Eye in the Sky Bk 02: Artifact

Eye in the Sky: Book II: Artifact

By blackrandl1958

This is book two of a four book series. The first book is "Eye in the Sky." There will be different characters in each book, but they will come together in each book and all join in the final instalment. Each book will also advance the story of the original characters. This may take me a while to post, so patience is a requirement.

I must thank my team. Harddaysknight is my mentor and gives me critical review. SBrooks103x also gives me a pre-post read. My editors are Girlinthemoon, Hale1 and GeorgeAnderson. I thank you all.

The line screamed off the reel as the big bonefish made another run. Benjamin Brennan's eyes sparkled with excitement as he pulled against the run. His arms were growing a little tired and his belly was getting a little sore from the butt of the rod pressing into him.

"Dad, could you turn the boat to the left a little?" he asked.

Oliver poled on the right to give his son a little more leverage as the boat turned a little to starboard. He was enjoying this battle. Watching an eighteen-year-old young man fighting a big fish nearly as long as he was, laughing and shouting with excitement was why they were here. He landed the big fish and held it in his arms for a picture.

Ben had seldom laughed in the last few years. His mother's slow decline and death had left him wan and silent. Oliver felt barriers going up between them and he was very unhappy about that. He had felt trapped. Boston had become a gloomy place and he decided a change of scenery was the only answer. Money wasn't a problem for Oliver. A string of 20 consecutive bestsellers, eight blockbuster movies based on his books and shrewd investments made anything possible. At 41, and with a small boy to care for, he sold Tabitha's dream home in Cambridge, and they moved to Florida.

Oliver had been looking for just the right place to change their lives. After Disney and Sea World, Ben had begun to come out of his shell a little. They lived the lives of beach bums, and Ben had developed a love of the water. When Oliver heard that Darby Island was for sale, he didn't waste any time. The 500-acre island in the Exuma Cays had been a plantation built by Sir Baxter in 1938 and had a 12000 square foot castle built on a bluff overlooking the island. It needed extensive renovations, and Oliver hired contractors to complete the project. The airstrip had been refurbished and a marina constructed. The island had a fine deepwater harbor and Oliver had allowed Ben to choose a yacht for them.

Ben was a serious young man and he had researched carefully for three months before he announced that he was ready. They flew to the Netherlands and visited Heesen Yachts, purchasing a custom built 51-meter "My Sky." It was delivered to Ft. Lauderdale and Oliver and Ben took possession and sailed it down to Darby Island.

They set up house in the renovated castle and spent a month outside, covering every inch of the island and learning every nook and cranny. They soon discovered that that they didn't care for housekeeping, and that there were a hundred things that needed doing. It seemed that they were constantly working and getting further behind all the time.

"Dad, this is impossible," Ben brushed the sweat from his forehead. A pump had failed in one of the large cisterns that collected the rainwater that was their only source of fresh water.

"I know, son. We need help. What do you suggest?"

Ben thought for a minute. "Could we hire workers to help us?"

"What kinds of workers do you have in mind?"

"Well, we need someone to take care of the boats. We actually need someone to operate the yacht and someone who can work on boats. We need someone to take care of the grounds, someone to take care of the house and someone who takes care of everything else. I think we need at least five people."

"Where do you think we might find someone?"

"We could go to George Town on Great Exuma and see if someone needs a job. There should be people looking for work. What do you think, Dad?"

"Let's do that. I don't think things are going to get any easier if we do nothing. I don't want you working all the time and I don't want to do that either. You need time for school and I need time to write. We'll go tomorrow."

They packed and boarded the yacht by 10 AM in the morning. Ben had decided to name the yacht The Nimbus, in honor of Dragon Ball Z, his favorite TV show. It was 50 miles to Great Exuma. About 20 miles from Darby, they saw a flare burst in the air ahead.

"Dad, I think someone's having some trouble," Ben pointed to the flare. "Should we help them?"

"I don't know what we can do," Oliver told him, "but we can see if they need a ride or something."

He turned a couple of points to starboard, and in five minutes they saw a boat ahead. It seemed to be a scuba dive boat with the name of the marina on the side. Oliver eased alongside and two men waved up at him.

