Chuck
For me to not sleep well means there is a crisis. I guess there were many crises going on. It was just after five, but I was wide awake, so I slipped from bed, used the bathroom, mounted my peg and went outside to relax by forming for a few minutes.
I was concerned about getting the cash and gold down to Ben in Costa Rica. If I could get out of here with all of it, I could leave here and fly direct. I might have to pull some tricks in Costa Rica to get the stuff to a bank, but I figured I could get it done, either all at once or over a couple of days. This way, I could move as much as I wanted into the new investment fund. Ben had told me he had an offshore investment fund that he was doing fairly well with, but he didn't have a ton of money in it yet. I don't know how much there is to take down there, but there might be a ton of money in all that gold and cash.
There was too much of it to transport in one trip, so I was planning on at least two, or perhaps, three trips. The gold is really heavy and needed to be carried with some of the cash at the same time so a bag wouldn't be so heavy.
I thought to myself, as I stretched into a position, 'Each two hundred pounds of gold would be worth about a million.' Would that be right? When I checked prices, the hundred gram bars were worth over eleven hundred, so the thousand gram bars should be worth eleven thousand. So it takes around two hundred pounds of gold per a million. I had counted a few drawers and think there was about six hundred pounds of gold so that would be three million. In those same drawers there were over six hundred bundles of money and those were twenty bundles to the million, so that's over thirty million. I'd get it done and get it down there, but it would take a couple of trips.
The money was becoming just something that I didn't value. I did value the new house we were getting. I valued the aircraft out at the airfield. I thought the new sailboat would be really nice but, what I really valued were those women sleeping in the house.
I brought my stretching to a close and walked back into the house. Lisa was sitting at the counter with a cup of coffee and poured another for me. She said, "You looked deep in thought so I let you do your forms by yourself this morning. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, just some odds and ends that I'm trying to straighten out in my mind."
Lisa got up and snuggled into me. She said softly, "Thank you for wanting to bring momma and the girls down here. I know she'll be happier when she gets down here. You know she's going to baby all of us. She'll want to cook for us all the time and try to do everything. We'll have to make her just be a busybody in her own cottage."
"She'll be fine," I said. "When she meets all the ladies, she'll be happy to cook with them and join them in their card games and gab sessions."
Lisa asked, "What do you have for today? I may not have to fly as one of the charters cancelled."
"I need to talk to Steve this morning then do a few things at the office. I'm going to run out there real quick so I can catch him for breakfast. Want to come with me?"
Lisa answered, "No, I'll stay here for a while. I need to straighten out my clothes in the closet and drawers now that I've transferred into your room. You know the girls have moved most of their clothes over here too. I can't believe your closet and drawers hold everything for six of us."
Lisa joined me in taking a shower, then waking up the girls so they could get to work. I said goodbye to them and drove to the park.
I was telling Steve that I felt pressured of late because of so many things happening at the same time. He just kept saying he would help, and that it was good that I was becoming more a part of S&S. He even talked about me owning part of the fixed wing air charter service.
We agreed he would have John and a couple of crewmen go to Magellan down in Miami and pick up the new boat. That would take care of a major worry. I'd love to go on the boat's initial cruise, but I needed to get Ben and the money down to Costa Rica.
While I was having coffee with Steve, my cell rang. It was Ben who said, "How about going to Costa Rica today. Beth and I want to go down there to check out that big condo next to us that's for sale. We want you to buy it. If you do, then Sue and the kids could come down for a weekend sometimes. Anyway, what do you think?"
I told Ben, "I can pick you up by noon or one. What do you think?"
Ben said, "How about two to two thirty."
When told him, "I'll meet you at the airpark about two then."
As soon as I hung up, I realized I really didn't know where he was. I called him back and asked him, "Ben, where are you?"
Ben said, "At your place in Key West. Beth and I have had a great time. That beach resort is a great place for meals. We've been down there everyday visiting with people."
"Okay, Ben, I'll meet you at the private aircraft operations terminal at around two. See you then."
Steve was sort of laughing again as he said, "Ben and Beth are really moving around lately. He told me he was staying at a house that you have use of down there. I thought he would stay at our hotel. Sue says her mother liked the house."
After saying goodbye to everyone, I drove to the house to pick up an overnight case for me and all the extra suitcases I had purchased, and then I went by Wal-Mart to get four more. At the bank, I cleaned out two safe deposit boxes and filled up eight suitcases. They were heavy, but manageable. My concern was to keep them from being so heavy with the gold that the seams of the suitcases would split. The cheap cases were surprisingly strong. I had a neat little folding hand truck that I was able to haul the cases to the car with.
I brought the last six suitcases in and only cleaned out one more drawer that was stuffed almost too full of cash and gold. That would leave two big drawers, but I would take care of those another trip.
Out at the airpark, I was stuffing suitcases into the reduced cargo area when my cell rang. It was Steve, "How about flying your girls, me, John, Mercy, and a couple of crewmen down to Miami. I talked to Ben and he said he would take a commuter up if you didn't want to make two stops."
I said, "That's how many people?"
Steve said, "Your girls, Mercy, John, two crewmen, and me."
I thought a second and said, "Okay, that's ten. A couple will have to use the seatbelts on the couch. Since the modification, the aircraft usually only sits eight, with a jump seat for a stewardess when we need one. Come out anytime. I'm already getting the Lear ready."
When everyone showed up, there was an extra person, Lisa. Well, Steve or Lisa would have to ride up front with me. When each group arrived, I quickly loaded their duffel bags myself so they wouldn't notice all the suitcases in the compartment. I had to do a quick mental calculation to make sure I wouldn't be overweight.
I had a thought; we should have a large scale area like trucks use so we could weigh aircraft before takeoff to make sure of the gross weight. That would be a great double check.
We didn't have any trouble getting off the ground and we were quickly landing in Miami. I got the bags out of the compartment for the folks, and received lots of hugs and kisses from everyone.
