The Krakow Klub (7 page)

Before takeoff, the attendant noted that John
had finished his champagne and asked him if he would like to have
another drink.

“Do you have a single malt scotch? I know
that you wouldn’t have my favorite on hand, but in a pinch, I think
that I can slum it.”

The attendant laughed brightly, “Sir, I have
Dewar’s White Label if that would be acceptable for you. It’s a
blend,
but most people seem to like it.”

The lady across the aisle glanced toward him
and spoke for the first time. “I think I’ll have one, too, straight
up.”

John could see her eyes now. They were deep
blue and had a sparkle that mesmerized him at once. Those eyes were
amazing,
and he could see that somewhere,
behind that cool façade, was a person who must be both intelligent
and probably fun-loving.

He smiled but didn’t speak. Inwardly, he
cursed himself for acting like a mute schoolboy in the presence of
the prettiest girl in his class. Instead, he just picked up his
newspaper and pretended to read.

The drinks
arrived
promptly,
and John raised his glass toward her
with a nod. She glanced at him briefly and lifted hers in return.
She smiled and pointed at the glass. “I don’t normally indulge in a
blended scotch. I much prefer a single malt. My sin of indulgence
is Macallan.

At last he spoke, “How delightful! That’s my
favorite, too. We have something in common.”

He continued to study her. There was no
regional accent that he could detect. Based on her overall
appearance, he decided that she must be well-educated, well-funded,
and well-traveled. He wanted to converse with her, but, somehow,
the words just wouldn’t come out.

The flight from Grand Cayman to Miami is not
long, usually a bit over an hour and a half. But Miami is notorious
for flight delays, especially for afternoon arrivals during the hot
and humid summer months. Today was no exception. A late afternoon
thunderstorm caused landing
delays,
and they
were about thirty minutes late in being cleared for arrival. But,
th
at was not the worst thing. John was never
fond of commercial
flights,
and he hated the
turbulence that they experienced toward the end of the flight as
they circled the airport in a holding pattern.

He broke out into a cold sweat and glanced at
the woman across the aisle. She seemed anxious but not because of
the bumpy ride. After she had
glanced
at her
watch several times, he decided that she must be concerned about
possibly being late for a business meeting or some other important
engagement or maybe just a flight connection.

As the plane landed smoothly on the tarmac,
John breathed a silent “thank you” for their safe landing. The
tired economy passengers stood, almost in unison, in the back
cabin, and waited, like cattle, for their turn to shuffle toward
the exit. Just then, the lovely lady reached
up into
the overhead
to retrieve her small travel bag. A fellow
passenger bumped her arm causing her to drop it. He apologized
profusely,
but John had been lucky enough
to catch
the bag and return it to her with a
nod and a gentlemanly smile.

She looked him straight in the eye and
thanked him in a soft voice. He was smitten but only managed to
reply, “You’re welcome.” He felt like
a t
otal
fool and knew that it was his fault that he had missed the perfect
opportunity to introduce himself. How could fate be so cruel?

His last glimpse of her was as she weaved her
way gracefully through the mass of humanity that seemed to be
forever present in the noisy and crowded Miami International
Airport
.

His sour mood only worsened on the shuttle
flight to Key West.

John r
eturned to the inn
and had a solitary meal in a far corner of its restaurant. The
exquisitely designed tropical surroundings did little to cheer his
morose state of mind. With nothing more to do, he went to his room,
flopped on the bed, and spent a restless night, sleeping fitfully
until dawn. The next day would be
crucial,
and
he was already a bundle of nerves in anticipation.

During the night, he dreamed of a giant
hurricane that swept over his island, erasing it from the earth.
Giant waves roared like angry gods and tossed debris
furiously in all directions
. John seemed to be looking
down at the disaster from somewhere in the raging black clouds that
constantly flung out blinding rain and hurled bolts of lightning in
every direction. John tried to
scream,
but no
sound came forth.

Where was Maxx? His protector had deserted
him,
and his life was in ruins. Then, just as
total despair overcame him, something moved near him. A form slowly
took shape from the roiling clouds. It was she,
that
lovely lady from the plane.
She shook her head and looked
down sadly at the waters that had swallowed his island. His home.
His security. She leaned forward and spoke but her words
were inaudible
in the howling winds.

What could she be trying to tell him? He
reached out to her but then there was a sound! The horrific scene
disappeared with a whoosh. He awoke, shaking, and exhausted. This
dream could only mean danger.
He must be cautious of
anything that could destroy him
.

After a quick shower and breakfast, he took a
taxi to the downtown offices of Key West Premium Properties to
finalize the purchase of his island. At last, he felt calm. The
cold metal of the keys to his new home in his hand brought back his
confidence. He hardly noticed the strange look from the realtor who
seemed to be deciding if he might be a drug lord or a crooked
politician to have so much ready cash available. John thanked the
little fat man
and walked out into the
brilliant sunshine. A happy day.
A very, very happy
day!

He took a cab to the warehouse where the
shuttle
craft
and Mister T awaited him. He
burst through the door and called out to his robot friend, “Let’s
go! We have a new
home,
and I can’t wait to
get there!”

As his remote craft silently lifted off and
accelerated without any sense of motion, John recalled the rather
bumpy rides in the airplanes the previous day.

“It’s nice to be
traveling
in my
little spacecraft
,
Mister T. With luck, that trip to Grand Cayman will be the last
time I fly commercial airlines for a very long time. Hopefully,
never again.”

