Chapter 46: Down Under

The roar of the crowd washed over us as the U.S. Olympic team entered the stadium. Jeryl squeezed my hand as Jeremy patted my head enthusiastically while perched on my shoulders to have a better view of the opening ceremony. I had never experienced an Olympics in person in my first life, let alone imagined having my family with me in the luxury boxes a few seats down from the President. Our kids were awed by the pageantry of the ceremony. They had grown restless as the parade of nations progressed, but Jeryl and her mother had taken the kids to the private restroom and kept them occupied until just before the Virgin Islands sailing team entered the stadium.

The kids did not appreciate the history of Muhammad Ali but cheered just the same when his shaking hand lit the Olympic flame. I knew the kids were tired, but they stood tall for the national anthem and clapped as President Bush declared the Centennial Olympic Games open. Jeryl kissed my cheek and grinned.

“I never imagined being at an Olympics,” Jeryl said as Anna took the kids and security began herding us toward the exit of the private boxes. We were held up for the Presidential party and then headed out of the stadium. Traffic was heavy enough that the kids were sound asleep by the time we got back to the Four Seasons where we were staying for a couple of days. We made sure the children were settled and then adjourned to the suite’s living room, where we joined Billy, Tom, Alison, Lila and Hunter and Tamara and Allen. Our folks had decided to head for bed.

“Wow,” Tamara said. “That was quite a show. Thanks for bringing me, Paul.”

Others echoed their thanks as well while Allen handed me a scotch.

I smiled and took a sip. “I’m glad everyone could make it. I know it’s been pretty busy for the past few months and will continue to be busy for the rest of the summer as well but appreciate that we could all come together and enjoy this once in a life-time opportunity.”

“Here, here!” Hunter said as he raised his glass.

We all sipped our drinks, at my impromptu toast.

“I wish we could enjoy the games a bit,” Billy said. “But we can’t stop filming and still hit our deadlines for the season.”

“How’s it going?” Lila asked. “I don’t hear much from the security teams working the production.”

“It’s good,” Billy said. “We’ve got some logistics headaches this year with more international travel and challenges, but Paul is making his GOT available to us.”

Alison arched her eyebrow at me. “Giving up your newest toy, Paul? You must really want to keep on schedule.”

I grinned at her. It had taken more than six months for our relationship to settle back into some of our easy banter and teasing.

“You forget, I have to go where the show goes as well, so I’m not really giving up much. We have a few big hops coming up.”

“Where?” Hunter asked. He and Lila had the least to do with the show.

“Billy’s trying to go around the globe this year,” Tom said. “The Interns have made it to Europe already this season and will be going from Stockholm to Mumbai next week. From India, they’ll go down under in Australia for a few weeks, then Singapore, and then back to California.”

“Wow, they really will go around the world,” Allen said. He had mostly been focused on the orbital program and some of my own work for the past few months.

“How long are you staying for?” Tom asked Billy. He had a little more flexibility in his shooting schedule for the Orbital Interns.

“I’m off in the morning. I never imagined I’d be this busy working the show on my own.”

“Well, let me know if you need a hand,” Tom said. “We’re into a bit more of a routine on the orbital side. Editing is going to be a challenge, making it all flow and have a sense of urgency and entertainment.”

Jeryl was nodding. “It’s something I worry about. We have lots of cinematic drama, but not the same sort of interpersonal tension from the challenges.”

Billy sipped her drink. “We talked about that in planning. Having it be team based is going to cut out some of the things folks love about the show. Any romances or fights breaking out to create some drama?” she asked.

“You mean any sister’s shagging up there?” Jeryl asked with a grin. We had captured some interesting footage on the station’s cameras over the past six months as the teams spent more time in orbit. Jyl in particular had forgotten the cameras a few times.

“Hey, it’s not just Jyl that has gotten frisky in orbit,” I said with a look at Tamara and Allen. They blushed together, and everyone laughed.

“Be careful of workplace romances,” Lila warned. “There are a lot of security lapses when they happen.” She said with a straight face, but Alison laughed.

“Those two have the worst kept office secret in the firm,” she teased. “At least they are over the secret moon-eyes phase.”

