Blueblood 5.1: Red Alert!! - 2. Preparing for Siberia

We watched Stan place those little baseball sized…eyes around the room picking out places to put them to get the best results. “For the best results, we all need to step outside. The longer Buddy can scan the better the results.”

“Then can we start cleaning up?” Sylvia asked.

David looked at her. “When we’re done.”

I looked at her shaking my head looking at Colin, Mark, and Stan. “I always wondered what happened to JAPs.” Mark and Stan chuckled

“JAPs?” John asked. “I’ve heard people called that, but I don’t think she’s a person from Japan.”

I chuckled. “No, she’s a Jewish American Princess.” I waved at Sylvia Lowenstein. “Here one is now.”

Like the other situations right now, it might have been more amusing. Getting Sylvia Lowenstein to leave was difficult. Finally, Mortimer Lowenstein insisted and was literally pulling her away to take them to a hotel…or wherever, just got her out of the way.

Mark shook his head. “She can’t be for real.”

“Of course, she’s not for real,” I growled. “She’s had things handed to her probably her whole life and certainly by Mortie. Not even her looks are for real. She’s had facelifts, nose jobs, tucks...probably tummy and fanny tucks and I know those thirty-eight D’s are not real. They are more playthings for Mortie. She’s what happens to JAPs when they get older.”

Mark and Stan chuckled.

David Mason was watching as Stan was activating the scan. “So, this scan will pick up details about the scene? Even fingerprints?”

Stan nodded. “Yes. These…” he held up one of the black ball-like things, “eyes…I placed around will do a continuous scan and fingerprints leave a residue that can be picked up. A good scan will take time, a few hours, but nothing will be overlooked.”

David grimaced. “So, we didn’t have to…dust for prints.”

Stan looked at Mark and then to us. “I didn’t say that. How you conduct an investigation is standard procedure.” He shrugged. “I just happen to have access to tools you might not. I am sure you are thorough.”

David nodded suddenly smiling bigger. “Okay. Can I get something like that?”

Stan chuckled and waved at Colin. “You’ll have to ask him. It is his and George’s business that created this computer system.”

Mark leaned in to Colin. “Perhaps you could create The Detective’s Buddy!”

John was pacing. “Who would take George?” He asked as he was trying to figure things out.

“Someone wants to further someone’s knowledge of the...” Colin looked at David who was still fascinated by Stan’s computer, “formula and what it’s used for.”

“I figured that out,” John said in a growl testily and waved at us. “You’re all…joking! It’s just another day on the job!”

No one would blame him for being frustrated. “We know this isn’t just a day on the job.” I walked over to him. “We know this is very serious. Humor just makes things easier to cope with this. We will find George.” I assured John again. “They want him for what he knows. They need him. He is alive.”

Mark came over hugging John. “I’m sorry, John. You’re right. We shouldn’t joke right now.”

John nodded as he tightened his hold on Mark. “No, I know it’s what you do.” He sighed. “I just want to do something!” He said in that frustration.

“I know.” Mark nodded. “We are doing something, John. We are trying to find out who so we can determine where. Do you remember any more? Were they wearing gloves or did they have a smell, tattoos, any jewelry?”

John shook his head returning to his pacing. “No gloves…they weren’t vampires and they didn’t have a serum smell. I don’t remember tattoos.”

Mark nodded again. “Well, Stan here has that wonderful tool he knows how to use better than anyone. He will find something that will narrow down the world to get us to find out who and then where.”

At the end of this day, we ended up staying at this wonderful house that Sylvia was worried about. John and George had rented this place for two weeks. There were three days left, so Colin and I moved into one of the bedrooms. Stan and Mark got the other.

The house was great! It was a beautiful location right on the beach. The distance from the house to the water was only a few dozen feet from the porch/patio. There were no waves here big or small on the short white beach. There was just the gentle lapping of the water on the sand softly in the air. There was just a gentle breeze through tropical trees and a lot of sunshine. It was in the eighties, but with the constant breeze, it was more than comfortable. Everything here said, relax, don’t rush. In my somewhat odd mind, I could hear very softly from the Banana Boat Song “daylight come and me wanta go home” softly as a whisper. It was a paradise, except for the thing with George.

Stan was concentrating on the archive files. “The thing is...” he said out loud to everyone and no one, “I can tell when George’s PTDU was when it was no longer able to be picked up by Buddy.” He sighed. “When the time was...when it stopped being seen and when he was no longer in Barbados.”

“Where was he before when Buddy couldn’t see him?” John asked.