Mercy got me off to the side and asked, "What's going on, Chuck? I can tell you're concerned about something. Let me in, Chuck, maybe I can help."
"It's just something that I need to do, Mercy. I need to take care of this and get on with life. Enjoy the boat ride and let me get this done."
She said to me, "Chuck, if you get into a situation that you need to control, use your gift. It can be powerful. You can influence people, Chuck. You can suggest to them to think the way you want. Keep that in mind."
She gave me hug and seemed satisfied with my answers. Now I just had to get to Key West and then out of there with no hassles. I sure hoped everything would go okay as I was using the painted up aircraft as some additional cover. Since the S&S aircraft had often been to Costa Rica, I figured they might overlook the plane during an inspection.
It was not quite one thirty when I landed in Key West. I had radioed for the fuel truck and was topping off the fuel when Ben and Beth came from the operations building, carrying just two small bags. Beth said, "Don't you just love being down here. All you need is shorts and a swimsuit. We didn't even wear those while we were at the house. Rosie was very cool about our nudity around the house. We tipped her and it was from us, not you. We'll be coming back down here."
The two stayed in the passenger area and sampled the liquor in the bar. I was glad I had filled the ice bucket. The trip is just about three hours, but I was thinking of just about every scenario that could be a problem during that three hours. The one thing I hoped for was that I was not going to embarrass Steve or his company.
After we set down in Costa Rica, a customs man came out to the aircraft to greet us. Ben knew the man and greeted him. They shook hands warmly and the man checked out the cockpit and passenger area of the aircraft. I had opened the cargo hatch and was pulling out a suitcase when the customs man came back to take a look.
Thinking of what Mercy had told me, I thought hard, "Tell this man to have a good time here. Tell this man to enjoy being in Costa Rica. Tell this man you want to be his friend like Ben Phillips." I kept thinking those thoughts over and over.
The customs official smiled at me and said, "Enjoy being in Costa Rica, Mr. Johnson, please, come stay with us for a while."
I said, "I have to go back home and come back today or tomorrow, but I plan on possibly buying a home here."
That took the man away from the cargo hatch. He really had not looked into the hatch, only approached it. Beth had called a taxi and it was a Chrysler Town and Country van. While Ben talked with the customs man, I unloaded fourteen big suitcases putting them into the back of the van.
I left the aircraft open for more inspections. The customs man protested, but I said, "Hey, that's what you do. I'll leave it open for right now. I'll be back to leave shortly."
Ben and I went to Beth's and his condo, then took a quick look at the condo he wanted me to purchase. The place was really big. The man who had lived there had been some kind of super rich playboy. He was selling the place fully furnished with a huge round bed that was actually bigger than my bed at home. I might want to change some of his colors, since I'm not big on red and black bedrooms. I told Ben, "Buy it. Have Beth make the bedroom more presentable and maybe figure out how we can modify it so Steve and his family can all stay in it at the same time. How many maids do you have to have to keep something like this up?"
Beth said, "We have two, but they are so inexpensive. Two maids are less than having your lawn cared for back home."
Ben and I left to go to the bank. Ben went in and made arrangements for some help to carry the suitcases in. Ben said to the banker, "This isn't all of it. We'll have the rest by tomorrow. Now, we need to count this and deposit it. As far as the gold, let's just put that into a safe deposit box for right now. We can convert some later, perhaps when everything is brought down."
As the banker and four tellers began counting, Ben said, "Take twenty of those gold bars out. That will be a little over two hundred thousand. You'll use about a hundred for the condo and you can have a separate account here with another hundred. You'll need it to buy food, pay for your maid service, and all of that. The place may need some maintenance, and you do have a monthly fee, just like condos back home. You do get a discount if you pay by the year. We do that with ours."
Instead of twenty, I counted out thirty and said, "Let me have a bigger account for right now. I may come down often for a while. My boss may even want to use a place down here."
After watching the folks count money for a while, I asked, "Do we need to stay to watch them count?"
Ben said, "No, they are wonderfully trustworthy, a great bank. You'll enjoy doing business with them. They were the ones who handled all the transactions for Steve when we made a big oil deal in Mexico several years back. I've used them since for all of my off shore investments."
We took the thirty bars of gold to be weighed and converted to the local currency. Ben and I both signed signature cards for each account and then left to take Ben home. When we got to his condo, Beth had the local real estate representative there with four very attractive and very sexily dressed young ladies.
The real estate rep, who was a woman, asked me if I was really interested in the property. I said I certainly was and wanted to go ahead with the purchase. Ben took over for a while and negotiated what I thought was a price so low that it was stupid. The agent thought it was a wonderful price.
When they were done haggling, the agent had the four ladies stand, "These are the maids from the apartment. They would like to give you a tour of your new home in Costa Rica. They were well trained by the former owner as to how to take care of the man of the house."
Beth was sniggering, almost choking, from holding back a giggle. As one of the four girls took my hand and said, "Please, let us show you how nice your new home will be."
I waved at Ben and Beth saying, "Come on, come along. They must know more about the place than we saw before."
Ben burst out laughing. I asked, "What's up? What are you two laughing at?"
Beth came and pulled me down so she could whisper in my ear, "They are trained to be your sexual toys, as well as maids. They are going to show you how nice you will have it when you are here."
I stood up straight and said to the agent and Beth, "Come along with me so they won't try to get me to do something I don't want to do."
The agent said, "They will do to you what they wish in front of anyone. If you don't wish to do something, tell them. They will mind. You may have to give them something to let them know they are not repulsive to you."
As we toured the apartment, the girls took turns holding my hands and rubbing my arms with their chests. By the time we went up the big stairway to the bedroom area, I was getting excited, but was still determined to put the girls straight about my abstinence from their favors.
In the big bedroom, I sat the four very attractive girls on the bed and said, "I have a wonderful family at home with attractive women I consider my wives. Please don't be upset, but I am faithful to them, and will only be intimate with them."
