Chapter 28

Steve

Mercy's crying woke me around one o'clock. When I shook her to get her attention, I could see she was crying in her sleep. She raised her head and looked at me with the wildest expression I have ever seen. She was terrified, "Oh, Steve, I need to get up, that was horrible."

We got up and went into the parlor, where Mercy said, "Can you get me a glass of wine? Better yet, give me one of those Beefeaters you always drink. That'll knock me out."

As I poured us both a drink, I asked, "What's the matter, Babe, what's got you upset?"

Before she could answer, Missy came into the room, looking as haggard as Mercy. She said, "I felt you, Honey, and we felt those two. This isn't nice, is it?"

I asked again, "What are you talking about?"

Mercy said, "I was watching, I saw what they were going to do and felt their fear. Both of them were afraid. It's like they don't trust who they are with and they are about to do something that is very dangerous. I need to lie down so I can see through their eyes and know they are alright."

"You probably shouldn't do that, Honey," Missy cautioned. "If they are open and letting us in, I'm sure they don't intend to. Don't let them feel you so they don't get upset. They need all of their faculties to do whatever it is they are going to do."

Missy took a big drink from Mercy's glass, looked at me, and pointed to Mercy's glass. I poured another tall gin with ice for Missy, and handed it to her.

Mercy said, "I heard Chuck, I heard him tell a man that if they did something the way the man wanted, someone was going to be hurt. I could feel Chuck's disgust and that's when I felt Lisa's fear."

Mercy had her eyes closed and said, "It's happening, it's happening right now. She sat that way, almost in a trance, for several minutes before flinching several times. "My God, I've been shot. I'm shot, he shot me."

I thought Mercy was going to pass out, but she said, "I'm okay, somehow I'm okay. Lisa is worried about me, ah, she's thinking Chuck, but Chuck's okay. He's getting up but Lisa is worried about him. Chuck is telling Lisa to be on guard. Oh, Steve, Chuck is going into more danger. I see nothing but darkness and feel his fear. Momma, help me keep out of their head, I want them to be calm and shouldn't try to help them."

Missy held Mercy close to her, cooing to her, trying to soothe her daughter. With both of their eyes closed they both opened them at once, "Lisa's hurt. She's lying on the ground, and all Chuck did was check her pulse. Why isn't he taking her away? There are a lot of little kids around. I can't tell what's going on."

Mercy said, "He is with someone else and they are hunting for someone."

A few seconds later, Missy said, "He's back to Lisa and carrying her up some stairs."

The two women went through their feelings until it was nearly four. Missy said, "They're both alright. They may be hurt, but they are both okay. They want to come back to us, I can feel their pull."

Mercy was nodding in agreement and yawned. "They are going to be fine. Chuck is hurt on the side, and Lisa had a blow to her head, but both are okay. I think I can go back to bed now."

Missy asked, "Can I join you? I would like to snuggle up to your man."

Mercy giggled, "You leave my man alone. He has enough women to take care of."

Missy looked as if she was pouting, until Mercy said, "Oh alright, I'll let you sample him every once in a while to take the edge off, but go to sleep, Mom, the kids are going to be up soon."

Sue and my twins, Manny and Danny, were standing by the bed and were shaking Missy; "Grandma, we're hungry. Grandma Glenda is gone and it's only you and Grandma Beth to feed us. Please, Grandma Missy."

I sat up and smiled, "Okay, Guys, let me get up and I'll get you something to eat. Talk among yourselves and I'll get whatever you want."

The two boys left as I slid from bed. Missy opened her eyes and said, "I'll be out to help in a minute."

While I put on my clothes, Kathy and Juanita got up and asked me, "Is Mercy okay now? She was having a terrible dream last night."

Missy sat up, "Well, I guess no one is going to let me get anymore sleep, so I might as well get up." She shook Mercy and leaned over to shake Sue. "Hey, you two, if I can't sleep, you two can't either. Get up and help with the kids."

I was shaking my head as I went out to the parlor. Greg told me they had agreed on pancakes, so I called room service. They said they didn't have pancakes, but did have waffles. I turned and asked the kids, "Are waffles okay? They don't have pancakes."

When they agreed, I told room service to bring a lot, enough for at least twenty people with lots of butter and syrup. I had them bring two gallons of milk and two gallons of orange juice with a lot of glasses. I think the resort was getting used to us by now, and didn't question me on quantities.

Dewey came in and fixed himself a Bloody Mary at the bar. As the girls began coming from their rooms, they wanted one too, so Kathy became the bartender and got everyone drinks. Chuck's Asian sisters, Julie, and Gina came out, and Julie immediately asked, "Have you heard from Chuck and Lisa?"

Mercy elbowed me and pointed. She was pointing at the triplets, Trixie, Dixie, and Tom. The three were sitting, looking at each other with a strange expression. Trixie turned to look at her mom, but didn't say anything. Tom waited a second before saying, "Chuck and Lisa are on the boat. I don't think they are playing music though."

Mercy grinned at me and raised an eyebrow. My mind did a cartwheel as I thought, 'Oh no, more people who can listen and talk to people. When did this happen?'

I quietly asked Mercy, "When did you notice this going on?"

She was still grinning and said, "They've been getting more perceptive every day for the last year. I know the three can talk to each other, but I haven't listened in. Now I know they can feel someone's presence. Pretty neat, huh?"

Missy flooded my head with, "We all love you, Steve."

Yeah right, like that's going to help me try to hide from my kids. I whispered to Mercy, "Is Mike like that too?"

Mercy said, "I'm not sure. I don't think he is tuned in to anyone, but it may be because he's all boy and can't be bothered with something that's running around in his head. I calm him the same way I do all of the kids, but I don't see any difference like I do with the triplets, or triples as the kids used to call themselves."

That gave me a smile as I remembered how one or the other would be mad at the other two and didn't want to be a "triple" anymore.

Mercy said, "How about I go see how Chuck and Lisa are doing? Or better yet, let me send, Julie. She'll be able to handle anything strange a lot better."

Instead of Julie going by herself, the Asian sisters and Gina headed down to the boat with her. While we were pigging out on waffles, Chuck and Lisa, looking a little haggard, with Lisa wearing a ball cap, came in with the four who had gone after them. Chuck looked around and said, "Good to see everyone this morning."

There was something in Chuck's voice that told me he was especially and genuinely happy to see all of us. I wonder if he'll ever tell me what happened. I wonder if Mercy and Missy should even let them know they felt them last night and were seeing through their eyes.

Dewey had gone to his suite and came back in saying, "Hey, turn on the TV. There was something big that happened last night down on the commercial docks. It's like fifty people were killed, but over a hundred kidnapped kids were rescued and freed. There must be a hundred cameras down there right now."

I saw Chuck and Lisa look at each other. They didn't say anything, just continued sipping on a Bloody Mary.

