The Fourth Law

by Paul Stein

  “There now, sweetie. See how easy that was?” she said impishly, suspecting the captain was feeling anything but thankful, judging from the alarmed look on his face.

  “It’ll just be a few minutes. Now, please, help yourself to some orange juice. That’s an order, by the way…or shall I ask Alastair about that, too?” she whispered, a twinkle in her eye, enjoying tormenting the poor man.

  Suarez put his hands together as if praying. “No, please, Ms Navarro…don’t bother him further. You’ve done quite enough. I will be especially grateful if you would not incite him further.”

  At that moment, Holloway marched into the stateroom wearing his cashmere bathrobe and Gucci lambskin slippers. He was freshly shaven, his gray hair combed back flat, which made his bushy eyebrows loom even larger, but he appeared energetic and rested. Captain Suarez could only imagine how Ms. Navarro had satisfied him the previous evening. That would explain the discarded clothing. Lucky bastard, he mused.

  “Goddamnit, Angel…I told you to put some clothes on,” he said disgustedly, glancing over at her as she still vigorously exercised.

  “I do have clothes on, Alastair, I’m not naked. Besides, it doesn’t bother Eduardo…does it, honey? The captain and his crew watch me sunbathing all the time. How do you figure I keep from getting tan lines? Geez…you’re such an old prude,” she said obstinately, having no intention of stopping to accommodate his request.

  “What do you want, Eduardo?” Holloway inquired, turning away from Angelina in annoyance.

  “Just to update our position and ask where you want to berth this evening, sir. As you can see,” he continued, pointing out the port side window of the stateroom, “we are just a little past Key West. Shall we plot a course toward Nassau or would you rather head north toward Hilton Head?”

  “Is that it, captain? Really…that’s your question?” he mocked. “I thought I made myself clear last evening that I wanted to keep this boat safe from that fucking hurricane. How do you propose we do that while berthed, you moron? You tell me…which is safer? The open ocean, where we have room to maneuver, or toward the mainland, where an unpredictable storm can ravage this boat?”

  “The answer to your question is obvious, sir,” Suarez replied with as much dignity as possible. “I’m simply considering your wishes. We will comply with whatever you determine is in your best interest. The radar indicates that the storm has not varied from its path toward the interior of the gulf. I thought you might like to know that. I’ll be on the bridge if you need me, sir,” he concluded with a slight bow at the waist, backing slowly toward the door.

  “Yes, yes. Keep us in open water for now. That will be all, Captain,” Holloway said dismissively, with a wave of his hand. “And send one of the stewards to clean up this room.”

  As soon as Captain Suarez had departed, Holloway turned to Angelina, his face red with anger. He was about to address his objection to her nudity among the ship’s crew, when his PDA began vibrating to signal an incoming call. He picked up the satellite communication device that garbled his voice and cloaked his position, making the call impossible to trace.

  “What is it now?” Holloway growled. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you until after Livermore. Are you still on for tonight?”

  “Yes, Livermore’s on schedule…but there’s been another development,” Kilmer replied hesitantly. “We’ve been jacked—there’s somethin’ wonky with the Quantum equations we fingered. Weaver claims Conrad’s hidden somethin’ like a key. He says it’s common when someone’s toey about corporate espionage. Unfortunately, that’s the deal,” he said coolly.

  The phone was silent for a few seconds before Holloway responded. Then his voice sounded like a far-off freight train barreling down the tracks, getting louder with each passing second.

  “You son-of-a-bitch,” he began. “We talked about this! You gave me your word the machine would be functional with the Quantum equations. When I refused your extortion, you promised me that your guy was confident this was the last step,” he shouted, pausing momentarily to emphasize his verbatim recall of their conversation. “Who the fuck do you think you’re dealing with, Kilmer…some schmuck you can simply jerk around?”

