When Robert knew they could no longer be seen from the car, he abruptly turned to Luke and, with the expression of a wife who has just been embarrassed by her drunken husband, said, “Just what the hell did you say to my old man while I was out of the room! I’ve never seen my father like that in my whole life.”
Luke shrugged innocently. “I don’t know. I just did what you told me to do, and worded everything as speculative supposition. You told me he loved history, so I played to that. But I also hinted that whoever claimed patronage for the discovery of Zhou Man’s stone marker on this continent would obviously garner international prestige and respect, especially in China.”
Robert quoted an old saying in Spanish: “For honor will bloom like the jacaranda, and where the petals fall, influence will increase.”
“Yeah! Something along those lines, I suppose, but not quite so bucolic. Anyway, listen, I’ve got to get home before seven. I’ve got a fair bit of work to do before class on Monday. Thanks for the loan of the Armani.”
“It wasn’t a loan. You can keep it. Hopefully you’ll have a chance to wear it again soon.”
“Well, I do have a date tomorrow. Thanks.”
THE FOLLOWING SATURDAY FOUND LUKE anxious to be off for a day of surfing down the coast. In the last week he’d spent a good amount of his not-so-spare time doing his own research. With the help of two old “freaks” from the Stanford computer lab, Luke began his own line of inquiries into Mr. Lawrence H. Wu. However, that particular morning he’d received a green “surf alert” on his e-mail. Seven-to-nine-foot swells were generating some interesting sets offshore on the north-facing points and beaches. The accompanying map attachment picked out some favorable spots just south of Point Sur.
Luke had been anxious to try out his new surfboard. It was actually an old board that he had modified with a little help from a friend at the surf shop. Luke had been influenced by filmed experiments of scuba divers rigged fore and aft with a couple of battery powered discs that emitted just enough of a charge to create an electric field around the swimmer. Even with the diver suspended in the midst of a darting frenzy of feeding tiger sharks, not one shark could tolerate the electric field for more than a half second. They all immediately closed their second eyelids in distress and rolled away like wounded aircraft. Thinking of the kid who had been killed by a great white off Lover’s Point, Luke wondered if he couldn’t rig out a surfboard the same way.
To that end Luke had made all the necessary wiring modifications, including cutting out a small, watertight compartment into the center of the board that held two small rechargeable twelve-volt batteries. Luke’s tank tests in seawater showed a dependable battery life was somewhere around eight hours. More than enough electrical discharge to discourage shark attacks for a six-hour day in the surf, if in fact one were all that enthusiastic or crazy.
Luke had just finished loading up his Jeep with his wet suit, beach gear, and cooler. He was strapping his board to the padded roll cage when his BlackBerry began to chirp at him like an enraged sparrow. He swore and reached into his backpack, withdrew the source of unwanted distraction, and checked to see who was calling. It was Robert Wu, and Luke, suspecting the worst, thought of ignoring the call, but he answered it anyway.
“Hello, Robert, what can I do for you? And I hope to God you say ‘nothing.’ ”
“I need you to grab your best togs and meet me at Monterey Airport at three o’clock this afternoon. Your suit is cleaned and pressed, I hope.”
Luke tried to sound disgruntled, but his curiosity was piqued. “Yeah, it’s cleaned and pressed and still in the bag, but you’re going to have to explain this airport business. I’m just on my way down the coast to do some important research off Point Sur. Can’t you take a cab to town? I’ll meet you when I get back later this afternoon.”
Robert chuckled. “You don’t understand, Luke. I’m not coming in to stay, you’re going out at three fifteen, but I’ll be there to escort you.”
“Would you mind explaining to me just why I should drop everything I’d planned for today?”
“It has nothing to do with me, it’s my father. He earnestly desires that we join him for dinner at seven o’clock this evening. Knowing him as I do, I have ample reason to expect something unusual. He’s as keen as a diamond, mind you, but he isn’t normally this animated. He’s more the contemplative tortoise type.”
“I’m sure that’s nice for you, but I said I was doing research!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say . . . Well, are you coming or not? I really believe this is important for both of us.”
Luke sighed like one belabored by the world’s cares, but only to mask the fact that he was secretly intrigued by the receipt of such a brisk response to their presentation. “I’ll be there on time, Dr. Wu.” Luke ended the call with a push of a button and began to unload the Jeep, beginning with his experimental surfboard.
Luke changed clothes, packed quickly, and called for a cab to the airport without knowing quite what to expect, but ripe with expectation all the same. He stood in the airport lobby looking around hopefully for almost five minutes. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder and looked around to find Robert smiling at him. Robert looked pretty much the same except that he now wore his long hair slicked back and joined in a braided queue at the back. He motioned to Luke. “We’ve got to step on it, the pilots don’t want the engines to cool down. You’ll enjoy this.”
The twin-engine Learjet was a plush affair in soft black leather, set off with bird’s-eye maple veneer everywhere, including the head. No sooner had Luke buckled himself into his leather recliner than the Lear began to quickly roll out toward its takeoff position.
Robert looked over at Luke with a serious glint in his eye. “Tell me again, Luke, how difficult would it be for you to retrieve Dr. Gilbert’s original documents?”
“Not too difficult. They’re relatively close by. Why do you ask?”
“Well, if my father wanted to see the originals tonight, could that be arranged? I know it’s really short notice, but I was told to ask. Of course, no one will press the point if the inconvenience makes it impossible.”
Luke nodded toward the flight deck. “If you can get your boys to set this flying limo down at the Watsonville Municipal Airport, and stake me forty bucks, I could have the papers back at the airport in thirty minutes or less, but I’d have to make a call first to announce my coming.” Luke smiled to himself. “The documents are being held under very tight security, you understand. Even I have to make an appointment to pass security.”
Robert picked up the pilot’s intercom, spoke to the pilot, and nodded at Luke. “Please make the call, I really think this is important. I will personally see that my father guarantees the safety of the goods. I’ll call him after takeoff.”
