Chapter 14 - The Dinner

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David and Pete were taken to a rusty freighter. They met one of their jailors, Jack. David was interrogated with a frightening device. The ship crossed over to the Pacific Ocean using the Panama Canal.

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The first morning in the new ocean roused them from their slumber with the now familiar clatter of bolts being disengaged. Their morning breakfast delivered, the two of them tried to figure out how to spend the time ahead of them. Pete broke out the cards. David would play a few rounds and lose interest in the game at hand and stare off into space. Pete dutifully proceeded to explain a different game. He seemed to know a lot of them.

"You really need four players for some of these," Pete said while he was shuffling the deck in between games.

David, only half paying attention to the rules being recited, looked right at Pete. "What are we going to do when we get back?"

"Oh ho! You are turning into an optimist!"

David felt exasperated. "I'm being serious. These people are obviously rich and powerful, have technology that no one has and from what we found out, more compute power than anybody should have. I'm sure they would be very dangerous in a fight. Assuming we survive, how do you live with something like that? How do you go up against them?"

"Ellen figured out a way..."

"Don't say her name." David looked away. Instant guilt assaulted him.

Pete wrinkled his brow. "Why? I thought you cared about her? I know things were messy with her, but..."

"But nothing. Why did she have to start something with Harry? She just didn't take it serious, that we were still in danger. She fought with Katerina about the phone."

"That's harsh, man. In her defense, you and Katerina did hook up. You two could have waited for a better time. And Katerina is part of the reason you got in trouble in the first place."

David looked down at the table. A deep sadness ached in him. "You're right. I wasn't thinking. So much has happened but it's not an excuse. I hurt my friend."

"Well, you should have done something to take care of that."

David rubbed his forehead and passed his hand over his hair. "Yeah, I should have done something. Anything really. It just didn't feel like we had the time. I wonder if it's too late."

"I think you should always make time to try to fix things with the people you care about."

"I mean, if we get out of here alive."

"Hey! What happened to the optimist?"

Both of them were silent. David rummaged in the bin of his thoughts, looking around the cabin.

Finally, he looked at Pete. "So what's this next game you want me to lose at?" .

"You wouldn't lose so much if you paid more attention."

* * *

At lunch time, a familiar face brought them their food.

"Hello Jack, how are you? We missed you. Thank you very much for the cards," said Pete.

"Hello, yourself. It looks like you two scored. You'll be having dinner with the old man tonight." He placed the tray down on the table by them.

"Really? What do we owe this to?"

"Something about celebrating crossing into a new ocean. Or some shit like that." Jack smirked.

"Are we to attend looking like this?" Pete waved his hands over himself. "Or do we get a chance to be presentable?"

"Yeah, we're supposed to get you some different clothes."

"Do you need our sizes?"

Jack gave an unpleasant laugh. "We know everything about you. They'll be brought later in the afternoon. Boss man likes to eat early. Make sure you're ready." His departure was accompanied by the requisite sounds.

"Oh boy, dinner with Rob. I can't wait." David was less than thrilled.

"This is our chance to find out where we're going and what's going on."

"A lot of good that is going to do us. If you don't mind, I think I'll just sit your little fishing expedition out."

"Tsk, tsk, one of the first rules of warfare is to find out all that you can about your enemy. Besides, I'm sure this is a command performance."

David couldn't help himself and his face contorted in disbelief. "You're just making things up now."

Pete gave a little chuckle. "Sun Tzu. But also, talking to him as a person may make him hesitate to just get rid of us."

"Hmm," was all David could think of in reply.

A few hours later, a detail of guards led them to the facilities onboard. They turned out not to be far from their room. David let the hot water sluice away the grime. He dreamed of just staying there. He felt that if only he could be under the stream of water long enough, the fears, the doubts, the worries would wash away. But his daydream was cut short by a gruff reminder that they had a dinner to attend. Regrettably, he finished and shaved with the provided razor.

Standing in front of the mirror, he appraised the razor. He briefly wondered if he should attempt to take it with him to maybe fashion some sort of weapon. A fantasy of the stupid sort as he realized he had no idea how to do that and even if he did, he didn't think he would get very far threatening Rob with it.