  “Listen, don’t go berko. Believe me…I’m pissed too. But spades are spades,” Kilmer responded in a steady voice. “There wasn’t a buckley’s chance a knowin’ this ‘til Mills was done with the proto-type. But no worries; Mills finished assembly and everythin’ else we lifted’s good as gold. All we need’s the key to start the engine…but we’re down without it. It’s the way Conrad designed it. No other way.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Holloway seethed. “How do you suggest I do that? When I set this thing up with Penburton, there was never any discussion about needing Conrad to make the device work. This will change everything. We went out of our way to set up his cousin specifically to throw off the authorities and that fucking agent from DOD. ”

  “Well, it seems yer info from Penburton’s bogus. But we can do a u-ey an have Farley kidnap Conrad instead of killing ‘im, like planned. He’s got Conrad’s house staked out. We can still pin it on Marshall,” Kilmer said.

  “No, no, no, you idiot. We can’t kidnap Dr. Conrad. I’ll come up with a reason forcing his cooperation. We’ll make him want to help us,” Holloway hastily responded, his lively imagination already working on the solution. “In the meantime, I don’t want your band of miscreants to fuck anything else up. Call Farley…tell him not to make a move. Don’t do anything until you hear from me. As soon as the Livermore job’s completed, I’ll let you know how to proceed. Understand?”

  “Bloody well,” Kilmer replied, happy to be done with the call. “I’ll be callin’ yer t’morrow after the Livermore heist.”

  All things considered, the call to Holloway hadn’t gone as badly as Kilmer feared. He was understandably pissed off, but hadn’t asked for his money back, which would have been difficult to defend. There would come a time when they would revisit the subject, but, mercifully, it wasn’t on this occasion. Instead, Holloway seemed keenly focused on how to compel Jarrod Conrad to willingly assist with the operation of the antigravity device. Kilmer suspected there would be something the Quantum informant could provide for leverage. In the meantime, he was free to refocus on the logistics of the pending Livermore job without further interference.

  “Is everything okay, honey?” Angelina asked when Alastair threw the phone at the king-sized bed. She had been watching him nervously pace back and forth from the master suite to the stateroom, veins bulging from his neck and forehead, making demands and shouting in his usual ill-tempered manner. She had just stepped out of the shower and was naked in front of the mirror, still combing a eucalyptus-scented conditioner into her raven-black hair.

  “No! Everything is not all right! Do I look all right? First, it’s this fucking hurricane and that idiot Suarez, then Crocodile Dundee tells me he’s ripped me off. On top of that, I hear from your own mouth that you’ve been parading around naked in front of the whole goddamned ship. I swear to God I’m going to fire every last one of you fucking ingrates,” he screamed uncontrollably, visibly shaking.

  “Oh, my gracious…you’re so tense. Just calm down now, honey. Let’s see if I can relax you, Alastair. All this stress isn’t good for you, darling. Let Jade show you how much she appreciates living with you,” she murmured, moving eagerly toward him, displaying her magnificent naked body.

  She felt him initially freeze, resisting her embrace, but slowly he relaxed when she breathed into his ear, whispering softly that she could hardly wait to take him into her mouth. She reached down to his waist and parted his bathrobe, taking him into her hand, slowly caressing his manhood.

  “That’s it, honey, just relax. Let Jade show you how much she loves you,” she cooed, placing his left hand on one of her ample breasts. As she guided him, she felt him immediately stiffen, responding to both her touch and the feel of her nipple against his palm. She paused to passion
ately kiss him, her tongue darting lightly into his mouth, flicking the tip of his tongue, while her free hand further loosened the tie of his bathrobe. He was wearing boxers, which she adroitly slid past his knees.

  Within seconds he was fully erect and she dropped to her knees to take him entirely into her waiting mouth. He watched with incredible pleasure as Jade expertly took the full length of his shaft. The sight of her gorgeous green eyes looking up at him while swallowing his manhood was too much to endure; he exploded in a lightning-quick climax that buckled his knees as the blood seemingly drained from his head.

  She looked up and smiled, happy that she was the only person in the world that seemed capable of controlling his temper. At these times, he really wasn’t the cruel tyrant everyone made him out to be. She enjoyed the power over him she alone possessed. He was not an accomplished lover. In her experience, angry, controlling men were never able to sustain lengthy sexual relations. For a professional, it made the business proposition all that much easier—completing the act quickly was of benefit. She knew her place in Holloway’s life and played her role quite competently.

