Escape

by David Dinning

Harbor Club, Palm Coast Florida. It’s hot, Dennis is at the helm of his 38 foot Catalina drinking a beer. A man in a black suit wearing sunglasses is walking down the dock towards his boat. Dennis knew he was coming. His friend at the club office called him.

“Mr. McCabe, Dennis McCabe.”

“Yes.” Dennis looks at his brief case.

“I’m Agent Baney with Homeland Security.” He shows him his badge. “I’d like to ask you some questions.”

“The Homeland, sure come aboard.”

Dennis gives him a hand. “Careful unless you want to cool off.”

“Thank you.”

Agent Baney takes a photo out of his suit coat pocket and shows it to him. “Do you know this man?”

“Yes, that’s Martin.”

“When was the last time you saw him.” He wipes the sweat off this forehead.

“A couple of days ago. He took off, hasn’t been back. Come on below let’s get out of the sun.”

They go below to the galley. “Can I get you a beer? “

“No, thank you, how long have you known him?”

“A couple of months. I sold him his boat.”

“What do you know about him?”

“He wanted to learn now to sail… take off never come back. He was sick for a long time… they all thought he was going to die.”

“Who is they?”

“His family and friends.” Dennis opens another beer.

“Did you know them?”

“No, as I was saying, they all thought he was going to die, he thought he was going to die. He told me that tying his shoes was hard for him at one time. He was sleeping 12 to 16 hours a day. When he was awake all he did was read. He said the world around him, his world, had passed him by. It went on without him and was doing fine. He was becoming invisible to those around him. He could see that and was content with it. After all he was dying. They were all waiting for him to die. One day he looked at all the pills he was taking and he stopped taking them. One by one he got off all of them. Except an aspirin and a metoprolol for his heart. He got better, stronger and stronger. That’s when the trouble started.

“Trouble?”

Yeah, he didn’t know what do to with himself. His reality the reality he knew seemed foreign to him. He began to look at things differently. He had to stop watching the news. He said it was all bull shit, layers upon layers of bull shit. He had to escape. Escape from those he loved. He wanted a new life. He wasn’t part of the old one anymore. Five years that’s all he wanted. He knew he could go strong for five years. After that he didn’t care. Five years to sail the world, see Rome, Egypt and a thousand other places. He talked about a prison the one he built for himself. A prison that he said we are all slowly building for ourselves. He wanted to find some answers.”

“About what?”

“About himself, about all of us. About our nature…why we do the things we do. About all the forces that drive us. But most of all, about love.

“A woman? Was it her that motivated him?”

“Yes and no. I asked him the same question. He said if you have to ask you’ll never know.”

“Do you know her name?”

“No, I don’t think he met her yet.”

“What do you mean?

“He saw a picture of her and read about her. She’s a writer or a poet or both.

“Did he try and contact her.”

“No… he said he didn’t have the words to express himself. That she would know when they met… that she would understand.”

“Do you know where he was going?”

“France, I think…he talked about a lot of places.”

“Did you teach him to sail?”

“I started to, he was getting good but wasn’t ready to cross an ocean. I don’t know why he left so soon.”

“The Coast Guard found his boat capsized two miles off Palm Coast. They have called off the search.”

“I guess he didn’t make it.”

“We didn’t find the body.”

“Do they ever… why all the questions? What did he do?”

“It’s not what he did… it’s who he was involved with or what he knew … we need to know about the people he was involved with.”

“Involved?”

“Where you friends?”

“I guess… I liked him and understood him. In the end he came to the same conclusion that I did a long time ago… that our society deserves what it gets. We all sold out a long time ago, there is no going back. We are an Orwellian society… time find a free society.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that what we call free enterprise or capitalism is really slavery and people have bought into it and it will collapse. Get out while you can.”

“What are you advocating?”

“Nothing… I don’t give a fuck what’s the point? Whatever happens happens. I think the best way to handle it is leave move to a country one where its citizens understand that government exists to serve the people not the other way around.”

“You seem to be taking this well. A man you taught to sail is probably dead.”