A different guard brought in two packages of clothes, wrapped in plastic. Threatening them with a shock stick made the two of them give him ample room as they sought the corner of the room furthest from him. The bundles were placed on the stools by the table. He growled at them to get dressed quickly as the boss liked to eat on time.

Pulling the packages apart, both of them quickly got dressed. The clothes were a little strange; they had no seams. But the pants, shirts and jackets fit as though they were custom tailored.

David was finishing knotting his tie when a knock on the door startled them. David and Pete looked at each other.

"Who is it?" David finally said.

"We're here to escort you to dinner," was the curt reply. David finished his tie and straightened his jacket. The two of them went to the door and said they were ready.

The four guards wound them through the ship, climbing decks until David felt sure they were in the superstructure. They arrived at the bridge of the ship. Large glass windows lined the wall on the left, overlooking the deck of the ship. A pilot wheel was on a pedestal in the center of the windows. Screens with various systems displayed on them covered the console that ran the length of the windshields. There was not a person in sight.

The remains of sunlight played across the deck. Soon, darkness would descend, cloaking the ship. In that light, the party came to a halt in front of a set of double doors that were ornately decorated with old astrology symbols. A pair of matched comets were the handles.

"Do come in." Rob's voice came out of a small box next to the door. A single LED glowed green on it.

The escort stepped back, away from Pete and Dave, away from the door, their weapons on their shoulders. David looked around, gave a small shrug and grabbed the tail of a comet. A single pull caused the door to easily open.

A large room, twice the size of the bridge, waited for them on the other side. A table that could easily seat twenty spanned the room from one end to the other. A carved and gilt chair was at left end of the table with two lesser chairs flanking it on each side of the table.

David recognized Rob's desk and carpet by the far wall. The transparent block from the warehouse was on the desk. As his eyes scanned the rest of the room, David felt his heart drop. In each corner of the room was a tripod with a rod on top.

Rob stood on the far side of the table by the throne at the head. He put down an envelope he was opening with a stiletto on the near corner of the expansive table and picked up a half filled martini glass. "Gentlemen, a pleasure to have you join me for dinner. Please, come in. Would you like a cocktail?" He motioned to a man in formal livery standing by a bar cart near the desk.

Pete wrung his hands. David saw this and put his hand out and shook his head. Pete took the hint and the two walked over to Rob.

"There is always too much work. Please forgive the intrusion of business with our pleasure." Motioning with the conical glassware towards them, he said, "My bartender makes excellent martinis. Proper gin with the right amount of vermouth. And olives. I highly recommend one or two."

David shook his head in negative.

"Very well. Your loss, really." He drained his glass. "I do hope you two aren't tiresome and can relax a bit. We're supposed to have a five course meal tonight. My chef has been working very hard. I've selected some wonderful wines to go with the meal. I'm rather proud of that." Rob seemed a little unsteady. David wondered how many martini's Rob had enjoyed already.

"I think we should go sit down. David, if you would be so kind to sit at my right. Peter, I'm not slighting you in the least, well, maybe a little, but David is the reason we are here. Come, come." Rob placed a hand on the armrest of the throne at the head of the table. The bartender came over and pulled the chair out for Rob. He pushed it in when Rob was ensconced in it. Pete was bristling but went around back and sat at Rob's left under the watchful eye of the servant. David pulled out his chair and sat on the right.

In his mind, David upgraded the man who helped Rob from bartender to manservant. The man went to the door and came back pushing a serving cart. With a flourish, he lifted a bell cover from a serving tray. Slices of French bread, toasted, with some creamy looking stuff and a piece of grilled stone fruit on top, were placed on his plate via golden tongs. The man then sprinkled tiny ribbons of basil, according to David's nose, on top of each of the pieces. The man then pushed the cart out of the room.

David stared at the food in front of him as though it were poison.

"Come on, eat! Here." Rob picked one up and took a large bite of it. "Delicious. Though I'm afraid this is the last of the fresh fruit on this trip. We don't get resupplied on long voyages."

With a bit of hesitation, David picked up one of the crostini and bit into it. An involuntary smile spread on his face. Rob was right, it was delicious. The charred fruit was sweet and it was balanced by what David thought of as tangy cream cheese. The fresh basil added just the right spice. He quickly returned to his dour expression.