“Over the Caribbean Sea,” Stan reported as he thought. “He was heading Northwest. The speed at which he was going...he was on a plane and not on a boat, which would be the quickest way as we are on an island. I’ll get more details.” He said typing.

“Okay,” Colin said as he was following Stan’s train of thought. “Do you know the heading?”

“On a heading between St. Lucia and St. Vincent.” He did more typing and studied what he saw. “He left Barbados just before John regained consciousness.” He shook his head. “The thing is the ability for Buddy to detect George...just...faded.” He looked up and saw some confused faces, including mine. “It didn’t just stop…it was like...he was cloaked. He is still there, Buddy just couldn’t see him. Whatever was activated, it took a while for Buddy to lose sight of George. That suggests a field and that means power...a computer program.”

“Like a Klingon Bird of Prey when they raise the cloaking device!” I said smiling.

“Right!” Stan nodded as he grinned. “Just like that. It was like the scattering field I raised in Romania. That required power and a program. Unlike what I did when we rescued you from Germany. I made the systems in Germany not able to see you; blinding the system. They made it so George could not be seen by Buddy.” He raised his finger. “There is a difference. That doesn’t mean I can’t find the plane.”

“It may not be a registered flight. An unauthorized flight.” Colin said.

Stan nodded. “It doesn’t matter. Anything in the air will register on radar. Even if it is unknown. It may not be an unknown.” He was typing again. “The time when George disappeared before he left the airspace of Barbados...” he smacked his laptop a little triumphantly with a quick clap. “Yes! I have it. There was a small plane on radar at that time.” He typed again. “I need to access the recordings of the Grantley Adams Airport. Then locate the plane and track it. It was near St. Lucia, so the airport there should have it, too. It’s sort of an airport relay race. I get the transponder frequency and track it to where it lands.”

“The plane has to have a transponder?” Colin asked.

“Regulations say you do, or you risk being shot down as a potential enemy by other countries.” Stan nodded. “I doubt they have stealth abilities. There is something there.”

“It could have landed by now,” John said. “Meaning they put him on another flight and went somewhere else! Or didn’t fly at all.”

Stan nodded again. “If they did like what I did, they are generating a field to block Buddy’s ability to see George. That requires power.” Stan explained. “Now that I have the plane, I’ll use Buddy to scan the plane where it was to determine what odd frequencies are being generated. I might be able to determine the frequency and counter the field and see where George is and where he’s gone!”

“How do you go back to get readings?” Colin asked.

“Simple.” Stan shrugged. “I have the time stamp. Using satellite readings and recordings of conditions. I can compare and read the time of the plane to find what changes around the plane. Everything for defense satellites and even weather satellites to triangulate with the speed of the plane and see what happened right there at that time. They will be recorded on some computer somewhere. We will find it and get the information.”

“Even military defense satellites and computers?” I asked smiling. “Aren’t they classified?”

Stan looked up blinking. “And your point is?”

“I just don’t want to get in trouble...you know...for spying or committing treason,” I said.

Stan nodded with a slight shrug. “Well, we can slip in and get the information and go. No harm and no treason. Buddy and I will get what we need.” He waved us off. “This may take some doing...so...scoot.” We watched as Stan began to work more focused on his computer.

Stan stayed at his computer. Mark, John, Colin and I got ready for bed, but John was too upset to sleep. Colin insisted John rest if nothing else. Colin crawled in bed beside me. “I know how John feels.” He gathered me up in his arms. “When you were kidnapped that one time without me, I couldn’t sit still either.” He sighed.

“No one could. I couldn’t if it was you.”

“We knew this might happen if we came out as vampires,” Colin said sadly. “Should I have sent guards with George and John?”

I pulled Colin in for a gentle kiss. “Don’t do that, Colin. Don’t second guess yourself.” I rolled over putting him beneath me as I looked down at him.

Colin sighed and looked away, not looking in my eyes. “I never wanted to hurt anyone.” He said sadly. “When I first decided to come out as a vampire,” he shook his head. “I meant it to be just me.”

I nodded moving my head into his vision. “Right, which I insisted if you did, I would do it, too.” I smiled at him. “George told everyone himself he was a vampire and John stood by his side just as I did with you. They were deeply connected even then. We all knew this would be dangerous. George especially dreaded it and he knew. You can’t take the whole responsibility for this.”

“I wish it had been me,” Colin said looking at me with those emerald green eyes.

