The Krakow Klub (6 page)

“
I think that I can come up
with a device that would meet your requirements and be much safer
than the Taser. I think it might be safer to place the electric
charge at a precise location on the target’s body. Let me work up a
prototype for you.”

“Let’s go for it. One of these days, I might
need something like this for riot control. Earthlings are such an
emotional lot; they tend to get fired up for the most insignificant
reasons.”

John didn’t voice his opinion. Some of the
changes that he planned to introduce would, when announced, more
than likely cause civil unrest, at the very least.

****

On the day of his departure from Maxxine,
John went to the control room one last time. “Maxxine, as you know,
Maxx left a large number of remote craft around Earth. They are,
according to Maxx, simply gathering data which he will use in his
analysis of humans and their behaviors.

“He’s given me his word that he will not use
the remotes for any other purpose. In fact, all the remotes will be
under your command at all times, and we will have access to the
complete database.

“I want you to do three things for
me
.
First take command of those remotes,
and add them to our inventory. Second make sure that Maxx is doing
nothing more than collecting data. And last, start reviewing his
database for our possible use in the future.”

“Yes sir,” Maxxine replied. “I have already
done two of the three. I took control of the remotes several days
ago,
and I have downloaded Maxx’s Earth
database. I can assure you that he is doing nothing more than
collecting his data. I will begin to review it, but the database is
incredibly large and complex, particularly the information stored
in it from recent years. I have no algorithms developed for
analyzing that data as yet. Some guidance will be needed to enable
me to extract what is most meaningful to you.”

“Well, that presents a
problem
because I have no idea what I might want from the
data. Can you simply study it and get a feel for what I might be
able to do with it? As much as I hate to suggest it, you might even
ask Maxx for some guidance.”

“I will do my bust, sir.”

With that, both John and Mister T shouted,
almost in unison, “The word is
best
not
bust
!”

Far, far away in outer space, a booming voice
shouted, “Maxxine! The word is
best
!” Then to himself, Maxx
exclaimed, “I can’t believe that my QC algorithms made such stupid
errors. I must rewrite her language module immediately!”

“
A man
travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home
to find it.”
-
George Moore
,
The Brook Kerith

John Scott had lived in many
places,
but he had never found the perfect home. Now, he
would change that. Thanks to Maxx, he could afford anything that he
wanted,
but he also craved privacy above all
else. Privacy and luxury
are not the same. One does
not ensure the other.
But, he had gotten
lucky
and had found
a place that would
surely meet
both of his needs. Actually, Maxx had found it,
but John had heartily approved of the choice.

A
small privately owned
island about fifty miles from Key West was for sale. It was little
more than a
sandbar
, only 26 acres in size,
but it had improvements. A villa and guest house, surrounded by
palms and flowers, had been built at the center of the island. The
original owner had completed construction and furnished the house.
At the last minute, just before he was to move in, he suffered a
financial disaster and was forced to place the property on the
market. The price was
substantial,
and there
had only been a few serious inquiries made to the realtor who had
already dropped the price once.

For John Scott, the place seemed like the
Garden of Eden. It was far from prying eyes and nosy neighbors, but
relatively close to civilization. For John, it was love at first
sight,
and he began to make arrangements for
the purchase. But first, he would have to conclude an important
business trip.

****

After loading his cache of
newly created gold bars into the transporter craft, he asked Mister
T to program a route to Hong Kong. He had already made discreet
arrangements to exchange the gold for cash.
The exchange
would
occur
in secret and without government
knowledge. Therefore, John would be traveling on his personal
transporter instead commercial airlines. Neither
he
nor the
buyer
wanted any official
records of his entering or leaving the country. He thought to
himself, “Stealth mode is wonderful—No passport required.”

After the transaction, the
proceeds would be deposited into his Hong Kong account. He would
then convert a portion of the funds into U. S. dollars for transfer
to his account in Grand Cayman. A portion would remain in his Hong
Kong bank account in Hong Kong dollars.

Then, at last, he would finalize his purchase
of that small isolated island.
He was thrilled at the
prospect, but he had already decided that the island was a bit too
small for his long range plans. After consultation with Maxxine, he
decided that he could expand the property without any negative
ecological impact.
Maxxine, of course, came up with a
brilliant plan in which the entire project would
happen
in a single night.

An area just beyond the shoreline would be
dredged
and the sand used to enlarge the north
side of the island. L
arge mining craft would perform
the work. They
would come and go in stealth mode. That was
certainly a major
accomplishment,
but Maxxine
went even further and planned to place an electromagnetic shield
over
the
entire
operation
to avoid any possible detection while the work was in progress.

Then Maxxine added her
pièce de résistance
;
she created a way to access satellites orbiting over that area and
make the tiniest adjustments to computerized data systems. The
historic records would indicate that the island had always been its
current size—a work of genius.

John was delighted. His beautiful island
would have tripled in
size,
and no one would
ever know. If, by some remote chance, he was questioned about the
obvious increase in size, he would just breathe a heavy sigh, shrug
innocently, and suggest the questioner review the official
satellite data.

****

In Hong Kong, the gold transaction went
smoothly for both the seller and the buyer. John had rented a
building in a warehouse district through a third party, meaning
that his name would not appear on the rental agreement. The agent
had been curious, but not curious enough to ask questions. As far
as he was concerned, there were many rather unusual business
activities in Hong
Kong,
and it was never wise
to ask too many questions.