"This is quite good. Grilled nectarines with goat cheese is a good pairing. My compliments to the chef." Pete had eaten one.

"I'm sure she'll be thrilled. Ah, about time they brought the wine. Good help is hard to find."

A glass of chilled white wine was poured for each of them. Pete took a sip. David merely held the glass.

"Did you inherit the ship or did you buy it yourself?" Pete said.

David froze and carefully looked at Rob.

Rob swirled the wine around in his glass and took a sip. "I bought it. My grandfather started the tradition of having a ship for the family, with the money he made from listening to the advice that the Ghost gave him. My father had his own ship and now I have mine. With upgrades, of course. It's easier that way."

The waiter appeared again and cleared their dishes. He placed bowls in front of the three along with soup spoons. From the tureen on his cart, he ladled a jewel-like brown broth with what looked like little round balls of vegetables. A few white meatballs were added to each bowl from a separate dish. David hoisted a spoonful to his mouth. He could barely stomach anything under the stress that he felt.

Pete lifted part of the meatball to his lips. "The consomme is fantastic. And the chicken quenelles are nicely done. Not overcooked and rubbery."

"Yes, you would know something about fine dining, wouldn't you? I believe that she could have a star or two if she had her own place."

Wielding his tableware like a wand, Pete casually pointed it a Rob. "Why is it that your family has had ships?"

Between slurps of the bullion, Rob said, "It's the easiest way to update. And the antipode is much easier to reach than the original site. Come now, David, is the food not to your liking? You've hardly touched anything."

"I'm just not use to such fine dining. This is becoming a very memorable evening." David hoped he had said the right words.

"Ha, there's more to come. Would you care for some more wine?" Rob held his goblet up and the waiter obliged by refilling it. "It is surprisingly difficult to maintain a decent wine cellar on a ship."

"I'm sure it is. But I'm sure with enough money that's something that can be fixed, right? This is a very nice Chardonnay, by the way. " Pete took another sip of his glass while he eyed Rob.

"Indeed. But thanks to my connections, it's something that I can easily afford."

David gripped the stem of the glass tightly. "Connections? I thought you worked alone?"

"I meant connections to the Ghost. Through that." Rob motioned with his glass toward his desk.

"Your desk?" David was puzzled.

"Ha ha, no. The crystal on the desk. It's Grandfather's legacy, what he found on his miserable expedition to the northern wilds."

David looked at the crystal. It seemed to be about a foot tall and as wide, a transparent block. Now that he examined it, he saw that it wasn't a cylinder, that it had sides to it. But it seemed to have an odd number of sides which didn't seem quite right for what David remembered about crystals.

Turning to Rob, he said, "That crystal, it's not natural, is it?"

"No, it is very much not natural." Rob snickered. "We call it the Inkwell. Grandfather actually used it for that. Even after he found out what it really was. He was a stubborn man."

David felt a million questions bubble up in him.

Old wine glasses were cleared away and red wine was poured into new glasses. A thick log of golden pastry, decorated with cut out leaves and vines was presented to the group.

"Oh good! The main course. I've selected a robust cabernet to go with it. I hope you enjoy it." Rob seemed almost giddy.

The attendant cut thick slices from it and plated it with a scoop of mash potatoes that had a slightly burned crust and green beans with bacon. A small boat of horseradish was added to each plate before being put in front of each of the guests. David looked at the perfectly red meat in its casing and the way it was presented on his plate with the intensity that a condemned man studies his last meal.

Pete looked over his plate. "I see your chef has gone old school with the whole steakhouse Potatoes Romanoff and green beans."

"You are an entertaining fellow. Perhaps I can find an opening for you in my organization, as a court jester."

Pete silently fumed.

Rob stabbed at his Beef Wellington with relish. "This is simply delicious! You really must try it."

David cut a piece for himself and tasted the buttery, soft morsel. "Yes, this is really good." Pausing to watch Rob eat his dinner, David asked after a while, "Why did you invite us to dinner?"

"I felt that a celebration was in order. We crossed over to a new ocean. New ocean, new opportunities. Also, the USB drives are now blank. They plugged them into a computer that we controlled."

