Thorne: Far Horizons -2
by Atonia
Part 3
It took a while, questioning different people around Wapping Wharf, but Jack and Dino had the description of the boat that had been at the wharf the night before. Their main thrust was to get Terry back, neither one of them cared who the boat belonged to. Jack was most anxious to be away, he felt deep inside himself that every moment counted. Dino however did call Wyatt with the information they had gained that day.
“Fish and chips you say,” Jack looked into the cone of news print he was carrying.
“Hell yeah, that’s what Limey’s are famous for.”
Jack tasted and chewed, “It’s not proper food.” He did finish it and tossed the paper in a dust bin. He’d had nothing since breakfast and was a might sharp.
They caught a taxi to take them back to the flat. They arrived as Max and Toni were walking back up the side walk. Max had persuaded her to stop for a meal; he too was famished.
Toni wanted to know what they’d found out and Dino and Jack told her.
“So what happens now?” she asked.
“Jack is going after them.”
“Would you like to come along?” Jack asked Dino as they let themselves into the flat.
“Oh man would I!”
Jack walked into Terry’s office and began removing his clothes and pulling on his uniform, “Be advised Dino this is not just a cruise, I mean to find him and God help those in the way.”
“Hey, I’m in. So how do we get to your ship?”
“I expect a boat to be sent for me,” he half buttoned up his vest and reached for his sword and buckled it about his waist. “You understand magic is about to happen so do not be surprised. “
“Not much surprises me anymore, Jack. I’ve seen too much and experienced too much.”
“You will not have experienced what you are about to undertake.” He reached for his coat and walked into the lounge to Toni. “I will find him, pet and return him to you…once again.”
Toni put her arms around his neck and kissed him, “I know you will and I love you for it, be safe, Jack.”
“I don’t really want a kiss, Toni, I’m just hanging out here,” Dino looked sad.
Toni smiled and kissed him too, “You take care of yourself, Dino.”
Max shook hands with Dino and hugged Jack, “Somebody let us know when you have him, Jack.”
“We will do that, Dino you are in charge of communications.” With one last look and a smile for Toni Jack and Dino left the flat.
Toni and Max walked over to the windows and soon saw them on the street heading down to the wharf below the bridge.
“Oh look there it comes, a sailboat of some sort.”
“It moves pretty fast for a sailboat.”
“Oh, Max but it’s a magic sailboat,” she smiled, “And do you know it is not visible, Jack told me that when he took me sailing in spring. But I do wonder how an invisible ship will find the one that Terry’s on and rescue him.”
“You have complete faith in Jack don’t you?”
“Yes…of course I do, he’s never let me down…ever.”
Max thought she was probably right out of the four of them. If you counted in Terry’s trips to the edge, Jack was the only one who had never let her down. He was sure she didn’t count Terry’s trips to the edge however, and this one was not his fault.
A phone began to ring and as they scrambled around picking up one then another she answered Terry’s, it was Henry and she didn’t know what to tell him. Holding the phone she pushed mute, “it’s Henry, Terry’s son, I’d forgotten he was going to call back today, I don’t know what to tell him.”
“Where is he?”
“At his school, he can only call once a day.” Max reached for the phone.
“Hello, Henry, this is your uncle Max, I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Toni sat down at the table and listened to Max calmly talking to Henry. She winced when he told him he was on a secret mission and would call as soon as he got back. “Do you think that was wise telling him something like that?”
“Did you want me to tell him is father was missing? Terry can explain it however he wants to when he’s home.”
“Home, I wonder sometimes where home is, Max. Virginia, London or Gloucester.”
“Home is where you are love, I’m sure Terry would agree. You are his home.”
“Then he needs to stay there then…oh God.” She put her face in her hands.
“I know something we can do, I have to go home and get some clothes, come with me you’ve never seen where I live. Yes? Yes, let’s go.” He didn’t want her sinking again and he did need clean clothes.
A taxi brought them to the door of his building and he walked over and picked up his mail from the man behind the desk. Toni walked to the elevator looking around the large lobby, it was a modern new building, not like the one Terry had. The elevator brought them to Max’s floor and he opened his door, “Here it is, all mod cons.”