The agent translated what I said so they would hear it in their language too. All four looked a little disappointed, and one said, "But you are here and they are there. I see you are interested in us, or is it the two other ladies. Let us help you with the interest you're showing."
I smiled and said, "How could I not be affected by your beauty? I still only wish to be intimate with my ladies back home." I took out some cash from my coat pocket and handed each lady a hundred dollar bill. "Please, take this as my appreciation for what you wanted to do for me or with me, whatever. When my ladies come down, you will like them and hopefully you will still wish to continue helping me keep this home as nice as possible."
The four looked at their hundred dollar bills and gasped. Then all at once, they were off the bed and hugging me, kissing my face and cheeks. The one said, "Now we want to show you our gratitude more than we wanted to welcome you to your new home. Please, Sir, let us."
I did separate myself from the lovely ladies and said, "I must make a hasty trip back home. I may see you again tomorrow, but please remember that we will be great friends, but not lovers."
The agent was almost laughing when we left, and said "Those four just received more than many months of wages as a gift. You know you do have to buy them clothes. The next time you get them clothes to wear, you might choose less revealing outfits."
Beth said, "Ben would have never resisted. Those four are very attractive. I would have enjoyed watching you take them all on. You could have, you know. The agent and I might have even joined in."
I laughed and said, "Darn, I didn't even think of that."
We were laughing as we entered Ben's and Beth's condo. I told the agent, "Ben will make arrangements for the money to be transferred and will set up something so you can manage the condo and the staff. If any of them leave, I don't think it takes four to keep the place up. I think two would be more than enough. I'll let my ladies decide that at another time."
After a hug from Beth and a surprising hug from the agent, I shook hands with Ben and said, "I'll call you from the aircraft before landing back here. Meet me with the same cab so we can get to the bank. I should be here between noon and one. It's too late today to get back and still get to the bank."
Back at the airport, I filed the international flight plan, made sure the fuel was topped off, and called for the customs agent to check the plane before taking off. I shook hands with the agent then began my startup.
While getting ready to depart, I was thinking how convenient it is for the international language for air travel to be English. I was also glad for having the experience flying the charters to Europe, as I knew how to file the flight plan.
About three hours later, I was in Miami getting my customs inspection. The customs officer even dug through my travel bag. They used a dog to walk through the aircraft and released me. I refueled and headed home.
At the airpark, I told the night clerk that I would be using the same aircraft tomorrow, and that there were no maintenance issues.
On the way home, I stopped at the trailer park and had supper with Sue, Kathy, and Juanita. We were joking that I had traded my ladies to Steve for them. They were bragging that I had made the better deal. Tiny was teasing, "Hell, he not only gets you guys, he gets all these other women as well."
After supper and a beer with the guys, I headed home. There were two Wal-Marts on the way home and I bought all of the suitcases in the size I needed. I hope they recognized their recent sales of suitcases were an anomaly and not a trend. I figured eight more suitcases should hold everything I needed to take to Costa Rica.
When I got home, Tina and Lena were having some ice cream in the family room while watching TV. I joined them and they were talking about how neat it was going to be to have a big boat. I mentioned that we might go out on it for a weekend soon and they were both anxious to make a trip. Lena asked me, "Could I ask mom and dad to come along. My sister Tina will want to come to, I'm sure."
I told them, "Sure, we'll plan some weekends and make sure they get a chance to spend a night or two on board."
When I went into the bathroom to brush and wash, I was alone in the bedroom but when I came back out, there were two heads on pillows in the middle of the big bed. Tina asked, "Can Lena and I spend the night cuddled to you? She promises she won't do anything. I won't promise that, though."
We did kiss a lot for a long while. Tina's hand found my interest under the covers, and Lena did what was asked. When I turned to my side to hug Tina's back, the long Lena snuggled up to me and kissed my neck. She had her arm holding me, while Tina worked to fit me into her. Tina turned her head to kiss me and said, "Stay still now, we all need to sleep."
Morning found me on my back, with a very intense Tina slowly moving up and down. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was open in an "O," as she filled herself completely before she would rise and then slide back down.
Just as she was clutching me internally with an orgasm, Lena leaned over me and stuck a nipple in my mouth. The uniqueness of the act had me squirting into Tina as Lena shuddered in a climax with us.
Lena pulled her nipple from my mouth and kissed me, then Tina. She said, "That was so good. I think I felt everything Tina did just now. If you do that with me every now and then, Chuck, I promise to be good and leave you be."
I gathered the long beauty in my arms and hugged her. Although Tina was still planted on me, Lena was hugging me and received some nice kisses. Tina lay down and got into the kisses as well. She said, "I needed that last night, but I think I liked it even more this morning. Come on; let's get some laps in for some exercise."
I said, "How about a half hour in the gym, then some laps?"
That got groans, but we did exercise in the gym for a half-hour, then moved out to the pool for some strenuous laps. When we had drifted to the shallow side with the steps, Lena said, "You know, now that Bobby's officially married to that creep, you can be my friend and visit with mom, dad, and Tina. The twins would be very happy to see you, and I know my brothers like you. When I talk to Michelle, she always asks how you are. You know you are still a friend to all of us, even if you won't keep me as one of your wicked women."
I laughed, "Wicked woman, huh? What kind of wicked would you be?"
"As wicked as you'd let me. That's what I would be."
"Oh, Lena, you are so beautiful, I don't know how you resist all those good looking young guys that I'm sure are chasing you."
Tina said, "In her defense, you are good looking, keep us very nicely, and we don't have to listen to their childish come-ons. Their lines are from hunger. You wouldn't believe how crude most guys are."
Lena said, "Do you know that yesterday, some guy actually asked if he could bring a ladder and fuck me. He just came up to me and said that, as if I would even be interested. That's what I get all the time. Assholes. If some guy were to really be nice and ask me to go get a Coke or something, I would probably go, but crap like these drooling dimwits spew, is not appealing. That's why I'm in my second semester of martial arts. I exercise every day and spar constantly so I can do to these guys what you did to rock brain Rocky horror."
