of your people to get us back out of there."
He walked inside closely followed by Danny. "You want to explain that?"
Before he could continue, there was a loud knock on the door. Out of sheer reflex coming from Jonathan's commentary earlier, Danny whirled around and his gun was trained on the door as it opened. One hand was already reaching to push Jonathan out of the way, when Jeff walked through the door. He saw Danny standing there, weapon out and pointed.
"Paranoid a little this morning boss?" he asked. "Alex Myers is here."
"OK, sorry" said Danny putting his gun away. Myers walked into the room and walked over.
"We need to talk" said Myers. "Your boss is getting his nose where it doesn't belong and I don't know if we can keep him out of trouble before he gets it broken off."
"Mr. Myers" said Jonathan his patience obviously at a breaking point. "My nose is fine. I have had it broken once last year and I didn't enjoy the experience. I don't plan to have a repeat performance. What did you find?"
"Well it appears that after some research and a great deal of your money" he started, "we were able to find out that the request from the Justice Department came from a very closed area of that office."
"The Witness Protection Division" said Jonathan.
Danny, Jeff and Alex Myers could only stare at Jonathan who at that time had his back to them.
"How did you know?" said Myers.
"Call it a hunch." said Jonathan, turning around.
"Do you know someone who went into Witsec?" asked Danny.
"Maybe" said Jonathan. "I need a plan to get to the address that Danny has in a file. I need ten minutes alone in that house and then a way to get out"
"Mr. Castleton" started Myers. "You pay my company an extraordinary amount of money to keep you alive and out of trouble. I am fairly confident in saying that what ever it is that you are planning does not come into the realm of keeping you safe and alive and out of trouble."
Jonathan turned to him and the look on his face would have frozen Hell over. "You're right. It doesn't. Set it up anyway. I want answers and a plan in eight hours." He walked out of the room, slamming the door.
Chapter Four: At 6 PM that night, Jonathan was in the restaurant of the resort, having dinner with Anthony and Karen when Jeff walked in and handed a file to Danny who was sitting at the next table. He read through it and glanced over at Jonathan.
"It can be done" said Danny simply.
"The suite" said Jonathan. "Half hour"
"Jonathan" said Karen. "You know we care about you" she glanced and Anthony and back to Jonathan. She picked up her champagne glass. "What are you trying to do? Whatever it is, it sounds dangerous and will probably get you killed or in jail"
"Or option three" said Jonathan cryptically. "None of the above. Look guys I am hoping I am wrong, but something tells me I'm not. If I'm right there is someone on that Island that I need to talk to very badly. When I do, we are going to be moving at the speed of sound. I'm going to need each of you, Brandon, Mark, and all the crew and staff to be ready. It's going to depend on last minute co-ordination."
"What are you planning Jon?" asked Anthony over his coffee. "You know we are all here for you, but we can't help you if you don't tell us."
"You will all know what is going on shortly" said Jonathan. "Thanks for keeping me company tonight. I hear the show here at the resort is great. Why don't you take it in? I'm going to be tied up for a while"
Jonathan walked back to the Presidential Suite flanked by Danny and Jeff. Upon entering it, he went to the bar, poured a Grand Mariner, and sat down on the couch. He looked at them.
"OK" said Jonathan. "Let's hear it"
"I don't like it" said Danny. "We can get you in, breaking a half a dozen FAA regulations that Don can think of for starters. I am not sure what we will encounter when we get there, much less just what you have in mind. So you first."
"I need to speak to the person at that address." said Jonathan. "If I am correct, in ten minutes time, we will be leaving that residence with that person. From there, we need to move quickly, back to the Gulfstream, and from there to Renaissance. I want to be airborne and headed somewhere quiet and where no one comes near us unless we ask them to."
