Chapter Four
Wolenczak Villa, Southern Italy, two days later…
The limousine pulled through the wide gates that led to the Wolenczak's rather large villa.
"Wow," Ben exclaimed, whistling. "Now this is what I call a house!"
The others all nodded, all amazed at the sheer size of the structure.
"Puh-leeze," Lucas snorted, rolling his eyes. "It's nothing special, trust me. You guys didn't have to come, you know."
"Of course we did," Kristen told him, giving his hand a squeeze. "And we wanted to."
She sat on one side of the teenager, while Bridger sat on his other side.
Ben and Katie sat on the opposite seat while Tim and Miguel sat in-between them—so that the former married couple wouldn't fight the entire way there.
Commander Ford and Security Chief Crocker had remained aboard SeaQuest to ensure everything ran smoothly; despite the fact that they were more or less docked for the next few days.
The car stopped and the driver got out and opened the door for them.
"Ladies first," Bridger said, indicating Katie and Kristen should exit first.
They did so, followed by Lucas and himself.
The three younger men were the last to 'disembark'.
"You three," the captain said to them, firmly. "Help the driver with the bags."
"Aye, Sir," they said as one, and went to do as they were told.
"C'mon," Lucas said, shrugging on his backpack and heading up the steps to the front door.
The door opened to reveal a man dressed in butler attire.
"Welcome back, young master," he greeted Lucas.
"Hey, Eddie," Lucas said, going past him and into the villa. "These are my friends."
They all nodded at the man.
"I am Edward," he told them. "Chief Butler to Dr. and Mrs. Wolenczak…"
"Captain Nathan Bridger," Bridger said, shaking his hand. "And this is Dr. Kristen Westphalen, Lt. C.M.R. Katherine Hitchcock, Lt. Ben Krieg, Lt. Tim O'Neill, and Lt. Miguel Ortiz."
"It is a pleasure to meet all of you," Edward said, inclining his head. "Should you require anything during your stay please do not hesitate to ask?"
"Thank you," Bridger said, glancing around the room. "We will."
They were obviously in an entryway with the stairs leading upstairs directly in the center of the room.
To the right, looked like a den and to the left the living room.
Hallways on either side of the staircase led off to other parts of the house…probably the kitchen and laundry room; possibly Dr. Wolenczak's study.
"Eddie will show you guys where you'll be sleeping," Lucas told them, and then started up the stairs.
"Hey," Bridger said, gently. "Where are you going?"
"To my room," Lucas replied. "Eddie will bring my bag up."
With that, he turned and raced up the stairs.
Bridger frowned.
The boy's seemingly indifferent attitude to what was happening in his life worried him to no end.
Kristen placed a hand on his arm. "I'm worried, too," she whispered to him.
He grinned at her appreciatively.
"If you all will follow me upstairs," Edward said, "I will show you to your rooms so that you may rest and freshen up. Will you be requiring lunch?"
"No, thank you," Bridger told him. "Though, we will probably be eating dinner here."
The butler nodded. "Very well, sir," he said. "If you will follow me, please…?"
He too turned and headed up the stairs.
Bridger turned to his crew.
"All right," he told them. "Let's get settled and then cleaned up. The funeral is this afternoon."
"Aye, aye, Sir," Katie said, nodding.
"And you three," Bridger said, glancing at Ben, Tim, and Miguel. "Larry, Mo, and Curly—don't touch anything!"
"Us, Sir?" Ben said, smirking. "Do you have so little faith in us, Captain?"
"Uh huh," Bridger said, raising an eyebrow. "I mean it, Lieutenant. Now, c'mon..."
Grabbing his suitcase and Lucas', he headed up the stairs. The others promptly followed.
Once shown to his room, he sat the suitcases down and stepped out onto the balcony.
The view was quite breathtaking.
Suddenly, the sound of [very loud] rock and roll music was suddenly heard, shaking the right wall in his room.
Obviously, Lucas' bedroom was right next to his.
He sighed. He hoped…no, he prayed… that he would be able to help the boy through this.
Before, he lost another son he loved dearly…
…TBC…