As the morning progressed, with most of the kids out playing on the beach, Dewey said, "I think we've got this casino cheating thing sorted out. As a group, we're going to use the recovered profits to collectively purchase another resort in Cannes that's for sale. That will be the best way to divide the money and will give us an additional holding. We are hiring a general manager for all of the area resorts so we can keep our standards and quality of service up. My job here is done. I should go back home and take care of business, but I'm thinking I'd like to sail with you guys. Will there be enough room with all of the extra people you're adding?"

I said, "I don't think anyone was going to be assigned to your cabin suite, and the kids bunk together. I think it would be good to have you along. I'd love for you to come with us, but you'd better ask the owner of that tub."

Kenny was at the bar with the band, when he said, "You call that a tub? My goodness that must be one of the top one hundred sailboats in the world. If not, I sure would like to see all the better ones."

Chuck was smiling, "Dewey, you know you will always have a cabin on that tub, as Steve calls it. You and your family are my family too."

Sheila went over to Chuck and hugged him, "We feel the same way, Chuck. You need to come out to the islands and see us. It isn't as warm as your island, but it is beautiful."

Chuck said, "I might do that soon. We can always fly out."

I told Chuck, "With all your women and the kids on the way, you might investigate one of the luxury 737s like the charter company has. Your only problem is whether or not it's big enough."

Lisa said, "Hey, I'm checked out and plan to attend the school for that bird. You could do that too so we could fly it together. I'll bet Brandy will want to learn to fly it now that she's been to the Citation school. Her next stop is the Lear or Bombardier school. We could just about go wherever we want."

Missy and Mercy were grinning as they watched Lisa become animated about flying. I knew, and they knew, that Chuck and Lisa were alright now.

Chuck looked around the room and asked, "So it's Monday morning, when do you guys want to ship out of here?"

Everyone looked at each other when little Bonita, after paying close attention to the conversation said, "As soon as possible; right now, if we can. I want to go to Chuck's island."

Carolyn, sitting with Kenny, asked, "Chuck's island? Do you have an island, Chuck?"

Julie spoke up, "He does, because I gave it to him. He's just the man to be caretaker of the island. He's a good man, fair in his thinking, and as you know, loves to make people happy."

Fred was laughing, "You don't need us, you son-of-a-gun, you need a caretaker the way you get so lucky."

Dewey said, "Speaking of lucky, how about one last evening in the casinos. We can go over to Monaco, or stay here in Nice, but I want another shot at making a dent in a few reserves."

Carlos asked, "Is it true that you always win big, Chuck? Dewey said you were probably the luckiest man alive."

Ramona added, "With all of his women, he must have something other than just luck going for him. Carolyn, I think we should investigate his luck, if you know what I mean."

Lisa held up her hand, "Now, now, Ladies, this is my prime stud. Considering that he has the darling little sisters, Gina, and Julie to take care of, in addition to me, I'd say the man is going to be busy."

Fred said, "Chuck, I've been wondering how you handle all those women. If you're doing it often, you must be a real stud, all right."

"Let me tell you about how he has handled his entire group a couple of nights and an afternoon in a row," Lisa said puffing her chest out as if she had done it. "Studly, here, is always ready for us."

Sue told all of us, "I'm going to set the schedule, for leaving, that is, if Chuck doesn't mind. We'll stay here tonight and sail in the morning. We should talk to Michael and Chanda to see what they are going to do, but that is what I want us to do. We ladies will get the larder and freezer stocked with what meat we want, and load up on fresh vegetables, eggs, and such, while you men need to go over the charts and weather to check on travel time."

Chuck held his hand up, "I've already been over the charts and know that it's a little under six thousand miles. If we average around 13 knots, which we should easily make, it should take eighteen to twenty-one days."

While nudging Carlos, Ramona said, "Looks like a lot of good sunbathing, Baby. I'll be so dark you won't be able to find me without the light on."

Sue told the girls of the band, "Oh, we'll do a lot of sunbathing. The top of the salon is one big sun deck and we all go up there to lay out, nude, of course. Gets the guys all worked up, you know."

The Asian sisters had been outside watching the kids, and one came to the door and asked, "We need more moms out here. Some of the kids want to swim and two of us can't watch all of them.

Juanita, Kathy, and Sheena all left to help watch the kids. Julie commented, "I'm lucky my kids didn't drown out there on the island. They played in the water all of the time, mostly without supervision from the time they were probably eight or nine."

Sue said, "All of our kids learned to swim as infants or small babies. They could instinctively turn over and float on their backs. Now, they are all like fish, but the ocean is different, there can be undertows near the beaches."

The band, Lisa, and I all went to the boat to make sure we had everything we needed for the trip. When we came back, Fred said he was low on strings, and Kenny nodded, "I'm low too. We should probably hunt for a local store."

Lisa happily said, "I'll find one. I just love to hunt for antique and special guitars. Chuck lets me buy just about anything I want, so I take advantage of that."

Chuck told the group, "Lisa has a thing about owning a copy of every classic or an original out there. I think I'll begin decorating the house with her antiques and signature guitars; might as well show them off."

"Good idea, Chuck," Lisa exclaimed. "That would be a great way to decorate the place. We can put them in the living room, the big dining room, and the family room, of course. I'll get some more for the studio too."

Chuck was laughing, "Down, girl, down. You can add to your collection a little at a time, you know. You don't have to fill all the walls right away." Lisa gave Chuck a hug to let him know she was teasing.

Lisa used the phone for a while, and the group took off for a music store shortly after. I went down to the boat to begin checking on mundane stuff like propane, diesel fuel, if the holding tank had been emptied and flushed, and how the fresh water was testing. It took me a while to go through all of the standard stuff and check the sails and gear. Just to be on the safe side, I used the winch and pulley to pull the big Zodiac out of its cabinet. I lowered it into the water and started the big outboard. I powered out into the marina and brought it back to the davit lines. Before I put it away, I used shore fresh water to wash the Zodiac and rinse the motor out.

I checked all of the safety equipment on the lifeboat, along with checking that there was plenty of water, meals, and a first aid kit. The big cover for the boat would be important to keep us out of the sun and inclement weather, but we'll hopefully never need it. After using the electric pulley to put the Zodiac back into its compartment, I brought the dinghy up and washed its bottom.

Just for fun, I started both engines and let them run a little, checking out the battery systems and the generators. The gauges showed that all of the batteries were good and at peak charge. That is always good in case we have a generator problem. We always have the big generator that runs off the main engines, but who wants to run a big engine when we have a very powerful and quiet little generator?

I was closing up the boat when Sue, Mercy, Julie, and the sisters came down the dock, pushing and pulling a huge flat cart full of boxes. Sue exclaimed, "Oh, Honey, we're so lucky you're here. Will you help us get this stuff into the galley?"

While I was hauling stuff aboard, Chuck, Lisa, and the band came down the dock with a stack of equipment. They must have forgotten to bring a bunch of stuff from the show. Chuck and the band helped carry groceries to make it go faster.

