Taggart docked adjacent to a supermarket that virtually fronted the canal, and he spent an hour in the store with Eva stocking up on things she could eat and hold down. He helped her below and asked her to sort through and stow what she could, and he asked 'Mike' to give her a hand.
"Where are you going?" the captain asked as Taggart and Clyde headed up the companionway.
"A walk, and then a visit with a veterinarian."
They found the requisite number of appropriate bushes and then Taggart called a taxi. A half-hour later Clyde was having his blood drawn, then getting a CT-scan. With this worst fears confirmed, Taggart and Clyde sat in the back of another taxi looking at one another, headed for the river again. Who knows, he thought, maybe Clyde was apologizing for his own mortality. Whatever...now Taggart was genuinely depressed.
They got back to Bandits and Taggart cast off her lines and powered into the heavy traffic headed west for the Elbe and the North Sea. No one was headed to the Baltic now, not even commercial traffic, and Taggart feared the exit locks would turn out to be a giant bottleneck. Being trapped on the canal if war broke out was not a particularly good outcome, and he grew anxious as larger boats broke the speed limit in their mad dash to the open sea.
Every now and then fighters roared by overhead - usually headed east - and each time that happened everyone on the river looked up with fear and dread in their eyes. 'Mike' called in on his sat-phone from time to time and got official updates, but he never passed these along to Taggart. He turned out to be a good cook and helped take care of Eva, and an Annapolis trained Navy Captain was about as good on the helm as anyone could possibly be.
They arrived at the exit lock and motored right into the chamber, so Taggart's fears of a bottleneck proved to be unfounded. The channel that led to the North Sea was rimmed with shallow sandbars so he couldn't cut corners, and so the forty-mile distance to Wilhelmshaven turned to eighty miles, or a solid day's journey away. And ship traffic remained heavy as ships exiting the canal were joined by even larger commercial ships exiting the Elbe River - fleeing Hamburg for the possible safety of the Americas.
Time Bandits' engine was broken-in now so he pushed it hard, and a steady 90% RPM saw them cutting through the water at nine knots. Still, freighters were passing at twice that speed so he had to keep an eye out for traffic ahead and to the rear - at least until they made the turn south for Wilhelmshaven. And then...there was no traffic at all...all the way into the port area. The docks were empty, and even the city streets seemed almost completely devoid of automobile traffic.
One hotel was still open, and it was right on the strand. Complete with a marina, he pulled in and took Eva ashore. He told her that she'd be alone here for about a week, maybe a few days more or less and that it was because he had something dangerous to take care of and he didn't want to endanger her or the babies.
She nodded, said she understood, and she looked him in the eyes when she asked if he would be coming back for her.
"I'll be back as soon as I'm finished. Don't worry."
"Then I will not," she said, kissing him once.
He went back to the boat and found 'Mike' sitting in the cockpit waiting for him.
"Well, Mike, as much as I've enjoyed your company it's time for you to leave," Taggart said, pulling the Sig from a coat pocket.
Mike smiled, started to stand.
"Oh, Mike, this is the Sig you gave me. You know, the one with the firing pin removed. Would you like me to demonstrate? Perhaps on your right knee?"
Mike was not smiling now. "Who are you working for, Henry?"
"As far as I know, just you guys. But I am not going to go out there and get this done - only to have you relieve me of my life. Understood? Now, get the fuck off my boat."
Mike stood resolutely still, his decision made.
"Okay, I'll give you a choice. Right knee, or left."
"Fuck you."
"Last warning. Get off my boat." Taggart growled as squeezed off a round - down into the water; Mike hopped off and Taggart left him on the pier, reversed out of the marina to a chorus of 'Fuck-you!' and 'You're done!' - then he accelerated to top speed and left the port.
He looked at his watch and figured he had about three hours until they came for him - probably in helicopters, he thought, and there was no telling how many tracking devices Mike had planted during his time onboard.
"Oh well," he sighed as he looked at the plotter. "Off to Helgoland," he said as he engaged the autopilot. Not quite forty miles away, so by the time they came looking for him, he'd be close enough to the island to be visible to residents there - so hopefully no men in black trying to take him out. Assuming he made it there intact, he'd settle into the little marina there, get his gear up and running, and still have plenty of time left to rewrite a little code...