Tamara’s blush deepened, and Allen moved next to her protectively.

Jeryl decided to defuse the situation. “Don’t let them tease you,” she said. “Everyone in this room has at least had a fling in the office. If they give you a hard time, I’ll share their secrets as well.”

A few eyes looked at the floor as Jeryl gave them a challenging stare.

“Now, while we wanted to get together with everyone for a fun start to the Olympics, we do have a little business to discuss before we scatter to the four corners of the world again.” She looked to Alison, who nodded.

She had the job of scanning for bugs when we got back to the suite.

Jeryl looked around to make sure she had everyone’s attention. “Paul and I have decided that once the show finishes filming in September that we’ll be spending the fall in Australia with the kids.”

“What?” Billy asked. “Why?”

“Mostly to avoid the politics that Kelly keeps wanting to embroil me in,” I said with a grin. Jeryl swatted my arm. “Okay, actually it’s only partly for that reason. But it is driven by politics. Some of the noise in the election campaign is aimed at our enterprises. If I am noticeably absent during the time the Presidential race is really heating up, we think it will be better for us and the company.”

Alison was nodding. She knew our plan. Lila was smiling as well. The others looked a little stunned.

“Lila and Hunter will be joining us down under,” Jeryl said. “Alison is going to move back to Ireland and split her time between there and the London offices. We expect production for the show to continue as it has been. Tom, you’ll probably shuttle between California, Utah and Australia as we wrap up production of the Orbital Interns. Tamara and Allen, you need to decide if you want to be away from the states for so long. We can work something out if you don’t want to live in Australia for six months.”

“Would we stay at Taylor House?” Tamara asked.

“Yes. Lord knows it has enough space. The only question is if you’ll take one room or two,” Jeryl teased.

Allen gave Tamara a look and a smile. “I think one room would be excellent,” he announced. Tamara nodded in agreement.

“What about me?” Billy asked. “I’ll be done with this season. Do I help Tom with post production?”

I nodded. “Unless you want to shift over to the news side. You did great work setting that organization up.”

Billy looked surprised. Our independent news organization, DigiNews, had quickly won public acclaim from the markets it served. It was quickly becoming the standard for fact-based reporting in the United States. We were considering expansion outside the borders already. Our national page already got a lot of hits from overseas.

“If I want to stay on the show?” she asked.

“Then you would split time with us and Tom, planning next season,” Jeryl said. “Paul’s already got some ideas in mind.”

Billy looked at me. “Like what?”

“We’ve got a few concepts and projects in Australia that I think could do well on the show. The Great Barrier Reef could be a great backdrop for next year.”

Billy’s eyes lit up. “Underwater as well?” she asked.

I nodded. We had discussed the idea of building an underwater lab last year, but not been able to make everything work in the context of the show. I had been thinking about it ever since. “People dream of space,” I said. “But the ocean is so much more accessible for most of them. I think we could do some interesting things.”

“Okay,” Billy said. “I’m in. I like the news, but this sounds much more entertaining.”

We all chuckled at her enthusiasm.

“Okay,” Jeryl said. “Now you all know. We trust you all, but we want to keep this temporary move very low-key, so please don’t spill the beans.”

Again, she looked everyone in the eye until they nodded their understanding.

“My God, it’s nice to be able to relax finally,” Jeryl said as she finished stripping off her robe and dropping to the lounger on the glass enclosed balcony off our bedroom in the new Sydney house. We had taken the GOT directly from the Emmy Awards to Sydney. Jeryl had teased me most of the flight with promises of lying naked by the pool without realizing the season change would make that a little cool today. I was surprised she was even up, since we had left California around midnight, landed in Australia around 7:00 PM local time. By the time we got to the house, said hi to the kids who had come down the week before to get settled for school, it was well past all of our bedtimes.

I poured her a cup of coffee and settled on the lounger next to her. The morning light rising from behind the house, shining down the harbor made for a beautiful morning. I took a sip of my coffee and sighed.

“It’s going to be nice to have a little slower pace for a while.”

We had been putting in more than sixty hours a week on filming both shows since the Olympics with another twenty to forty hours of regular work and some family time. It had been grueling.