I had to laugh at the Rocky horror reference. I'd bet that came from her mom or Michelle, as Lena is too young to remember the Rocky Horror picture show.
We had a quick breakfast and the two ladies got ready to leave for classes. Tina said she had an evening rotation tonight and probably wouldn't finish until after midnight. She said, "Their three to eleven-thirty is more like three to two-thirty or three, but then, this isn't as bad as the next step. Internship will be really tough. I'll really be proud to be there though."
They left and I was setting the alarms when Wanda came into the kitchen. She was dressed, ready for work. She said, "John called yesterday and wants to talk to you. He's busy doing something and says it's a real bonus for you. Don't know what it is, but he was excited."
Looking at my watch, I figured he was still at home or possibly being driven to work. I poured myself another cup of coffee and dialed his cell. "This is Chuck. What's up, John?"
"Hey, you lucky fucker. You not only get the brass ring for having possession of the aircraft before we found the money, but you are in for a big bonus from the service for the cash that was found in the other six guys' places. Since you took care of the six that were scaring the shit out of most of the hotshots up here, you are now removed from the permanent shit list to that of renowned and exalted one. Notice that we're not even talking on secure phones."
John was excited and said, "Anyway, they are trying to funnel some of the findings to you. I tried to tell them that anyone who would pass up taking over thirty million one time before, wouldn't want anything special, but they are insisting. It is on the QT that they are doing this, but they are going to give you a million dollar bonus, and have the IRS forget that you have it. Someone said that you are being, I think the word is exempted, from any examination for a while so you can absorb some of your bonus. Just report your normal stuff and they won't peer into your soul."
"That's cool, John. I had my lawyer, the money guy, find those explosives out on the beach and turn them in this past week. The locals were all excited about explosives washing ashore. I've had all the guns run, and they are all clean. I'll clean them out of there over the next few months and sell them to gun stores. I'll have those nasty little twenty-twos melted down or something. You know that I've got nine of them now. They must be cheaper by the dozen."
John said, "That's good that you're taking care of all of that. The cleanup guys from the Secret Service are getting fat from those seven. You should have taken the houses apart yourself. I've heard some stories about a lot of bonuses coming from their investigations."
I said, "Like you said, John, I'll never spend it all. But then I am looking for a big airplane. That might take a few mil."
John said, "We might confiscate something big. If we do, I'll let you look at it. The Service might just give it to you. Like I said, you are the golden boy right now. Those guys were making a lot of people very scared. The pressure is off and the Bureau has brought in all the folks that were putting up the money. We're getting lots of properties from these guys too. They have a couple of Rolls Royces that just came in. Want one?"
"No way, John. I've got a good Chevy to drive. With the nicer paint job and wheels that were put on it, the car looks pretty good too. Well, you know, you rode in it."
John laughed, "You're still driving that car that was shot up?"
"Sure, I just had the holes patched and had them give me a neat paint job so it doesn't look like a cop car anymore."
"I just wanted to tell you, that you're getting a bonus from the Secret Service and the IRS is going to let you skate on it. Everyone made the deal so you are good on it. Otherwise, they would have had to give you over three million to get you one. I told them you were pretty well fixed, but they wouldn't hear of it. They still can't believe you did in a couple of days what ten of their men couldn't get done in two months. The Secret Service wants to put you on, but I told them you were already in their quiet black outfit out west. That shut them up."
I said, "John, I may have a neat place for you, and even the Marshal, to go visit. I'll let you know when I get back from Costa Rica. I put a bid in for a place next to my banker down there. It's pretty fancy and comes with four of the sexiest maids you'll ever see."
John laughed, "So the plot thickens and you're getting an offshore place now, huh?"
"Just an opportunity that I'm checking out, something that I can turn if I ever need the money. It's also a neat place to go to for some relaxation time."
"Well, my friend," John said, "I'll be interested in taking you up on the offer of a visit. I'll tell the Marshal so he can begin planning. He's thinking of another visit to the Keys."
"Anytime, as the place is always ready. Go down and have some beach time."
John finished the call, "The Marshal and I may need to speak to you this weekend. Keep your phone on, okay?"
"I'll do that, John. Talk to you later."
That was strange; John was talking about a lot of stuff that should only be mentioned on a secure connection, or under secure conditions. Something is up on that. It's as if he wanted to be heard and wanted someone to hear what had happened. It's his bag; I'll let him play those cards the way he wants.
Back at the bank, I was able to clean out one drawer completely but only about two thirds of the other. I figured that leaving about six or eight dozen bars of gold in a drawer along with about twenty-five bundles of cash wouldn't be bad. I might need cash sometimes around here. I hauled my eight bags to the car and headed to the airpark.
I loaded the plane, along with my overnight bag, and began a preflight. Jimmy came out and asked how the flight was. I told him I didn't need the new tanks, but it was good to have them. I checked weather and filed my international flight plan. I called for a customs inspection and was given the go ahead. They know S&S is a charter company and usually don't hassle them.
This was a different flight path, as I was flying direct to Costa Rica from Tampa. It was still right at three hours. When I was about a half hour out, I used the satellite phone to call Ben. I told him that I would be in at twelve thirty and he corrected me, "Ten thirty, my friend. We're two hours behind Tampa. I'll see you at the airport and distract the customs official."
When I landed, I was sent to the nearest parking position to the operations building. The customs guy showed up about the time Ben pulled up. The two were yakking away as I unloaded my eight suitcases. I left everything open, offering to have the customs agent check out the plane. He glanced at the suitcases in the van as I kept saying to him mentally, "Tell the man to enjoy living here, tell him you're glad he's moving in, tell the man you are happy to be his neighbor, tell the man to enjoy living here."
The guy did shake my hand and say, "I'm sure glad you're moving here
or at least have a home here. We are happy to have you. Please come
often and enjoy your stay." I'll have to tell Mercy that her suggestion
worked.
