Douglas Alan Captain

BAD MOOD DRIVE


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man on the end. He's new, isn't he?"

      "Yes, sir. Our cabin boy got sick in Capri, and we took on

      this. He's highly..."

      "Get rid of him," Stanley ordered.

      The captain looked at him, puzzled. "Get ...?"

      "Pay him off. Let's get out of here. Now!"

      Captain Bargas nodded. "Right, sir."

      Looking around, Robert Stanley was filled with a

      renewed sense of foreboding. He could almost reach out

      and touch the danger in the air. He did not want any strangers

      near him. Captain Bargas and his crew had been with him

      for years. He could trust them. He turned to look at the girl.

      Since Donald had picked her up at random, there was no

      danger there. And as for Donald, his faithful bodyguard

      had saved his life more than once. Stanley turned to Donald.

      "Stay close to me."

      "Yes, sir."

      Stanley took Sophia's arm. "Let's go aboard, my

      sweetheart."

      Donald Herman stood on deck, watching the crew

      prepare to cast off. He scanned the harbor, but he saw

      nothing to be alarmed about. At this time of the morning,

      there was very little activity. The yacht's huge generators

      burst into life, and the vessel got under way. The captain

      approached Robert Stanley "You didn't say where we were

      heading, Signor Stanley."

      "No, I didn't, did I, Captain?" He thought for a moment.

      "Ajaccio."

      "Yes, sir."

      "By the way, I want you to maintain strict radio silence."

      Captain Bargas frowned at Robert Stanley. "Radio

      silence? Yes, sir, but what if ...?"

      Robert Stanley said, "Don't worry about it. Just do it.

      And I don't want anyone using the satellite phones."

      "Right, sir. Will we be laying over in Ajaccio?"

      "I let you know, Captain."

      Robert Stanley took Sophia on a tour of the yacht. It was

      one of his prized possessions, and he enjoyed showing it off.

      It was a breathtaking vessel. It had a luxuriously appointed

      master suite with a sitting room and an office. The office

      was spacious and comfortably furnished with a couch,

      several easy chairs, and a desk, behind which was enough

      equipment to run a small town. On the wall was a large

      electronic map with a small moving boat showing the

      current position of the yacht. Sliding glass doors opened

      from the master suite onto an outside veranda deck

      furnished with a chaise longue and a table with four chairs.

      A teak railing ran along the outside. On balmy days, it was

      Stanley's custom to have breakfast on the veranda. There

      were six guest staterooms, each with hand painted silk

      panels, picture windows, and a bath with a Jacuzzi. The

      large library was done in koa wood. The dining room has a

      seating capacity for sixteen guests. A fully equipped fitness

      salon was on the lower deck. The yacht also contained a

      wine cellar and a theater that was ideal for running films.

      Robert Stanley had one of the world's greatest libraries of

      DVD movies, including pornographic. The furnishings

      throughout the vessel were exquisite, and the paintings

      would have made any museum proud.

      "Well, now you've seen most of it," Stanley told Sophia

      at the end of the tour. "I'll show you the rest tomorrow."

      She was admired. "I've never seen anything like it! It's ...

      it's like a city!"

      Robert Stanley smiled at her enthusiasm. "The steward

      will show you to your cabin. Make yourself comfortable. I

      have some work to do."

      Robert Stanley returned to his office and checked the

      electronic map on the wall for the location of the yacht.

      Blue Skies was in the Ligurian Sea, heading northeast. They

      won't know where I've gone, Stanley thought. They'll be

      waiting for me at JFK. When we get to Ajaccio, I'll straighten

      everything out.

      Thirty-five thousand feet in the air, the pilot of the 727

      was getting new instructions. "Boeing eight nine five, you

      are cleared directly to Delta India November upper route

      forty as filed."

      "Roger. Boeing eight nine five is cleared direct upper

      route forty as filed." He turned to the copilot. "All clear."

      The pilot stretched, got up, and walked to the cockpit

      door. He looked into the cabin. The sky is of the blue of

      summer day, with large, but not threatening, clouds of a

      silvery whiteness. Place high up against open sky and

      moving clouds and it is something else again. Celebration of

      union of Earth and Sky. Blue, the color of the sky on a sunny

      day. The sky is clear as glass. It was a murky, pinkish grey;

      clouds swirled across it exposing higher, greyer banks of

      cloud.

      "How's our passenger doing?" the copilot asked.

      "He looks hungry to me."

      The Ligurian coast is the Italian Riviera, sweeping in a

      semicircle from the French-Italian border around to Genoa,

      and then continuing down to the Gulf of La Spezia. The

      beautiful long ribbon of coast and its sparkling waters

      contain the storied ports of Ajaccio, Vemazza, and beyond

      them, Elba, Sardinia, and Corsica. Blue Skies was

      approaching Ajaccio, which even from a distance was an

      impressive sight, its hillsides covered with olive trees, pines,

      cypresses, and palms.

      Robert Stanley, Sophia, and Donald were on deck,

      studying the approaching coastline.

      "Have you been to Ajaccio often?" Sophia asked.

      "A few times."

      "Where is your main home?"

      Too personal. "You'll enjoy Ajaccio, Sophia. It's really

      quite