Chapter 42: Mr William Wagner
The days passed by and soon the group of four were closing in on their destination. “Is it far?” Edita asked for the sixth time in two hours.
“I cannot remember clearly,” Elisa declared. “It has been a long time but I think we might be less than eight miles away.”
“Is it really like paradise?” the young girl asked.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” the young woman replied, “but it is a nice part of the world.”
Currently, the group appeared to be less than a mile from the sea. They were heading East.
“Can I see the sea?” Edita asked. She had never been to the coast and everything she knew about long sandy beaches and the gentle waves of the sea on toes, were learned from Ackbar. She wanted to see and feel it for herself.
Edita’s eyes seem to light up and a big smile came across her face as asked this question. How could any of them possibly refuse her?
“Well I suppose it isn’t much of a detour. Our destination is along the coast in any case,” Elisa responded as she looked around at Elliot and Ackbar for approval.
“In Africa the ocean turns orange at night,” Edita replied. “In the country where my parents are King and Queen, all the animals, including Lions Tigers and Elephants congregate on the beach at night and live in peace. It isn’t always like that but such is the beauty of the surroundings that everyone is at peace.”
Eventually, when the group reached the beach, Edita could not hide her excitement. She ran down the small hill through the hot sand and entered the water.
“It’s great,” she shouted back at her companions with a smile.
Even Elisa’s heart melted at the sight of the nine year old’s unbridled joy.
The beach itself was a two mile long stretch of golden sand. The sea was quite calm with only gentle waves slowly making their way to shore. The warmth of the sun was lightened by the light breeze that blew in from the sea. There were no more than two dozen inhabitants stretched across the beach. As usual, many of them were distracted by Ackbar’s appearance. A man in his mid to late forties approached them, holding a pair of sandles in his hand.
“Megan,” the man addressed the young woman. “Is that you?”
The woman also known as Elisa turned around. “Why William, Its great to see you. How are you?”
William Wagner had chestnut brown hair that was relatively long in length. His eyes were light blue in colour and he was above average height. The American businessman was not very tanned for a person living in Mexico most of his life but Elliot wouldn’t hold that against him.
“Never been better,” Mr Wagner replied. “What are you doing here?”
“We’ve come here to find you. We need your help. I told my friends that you could be trusted. This is Elliot, Edita and Ackbar,” she said, pointing to each of them in turn.
Elliot had been nervous about meeting the wealthy business owner. He didn’t know if he could be trusted, considering he was Elisa’s relative. Now that he saw him in person, Elliot’s first impression was positive. While Mr Wagner smiled and looked happy to greet them, his smile did not seem false and he made firm eye contact. It was only a first impression but Elliot hoped it was an accurate one.
“Why of course,” he said with a smile on his face, “if there is anything I can do for you Megan, I will not be found wanting. Come follow me. My van is parked not far from here.”
After eventually managing to extract Edita from the water, the group of four followed the wealthy businessman to his van.
Ackbar was pleasantly surprised that there was no sign of any prejudice towards him based on his own appearance from Mr Wagner. The businessman made him feel welcome and at ease. After all that he had been through in the past few months there finally appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel.
“Up ahead is Tallula,” Mr Wagner declared as he drove. “My business is what keeps it going. I employ two hundred and fifty-seven people. Without Wagner Industries I would hate to see what it would look like.”
Elliot looked around. It was the most affluent and vibrant town he had come across on his return to Earth. People looked happier here than in other towns and villages where they were inclined to launch missiles or shout abuse. Maybe they didn’t notice Ackbar. Maybe they didn’t care.
There were no mud huts in this village. Most dwellings were made of concrete. There was even a beautiful hotel made of marble in the town centre. The inhabitants were well dressed and clean looking.
“This is the only town in the province with running water,” the millionaire declared.
“I told you that my cousin was a great man,” Elisa said proudly with a smile on her face.
Mr Wagner continued to drive the van to the far side of the town and onto a coastal road. In the distance he could see a small island with a bridge extending out towards it. They reached the bridge and drove out towards the island. On top of it were the fortifications of an old castle, complete with its own drawbridge. This guy really knows how to live, Elliot thought to himself.
“Is that your castle?” Edita asked aloud.
“Why yes, I’ve been living here for more than twenty years. It used to belong to the previous owner of the business, Mr Tamzin Brekut”
“What happened to him?” the young girl asked out of curiosity.
“He passed away twenty years ago. He taught me everything I know.”
Elliot could not help but admire the view. The castle looked immaculate with its enormous stone walls with a beautiful sandy shade of colour and all under a bright blue sky. Above all else Elliot looked forward to a comfortable nights sleep in a soft bed after an appetising meal.
The van drove through the drawbridge entrance into a large courtyard. There were several other vehicles parked there, including a shiny new Ferrari and a BMW. The entrance to the castle looked like that of a hotel complete with a doorman in uniform. “Good morning Briggs,” Mr Wagner greeted the middle aged man wearing a predominantly maroon suit with gold trimming.
“Good morning sir. It’s a lovely day.”
Elliot wondered if Briggs had a bonus in mind when observing the doorman.
