Unearthly Power (3 page)

What the hell?
he thought.
It was more than he got from the bank.

Dee was going to be pissed. Probably about as much as Mr. Zybinski, but he’d just have to wait until they got back. Now all he had to do was keep her away from the boat for the next two weeks, and remain unavailable for any calls from South Atlantic Bank & Trust.
That should be easy,
he thought, admitting to himself that he had no idea how he would accomplish both.

T
he bank called Sean. Sean forwarded the calls to voicemail. The bank then called Deidra who in turn called Sean who replied that he was taking care of it. It was all working out fine. The bank was excited, Dee was excited, and Sean was excited. The only difference was the focus of the excitement.

Ducking the bank was easy; Dee was another story. The only plan Sean could devise would trade one set of unpleasant circumstances for another. They would go home
to visit his parents on the 4
th
of July. They would arrive a few days early and leave first thing on the morning after. If it was up to Sean, he would leave right after dinner. Dee would be distracted by the visit enough to keep her off his back.

He redialed the professor’s number to make him aware that everything was ready for their trip, to determine their exact departure time, and to inquire about where, when and
how they would pick up the ROV. At first, the call seemed to Sean to be more of an annoyance to Mr. James than anything. Either he already knew what was involved with such an undertaking, or more than likely, he did not and therefore had no clue what he was in for. Sean kept that in mind while they exchanged information. Something still seemed odd to him about the whole affair but as long as their checks cleared, he was willing to take the chance.

After they had the boat in better working condition than it had been in for quite some time, they finished the modifications and made the personal berths tolera
ble for a possible two week run. They locked everything up tight and made ready for their road trip. Alex had met Sean’s father once before. It was at a staff function. He was a captain in the Navy. Their conversation consisted of little more than, “Nice to meet you sir,” “Yes sir,” and “No sir.” Now, he was going to spend time with him under the same roof. He wasn’t exactly thrilled at the notion, but after Sean explained the situation he decided it was best for all concerned. Sean might have been slow to reveal the finer details of what they were involved in at any given time, but he never kept anything from Alex. They may argue about some things, or most things, but they never lied to each other.

They packed their bags into Sean’s sport utility vehicle and headed north on highway one. In two hours, barring the unexpected but common traffic congestion, they would arrive at Dee’s in time to start the long leg of the journey. In the
Key’s
, life went by at a casual pace. As soon as you made it to the mainland it was much more abrupt. Add to

that all of the retirees who were rewarded with a ten year driver’s license, regardless of whether they passed their test at the age of seventy or eighty, and that made for some interesting times on the highways of Florida. Alex and Dee thought Sean complained too much. Sean challenged them to prove that he was wrong. It gave them something to talk about while the miles passed by. When they reached the Virginia border, Sean explained some of the proprieties involved with lodging at ‘Rylan Manor.’

“Is it really that big? No offense, but I thought your dad was only a captain in the Navy,” Alex asked.

“It’s a family home.” Deidra cut in. “It was owned on our mother’s side and she was the last member to be able to afford its upkeep.”

“You mean
your
mother. I think I was adopted.” Sean said.

“Sean, do me a favor
; don’t be a wiseass the entire time we’re home, okay?” she said out of frustration.

“Just telling it
as I see it little sister,” he said mockingly.

She rolled her eyes at him and kept her next thought to herself.

“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, when our mother greets you she will tell you to call her Connie. Her name of course is Constance but her friends call her Connie. Please do me a favor and don’t call her by either name. Call her Mrs. Rylan. It will make our time there go much better.”

When he looked in the mirror he saw the scowl on his
sister’s face. “Am I incorrect in any of that sweet sister of mine?” he asked in challenge.

She said nothing in reply as she turned to look out the window to avoid his taunting gaze.

“I didn’t think so,” he continued. “You see, our mother is from Hollywood stock. You would be viewed as little more than a porter, so it would be inappropriate for you to refer to her by her name.”

“Sean!” Deidra said in exasperation.

“And me and my sister are affectionately referred to as ‘darling,’” he finished without wavering.

Dee stuck her tongue out at her brother.

Alex couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He knew there had to be some truth to the story by the way these two were acting, but he didn’t know what it was and how much. Sean rarely talked about his parents. He knew it was going to be an interesting few days; just being in the same room with Sean and his sister for more than an hour was entertaining in itself.   

They arrived late in the evening after driving straight through. They each stretched to loosen the kinks in their bodies as they climbed out of the vehicle. The night was calm and the air carried the familiar layer of humidity which prevented the thermometer from dropping too far below the record high of the day. Normally they would have been met by their long time butler, but he had retired the previous year due to diminishing health. His parents still retained their maid, Molly, but they would not see her until the following day as it was well past her bedtime.

They removed their luggage and dragged themselves up the grand entryway of the stately home hoping to avoid any contact with their parents until after they got some much-needed sleep. The seventeen hour drive between Marathon and Fairfax was a trial of endurance in fighting boredom and each other. Unfortunately, it was not to be. They were greeted before they reached the door.

“Deidra darling,” a stunningly beautiful Mrs. Rylan said as she reached out her arms to embrace her daughter. Her hair was shorter than her daughter’s and a shade lighter in color. Her physical features were flawless. Wh
ile Deidra was beautiful, her mother was near perfection.

“Hello dad,” Sean said
while offering his hand.

“Son,” Jack Rylan said while taking his hand in one of his own and slapping him affectionately on his arm with the other.

