16 ON WATCH

Ivan returned to his latest thoughts before his sleep and something in his mind clicked. It was the nagging feeling that he'd had when Gábor talked about the man Lundy. Gábor in his excitement thought there would be no connection from Leo to the big cat, but the connection was that Lundy fought a cat and Gábor claimed it was his son that went over the guardrail. Lundy was alive and when he talked to the Gendarmes, he would talk about a big cat aboard the cruiser. The big cat and Gábor's son had to be the same person. Gábor would have some explaining to do, even if they did not find Leo. The police could charge him with contraband, assault, and manslaughter. Plus there was a motive for Gábor to cover up a criminal activity.
The Gendarmes would think the possible exposure of Leo warranted the murder of Lundy. Gábor had a motive, opportunity, and the means to get rid of Lundy. The motive was to cover up the discovery that he smuggled a big cat aboard the liner and was afraid of the legal consequence, the opportunity was the deserted quarterdeck, and the means was shoving the man over the rail into the shark infested waters. Lundy's statement about the identity of the "Thing" going into the water would compromise Gábor's family. They had to make sure Lundy would remain silent somehow, Ivan thought.
He shuddered. This kind of thing was behind him, but it seemed now that the past was catching up. He didn't like the thought that they would have to dispose of the man, however, if he did nothing, his friends would lose everything, their child, their freedom and all reason to live. Ivan made a decision; he would take care of Lundy. He would find him and talk to him or "erase" him if he could not be reasoned with. He looked at the three sleeping people, his charge now. They were the best people he had met since he left his parents. Leo especially was close to him. Leo's intelligence was incredible. He was more mature than many adults he knew, a young cat if you want to call it that, but nevertheless mature enough to compete with high school students in a very short time. He deserved a fair shot at life and more than that. He could be a guiding light for all of humankind. If Lundy insisted on exposing Leo, and would not accept reason, he would forfeit his life. Ivan hoped it wouldn't be necessary. Most people's silence can be bought. Leo was very different and Ivan wondered; how did this metamorphosis come about? Is this a new path evolution has taken? Was it an exception or would there be more like him? Helena or Gábor, or perhaps a combination of them both, must have something in their genes that created Leo. If they had another child, would it be like Leo or a human child? Could it be a new race? Nature had enough examples of metamorphosis and why would it not be possible for the human race also to morph into a different form? Humans needed to broaden their minds to those possibilities, especially if they wanted to explore other planets in the future. With the present mindset, it would be catastrophic if they encountered other, non-humanoid intelligent species. There would be wars and annihilation if humanity could not outgrow their present state of mind.
It would be interesting to find out what caused this mutation in Leo, and Ivan hoped to be around to see Helena and Gábor's next child if they had more. Society must be educated and it had to begin at home, kindergarten and schools. He remembered the Elephant Man story and how he was treated and vowed that would not happen to Leo. An idea began to germinate in his mind and he wanted to think it through in leisure time and make it more plausible. He returned to the pressing issue of Lundy. He and Gábor would be going to Tahiti in the morning and then he'd see what the Gendarmes would do.
He had to talk to Gábor and advise him not to tell the police about Lundy being alive until he'd talked to Lundy first. Satisfied with his breakthrough and about what had bothered him about Lundy escaping with his life and the connection to Leo, he looked at the watch and discovered how much time had passed. It would be Gábor's turn to take the watch.
Climbing down the rock, he noticed something strange near a coconut tree, a shadow. When he glanced over to where the prone figures of Helena, Gábor, and Leo were in front of the tent, he realized Gábor was not there. It must be him then, and Ivan descended from the lookout and approached him. Gábor pulled up his zipper and turned.
"I guess it's my turn now," he said to Ivan, meaning the watch. In the dark, the smile on his face was almost grotesque.
"No, it's mine." answered Ivan and took Gábor’s place at the tree.
"Shouldn't it be the tree that tried to kill you?" asked Gábor and both laughed. Gábor scaled up the tower with the help of a small light and Ivan followed him after he had relieved his bladder.
"You don't want to sleep?"
"There is a better place up there." Ivan told him." Plus I have something to tell you." Gábor looked at him questioningly. "What is it?"