  “Now, don’t you feel much better, honey? Wasn’t that exactly what you needed?” she asked, dissipating the remainder of his angry mood.

  “Yes, that was incredible,” he replied, helping Angelina back to her feet. “But I don’t care what you say…I don’t want you parading around naked in front of the crew,” he said jealously, looking into her eyes. “It’s demeaning; you’re better than that.”

  “Oh, all right,” Angelina replied, placing her head against his bare chest, smiling when she heard the words she had no intention of following. “I love it when you’re protective of me, Alastair. It’s the main reason I love you so much.”

  “Thank you, honey. I think I love you, too.”

  “Why, Alastair…you’ve never told me that. How sweet,” she said, lightly caressing the small of his back. Controlling him through her sexuality made her feel powerful, giving her an overwhelming sense of good fortune.

  Who has the power now? She thought. Love, indeed! She wondered if Alastair Holloway knew the meaning of love, or if he was even capable of loving another human being. No matter. She immediately dismissed the thought. I’m the queen of his universe and I know he can’t live without me now…despite his protestations to the contrary. Yes, Alastair… who has the power?

  TWENTY-SIX

  BERNALILLO

  JEREMIAH MARSHALL set his plan in motion after concluding the conversation with his mother the previous evening. He had made a flight reservation for San Francisco departing Albuquerque the following morning, but decided to see Sarah first thing before he left. He knew she was extremely upset that he hadn’t stayed at school, but when he learned that his father was on the run, there was no way he could remain uninvolved. It was long past due for another man in the family to exert some badly needed, common-sense influence over the two embattled cousins. As the dawn of a new day broke, he made the four-hour drive from Roswell to Bernalillo straight away.

  Jeremiah held his father responsible for his parents’ divorce, and even though he didn’t know the details, he knew the cause involved infidelity. Ryan claimed Uncle Jarrod (Jeremiah and Jacob had taken to calling him “Uncle Jarrod” when they were youngsters, even though he was not Ryan’s brother) had conned him into his indiscretion, which would never have happened of his own volition. Jeremiah sided with his mother, however, believing that Ryan should never have put himself in the situation to begin with. Whatever the excuse involving Uncle Jarrod, it didn’t pass muster with Jeremiah, even though it was predicated on deception. Jer was raised in the Catholic tradition, where the principles of honor, loyalty, and fidelity in marriage are sacrosanct. This upbringing made his father’s behavior unforgivable. He despised his father’s actions and felt that he could never forgive him for what he did to his mother. In this regard, he was exactly like his father: vendetta-driven to the end.

  But this latest development between Ryan and Uncle Jarrod was unprecedented. This was an entirely new level of trouble. While he held contempt for both men, he didn’t want to see either of them hurt or jailed because of the extreme malediction that possessed them. This concern compelled him to get involved; no longer could he be a passive bystander while they destroyed each other.

  Jeremiah spent the time on the drive home in deep thought about how to handle the crisis once he caught up with his father. Their relationship had been icy for years, and he couldn’t be sure if his help would even be welcome.

  Through the years, Jer came to realize that his father’s relationship with his parents was atypical of anything he witnessed in his friends’ homes. His grandmother Regina was so overbearing, and Clement so ingratiating, that it was very uncomfortable to be in their presence. Holiday visits to his grandparents’ house were always filled with tension, and his father never seemed comfortable in their presence, making the strain on everyone almost palpable.

  Jer did have some good memories of growing up, however. Even though his brother was handicapped, both his parents made sure Jacob’s condition never stood in the way of family outings or vacations. Jer especially loved the camping trips the family took, which his father and he continued for a few years after his brother’s death. He loved the peace of fishing the Pecos River with Ryan and his great-grandfather, Amerigo. It was obvious these two had developed a deep bond, and Amerigo made sure Jer was included in their mutual affection.