Pete took another bite of his food. "So you called us in to gloat?"

"You are such a simple man. I am merely being a gracious host."

David felt the pit of his stomach drop. The only way this evening could get worse was by ending in their deaths.

Rob held his hand up, while chewing, and took a sip of red wine. "I realized that, given the obvious fact of what happened a few weeks ago, that my position has changed. My relationship with the Ghost, for better or worse, must evolve to keep up with the circumstances. In order to deal with the new development, I came to the conclusion that I might need someone who has a handle on this, has dealt with it firsthand, as a radio astronomer. You know, to listen for further messages and to talk back to senders. I don't want them getting suspicious,"

David felt a creeping sense of horror at the realization that the evening, had indeed, gotten worse. "Are, are you offering me a job?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. I will need someone to speak to the new would be overlords. You would have considerable resources."

"You tried to kill us," Pete growled.

Rob shrugged. "That was before you showed your resourcefulness. A regrettable oversight on my part." He turned his attention to the food in front of him.

David thought hard about what Rob was saying. He looked at Pete who was concentrating, just staring, at his food. "Has your Ghost friend said anything about the Eyes?"

Rob snorted and looked at David. "I am my own man. The so-called Eyes are a great opportunity. Beside, I don't really need the Ghost. I can ignore them. The Inkwell is more than enough, even if it is a dumb terminal."

David was going to ask a question when Pete grabbed for his wine glass and accidentally knocked it over, spilling on the envelopes.

"Clumsy oaf! I am going to have to cut you off. No more wine for you," said Rob. Pete grimaced while he tried to wipe up the mess that he had made. The waiter came forward to clean the table and remove the plates.

A cheese tray was brought out after the dinner plates were cleared.

"You have to try the blue. It comes from a cheese shop in Seattle. They have the best mac and cheese there. I recommend it with a bit of honey."

David was trembling, though he didn't know if it was fear, tiredness or anger. "This has been a memorable meal."

"Yes, I suppose we should do something like this again, depending on your decision, of course. The offer stands, but don't think too long. I rather like you to accept. We'll be at the antipode within the week. I will have to finalize things then. Now, I do hope you saved some room. We still have the last course."

Soon, a hockey puck sized dessert was placed in front of David. It looked like an albino flan, drizzled with some dark red sauce. David hesitantly took a spoonful of the creamy object. It was not too sweet.

"Panna Cotta, my favorite!" Rob attacked it with relish. Pete just stared at Rob with seething hatred in his eyes. David hoped that Rob didn't notice it.

"I don't think I've ever had this before," said David.

Rob looked up at him, his eyes slightly out of focus. "Normally, we'd have a port, maybe a cigar. But this has been a long day for me. I'm sure you won't mind if we call it a night after this."

"I think that would be ..."

Pete's chair flew backward. He was up and moving toward Rob. A flash of steel was in his hand, the stiletto that Rob had been using as a letter opener. David was surprised by his friend and he started to cry out to warn him.

Pete never even got close to Rob. Suddenly, he froze in mid step, knife out and pointed toward Rob.

"Well, well, that is rude! I invite you to a nice dinner and you try to harm me." Rob chuckled evilly. "I guess you thought you were quick, huh old man? Now I'll just have to crush you like a bug." Rob gestured in the air.

Pete's face contorted but he didn't cry out. His eye bulged but somehow he managed to stare down at Rob with a frightening intensity.

"Wait! I accept the job! On one condition!"

"Oh?"

"You let Pete live. I'll join you, I'll be your radio astronomer."

Whatever was happening to Pete stopped. Rob seemed to consider Pete who was trapped like a fly in an invisible amber. Looking right at him, he said, "You're not worth the cleanup effort. Guards, come take this away." Rob waved his hand at Pete, dismissing him. Four burly guards stood by Pete and one of them took the knife from his motionless hand. With a guard on each limb, whatever was holding Pete was released and he started flailing. But the handlers were ready for his exertions. They simply carried the writhing man out as he yelled "You're an evil fuck! I'll kill you! You damned piece of shit."

The door closed on the group, leaving Rob alone with David. Rob smiled at David. "Welcome to the team."

David felt his blood run cold.