"We saw your flare," Oliver called down. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes, man," the guy in the floppy white hat smiled. "We have engine problems. Our batteries are dead. Could we use your radio? We have two passengers aboard. They were diving on the reef here, and if we could bring them aboard we would be very thankful."

Ben lowered the ladder and the man in the hat went into the cabin and came back with two more people. They were both female. The first seemed to be a young lady in her early twenties. She was tall and obviously fit. Her nearly white blonde hair was wet and hung down below her waist. The second was a younger girl, perhaps Ben's age or younger. She had the same shade of hair and the same deeply tanned skin as the other. They were both wearing white shorts and t-shirts, and they had obviously been in the water recently.

They climbed up the ladder, followed by the two boat crewmen. Oliver helped them aboard and introduced himself.

"Welcome aboard ladies. This is my son, Ben, and my name is Oliver Brennan. This is The Nimbus. If you'll come with me I'll take you to the radio."

The older girl shook his hand. "I'm Kane Ardrey and this in my little sister Bannon. Thanks for stopping. This is quite a boat you've got, Mr. Brennan."

Her voice was low and husky and she had an accent Oliver couldn't quite place. He led the way to the bridge and the two girls and the crewmen followed him up the ladder.

"We've only had her about two months," he told them. "Where are you girls from?"

"We're from a little town called Annahugh, in Northern Ireland," she told him. "I just graduated from Belfast Metropolitan College and we came here on holiday. I noticed you said your last name is Brennan; are you Irish?"

"My grandparents on my father's side came to Boston from Belfast. My mother was a French Canadian, so I guess I'm half Irish. It doesn't seem like the luck of the Irish was with you today."

The crewmen were talking on the radio with the marina.

"No it doesn't." She laughed. "We were having a great dive and then they pulled us out and we were stuck."

"Ben, why don't you take Bannon and get these people something to drink. It's hot out there and they've been stuck for a while."

He took Bannon's hand and they went away to the galley. The crewmen finished their conversation on the radio and Oliver seated them in chairs.

"What's the plan, gentlemen?"

"The boss is sending another boat and a mechanic to take care of us. It will be several hours and we don't know how long it will be until we get her fixed. You could do us a big favor, Mr. Brennan and let these ladies stay aboard your boat."

"Are you out of Great Exuma?"

"No man, we're out of Nassau. That's why it's going to take so long."

"Well, I'm on my way to George Town. I'm not going to sit here who knows how long and wait. Ms. Ardrey, would you care to accompany us to Great Exuma? We could stop back by here on the way home and drop you off, or we could deliver you to Nassau at any time you choose. How long were you staying?"

"This is our fourth day and we have ten more days before our flight. I don't want to sit here either. We're on holiday, for God's sake. We'd love to go with you. This is a beautiful boat, you seem like a nice guy and your son seems very polite. I'll take a chance on you."

Oliver laughed. "I would hate for a boat repair to ruin your vacation. Get your stuff and we'll weigh anchor."

Bannon was delighted to find out they'd be going on this awesome boat, and she liked Ben a lot. They got their belongings off of the dive boat and Ben showed them to cabins while his father got The Nimbus underway.

The girls were stunned by The Nimbus. The luxury was something they had never imagined. Ben explained how he had designed the boat and they stowed their bags in one of the twin cabins. He took Bannon to the living room and Kane found her way back to the bridge and sat beside Oliver in one of the two captain's chairs.

He caught her looking at him out of the corner of her eyes a couple of times. He laughed, "What is it. I can see you're dying to ask me something."

She smiled. Her smile lit up her face with a flash of white in the tanned complexion and her hair, now dry and forming a mane around her face, was stunning. He noticed that she had a few freckles across her button nose and one of her teeth was a little crooked. She was beautiful, he decided.

"Are you THE Oliver Brennan; the author?"

"No, he's a fake; I'm the real Oliver Brennan. I write books sometimes and people seem to like them. Have you read any of them?"

"No, but I've seen all the films. I haven't had much time to read novels for a few years. I liked your movies though. I've been pretty busy with school. I played volleyball on the Olympic Team, and between that and school work, my social life has been pretty nonexistent."

"Do you mind if I ask you how old you and your sister are?"