Ben and I drove straight to the bank where the official was happy that I only had eight full suitcases. When I told Ben that I left some in a safety deposit box, he couldn't believe it. I said, "Hey, I just cleaned out what I could find. There might be more and I didn't clean out what some other men had. I'm even getting a bonus for giving so much to the services."
Ben said, "I don't know what you do, really, but it must be very important for you to come out ahead like this. You are really wheeling and dealing. I have a place for you to dock your boat down here. I bought you a berth at a very exclusive yacht club. Now Steve and Sue can use the place and they can even have their charters stop in to use the facilities. The monthly upkeep at the club is cheap and you need the exposure. You're going to be considered a big investor down here. Come see what Beth has done to your condo."
We drove back to Ben's condo, then walked to my new one. Beth was with a couple of women who were directing workers who were putting up different drapes and refinishing the bedroom. The big room had been re-carpeted since last night. Beth came to me and gave me a hug and said, "I've made this room into a room that can be enjoyed by both men and women. I had the decorator come over last night and they began right away. Don't you just love the way these people get right to it?"
"I'm impressed, Beth. Between you and Ben, you're making this place more appealing every minute."
About that time, one of the girls, or maids, came strolling into the bedroom carrying a tray with some cups on it. She smiled sweetly and said, "Master Chuck, Miss Beth said you liked strong coffee. This is some of my country's best coffee beans. Please enjoy."
My eyeballs must have been bulging, as Beth whispered, "Down boy. I've had to threaten to neuter Ben if he didn't quiet down."
The young lady was wearing an extremely skimpy thong bikini while prancing in on very high heels. Holy shit, she was nice.
The sweet thing stayed and watched as I sipped the delicious coffee. This was really great. I smiled and thanked her. She walked out of the room with every pair of male eyes, and some female ones too, watching her delicious bottom wiggle up and down as she walked.
Beth was almost breaking up. "You know they are going to tease you to the max. You better bring your women down here so they will leave you alone."
Ben received a call on his cell phone. He spoke a few minutes, then turned to me and smiled. As he led me from the room, he said, "Wherever you got all of that, go find some more. That's almost another hundred million not counting the gold. You might need the security of the gold, but the cash should be invested down here as well as the investment fund at home. You're going to take a big hit on taxes there, but,,,, "
I had held up my hand. "Ben, I told you I'm getting a bonus from the service. I didn't tell you that they are not going to even know I exist this year with the IRS. I'm just supposed to report what we normally report and any special gain can be forgotten about."
Ben said, "I don't trust them and I'll report everything. I'll offset a bunch from your philanthropic stuff, but we'll report everything. We won't report stuff from here yet, as it isn't in your name. How about getting about a mil in the bank down here to live on, should you have to come down unexpectedly? That would keep you and yours comfortable for the rest of your lives if it came to having to do it that way."
"Probably a good idea, Ben. This can be an escape place for Steve too. It's only three hours away and is a beautiful climate. I'll want to look at the Pacific side too, as there are some beautiful islands over there."
"They're all sold now. Very rich men came down and bought them all. The government said they couldn't have them, but could be reimbursed what they paid for them. The folks who didn't work with the government became totally disenfranchised, and lost their land without being paid."
Ben added, "There are a few small islands out there off the coast of Belize, Honduras, and Nicaraqua that might still be available. You would have to see if it has water and vegetation before you could get excited about it."
I mentioned, "If I were to have an island, it would need to be at least a couple of hundred acres with water and plenty of vegetation. It would preferably have enough length to have a runway long enough for a Lear. I know we're talking about a lot more than a couple of hundred acres, but that's what I would want. It's not a priority though."
Ben said, "I'll work on your investments and then we'll see what kind of island we can find for you. I know anything you find, Sue, Steve, and his family will join you enjoying it. That will give me incentive."
Two more of the delectable maids came strolling through in their daringly tiny bikinis. They were happy to see me and came up to me to grasp my arm and smile at me. I loved what the heels did for their butts and legs. Wow, they were nice.
I told Ben, "If you need extra help, you should use these girls. They don't have a lot to do if I'm not around. I'll have to have people come down to use the place. I'll have to watch out though, as the men will want to make use of the available pleasures that are prancing around."
Thinking of how most wives would react, I said, "That could be a problem. I'll just tell them to save themselves for their future husband."
Beth had joined us and said, "Just bring Sue and her fellow women along with your women. I'm sure all of them will be able to figure out what to do with them." Beth was giggling as she headed back upstairs to do something.
I told Ben that I was going home. I was relieved to have all that stuff moved down here. What's left would be fine for emergencies at home.
I took a taxi to the airport and began my preflight inspection. I noticed what looked like something oily on the ground out by one of the wings but didn't think much about it. I did the visual inspection of all the gear, the tires, and the fuel closures after having the tanks topped off.
That's when I kept looking at that little six to eight inch oily looking patch. I went to it and knelt down to run my fingers through the almost dry spot. It was oily, a thin oily, probably hydraulic fluid. I looked up and there was an oily patch on the bottom of the wing right where the gap between the flap and the aileron is.
I used my cell phone and called the Tampa airpark. After getting Jimmy on the phone, I described what I had found and he said, "You probably have a leak at the hydraulic coupling that feeds both the aileron and the flap. If they don't have someone to work on it, call me back and we'll fly down to fix it. Call me back anyway."
I asked, "It is safe to fly?"
"You're never safe if you see a visible problem and don't fix it. Why take a chance to lose all of your hydraulic pressure over water. Get it fixed and pressure tested. Call me."
I went into the operations terminal and asked about technical service. They made a call and told me to meet the mechanics at the aircraft.
Two men came out in a truck to find out what the problem was. I showed them the oily spot then the oily area under the wing. They nodded and one went to get a power screwdriver and some bits while the other re-attached the grounding straps to the aircraft. They asked me to make sure that all power was turned off in the aircraft.
