Utopian Day (13 page)

Once they were back on the yacht, the afternoon and
evening followed a predictable pattern, even down to the bottle of
wine that was delivered to their cabin once they were locked in for
the night. He surveyed the room and found a small shelf of books.
He immediately went over and began to casually thumb through each
book, finally selecting one that had a blank page at the back of
it. He could remove this page and use it for writing an S.O.S.
note. He turned it back to the front cover and noticed that it was
a copy of
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
by Jules
Verne. He smiled to himself as he sat down and began to read. It
was a book he had read once in high school and enjoyed immensely.
No time like the present to reacquaint himself with it, he
thought.

He read for about an hour as both James and Laura
each showered and appeared to be getting ready to turn in, each of
them dressed in the designer pajamas that Nick had so graciously
provided for the occasion. Nick was certainly going out of his way
to make everything seem as hospitable as possible. It was an
attempt, no doubt, to lure James and Laura over to his way of
viewing the situation, and illicit their support. Now it was time
to see just how far that effort had gone.

J.T. went over to his bunk and put the book on top
of his pillow. As he turned around, he noticed that both James and
Laura were reading books of their own. Utopia, it seemed, had had
some positive effects on them all. He hoped it would be enough of a
common bond to help see them through the difficulties that remained
to be faced. “Can we talk about our plans?” he said out loud.

He spoke quietly, but loudly enough to be heard by
both James and Laura. He sat down beside Laura, who reluctantly put
down her book. James came over and sat down on the other side of
Laura so they could communicate with a minimum of volume.

“
I have a plan,” J.T. began.
“There is some danger involved, but I think it just might
work.”

“
Let’s hear it,” James
responded.

“
I was able to get a pen at the
bank yesterday, and I found some paper that I can use to write an
S.O.S. note on. I think I can deliver it to the receptionist at the
bank without being noticed. If so, and if she helps us, she could
contact the authorities and let them know we are being held
captive.”

“
And then what?” Laura replied.
“We wait for the police to storm the boat and rescue us? Have you
forgotten we have four armed guards and that lady guarding us while
you are gone? They may be able to rescue you on land well enough,
but out here, anyone getting within a mile of this boat will be
seen. James and I are likely to be killed in the
process.”

“
Like I said,” J.T. continued,
“There are risks.”

“
Why don’t we just go along with
Nick’s plan?” James mentioned. “I mean, he seems like he has no
intention of harming us. Once he’s done with us and lets us go, we
can do whatever it is we want, right? Why go ahead and risk getting
killed on an escape?”

“
Yeah,” Laura agreed, glad to have
James thinking along the same lines as she was. “What’s the
rush?”

“
The rush is,” J.T. proceeded,
“that Nick may not intend to let us live once this is all over. Why
would he give us eleven million dollars just for our cooperation
when he can just as easily put a bullet in our heads and dump our
bodies in the ocean? This man is a thief, remember that. Secondly,
I’m concerned about recovering the money. He’s taking it somewhere;
he’s not storing it on the boat. If I lose track of it now, I may
never get it back.”

“
So that’s what this is about?”
Laura said angrily, raising her voice to a level which risked their
being heard by the guards.

“
Keep your voice down. Laura!”
James whispered cautiously.

Laura lowered her voice, but not her intensity as
she continued. “This is all about you getting that stolen money
back, isn’t it?! And you are willing to put us at risk to do
it!”

“
Look,” J.T. lobbied, “you have to
remember that is money that I’m using to pay back the people who
got fired or lost their pensions when Nick and I destroyed the
companies they worked for. That money is being used to pay
mortgages, provide college tuition, pay medical bills. If I lose it
now, I may never get it back. I’m trying to do the right thing
here.”

The fire ebbed in Laura’s eyes and her voice toned
down as she responded. “O.k., I get that. But I’m not willing to
risk my life so you can make amends for the things you did.
Remember that program you talk so highly about? I seem to recall
that amends are only to be made when you won’t be hurting someone
else, or have you forgotten that?”

J.T. was silent for a moment as he recalled the
ninth step of the program, the steps he had tried to live by the
past few years.

“
You’re right,” J.T. said in a
subdued tone, “I guess I forgot about that in the process of trying
to think about how to save the money. But the first part of what I
said is still a good reason to think about it. What if Nick’s plan
is to kill us when he has all the money? I still think it is worth
the risk, but I won’t try it unless we all agree.”

He paused and waited for James and Laura to consider
what he had said. Finally, James spoke.

“
There’s another
possibility.”

“
What’s that?” J.T.
queried.

“
You could get caught trying to
deliver the note. Then Nick might not be as accommodating as he has
been. Who knows what he might do? We already know he is willing to
kidnap the three of us and risk being caught doing it by the FBI.
If we try to blow the whole deal for him now, he may decide to go
back on what he promised us and kill us after all.”

“
James is right,” Laura added, “I
don’t like our chances. I say we wait it out and take our chances
on Nick keeping his word.”

J.T. sat back and let out a long sigh, running a
hand through his hair as he did. He was obviously disappointed.

“
O.k.,” he said, resigned, “I
guess I’m out-voted. I’ll continue to go along with Nick’s plan and
hope for the best.”

As J.T. lay awake in bed that night, he considered
the possible outcomes that might befall them. Losing the money was
regrettable, but the possibility of being killed within the next
ten days was front and center. As he lay in the darkness, he
uttered a silent prayer.

“
God, grant me the serenity to
accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things
I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” And with that, J.T.
Thornbacker drifted off to sleep.