"Wait until we have a little tea. It's no longer hot, but good enough." They sat down and Ivan fumbled with the backpack he had brought with him when he joined Leo and produced the thermos with the tea. He poured some into the cup, offered it to Gábor and when his friend emptied it, he poured one for himself. "Water change," he said and grinned. "So, what do you want to tell me, Ivan?"
"Don't say anything about Lundy to the Frogs until I talk to him first. He is the connection to Leo, the child, and the kitty he fought."
Disclosing the news about Leo's ability to read minds he would leave to Leo, but Ivan came straight to the point about Lundy. It threw Gábor off for a few seconds, and his mind reeled. Then it clicked. Something deeply buried in his subconscious awakened, unfolding like an unpleasant flower bud in the morning light.
"Goddamn it. Something bothered me when Leo gave us the information about Lundy's survival, but it was just such a relief not to have his life on my conscience at the time. What the hell are we going to do about it? Could we come up with something to stop him from talking without harming him, buying his discretion perhaps? I'm glad he is alive, but I can't allow him to mess up the plan, even if he doesn't know who Leo is, or that we found him. It will become clear when they put two and two together. For all he knows, he fought a big cat. This mess is getting bigger and bigger." He stroked his head with his fingers as he always did when he felt helpless, and let out a puff of air through his nostrils.
"I must meet with him before the gendarmes get a hold of him," said Ivan. "I'll drop you off in Papeete, you can have your talk with them, and I'll go back to Niau and see if I can find him and talk to him." Ivan had a face like a bird of prey, sharp lines around his nose and mouth that seemed to become fiercer as he talked, and his blue eyes glittered like gemstones.
"Don't do anything stupid," warned Gábor." I'll pay if he wants money for his silence."
"I'll do what is necessary," said Ivan, "and I will not harm him if you say so. But if that SOB hurts Leo in any form, I won't stand for it. He'll pay in one way or another if he fucks with Leo's life. Leo has a right to live a decent life not only he." The two men fell into a brooding silence and then Ivan grumbled.
"I'll speak to you some more when we get up. I'm tired. Good night, Gábor," and with that he laid back and in minutes a deep breathing indicated his sleep. Gábor poured some more of the tea and reviewed the situation.
Point one.  Lundy was alive and could tell the gendarmerie about the big cat that he saw. He had stated it was his son that Lundy attacked. That made two different statements. Not good.
Point two. Ivan wanted to find Lundy before the police would and possibly hurt him.  Two wrongs don't make one right. Not good.
Point three. He would be talking with the Inspector and possibly be arrested for bodily harm. Not good.
Point four. Helena and Leo would be alone on this Island without a boat for the time while Ivan would be looking for Lundy. Very bad.
Point five. They had to find a safe place or come up with an idea how to get the boat inside the cave. That was not impossible.
And finally, how could he protect his family if the gendarmes arrested him? While he came up with ideas and tossed them around, time flew and before he came to any conclusion, he felt a movement beside him and a soft hand on his shoulder. Helena woke up and she had come to the tower to join him. It was a bit early for her watch but she wanted to be with him for a while before the two men left for Tahiti. She glanced at Ivan and whispered into Gábor's ear. "Is this a club for men only or can a girl have some fun too?" With a straight face, he whispered back.
"We make exceptions once in a while if it's a girl. May I see some ID?"
She flashed him quickly with her breasts and he pulled her to him and planted a kiss on one of them before she buttoned up again.
"You may stay." He said and she smiled.
"It's getting light in the eastern sky," she said, and her face shadowed over telling him she didn't want to let him go. She paused a moment and waited for his answer.
"That inspector is a bloodhound, but he can't hold me without a body." His eyes held hers.
"I hope you will come back with Ivan. Lenoir has no right to hold you. Tell them to look for Lundy on Niau. Leo saw him alive."
"I can't honey," and he explained to her in hushed words what Ivan and he found out a few hours before. Helena listened and her heart sunk.
"We can offer Lundy money to keep this secret," she speculated.
