Monkey Games
By Vince Coyner
Chapter 16. My brother’s keeper
Sitting down next to him Laura said to Felix, “You must have a million questions.” “Well, a couple at least.” He responded. “To start with, where are we going?” “El volcán” “Why” “Because we have to rescue the young man named Benjamin.” “Rescue him from what?” “Well” she said looking over at Jonathan who was now looking over at her as well. “I’m not really sure where to begin.” For the second time in four days she found herself without words. Not exactly sure how to approach this she decided to jump in with both feet. “Felix” she said “I want you to meet Jonathan. I’m certain you’ve recognized he bears a striking resemblance to Alexander Cooke. “That’s it” Felix though to himself, “that’s who he looks like. Alex!” “Wow!” he said, you’re right he does.” That is no coincidence.” She proceeded to tell him much of what went on during the last week, culminating with their trip to Zurich, the $30 million and the research he had done in Paris. Felix didn’t say a word. He sat listening, his attention rapt. Every so often he would look over at Jonathan, who after a while became slightly agitated and looked away. Realizing he was staring, Felix said, “I’m sorry Jonathan. I wasn’t trying to be rude. This is just so staggering it’s hard to believe.” Jonathan raised his hand slightly and nodded, as if to say “no problem.” Although he didn’t really feel that way, he would certainly give a friend of Laura’s the benefit of the doubt. Turning to Laura Felix asked “Why are you doing this yourself? Have you tried to call some authorities to help? Wouldn’t that be the safest thing to do?” Actually, when we get to the Azores I plan on calling someone I used to work for at the US Attorney General’s office. I don’t know if I ever mentioned Jason. He was my boss when I was at the FBI in New York. I don’t know if he can help us, but either way, we have to do it. There are no other authorities to whom we can go. The islands belong to Peru and the police there are no doubt in Alexander’s pocket. Don’t forget, Alexander is one of the ten richest people in the world with an almost pristine public image and friends around the globe. He buys countries and politicians like women buy shoes; he’s always known that he may not need them all, but he always said ’they are good to have; just in case.’ How many times have you heard about him giving a $25 million grant to a third world country for some anti-poverty program or a $50 million gift to some European charity? Do you think all of those dollars go directly to the people who they are meant to help?” She was almost staring at him now and he instinctively shook his head no. “Of course they don’t” she answered her own question. “Government and influential people skim money from the top for their own Swiss accounts, their sports cars or their island retreats somewhere in the Caribbean. Don’t think this is some spur of the moment exercise. On the contrary, he has been working on this and spreading his millions around for twenty years in preparation for this very event. We might be able to eventually gather enough circumstantial evidence to generate some interest from some government, but it would take months and by then Benjamin would be dead and maybe Jonathan too.” As she ended her sentence she looked over at Jonathan and for the first time Felix saw something that should have been obvious from the moment he saw the two of them together outside the train station. When she talked about Jonathan being dead she looked at him in such a way that it was impossible to miss. She was in love with him. Felix could not believe it. He had been in love with Laura from almost the day he met her and for two years had made not an inch of progress with her. Here was a guy who had lived on an island for 20 years and she is in love with him after only a week. “How the hell was that be possible?” he asked himself. He felt his grip on the armrest getting very tight. He let loose of it, not wanting his white knuckles to betray his emotions. “You’re right” he said, “It would probably take us months just to get anyone to listen to us, nevermind actually believe us.”