The chore didn't take that much time, and while we were doing this, Chanda, Michael, and the Captain of the Irish Bell came over. Chanda said, "Michael and I really don't want to go home yet. The kids said you're going to the island Julie gave you before you go home. Would you mind if we sort of traveled with you? I know you go slowly, and our Captain here may become impatient traveling so slow, but we do want to see the island."

Chuck told Chanda and the Captain, "You know, if you want, you can go into the Limon Yacht club for a few days while waiting for us to get there. You can use my condo in Limon and meet the housekeepers. We have a smaller motor yacht you could use if you wanted to go fishing. The ladies on board will be glad to take you out. Since you are a friend of mine, I can call ahead and arrange everything for you. I'm sure you will be welcome. If you take off when we do, you'll be there in about ten days. That will give you ten or eleven days to explore Costa Rica."

Chanda thought about it a minute and asked, "If we were to do that, is there entertainment for the crew? They will want to explore too, like we did in Italy."

Chuck told her, "You guys can do it together or go separately. Have the crew check into the hotel at the yacht club so they can air out their bunks. I'll tell the manager of the club to treat your people like kings and they will be. I'll ask him to get you a guide so that you can go up into the mountains where there is a wonderful view of the ocean, and you can see and experience the different cultures as you go higher."

Chanda was smiling, and sheepishly asked, "You know our kids are going to want to be with all of yours. Do you think there is enough room?"

Sue said, "Sure, you know how kids are, they'll figure it out. The boys will stay with the boys, and the girls with the girls. They will have a great time."

I asked Chanda and Michael, "We're planning on a nice meal in the restaurant tonight, and then going out to the casinos one last time. You are welcome to join us if you want. We are having several hotel nannies stay with our kids, so a few more children won't make a difference."

Chanda smiled, "We would like that and thanks for letting the kids travel with you. Ours just love to be with your big group. You even have the four Italian kids our children are talking about. That must be a riot down in the crew's quarters. I wonder how they all fit."

Sue commented, "Like I said, the kids work it out."

The girls agreed on a time to meet for dinner, and to be ready to go out to the casinos from there. That meant trying to keep food off the tux my ladies loved for me to wear.

Chuck's ladies showed up with Juanita, Kathy, Sheila, Sheena, and the kids. All of them were happy to wander around the boat, getting the feel of it again. We were all anxious to get out to sea.

Chuck

The Asian sisters, Julie, and Gina woke us up this morning. Since Lisa and I were sleeping nude, I couldn't hide my bandage and, of course, Lisa's large Band-Aid was very obvious against her dark brown hair. Julie and the sisters demanded an inspection of the injured areas while Gina was horrified that I had been shot and Lisa had been clubbed.

Julie and the sisters knew better than to ask what had happened, but Gina wanted to know what had happened and where we were to have this happen. I had to keep telling her it was some law enforcement business that I sometimes had to do. She didn't like the explanation, and even acted a little pissed.

Lisa gave her some hugs and talked with her, and she was soon fine with life again. Lisa and I dressed, with Lisa finding and wearing one of my ball caps. She looked really cute wearing it.

The morning crowd was fun and full of anticipation about sailing. We all agreed to sail tomorrow. Sue was going to be in charge of food, Steve said he would check the boat over, and Lisa and I, we didn't tell the others this, were going for some x-rays, followed by taking the band to find a music store to raid. I could use some more sticks, as the heavy rock stuff was breaking the heads off fairly fast, and all of us were going through strings faster than normal, considering the six shows we just played.

We went to a local hospital for some quick x-rays. They were being slow, but when I reminded the administration that I was paying cash, or at least from a debit card, we were ushered right into the x-ray area. We waited for a doctor to evaluate the x-rays and were told that Lisa's skull was not cracked and I had no rib damage.

Lisa had found a big music store in Nice that advertised Europe's largest collection of vintage guitars. As soon as I saw the sign at the store in big French script, with English underneath, proclaiming vintage guitars, I knew one of my casino debit cards was in trouble.

The first thing we did was to hunt for, and gather, what we really needed. Dan found some music that he thought would be good for the kids to play with the whole band. Fred did the same, and also found some very intricate music that featured violins that would be perfect for Corine and Bonita.

Our next stop in the store was in what they called 'the vintage room.' They had vintage everything. Vintage guitars of all makes, vintage mother of pearl Ludwig and Slingerland drum sets, along with some classic instruments for any music aficionado to want to hear played. There were some classic white gold Selmer of Paris tenor saxes, and one item that I really wanted, an original three quarter Kay standup bass or cello as some call it. I had never played one, but it was something I had always wanted to learn.

Lisa did some asking and found a couple of video training programs for the standup bass, along with a bow so I could add to the strings we already had. Amazingly, we were becoming classical, as well as blues and rock musicians.

Lisa found a few Fender guitars she wanted. One was a 60s standard Stratocaster, while another was the starburst cutaway. She found another classic Les Paul SG that was perfect. She picked it up, played it un-amped, then looked around and was shown an amp already turned on. She plugged in and began laying down some awesome riffs.

Smiling, she handed me the beautiful guitar and told me, "Feel it, play it, you'll see what it's all about, why we have to have it."

The guitar was almost all mahogany, with some mother of pearl inlays in the neck. This was the epitome of '60s' classic Les Paul. At first strike, the guitar was clean sounding from the triple Humbucker pickups. It had the old style tune-a-matic bridge, with a twenty-two fret finger board. Knowing how Les Paul would have demo'd the guitar, I stayed low on frets and high on the fingerboard to reproduce some of Les Paul's famous sounds that Mary Ford used to sing to.

Fred was standing there salivating, but also had tears in his eyes because the sounds from this box were exquisite. After playing just a minute, I handed Fred the precious piece of musical history for him to caress and play.

He did a righteous job playing some Les Paul riffs that were made famous over his many years as a leader within his field. When Fred stopped, he said, "Get this, I want to play it some more, but if I keep up right now, I'm going to mortgage my future for this thing."

We ended up buying several classic Gibsons, Fenders, and a couple of Harmony acoustics. Lisa talked me into buying an older used Blues King acoustic for Bonita, along with another used one for Fred, at a good price. I found another Harmony H-22 fretless bass for Kenny, and I think he would have kissed me on the mouth if I had let him. The more we put aside to purchase, the bigger discounts we were getting. We didn't really put a dent into the casino debit card, but it sure was fun.

When we arrived back at the boat, they were loading food into the galley for our trip. I noticed the crew of the Irish Bell doing the same. While we were helping carry food below, I saw Chanda and Lisa off to the side. Lisa seemed to be laughing, but Chanda looked pretty serious. I couldn't imagine what they could have been scheming up.

As soon as the boat was taken care of, we all went back to the resort suite to get ready for a night on the town. The kids were happy for a night of pizza and movies with some nannies who didn't speak good English. They figured on a good time all around.