"I don't mind you asking if you don't mind me not telling you. Bannon is 18 and I'm over 21. How's that?"

He laughed, "That's fine. It's going to be fun having you on board, Ms. Ardrey."

"You can call me Kane, Oliver."

"Thanks, that's a beautiful name, Kane."

"Thank you Oliver, I couldn't help but notice you have on a wedding ring. Where's your wife?"

"She passed away six years ago. She had lung cancer. She never smoked a day in her life, but that's the way things go."

"I'm so sorry Oliver. I didn't know. That must have been very hard for Ben."

"No way you could have known. Don't be sorry. She lived like she wanted to live. About Ben, that's why we're here. He was just getting lonelier and more withdrawn living in our house in Boston. I had to get him out of there and get some life back into him. So we picked up and moved to Florida, then moved."

"Where is here? Where do you live, Oliver?"

"We own an island called Darby Island. It's about 30 miles south of where we are. Would you like to visit us?"

"Jesus, Oliver; you own this fantastic boat, you own an island, what, do you live in a castle?"

"No, just a house. If your friends haven't fixed their boat, would you like to stay on Darby Island a few days?"

"Sure, who wouldn't? A private island? How big is it?"

"It's just over 500 acres, but it's one of five islands. It's the biggest, but there are houses on all of them. We have a runway, a marina and a lot of trees and beaches. It's better than Nassau, unless you had your heart set on hard partying."

"Right, I bring my little sister so that I can party really hard."

"What about your parents? You have a family back in... wherever it was?"

"It's Annahugh, and no, our parents died in a train accident when Bannon was four. She's been staying with me in Belfast. This is my one last fling before I have to get a job and go to work making a living for both of us."

"What kind of job are you looking for?"

"Well, I'm a kinesiology major, and I'd like to do some kind of sports medicine. Maybe an athletic trainer or a personal trainer."

"Can you cook?" he asked her.

"What the hell kind of a question is that?" she asked him.

"Well, it's dinner time, and you're either going to have to drive or cook. Ben can help cook, or he can help you drive, or we can anchor out and spend the night here. I had reservations at a very nice restaurant, but we're not going to make it."

"I'm sorry, Oliver. We made you late, didn't we? Let's spend the night. I've never spent a night on a boat. I can cook. How about you help me and we'll make dinner? Do you have a deadline to meet?"

"No, we famous writers only work when we want." He idled The Nimbus to a stop and let down the anchors. The big yacht was stabilized both underway and at anchor, and the sea was flat.

"Seafood, or chicken?" he asked her.

"Let's do the seafood. I didn't realize it, but I'm starving."

"Good, go see if you can round up the kids and I'll get us started."

Oliver decided to make a mushroom risotto and baked halibut. He located a bag of Arborio rice and made a soffritto of butter, olive oil, celeriac, onion and garlic. He cooked the rice briefly in the soffritto and Kane returned. She reported that the kids were playing chess and would be along soon.

He added the wine to the rice and put it on a low heat. He put her to work, sending her to the galley pantry for white wine, stock and halibut fillets from the refrigerator. When she returned with the supplies he sent her on another errand to bring goat cheese, salad ingredients, granary bread and broad beans.

He put the halibut in a baking pan, added mussel cream sauce and herbs and put it in the oven while she tossed a salad.

"You're obviously a much better cook than I am," she told him. "Why did you ask me if I could cook?"

"I hate cooking most of the time," he told her. "I love to cook for special occasions. I decided this was a special occasion."

"Why?" she asked him, "what makes this a special occasion?"

"You do," he told her. "Tonight Ben and I have the company of two charming ladies. I can't remember the last time that happened."

She flushed a little and pulled a lock of his hair. "Thanks, Oliver. We don't get meals like this very often. What do you want me to do?"

"Add the mushrooms to that rice, then add the hot stock a little at a time. You have to stir it while it's simmering so that the starch comes off the rice and makes the risotto creamy. When it's done you can dice up this butter and add it to make it as creamy as possible.

He put the beans on to steam, ad added herbs and a big spoon of bacon grease. Ben and Bannon came in just in time to set the table and Oliver poured cranberry juice for the them, and more of the white wine for himself and Kane. They ate their salad and the timer went off on the oven.

