Chapter Forty Three
2:30 a.m. EST
Churning clouds obscuring the moon, the pending storm drew close and the sea whipped three-foot black waves. Gusts of wind swept sea spray over the bow. The engines of Top Gun echoed pulsating whines.
Gripping the craft’s wheel, Zack called over the din to Jim who stood to the left clutching a handrail, “Jimbo, how you feeling?”
“Super.”
“Think of it this way, we’re challenging the Bermuda Triangle.”
“Triangle’s winning.”
“I knew this thing went straight to the top.”
Jim called, “I still think crazy Joe’s tape is a fake.” He wiped a spray of salt water from his face.
“Jimbo, you’re a journalist, put it together_feed the media unconfirmed reports, stir up some racial stuff, add a trumped-up story about fighting terrorism to protect freedom, motherhood, apple pie, the childrenand, oh, by the way, temporarily suspend the Constitution. Vintage Lande media manipulation; she’s a genius at it.”
Jim clutched the railing. “I think I’m going to throw up.”
“Go over the side.”
Jim heaved over the side.
“Don’t fall overboard,” Zack said.
Jim leaned back. “Where’s that bottle?”
“Here.” Zack handed him the bottle of Glenlivet and picked up where he left off about Armstrong. “Then Armstrong goes to Camp David to make it look good.”
“Going to Camp David just made sense.”
“Why are you defending that sack of spineless jackass?”
Jim wiped his mouth. “Why are you defending that phony nut case, Joe Case?”
“It’s a matter of which nut you choose to believe.”
“And I’m dealing with three.”
“You talking about me?”
“Yes”
“Jimbo, after all we been through”
“I don’t careI’m” He heaved over the side again.
“Take another drink, settles the inner ear.”
“That’s not true.”
Zack checked his heading—west-southwest. “Don’t you see a pattern in all this?”
“No.”
“I do.”
“I knew you would.” Jim wiped his face.
“Each event seems simple enough, but when you put everything together you get a whole that is brilliant.” Zack adjusted course to due west.
Jim slugged the bottle again and steadied himself as the craft skimmed a cross-swell. “Bwana, what if you’re wrong?”
“When is the last time I was wrong?”
“Right.” Jim called over the smack of hull against waves. “If you’re right, if we don’t get shot, if your loco friend is telling the truth, got a recording from some Super Fly, the question is, what are we going to do about it after we both get dead?”
“You really are a pessimist at heart, aren’t you?”
Lightning cracked just off starboard.
Zack gripped the wheel. “You better put your life jacket on.”
“For what?” Jim said. “To drown more slowly.”
“Jimbo, trust me.”
“You still didn’t answer my question.”
“About what?”
“If Case is right, what are you going to do about it?”
“We’re going to print it.”
“No, we’re not.” Jim slugged the bottle again. “We’re going to die in the Bermuda Triangle.”
“Luck, fate, heaven, hell.”
“Ohhh.” Jim steadied himself as Top Gun skimmed yet another swell. “My luck, your fate.”
“If you only knew.”
“Knew what?”
“Nothing.” They rolled forty-five degrees to port, Zack struggled with the wheel. “You know who we haven’t heard from in any of this?”
“Jesus Christ.”
“Our Congressional leaders.”
A five-foot wave doused the cockpit. Jim’s knees buckled, “We’re going to die”
Zack called over the chaos, “Armstrong’s goons planned this thing perfectly. Congress back home on Labor Day break, eating corn on the cob with their constituents.”
“Ooooh. Jim heaved over the side.
“Watching the same TV doo-dah-day we’ve all been watching on the boob tube for the last twenty-four hours.”
“Ooooh.” Jim hung on as the craft yawed sideways.
“You okay?”
Out of the water, the twin props whined as Top Gun slammed into another series of surging waves. Rain began to spit.
“We’re going to drown” Jim said.
“Little swells. Nothing to worry about. Listen, we have to contact Beno when we get back.” Zack swung the wheel heading due north.
“Why are we changing direction?”
“Relax.”
“Why are we turning?”
“Somebody up there where they shouldn’t be.”
“Again?”
“Anyway, we need to contact Beno when we get back.”
“If we get back.”
“We’ll get back. We have to.”
Jim wiped saltwater spray from his forehead. “I could have been a lawyer.”
“If anyone can derail this thing, Beno can. She’s got to KO that son of a bitch Armstrong in Novembershe has toif there is an election.”
“If there is an election? Zackary, you simply have to get to a shrink.”
Lightning illuminated the blackness in front of them. Splitting thunder cracked the air. A drenching squall began.
Zack, over the chaos: “Beno is right.”
Jim yelled, “You’re crazy. You’re crazy.”
“Do you grasp what Beno has been saying?” Zack braced himself as they shot off a wave at twenty degrees.
Jim clutched the railing. I don’t care.
“She’s talking beyond any system of economics we now havebut greed stands in the way, a select few now control roughly ninety-five percent of the world’s wealth. Too many are getting the short end of the stick. ‘Silver and gold shall not deliver them in the day of the wrath.’ Ezekiel seven-something.”
Jim mumbled, “Oh, my God, he’s quoting the Bible.” He shouted over the torrential rain, “Zackary, your Jesuit slips are showing.”
“Take another slug.”
Jim hit the bottle again.
“Better?”
“No”
They smacked a five-foot wave and pitched thirty-five degrees.
“I’m sorry for everything,” Jim prayed.
The boat righted itself. Lightning struck ten feet astern.
Jim crossed himself. “I just hope you can walk on water.”
“Call it what you like, the proof is in the pudding.”
“Don’t say that.”
“What?”
“What you said.”
“Pudding?”
“Yes.” Jim slugged the bottle and gave it to Zack.
A swell jolted Top Gun and she swung ninety degrees.
“What was that?”
“Not to worry, Jimbo, Bermuda Triangle, probably ghosts from missing Flight 19.”
“You think that’s funny, don’t you, real funny. Gimme that bottle back.”
Zack looked at his compass and wiped saltwater from his face. He turned back to a heading due west. “Should be seeing the night lights of Miami in fifteen minutes. Keep an eye out.”
“Zackary, you’re insane.”
Zack glanced at the raging fury of water all around. “You know, Jimbo, I agree, but sometimes I think I’d rather be insane than what is currently being offered as the other optionn either case, I’d give it all away to be out of here and over thereto know for sure, know once and for all what’s over there.”
Jim heaved over the side.