We left the kids in the capable hands, we hoped, of four nannies who assured us they could handle our brood. Our next stop was a classic restaurant in Monaco that was world renowned. Dewey had used his pull to get us reservations, and the meal was everything it was billed to be.

Our next stop was a casino operated by one of Dewey's competitors. Dewey sidled up to me and said, "If you can, hurt them a little. They have spread the word around that our group of resorts and casinos were crooked, taking advantage of patrons."

Lisa and Missy went with me as we started out on a low stakes blackjack table. The dealer was obnoxious, so I had the two ladies play with me and we collectively won nearly two hundred thousand Euros before we left. Each of us added to the insult by tossing the jerk a two Euro coin.

Our next stop was the craps table. Several of our group were following us now and placed bets with us.

The two women and I must have felt the same thing as we placed our bets. Amazingly, what we felt would be didn't happen. We had not bet that much, but placed another bet to what we thought would be the winner. Again, we were very wrong.

I looked at the croupier and dove into his head. The asshole was changing dice after the first roll to crap out. I leaned over to Missy, "Think of what the point will be and bet on it only." I turned to Lisa and said, "Follow, Missy."

As soon as all three of us and several band members put money on double fours, box cars, the croupier was going to pull the dice back, but I was next to him and said, "Push the dice to the shooter."

He began to get huffy, but I repeated so the table could hear, "Push the dice to the shooter."

When he became red-faced and hollered for a pit boss, he began to pick up the dice and lay down two others. I slapped his hand and four dice were lying on the table. All of the players surrounding the table gasped at the treachery they saw. The pit boss came over just as Dewey had walked up, he said, "You need to arrest this man and have the gendarmes take him to jail for cheating your customers. Can you imagine the embarrassment your casino will experience for his cheating?"

The pit boss was angry, but knew better than to confront a bunch of customers that may have been cheated all evening. I had everyone pick up their bets and advised, "This table is not lucky, we should probably all play another."

Dewey grinned at me and said, "They have a celebrity pit you might want to try out. They are probably honest down there, and your fans can watch and make side bets. There are people, like bookmakers, who take bets from the audience."

The ladies and I went down the three steps into the den of thieves. At the mutual thought of that, all three of us were nearly laughing. We decided that craps would be fun to start with, so we anteed up a hundred thousand Euro chip for the first bet, an easy win. We placed some consecutive winning bets until everyone on the table was going to bet with us. It was Lisa's turn to throw the dice, so I leaned over to Missy and said, "Let's lay off her rolls to see what the other people do. Lisa looked at me funny, then moved her chips. She threw a three then crapped out with a seven. Missy did about as well by throwing a five and then snake eyes. It was now my turn, so I put down ten one hundred thousand Euro chips, but no one followed my lead. I threw a seven and waved at my pile to indicate I would stay. No one went with me, and I rolled another seven. The next roll that I let all of my chips stay on, was still the pass line. A few placed their bets with me and I rolled an eleven. This next time, several placed their bets with me but I moved mine to six. No one went with me and son-of-gun, I rolled a six twice in a row, two threes the first time, and a four and two the second. I pulled all of my chips from the table, except the original hundred thousand bet, rolled a nine followed by a seven. I smiled, was given a tray for my chips and headed for the roulette table.

Missy wanted to play cards and convinced Lisa that she should join her, so the two took off for the poker area.

Steve came down with me and asked, "If they leave, does that mess you up?"

"Not really. The three of us were occasionally talking about what was coming, but it didn't seem to make a difference."

Dewey came down with a stack of chips, "Hey, I've been placing side bets on you and look what I have. I think I will join you on the roulette table."

We swapped our chips for roulette chips, and when I placed some chips on red, my two friends followed and placed them on red with me. We left our winnings on red and won again. I felt we needed a change and moved half of what we had to black, a winner.

I leaned over to Steve, then to Dewey, "Don't bet with me, just bet the color."

I just knew the little ball was going to fall into red seventeen. The croupier smiled at me as he spun the wheel and rolled the ball. I was staring at the ball as it almost fell into black seventeen but moved a notch over to red seventeen. The croupier just looked at the ball with huge wide eyes, while a pit boss came behind him and relieved him.

I leaned over to Dewey, "Don't bet, let me let this ride to see what's up."

Steve looked at me and I nodded. He pulled all of his chips but one. I smiled at the pit boss, now the croupier, and as soon as he spun the wheel, I place my bet on black thirteen. The croupier smiled at me and dropped the ball into the side of the spinning wheel right about the black thirteen trying to guarantee a loser for me. My bet had been for a million Euros.

The ball didn't want to fall into a groove but as I stared at it and watched, the ball actually hopped across several numbers and fell into black thirteen.

The croupier/pit boss' face was livid red. He looked up at me and said, "This table is closed. You might want to leave as you have won entirely too much for just luck."

Dewey said to the man, "You might want to call Pierre Lafonte down here to discuss whether we should leave or not. He might feel lucky enough to get his money back."

The man's face became even redder, "I think you should leave and forget Pierre Lafonte. He wouldn't want to talk to you anyway."

Steve, Dewey, and I left the pit with a rather large entourage following us. Kenny came up to me and said, "Chuck, do you know I've won almost two hundred thousand Euros. Damn, we're on a roll."

I asked Dewey, "What do you think, Dewey, stay here or go somewhere else?"

Dewey said, "I'd love to clean this guy out just because he's obviously doing some things to limit his losses. The French gaming commission will hear of it and investigate. I'll advise my partners to make sure they follow up. Let's cash in and go to another casino."

Once again, a casino cashier gasped at the amount of chips I was cashing in. She even checked with her supervisor who checked with the same pit boss. He could do nothing but tell them to cash us out. We all took our winnings in American Express debit cards. I supposed it wasn't bad to collect these things.

Our next stop was another of Dewey's competitors' casinos. This time, Lisa and Missy wanted to stay with me. I made sure we didn't go crazy with the amounts of our bets and kept our total chips in trays off the table. When we went to the high stakes area, Steve asked, "How about some blackjack before craps."

We kept our bets around the minimum, but consistently won, but that isn't unusual playing blackjack. Pay attention, play by the rules, and you usually come out ahead.

When we swapped to the crap table, we were using a ten thousand Euro chip as a minimum bet. I saw several people lay down million Euro chips, but didn't follow them. When it was Lisa's turn to roll, I laid a million on a natural. Sure enough, Lisa rolled a seven.

I laid my two chips on the eight, son-of-gun, she rolled the eight. I did the thing gamblers usually lose at, and moved two of my million dollar chips to the double fours, box cars. At ten to one on two million, and six to five on ten, I was up over twenty-four million just on this table. Being here like this, winning and winning, was so ridiculous I just knew that someone was going to get squirrely.

A nice looking gentleman was standing next to me and asked me how I thought I might roll. I told him that when the dice were in my hands, I seldom bet anything as I was not lucky when rolling. I tossed a single million Euro chip onto the pass line and rolled craps. I let the two million ride and rolled an eleven, another pass. The next roll I knew was going to get me and rolled snake eyes, so I lost what I had let ride. Luckily, those from our group had not bet with me at the craps table.