“The kids seem to be excited to make new friends here,” Jeryl said. They had been so excited to tell us all about it last night. “Thank God we have Anna along to look after them. We should have planned this out a little better.”

“I know. We seem to have the same problems we had back in high-school. We really need to commit to not overbooking ourselves.” I sipped my coffee. “At least we can dodge the political appearances that we’ve started to be asked for.”

Kelly had become the Democratic Party’s nominee for Vice President on the new Gore/Daniels ticket. We had made a couple of appearances in support and had her on the show as a guest judge one week, which meant I had to provide some balanced appearance time on the Republican side to keep all of our political allies happy.

“Kelly seems to be holding up well,” Jeryl commented.

“She does. I’m curious how Dole and McCain will try to position her. God help them if they try to call her ‘inexperienced’.”

Jeryl laughed. The week she had been on the show had really highlighted the breadth of her experience, both business wise and her legal background. “I bet we have more lawyers apply for next year’s show after that episode airs.”

“And if they win the election, all of our budding politicians will apply as well.”

Jeryl shook her head. “I don’t think most potential politicians would pass our other screening,” Jeryl teased.

“I hope that’s true.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes.

“It’s nice to just be able to relax and watch the city wake up,” she said as a ferry left the north shore of the harbor.

“And it’s only going to get nicer as the weather warms,” I said.

“Aside from work on the show, what do you have to do for the next few months?” Jeryl asked.

“I want to get caught up on some of the research reviews. I can do that from here, with maybe a short trip or two. I might have Dr. McTavish and some of her team come for a visit.”

“What’s she doing that’s so interesting?”

“She’s really doing some groundbreaking work on the fundamentals of electro-magnetism and magnetic fields. She is driving more than half of our materials research in orbit. It feels like we are getting close to a breakthrough.”

“Of what?”

“High-temperature super conductors.”

“High-temperature?”

I nodded. “Relatively speaking. High-Temp means we don’t have to super-cool it. Room temperature and above.”

“As opposed to?”

“Cooling with liquid nitrogen.”

Jeryl smiled. “Okay, that is quite high when you’re using that as the benchmark. What do you do with it then?”

“I think it’s what we’re going to need to safely go beyond earth orbit for longer journeys.”

Jeryl sipped her coffee and nodded. “Cosmic rays?”

“And solar flares. Ionizing radiation is a big concern. If we can crack this, we really can give our kids the stars.”

Jeryl reached out with a hand and squeezed my arm. I leaned over and gave her a kiss.

“As much as I’d like to stay and admire the view, I had better go make sure the kids are getting up. They have school today.”

Jeryl gave me a dramatic sigh and then smiled. “Well, once they are off to school, maybe we can come back here and relax.”

“Or maybe we can check out the hot tub,” I replied.

“I like the way you think.”

“Damnit, Paul! You need to take this seriously,” Alison said.

“I do take it seriously, but what would you have me do?”

Alison had flown to Australia with Sam Johnson of the FBI, and head of the Taylor taskforce there. Alison was pacing along the glass doors of our house, separating the living room from the patio surrounding the pool. Sam was standing to one side, watching us both.

“You need to be a harder target. We know the Chinese were behind the attack on you now. The fact that one of their two dupes is confirmed dead should be enough warning that they are playing for keeps. We don’t know who else they might have infiltrated, or what they are actually trying to achieve.”

“We’ve brought in some experts to try and ascertain their motives,” Sam said. “But it’s all guess work at the moment.”

“And we have no evidence it was specifically targeted at me, right?”

Alison stopped her pacing and stared. After a moment, she gave a begrudging nod of her head.

“So, we continue to take security seriously, but don’t overreact. Alison, do you remember our conversation a few years back? Where you told me having security might be my new normal?”

She nodded.

“And what did I say?”

She actually gave me a slight smile. “You said it might have been the cruelest thing I could say to you, then.”

“But I resigned myself to your wisdom. We’ve been careful and balanced our desires and the need for security. I’m not going to get lax, but I refuse to put myself and my family into virtual prison, even if it does have great views. Would you lock up Rose to protect her from an unspecified threat?”