Soon thereafter they stopped for fuel in the Azores. Felix wanted to stretch his legs a bit. Laura went outside to make a phone call. Felix came back after about ten minutes. Jonathan was sleeping in his seat. Felix sat down and fell sleep in seconds. He was awoken about ten minutes later by Laura’s return. She had tears streaming down her face. She slumped in the seat next to Jonathan. The movement of her seat when she fell into it jarred Jonathan awake. “What’s wrong?” Felix asked as he stood up and walked over to her. A startled Jonathan looked over and asked “Sweetheart, what has happened?” She waved both men away as they tried to comfort her, holding her hand up weakly and shaking her head. Jonathan looked up at Felix “What happened?” he asked. “I have no idea. She just came back.” As the pair looked at her helplessly, Hans came out. Felix held up his hand slightly in anticipation of the question he knew was coming. “We don’t have any idea what’s wrong. She won’t tell us.” Suddenly Laura looked up at Felix, “It’s Jason. They killed him.” “What?” said Felix. She shook her head. “On Friday, he was killed in a hit and run accident in Washington.” “Who’s Jason?” Jonathan asked, looking at Felix. “He was an old boyfriend of hers. She worked for him before she joined Alexander Resources.” Still not sure of the connection, Jonathan asked, “What does he have to do with all of this?” Laura, realizing that Jonathan had no idea what was going on lifted her head. As she wiped away the tears from her face she said “He worked for the US Government. Albert knew that Jason and I have remained close and that I would call him for help.” She looked down, shaking her head, “I couldn’t get hold of him from Zurich so I left him a message telling him that I needed help.” Taking a breath, she continued, “I just spoke with his secretary Ashley. I couldn’t get hold of him because he was on a fishing trip. He got my message and cut his trip short. He was heading to the office from home when a truck ran him off of the road on the George Washington Parkway. The driver never stopped and the police found the truck an hour later in Springfield, Virginia.” None of the three men had a clue where either the George Washington Parkway or Springfield, Virginia were, but none questioned her, assuming correctly that they were both close to Washington DC. “I should have warned him to be careful. I should have known Albert was capable of something like this, but I wasn’t thinking.” Unsuccessfully trying to stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks, she looked up at Jonathan and then Felix; “Now he’s dead, and it’s my fault” Felix put his hand on her shoulder as he bent down on one knee next to her, “Listen Laura, there’s nothing you could have done. This has been a crazy couple of days for you. You couldn’t have known what they were capable of doing. What they were willing to do. Hell, you only found out what the hell was going on three days ago.” “But I knew...” Laura started to protest, thinking that she should have known what they were capable of and if she had just called Jason sooner, maybe things would have been different. “Shh....” Felix tried to quiet her. “Discovering what they are doing on some island in the South Pacific is different than knowing what they will do in Lyon or Zurich, nevermind in Washington DC. There is no way you could have known. Besides, you said he was killed Monday night, right?” She nodded her head, still looking down. “Well, it sounds like Albert set things in motion the second you left La Playa Arena and with him out fishing you wouldn’t have had any more luck contacting him even if you had tried.” Dropping to his knees in front of her and lifting her chin with his finger, Felix looked at her and said. “Laura, do not do this to yourself. There was nothing you could have done. I know you feel terrible, but Alex and Albert did this, not you. If you let them stop you now, they win.” Laura took hold of Felix’s hand and closed her eyes as she nodded, knowing that he was right. After a moment she looked up at Hans and said, “Lets get going.” She held Felix’s hand as he sat in his seat across the isle. “Thank you Felix, you are such a good friend. Thank you very much.” He nodded and smiled. She let go of his hand and leaned back into her seat, taking a deep breath. She looked over a Jonathan, who felt helpless in this situation which was just a continuation of the surreal life he had stepped into when he stepped onto that plane four days before. He could see the pain in her eyes, but knew he didn’t have a clue as to what he could or should say that might make her feel better. He gently picked up her hand and kissed it. Laura caressed his cheek, knowing that her pain, while difficult, probably paled in comparison to the confusion and chaos that Jonathan must be going through. Once Hans had the engines running Laura decided she needed something to do in order to focus her mind. She stood up and went into the cockpit where she climbed into the co-pilot’s chair. As she strapped herself in Hans turned to her and said, “I’m sorry to hear about your friend.” “Thank you” she replied.
After they were airborne and had reached 25,000 feet Laura looked over at Hans and asked if he was OK. “Everything’s fine. Go get some sleep. We’ll be in Martinique in about six hours.” She opened the door and walked back into the cabin. Felix looked up at her, hoping that this event might have finally been the spark that opened her eyes to what the possibilities could be between them. Perhaps now, seeking comfort she would sit next to him and lean on him for support. And he wanted to be there for her. He was there for her. His hopes were dashed when instead she crawled back into the chair next to Jonathan. The chairs leaned back to form almost a cradle for the two, where Laura curled up in Jonathan’s arms. Jonathan held her and caressed her head like a father might a daughter whose heart was broken for the first time. Soon she had stopped crying and had fallen asleep in his arms. Not long thereafter Jonathan too was sleeping. Felix couldn’t keep himself from staring at the two, as if by staring at them he might finally make her understand she should be with him. The more he stared, the more he saw how they touched one another the more he knew there was no chance for him.