As a group, we went to the roulette table. The nice looking man went with us and made sure he was standing next to me. I had changed my chips to roulette chips and immediately hit on red. I let everything ride on red, and hit again. When I moved my chips to black, everyone else, including the guy next to me, moved their chips with me. Son-of-a-gun, the little ball hit a black number.

The minimum bet on this table and the value of each chip was a half-million, so some high rollers could go through their inheritance pretty fast. For my group, we were doing very well. I carefully put two chips on red fourteen, and the rest of my group laid their chips on "Even." When the little ball landed in the red fourteen slot, I could hear the guy next to me let out a sigh. He was watching me and my hands closely, when I said, "This game is too dangerous, how about one more roll and let's get out of here."

I pushed all my chips to black 35 and watched a sweating croupier spin the wheel then send the little ball in the opposite direction. As the wheel slowed, the little ball hopped all over the wheel until it popped up into the air and came down in the black thirty-five slot. The man next to me had followed my lead, but with only two of the chips he had won. His exclamation was repeated by everyone. "Mon Dieu," followed by "Oh merde." The croupier laughed, but I didn't understand. Dewey leaned over to me and told me, "He said 'My God, ' then 'Oh Shit'."

We traded our chips for a slip of paper to be traded for money at the cashier. The nice looking man was still sticking with me, so I was beginning to get a little nervous. I think Lisa felt my concern and was staying directly behind the guy.

On the way to the cashier Dewey held my arm and said, "Do you have any idea how much you won on that last bet? A hundred and forty at thirty five to one is almost five billion. You're gonna get hurt with some taxes but you still are going to leave here with a bundle."

The last bet at that table had been thirty-five to one, on a hundred and forty million Euros. The amount of the winning slip of paper caused the cashier to summon several people to her station and to have an in depth discussion. One of the executive types looked up at me and asked, "Are you through for this evening?"

I told the man, "There is no way I could continue to be this lucky, so I'm going to cash out now to play another day." I noticed the executive in the cashier's window look at the gentleman behind me, and I saw the slight nod from him.

The man gave me ten debit cards explaining that they were worth ten million each, and asked if the casino could direct transfer the balance of the money to an account for me. They advised they withhold the taxes owed to the French government. I dug out the piece of paper that had the transfer numbers and had them to transfer to the new account in the Cayman Islands. The transaction didn't take long and I was given a receipt for the transfer. I pocketed the ten, ten million Euro debit cards, thinking I should probably have the card money transferred to my bank account that Ben handled for me. The net, even after French taxes, was enormous. I guess I should call Ben first to see what he thought I should do. He was going to shit when he finds out how much the total is. I'd keep a few of these cards, but I needed to dump some of the money from these cards where the transfer was going. They too had a big plastic bin for donations for the victims of the New Zealand earthquake. I put one of the cards I had been given into the bin, hoping the ten million Euros would get to the right people.

The other folks changed their winnings for debit cards, as we were leaving the country tomorrow and didn't need a pile of Euros to deal with. We were almost out the door when the nice looking gentleman touched my arm and asked, "Moment, please."

Lisa moved to his back with her hand in her purse where he couldn't see her, but I'm sure he felt her presence. He pulled a badge case from his pocket and showed me a badge I didn't recognize before he said, "You have made quite a name for yourself at a couple of casinos. I watched you very closely to make sure you weren't in collusion with the croupier or boxmen at the craps tables. You are truly lucky, aren't you. Can you think of a reason why you are so lucky?"

The only thing I could think of to say was, "I try to give to charities as often as possible, and help others when I can. It has made me lucky and has enabled me to help even more people than I had originally anticipated."

He asked, "I couldn't help notice you put one of the debit cards into the charity bin. What is the denomination if I may ask?"

I had to think of what it was before telling him, "I'm pretty sure it was one of the ten million cards."

The guy's eyes got so big and round that I thought his eyes would pop out. He said, "I must now turn in all of the money I won while standing next to you as I was on duty. You are indeed a lucky man."

He turned, nodded to Lisa, smiled, and left, preceding us from the casino. As we were getting on the bus, Dewey suggested, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm casinoed out. I've had enough of Chuck winning at everything, following him around, and winning far too much myself. Let's get some sleep and sail in the morning."

There was mutual agreement from everyone, so the driver took us back to the hotel. There, we invited Eduardo back to the suite for a few minutes to settle up. When we asked him how much he needed, he said "The deposit Sue sent me originally has more than covered the expenses and salaries while you were here. Next time, Sue, about half that will be enough. I know you will make it good if I run over."

I had the gift card I had bought for Ed when I bought the individual cards for my women. I gave Ed the card, "Thank you, Ed. Thank you for guiding so many around. I hope we can all come back and have a leisurely trip around Italy to see more of your beautiful country." The man was going to shit when he checked the balance of the card. It was for a hundred thousand Euros. Ed's knowledge and expertise was worth it.

Eduardo left us to enjoy a drink at the bar in the suite. I called Ben to see what he thought about transferring money. It was eleven here, so it would be five in the afternoon back in Tampa. When he answered, I asked, "Ben, Chuck here, I transferred a bunch of money to the account in the Cayman Islands. I need to transfer another large amount of money to somewhere. Should it go to my bank at home, Costa Rica, or to the Virgin or Cayman Islands?"

Ben said, "Let me get you the transfer numbers for the new account in the Caymans. That will be the right place to put what I'm sure are your winnings from the casinos. I even had to put some there as it is just too much for me to conceive having to pay that high a tax rate. I'll check your existing account and move some to the new account if it's too much for a single account."

Ben gave me the transfer number and asked to speak to Beth. I handed my cell to Beth and let her talk to her husband, brother, whatever he was. When she was done, she handed the phone back to me and said, "He wants to talk to you some more."

Ben asked, "How about expanding and remodeling your condo in Costa Rica. The unit next door to you is available and can be picked up really cheap. With your growing family, I thought you might like some more room. What do you think?"

I didn't have to think about it very long, "Sure, go ahead, but get some plans and have the girls out at the park look at them. You know the telephone number of the house out there and you know where my house is. Give them a shot at some planning and design. We're going to the island from here, so you can fly down and meet us if you want. Have the girls take you out to the island on the boat."

I remembered, "Oh yeah, Chanda and Michael are going down there too, but will beat us by several days. They want to do some tourist stuff in the country, but I'm sure they would enjoy your company if you were to go down there early. It's up to you, only you know your schedule."

Ben said, "Thanks, Chuck, I think I'm taking Michael on as a client, so it would be good business to hang out with him a few days. Glad you told me about that. I'll see you in a couple of weeks, or is it closer to three."

"Right at seventeen to eighteen days, Ben. It's almost a six thousand mile trip."