"You can't hide a 747 Jonathan" said Danny. "Whoever you are planning on running from will know where you have gone within 24 hours. I need to know who you think is there and why you are going to all this trouble to give us all ulcers"
"All I need is 24 hours" said Jonathan. "After that we can be ready for anything to happen"
"Now you are starting to scare me" said Danny. "I need to know and I need to know now why we are going to do this, if we are going to do this"
Jonathan sat for a moment and then pulled a pad of paper to him. He wrote a single word on it. He handed the paper to Danny. Danny looked at it and back at Jonathan and back to the paper.
"You can't be serious" said Danny.
"Very" said Jonathan, his voice cold as the grave. "It makes sense to me now. I know what happened. I spent the morning on the net, hacking a few computers." He got up and walked into his bedroom and came back with another file of printouts and records. "Read this and tell me I'm wrong"
For twenty minutes nothing was said in he suite. Finally Danny looked up. "Son of a bitch"
"Yeah" said Jonathan. "Now, can we do it or not?"
Chapter Five: The following afternoon, Jonathan was working out in the health club at the resort, Paul pushing him to the break of endurance. The sweat was rolling off of Jonathan. Danny walked in.
"Want me to shoot him?" he asked jokingly.
"Yeah" said Jonathan between gasps of breath. "I think he wants to kill me."
"Hey hey" said Paul, "You pay me to keep you in shape"
"Ugh" said Jonathan. "Enough"
He got up and went over to the water cooler. After a few glasses of water he looked at Danny. "Well?"
"Tonight" said Danny. "Get some sleep. We are flying out at 4 am. We can talk more somewhere quiet"
"Get changed and meet me in the steam room" said Jonathan, stripping off his sweat soaked shirt.
Ten minutes later, Danny and Jeff walked into the steam room wearing shorts and no shirts.
"Gee first time I've seen you around without a gun" said Jonathan.
"There is a guy posted outside" said Danny. "OK, you know we are probably gonna be in the middle of a shit storm by the time this is all over?"
"Yup" said Jonathan. "But I have to know."
"If you are wrong, there is going to be Hell to pay" said Jeff.
"I know, but I don't think I am" said Jonathan. "I also got lawyers in case I am wrong."
"Here is the plan" said Danny. "We are flying with the Gulf leaving at 4am traveling to an abandoned airstrip on the far side of the island. We should land about 30 minutes later. We will be traveli......"
The plan slowly unfolded. After 20 minutes of reviewing and sweating Jonathan decided that it would work. They got out of the sauna "I'll see you at 3:30 am" said Jonathan.
Jonathan returned to the suite, showered and went down stairs for a early dinner. Upon returning to the suite, he got undressed and fell into an uneasy sleep. At 3AM this alarm clock went off. He got up showered and dressed in jeans and a polo shirt. He packed up what little clothes he had brought off the plane. The phone rang.
"You ready?" asked Danny.
"Yeah, you got everyone moving?" asked Jonathan, glancing around the room one last time.
"Yes" said Danny. "The crew is already on board the Gulfstream. It was transferred from the Maui Airport to a local airport earlier. Everyone one else will be on board Renaissance by 7 AM. It will be warmed up and waiting for us."
"I'll meet you in the lobby in 5 minutes" said Jonathan breaking the connection. He walked out on the balcony and stared out over the still sleeping resort. "Never could just be content to stay in your office and make money could you?" he said to himself.
Chapter Six: "We are ten minutes out" said Captain Hendrickson over the intercom of the Gulfstream V. They were flying less then 300 feet over the water enroute to the big island of Hawaii. "You know, I'm not cut out for this shit"
Jonathan laughed. Since they took off at the deserted airport at 4 AM, the Gulfstream V had never risen above 300 feet in altitude. Despite his grumbling, the Captain had maintained a smooth level and fast flight across the water. Jonathan looked around the plane to Danny, Jeff and the other 10 people in the plane. He trusted these people to keep him safe and give him a chance to do what he needed to. His revelry was broken by the sound of the landing gear coming down. The plane touched down fast and hard. It was not the usual graceful landing but more of a fast one. The plane braked sharply and came to a halt within 3,000 feet of touching down. Shortly Captain Hendrickson came back.
"Well, that wasn't fun" said the Captain.
