Page 40 of Wild Oblivion

I assured Giselle, “We’ll take good care of him.”

I climbed out, closed the door, and Giselle took off.

JD and I walked with Henrik down the dock.

“Now that she’s gone, let’s get this party started,“ he said.

JD and I chuckled.

“You’ve had a pretty full day,” I said. “I think we should ease into the party lifestyle.”

Henrik frowned at me.

We escorted him back to the boat and crossed the passerelle.

Buddy waited for us at the salon door with an eager grin. I slid open the door, knelt down, and petted the little guy. He was ready to stretch his legs, so I grabbed his leash and took him out for a walk.

It was a nice night. The moon glowed overhead, and clouds drifted on the breeze.

By the time I got back to the boat, JD and Henrik were at the bar, drinking.

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” Jack said, off my look. “Giselle said he could have a beer.”

“A beer. I don’t want him getting drunk and falling down the stairs.”

“I’m not going to fall down the stairs,” Henrik assured. He lifted his longneck and clinked with JD. “Prost!”

“Prost!” Jack replied.

It was the German cheers.

We sat around and chatted with Henrik about his escape, the war, and his work with the Americans. He was living history. There weren’t many firsthand accounts left. He’d certainly lived an interesting life.

At the end of the evening, we escorted him to a below-deck stateroom. He navigated the companionway without issue. I was a little concerned about him getting up and wandering around in the middle of the night, but he assured me he wouldn’t venture out.

“You’ve got a TV and a private en suite. Call me if you need anything during the night.” I had given him a burner. His cell phone was still at the Blissful Shores. Probably the best place for it, if it was being tracked.

“Is there anything I can get you right now?”

“No, thank you.”

JD and I left and returned to the main salon.

“You can’t encourage him,” I said in a hushed voice.

Jack’s face twisted dismissively. “Relax. The guy made it this far. He’s gonna be fine. Besides, he deserves to have a little fun. If I make it to his age, I hope I’m still having a good time. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

Horror movies used to creep me out as a kid. Now, the scariest thing on the planet was the possibility of growing old and incapacitated.

We called it an early night, and I climbed up to my stateroom and settled into bed.

I watched a little TV and caught the late news.

“Diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin are experiencing mysterious symptoms, including confusion, dizziness, nausea, headaches, and even hearing loss after being exposed to sonic disturbances. Echoing previous incidents in Havana and Guangzhou, China, authorities believe this may have been another directed energy or ultrasonic attack. Authorities are still investigating. All victims are expected to make a full recovery. In other news…”

I dozed off with the TV on.

In the morning, I got another dreaded call.