Hostage to Fortune

He found her down in the galley preparing food. Walking up behind her, he slipped his hands around her waist and felt her jump.

'Sorry, you took me by surprise, sneaking up on me like that.'

She took both his hands in hers and pulled them around her so that he was hugging her.

'There is a storm coming, it could be a rough night.'

'Will we be alright?'

'Oh Yeah, we'll be fine. It might get a bit rough, but Bee Jay is a good boat she'll keep us safe. --I think this is the night to report our loss.'

He felt her body shudder as he told her of his plan. They ate their meal in silence neither one able to find something to talk about. By ten that night the weather was getting wild. Ryan went on deck to use the Radio. Sam heard him calling Lisbon coast guard. He gave their position and reported an accident on board.

'Man overboard. Repeat man overboard.'

'Lisbon coastguard to Bee Jay II. Hold your position We will send assistance.'

'Bee Jay II to Lisbon coastguard. Sorry, can't do that we are under sail. I am also injured and in this weather, we are currently running on automatic navigation headed for Gibraltar. We don't need assistance on board. Please organise a search for Mr Wainwright. Over.'

'Lisbon coastguard to Bee Jay II. Is man overboard wearing a life jacket? Over'

'Bee Jay II to Lisbon coastguard. Sorry, can't answer that. We were in bed when the squall struck. I don't know if he donned a life jacket or not. Over.'

'Lisbon coastguard to Bee Jay II. OK Bee Jay continue on your present course, we will notify all shipping to be on the lookout and mobilise the search helicopter. Over.'

'Thank you Lisbon coastguard. Over and out.'

Sam was in bed when he went back down. She was curled up in the foetal position and appeared to be asleep. He undressed and climbed in behind her.

Tom Wainwright sat at his son's bedside reading the books of poetry that he'd bought to read to aloud. He'd slept a bit but Will's sleep had been restless and that had kept him awake. He'd also been reading about the problems that might lay ahead of Will. He knew that his cognitive capabilities seemed OK, well good enough to hold an argument. He'd read about people who'd made a complete recovery, but also found others who'd ended up like stroke victims. If determination had anything to do with it, Will would recover.

There was some movement in the bed and Tom turned to see his son open his eyes.

'Are you still here?'

'I thought I told you yesterday, I'll be here as long as you need me. That lass of yours can't do everything on her own. She tried bloody hard but it was killing her. I could see it.'

'She's not my lass, as you call her. She works for me. She's my PA and a damned good one. Where is Sam shouldn't she be here?'

'Have it your own way lad. --Yes, your wife should be here, I don't rightly know where she is right now. Maybe young Stephanie knows more.'

Tom thought it wise to change the subject. 'You had a bit of a restless night.'

'Yeah, I had a few weird dreams, at least I think they were dreams. They seemed so real. I was in the ocean and Bee Jay was sailing away. I tried to call out but they couldn't hear me. They just kept sailing away.'

'I hope you're not expecting me to interpret that. I'm just an engineer son.'

'Then there was the shark. Bloody enormous it was. Just swimming around. I was bleeding and there was a shark swimming around me. I was shit scared. Really I was.'

'Aye well, I expect most people would be.'

'Then there was the woman. That's the really weird bit. She was standing there wearing just a bikini. I tell you Dad, she really did fill that bikini to perfection. I felt like I knew her but I couldn't seem to see her face.'

'Perhaps it was Sam.'

'No. Sam's not built like that. Don't get me wrong Sam looks gorgeous but this girl was bigger, you know? Not fat, shapely. Besides Sam is blonde, the mystery woman had dark hair.'

Tom smiled to himself. 'You know son sometimes you see someone every day yet when you see them out of their normal place you don't recognise them.'

'Ah well, this one had a unique ability. All I have to do is check out all the brunettes I know and see which one can walk on water. -- I told you it was weird.'

'The sun was strong and glistening off the waves when she walked out of the sun towards me. That bloody shark was swimming around and I was trying to keep still when she came stepping through the waves. I tried to tell her about the shark but she just kept walking toward me. She bent down and just pulled me from the water. The next thing I know I'm lying in a bed with the same woman. She had her arms and legs wrapped around me. No sex or anything she just held me. What happened to me Dad? How did I get here.'

