The Nostradamus File

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

Nick, Ronnie and Selena studied satellite photos of Harrison's island.

"About a mile long," Ronnie said, "maybe half a mile wide."

"Mostly rocks and trees," Nick said.

"It looks like the dock below the house is the only decent landing spot."

"There has to be another place we can land." Nick tugged on his ear.

"I went over the charts with Lamont," Ronnie said. "The water around the island is full of rocks and currents. It's unpredictable. Treacherous on a good day."

"We could use Lamont on this one," Nick said. "Guess you can't have everything."

"He spotted a place on the north shore where we could get a raft in, here." Ronnie marked one of the photos. "It'll be tricky, but I don't see any way to take in a boat."

"Raft it is. We'll take a Zodiac."

"What about security?" Selena asked. "Harrison is bound to have cameras. Maybe dogs, sensors."

"I don't see any kennels," Nick said, "but he must have people walking around. We'll have to play it by ear. Once we're on shore, there's good cover. It's thick woods. I think we can get close without much trouble. The house is a different story. It's clear all around, no cover at all."

"What's this building here?" Selena asked. She indicated a rectangular structure about a hundred feet from the house. A graveled drive led from there to the house.

"Looks like an equipment shed of some kind, or a big garage."

"The trees come right up to it. We could make that the first objective."

Nick nodded. "That would work. We go at night. We make it to that building, get out of sight and make sure everyone's asleep. Then we move on the house."

Stephanie came into the room. "New pics from our eye in the sky," she said. "You want to see these."

She put one of the pictures on the table. "Harrison showed up late yesterday. That's him."

The picture had been taken from 80,000 feet but looked as though it had been shot by someone close by. Harrison was wearing a short sleeved shirt, light pants and boat shoes. He had his hands in his pockets. His face was easily recognizable.

"The satellite made another pass this morning, around two hours ago." She spread several pictures on the table. A sleek vessel had tied up at the end of the pier. They could make out the name on the stern of the boat. It was the Bristol Angel, McKenzie's yacht. A man stood on the dock, hands on his hips.

"That's Nigel McKenzie."

Four men were lifting a wooden crate from somewhere below decks. In the next picture, Phillip Harrison could be seen walking toward McKenzie. As the progression of pictures continued, Harrison and McKenzie shook hands and stood watching while the crate was moved to the pier.

"That's it. The satellite went out of range."

"Thanks, Steph."

"Let me know if you need anything else." She went back upstairs.

"Question is, did they take that box to the house or one of the other buildings?" Ronnie said.

"And is it the Ark?" Selena said.

"Pack your bathing suit," Nick said.