"What if he keeps asking for more, blackmailing us? Are you willing to risk that? The $120,000 in the bank will not go far if he's greedy. Perhaps Ivan can do something; like scaring him to keep him quiet. We'll have to see what will be the best. We said ‘A’ and must continue to ‘Z’ until we're finished. At least nobody died." Ivan opened his eyes and grumbled accusingly.
"Hey, there's a solitary man over here! It's impossible to sleep with you two whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears. Don't you have any decency or a room to go to?"
"Good morning to you too, old, miserable, grumpy bear. You get a room and we'll take the high post."
"Who do you call old?" Ivan wanted to know and looked around, then added, "This is my castle. And what happened to room service? But since you're here, I'll have my tea now Miss."
"I'm on guard duty. Get your tea from the corner store, Sir."
With an exaggerated sigh, Ivan turned away, shook his head, and lamented to Gábor.
"The help today; too young and without any respect for the elderly. The new world is going down the drain fast."
Gábor shrugging his shoulders climbed down to the crevice, digging for the one burner propane stove and the teapot. He made the tea with the water they had in the jug. Leo got up and joined Ivan and Helena. Gábor took four cups and scaled up the steep rock face with the cups. Handing them to his friend and family, he poured them tea and without sugar or lemon juice they had to drink it the way it was. Helena took the full cup, smiled at Gábor, and warmed her hands on it, then she flinched from the droplets of water he flicked at her and smiled. It was fresh this morning. A breeze had sprung up and moved the trees and the air felt cool, but the glow of friendly comradeship and the presence of loved ones felt like a cozy blanket. Sipping her tea she felt confident that they would find a way out of this challenging situation, they always did. The sun came up over the edge of the island, and they all had their tea quietly, submerged in their own worlds. Gábor was the first to break the silence.
"Let's clean up and go to the cave. I want to see it before we leave so I'll have something to think about on the way to Tahiti."
They cleaned up, gathered their gear, and returned to the boat. Leo got the line, Gábor the anchor, and Helena took the controls with Ivan tutoring. They moved out smoothly. Helena reversed the engine then put it into forward and accelerated until the boat planed out and sped toward the North.
Rounding the point a few minutes later, she slowed down and pointed forward. The sentinels looked menacing and were the only recognizable features that showed them where the tunnel was. The steep walls didn't indicate any opening on the craggy, plant and vegetation-obscured façade.
"Is that it? Or is that a different one?" The question was justified because the entrance was underwater when the swell rose and it became a slit, visible only when the swell receded. A hissing and gurgling sound became audible when they got closer. The sentinels stood like stern guards perhaps a meter above the surface and looked dangerous. With each swell, the water swirled about them and created small whirlpools on both sides of the tunnel entrance. Current moved in and out of the submerged opening with considerable speed.
"Tide," Ivan said and a sudden idea flashed through his head. "We need to know when the tides are."
"Leo, Helena, do you see that narrow ledge by that crevice over there?" and he pointed to the left of the entrance.
"It looks like one could get to it from the top. You have the handheld GPS and could find your way back to here. Would you check it out while we are gone and see if that is the case? From that ledge, you could see how high and low the water gets during the tide change and perhaps you could get into the water and take measurements of how low the water is at low tide. We may have a way to get in if the tide gets low enough. See what you can do, will you?"
Gábor saw what Ivan talked about. His mind focused on Leo, thinking he was a bit too young to take a risk like that. With sharks in the water and the swells possibly washing him against the rocks, it seemed very risky. Before he could formulate his thoughts, Leo spoke to him.
"I do it. Sharrks no prroblem." It sounded like purring and Leo seemed to have gotten the idea to sound the "m",  "p", and the "b". "What…Did I speak out loud?" Gábor looked questioningly at the two humans. Helena and Ivan returned his glance and shook their heads.
"Speak out loud about what?" asked Helena and Ivan at the same time. Ivan looked strangely at Leo. Helena furrowed her forehead. Ivan linked with Leo.
"Do you want me to tell them? I think you just made mind-link contact."
"You tell him. You're better with words. It would help if he would stay in contact with me when you are in Papeete."
"Does it work over that distance?"
"Distance is almost unlimited once the link is established." This mind-link exchange took no more than a second. Ivan turned to Gábor and Helena.
