Invisible Yacht, Vegas Bound

by michaelcahill

Background
A kidnapping and child sales. Millions of dollars. A homeless mentally ill but poetically interesting detective is on the job.

Previously, The Bard and Lucy boarded the yacht without backup and arrived in time to prevent Nettie from coming to harm. Lucy held the ring of pedophiles at gunpoint while the Bard chased a fleeing Abdullah to the top deck where he jumped ship. The Bard followed him overboard. Abdullah's body was found later, drowned. The police made a number of arrests for various charges. Barry was already on his way with the cat back to the yacht anchored at sea. Elsa was about to make a phone call. We continue with the story now as Angela eavesdrops on a call made by Elsa.

~~~~~~~The Yacht Anchored Out at Sea

No one paid the least bit of attention to the shivering Angela as she slipped below deck. She dried off as best she could and took up residence in her favorite spot beneath the air vent a foredeck. The other children played in a strange manic and forced manner. Surely playing tag couldn't be all that amusing. Elsa spent a lot of time on the phone. Angela could usually discern the party she conversed with by the tone of her voice. With Barry, a deriding, dismissive tone gave it away. Angela found it both sad and amusing that Barry didn't seem to detect that tone himself.

But now, she heard a tone coming from Elsa she had never heard before. She could only call it submissive. How odd it sounded, coming from the arrogant Elsa. My goodness… sir… she called him sir. It must be the President.

Elsa paced the upper deck with her cell phone to her ear. "Well, it has to be Barry. He was just there picking up my cat. Christ! He's on his way here right now. Yes… but, what if they are tracking him? No. He'll throw my cat in the ocean for Christ's sake. I'm waiting till he gets here. What about the girl? Well, twenty million dollars… more than all these snot-nosed kids combined. Okay. Okay! No. I know. I'll contact you when we arrive. Jesus. He's dead. That little girl knows everything."

Angela felt the yacht go into motion. They were going… somewhere. Barry is in for a surprise.

~~~~~~~Barry's boat at sea

Barry arrived where the yacht belonged and noted that the yacht had become invisible. He looked around, much like one of limited intellect would, as though it would mysteriously appear from a vortex. Plan A failed. It did not appear from a vortex, or any other rip in the fabric of time and space. He stood there dumbfounded. The look suited him, as his boat rocked in the water, and the cat meowed as if to say, "hey, the yacht isn't here, you could have just asked me."

Barry implemented plan B. He took out his cell phone and called Elsa. "Elsa. What the hell, where's the boat? What? I just talked to him… No one followed me. I'm in the middle of… Elsa… Elsa!" He punched in her number again and put the phone to his ear. "Dammit Elsa. Pick up the damn phone. Call me back. What the hell am I supposed to do out here? Elsa!" He jammed the phone in his pocket.

He headed for Catalina. He didn't have the gas to make it to Long Beach.

~~~~~~~Newport Beach Harbor

Sam maneuvered The Norwegian Queen into the docks, as Elsa gave final instructions to the children down below decks. "Angela has not experienced punishment, so you may want to explain the advantages of proper behavior to her. You are to remain absolutely silent while we are docked here. The door will remain locked. Your meals will be brought down to you. There is radio and plenty of games to keep you occupied. That will be all." She turned and went topside, locking the door behind her.

"Is everything secure, Sam?" Elsa spoke to him as though he were a hired deck hand, which he was.

”All secure, Ma'am," he responded like a hired deck hand, one that resented being one.

"Very well." She turned, went to the bow of the ship and sat down. She took out her phone to make a call. It was a different phone than she had been using. That phone was somewhere between Newport Harbor and Catalina Island, about one hundred feet, or so, below water, depending on where it landed.

"It's Elsa. We're here. I don't like it. One of those brats is bound to make a racket. When do we move?" She looked around. The harbor was teeming with boats of all sizes. The pier, nearby restaurants and beaches were crawling with people. Newport Beach wasn't Bel Air rich, but it was upscale, to say the least. The blue Pacific waters had a distinct green tint in this harbor.

Elsa listened to whatever the party she called had to say. She offered little in response, other than a few head nods. It is assumed that the party couldn't see them, but probably assumed she made them. Finally, she spoke, "Okay then, two vans make sense. I couldn't bear being in a van with all of them at once. Three or four for a five-hour drive is bad enough. Yes. All right then." She put the phone in her purse, sat back on the chair and seemed to relax.

~~~~~~~Caesar's Palace Las Vegas

"Elsa's bringing six of the kids up here and my niece too. We're going to handle it from here. I'll be in the background. Angela knows me; I don't need her seeing me. It would be bad for her health. Barry wasn't going to make it anyway. We can still keep Susan's name out of it, grieving mother and all. But, Angela gets a peek at uncle Winston, she forces our hand.” Winston turned and looked out the window. The view from atop Caesar's Palace was spectacular. Winston looked as comfortable in a two thousand dollar suit as he did in military garb, whatever made him money… that's what he wore.

~~~~~~~The Catalina Ferry

Barry left his boat in the harbor and took the water taxi to shore. He was on the Catalina Ferry to San Pedro Harbor fifteen minutes after the taxi let him off. He took off straight to Las Vegas as soon as he found his car in the parking lot. They think they're gonna leave me hangin'… think again! The Blackwell girl's my deal… believe that.