On Martinique Laura, Jonathan and Felix had lunch at the terminal with Roland while Hans looked over the plane and had it prepared for the last part of the journey. Although unaware of what exactly they were doing or needed, Roland nonetheless offered his assistance. Laura, remembering the picture of Roland and his three daughters on his desk and knowing what kind of danger they would likely be facing said, “No, we’ll be fine. But thank you nonetheless. You’ve been a great deal of help already.” She thought for a moment and there was one favor she needed if he could accomplish it quickly. He could and he did. As she hugged him goodbye she dropped an envelope in the pocket of his jacket that was hanging on the stool he had been sitting on. When he found it later that evening he could do nothing but shake his head as he stared at the 200,000 Euros it contained.
Laura flew the plane off the island so that Hans could get some sleep. They would arrive on El volcán four days after having escaped from La Playa Arena. Although according to the Monkey Games file, Alexander’s macabre operation was to take only seven days from start to finish, there were likely issues specific to Benjamin that needed to be addressed simply because the original operation was supposed to be done on Jonathan. While on a DNA level Jonathan and Benjamin were identical, there are undoubtedly differences between the actual size and shape of their brain as well as the patterns of their nervous systems. It was as if two cars came off of General Motors assembly line one after the other. While the parts might have been the same, after 20 years of driving they would likely be in different condition due to different levels of use, abuse and simple wear and tear. The odds of Benjamin still being on El volcán were pretty slim, but they decided they had to try. If he was not, he was no doubt already on La Playa Arena, 230 miles away. They would arrive on El volcán at about 2 AM local time. Fortunately there was a full moon, which would allow them to land on the airstrip, which was certainly not lit. Once they arrived at the coordinates Felix had found, it took Hans, who had returned to the captain’s chair, about a half-hour to actually locate the island. Upon landing Laura pulled three of the police weapons from the bag and handed one each to Jonathan and Felix. The three then climbed out of the plane while Hans stayed onboard, keeping the plane ready to take off quickly if necessary. From the moment they stepped on the ground Laura was certain the island was deserted. Nonetheless they had to check. In walking around Jonathan marveled at how similar the compound was to his on Aislado. The island itself was also very similar, although it did not have mountain in the middle of it. As she had suspected, there was not a soul to be found. Just to be certain the trio screamed Benjamin’s name as they made one last round of the compound. It was Felix who first noticed the shell casings that were lying on the ground alongside the low wall that surrounded the patio and small pool. Someone had unloaded what appeared to be a complete 15 round magazine right where Felix found himself standing. He called to Laura and Jonathan and they came running. They looked around until Jonathan discovered the silhouette a body. It was Ho, Benjamin’s teacher, mentor and friend. Jonathan called out quietly “Laura, come over here.” Laura and Felix ran over and the three of them stared down at the little Chinese man who was so riddled with bullets. From the looks of it, he had been shot about 8 times. Jonathan had never seen a dead person before and could not help but stare. He used his foot to nudge Ho’s arm, but no response. Laura and Felix looked up at him and Laura said “Hey, don’t kick him.” Taken aback, Jonathan said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just trying to see if he would move.” Laura nodded and leaned down to close Ho’s eyes. Unexpectedly it took her a moment, as rigor mortis had set in. She shook her head, stood up and said, “We need to get going, now.” All three of them knew that Benjamin was now on La Playa Arena. They would have to leave now. Just as they were getting on the plane Jonathan thought about Ho and then Sebring. “We’ve got to get Sebring before we head for La Playa Arena.” Laura looked up at Jonathan and she could see the combination of anger and fear in his eyes. She didn’t think they had time, and she had an uncertain feeling that they might find Sebring in the same condition. Nonetheless, she was not willing to try. When they arrived at La Playa Arena she needed him to be focused and he probably couldn’t do that wondering what was going on with Sebring. As she pulled up the door she told Hans, “All right Hans, we’re heading east. I’ll give you the coordinates in just a moment.” She picked up the files that Felix had brought and walked into the cockpit. After putting on her seatbelt she found the coordinates for Aislado and gave them to Hans. As they took off from the dark landing strip she contemplated what they would encounter next. Depending on what they found, flying to Aislado would put them into La Playa Arena at least an hour later than they had planned. She looked at her watch and it took her a moment to realize that in this entire week she had never once changed the time. Throughout all of this her watch had stayed on Paris time and she had never noticed. Now, for the first time the disconnect was crystal clear as the still ascending full moon contradicted the 08:00 indicated by her Casio. She looked out at the horizon in front of them and hoped that whatever they found on Aislado they would make it to La Playa Arena before sunrise.
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