Nick opened up his laptop and quickly reviewed the
transcripts just delivered to him on the USB thumb drive by the man
in the radio room. With so much riding on this operation, he was
leaving nothing to chance. The video and audio devices he’d had
installed in the cabin where his new guests were staying ensured
that any movements and any conversation, no matter how hushed,
would be captured for his review. A note at the end of the
transcript indicated that nothing unusual had appeared on the video
feed for the evening. As he re-read the transcript of the
conversation that had just taken place, he smiled and congratulated
himself. The psychological dossiers he’d had prepared on each
prisoner at Utopia had helped him choose just the right accomplices
to his plans.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The next day, the routine of the previous two days
continued. J.T. and company arrived at the bank and went through
the withdrawal process. They got in the car and went on their way
as they had done previously. The car exited the narrow alleyway per
the usual route and circled around to the third road before exiting
the round-about.

No one in the vehicle thought anything about the man
at the end of the road who was walking slowly along the sidewalk.
Silas had positioned himself so that he would have a perfect view
down the street and be able to tell if the car turned anywhere.

Silas bent down and pretended to be tying his shoe
when they got close to where he was standing so that Nick wouldn’t
get a good look at his face and possibly recognize him. With a hat
and sunglasses, it wasn’t likely, but Silas had known stakeouts to
be blown for simpler reasons.

The car continued down the street, almost to the
end, before abruptly turning into an alleyway. Moments later, two
men, each carrying a duffel bag, came out of the alley and walked
down the sidewalk to one of the shops, and then went inside. A few
minutes later, they came back out, got back in the car, and
continued down the street going in the opposite direction from
Silas.

Silas took out his phone and dialed Marty, who was
positioned in an alleyway at the end of the street with a rented
moped.

“
Marty, he’s coming your way.
Follow him, but not too close,” he instructed.

“
O.k., I see him,” Marty replied
before disconnecting the call and putting the phone back in his
pocket.

The car drove past where Marty was waiting. He
waited a few seconds for good measure and then pulled out behind
them, following from about half a block away. This time, they drove
along busy roads where he could blend in with the local traffic and
not be noticed. Marty stopped when they pulled in to the Barcadere
Marina parking lot. He got off the moped and began to walk in their
direction, being careful to act as if he was in no hurry. He was
close enough to see that they boarded a cigarette boat and quickly
began moving away from the dock, out to the open ocean.

After putting his phone away, Silas began walking
down the street to see where the car had been parked and to examine
the shop that the two men had entered. He was fairly certain that
one of the two men had been Nick Bartonovich. The alleyway offered
no surprises. It was too narrow for more than one car, and
dead-ended into another building. He came out of the alleyway and
made his way to the shop door where the two men had entered. It was
a bakery on the first floor, with a wooden staircase leading up to
the second floor. An acrylic sign hung down from the ceiling over
the staircase that read “CES Enterprises”.

“
Bingo,” Silas thought to himself.
He wandered over to the bakery counter and picked out some
delicious looking croissants. After paying for them, he left and
headed back down the street to where he had parked the van. He took
out his phone and called Marty.

“
Did you find out where they
went?” he asked when Marty answered the phone.

“
Yes, I did. Dey went to da marina
and left in a boat.”

“
Good work, Marty. Meet me back at
my hotel; we’ve got some planning to do.”

Once they were back on the boat, J.T. went to his
cabin to change out of his suit. As he hung the pants up in the
closet, something slid out of the pocket and onto the floor. He
bent down to pick it up. It was a small pen with a piece of paper
taped to it. He unfolded the paper and began reading what was
written on it:

J.T. – I know you are being held hostage and that
Nick Bartonovich is using you to withdraw money from the bank. I am
here to help you escape. I need to know as many details about your
daily routine as you can give me: where you go each day, and where
you are being held would be very helpful. Write them out on the
back of this paper and slide it between the cushions of the couch
where you sit each day when you go to the bank. I will place
further instructions in the same place for you to retrieve the
following day. – A friend who can help.

How did this get into my pocket?
J.T. thought
to himself. He carefully reviewed the errand to the bank from
earlier in the day, trying to focus on who had the opportunity to
pass him the note. He finally remembered a man who had brushed
against him as he left the bank. That must have been it. He quickly
walked over to his bunk and stashed the note and pen under his
mattress before heading back up to the dining room for lunch.

The afternoon consisted of various leisure
activities. Reading, fishing, swimming – everything you might
expect from a vacation except for the armed guards. At one point,
Nick even tempted Laura and James into going water-skiing. James
had done a bit of water-skiing with a local boys club as a young
man, and after a few bungled attempts, he was able to hold his own.
Laura, on the other hand, had never skied before. Before the end of
the afternoon, though, she was able to stay up on the skis and even
jump a few small waves created by the wake of the boat. Mia and
Nick took their turns on the skis, as well. They were both quite
accomplished skiers, and Nick showed off his skill as he slalomed
on one ski.

While everyone but the three remaining guards were
off skiing on the cigarette boat, J.T. went down to his cabin and
prepared the note for his new friend:

We are being held on a yacht about an hour out from
Barcadere Marina. There are two other people being held captive
with me. Each day I am taken to the bank to withdraw money. Nick,
two armed guards, and myself go into the bank. We arrive at 9:00
a.m. and are there for approximately 15 to 20 minutes before we
leave. We drive to an alleyway about a block away where I am
blindfolded. We then drive for a few minutes and stop. I think two
of them get out at that point. A few minutes later, they get back
in the car and we drive off. They remove my blindfold just before
we get to the marina, where we board a cigarette boat and go back
to the yacht. There are five other armed guards who remain on the
boat while we are gone to the bank.