We all knew she would not.

“So, again, what would you have me do?”

Alison took a deep breath. “I want to expand the family detail. Your kids and parents need a little more coverage.”

“Why?”

“If the Chinese are looking for your technology, they will target your facilities and programs. If they are looking for your influence, they would cast a wider net looking for leverage. I’m not talking about twenty-four by seven protective details, but some covert oversight to give us forewarning.

“What about Kelly?”

Sam stepped closer. “She’s protected on the campaign and has such high visibility now that we think her current security is sufficient. We’ve discussed it with her detail as well.”

“How’s she doing?” I asked. It had been nearly a month since we last spoke.

“Good,” Alison said. “She and Gore are statistically tied with the Republicans. It will be a coin toss in November if something doesn’t change. Trying something against you, could be a change to tip the balance. Personal sympathy could sway voters her way.”

I had not considered that.

“Okay. We can increase oversight, but I don’t want us smothered.”

“Paul,” Alison said. “This is not the sort of thing we can worry about after the fact. You need to have people around that can watch out and react. They can’t fly in from around the world and prevent something from happening.”

“I know, but this has been the most relaxed Jeryl and I have been in years. I refuse to put us into any sort of lock-down.”

“I’d like us to brief some folks down here in ASIO,” Sam said. The Australian Security Intelligence Organization was the equivalent of the FBI. “They may want to increase their own scrutiny of people around you.”

I sighed. I could hardly keep him from it, so nodded.

Alison seemed to relax once I agreed. She sat down on a couch opposite from me. I wanted to smile when Sam moved behind her, taking a nearly protective stance. It was easy to see he cared for her.

“So, what else?” I asked.

“We’ve got some new faces that just finished our internal training. They’ll start rotating onto your detail. I’ve also decided Sanford and Tiffany deserve a little break. Are you planning anything special for the next few months that we might need to account for?”

“We’re heading up to the Barrier Reef in a few weeks. The kids have a school break and we promised them a visit. They’ve each picked a friend whose family will be joining us. Lila and Hunter will be along as well.”

“That should be a good time for new people to settle in. What about Tamara and Allen?”

I shook my head. “I’m giving them a joint vacation.” I didn’t need to tell her they were going up to PTO-1 together. They had asked for some time alone in orbit, though I think Jeryl was involved in their planning to some extent.

“Does Jeryl have any special plans?” Alison asked.

“She’s been approached by some designer label here. They got wind of her spending time in Sydney, realized she has been on the Emmy’s Best Dressed list for the past six years, and asked if she would be interested in collaborating with them. She’s there with Lila this morning. She took a bunch of the new material samples DuPont sent down last week. Nike is also sending some folks down to meet with her.”

“Any international trips on the horizon?” Sam asked.

I shrugged. “Who knows. I’ve got some researchers visiting next month and then I may need to visit a few places. Nothing firm is set right now.”

“Keep it that way,” Alison said. “Lila knows the drill. If you need to make a trip, no pre-announcements.”

“Business doesn’t always work that way,” I said.

“Paul, you are officially the richest man in the world. You control a significant portion of the worlds electrical generation capacity, and that portion continues to grow every day. If you need to meet with someone, leave the timing vague, fly there in a GOT, and call just before you enter their building. They will change their plans to accommodate you.”

“Do you really think I’d be that rude?”

Alison shrugged. “Apologize after the fact, but don’t give anyone twenty-four or more hours to prepare a surprise for you. This is the Chinese government. They have resources and capabilities greater than the threats you’ve faced in the past. You have to keep aware.”

It was my turn to sigh. “I’ll consider it. There are some meetings I can’t make as surprise visits, you know?”

“I do. For those, we’ll increase security and prep work.”

“Okay.” I wanted the conversation to be done. “How long are you staying?” I asked to change the subject.

“A few days, I think,” Alison responded. “Philip is watching Rose, and Sam and I will meet some folks here. I also want to brief Lila in person.”

“You’re welcome to hang out here. Jeryl and Lila should be back in an hour or so. The kids will be home from school about an hour after that. If you don’t say hi to them, they’ll be disappointed, I’m sure.”