~~~~~~~~Long Beach Hospital

Dr. Rhonda Clites worked for the Long Beach Police Department and ran the department devoted to child crimes. She had her certifications for regular police duty, but seldom saw action on the street. She did take that aspect of her job seriously, and kept up her skills with weapons and fighting skills. Her main focus remained her degree in psychiatry.

Nettie had detoxed to the point that she had consumed a decent dinner and had her television on when Dr. Clites entered her room. Nettie's room had guards posted; they weren't taking any chances with her safety. The Sgt. thought that a friendly female in street clothes would get more information from Nettie. She would no doubt be more at ease with her than with a uniformed officer.

"May I call you Nettie, or do you prefer Antoinette?" Dr. Clites had a soothing voice that wasn't practiced, it came naturally to her.

"I hate that name… Nettie. That's what Trip called me. Everyone got that from him… except Angela, she called me by my right name."

"Okay, Antoinette, you can call me Rhonda. I know what you mean, they called me Ronnie in school and I hated it too. I thought it sounded like a boy's name."

That got a smile out of Antoinette.

"Do you remember how many children where on the boat with you?"

"When they took me, there were seven… well, eight including me. So, there were seven left when that creepy man and lady took me away."

"How did you get on the boat?"

"I lived in Morocco. I lived with other kids on the streets. We hid out in old buildings and stuff. They told me they wanted to give me a home of my own and a family to grow up with. But, they kept finding families for other kids. I was there a long time… and then that fat man and his wife wanted me for their family. I don't know what happened. I don't remember much. I got real tired and wanted to sleep."

Dr. Clites continued to question Antoinette for some time. Nettie seemed to have no memory of anything after arriving at Long Beach Harbor and boarding the yacht with Abdullah. They must of drugged her on the way to the docks. The names, Elsa, Barry, and Sam, who appeared to be a deck hand, where the only adult names she knew. She named the kids that were left on board, including Trip and Angela. She also named some kids that had already been sold. She didn’t know last names though. All in all, it didn't amount to much. Barry was a name under suspicion, so it did confirm him as a definite suspect.

The police on Catalina Island had seized Barry's boat, but he had successfully evaded capture. He had taken the ferry to the mainland, retrieved his car and headed to Vegas well in advance of any effort to apprehend him. His whereabouts were unknown.

As it stood now, everyone's whereabouts, including Angela's, were unknown. Everyone anxiously awaited the next call, informing them of the ransom drop location.

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Action moving back to dry land and bright lights, VEGAS! All input and suggestions eagerly sought and considered.

characters: Updated for book 2

Johnathon Blackwell Senior-Harpster, deceased former owner of a music conglomerate. Death prematurely announced. Actually kidnapped and now in hiding.

Johnathon Blackwell Junior- Senior's son and heir apparent to the family fortune. Currently in prison for Mudering Harpster. He is unaware the his father is alive.

Lilith Blackwell- Widow of Blackwell Senior and claimant to the estate. Filed billion dollar civil suit.

The Bard-Stewart Slater, homeless, writer, musician, mentally ill. witness to the death of Harpster amongst other things.

Detective Tenaya Adrian- lead is there is a murder to investigate.

Detective Lucy Smaldino, Tenaya's partner

Lincoln- The Blackwell family butler.

Ruby Dancer- singer and Daughter of Harpster though she doesn't know anything about it. Revealed to be his daughter at the end of book 1. Now the heir to the Blackwell estate.

Diamond Dancer- mother of Ruby and former mistress of Harpster. Refuses to tell Ruby anything about her father. Forced to reveal that Harpster was Ruby's father.

Dr. Khin- The Blackwell personal family physcian--Killed by Winston in the first book.

"Q & A"-- Q Aubrey Langstan--"Q" The Blackwell family attorney. Loyal to Harpster.

Daniel- Blackwell Senior's Deaf brother.

Esmeralda "Emma" Blackwell- Blackwell Seniors Mother

Winston- Blackwell Senior's son. War hero turned mercenary. Kidnaped father and the Bard. Accused of conspiracy to murder his father. Warrant is out, he's at large.

Susan Blackwell-Johnathon Blackwell Junior's wife

Angela Blackwell- Susan and Junior's daughter

Adam Jefferson-age 13, Angela's friend

Elsa, one of Angela's kidnappers

Barry, one of Susan's old boyfriends and apparently in on Angela's kidnapping

Trip & Antoinette (Nettie) Two kids on the boat that Angela is being held on. Possible victims themselves.

Abigail Stevens, Lincoln's daughter--Jenkins, Jazzy and June, Lincoln's grandkids.

Abdullah and Ysenia- Purchased Antoinette (Nettie) for their own devices from Barry and Elsa #Abdullah drowned in raid.

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The yacht leaves, passengers destination Las Vegas.

A chapter in the book Bel Air: A Bard's Guide

Invisible Yacht, Vegas Bound

by michaelcahill

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