The Chair (6 page)

“And leave Catherine here wondering what’s happening to you again? No, I don’t think you could live with that.”

Gently grasping her arm I looked in the eyes. “Look, Catherine is safe and she’ll be alright.

As for me, I didn’t ask for all this, but I’ve been mixed up in it till now and I’m going to see it through; now let’s find your father and get that chair back!”

She looked at me smiling that certain kind of smile. I was sure she was wondering if I was somehow beginning to show my concern for her now over Catherine.

I
was
torn and had to be truthful about it; my confidence had been shaken and I was beginning to feel mixed emotions about everything now, but I also knew playing this thing out would make the picture clearer for me.

CHAPTER

SEVEN

W
e found both trackers and carried them to the lower floor in the same room that the chair had occupied. It was getting late and Catherine had been worn out by the whole ordeal with Paxton. All three of us got into Catherine’s motor car and drove off to her flat. Upon arriving, we pulled around onto her street and parked in front. We walked in through the complex and around the first building. Her flat was up the steps on the second floor and three flats down. Catherine and Aura walked in first and when entering, I headed straight for the lav.

Catherine, trying to be fair minded, made an offer. “Ara, you might as well stay here with Richard and I until it’s safe for you to go back to where ever it is you came from.”

“Oh, uh, thank you Catherine; I ah, think you better talk to Richard about that; I believe he’s decided to come back with me to help find my father and recover the chair.”

 “What? Isn’t there anyone else that can help you with those things, I’ve been worried sick over him and I don’t want him in any more danger, please tell him to stay.”

“I’ve told him he should stay but it seems he’s made up his mind.” She shrugged her shoulders.

Catherine immediately walked over and found me already sitting in the living room.

“Richard, you’re going back with her to…to where; someplace that I have no way of contacting you, or to know what’s going on? It’s all too confusing and I just don’t like it!”

She lit a cigarette, took one puff and sat down on the couch staring off into space. “Who
is
this woman anyway? All of a sudden out of nowhere you two are together mixed up in some kind of escapade. She’s on the make for you, isn’t she? Are you attracted to her?

I could see she was drumming up a lot of fears and emotions that for now, needed to be allayed; so I sat down next to her and put my arm around her.

“Don’t worry Cath. I’m try’n to help the girl find her bloody father; and the technology of that chair can’t stay in the wrong hands!”

She pursed her lips and turned her head away. “That’s another thing. That…that whatever it is, disappears into thin air…it’s got to be dangerous Richard; we need to contact the authorities and inform them of this device, especially with dangerous people in control of it.”

“Catherine you just have to trust me on this one. There are good reasons we can’t go to the authorities just yet, reasons I can’t go into right now.”

We all had to get some sleep and Ara took the couch while Catherine slept in her own room and I slept on the floor with plenty of blankets. I wasn’t in the mood to get anything started again between the two women and we were all so tired anyway it didn’t take long for us to fall asleep.

The next morning we slept in a little and then had a quick breakfast courtesy of Catherine. Later, while she was in the bathroom doing her hair Ara and I were in the living room discussing how we might go about things when we reached the conduit.

“I really want to thank you for staying with this, you really shouldn’t have to, I know.”

Before I could answer, she walked up, put her arms around me and kissed me. Of course as things go, Catherine walked in right at that critical moment, saw us, turned right around again and walked away.

“Catherine!” I quickly followed her and grabbed her arm.

“Let go, leave me alone. You should go now if you’re going to go Richard. I’ve obviously got some thinking to do.”

“Catherine, it’s not the way it appears, I didn’t― I haven’t―”

“I’ve got to go to work Richard; we’ll have to discuss it another time.”

No one said a word while driving to the music school. Catherine, with tears in her eyes said a quick good bye and was clearly distressed. I was beginning to wonder what was really going on myself as Ara and I went to find the two trackers.

“Father still has to be somewhere here in London. We’ll have to go to the location he last traveled and ask around. There must be someone where he worked that might have a clue as to what became of him and I’m going to find out.”

She was quite attractive looking when she had a determined look on her face, but there I went again. What was I doing, allowing myself to be lured by another woman so easily? I was beginning to doubt the integrity I thought I had; the trustworthiness and loyalty, was it all now shot to hell? If I was
that
impulsive it was best I found out now rather than too far down the road with Catherine.

We found the room where we stored the two trackers keeping in mind there was an element of risk involved with jumping back to the conduit. Anders and Paxton could still be there at that moment waiting to eliminate us the minute we appeared. We both dragged the trackers out in the middle of the room. It was still strange to me that merely sitting in these chairs would take us immediately to wherever the chair was. Whatever it was enabling this to occur was truly miraculous and using it in the right way could change travel in a most profound way.

I held her back from sitting down just yet. “Maybe I should go first just to ensure that everything is safe.”

“Richard, not so fast, if one of us goes first it should be me.”

“Alright, we both go at the same time. Keep your weapon ready, if they’re there, they’ll have the advantage over us while we’re becoming visible. As soon as we’re sure of arriving wherever it is, get down on the floor as quick as you can!”

“You’ve got that right!”

Both of us stood in front of the trackers and sat down together. We had to take that chance of appearing wherever the chair had recently traveled which hopefully was still the conduit.  The seconds were long and agonizing, but I finally came to and began to see something materializing before me. Was it the conduit or would we be somewhere far away. I clutched my weapon tightly and prepared for the worst. I knew Ara was doing the same as our surroundings were becoming visible. Our location finally became visibly solid and it was immediately apparent we were certainly not at the conduit. Either Anders or Paxton had traveled to another location and we were about to find out where.