Alison smiled. “Of course, I’ll stay. Sam, you can use the security office if you want to make some calls.”

Sam nodded and headed out of the living room. They had dropped their bags in the security office above the garage on the way in, so he knew his way. It was actually one of the nicer apartments in the house, since we had to maintain a full-time security presence.

I waited until he was gone to continue. “How is that going for you?” I asked.

Alison’s arched eyebrow returned, but she said nothing.

“It’s pretty obvious he is interested in you. Does he get along with Rose?”

Alison’s look softened. “He does. She likes him as well. I’m just not certain I’m ready for that sort of a relationship.”

I rose and moved over to sit next to her. “I know the past year has been hard on you. Jeryl and I still love you, and care about you. Take your time and make sure you’re comfortable before you rush into anything.”

She patted my leg. “I will. You’ve got a big heart, Paul. I know I hurt you both last year. I appreciate your support.”

“First and foremost, you are our friend. Don’t ever forget that.”

She leaned in and gave me a brief kiss on the cheek.

“I won’t. Thanks.”

“Wow, you’re in really good shape,” Chrissy, the oldest daughter of the Tarrignton’s said as I finished my run along beach fronting our vacation house north of Cairns in Queensland. The Tarrington’s youngest daughter, Jane, had become fast friends with our Alison in school. We had dinner with her parents a few times and met them at various school events but had not spent much time around her older sister, Chrissy. We had insisted on bringing the entire family up for our five-day vacation in the north. Chrissy had initially presented herself as a typical teenager, hating having to go on a family vacation with her little sister’s friend, but quickly decided Jeryl and I were pretty fun. Of course, flying up in the GOT and going from Sydney to Cairns in thirty minutes had helped.

“Thanks,” I said as I slowed my breathing and mopped my brow with the edge of my t-shirt. “I forgot how hard running in sand is.”

Chrissy was sitting on the steps of the veranda that circled the house. She was wearing loose shorts and a pink polo shirt with her school crest. Her blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and she had the sun-kissed glow of a healthy teenager with shocking blue eyes. She was going to be a heart breaker, if she wasn’t already.

“What has you up so early?” I asked as I reached the porch and proceeded to start my post-run stretching.

She shrugged, and I noticed the gentle jiggle indicating she had nothing but herself beneath the shirt.

“I just woke up listening to the waves and decided to come out and watch them as well. Everyone else is still asleep.”

It was just a little past sunrise, so coming up on six A.M. I smiled. “Well, except for you and me and some of the security folks.”

As if on cue, I saw Nicole Bauer, our new security detail head come around the corner of the adjacent house. She was another attractive woman. I was amazed at how pretty most of the security folks Alison hired were. Nicole was a mocha skinned beauty with straight black hair and dark eyes. She appeared to be a blend of Mediterranean and Arabic features. While being beautiful when noticed, she also had an uncanny ability to blend into crowds when she wanted to. It was a very useful skill in the security world.

“Do you work out every day?” Chrissy asked, not noticing Nicole climb onto the security house’s own porch and settle into a chair.

“Usually. I like running. I have ever since I was your age.”

“Really? How far do you go?”

“Usually six miles. I did a little less today. The sand makes it much harder.”

“How long were you running?”

“About forty minutes.”

“Wow. No wonder you’re in such good shape.”

“I mix it up with some other exercises as well. Swimming and weights, that sort of thing.”

“Do you think you could show me? I dread the idea of inheriting Mum’s bubble butt.”

I smiled. Her mother, Camilla had a rather prominent rear end that we all got an eye-full of the previous day when we arrived and hit the beach for a little sun and swimming.

“You should probably ask Jeryl or Nicole for some tips,” I suggested.

“Why? You seem to do pretty well.”

“But you don’t want my physique. Women are built different and different exercises have different results. If it’s just about not gaining weight, you need a good cardio routine. If you want to build muscle and shape your body, you want more than just cardio.”

Chrissy stood up. “What do you think I should focus on?” She turned slowly.