While I checked that, they were unscrewing the access panel for the couplings. When they dropped the panel, a lot of fluid came out. At least a glass full, probably over a half-pint. One of the men moved the flap and there was a squirt of fluid that shot over his shoulder. The other man moved the aileron and more fluid flowed out of the feeder coupling. After some more checking they said, "We need to pull your aircraft into the hangar and see if we have the parts for repair. These are Bombardier parts so they should be available here. Do you want to stay with the aircraft or go to a hotel?"
I said, "Depends on the time it takes to fix the problem. If it's going to be late before it's fixed, I'll just stay the night. Let me hang out with you until you know what the final problems are and if you have the parts."
When the tow motor came out, I shut the stairway door and hooked up the aircraft myself and rode with the tow motor to the hangar. The mechanics loved all of the caricatures on the aircraft and had extra help as they began pulling parts from the wing.
This was a good thing, as while the group was working on one side of the aircraft, two more mechanics opened up the access panel on the other wing. Sure enough, those couplings were also deteriorated. One mechanic brought out an English language notification that had just arrived about possible coupling problems. It was suggested that both couplings and hoses be replaced at that coupling and the coupling feeding the wing.
They had a set for one entire wing but not the second set. They began calling other parts suppliers to find the parts they needed. It was during this period that my cell phone rang. It was a stateside call.
Jimmy was calling, "Hey, we just got a bulletin to be on the lookout for deteriorated couplings. Yours are pretty new as we replaced everything when that aircraft was brought in. Everybody and their cousin is calling for parts, so there aren't any. How are they fixed down there?"
I said, "They have enough for one wing but not the other. The other side shows some real bad deterioration. It's like the metal the coupling is made of is tin or something equally as flimsy."
Jimmy said, "We're tearing our other Lears down tonight to check them. The earlier couplings are fine and unless they have had a mandatory change from a major, they should be okay. The old couplings should last forever. The new hoses will probably need changing over time, but not the couplings."
I told him, "It looks like I'll be stranded down here for a while."
Jimmy answered, "No way, Jose. I already called Bombardier to have them ship you the parts on the first available flights straight through. They will ship enough for both wings, so tell your people there to hold up for right now. When you get back, we'll do all of the couplings on the whole aircraft to be sure."
"When do you think the parts will get here, Jimmy?"
He answered, "Probably tonight. There are flights out of Canada, non-stop to Miami and plenty of flights from Miami to where you are. Bombardier said you should have parts by one or two in the morning. Get it fixed and bring it home. Make sure they pressure test the lines and that there is no drop off on pressure anywhere. They know how to check it. Call me when it's done and I'll talk you through a cockpit check."
"Thanks, Jimmy, I guess a beer is in order. I'll buy you one on the patio when I get back."
"It's a deal, Chuck."
I told the mechanics what was happening and they were instantly on the phone to Bombardier to order more parts for their other customers. One of the mechanics was already opening up another Lear that was in the maintenance hangar.
I called Ben and told him what was up and that I was taking a taxi back to his place. He said, "Stay in your own condo. The bed is made up and I'm sure there's food. Come out with us tonight. We're going to the yacht club you just bought a membership at. They are supposed to have great food."
"I'll do that. The less time I spend around those women, the better. They could become distractions."
Ben said, "Come on, we're going to dress for tonight."
I protested, "I don't have anything but what I have on and a fresh shirt."
Ben said, "Here talk to Beth."
When I explained that I didn't have any nice dress clothes, Beth said, "Tell the taxi driver to stop at the La Tux men's store on the way. Have them fit you real quick with some pants, an open collar shirt, and sport jacket. They'll fix you up. They're not cheap, but they are quality."
The taxi driver knew the store and said he would wait. When they began fitting me, they almost had a stroke over my gun and the prosthesis with another gun. I showed them my badge and they felt better. When I tried on the pants, they marked them, and I took them off. I tried on the sport coat and it fit very well, and even fit where I wore the gun without bulging. By the time I was back in my regular clothes, they had my new clothes including the shirt, altered, steamed, and pressed.
They had me try on a very nice pair of slip on shoes. These were nice on my foot as it felt like they were specially made just for me. They said they would go with the pants and sport coat, along with the belt they gave me. I was figuring the bill would be at least a thousand to fifteen hundred when they said it was only five hundred and thirty bucks. I peeled off six hundred U.S. and they gave me a ton of change in Colons or what they referred to as CRC. The owner of the shop who spoke very good English explained that my purchase was worth three hundred and thirty thousand Colons. He said that few people could afford clothes such as I had purchased. I agreed, thinking that I needed to see the folks at the men's merchandise mart.
When I showed up at my condo, I had to ring the doorbell. All four ladies met me at the door. The obvious leader said that Beth had told them I would be staying over. They took my bag and the garment bag from me and told me that I needed to get ready to go with Ben and Beth.
Upstairs, the four began stripping me and jumped back when they saw my gun. I explained by showing them my badge and telling them about being a Deputy U.S. Marshal. I couldn't get rid of them, and when my pants dropped, they jumped back again because of my prosthesis.
I had to explain in slow English that I had lost the leg in the war. They became overly touchy then. Not good. I finally said, "Please, I need to shower and shave quickly. I don't need assistance to do that."
I think only one understood English well, while the others followed what she did and they spoke in Spanish as they followed.
I grabbed a pair of shorts from my bag and went to the bathroom, where I took off my leg and hopped toward the shower. I didn't make it to the shower before four very cute naked ladies joined me to hold me up while I tried to wash.
This was definitely a challenge, as I could feel myself growing the whole time I was in the shower. I finished quickly and had to stand while they dried me and stood to watch me shave. They didn't touch me improperly the whole time, and actually were very nice.
I put on my clothes, along with a pair of socks from my bag, and was ready to go. The four, still naked, stood looking at me, nodding their approval. The one said, "We will be waiting."