“So, I would be suffering more?” I asked logically. “If it was you, that wouldn’t make things better. For you, perhaps, but not for me. If you were taken and not me, I would be where John is now.” I shook my head. “You do this.” I tapped his chest lightly. “Don’t be such a martyr. They want George for what he knows. As Mark said, they won’t hurt him. He’s alive and we will find him.”

Colin was annoyed, but not angry. “I am not a martyr!”

I smiled nodding. “Yes, you are. You are willing to suffer to save someone else from having to do it to make your point. That’s almost like a martyr.”

Colin kissed me gently. “I love you.” He cocked his head slightly. “What is it about us? You and me. I can’t imagine anything better. It’s like magic.”

I smiled. “We want the same thing, Colin. All those stories about the magic of love. We devote music, literature even children’s fairy tales and many things about love. It is magic. We create that magic. My focus is you. How you feel and what I can do to make you feel better.”

Colin nodded as his arms wrapped around me more. “And my focus is you. I would do anything for you.”

“I know that.” I smiled. “As I would for you.”

“Aha!!” We heard Stan cry out in triumph in the other room. “Guys! I got George!”

Colin and I were instantly up running into the other room.

“Where?” John asked hurrying in the room. He, like all of us, wasn’t concerned with covering ourselves, we’d seen everything. We had on shorts or underwear, but…

“He’s flying over Europe now,” Stan reported. “Once I got the frequency…it took a while, but Buddy and I punched a hole in it.” He pointed to the red dot. “He’s still on the move.” He did again the typing thing and nodded. “From the size of the plane and the last stop...assuming they refueled fully...” he frowned. “They would most likely land...somewhere...most likely from their heading...in Russia.”

“It’s a big country.” I grimaced and sighed. “Well, the Delkenzie program works well translating Russian to English. I guess we need to be ready to go.”

Colin walked over to John. “We have George now.” He assured John. “We can track him again. We’ll get him away. How long ago did George have his disc replaced?”

“About three days before the wedding,” John said. “He has another two weeks.”

“Anything from the scan?” Mark asked.

“Sure.” Stan nodded typing quickly. “There were four different prints found. George and John’s and two sets of others unknown. Buddy is checking with all international databases to locate and find out who they are. These days, there are fingerprints filed everywhere…military and criminal. It depends on the computer system…not Buddy, but the speed and complexity of the computers in these countries, it could take a while.”

I nodded. “Again, aren’t they classified?”

Stan shrugged. “Maybe, but usually the records need to be available for public use. If its military, they need to be available, even if a password is needed to gain access.” He grinned again. “Which Buddy will have no trouble finding.”

“Shouldn’t we go now?” John asked in a hurry. “We know where they’re heading.” He waved at the computer anxious to get going. “We can be on the way.”

Mark nodded. “There is the investigation here that is ongoing.” He saw John was about to say something and held his hand up. “I know…we will tell Investigator Mason what we found out. This is Barbados. I don’t think they’d have the means to do this internationally. It needs to be resolved here.”

“But…” John started to say.

“We’ll leave as soon as possible,” Mark assured.

“Is George reading as having any problems?” I asked Stan.

“Not that I can see. Blood pressure is a little elevated…heart rate normal.” Stan reported. “Under some stressful moments, but fine physically.” He said to John who let out a slow breath finally knowing George was alright.

“We need to resolve things here,” Colin said thinking as he paced. He turned to John. “We’ll leave as soon as we can.” He took John by the shoulder. “I know it will be hard, but you need to relax…as much as possible. We will need your strength later when he does locate George and get him out of...wherever.”

The next day we presented David Mason what we found out; the facts which were verified and the evidence.

“…so, these international…criminals came and took Dr. Holm.” He said. “Why?”

“Without going into detail, because I don’t even understand it all,” Colin said truthfully. “He has some pretty ground-breaking treatments and cures.” He motioned to the computer. “I can give you names and numbers of many scientists around the world that can verify this. Even our President knows. Not to mention Director Mattingly at MI5 and Dr. Hathaway of MI5.”

David nodded as he listened. “Yes, we were called by Mr. Mattingly.” He sighed. “I guess this investigation is pretty well at a standstill here. I can’t go after those men that did this without cooperation from the government where he was taken.” He said looking at the house.

“But we can,” Mark said immediately. “You’ll be kept in the loop.”

That was when Mortimer and Sylvia Lowenstein came in the front door. Sylvia was dressed for the tropics, but hardly to do any housecleaning.