“My God, Max, this is huge.”
“Umm I don’t know about that, it’s on two levels and spread out, probably not much difference in size than Terry’s.”
Toni walked to the railing, “What a view, hard to believe it’s the same river on the other side of the city.”
“Same water, would you like something to drink…glass of wine?”
“Okay.”
“Downstairs, everything is downstairs. Toni was trying to take it in, large open space, great view but it didn’t look lived in, not warm like Terry’s did even before she added a few things, maybe it was the modern furniture, everything new and shiny.
“How long have you lived here, Max?”
“Um about six years,” he opened a bottle of wine from his wine cooler and found her a glass. “I know what you’re thinking but I don’t spend that much time here, I work all the time,” he handed her the glass, “and I had a decorator do it up. I gave her full rein ‘whatever you think I’d like’ I said to her over a very early breakfast one morning and this is what I got, a cold bastard of a flat.”
“You aren’t like this at all. I know you, very well in fact.”
“I know you do,” he said meeting her eyes and touching her glass. “I know you very well too.”
“I don’t think you and I can ever just be friends, Max, we’re lovers once removed, that will always be there.”
“You may be right, Toni but I am trying.” He gave her a sweet engaging smile.
“You’re a devil, Max.” she smiled back.
“That too,” he looked toward the glass wall, “I wonder how far they’ve gotten in their little sailboat?”
They had in fact reached the mouth of the Thames, pushed along by a wind that came from nowhere. The water was choppy here and Dino was getting wet and cold, he noticed Jack didn’t pay any mind to it so he tried to ignore the damp working its way down his back. He could see the ship now half in fog and shook his head. It was a sight to behold.
Dino was pulled aboard by strong hands and Jack behind him after climbing a rope ladder. This was a first for him, he’d been on boats even ships before but nothing like this. He looked up and the tops of the masts were in the fog. All of a sudden things began happening around him and he moved with Jack, who was giving orders he couldn’t decipher, to a different deck. He watched men climb like monkeys up the ropes and soon sails appeared as the anchor was drawn up. They were moving and Jack said to him to follow him down to his cabin. and did he have the maps with him.
Jack spread the maps they’d picked up near Wapping Wharf. “I liked your idea, Dino, out of the shipping lanes and far enough out not to be spotted. Now to study this map…what a lot of detail…wherever are the coordinates.” He bent over the table moving his glass around and getting a feel for the unfamiliar maps.
Dino was holding on to whatever he could reach while Jack stepped around the table as if on land. He figured out quickly Jack was a different man on water, he was in complete control and everyone around him stepped to his tune. He seemed to grow in stature before his eyes.
“Here; we shall have a go at this area, set our course nor’ nor west.”
Nor’nor west it is, sir.” Answered Mowett.
Jack walked with Mowett to the door of his cabin explaining what they were looking for and why and when Terry’s name was mentioned Mr. Mowett’s mouth dropped open.
“But sir he was just married.”
“That he was, all the more reason to make haste.”
“Killick, Killick there, light along a pot of coffee.”
“Which it’s ready and waitin’” he replied bringing in a tray and placing it on the table.
“Now then Dino, please to have a seat,” Jack pulled up a chair. “We shall find him and when we do we will demand that Terry be handed over; if they do not comply we’ll put a shot over her bow to let them know we mean business.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Then we shall come alongside and board her. A round of shot might do, we shall see.”
“They might do something with him, Jack, I’m saying they’ve had him, he’s seen them, they’ll kill him.”
“Not if their boat is sinking.”
“You plan to sink it?”
“If I have to…I have no qualms about sinking their boat and their crew. They have my brother and God knows what they have done to him.”
The light was blinding, the white was gone his breathing shallow and the pain was back and the thirst. He tried to move his head away from the light but it was forced back. He wanted to shield his face with his hands but he couldn’t bring them up they were too heavy, but he tried something pulled at them. His feet too. He closed his eyes, he was cold under the bright light and began to shake, he was cold…wasn’t he? He wanted the warmth he wanted the heat he wanted to go there again. The light went off and he was given water again, laughter…the voices were back he wanted them to go away…go where…he didn’t know, the fire, he was fire, he was burning and then it was good, it was….good.