“You’re lovely as you are,” I said while trying not to let my mind wonder too far. She was definitely going to be a heartbreaker.

She gave me a little pout. “But I could be a lot hotter if I put some effort into it, don’t you think?”

“Why do you need to be hotter?” I asked, trying to avoid a hormonal teenage girl landmine? “I don’t know how boys today think, but when I was your age, I was more interested in a girl that was self-confident. Pretty fades, but intelligence, integrity, and spirit remain.”

Chrissy looked at me for a minute. “So, you won’t help me start exercising?”

It was my turn to shrug. “Sure, I will, if that’s what you want.”

I finished my stretching and sat on the steps. She joined me, close, but not touching my sweaty body.

“What do you do for sport in school?” I asked as I scanned the beach and enjoyed the sound of the waves.

“I run some, and we play netball and hockey.”

I nodded. “Those are good. They both are good cardio workouts for you.”

“But they aren’t year-round,” she replied.

“So, add some running or swimming into the mix and keep that up through your seasons. Which do you prefer doing?”

“Swimming, I guess. School doesn’t have a swim team, so I don’t know how good I am at it.”

“You don’t have to be a competitive swimmer. My friend Hunter got me into swimming in college. When I can, I still swim a couple of miles a week.”

“Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever swam more than a dozen laps at one time.”

“Okay, that can be your first goal. It’s October now. If you apply yourself, you should be able to build up to a mile and a few months. How long is the pool you swim at?”

“Twenty-five meters, I think,” she said.

“Okay, if you can swim a dozen laps already, you’re twenty-percent of the way there. Sixty-six laps is your goal. If you add a lap a day and swim three times a week, you’ll be at a half-mile in seven weeks.”

“When you say it that way, it doesn’t sound so daunting,” she said.

“That’s the key. When I started running, I started with one mile and built my endurance over time. A lot of people want to jump in and wind up overdoing it. That’s how you get hurt and then you stop exercising.”

She nodded. “So, are you going to become my workout buddy this week?” she asked with a little smile.

“Remember what I just said? If we were workout buddies, you’d try to keep up with my pace and might get hurt. How about I’ll watch and give you some pointers where I can.”

She gave a dramatic sigh. “Okay. With no pool here, how do I swim and start getting better?”

I smiled. I had fond memories of her bikini yesterday. “I’m pretty sure Jeryl has a surprise for you ladies today.” I knew she had brought an assortment of new swimwear with her for everyone to try out. It was her design combined with some of the new materials we were developing with DuPont. “I think we’ll all be doing some swimming today, including some diving on the reef. At least that was the plan last night.”

“Cool. Do you dive, too?”

I nodded.

“But the kids can’t, right?”

“Technically, they are too young for diving. It’s too easy for them to get excited and then hold their breath. That’s the dangerous part.”

“Air embolisms,” she said. “I took an introductory course last year but didn’t go back for certification.”

“Well, we’ll see how you do and maybe your folks will give us the okay to take you down today. We’ll have to see.”

Three hours later, after an initial round of snorkeling over a spectacular section of the Great Barrier Reef, Chrissy was asking her mother if she could go deeper with Jeryl and me.

Jeryl’s new suits had been a hit with everyone. We looked a little like a cross between a large extended family and a swim team. The women had selected from a variety of one and two-piece suits. Jeryl and Chrissy had on the one-pieces while Camilla and Gina, Jer’s friend Scott’s mother, had chosen bikinis. All of the material was black or gray. and they were fashionably cut. However, in the water, they all changed dramatically. The color switched to either deep blue, green, pink, and gold and in Jeryl and Chrissy’s case, portions of the suit turned translucent, revealing much more skin than anyone would suspect of a one-piece suit.

After the initial shock, and Jeryl’s laugh, she informed us all that the material was also an effective sunblock. The kids got what looked like short wet-suits made of the same material, that would protect them from both the sun and any jelly fish.

The men were in a mix of board-short style suits and more form fitted trunks. After the initial swim from the boat, I had climbed back aboard and pulled on a new wetsuit to go a little deeper. Once the kids were settled with a snack with the other parents watching them, Jeryl joined me. A moment later, Chrissy joined us.

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