It was time to at least find out their names, so I asked. The talking lady said pointing to the shortest, who was always on the left, "This is Minell, the next is Flori, this is Mertine, and I am Maria."
I asked, "Do the others speak any English?"
"Oh yes, they speak English very well, but I am the oldest and am in charge. What I say is important. If you ask them, they will speak."
I said, "Thank you for helping me dress ah, Minell, Flori, and Mertine. Thank you, Maria. Please dress as I will be back soon. Good night."
Ben, Beth, and I took a taxi to the yacht club where we were treated like visiting royalty. The manager came to visit and wanted to know if it was true that I was the new owner of the hundred and seventy-five foot Magellan. He made me promise that I would be bringing it soon. He handed me a card that resembled a credit card and said, "This will allow you to enter the club at anytime. Our bar is open twenty-four hours. You can also get something to eat anytime.
After we were seated, I explained the reactions of the people to my guns to Ben and Beth, and they thought it amusing. Ben said, "They don't openly carry guns here. You'll notice even the police hide their guns."
When I told of the difficulty in taking a shower and dressing, Beth said, "If Ben had been in your place, I think there would have been four well fucked little girls."
Ben said, "Watch your mouth, Beth. This is a fancy place."
Beth replied, "But I'm not fancy, Ben. You know that, especially when you want me on my knees."
I was the one laughing now, as Ben colored from the comment. Beth said, "It's easy to embarrass him. I love it because he's always putting on airs."
We enjoyed a delicious dinner served by very attentive waitstaff. As the meal was concluding, the manager came to me and said, "Mr. Martinelli wishes a word with you. Please, let me introduce you."
When Ben began getting up with me, the manager held his hand up and said, I'm sorry, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Martinelli specifically stated only Mr. Johnson."
Ben and I both frowned, but the manager looked apprehensive enough that I walked with him to another rear table to meet a large rotund man with red cheeks and massive hands. Four very attractive young ladies, that rivaled the four I had at home, surrounded the man.
The manager said, "Mr. Martinelli, this is Charles Johnson, Mr. Johnson, Dominick Martinelli."
Martinelli didn't attempt to stand but raised a massive hand toward me. When I took it to shake it, his grip was weak, soft, the kind of handshake that makes you gag or shudder. I smiled at the man as he removed his hand from mine and reached for a large piece of meat and popped it into his mouth. He chewed it for a few seconds, swallowed, then waved at me, "Sit, have some goat. Dino, bring the man a drink. What do we pay you for if you can't make a guest comfortable?"
The manager scurried away, while Martinelli popped another piece of what I now knew was goat, into his mouth. After swallowing, he said, "I understand you will be bringing a very large boat here. Are you aware of the pirate situation out in open water? It is very bad, very, very bad."
The manager brought me a drink that appeared to be another Beefeaters, but I wanted to sneak up on it to make sure.
I smiled at Mr. Martinelli and said, "I have a very well trained crew. We've fought off attempted hijackers in the area before and also in parts of the Pacific."
"So this isn't your first visit here with a boat?"
I said, "Actually it is my first here with a boat, but not the first in these waters."
Martinelli leaned forward on huge forearms and looked at me intensely, "Let me tell you, no one is safe in these waters, or even this club, unless they are protected by me. I do this for all of the friends of the club and I am willing to do that for you. Since your boat is the size it is, I will be happy to protect you for a hundred thousand Colons a month, you know, about two hundred U.S. and when you are in port another five hundred thousand a week, or a thousand dollars."
"I'll tell you what. Perhaps I will keep this membership for the restaurant privilege only. As far as the pirates, I value my boat too much to take a chance by bringing it down here if there are real pirates. I don't see any reason to take a chance with hijackers or pirates, do you?"
First Martinelli frowned, then his lips curled up in a smile, "You don't understand, gringo, this is my country, I tell you when you can enjoy yourself and I tell you when to give me a tribute. You will be happy here if I am happy. You will give me this small amount each month and I will expect you to bring your boat here as well. I am very well connected in your United States and can cause you a great deal of unhappiness wherever you may live there. My friend, the Master, takes care of people from the states that bother me. I don't know you yet, but I will. You do this for me and I will allow you to be happy. Now go, get away from me, you are making me angry, I will send for my tribute tonight."
I didn't know what to do with this bully because we were in a very nice place with lots of people around. I had not checked to see if there were others watching him or me. It just hadn't occurred to me that you had to pay protection money to be happy in Costa Rica.
As I got up, Martinelli said, "I know you are staying in the big playboy condo up the hill. My men will be by in a little while for my tribute. Please, don't disappoint them. They could be very ungentlemanly to your little friends. Now, get out of my sight. You have embarrassed me in front of my chicas."
I went back to the table and smiled at Ben and Beth. They were ready to leave and stood. Ben asked, "Did you enjoy meeting our local Don. The man thinks himself the king of the area and asks for taxes from the U.S. residents down here. We give him the equivalent of about twenty-five bucks a month to make sure no one bothers our condo or maids. That's cheaper than a security service back home."
As we got into a taxi, I said, "I wish you had warned me about him, as I'm not happy with the way the man wants to threaten me. Personally, I think the amount he's asking for is too much considering I'm not here that much. He wants a premium when I have the boat here, and demands I bring it soon."
Ben laughed, "Get used to it, Chuck. This is the way it is here. If not him, another would figure out a way to coerce us into giving them something. Their greed doesn't match that of a stateside gangster, and we are sort of using the place for our personal entertainment."
As we got out of the taxi and walked up to their condo, I said, "Ben, you paid good money for this place. You employ two ladies to take care of your place, plus use local labor to remodel and do all sorts of odd jobs. You are contributing to their economy. You shouldn't have to pay for the privilege."
Beth looked worried, "Don't rock the boat, Chuck. You have enough money to just pay this guy and let it be. Don't make him angry. You don't know what kind of clout the man may have in local politics. Perhaps you shouldn't own a place down here if you're concerned about something like that man."