'We don't know exactly. We were hoping you might remember. All I know is that young Stephanie and her friend found you floating in the ocean with a bad head injury. They rushed you here in some rich bloke's gin palace.'

'Was anyone else in the water?'

'No Son, just you. If anyone else went overboard, then I'm afraid we've lost them'

Two nurses came into the room. One, nurse Marie Francorchamps, Spoke English to them.

'Now M'seiur Wainwright. We are going to sit you up so that you can wash yourself. Then we change the sheets.' She turned to Tom. 'Would you please leave us M'seiur. You may return in thirty minutes.'

I all but ran into Tom as he left the room.

'Morning wash and sheet change, ' He said. 'We are to come back in half an hour.'

'That's good we need to talk. Something has happened. Let's go and have breakfast.'

Over croissants and coffee, we discussed the morning's developments.

'So lass, are they just looking for one person? Only he's been asking about Samantha.'

'The search is just for Will. Millionaire businessman they are calling him on the news. There was no mention of Samantha so we must assume that she is OK. The interesting thing is that the search area is off the coast of Portugal Hundreds of miles away from where he went into the water.'

'Trying to make sure they don't find anything, lass. It doesn't look good, does it? --So what do you want to do then?'

'Nothing at present Tom. Not for a day or two, until we know how bad things are.'

'You are going to have to tell him what you know about Samantha now. In fact, I think we should tell him all we know. He's been dreaming about it, and you.'

After breakfast, we returned to Will's room. Tom left me at the door and returned to the hotel. As I walked in, I noticed Will giving me a strange look, almost as if he was seeing me for the first time. He stopped me as I walked towards the bed.

'Hold it right there Ms Fletcher. --Take your shoes off.'

'What?'

'You heard me, take off your shoes.'

I picked up each foot and slipped off my shoes. Holding them in my left hand, I started to move forward.

'Now the skirt.'

'No.'

'Come on Steph. I'm a sick man, humour me.'

I unhooked the waistband and eased the zip down. With a little shimmy, the skirt slipped over my hips and down to the floor. I stood there feeling exposed and very vulnerable. Will seemed to study me. I was aware that all I had to cover my modesty was a pair of thin silk panties. I stepped out of the skirt and stood before him.

'Now there is just the matter of your blouse. Come on, off with it.'

'Will this is embarrassing, don't make me do this.'

'What's the problem? Your underwear is no more revealing than a bikini.'

'I think it is it's certainly thinner.' I said as I undid the buttons.

I eased the blouse off my shoulders and let it fall. I held my hands in front of me. I could feel his gaze upon me. My nipples started to stiffen, I looked down and could see them prominent under the silk of my bra.

'You. You're the girl in my dreams. --Can you really walk on water?'

'Can I get dressed before I answer that?'

He nodded. I turned and started picking up clothes.

'That's one hell of a body you've got there Fletcher. How come I've not seen it before?'

I started buttoning up my blouse. 'It's been right in front of you every day.'

'Now you are starting to sound like the old man.'

I pulled up my skirt and tucked my blouse into the waistband. I put my shoes back on and sat down in the chair.

'No I can't walk on water. Now can you tell me what that was all about?'

He told me of his dreams. I told him about the rescue, how Bruce and I had raced to get to him.

'How did you know I was in the water and where to find me?'

Ah well, you remember the company we bought, the one in Ramsgate that produced all the nautical instrumentation. We decided that they had a lot of good products that we could sell off to the big manufacturers. --One of those products was a life jacket with satellite tracking device powered by a saltwater battery. I had them supply new jackets for Bee Jay plus a tracking system for the boat itself. The same software that tracks the boat also tracks active life jackets. The boat I was on had a satellite phone with broadband capabilities.'

'So once the sea water got into the battery I started transmitting. That really is neat.'

'I thought so. When it interrupted my working I took me a minute to figure out what I was seeing. When I did, I told Bruce and he went hell for leather to pick you up.'

'What about Sam and Ryan they must have seen me go overboard. Why didn't they come back for me?'

'I'm sorry Will but it's worse than that. They didn't even report it. Bee Jay just held her course and speed and sailed away.'

'No. there must be an explanation. Some sort of freak wave.'