"What's the matter Don?" asked Jonathan. "Run out of runway?"
"Almost" said the Captain. "The information I got was almost a thousand feet off."
"Can we take off again?" said Jonathan.
"Oh yeah, no problem." said Don, "It's going to be one of those take offs' the don't recommend that's all"
Jonathan turned to Danny. "Well?"
"OK" said Danny getting up. "Let's do it. The vans should be just off the road."
The company personal all filed out first, checking the area then allowing Danny, Jeff and Jonathan off. The ten formed a loose rectangle around Jonathan. They walked for a short distance and within 10 minutes found the two large vans waiting for them along the side of the road. Each one had its own driver. They all got in and began the drive to the other side of the Island.
The sun was just climbing over the hills as they approached the condo complex. One van stopped two blocks short of it, allowing its passengers to get off. They waited. Fifteen minutes later the radio on Danny's waist came to life in a burst of static.
"All clear" said the disembodied voice. The van containing Jonathan continued on its' way to the complex, stopping in front of the particular building that Jonathan wanted. They got out and moved silently. Danny and Jeff remained with Jonathan while the others spread out over the complex. Ten private soldiers, each trained in many wars over to be the best at what they did. Quietly securing the complex, unseen, unheard in the early morning darkness. Each waited with their own thoughts, not knowing why they were there other then to see that their "principal" got back out from whatever he was doing.
Jonathan approached a door and looked at the Danny. "Do the lock"
Danny pulled a set of picks from a pocket on his leg and in twenty seconds had the locks open "You would think the government could afford better locks" said Danny.
They quietly entered the condo. Jonathan heard the numbers falling in his head. He knew they only had about ten minutes maybe to check his theory and get out before someone getting up early would notice to vans and strange people in the area. They had to be away before then. He glanced over and saw both Danny and Jeff with guns out. They silently went from room to room.
"No one is here Jon" said Danny softly.
"He must be here" said Jonathan. He walked to the back of the living room and looked out over the complex. In the back was a large swimming pool. There doing laps in the pool was a single person. "There" he said softly.
Danny and Jeff came over, looking out through the glass of the patio doors. "Son of a bitch" said Danny. He picked up his radio. "Swimming pool" he said into it.
Jonathan felt as if he feet were made of lead and his lungs turned to stone. For a moment he could only watch the person cut through the water of the pool, Finally the man got out of the pool clad only in a speedo, his shockingly blond hair glistening with water. "Now or never" Jonathan said to himself.
Jonathan slipped out of the patio doors with Danny and Jeff on his heels, guns still drawn. They walked across the grass and entered the pool area. Danny stopped Jeff from entering the pool area. "Wait" he said.
"Why?" asked Jeff. "You can't let him go in there by himself."
"He is OK" said Danny, his voice barely able to register. He knew Jonathan had to do this alone. He did however keep his weapon trained on the person drying himself off.
Jonathan walked silently across the concrete. The man he had broken many F.A.A. laws to see still had his back to him. Jonathan stood quietly for a minute, torn between wanting to silently leave and knowing he had to finish what he was risking everything for. Jonathan quietly watched the muscles in the man's back ripple. Muscles he knew, had once held. Jonathan walked the final ten feet and stood seven feet from the man. Jonathan picked up a towel, afraid that he wouldn't be able to speak. He took a deep breath.
"Need a towel?" he asked, his voice coming at only his strongest beckoning.
The man turned startled. As his eyes connected with Jonathan, there was only shock on his face. The color faded underneath his tan. "Oh my God" he said. "Where did you come from? How......."
Jonathan equally wore a look of shock on his face Emotions flooded through him in a non ending wave that threatened to block out the world. Everything he had hoped was not right, all the research he had done, everything he had checked hoping he was wrong, wasn't. Once more Jonathan spoke.
"Why did you do this, Nick?" he asked.
To be continued. ====================================================== This one took a lot to write, and a lot out of me. There will be more, but not for a while. Comments as usual welcomed......Jon
www.stormloader.com/articwolf stonewolf@angelfire.com