I shook my head and said goodnight, walking over to the big condo a little farther up the hill.
As I approached my door, I thought I saw movement down at the street level. It looked like someone moved back into the shadows or behind something when I rounded the corner. Oh well, come have some fun, Buddy, I'm a little aggravated.
I tapped at the door and it opened to show me the four ladies lined up and waiting for me. They were dressed in gauzy, near opaque, short gowns that were very attractive and didn't make them look too inviting, although the four were all extremely good looking.
I motioned them toward the large living room and had them sit. I asked Maria, "Who is this Martinelli person? Tell me about him. Is he connected to the police? To politicians?"
Maria frowned, "The man never wastes time when he thinks he has a chance to get money from someone. He takes money from shop owners and even the poorest seller in a stall at the market. He likes to take a few Colons from everyone as he says that it is the way to pay tribute to someone who rules and protects them. When people object, bad things happen to them. Their wives and daughters are raped, the sons beat up, their homes burned, or business robbed. Girls that are maids such as us must pay also. He says girls like us who take care of our employer in bed must pay more. He calls us whores or even worse."
I asked, "Does he have protection from the police?"
"No, but they leave him alone because no one will talk about him. Martinelli has many men who he pays to keep him safe. The former police chief tried to put him out of business, and now the old chief is laying in the graveyard. Even judges pay him tribute."
"How come the Costa Rican government doesn't do something about him?" I was really wondering how this could be. "Does he have family that are around in the government?"
Maria continued, "Martinelli came here from Italy or Sicily years ago and just began threatening people. No one stood up to him, or when they did, they disappeared. Now, the man has many bodyguards and many women who wait on him. I would be afraid to say this to anyone else, but he is a pig. A huge pig who always looks like he's going to eat you when he looks at you."
I looked down in thought and then looked back up. "He is sending someone to collect money tonight. I will give it to them now, but I do not like this. When you know me longer, you will know that is not good. I will find a way to end this."
Almost like magic, there was a knock on the door. I motioned for the girls to leave the room, to go upstairs away from the door.
I pulled the pile of Colons I had received as change earlier and saw it was not enough. I pulled two hundreds from my wallet and had that. With the money in hand, I opened the door just far enough to view the person knocking.
"May I help you?" I thought I was being polite.
A very large man slammed the door into me knocking me down as he and three other men entered. The four stood over me and said in very good English, "Mr. Martinelli is not happy with you. We are here for his gift."
I had edged back and was pushing up to stand.
The big man put his foot on my chest and said, "Stay there, you look good on the floor."
One of the men pointed at the area above my shoe and said, "He only has one leg, he's not a problem."
The big man said again, "I like him on the floor anyway. I see you are smart and have your gift ready. I think you should give something extra to make Mr. Martinelli like you more. Say, how about another hundred in greenbacks. That will make him like you lot."
There were four of them. Bad odds, considering I was starting this from the floor. They hadn't noticed my gun yet so I needed to keep that concealed. Somehow, I also needed to get up from the floor.
I smiled at the big man and said, "I guess you have me. Help me up and I'll get your boss a nice gift."
The man said, "You are lucky, the boss didn't give me the okay to enjoy your chicas. We know you have nice ones and I would enjoy them. You remember, we can knock you on your ass anytime. You don't give Mr. Martinelli a hard time about your gift; you just give it to me when I come to see you."
He reached down and with one hand under my armpit easily lifted me to my feet.
Watching the four, I brushed off my sport coat and rubbed my hand across my buzz cut. As I pulled my wallet from my back pocket, I pulled a hundred from it and started to hand it to the man. As he reached for it I pulled it back and said, "You know, if he likes something like this so much, perhaps he would like more. If I were to be able to look him in the eye when I give him a nice gift, I would want to give him more."
The big guy was so used to people being muscled into compliance he smiled and said, "When would you like to see Mr. Martinelli to give him this gift?"
"How about right now? I'm ready to go see him right now."
The man frowned and said, "I will call to see. He usually doesn't like to be disturbed when he is eating and entertaining his ladies."
The big man talked on his cell phone then when he closed it, said, "He is pleased you wish to see him to give him a nice gift but he can't see you tonight. I will come for you at ten o'clock in the morning."
I said, "Sorry, I will probably be gone by then. I have to get up early to leave in the morning. The next time I'm here, I'll come."
The man stepped toward me and said, "You will come tomorrow morning. If Mr. Martinelli says tomorrow, it will be tomorrow. If I need to stay here to make sure you will come, I will. Enough of your telling me what to do."
This wasn't working out right. Now that I was standing, I could handle the four of them, but I didn't want to kill or wound them. My displeasure was with their boss.
I asked, "Does your boss live far? Will it take long to get there?"
The big man replied, "As long as it did for you to come home from the yacht club. We'll go there in the morning and you can join him on his beautiful yacht."
Thinking that would be a better place for doing something, I said, "Then I will see you in the morning."
The four were actually fairly polite and backed out, closing the door softly. As soon as they left, I watched as they made their way down the hill and got in a car parked there.
The girls came down the steps and asked, "Did they hurt you? Did they take your gun?"
I said, "No, they didn't hurt me or take my gun, but I don't want blood on my new carpet. Do either of you have a bicycle or something like that I can borrow?"
Maria said, "We each have motor scooters to get around."
I smiled, "Can I borrow one for a few minutes? I promise, I'll bring it right back."
Maria led me to a lower level and showed me the four motor scooters parked in the garage behind an old Mercedes 450SL. I said, "Open the door for me and I'll use one of these for a few minutes."
In seconds, I was buzzing down the hill toward the yacht club. As I turned the last corner, I saw the car that the men had gotten into, move away from the attended gate.
I pulled up to the gate and dug out my card. The security guard looked at me funny, but smiled and said "Buenos noches, Senor."
Primary editing by Pepere
Proofing by Sagacious
Additional Helicopter and FAA legal knowledge by Old Rotorhead
Last one through — Deenara2000