'They reported you lost, last night off the coast of Portugal. Not only will the search be too late, but they'll be looking in the wrong place. Can't you remember anything about what happened?'

'I can't remember much since leaving Guernsey. I don't understand why wouldn't they want me found?'

'You are a very rich man, Will.'

'No. No. You've got it wrong Sam wouldn't do that.'

'What about Ryan?'

'Well maybe, but what would he have to gain?'

'As I said you are a very rich man and not without enemies, any one of whom would pay good money to see that back of you. However, I think it may be simpler than that.'

I told him all about credit card bills for the hotel rooms. I showed him registration details showing the rooms had been booked in the name of Mr and Mrs Wainwrights.

'Finally, I got The Grand to supply CCTV pictures from the restaurant. This one clearly shows Ryan and Samantha being shown to their table, and you can see Ryan has his arm around her waist.' I pulled up the picture on my laptop and showed it to Will.

'I know it's not conclusive. I probably wouldn't have said anything if this hadn't happened.'

Will just sat in the bed with a look of shock and disbelief on his face.

'The bitch, so that's the reason she didn't want to come with us. She wanted to stay at home and fuck around on me.'

'Ahem, Pot to Kettle, reality check. What about Annabel, Mai Ling, Helga and one or two others, don't they count as cheating.'

'That was different. They were just one night stands, not a full-blown affair.'

'And besides, you're a man aren't you.'

'OK I'm not blameless, but if she'd come with us it wouldn't have happened.'

'And maybe if you'd been at home more she wouldn't have gone to Ryan.'

'Just whose side are you on Steph? First, you tell me she's screwing around, and now you're defending her.'

'I'm just trying to make you see it's not black and white. There is no evidence of her going down to Brighton until about six weeks ago. You'd been away for about three months with only a couple of days at home. I'm not defending her, I don't understand why she would risk everything for a role in the hay with Ryan. If she did have an affair with him, I don't know what she was doing on Bee Jay with the two of you. Was she expecting a threesome? I mean sleeping with her husband with her lover in the next cabin, surely she could see it was a recipe for disaster.'

There was an uncomfortable silence.

'It probably wouldn't have occurred to her. If it's not happening to Sam, then it's not happening. I would say that she's not the sharpest tool in the box, but that's a bit unfair. Let's just say she rarely sees the bigger picture. Maybe we should say she's a bit naïve.'

Will sat quietly for a while. I knew not to break into his thoughts, I'd seen it before. He was weighing up the situation deciding what to do next. I sat and waited for the questions and sure enough they came.

'Who knows I'm here, Steph?'

'Me, your dad, Bruce, the doctors and the nursing staff. I've tried to keep it quiet until we knew how bad you were.'

'How long can we keep it that way, now the news has broken?'

'I don't know, maybe if your dad has a word with the doctor we can get a couple of days more.'

'What the hell can my old man do to make them keep quiet?'

'Tell them about your grandfather. He served in Number 1 commando. He took part in the famous raid in 1942. He is a big hero here. '

'I never knew. He died when I was a boy. Dad never mentioned it to me.'

'He told me when I told him where you were.'

My phone rang and I answered it to find it was Sir George McMahon wanting to take me up on the offer of help. I put the phone on speaker, so Will could hear the discussion. I asked Sir George to give me a few days and he agreed. Will was looking mystified. I was about to disconnect when an idea occurred to me.

'Sir George, I haven't had a chance to talk to Will about this yet.'

'I know that young lady, I do read the news you know'

'Don't believe everything you read, Sir George and remember you promised to keep this quiet.'

'It has occurred to me that it may be in your best interest to allow a takeover to take place, especially if you had an interest in the company doing the taking over. I'd like the time to run it past Will but it's possible that we could all do very well out of this.'

'Are you telling me he wasn't swept overboard?'

'I'm asking you to wait until I've spoken to Will.'

We said our goodbyes and I disconnected the call. When I turned to Will he didn't look at all pleased.

'Would you like to tell me what that was all about? Do I take it you have unilaterally scrapped the McMahon take over deal?'

'I had to. The boat I was travelling on belongs to Sir George. Saving you made Bruce a day late delivering it. I did not know what had happened, and I wanted to keep it quiet until I knew. I had to offer Sir George something to avoid him demanding to know why the boat was late.'