"Ever had the feeling cats could read your thoughts," Ivan asked Gábor.
"You're trying to be funny? It's too early in the morning, Ivan."
"If it makes you loosen up, all's fair! Because this Kitty can read your thoughts."
"Yeah, and I can swim the Niagara Falls upstream."
Helena had a quizzical look on her face during this verbal sparring match. She recalled a few situations when she thought Leo knew what she wanted to say or do and he'd acted before she could say or do it.
"Explain, funny man." Helena, a bit more open than Gábor, was intrigued.
"I had a telepathic conversation with Leo last night for a long time. It is for real." He turned to Gábor who looked like someone who wanted to laugh and get annoyed at the same time.
"Yeah, right. How could I have missed it? Too quiet perhaps?" Ivan ignored his sarcasm.
"What were you thinking just before you asked if you had spoken out loud?"
A steep furrow appeared between Gábor's eyes and for a few seconds he searched his memory, and then it came back to him.
"I thought that Leo was too young to take a risk like that." Helena squinted and scrutinized Leo. On that, she agreed with her husband.
"You werre dinking of sharrks and de swells vrreaking ne on de rrocks," said Leo with a purr. Gábor's chin dropped.
This can't be true. I'm dreaming. His eyes looked intensely at Leo, who shook his head, and Gábor ‘heard' him clear as a bell.
"No. You're not dreaming. It is true. I can read you and Helena too. Finally."
‘Gee, I'm a poet, like that guy on Sesame Street’ Leo thought amused without projecting it to the others. No grumbling, no growling or purring in this conversation and still, it was clear who "spoke" to him. Gábor looked at Helena. Did she ‘hear' anything? Was this real?
"Can Lena hear you too?" Gábor conveyed his scepticism. Helena observed the two in silence. She noticed Gábor's concentrated looks and Leo's serene eyes and knew something had happened between the two. Ivan looked smug. Then she paid more attention to Leo and felt something like a whispering presence in her mind. Helena focused on it.
"Yes, if she was linked, she could," Helena ‘heard' in her mind.
"How does it work? Were you always able to do this? Can you think to both of us at the same time? Could Helena read my thoughts? Can I read hers? Can we tune out if we don't want to be read?" He stopped and took a deep breath and let it out through pursed lips. This was unreal.
Gábor had vocalized without realizing and Helena looked as if she had ‘heard' something other than his words. Leo's lips didn't even twitch. Helena's lips curled into a big smile, then she began to laugh and took a breath to speak, but Gábor beat her to it.
"This is getting a bit too weird for me," Gábor admitted. "I'm not sure I know how to handle a mind-reading lion. First I'm discovering he is intell…" He wanted to ask more questions about this form of communication, but Ivan interrupted the flow of words.
"Why don't we all talk at once, eh? Helena would like to be in on this little chat, I presume, so how about if I take the lead since I had the pleasure of being ahead of you two?" Ivan suggested. Helena was quiet and looked speculatively at Leo, her face excited. She ‘heard' the last ‘transmission', but wasn't sure if it was real or imagined. They sat around Leo, and Ivan related his experience with Leo excitedly. It was a phenomenal discovery and hard to be stoic about it. With this new development a lot of things could change, including Leo's schooling.
"Leo and I talked yesterday during his watch and he told me he wanted to learn everything that I know. That would take about five minutes, I'd think. He is much smarter and grown up than we ever thought possible, you'll see. I just needed to imagine him in my head and direct my thoughts at him and he was able to "read" me. He calls it the "mind-link"; I tried and it worked. He was in my head. He ‘read' me and I ‘read' him crystal clear, without a possibility to misunderstand. Whatever is in his mind during a link is in mine too, pictures concepts and all. It is as if we have one mind." He paused and looked at their astonished faces.
"If you want privacy, you just put him out of your mind, not imagining his face or focusing on him," Ivan continued.
"I checked it out and it works. You have to focus your attention on him if you want him to ‘read' you. Whether he can talk to all of us the same time, I don't know, but it would be easy to find out. I don't think that you, Gábor, or you Helena, will be able to read each other's minds without Leo, that remains to be seen, but he can ‘read' all of us if we focus on him. I'm sure he could talk to any person if they would focus on him. Is that about right Leo?"
