Note: Tags are for the book, not individual chapters.
Guardian Program Ch. 29
A novel by R.C.PeterGabriel, all rights reserved.
We refueled in Barbados, just so that Sam could see some of the island, then again in Senegal before reaching our destination of Kisumu, Kenya.
I had a cab take us directly to the Kisumu Yacht Club, where I had chartered a cabin cruiser. We were staying on the yacht for the night, which would be the duration of our time in Kenya.
I had chosen Kenya because it is one of the few free-world countries that are at least partially English-speaking and allow polygamy.
A man can have up to three wives as long as there are mitigating circumstances, like my first wife being unable to have children, which is the case with Toni.
We waited about thirty minutes for the minister to arrive. Then after a brief call to Toni, so that the minister could be assured that Sam and I were marrying with Toni's knowledge and consent, we exchanged vows on the jetty.
It was a brief and carefully worded ceremony, in which somehow only Sam's vows included the words requiring her to obey.
Immediately afterward we boarded the yacht and cruised about one hundred miles or so from the club out into Lake Victoria. Once the crew had chosen what they felt was a good location, they engaged the satellite anchor. Then they made sure we had everything we needed before two of the crew took the launch back to Mfangano Island about thirty-five miles to the East-South-East. They lived on the island, and since the yacht usually carried more passengers and they weren't necessary, I didn't care that they left.
Sam and I fished for several hours, and even though we were competing for the largest fish, it was very pleasant to just sit next to her, and hold hands. We had wagered that whoever won the bet, got to pick the next role-play scenario.
I thought I was in good shape when I pulled in a Nile Perch at just over nine Kilos, not bad for a computer geek. It was small for a Nile Perch, but one of my biggest catches ever, so I named it my contest fish.
Sam just giggled at me and pulled in her line. It was then I realized she hadn't even had bait on her hook. She excused herself for only a few moments and returned with a flaying knife from the galley. She smiled sweetly at me and asked if she could borrow my fish. I reluctantly handed over my twenty-pounder and watched as she took her hook, reached right down the fish's gullet, and worked the hook through its back. After calmly retrieving her arm from the monster, she used the knife to make two long but shallow cuts along its gills. Then after rinsing off her arm she strapped herself and her pole into her chair and cast my bleeding fish overboard. Without a word, she leaned back and closed her eyes.
I sat and admired her profile, and smiled at her slightly smug expression. I could tell she felt that she had already beaten me, and it didn't take long for her to prove it. About five minutes later something was on her line, and less than ten minutes after that she was pulling in a perch weighing forty-three kilos.
Granted, I gaffed the beast and helped pull it onto the deck, but she had done all the real work and made it look easy. I no longer doubted her father's story.
Sam grinned at me as she unstrapped herself from her fishing gear, asked my permission to head to the cabin, and then sauntered off in that direction. I, of course, followed not understanding how someone could pull in a fish that weighed almost as much as they do and not be phased in the least.
I spent the remaining time before dinner, spanking Sam with my makeshift pirate sword before impaling her on my broadsword.
After eating we had the crew shut down all the lights and we laid out under the stars. It always amazes me how many you can see once you're away from other lights.
We fell asleep holding each other on deck.
Thursday morning, I had planned a leisurely cruise back to port, followed by a flight to France where I could present Sam with her wedding gift. However, I was startled awake at 03:37 local time, when Hal sent a security alert tone.
I was on my feet shouting for the crew to get the engines running before the tone stopped. It was then that I noticed the wind had picked up considerably.
The first mate called down from the railing outside the bridge about ten seconds later, wanting to know what was wrong. By then, I was sending Sam to our cabin and had been told that both, Toni's and Jessie's phones had gone offline within two seconds of each other. Something was definitely wrong. One phone failing was unlikely in itself, but both at the same time was a statistical impossibility.
"Get this boat back to port now! All possible speed!" I shouted, then told Hal to send a response team to the house.
I put a call through to Gregory Scott, my head of security in Montana. "Tell me you know something Greg." I implored when he answered the phone.
"Nothing yet, Sir. I was off duty in Missoula. I'm getting in my car and heading that way, but won't get there for about forty-five minutes. I sent a response team the moment the alert went out, and they should be at your home in less than four minutes. I was ringing the house when you called. So far, no answer. I understand you're on Lake Victoria, and Samantha Smith is with you, is that correct?"
"That's correct. Toni and Jessie are the concern. Who's heading up the response team?"
"Donald Shepherd, with team Bravo. Team Charlie is also responding but will be in personal vehicles for the most part. ETA averaging between fifteen and twenty-five minutes. They'll be covering land egress. The chopper will be covering the lake, but is ... eight minutes out."
I vaguely felt the boat's motor start but was listening to Scott's briefing. "Stop every person and vehicle attempting to leave the area," I ordered. "Even if it's a cop. I want each one scanned for DNA. I'm disconnecting. I'll monitor Shepherd's Com. You keep calling the house."