When he hung up, I called the house and Lena answered. When I asked for Brandy or one of the Freaky Five, she said, "They're at their house tonight. They wanted to spend a few days there since you aren't here. When are you coming home?"

I told the long, tall Lena, "Soon; we'll be there in about four to six weeks depending on weather. We're going to stop at the island on the way. If you want to and can get off from school, call Ben Phillips, Sue's dad, and he'll take you with him when he goes. You've met the girls at the condo, so you'll know them and the boat girls. The Irish people with the fancy boat will be there too, but that place should be plenty big enough for everyone."

Lena said, "I'll see if I can get off. If it's not for too long, maybe Tina can come. Can my sister, Tina, come down too? You'll have to pay for our tickets to fly down there, we don't have any money."

"Don't worry about it, Lena, I'm sure Ben can find the money to fly you down."

As soon as I hung up from her, I called the girls' house. Frieda answered, "I'll bet this is Chuck?"

"Yes Ma'am, it is Chuck. How is everyone?"

Frieda said, "None of us have labor pains and we all went to the doctor. Brandy and Tiani had ultrasounds and have almost decided to enlarge and frame the pictures. They even have a video of the ultrasound so you can see the tiny movements and the heartbeat. Those two are really proud of becoming mothers. So when are you coming home?"

"We should be there in about four to six weeks. If you think you might hatch before then, let me know and I'll fly home to be there."

"I'm the farthest along and with twins, I should deliver the earliest, but I still have about eight weeks to go, so you should be alright," Frieda said.

"Frieda," I asked her, "How can it be eight weeks until delivery? I thought you conceived before my trip to Alaska and Hawaii."

She said, "You're right, I did and you left here to go up to Seattle in late August, so I'm due around the end of, oh my, May, that is close. Perhaps you better hurry up and come home if you want to be here for the twins' birth."

I told her, "It's the middle of March now, so I have about six weeks. I'll want to stay around home until all three of you girls deliver and you're set up with everything you need. I may begin spending more time between Tampa and the island down in Costa Rica. We'll see what happens with the people I work for."

Frieda said solemnly, "Chuck, if you don't want to work for those crazy people that are always trying to get you hurt, you know the girls and I have enough money to keep us and you forever. We're not quitting work and I'm sure you can find a lot of other things to make a living at. Think about it, Chuck, I know you have some money, so between us, we would be alright if you wanted to quit."

"Thank you, Frieda, I appreciate the offer. I'll work it out. How about the other girls are any of them around?"

She said, "No, they're at the grocery store. We wanted to stay here, at our house this week, so we needed to get some food in the place. I'll tell them you called and you can call back anytime during the day, our day time, here. Love you, Honey."

I said, "Love you too, Frieda."

Those five are really something. I'll probably never figure them out or feel a hundred percent sure that they will be around next week, or month, probably even tomorrow.

Lisa had a tall glass of scotch for me that I took and sipped. I told her, "I'm going out on the patio to have a talk with my Secret Service contact. I don't know whether it's yours too, but I have a few things to say."

Lisa held up her glass and said, "I'm right there with you. Let's go."

We sat at a table on the patio where I could make the call and still have my drink. The phone at the other end rang only once before being picked up. I told them my name and asked for the division director. No argument about transferring me to him, just a curt, "I'll transfer you."

It was a few seconds before the man said, "Hey, Chuck, how are you?"

I told him the truth, "Not worth a shit. You sicced the CIA on me, and damn near got me and my partner killed. I've told you previously, no CIA and I meant it. If there had not been kids involved, I would have left the whole bunch of them high and dry when I found out who they were. You and I need to have a serious talk when I get back."

He asked, "When are you coming back? Did that problem make you decide to stay away longer?"

"It did, and it will take about that long for the nice wound on my side to heal. My partner probably has a concussion and was damn near killed because the idiot CIA people can't stay with a plan. And, they lie. They say they will do something, then worry about whether it's too dangerous. Not me, no more, never more, that is over."

I could hear the intake of breath, "You were both hurt? I was not informed of that. There is no way I would intentionally send either of you into a situation where there was extreme danger, without personally telling you before you went. You have to believe me, but I didn't know."

The man sincerely asked, "Will you be coming back or are you thinking of ending our relationship?"

"I haven't made up my mind yet, but if you want, you can pick up the Citation down in Tampa. I'll call to have it released and you can put it to use somewhere else."

The guy said, "I can't, the aircraft isn't ours. It's not in our inventory and it would be an unaccounted for asset. You know what Congress would do if they found a private jet unaccounted for, don't you? Heads would roll."

"Then give it to your next guy who wants to do what you had me doing."

"You don't understand, Chuck, when we gave you that aircraft, I told you it was yours and it is still yours. If you want to give it away, you can, but from what I understand of your charter service down in Florida, you might want to keep it around. It's yours; you earned it, so keep it. The thing is still new, not even a year old yet."

I had to say, "Thank you for the aircraft. It's something special, as you probably know. Now I think you might want to speak to Lisa."

Lisa took the phone and she was smiling as she spoke. "If you need to record the call, please turn on your recorder. I want this official," she paused, listening before saying, "Yes, this is serious."

After almost a minute, she said, "This call is the notice of my resignation from the service. I plan on pursuing other future employment. Is that sufficient or do I need to say anything else."

Lisa paused, "Yes, that was the end for me. That was too close, with no time to really plan. That you had Chuck to make some rapid tactical decisions was a lucky break, but I'm not ever going to willingly do that again." Another pause, "Thank you, Sir, I enjoyed working for the service and wish it had turned out better also. Yes sir, if I change my mind, I will call. Goodbye."

Lisa handed the phone back to me with moisture in her eyes, I said, "I'll call you when I get back."

We sat on the patio sipping our scotch, deep in thought for another few minutes before my phone rang, "Johnson."

It was the old friend, the Marshal. "Hey, Chuck, I heard that Lisa resigned from the service, and that you might also. I was promised a full briefing on what transpired over there and can't really talk about it on an unsecure link. Before you get totally out of both services, let me talk to you, please. You might have guessed that I will be losing John soon, as he is ready to kick back with his family and enjoy life for a while. I should probably do the same, but I feel I haven't done everything I should yet. Can we talk about your Deputy Marshal career before you say goodbye?"

"Sure, Marshal. I haven't made up my mind about the Marshal's Service and know it wouldn't be as dangerous as the other. I like my job as Senior Deputy and could continue that, or even go back to being just a regular deputy. You know, something normal, regular, and mostly safe."

The Marshal said, "I understand, Chuck, and know you have sufficient business interests to have a good life outside of the service. Whatever you decide, let's talk about it, okay?"

"We'll do that, Marshal, perhaps down in Costa Rica. I understand you and John enjoyed yourselves down there."

The man said, "That was great. You have a lot going for you down there, Chuck. I can't believe you've helped so many in such a short period of time. You've been lucky with money, but you are sharing your wealth with many. You've been a good man. That's why I want to keep you."