He dashed below and took the battery out of the sat-phone and powered down his iPhone before he foil-pouched it and put it in the oven. He took his noon meds with a Coke and then went topsides, noting that there were now literally dozens of big ships ahead, apparently still exiting the canal in a steady stream and making a break for the open sea.
He continued looking aft, expecting to see helicopters headed his way, but four hours later he pulled into the smaller of the two marinas on the northeast corner of the island of Helgoland and tied off. He located the 'harbormaster' and paid the fee to remain tied up for a month, getting a pass to use the local swimming pool and gym - 'should you so desire.'
He found the local hospital and sought out the island's internist and explained his condition and his need for lab tests, and an hour later - with the results in hand - he went to an internet café and emailed the results to Dina. He did not wait for a reply.
A light Cessna landed at the airport across the narrow channel from the marina, but only two people got off and he watched their reunion through binoculars, breathing another sigh of relief as he popped open another Coke, adding a small measure of rum to his glass. Then his 'secret' phone chirped and he reached for it, saw it was Rolf and took the call.
"Hey, shipmate. How goes?"
"Good. Grandma-ma got your lab results. She says things look as good as can be expected right now."
"Okay. Well, tell her I'm feeling okay, and thank her for the help."
"I will. Is Eva still with you?"
"Not right now."
"Should I come and get her?"
"No, I don't think so." 'Probably not a good idea to become a hostage, ya know?' he didn't say. "Just hang where you are for another two weeks; I'll call you around that time. And if you have to call me again, use the green phone number."
He hung up, removed the battery from that phone, and tossed the remains into the water, then he went below and started setting up the radio. He now had, by Mike's estimate, less than ten days to go until the fly-by, so he fell into a new routine: wake and take Clyde for a walk to the fish market, get fresh salmon for their breakfast, then walk back to Bandits. Scrambled eggs and salmon, and whatever fresh fruit he could scrounge up on the island, started their day. He purchased a bread maker and started making whole wheat loaves, and while not as good as Dina's he was content with the purchase. He found a little diner and usually had lunch there - with Clyde at his feet - then they walked to the high red cliffs and gazed at the sea before walking back to the marina.
On the 15th he powered up the sat phone Mike had given him and seconds later an incoming call chirped.
"Taggart here."
"How you liking island life, buddy?"
"It's peaceful. How is Eva?"
"She's just fine. I think she misses you, but that goes without saying."
"I'd feel better knowing you're not going to hurt her."
"Well, that kind of depends on you, doesn't it?"
"I'd like to pick her up at Norderney about a day after if that works for you."
"I think we can manage that. You remember the instructions?"
"Phone in the charger, wait for your call."
"Henry, was the gun really necessary?"
"Apparently, or you wouldn't have jimmied the firing pin."
"We underestimated you, Henry. My bad."
"You're not the first, Mike."
"Well, at least now I know why you came so highly recommended."
"Anything else I can help you with right now, Mike?"
"Do you want to talk to Eva?"
"I've got enough on my mind right now. Tell her I said hello, would you?"
He disconnected and removed the battery, slipped it in the charger while he inserted the spare, then he took Clyde for a long walk, ending at the fish market again. The owner was just pulling a freshly smoked salmon out of his smoker and Taggart took half of it back to the boat, feeding Clyde more raw salmon he'd picked up earlier that day, then they went topsides to watch the sunset.
There was a little girl walking along the pier and she stopped and said hello.
"I see you walking your dog all the time, and I wanted to ask if I could maybe walk him for you?"
"I see," Taggart replied in German, "and how much does a walk with my dog cost?"
"Two euros? Is that too much?"
He smiled. "No, that's fine, but tell me something. Do your parents know you are here asking me this?"
She shook her head.
"Well, we can do this as long as we have your parent's permission, okay?"
She nodded then scampered off to her house. A half-hour later a rather nice-looking woman came back with the little girl.
"I am so sorry," the woman said. "Erika had no business asking you such a thing. I feel I must apologize for her intrusion."
"No apologies needed. Would you two like to come up and join me? I just made fresh limeade."
"Oh, no, no, we would be an intru..."