We stood up keeping our weapons at the ready looking around at the stone block cathedral we were now in. Wooden seats were in the center floor surrounded by massive stone columns rising up to meet huge stone arches supporting a huge barrel shaped ceiling of stone. A marble stand supported by two small miniature marble columns stood at the front with a candlestick and a metal cross sitting on its top. Light was streaming through the upper stone arches. It was magnificent, but where had we traveled, and where was the chair?

We quickly found a side room, dragged the trackers inside and left our weapons to keep everything out of sight. Ara walked up a long stone stairway and looked out through one of the arches. “What is this place? There are soldiers with funny looking hats walking around a huge courtyard with groups of people all around.”

“I think I know! I’ve been here before; I remember stopping in here when I made a field trip visiting the Tower of London. If that
is
indeed where we are and I remember correctly, it has to be the medieval chapel of St. Peter or St. John.”

As she gradually walked back down she began to question their motives. “But what would Anders or Paxton be traveling here for? What could possibly interest them at the Tower of London?

I smiled and quipped, “Maybe they’re here to steal the crown jewels Ha, ha.”

We both looked at each other soberly. It wasn’t funny after all. They could well be after them.
The jewels were certain to be heavily guarded but the chair could easily materialize within the jewel house where they have been under guard and they could, quite possibly, break into one of many containers holding them.

“They couldn’t possibly take the crown jewels back in the chair; it would be much too heavy and cumbersome!”

“No, they wouldn’t have to; they could take just one of the most valuable items there, which would fit perfectly in someone’s pocket.”

Ara came over, held my arm with both hands and looked at me smiling in her most alluring fashion. “What could that possibly be Richard?”

“Have you heard of the Star of Africa?”

“Star of Africa?”

“Just one of the largest, if not
the
largest diamond in the world. It’s a part of Queen Elizabeth the Second’s scepter and worth a fortune in itself!”

“And what would they do with a diamond that size?”                                                                          

“Fence it, I mean sell it to the highest bidder which, using the chair, could be anywhere in the world.”

Ara stretched her arms out in thought and then began walking up the long staircase to look around once again and I started pacing the floor of the chapel trying to piece it together. “But what I don’t fully understand is why? What’s to be gained for them with all that money? Are they planning to live it up in a vacation spot somewhere?”

Ara quickly seemed to recognize just exactly what. “I have a sneaking suspicion they are up to an insurrection and takeover of our island of some sort. First thing they would do is buy equipment and arms.”

“That
is
something to consider. If they had the power there they could rule the island any way they chose. Anders suggested that very thing to me, in his unique style, saying the islanders were being suppressed against their will.”

“That’s just not true! Everyone is perfectly happy there and thriving in their own communities. We all decided no one really wanted to leave or change the peacefulness of the island.”

She had begun raising her voice and the echoes began resounding off the stone walls and as a result, we soon heard footsteps and men’s voices coming rapidly in our direction. It had to be the “beefeaters,” guards of the tower!”   

CHAPTER

EIGHT

T
he yeoman warders, “beefeaters” they were called, London’s finest, were there in an instant with all of the pomp and circumstance. They got their nickname from collecting their wages in beef long ago, except today things had changed a bit; they were now bona fide trained soldiers and I didn’t think beef would do for their payment.

Ara was up above and unseen, but of course, I was right out in the open between the wooden chairs of the chapel. There were four of them dressed in the old Tudor style attire, hats and all, but their weapons were certainly not sixteenth century; they were automatic rifles pointed straight at me.

I held my hands high and smiled. For them I needed to appear as a lowly lost tourist.

“I’m not here to harm anything, really.”

After looking me over and determining that I wasn’t a threat, the guards put their weapons down.

“What are you up to and how did you get in the chapel? This area is out of bounds with signs posted all around, didn’t you see them?”

“I’m sorry, I guess I wandered off from the rest of the tourists; this gothic chapel has always intrigued me.”

Three of the guards walked off in another direction and I was left talking to only one who began escorting me out of the chapel.

I tried explaining that it would be to their advantage to look in on the crown jewels but that I couldn’t say more. He asked why I thought they should. When I wouldn’t give any more information than a warning, he decided I should to be brought to the security office and kept there for further questioning.

Ara had followed me out of the chapel area unseen in the courtyard, through the many tourists and to the main security office where she stayed close, walking around with the crowd.

I was finally released with a warning not to bother the guards further with warnings of crown jewel security which was already well taken care of.

 Ara met me in the courtyard, and we slowly walked toward the white tower and chapel again. If we couldn’t find the chair, which was almost impossible to find due to the enormity of the tower grounds, we had to jump back to the conduit.

It was time to find our way back into the chapel of St. John unseen and get to the trackers. If Anders or Paxton were here, we knew it wasn’t for a tour. They were here to grab something and the crown jewels were number one on the list of probabilities.

“I need to get that chair back and trace my father’s movements! He must be somewhere close by his work, or someone there might happen to know something about his whereabouts.”

We barely made it back inside the chapel without being seen, but it would only be a matter of time till we were caught and we had to hurry.

Before jumping to the conduit, I took Ara gently by the arm looking at her. “We
are
going to find your father, I promise so don’t worry.”

She looked at me in a weak moment, lightly placed her hands on each side of my face, and kissed me. I couldn’t help myself returning her kiss; we both embraced each other tightly and in that moment, I knew I had somehow fallen for her.