After entering the foyer, the group of five, led by Mr Wagner, were greeted by an attractive woman of around thirty years of age.
“Lois, please look after our guests. They could do with a good shower, and some fresh clothes.”
“Yes sir,” the young woman responded.
Lois then proceeded to show each of the guests a room with a shower, a bed and some towels. Elliot’s room was extremely well kept and decorated. He was almost afraid to enter it. Unlike most hotel rooms there was plenty of space. Everything in the room looked brand new, from the cream coloured carpet, to the white and maroon flowered duvet to the gold coloured curtains. It was a room fit for a king. Elliot took a shower, dressed in some nice new clothes and lay on the bed. In a few seconds he fell asleep.
Hours later the teenager awoke to a knock on the door. Groggy as he was he removed himself from the bed and made his way to the door. When he opened it a maid of South American origin was standing in the corridor. “Dinner is ready master Elliot,” she said in a pleasant tone of voice.
The young man followed her down the corridor and down a winding stairway to a large dining room with a thirty foot long table. Seated at this table were William Wagner, Elisa, Edita, Ackbar and two men and a woman whom Elliot did not recognise.
“So glad you could join us, Elliot,” Mr Wagner said warmly. “We were afraid that you would sleep all day. Please be seated.”
Elliot did as he was directed and positioned himself between Ackbar and another man. The stranger was fair haired with a moustache and looked to be in his forties.
“The man beside you is Clement Davitz.” William Wyler informed him. “He is my second in command in the factory. I would trust him with my life.”
Clement turned and shook Elliot’s hand. “Pleased to meet you,” he said.
“The woman next to me is my wife, Octavia, as beautiful as the day we met,” the millionaire continued. Octavia was not much younger than Mr Wagner but she looked well for her age. She was well tanned with blue eyes and white hair. She did not say anything but smiled instead.
“The large man on my right is Otun. He is a very loyal servant of mine. He doubles as a bodyguard. Myself and Otun go back more than twenty years.”
Otun did not smile or say anything whatsoever. He looked to be six foot six inches in height, quite broad and strong looking. He had longish dark hair, was of South American descent and had a scar on his left cheek possibly caused by a knife cut.
“Megan said that you are a wanted man in America,” the host addressed Elliot once more. “She said that the Reapers hunted you and you managed to escape.”
Elliot went pale. He wondered what exactly, Elisa had told him. Initially he felt insecure as he had hoped that he would be in control of what the businessman knew about him. He was worried that Mr Wagner would betray him. On the other hand he felt reassured that he would not have to lie to him. Elisa had most likely told him everything and so he had nothing to hide.
“Yes, that is correct,” Elliot replied apprehensively.
“I can reassure you,” Mr Wagner continued, “you are safer here than you could be in any part of the world. I have an allegiance to America. It is the country I was born in after all, but I dislike the Reapers and the President they work for.”
“I hope you enjoy your meal,” he said, after a short pause. “Now that everyone is here let us eat.”
In front of Elliot, on his plate were several slices of lamb, potatoes, carrots and green beans. It was the most appetising meal, the young man had seen in a long time. He was starving as it was.
After devouring the main course of their meal, Mr Wagner spoke again. “I should point out to you that on the grounds of this building, there are two tennis courts, two swimming pools, a gaming room and satellite television. There is even a golf course located close by on the mainland. You shall not go bored.”
Even Elliot thought that this was too good to be true. He warmed to Mr Wagner but he wondered why the man who had everything would go out on such a limb to help people nobody else would.
“You would be taking a risk by helping us,” Elliot responded. “Why would you do that?”
“You can look upon it as my one good deed. My only word of warning is that you do nothing to draw unwanted attention to yourselves. That means that Ackbar will have to adopt human form when out and about. It probably goes against his principles but that is all I ask.”
Ackbar felt a little insulted. He didn’t like compromising his principles after all. On the other hand however if he did not compromise, then he would only put everyone else in jeopardy. He was no longer a loner but was part of a group and could not let the others down. Particularly because they had stuck their noses out for him.
“What do you say Ackbar?” the millionaire asked, turning his head to face the changeling.
Ackbar was aware that he was the centre of everyone’s attention. “Agreed,” he said reluctantly.
“Good,” the business owner replied with a hint of relief.
There and then Ackbar changed form. He changed from a large bloated reptile like creature into a tall but overweight man with dark hair and a wart on the side of his face. Ackbar’s human self was unlikely to appeal to many women but like the Kylot that he was, he appeared warm and kind if not entirely content.
“I don’t know if you noticed,” Elisa said to Mr Wagner, “but I’ve put on a few pounds.” There was an awkward pause where nobody said anything for a moment. “I don’t know whether it is good or bad news, but I’m pregnant,” she declared, as if she was trying to hold back her tears. “It’s Derrens child but I hope to raise it as my own.”
Suddenly Elliot had a new found confidence in Elisa. It would explain her disappearing momentarily during the morning and in the middle of the night. He had been apprehensive up to this point as to whether she was communicating with a third party or plotting against himself and Ackbar but now it all seemed clear.
“I believe congratulations are in order,” Mr Wagner said as he raised his glass and proposed a toast to the delight of everyone in the room.