The warehouse he had arranged to use
was
in a substantially disused area.
Businesses had long ago moved elsewhere, leaving the area almost
abandoned. There would be little chance that the comings and goings
related to the transaction would be observed, particularly since
they would be done at night.

John and the buyer made careful arrangements
to ensure that the exchange would
happen
in
secret. Neither party wanted any scrutiny—the buyer for tax
purposes, and John for personal reasons.
Also
,
security was of utmost importance. There must be no opportunity for
theft by one of
the known
notorious gangs in
the area.

The buyer arranged for a rather nondescript
rental lorry capable of handling the heavy
load
to
transport his newly acquired gold. He engaged his trusted
nephew to drive and armed him heavily.
Also
,
there were two professional guards, heavily armed, to protect the
shipment. They had no idea what they would be transporting and
would never ask or even contemplate the matter. They were paid
handsomely and were smart enough to know that curiosity in such a
matter might well lead to an untimely demise.

The buyer arrived in an aging
BMW, again to avoid undue attention. Two bodyguards accompanied
him, also heavily armed. There was also an expert assayer to
confirm that the gold was real and of the stated weight.

The buyer, known as Mr. Zhao, was more than
happy to pay the significantly discounted “spot” price that John
offered.
Mr. Zhao was a very wealthy businessman of
questionable character. He arranged the transfer of funds through
several different accounts using banks in several different
nations. His actions made the transaction almost impossible to
trace.
The price agreed upon was in Hong Kong
dollars, but once the money was in John’s account in Hong Kong, it
would be converted into US dollars at any time. US dollars would be
easier to transfer to his accounts elsewhere.

John felt like a new man. The deal
went down
without a
hitch. It
had
been a perfect day. Yes! A truly perfect day!

****

John’s craft landed at the rented warehouse
in Key West less than an
hour
after leaving
Hong Kong, and almost a day earlier, due to the time zone
differences.

He spent the night at the Inn of the Keys and
dined at a nearby seafood restaurant. John,
tired
from the day’s activities, was more than a little
depressed that he had to celebrate alone. He looked
around
the restaurant at the other diners, almost all
couples, and ruefully thought to himself, “Power and money are of
little value without human companionship with whom to share
them.”

The next morning, he took a commercial flight
to Miami, and then on to Georgetown, Grand Cayman, again using a
regular scheduled airline. This time, his travel would be
documented through the use of his passport and the airline’s
passenger manifest.

John selected Grand Cayman because of their
strict banking secrecy laws and their very favorable tax laws. Upon
arrival, he was met by the bank’s representative, Mr. Smithson, a
rather annoying little individual whose primary function was
obviously to schmooze wealthy new clients. The man was most
impressed with himself and prattled on about his experiences in
international banking. John just ignored
him
but did so politely.

John’s appointment was with the bank’s
president, a consummate professional, who had spent his entire
career managing the impressively large accounts of wealthy clients
from all over the world.

The
paperwork
was ready,
and within a very short
period
, a large
portion of John’s Hong Kong funds were transferred into US dollars
and moved to the Grand Cayman bank.

John planned to use a significant portion of
his funds to purchase his island. His only requirement was that the
funds be available for use on the following day. After consulting
with the Hong Kong bank, the banker agreed to his request and only
charged a moderate fee as compensation for the availability
request.

John was more than pleased with himself for
the complex plan that had gone so smoothly. Well, he would have to
thank the inimitable Maxxine for her work in locating the buyer and
helping him set up the Hong Kong bank account and arranging the
exchange of his gold for cash.

He had lunch in a nearby outdoor restaurant
and then wandered through the quaint streets of downtown Georgetown
until it was time to return to the airport for his 5:30 PM flight
to Miami.

John arrived at the airport early and was one
of the first to board. His first class seat was comfortable, as
airplanes go, but surely not up to his usual standards. He merely
shook his head and promised himself to avoid commercial airlines as
much as possible in the future. He smiled to himself as he thought
of the unbelievable comfort and amenities of his shuttlecraft.

He began to read the
Wall Street
Journal
but was interrupted by the cabin attendant offering a
flute of champagne before takeoff. Just then, the lady seated
across the aisle caught his eye.

Her hair was pale blonde and cut in the
latest style
—n
ot a hair out of place. It
proved difficult to guess her age as her complexion was quite
smooth and only lightly tanned unlike so many sun worshippers in
this part of the world. Only a few tiny lines showed at the corners
of her eyes. Her beauty seemed to be natural as opposed to the work
of a plastic surgeon. Overall, she had that cool, sophisticated
look that would have intrigued Alfred Hitchcock. He decided
immediately that she probably came from a family of old money.
Nothing
nouveau
riche
about her.

John continued to study her discreetly. She
was certainly different from the rest of the passengers, who were
mostly tourists, wearing gaudy tropical prints that practically
screamed at you. She wore
cream-colored
slacks
and a turquoise silk blouse topped by a linen jacket.
How could
that jacket not be wrinkled in this climate? Unbelievable!

By now, John had decided that she must be an
executive on some business trip; probably banking since this was
Grand Cayman. Whoever she was, she paid no attention to him, or
anyone else, for that matter. She was reading from a scientific
journal, another surprise for John.