The Krakow Klub (8 page)

John had been considering having Maxxine
build a few robots to do gardening, cooking, and housekeeping.
However, Mister T had taken great offense and insisted that he
needed no help whatsoever. He reminded John of his immense physical
strength and the fact that he could work twenty-four hours a
day.

John listened to the impassioned speech and
decided that it would be very wise to defer a decision about
additional robots to a later date. Perhaps Mister T would
eventually accept some help if the robots were simplistic creatures
without human characteristics. Or, maybe Mister T would accept them
as his subordinates, with him in command.

At last, Monday morning arrived. John rose
early, had a quick breakfast, and then left for Key West just as
the sun was rising. It was a
breathtaking
sight watching the sun seemingly rise directly from the sparkling
blue water that surrounded his island.

His agenda for the day included a visit to
the Bureau of Land Management to file a request for changing the
name of the island to Scott Key. He had been sorely tempted to use
his middle name as well, but he decided that Francis Scott Key
would be just a bit too much.

“Mister T, I think that a whole lot of
Americans don’t even know who Francis Scott Key was much less that
he wrote the ‘Star Spangled Banner.’ I hate it when some of these
so-called
singers turn it into rock music at
football games.
Disgusting!
It’s a shame that
the government does not forbid that kind of insult to our national
anthem. It should be sacred! I cannot even imagine a rap version of
‘God Save the Queen.’”

Arriving at the warehouse, his official
address in Key West, John handed Mister T a long list of purchases.
Mister T glanced at the list and then discarded it into a nearby
wastebasket
. He had added the entire list to
his memory bank in a fraction of a second.

“If there are things that you can’t get here,
we’ll just have them shipped from Miami. Don’t worry. I know how
you hate to drive that van on the narrow streets. Remember how you
almost wrecked us when one of those crazy Key West chickens ran out
in front of us?”

Mister T nodded. “I’ll be back here to meet
you at 5:30 this afternoon and I’ll certainly be on the alert for
those chickens. They are rather cute, if not intelligent, but I’d
hate to turn one into road kill.”

John laughed and remembered how Maxxine had
programmed Mister T to drive. He proudly recited every rule and
regulation along with speed limits and a host of other trivial
information. Next, John had requested a replacement copy of his own
driver’s license from the state, claiming he had lost the original.
He gave the new license to Mister T and instructed him to use the
name John F. Scott at any time he might be driving in Key West or
making purchases for the island. Physically, he could have been
John’s twin so no one would ever suspect the ruse.

****

At the very moment that John’s
shuttle craft was lifting off for Key West, Julia Compton was
boarding a Gulfstream 500 business jet at LaGuardia Airport in New
York City. The Gulfstream’s flight plan listed a final destination
of Key West International Airport.
She hardly ever used the
family
jet,
but today was an exception. She
had a tight schedule and little time to spare.

Julia Compton was the only daughter of a
wealthy Wall Street investor and hedge fund operator. He had
amassed a fortune and was reputed to be worth more than a billion
dollars. Desmond A. Compton II had continued to work beyond the
usual retirement age but now he was facing reality. The time had
come for him to step down. He always dreamed that either
Julia
or her younger brother Desmond
III
would take his place at the head of his
firm. But that was not to be.

Julia served on the board of directors of his
parent company, Compton Financial. She had been requested, no, make
that
required
, to be in New York City for the Friday meeting
of the board. Her father was finally going to announce his
retirement,
and he insisted that both of his
children be there for the occasion.

She had
agreed,
but
there was a stipulation. She would have to be back in Key West no
later than noon on Monday as she had plans to attend the opening of
a new exhibit at the
Maritime
Museum where she
had recently worked. Julia had just retired from a position as a
marine archeologist, and she had performed an active role in
cataloging
and preparing the artifacts for the
new exhibition.

Julia’s father wasn’t happy that she wanted
to leave New York so quickly and extracted a promise from her that
she would spend the entire day, both Saturday and Sunday, with him.
They got along famously and had many common interests. In fact, she
was his favorite, the child who was most like him. Her indomitable
spirit and individualism had manifested itself early in life and
had certainly not abated over the years. Now, as he neared his
retirement, he was grieved that she would never agree to head his
business. It was one of the great sorrows of his life.

Julia appreciated the liberty that vast
wealth
brought,
but that was all. She would
never let it control her life. As a young girl, she had been
fascinated by the oceans and all its creatures. It became her
passion. When it came time to go off to college, she
shocked
her family by announcing that she was enrolling
in the marine archeology program of Texas A&M University. She
stayed there nine years, earning her bachelor’s and master’s
degrees and ultimately a doctorate as well.

After many years at fascinating jobs around
the world, she obtained a position at a well-respected maritime
museum in Key West. She loved the place and all the people who
worked there. The job was a perfect fit.

She also fell in love with the unique social
structure and eclectic way of life of Key West. She could never be
happy in a large city again.

Her life was always
busy,
but she made time to return to New York to visit
her father and brother regularly. Julia’s
mother
had died many years ago. That loss brought her
brother and her even closer together. Even though she had lived
far away
from
New York
since entering college, she always got back to visit often.

To call her life “busy” was an
understatement. It seemed that more often than not, Julia’s life
was more like a whirlwind. “
Action”
was
her middle
name. She had earned
that name
a long time ago.