“Now, you can begin to get this place cleaned for your next clients,” John said to Sylvia with the...not so veiled sound of annoyance. “We’ll be leaving as soon as possible.”

“But who is paying for the cleanup?” Sylvia asked.

Colin got a little closer to her. “If you think you should bill the victim, think again. If you try it, I’ll sue you and win. I have some excellent lawyers at my company in Manhattan that would love this sort of case.”

“New York!?” Sylvia repeated surprised. “But you sound like...”

“Yes, I know. If you do, I’ll sue and win this house and have it torn down, then you really won’t have to worry about this property or income from it! I suppose the Southern accent fooled you. Yes, Manhattan, New York. When we catch the men that did this, you can bill them.” Colin growled at her. “In the meantime, your insurance will have to bear the cost.” He walked past Mortimer Lowenstein who wasn’t too happy with his wife’s lack of compassion. “You might consider heart surgery for her. She doesn’t seem to have one. Then maybe she will be able to empathize.”

Mortimer’s face wasn’t angry. He understood she was all about her and was reluctantly resolved. “I gave up years ago.”

Sylvia frowned and gave her husband a pretty good smack on the arm. “If it weren’t for me...you wouldn’t have a thing. My Daddy's money gave your business the start!”

Mortimer’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, something you never let me forget,” Mortimer said sadly.

I nodded. “And there it is. We have a clearer picture we see to understand things better.” I muttered to Stan who was shaking his head. I moved closer to the two. “And your husband contributed nothing to the success of this business. It is all your Daddy’s money keeping it going.” I said to her.

Sylvia looked at me. “What? No, I didn’t say that.”

“Yes, you did.” I walked toward her. “It was your Daddy’s money that started the business, so your husband deserves no recognition. That’s what you just said. You throw that in his face a lot, don’t you?”

Mortimer was the one to answer that immediately. “Yes.”

“But you must have loved her to stay with her.” I offered.

Mortimer nodded smiling fondly. “Oh, yes.”

“That was very sincere.” I smiled at him. “Do you tell her?” I asked.

Mortimer frowned. “There are times...” he shook his head. “Not as often as I should.”

I looked at Sylvia. “Do you tell him your Daddy’s money is the reason for his success? Not his achievements?”

“It gave him the start.” Sylvia sputtered. “But...I...”

“The start, but Mortimer must have had success.” I reasoned.

“Yes.” Sylvia nodded.

“Don’t demean your value in the marriage as being just because of your looks and your Daddy’s money,” I advised. “If all you are is looks and money it will make things rocky. He loves you.” I smiled. “I hear it in his voice.”

Sylvia looked at her husband. “I knew I attracted him once, but..” she waved over her body. “I’m getting older and...the magic just seemed to leave.”

I grinned at her. “Colin and I were just talking about that last night.” I smiled as Colin moved closer and took my hand. “There is a magic in love. You need to build him up, not tear him down and keep reminding him of what was done in the past and hold him to that.” I turned to Mortimer. “And you need to tell her why you stayed with her. Make your own fairy tale.”

“When we first began investing in these properties, Sylvia was so good at keeping things well organized and stressed on cleanliness and helped make this and the others a success,” Mortimer confessed. “She just gets carried away.”

I nodded. “Tell her that.” I smiled. “You haven’t lost it yet. Get the magic back. It takes work to keep it alive.”

Sylvia shook her head. “Are you a Psychologist or something? Why are we talking to you like this?”

Colin chuckled taking my hand. “He has a gift, he counsels a lot of people.” He hugged me. “He has a kind of magic touch.” He motioned toward John, Stan, and Mark. “We’ll be leaving within the next few hours.”

“We need to get George,” John said.

We helped John pack everything including George’s things. Colin went to Stan. “Has George stopped moving?”

Stan shook his head as he looked at his screen. “No, he’s still moving, but the speed suggests ground transportation. He landed in Yekaterinburg. He’s in Western Siberia.”

I shrugged. “We need to dust off our translators.”

“And get the others from New York.” Colin nodded. “Gabriella’s, Alex’s, and Ellis’ ability to track will be greatly needed.”

“If this group of people found out where George and John were, did they manage to hack in?” I asked Stan.

Stan shrugged and looked very irritated. “I suppose so. I’ve set up more Sentries and beefed up the firewalls. They will have a tougher time if they try it again.”

“Then we can’t signal anyone,” I said. “We need to get everyone together. I mean in the United States, England and Romania. We need to get George!”

John came in having put something else in the vehicle. “So, what are we waiting on? Let’s go!”