  Jer also had fond memories of the many special events that Ryan and Sarah somehow fit into their busy lives. They were avid Dallas Cowboy fans, and one year took Jacob to meet Emit Smith and Troy Aikman. Jake and he were made honorary coaches, and Tom Landry presented Jacob with an autographed football signed by all the Cowboys and their owner, Jerry Jones. They attended stock car races, truck pulls, kept box seats to the Albuquerque Dukes, and did everything normal families did. There was a time when Jer thought he had the best father in the world.

  This all changed when Jacob died. It was like something inside Ryan died with him. He emotionally withdrew, threw himself into work, and lost the zeal for life he’d had when Jacob was still alive. They attempted a few fishing trips, but it was never the same with just the two of them. Amerigo had died a few years before Jacob, and with both of them gone, their fishing trips were never the same. It was as if all the joy had been stripped from his father—a joy that Jer had no idea how to replace.

  These thoughts tailed off as Jeremiah pulled into the driveway of his mother’s house about midmorning. He sat in the car a moment, feeling unprepared to argue his reasoning for leaving school to track down his father. He was certain she had already enlisted the advice of Aunt Sela, whom he knew would take a similarly dim view of his decision to come home. Whatever their objection, he was now home, and resolved to stay only long enough to see Sarah before catching the flight to San Francisco. He knew Uncle Jarrod’s address at Stanford. It was only a matter of tracking him down, hopefully before his dad did something really stupid.

  “Hello, Mother,” Jeremiah said as he walked into the kitchen from the side door to the house. As he gave her a big hug, he whispered, “Please don’t be mad at me,” sensing a lack of affection in her embrace.

  “Oh, Jer, I’m not mad at you. I’m glad you’re here…really I am,” Sarah said, holding her son close. “But under the circumstances, it’s really hard to get excited about anything. I’m so disappointed you left school, but I understand why you wanted to come home. I want you to call your grandfather. I spoke to him and Sela this afternoon and promised them you’d call when you arrived.”

  “Mom, I understand everyone’s concerned, but I don’t have time to discuss anything right now. I’m gonna catch up with Dad and won’t be talked out of it. Someone’s got to make him see the danger in what he’s doing. I’ve made up my mind; I’m on the 2:30 p.m. flight to San Francisco. That’s it, Mom.”

  “Jer, listen to yourself,” Sarah implored. “You sound exactly like y
our father! How can you think I’d let you chase after him? You’re putting me in an awful position. There’s no possible way for me to condone this. If you leave it’ll be over my strongest objection.”

  “Okay, fine. I understand how you feel, Mom,” he replied, seeing her exasperation from the strained look on her face. “But don’t you see that Dad and Uncle Jarrod could actually be at the point of killing each other? This is way out of hand. It’s my responsibility to stop it from escalating any further. I love you, Mom, but I’m going to San Francisco…with or without your help.”

  Sarah knew she wasn’t going to convince her headstrong son to listen to reason. Her maternal instincts took over and she offered what she saw as a compromise. “Jer, I can’t begin to tell you how upset I am about this. But I can see your mind is made up…so I’m going with you,” she said firmly. “This isn’t open for discussion. I refuse to just send you on your way. I agree this is a family matter… we’ll deal with it together.”

  “No way, Mom,” Jer protested. “I’m doing this alone and won’t have you mothering me. Now’s not the time….”

  “Not the time?” Sarah interrupted, raising her voice to block his objection. “Now you listen to me, mister. We’re doing this together or not at all. If you try leaving without me, I promise you I’ll call the police. And trust me…I already have an officer on speed dial. I mean it, Jer. Don’t push it.”

  As much as Jeremiah disagreed with his mother’s ultimatum, he was also a pragmatist. He could tell from Sarah’s pursed lips and crossed arms that she was resolved not to budge. He would have to accept her terms or leave over her adamant protest. He didn’t dare defy her further; it was this or nothing.

  “Okay, Mom, okay…you win. I don’t want to argue. Please, just get yourself ready while I book another flight. There’s no time to spare. I figure with Dad’s head start, he’ll be arriving sometime later today. If we hurry, we can catch him before it’s too late.”