****

He purchased the property fully furnished so,
even though it was late Friday afternoon, he could go directly
there for the weekend. Mister T had already obtained adequate
supplies of food and drink to last until they returned to Key West
the following Monday for a major shopping trip.

The flight to the island was extremely
brief,
and they soon landed near the main
house. It was a large Caribbean style villa with a strong Spanish
influence. The house had been painted a soft peach color with
sparkling white trim with a matching guest house nearby nestled in
a grove of palms. At the far end of the island, he could see the
boat dock and pier that jutted out over the cool, blue waters.

Overall, the entire place exuded an air of
impeccable taste and quiet wealth. Every detail had been carefully
planned and executed. Colorful tropical plants and flowers were
artfully arranged to accent the home. Not even a single weed
appeared anywhere in the perfectly manicured lawn.

He already had plans to expand the island,
and that plan included a carefully designed, small golf course. It
would
occupy most of
the new part of the
island that he planned to have Maxxine construct very soon.

John’s golf course would only have six large
greens,
but there would be three different
tees
available for each green. The course
would consist of four par-threes, four par-
fives,
and ten par-fours. His golf course would be
compact,
but it would have the length and
other layout features of a modern championship course.

John loved to play golf and might even invite
a few
well-chosen
guests to join him on the
rare occasions that he felt sociable. Perhaps he would check with
Maxx and find out if Mister T could be programmed to play the game.
What a lovely idea. He had already asked that Mister T be
ready to
be his caddy for the times he wished
to walk rather than use his
golf cart
.

Stepping onto his private island property for
the first time was thrilling. He had been there on several
occasions, but that had been during the purchasing process. This
time it was his. “This is my private little world,” he said aloud,
“and I intend to keep it that way. Very, very private.”

Next, John contacted Maxxine and gave her
instructions that a remote craft was to be assigned to monitor the
island constantly. There would be no uninvited guests. If, by
chance, a boat in distress neared the shore, Maxxine would note the
incursion and contact the Coast Guard to assist the vessel.

No one would be allowed to land without
John’s express
permission,
and such permission
would be a very rare occurrence indeed.

He remembered his frightening dream and was
reassured by Maxxine that she would make certain that the island
would never be in the direct path of a hurricane. She might allow a
little squall now and then just to make
the
weather
interesting. B
ut, there would never,
ever be a storm that could destroy, or even render significant harm
to, his paradise. Key West, lying only about fifty miles away would
unknowingly benefit from Maxxine’s hurricane avoidance efforts. But
that would be his little secret.

Before ending their conversation, John asked
for an update on the electron gun that he had asked Maxxine to
design. She replied that the prototype was complete and worked
perfectly. With his approval, she would begin production
immediately
after
final
testing was completed. If all went well, she would begin to outfit
his entire fleet of remote craft with the new weapon.

John thanked her profusely but thought to
himself that this new weapon would be nice for
defense,
but he had other, and more interesting, ideas
for its use.

Walking slowly up the pathway to the main
villa, John stopped frequently to take in the scene around him.
Today was
probably the
happiest
moment of his
life,
and he
wanted to savor every second.

The entrance was most impressive. The door
opened to a large foyer with a large seating area on the left and a
dining area on the right. To the rear center was a casual area that
included a spacious bar. The whole living area was an open plan
with high ceilings and gently rotating fans. Again, the exterior
colors had been brought indoor with soft peach walls and white
trim.
Très
Caribbean!
The furnishings were of
excellent quality and were artfully arranged to provide a
completely harmonious atmosphere.

He walked to the bar area and nodded in
appreciation. That bar would be the envy of many a fine drinking
establishment. I
t
was well
stocked
with fine wines,
liquors,
and
liqueurs. It even had a four
tap
dispenser
draft beer.

John was pleased to note that the previous
owner had not equated quality with cost. There were quite a few
very expensive brands, but, right along with them, was a selection
of high quality, yet inexpensive items.

The whole open space would be great for
entertaining if he ever decided to have a party.
On
one side of the area stood a grand piano. Nearby, there was a
graceful harp.
He wondered if he could order a robot
musician from Maxxine. Wouldn’t that be just perfect? Should be
easy. He would have to ask her next time they talked.

He loved Chopin, Liszt, and JS Bach, but he
also had a fondness for several more contemporary artists. What a
thrill it would be to have his
personal
piano-playing
robot
.

He continued his
tour,
and each room was well laid out and furnished. He would need to buy
almost nothing. In every room, fresh flowers graced a table. He
decided that these must have come from the flower garden outside.
Mister T had exceeded his instructions to make the house ready
while John was completing the transaction to buy the island.

John spent the next two days studying every
aspect of his property and planning modifications and
improvements.

First would be the water system. The current
system
relied
on rain collection and would not
have the capacity for maintaining the new golf course. Maxxine
would be instructed to devise a desalinization system so that ocean
water would be
available throughout
the
island.

A diesel-powered generator
currently provided electricity
. The system had been adequate
in the past, but
now John would require a more
powerful and reliable system.

Maxxine would have more than one challenge.
Last of all, was the waste disposal system. He wanted something
much more futuristic; something that any Mylean would
appreciate.

“Maxxine! Get to work!”

He was also considering installing a swimming
pool and had found a perfect location at the rear of the house. He
would contact the original architect for design ideas.
Ah yes,
life was good.