Toni sat on Max’s leather sofa and watched the lights over the city while Max took a shower and changed. He was so different from Terry and yet something about him brought Terry closer to her. She couldn’t think what it was. Maybe it was as he said, he fanned the flames. Dear Max, he’d been there for her, always and she’d walked away from him. For that one meeting, she’d walked away. How different her life would be with him…or would it?”
“I’m all clean and shiny now with bag packed.” He emerged from his bedroom with a bag over his shoulder. “Do you need anything love before we go, or do you want to stay for awhile? I like having you here.”
“I’m glad I came, now I know where you are when you aren’t around me.”
“I should have taken you to M&S, that’s where I am…mostly.”
“Except for when you go to France.”
“Yes…but we’re starting all over you see.”
“You’ve come from France though, when you came in the little car to the House.”
“Yes, I have.” He sat down beside her. “France never held anything over you, you do know that?”
“Yes Max, I believe I do know that.”
He was quiet for a moment and looked toward the glass wall, “We’d better go, Toni before I do something I will regret.”
“What were you thinking about doing?”
Max smiled and stood up and pulled her off the sofa and picked up his bag.
Brian stood behind Wyatt, both men catching their breath when the images came across the screen. “What have they done to him?” Wyatt asked.
After a moment, “Drugs, bloody hell.”
“Brian, how did they know where to send them, this is a secure network here?”
“Yes it is Wyatt, we have a stinking rat. I checked on the boat, it was leased by somebody who evidently doesn’t exist.”
“False name, why am I not surprised. Do you know who it is?”
“If I did, I’d kill the son-of-a-bitch. Okay get on with it we’ve got the POL what do you want,” he spoke to the screen.
“Ten million fucking pounds? Do you want to work this Wyatt or do you want me too?”
“You do it, I can’t stomach this; we’re talking about Terry Thorne here, he’s been my mate for too many years, been drunk in too many countries…I can’t do this.” Wyatt got up and rubbed the back of his neck, the images of Terry still in his mind, he wanted a drink.
Dino heard him call out “Where away” as he climbed up on deck blinking his eyes, he’d tried to sleep a little and wondered if Jack had even been to bed. It was the middle of the night. Somebody above him lost in the ropes and canvas called down to Jack and he lifted his glass again.
“Have you spotted him?” he asked.
“I ‘m not sure, there’s a boat out there”
Dino looked out at total darkness you couldn’t tell where the sky ended and the water began. Jack handed him his glass and Dino strained his eye, yes he could see something it looked a long way off. “How far is it?”
“He appears to be dead in the water, anchored, I can see no wake.” He called out for more sail. “With any luck we should have him in a few hours I hope to meet up with him before daybreak.”
“How do you know that’s our boat?”
“What is it you have Dino, a hunch?” he smiled and closed his glass.
Dino grabbed his ear and pushed a button, “Phone.” He walked away and came back in a minute.
“Jack, a video has come through to the office, Wyatt says he looks like hell, he’s being shot up with some kind of drug, he’s handcuffed to bed, looks like a hospital bed, they have rails on the side.” He pulled out a hand held computer. “Wyatt’s gonna send it to me, not that I want to see it.”
Jack watched his face in the light of the lantern over his shoulder, he wasn’t sure he wanted to see it either but then it would give him an idea of what he was going to have to deal with. He watched it in silence as Dino had done but inside it had lit a fuse.
“He is below decks, do you have any idea the layout of such a vessel? “ He asked Dino his voice tightly controlled.
“I will find out right now,” he began searching the net for information on the boat in question. “It may have been modified.”
“It was a smallish cabin was it not?”
“Yeah, it ain’t the master suite. Probably a member of the crew’s quarters. Here this is it, same model boat.” Jack looked over his shoulder as he brought up the layout.
“Engines are here and right next to them is the crew’s space, two rooms.”
“Three decks and he’s on the bottom next to the engines.” Jack stepped back, if she got her engines going there was no way he could catch her, if he blew them he’d lose Terry. They would have to board. And then he had another thought. “Tell me, Dino, how high does she ride in the water?”