"Okay, Marshal, I'll call you when I get back in about a month to six weeks. We're going to be sailing from Nice, France, to Costa Rica tomorrow."

"Good winds, my young friend, and stay safe. Talk to you soon."

This time it was me that felt melancholy when I hung up. I really like that man and would do most anything he asked. I know John did, too, but even he was now planning his exit strategy.

Sitting back with my nearly empty drink, I asked Lisa, "Is there anyone else I should call?"

Lisa said, "Call the condo girls, and the boat girls. I have the new number for the boat girls. I had them get a cell phone so they could remain in contact with the island, the condo girls, and with us."

I called the condo girls to tell them of the Irish Bell that would be there in about nine to ten days. They told me to be sure to call the boat girls too. I then told them that we were sailing for there tomorrow and would be there in less than three weeks. All of the girls were on speakerphone and were yelling so loud, Lisa and I could not talk back. When they settled down, I told them about purchasing the condo next door and remodeling. I told them that they would have a say in the design, as well as the girls in Tampa. That went over well too, as they excitedly told Lisa and me what they had planned for remodeling the existing condo. They told us that they would now change the plans for more bedrooms and bedroom suites.

Next, I talked to the boat girls to tell them of the visitors and that we were coming too. That excited them to know that we wanted to come visit them. When they knew Lisa could hear them, they talked to her about a variety of issues only women would talk about. Another of the girls was thinking of accepting a proposal to get married, but had not made up her mind yet. She told Lisa, "The man is not as macho as Chuck, and not nearly as desirable, but he accepts me for what has happened before and shares my desire to have babies. I would like that."

Lisa told her, "It will be your decision, but be sure the man is a good man, respectful of women and a good family man. Can he support you? Does he have a home to move you into? All of those things, and most important, 'Do you care for him enough to live the rest of your life with him?'"

That's when she said, "Yes, to everything you asked, Lisa. He lives on Chuck's new island and has a home with the big garden that he shares as well as many animals for food. He has saved his money and wants to offer a large dowry for me. I think it should be the other way for someone like me. I do care for him, but we have not been together like that yet. I'm making him wait. Do you think I should let us do that?"

Lisa was grinning, "Don't do anything unless you really want to. If it would be better traditionally to wait, then wait." Then Lisa surprised me, "If you want, have the wedding when we get there so Chuck can give you away if your parents can't be there." Lisa listened before she said, "Oh, that's too bad. Yes, I'm glad the man is gone as well."

Lisa hung up and said, "I think she'll tell him yes in the time it takes the boat to get out to the island. Be assured you will be giving another of your boat girls away." Lisa paused, "She told me that the first Martinelli killed her parents because they wouldn't sell her. I'm glad the man is gone."

I said, "Thanks for talking to her. I know she feels better about telling me through you, rather than having to tell me on her own. Now, one more, Mark."

When Mark answered, I said, "Hey, Mark, how is it going?"

Mark said, "I'm trying to spend your money faster than you can win it on the Riviera. Tiny said you were cleaning them out over there, so I'm going whole hog down here."

I asked, "So what have you done now?"

Mark said, "You called at the exact right time. Carolyn and I are out on the porch enjoying the nice ocean breeze up here on the hill. We're just about halfway done with the runway. As a matter of fact, one of the oil people had to set down on the lower runway with their big tire airplanes. The runway is still mostly just graded rock right now, but the paving is in process now. Anyway, the boat girls were hired to ferry mechanics out here to fix the plane, so even they are earning their keep. I think they are chartering at least two fishing trips a week. Oh, and I think one of the girls is getting along with one of the young men out here. There has been a lot of travel back and forth, so I think you should plan on a wedding one day soon."

The man was full of information, "Chuck, I've gone ahead and begun building some houses on the other side of the big hill. There are several nice home sites that will be perfect for the workers you're going to have down here. This way, they will have nice homes and their families with them all the time and be better workers. You know you're going to need to have several permanent staff here. You'll need to have someone for the airport, or rather the runway, hangars, and operations building."

I said, "Hold it, Mark, did you say hangars as in plural?"

You could tell Mark was smiling, "I did say hangars, as we've built two so far. That should be enough for a while, but if you fly in here with a big plane, you're going to want to hangar it. You'll probably want to keep an aircraft or two out here for everyday use. I've built, or rather am in the process of building, a smooth taxiway and ramp from the end hangar to the water so you can have a float plane. The dock for it is already built, and I've talked to the yacht club. They are making separate dock space for us. Like I said, Chuck, I'm spending your money. You said anything goes, so it's going."

I was smiling at Mark's enthusiasm, as he continued, "The operations building is a little big because I'm planning on having an R&D center down here. I can't putter around unless I have somewhere to do it. There are a lot of ideas I need to work on."

"Okay, that sounds good. What else?"

Mark had handed the phone to Carolyn and she said, "You won't believe what Mark is building me. He has most of it done and let me design it myself. He has our dream retirement home almost built. You're going to love it."

Mark still had a grinning voice when he got back on the phone, "We built another group of wind towers so we can support the new demand for power we're going to have. However, we may have a cheaper way for some of our needs."

There was a long pause, "Mark, are you going to let me in on your secret?"

He said, "Actually, it's going to be your secret, so you won't want this spread around. The geologist that I had down here to evaluate the runway land, did the surveys for the other buildings, and for the new farm land we need for the increased amount of people and animals here. He wanted to do a test, so we brought a bunch of equipment out here and now have two capped natural gas wells. We have to pipe the gas to all of the homes and bypass all of the big tanks the people use for cooking and hot water now. That discovery is going to save the island at least about two to three hundred grand a year. The man says there's sufficient pressure to let him know there is enough gas for hundreds of years, and we could probably sell some if we want. I don't want to tell anyone about our find, because I have a couple of deals for you. Want to hear about them?"

When Mark finished telling me about his deals, I was shocked. Then I wondered that even with all my wealth, if I would have enough money for a deal this big. I told Mark, "Call Ben. Tell him to use the lawyer down there to find out if we can do the deal. Tell him that I said to make it happen if he can, as this may be a really big deal."

Mark said, "So, can I continue to spend your money or are you going to be short?"

"Keep making the place into a real haven for all of the inhabitants, Mark. We'll see you in about three weeks or a little less and stay for at least a week. If you would, make sure the big dock is dredged enough for my big boat as we'll be tying up there. Put the island's big motor launch over by the service docks while I'm there. I'll call you when we're a day out."

Mark laughed, "Already done, Boss. We dredged it out as it was easier to drive vehicles off the barges where the big dock is. We've built a second dock down there as well, but it is about a hundred fifty feet instead of the seventy-five that's there now."

"Wow, Mark, that was probably a big deal. How many men do you have down there?"

