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