Leo purred and his eyes closed and opened slowly.
"Close enough. Me having this forrm converrsation is new to me as to you. I don't know what all the possibilities arr." His words came slow, deliberate and his voice still sounded like growling and he made an effort to pronounce the “m”, “b”, and “p”.
"You guys want to take a "test-read?" Ivan asked. Helena didn't need any encouragement and jumped right in, but Gábor's face looked intense and a bit incredulous.
"What are we going to do now?" Helena asked and in an instant, the two men and Helena heard the question in thought and aurally.
"We're having a telepathic conversation, that's what we're doing now," they ‘heard' Leo's answer on the mind-link. A "Zen" answer. The recognition flashed into Gábor's mind. What was in his head was also in the heads of the others. It was as if Leo was the hub of a wheel and the conversation flowed through him. The sensation was like being in one room and all could hear anyone that ‘talked'. Another curiosity was that it was not a language, but a much more precise form of information exchange that words attempted to express inadequately. When Gábor ‘thought' in the Hungarian language, Leo had no problem ‘understanding' and Ivan tried the same with Russian and Farsi and Leo had answered back as if there was no language barrier.
"Leo, is there any language barrier in this form of communication, and is it possible to avoid being ‘heard' by anyone you are not targeting?" asked Helena.
"I don't know of something you call language. The sounds you make are not important to me in the mind-link. Language is not a problem for me because thoughts are put into words to express an idea. I get the thoughts, purely and clearly and that is what I convey to you. That is why there can't be misunderstandings or problems when we are conversing telepathically. I think words in comparison are clumsy, inaccurate, never really conveying the essence of an idea and often insufficient. As I said, I don't know about sending private messages through me, because this is new for me too. Your thought is the message. What your phonetics are will not make a difference in this form of communication."
"What is the limit of this mind-link," asked Gábor.
"I don't know of any limit. Anybody can think at me, but I can choose who I want to ‘read' and to whom I want to answer," thought Leo.
"What if I don't want you to ‘read' me? Can you still see what I'm thinking?" Gábor asked, and his thoughts were excited; he loved this new form of ‘talking'. He also understood the entire scope of Leo's intelligence and maturity. To him, Leo felt far more advanced intellectually than his age would have suggested.
Helena felt it confirmed her hunch. It also allowed for a much closer bond with Gábor and Leo. Ivan was right. Leo was as mature as a young man of twenty at least, maybe not as educated because he had no formal schooling and lacked information about the world, but unquestionably mature. Helena had the same impression and was overjoyed. Their child was at least equal to normal people. If he was only five years old with the maturity of a grown up, there was no telling what he could be with good education. Thrilled she listened to Leo with attention.
"No. However, I feel your emotions like happiness or sadness, anger or joy, fear, and love but no particulars. It is only emotion without information. When you concentrate on what you want to convey, then I have the ability to ‘read' you. I can choose whom to relay thoughts to as well. I suspect if Lena wants to "think" to you, then you would be ‘hearing' each other through me, and I would pick up your emotions, but with no content of the message. I think it may take a bit of training to achieve that kind of filtering."
"How long have you been doing this for?"
"I was able to ‘read' you since I morphed, as you call it, but you did not ‘hear' me."
"If you were able to talk to us, why didn't you?"
"I did. You were deaf." Gábor swallowed that without protest. Helena was exhilarated.
"This is much more precise than spoken words and much too intimate for all to ‘read," she thought. She was deeply intrigued with this mind-link, but concerned about losing privacy.
"What would happen if I just wanted to think to Gábor without involving you, Leo?"
"Unless we train to encapsulate the information, that would be like you wanted to tell Gábor a secret across a crowded room, while you are in the link," cautioned Ivan.
"You don't have Leo's capacity to filter out whom you want to think to, I think. Leo is the one who could choose to whom the message would go. You cannot read my mind without Leo relaying it to you," said Ivan, but Leo got in and explained.