Mark chuckled, "Right this minute, we only have about sixty, but we were up to a little over a hundred for a couple of weeks. Terrel isn't having any trouble getting people to come down to work on the place. All of his men love it down here and beg to stay. We have five dozen of those FEMA trailers and the men and couples are doing fine. What we are soon going to need is a good sewage plant. With all of these people, we're creating a lot of crap and need to refine it and use it on the fields. It's going to be that or we'll have to use the natural gas to burn it. What do you think, want to look into that?"

I said, "Do it quick, Mark, before you ruin the land with runoff from septic tanks."

He said, "I figured you would say that and have had an engineering study done. The opportunity I told you about may affect what we do here, but maybe not. We might want to keep that separate."

"Wow, Mark, you have a lot going on and a lot to do yet. Every time you do one thing, you find some more to do. I worry that you don't hurt yourself physically or overwhelm the people that live there."

Mark said, "I do too, and constantly caution the guys about how they interact with the people here. So far, no problems, but that's because you own the place. You and Steve have some kind of magic "get-a-long" potion that is injected into people you associate with. Just keep pumping it in and we'll all get along. As for me, I'm doing great."

"Okay, Mark, if you hear anything else or have some more news, call me. Be sure to call Ben. It's not too late to call him now, and I know he's home thinking about coming down to Costa Rica, so call him."

"Got it, Boss, talk to you soon."

I sat back sipping the new drink Lisa had brought me. She smiled at me and asked, "Is your island going to be more important than being a Deputy?"

Nodding, I said, "Maybe."

Steve came out and said, "You sure have Ben riled up. He's called back twice telling me your phone was busy. I told him you were having some serious conversations and would call him. You better do it or he'll be calling you in the middle of the night."

I pushed the buttons for his contact number, but it went to voicemail so he was on the phone. I waited five minutes and dialed again. When Ben answered, I asked, "Steve said you needed me, what's up?"

Ben sounded confused, "Chuck, I just got off the phone with Mark. If what he's telling me about the opportunity there is true, I have to ask, what the hell are you planning on doing?"

"Don't worry about it, Ben, just go see if I can afford it. Put your dealing shoes on and make a deal. So what else did you want me for?"

"Afford it?" Ben laughed. "With what you deposited in the Caymans you could buy Costa Rica."

Ben said, "A couple of things. First, how much more do you think you might be depositing in the Caymans?"

I said, "I think around two point six."

Ben was gasping, "Million?"

"No, billion,, you know we did well in the casinos."

"My God, Chuck, you and all of your family along with Steve and all of his could retire just from gambling. Anyway, I need you to put money in Costa Rica. At least half, and put the other half in your Tampa account. We'll get stuck with a lot of taxes, but you've reached your limit in the British Virgins and I know you are overloading the Cayman bank with that deposit and because of the gold mine thing. I'm trying to find a bunch of investments to dump money into, but you have, or we have a lot of money to invest right now. The oil money is almost all back here in the states and that's going to cost us six tons in taxes, the same as in Mexico, a lot of taxes. You'll still have at least a third left, and that is a hell of a lot of money. I'll move money around to as many non-taxable off shore accounts I can. Don't win any more okay? I just don't know what to do with it all."

I could tell Ben was putting himself together, when he asked, "Do you have the two transfer numbers?"

I pulled my wallet to find my little card with the Costa Rica transfer number and the Tampa main account number. I asked, "Should it go into my personal account or the business account?"

Ben told me, "Business, you don't need it to live on, so put it in the business operating account so I can get at it for this crazy deal you have going. I need to see if I can use the deal to offset some of these damn taxes. I'll start on everything tomorrow and let you know. You know Mark is probably spending your money faster than I had thought you can luck into it. What's he doing down there?"

"Mark is making the island habitable, Ben. Mark and I have a long range plan." I really didn't have a long range plan, but it was better to tell Ben that than for him to bitch and moan about Mark and my spending habits. Wait until he finds out Lisa and I each earned about two hundred grand from the shows, and will probably easily see that much from recording royalties.

Now I was off the phone for what I hoped was for the rest of the evening. It was not to be as the phone rang. When I answered, "Johnson," the easily recognizable voice said, "I need a favor and it isn't even a big one."

"What's up, John? I hear you may abandon ship?"

"Trying to, Chuck. It's time for me to retire for real. It's really been you that has convinced me to take a different path. Of course, my wife and her sister have had a lot of to with it too."

I asked, "So what can I do for you, John?"

John said, "Do you want to trade my house up here for your Key West place?"

I told him, "Not really, what would I do with your place?"

"Easy, man, live in it," John said. "The Marshal said he was going to do everything he could to get you to move up here, so the house is yours if you want. He just told me you were thinking of leaving the service. What's up?"

"First, John," I said, a little aggravated, "I'm not moving to DC or anywhere near there so I don't need your house. Second, your place up there is probably worth twice as much as the house in Key West. If you want to buy it, have it appraised and buy it. You and I know you can afford it, but you might want something bigger."

John said, "Don't want anything bigger. We've been down there several times and found that it is perfect for us. The women will have to dump some clothes as there isn't a lot of closet space, but down there, we won't need as much. Come on, Chuck, what do you want for it?"

"John, just have it appraised and I'll sell it to you for ten percent under the appraised value. Use the ten percent to move and make any mods you need. Just go and enjoy, my friend."

There was a pause before he said, "I figured you would say something like that. We did have a couple of realtors do an appraisal. I'll use the higher of the two figures and work with that number. Who will handle the title stuff for us?"

"Here, John, let me give you his telephone number. You have met Ben before. He's in Tampa, but has contacts and an attorney that he works with down there. I'll tell him to get it done. List your place up there and sell it to someone who wants to be a part of that rat race."

John was happy, "Thanks, Chuck, you won't regret this. You can come visit anytime."

"John, that place is a small three bedroom with two baths and that's it. A carport and no garage. How is it going to be big enough?"

"Don't worry, Chuck, we're packing to move right now and I have a plan and it will be perfect for there. Besides, we'll spend all of our time either in the pool or in bed. Tell me there is something better."

I dryly said, "Flying."

John laughed, "I suppose, but even though I've taken all of those lessons, it just isn't that appealing. Thanks, Chuck, I'll talk to you when the deal is going down."

This time I shut the phone off. It seems as if I had spent the last three hours on the phone. It had only been a little over an hour, but it was too much.

That's when I remembered, there was money in the bank safe-deposit box down in Key West. I'll have to get that out of there or I'll forget it and forfeit it for forgetting to pay the rental. That made me wonder whether or not I had paid the rent recently. I had paid the rest of them up for several months, so that one was probably okay as well. I would have to make the trip and take care of the problem. I couldn't remember what all was in that box, but I remembered I left a lot in there.

The families had mostly gone to bed, so I followed my ladies into ours. We were all tired and I was feeling a little delicate, as was Lisa. There was a lot of snuggling before we were all dreaming of being back on the water.

Primary Editing by Pepere
Proofing and Continuity by Sagacious
European tours, by Rotorhead
Another set of eyes – Knight6
Last one through - Deenara2000