“This is Alex; you’ve met him once before.”

“Nice to see you again, Alex. Welcome to our home.” He said sincerely.

“Thank you sir,” Alex said out of natural reflex. Even though he was out of the Navy, and Mr. Rylan was not in uniform, old habits die hard.

“Mother, this is Alex. Alex, our mother,” Sean said hoping to avoid his own ‘darling’ affair.

“So happy you could come, Alex. And please, call me Connie,” she said as she offered him her delicate hand.

“Thank you, Mrs. Rylan,” he said a
s he noticed a brief nod of approval out of the corner of his eye from Sean.

“You all look like you’re dragging ass.” Jack Rylan said, moving everyone past the greeting stage of their visit. While his wife carried herself with grace and elegance, Jack Rylan was every bit the military man. His close crop
ped hair had faint traces of gray interspersed among rich black hair, and his bearing was almost rigid. His looks and size were similar to those of Sean, including his emerald green eyes. “Why don’t we go inside and get a drink? Then you can tell us what’s new and exciting in your lives,” he said as he turned to usher them into the house.

Sean gave a quick hug to his mother and turned to follow after everyone else. The house hadn’t changed since the last time he had been home. That was nearly eight years before. They put their bags down in the foyer and moved to a side room that was furnished in leather and richly colored hardwoods. The fireplace was nothing more than an accent piece having never been used, and the crystal lighting was elegant yet not overdone.

His father went directly to the bar and poured the men a bourbon and the women a glass of white wine each. Sean was more of a beer guy and Alex didn’t drink much, but he wasn’t about to say anything. The small talk flowed freely as Sean listened more than he spoke. Mother was already on the subject of work and school with Dee, and dad was talking to Alex about his time in the Navy. All in all it went rather well. After three drinks, two more than any of them really wanted, they all retired to their rooms for the evening.

“Your parents seem really nice. I don’t know why you make such a big deal about them,” Alex said as he was shown to his room. Sean followed him inside and closed the door.

Sean ignored his statement. “One door down on the left is your bathroom. Try not to wet the bed. We do have a maid, but I think she would tell my parents what my friend did here if she had to change your sheets.”

“Screw you!”

“Breakfast is at eight, so we will leave at seven.” Sean said and then explained further, “Dad is the only one up early around here. Unless you want to talk about the Navy all morning it’s best we find something else to do. Mother will be up promptly at eleven-ish, so we’ll keep busy until then. They’ll want to take us all to the country club for lunch. When we get there just remember to place the napkin in your lap and not in your shirt collar.”

“I think you
were
adopted,” Alex said. “You seem like the only odd one in the family so far.”

Sean smiled. “Get some sleep
. I’ll be by bright and early.”             

Although he could have used a few more hours of sleep, Alex woke without the aid of the alarm. His ‘built in’ clock had told him it was five in the morning. He remained in bed catching a few more sporadic minutes of sleep before finally deciding to give up. The house was quiet as he managed to find his way to the bathroom to perform his morning ritual.
Everything about the house screams money,
he thought as he looked around. Even the towels hanging in the seldom used room he was now using were something he saw only in fancy hotels. From what he knew about his best friend, he would never have thought he came from this kind of background.

Shortly before seven, Sean opened his door without knocking. Alex was lying on top of his bed reading a manual on “Inert Gas Combustion and Byproducts” when he walked in.

“Let’s go sunshine. I’ll give you the grand tour.”

Alex ignored the comment and put his booklet away. Sean looked as fresh and ready as he always did. Alex never thought of him as the ‘hyper’ type, but he always seemed to have energy on demand. He followed him through the corridor and down the carpeted steps to the first floor. Instead of leaving by the same way they came in, he turned and led them down a hallway in the opposite direction. Lining the walls on both sides were nicely framed pictures of Mrs. Rylan next to many famous movie stars. He didn’t recognize every actor or actress in each of the pictures, but assumed they were such due to their flawless features. He stopped by one and said out loud, “Is that really Marlon Brando?”

“What?” Sean asked as he stopped and turned. He saw his friend pointing to a frame on the wall. “Oh, yeah. Mother is an actress. She hasn’t been at it for quite some time, but if you ask her she’ll say ‘you never get out of the business darling,’” he answered while doing his best to over-inflect the remark.

“Wow,” Alex said more than once as he continued on more slowly, taking in the rest of the images.

When they reached an exterior door they stepped out to a sunny morning. The grounds were plush and colorful. When Alex caught up to his friend, the discourse began.

“This property came from mother’s side of the family. They had the money. This was willed to mother primarily because of my father. They knew he was shrewd with finances and that his profession would frequently see him in near proximity to this place, especially as he climbed the ranks.”

“Is he an admiral now?” Alex asked cutting him off.

Sean looked at him and smiled.
“No, he’s still sailing a desk at the Pentagon as a captain. But if you slip up and call him admiral by mistake, not only will you be forgiven that faux pas, but he would probably offer to adopt you. Maybe even give you my old room,” he said in jest.

Alex ignored the remark and said, “I don’t think I ever remember seeing your mother in a movie.”

“You’d have to look hard to find her. She had small roles in hundreds of movies. The word was that she couldn’t remember lines to save her life, but she had screen appeal. She was also friends with just about everyone who was anyone in the business. Not necessarily the people who were on the billing. It made for some fun trips while dad was away, but I usually ended up creating a scene with one killjoy or another when I went with her on any shooting sites.”