Her brother was quite the opposite: quiet and
introspective with no desire to enter the business world. Desmond,
or Desi, had inherited their mother’s artistic and literary
talents. He loved a peaceful, unhurried life and would have never
survived the hectic life of the business world.

Recently, Julia had made more trips to the
city to visit Desi. He felt a certain sense of guilt that he had
let his father down. He could never follow in his footsteps. Just
thinking about the world of finance almost gave him a case of
hives.

At last, her father had grudgingly faced the
facts that neither of his children had any desire or talent to
succeed him. He would have to find a qualified and aggressive young
executive, probably from outside the firm, to take his place. A
bitter pill to swallow, but, secretly, he admired both his children
for having the courage to exert their independence.

So Julia and Desi promised to
attend that final board meeting. The senior Compton made the
announcement of his impending retirement.
It was a moment
that was both happy and sad. The mantle of leadership must
pass
to a stranger. What would he do now? The
senior Compton had devoted his life to building the business and
making it flourish. Retiring was a frightening thought at best. He
would continue to serve on the board of directors and have input
into business
decisions,
but it would end
there. He would never again be the driving force behind Compton
Financial. The board of directors
and he had
already engaged a prominent executive search firm to find a worthy
replacement. It would be no easy task.

****

The elder Compton, ever the doting father,
insisted that Julia take the company’s private jet back to Key West
early Monday morning. Other than the two pilots, she was the only
passenger on the flight. She settled into her seat and selected a
book on time travel to download to her e-reader. The subject was at
least rather
interesting,
and she had already
read through several chapters when the pilot announced that they
would be landing shortly.

After landing, she got up,
stretched and walked leisurely to the exit. As expected, a
chauffeured driver stood waiting for her.
Her father had
also arranged to have a limo waiting to take her to the museum to
be sure she got there on time.

Her luck continued to
hold,
and she arrived at the museum with a couple of
minutes to spare. The curator greeted her warmly and led her into
the exhibit where a large number of
guests
and
a few visitors were already wandering around and studying the
artifacts intently.
How amazing that such beautiful
treasures had been finally recovered after having been lost for
hundreds of years. The new exhibit included items never before seen
by the public, and Julia was proud to have done her part in their
preparation for their first ever public viewing.

****

Not far from the museum, John Scott was
completing the required documentation to change the name of his
island officially. At last, just before noon, the final document
was
signed,
and he was free to go. He glanced
at the time and decided to walk to the maritime museum and check
out the exhibits. A decision that he would later attribute to
either good Karma or fantastic luck
—
maybe even
both. Or, more importantly,
could Maxx have arranged
it
?

John had barely gotten into the main exhibit
area when he recognized her, the fascinating lady from the plane
last Thursday! She was talking animatedly to a group of
well-dressed
men who were obviously VIPs. This time, he
silently
vowed he would make contact and
introduce himself. She probably wouldn’t remember
him,
but that didn’t matter. Providence had given him a
second chance for introducing himself to this lovely
woman,
and he would not let it slip away again.

John walked over and stood just outside the
little circle of listeners. She noticed his presence just as she
was directing the group to another display.

This time, he spoke without hesitation, “Good
afternoon.
It’s
quite a
coincidence,
but I believe that we were on the same
flight from Grand Cayman to Miami the other day. I noticed you
because you didn’t look like the rest of the sunburned
tourists.”

She laughed, “Yes, I do remember you. You
caught my bag when that clumsy man bumped into me and caused me to
drop it.”

They introduced themselves and Julia,
excusing herself from the other
guests,
began
to lead him through the exhibit. He was totally fascinated by it
all. In between displays, they managed to find out a little about
each other. They continued to chat and eventually wound up outside
the museum where their conversation turned to his island, now
officially named Scott Key.

“I’d like to celebrate my new status as a
landowner
. I just completed the purchase of a
small island near here. I’d love for you to join me for a glass of
bubbly and maybe even a snack. In fact, I know of a quaint little
restaurant within walking distance.”

She hesitated for a few
seconds,
and then replied, “Oh yes, I heard that someone
was purchasing that Englishman’s island. Mr.
Scott,
if you can afford to buy that island, you can
probably afford to buy me a drink. I accept. By the way, do you
have some pictures in your cell phone? I’d love to see what the
place looks like these days. I had
visited
it
by boat several times before the previous owner purchased and
developed the place. It was a very lovely little island, so
peaceful and isolated from the rest of the Keys.”

John was delighted and offered his arm,
saying, “I am so pleased that you can join me.”

They were soon seated in the restaurant
enjoying a light, late lunch. John pulled out his cellular phone
and began to show Julia pictures of the island. The house was
especially of interest as she had always been quite fond of that
type of architecture. Next, came the grounds, guest house, and boat
dock.

“I’m always amazed at the quality of pictures
you can get with this thing. I hardly ever use my camera anymore.”
John spoke proudly but inwardly he thought,
Yes, they are good
but I could have used my Mylean technology to give her a
three-dimensional version. Oh well, some secrets must be kept
secret.

Just then, he noticed that Julia was looking
intently at the television mounted over the bar.
The
TV was tuned to one of the national news channels.
There was
only an inaudible
sound,
but the scrolling
words at the bottom of the screen announced that the current
program was being interrupted for a special announcement.

John, who was facing away from
the TV, turned to see what had captured Julia’s
attention.