Kane brought the halibut and the risotto and they ate it all.

"I'm going to hire you for a cook when I get rich," Bannon told Oliver. "That was the most delicious food I've ever eaten."

"Dad is a really good cook, but he's really lazy, too," Ben told her. "If I can get him to cook once a week I'm lucky. The rest of the time it's something out of the refrigerator we can heat in the microwave."

"Once a week is better than once a year," Bannon told him. "Kane took me to the Hive Beach Café once. It was like this, except she told me we could only go once a year because it's so expensive. She makes really good food for us, but it isn't fancy like this."

"That's actually why we're going to George Town," Oliver told them. "We need to hire someone to take care of our house. We need a cook and housekeeper, a kind of manager to take care of all the things on the island, someone to take care of our boats, someone to drive the boats, a grounds keeper and a handyman."

"Do you have more than one boat?" Bannon asked them.

"We have this one, a boat we use for fishing, and four jet skis."

"Wow, you guys must be very rich," she admired them.

"Don't embarrass them," Kane told her. "They've been very kind to us, and they're obviously very generous people."

Oliver laughed. "It doesn't embarrass us and we like to help damsels in distress."

He got up, cleared the table and Bannon helped him load the dishwasher. She chatted with him the whole time in her animated voice, and Oliver was totally charmed. The sun was setting and they went out on the back deck sat on the cushions and watched the sunset.

"Tell me about Ireland and what the Ardrey's are like and what they do," he asked them.

"We live in Belfast, now, in an apartment," Bannon told him. "We used to live in a small village until Mum and Dad died. It had about 1000 people. I went to school there and Kane went to college. Now I go to school on campus where Kane goes to college. Well, I used to go there. I don't know what I'm going to do now, but Kane always takes care of me."

She tucked her hand into her sisters. Kane hugged her. "That's right honey, I do take care of you and you take care of me."

"I don't really have a job offer yet, so I don't know what we're going to do. I've got my resume out to several places. The apartment was part of my scholarship for playing volleyball, but unless I become a graduate student we'll have to move somewhere else. Mum and Dad left us a little money, but it won't last long. I can't afford to go to graduate school unless I can get a job making pretty good money. Good jobs are pretty hard to come by in Belfast. We might have to go somewhere in England or Ireland, but there's a lot of unemployment there, too."

"I'm sure something will turn up," Oliver told her. "You're too smart for someone not to hire you"

She smiled. "Thanks, Oliver. What about the Brennans? What do they do and tell me about where you live?"

"We lived in Boston," Ben told them. "Well we actually lived in Cambridge, but that's really part of Boston. I went to school and Dad says that he's professionally decadent."

"What's decadent?" Bannon wanted to know.

"That's what I asked him. He says it's someone who does nothing but have a good time and makes a living doing that for a job."

Oliver laughed. "It's a joke, Bannon. I don't really do nothing but have a good time. Well, maybe I do, because I really have a good time writing. I write books. People have bought a lot of them and some of them have been made into movies. I really don't have to do anything I don't want to do. I write when I'm in the mood now, not because I need to make money."

"Are you writing anything now?" Kane asked him.

"Yes, I have a thriller going on."

"What's the name of it?" Bannon wanted to know.

It doesn't have a name yet. I just call all my new books Working Title until I finish and know what they're going to be about."

"How can you write a book and not know what it's about?" she asked.

"Well, I know the beginning. I have an idea, and I know how I want it to end. I always plot it out, but sometimes when you really have it going your characters do things that really surprise you. You didn't plan on them doing that, it just seems like they take on a life of their own and sometimes it takes the book in a direction you didn't plan on."

"Give us an example," Kane asked him.

"Well, I might be writing along about a girl named Bannon, and all of a sudden she does something like jump up and run to the back of a boat and jump in the ocean. You aren't getting ready to do that are you, Bannon?"

"No, of course not, silly," she laughed. "I have clothes on. I only swim in a bathing suit."

"Well, in my book she might do that," he told her. "I only find out later why she did it."

"That's very interesting," Kane told him. "I never knew it worked like that."

"It probably doesn't for some people. They may plot out every detail and never deviate from the script. That's just the way I work."

"What about your island? What was its name?"