"Not entirely correct, Ivan. As it is now, it is not possible, but if you practice more, and access the part of the mind where it is quiet, you could develop the ability to encapsulate your thoughts, at least to some degree so I would not necessarily know what you're thinking, only that you are. At times, I felt you were connected with me and knew what I wanted without me initiating contact. The same happened with Lena, but she dropped out before I could establish the link. I have tried a few times to link with you too Gábor, but Lena and I spent more time together than you and I did, additionally Lena has stronger intuition. Meditation will strengthen your mental sensitivity too."
"How do you know all this?" Helena asked.
"I don't know. I just know."
The husband and wife team had a tremendous breakthrough with this revelation of their son's capability and ability to converse with them and for a while, they exchanged information among themselves and Ivan and became mentally intimate to an extent that even Ivan's secret desire for Helena seeped through and Gábor didn't grudge him that. He knew that many men felt envious that he had ensnared an exceptional woman and knew that his friend would never try to "steal" his wife from him or do her any harm. That he had a crush on her only affirmed his choice of being with Helena. Ivan had proved himself to be a reliable friend and he could trust him. She would be safe with him around.
They wished they had more time, but it was time to prepare for the sail to Tahiti, besides, they still could practice on the way, and if it were true, the distance wouldn't matter and they wouldn't need radio devices anymore. Exhausted from the mental strain they terminated the link, but would work more in it later. Now they needed to plan ahead.
Leo, Ivan, and Gábor surveyed the wall and entrance and even got into the water while Helena stayed in the boat and watched for sharks, but she didn't see any. When the three returned and dried off, they decided to go back to the landing site. Helena took the helm again. She started the engines, put the boat into gear, and in a wide arc steered it south, toward the now familiar beach.
The Eastern trade wind had kicked in a bit and increased the wave action; the swells carried more waves on top of them. Still, Helena had no problem getting close to the beach. Ivan slid over the inflatable's tubes into the water with the line in his hand and made fast on the tree that had become their on-land mooring. Leo dropped the anchor and Gábor lifted Helena off the boat and carried her on his shoulder ashore, as a cave dweller would do to his captive. Macho; she thought and laughed. They had not had a lot of time for themselves and this little bit of intimacy felt, well… uplifting. She wished for a little time alone with him soon. Shortly he would take off and she would miss him for who knows how long, a few days for sure. An idea came up.
"I want to check on the cache to see what we may need from Tahiti. Care to help?" she asked Gábor, and he looked at her in astonishment. Helena was good in planning and organizing things. What did she want to check on? But then he's got it.
"Good idea." Gábor's eyes lit up. The sparkle in his eyes spoke of things better done than talked about. Leo looked at Ivan and his friend had a sly grin on his face. He envied his friend.
"We will get the boat ready. See you when you've finished checking the goods."
In his own way, Ivan wished the couple all the happiness in the world and hoped to find a partner for himself like Helena. He had fantasized about her many times whenever he felt lonely and sometimes even hoped she would find her way into his bed, but friendship had a very high value for him and he would never take advantage of a friend's wife, even if she offered it. His morality index, ingrained since birth, had been tested a few times and he had failed once and felt remorse over it.
His military service had left his wife alone for long periods and he's heard rumours that his wife had a few male visitors while he was fighting in some hellhole. He couldn't blame her; he wasn't there, but he hoped at least those men were not abusing or hurting her. He had a serious affair once and it ended badly. Now in the South Pacific for the first time in his life, he hoped to meet a woman like Helena. The stewardesses had been good looking and he would have started something with one of them, but he was occupied with planning where to get a craft for Leo's ‘rescue' and how to go about it. In Tahiti, there would be more time to look around.
He had heard how beautiful the Polynesian women were, but when he arrived at the airport in Papeete and saw many grossly overweight and unfriendly females, his hopes dropped. Perhaps after this business with the rescue was over, he could take some time to do some ‘sightseeing' and find someone as attractive as Helena. Under some laughter, the two departed hand in hand with a spring in their step. Watching the two walking towards the jungle setting and disappearing into the foliage, he still smiled and then turned to Leo. "Let's practice the mind-link kitty."
Leo murmured something Ivan didn't catch and then joined him in the boat. There was nothing to do but wait, so they practiced the mind-link.