“Fuck it… he went out balls to the walls.” He raises his beer. “Go like hell and try not to hurt anyone.”

“What about his family?”

“He died going for it. You forget he was suppose to die… now he’s dead. What’s the big deal? Would it have been better if he died in his sleep.”

Dennis takes out a prescription bottle pours some pot on the table and rolls a joint.

“I have a prescription for it.” He rolls a joint and lights up. “Want a hit?”

“No, thank you, could you wait a few minutes.”

Dennis takes a big hit and puts out the Joint.

“You still didn’t tell me what did he do? Why all the questions. Homeland Security? He’s not the violent type. Martin knew that terrorism doesn’t work, think about it… those who practice it are really just feeding the machine and don’t really care about the cause. War is big business and the war on terrorism is the biggest. If it would stop tomorrow the machine would attack itself. It’s a house of cards, it will fall.”

“How?”

“Gandhi, Martin Luther King, John Hume” Do you know what my favorite quote is?”

“No?”

“Oliver Wendell Holmes; Certitude leads to violence. This is a proposition that has an easy application and a difficult one. The easy application is to ideologues, and dogmatists, and bullies people who think that their rightness justifies them in imposing on anyone who does not happen to scribe to their particular ideology, dogma or notion of turf. If the conviction of rightness is powerful enough, resistance to it will be met, sooner or later by force. There are people like this in every sphere of life, and it is natural to feel that the world would be a better place without them.”

“Are you saying that nothing is worth fighting for?”

“No, not at all… but in a cast system like America where people have the illusion that they will be rich and famous. Then it’s all ok.”

“It sounds like you’re angry.”

“I was for awhile… but it’s a lost cause, Americans are brain washed. The media sees to it. It’s really kind of funny. We are a violent ethnocentric society who wants to force the rest of the world to be just like us. Our theme song is too much is never enough. ”

Agent Baney opens this brief case pulls out some photos. “Have you ever seen any of these people?”

Dennis looks at the pictures. “No, come on dude. Tell me something. Maybe I could write a book about it. I’ll make you the good guy. Not that your not.”

“Do you mind if I take a look around.”

“Knock yourself out... just don’t disturb the clutter.”

Agent Baney searches the place.

“Dude I’m going to light up. I’ll turn on some searching music for you, do you like Enya.”

Dennis lights up and smokes his joint. While Agent Baney goes through his boat.

He hears the toilet flush. Agent Baney is back.

“This is all funny to you.”

“Not him dying. I was rooting for him. But this whole cloak and dagger thing it’s a little weird. Are you sure I can’t get a beer?”

Agent Baney takes a file from his brief case. He looks through it and takes out a picture of a woman.

“Have you seen this woman before?”

“No, she’s beautiful. Who is she?

“You have a lot of supplies on board. Are you going somewhere?”

“The Bahamas, maybe Jamaica… I don’t know. Martin had the right idea. Just take off.”

“I will have that beer.”

“Now you’re talking.”

“Thank you, how much does a boat like this cost?”

“About 90 thousand, but for you a 100K. Just kidding. I’d never sell, it’s my home. Do you sail?”

“No, I don’t have the time.”

“Time… you never know when it’s going to run out. That’s why you should go for it… anything don’t die with a song still in you. You have to let it out.”

“This music it’s nice who is it.”

“Enya. So are you going to tell me what this is all about?”

“Just routine, he visited some sites that trigger a warning. Computers.”

“You’re not going to tell me are you?”

“If I did and you when to those sites. You would have some more visitors.”

“Then don’t tell me. Not that I haven’t enjoyed your company. Would you like another beer?”

“No I have to go. Thank you for your time.”

“I’ll see you out.”

They shake hands. Dennis watches as Agent Baney walks down the pier.

“He’s gone stay down until we clear the harbor, I’ll cast off.”

Dennis undocks and starts his engine. About twenty minutes later the wind picks up.

“Martin come up, we have the wind. Next stop Ireland! Take the helm Martin, feel the wind… that’s freedom