His look told me he was not happy about what I'd done. 'Look I had to make a decision and you were in no fit state to ask.'

'And what is this idea you were talking about.'

'Well, if Sir George handed us some of his shares in return for a share in the holding company in Grand Cayman, he would be able to benefit from us doing what we do. When we've finished he could buy back the company at a rock bottom price, and still have his share of our profits.'

'Do you think he'll go for it?'

'He might if we pitch it as a way of preventing his wife getting her hands on his company and of hiding some of his fortune. It could be beneficial to both parties.'

'You've really been taking it all in, haven't you? You've been watching and waiting. What happens now? Are you going to take over while I'm stuck in here? Let's see you do the sales pitches, getting the best price for everything. See how you cope with that.'

'Stop it Will, just stop it. I'm not trying to take over anything. I'm just trying to do what you pay me to do, look after your interests.'

'Why aren't you trying to take over? I'm damn sure I would be. You know how it's done, I heard you telling the old man. So now I'm out of the way, why not go for it and take over? Don't give me that loyalty crap. Loyalty is for fools.'

'Then that makes me a fool. It makes your dad a fool. It makes this whole bloody city fools because they're loyal to the memory of people like your grandfather.' I realised I was shouting at him and tried to control myself. Tears were running down my face as I continued. 'Besides I don't like what we do. If I wanted to go out on my own it wouldn't be doing what we do.'

'Doesn't stop you taking the money though, does it? I haven't noticed you turning down any bonuses.'

The tears came thick and fast. I got up and ran from the room. It took me ten minutes in La dames toilets to calm down. I washed my face and put on a little makeup before returning to Will's room.

He started to say something but I stopped him. 'Not that it is any of your business but a lot of people have benefited from those bonuses. Mainly sick people and children, so no I didn't turn them down.'

'You gave them all to charity? I really don't know you at all do I?'

I didn't bother to answer.

'Look Steph, I'm really sorry for what I said before. I don't really doubt you. I know you'll always watch my back. Dammit, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. I don't know what got into me. Am I forgiven?'

'Only because that doctor told me you would probably behave oddly for a while.'

He smiled at me with that boyish smile that made me weak at the knees.

'Did you really give them all to charity?'

'Most of them. Those people need the money more than I do.'

He continued to smile while shaking his head

Chapter 6

Tom came back at about the same time as Dr Montand. The Doctor was his usual cheerful self but was giving Will an odd look.

'You know M'seiur Wainwright you are a puzzle to me. I hear on the radio this morning that millionaire businessman William Wainwright was washed overboard from his boat last night. I think that cannot be our M'seiur Wainwright because he has been in my Hospital for three days, and the other man only disappeared last night off the coast of Portugal. On the television, at lunchtime, they show his picture and I see it is my M'seiur Wainwright. So tell me are you like your English Dr Who? Have you travelled through time and space so I can make you well before you disappear?'

'I'm sorry Doc I can't tell you a lot. I don't know why they've only just reported me missing.'

Tom intervened asking for a quick word with the doctor. He went through everything that had happened and why we'd tried to keep it quiet. Tom asked if Will's presence in the hospital could be kept quiet for a few days more. He mentioned his father's exploits in the famous raid.

'M'seiur Wainwright I will do my best to keep it quiet. It shouldn't be difficult because everyone expects you to be found in Portugal. I ask only that when you do release the information, you talk to our local newspaper. We are raising money for a new CT Scanner. It would be good for the campaign, there is still a lot of interest in your No1 Commando men.'

Tom put his arm around the doctor's shoulders. 'Dr Montand, after what you've done for my boy, a scanner is the least we can do. I know you've got tests to run. Please keep us informed. Things haven't always been too good between me and my son. He may not tell me everything.'

Tom wanted me to leave but I wanted to know what was happening so we waited outside of the room for what seemed like hours. Eventually, the doctor came out and this time his smile was not so broad.

'As I said before his cognitive powers seem good. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for his motor control. He doesn't seem to be able to control his left leg. Reflexes are all good and he can feel pain in the leg, but full control is not there. Is the head injury, I think. It may return, but he may have to learn to walk all over again.'

Tom's face dropped but I tried to be positive. 'But he is alright. All the things that make him Will Wainwright, that is all undamaged.'