Smugglers 1: Nikki (25 page)

“But it’s not the three boats, it’s the boats and the lear jet,” he replied.

“A Lear jet?” she questioned.

“Sure,” he said, “It’s at the airport down the road.” He put the car in drive and took off for the airport.

When she was on board the plane sitting in the co-pilots chair she asked, "So where’s your pilot staying?”

“Don’t be silly, little girl, I'm the pilot”.

“B.S,” commented Nikki.

“Okay, I’ll make you a bet for your clothes. Your clothes against one thousand dollars that I don’t have a pilot, I fly myself.”

“No, because to get my clothes off you would fly the plane yourself, and we would all die, me with no clothes and you all excited. I think I’ll pass. I believe you fly this plane.”

“No, no sit down I’ll prove it to you and I’ll take us up,” he insisted.

“Are you kidding you’ve had four or five double Jack Daniels and then a beer with everyone in the restaurant,” she said. “I am getting out.” And she did.

When he met her on the tarmac, he had his pilot’s license in hand to show her. After looking at it, she told him, “I already said I believe you. Let’s go back to the dock.”

When they got back he wanted to come in for a drink, but Nikki said she had seen this movie before and begged off. “I said I’ll see you tomorrow after the boats pull in.”

After Chuck begged a little more to no avail, he finally left.

The next day Nikki took her usual walk down the dock and by force of habit went to Don’s boat to have coffee and talk to Mark but realized that Mark was dead and gone. Then she got sad because he hadn’t crossed her mind all day yesterday when she was with Chuck.

She was thankful she had been thrown from the boat and didn’t get injured or caught. Now she had to find a replacement for Mark and figure out why she doesn’t even think about a person when she knows he or she is dead. It was like they never existed.

‘Oh, well,’ she thought.

Nikki worked on the dock for a couple of hours then heard the seventy-five footer coming, so she went to its berth and helped tie the boat down. When she was about done, Chuck walked up.

“Well, it got here okay, I see.”

After showing Nikki the boat ‘My Way,’ Chuck told her it had started out as a fifty-five foot and that he added twenty feet and larger engines among several other things. It had taken two years.

“I feel good about the first boat getting here so I’ll take everyone on the dock to lunch, why don’t you tell everyone to meet us at ‘The Wave’ at noon,” Chuck said, “and we’ll need a head count so you can call the restaurant and make reservations.” She did so, and forty people from the dock said they would go.

When she and Chuck got in his car she said “Chuck, you know that the tab will be fifteen grand!”

“Oh, well,” he replied.

They all had a good time over the next three hours, and Chuck had several glasses of Jack Daniels. When the tab came it was seventeen thousand dollars which included a five hundred dollar tip.

Back at the dock Nikki told Chuck that she had to call an ad in to replace Mark. Chuck asked her to come to his boat when she was done for a drink or two or three. When she got to the boat Chuck was talking to the captain, drink in hand. Chuck went to the auto bar and it divided out a double shot of Grey Goose in her glass. Chuck threw in some ice and lemon peel. As he sat down next to Nikki he pushed a button and a flat screen TV rose up from a counter top, the CD went on and the drapes closed.

“I'm very impressed; you have this yacht set up to score. I can tell you are used to getting your own way and you seldom lose.”

“Thank you,” said Chuck, “I consider that a compliment and by the way, the sport fish will be here tomorrow. It’s the forty-two footer. Where’s your drink? I'm going to refresh mine.”

When he got back and sat down, he kissed her. Nikki pulled away, apologizing. “Sorry, maybe in a few days we will have fun but I just lost my maintenance man who had been here on the dock for over ten years. He saved my life and almost lost his. So let’s just have drinks for now and have fun later.”

They sat there drinking and talking until they heard someone on the dock calling her name. She went to see what they wanted; it was one of the renters saying the electricity was off in the four-plex. She excused herself and went to see to it. She had to get the maintenance man from the dock next door to fix it. She ran into Jay, the man that had taken Dave’s old apartment with Sally. He was looking for work and seemed to know his way around boats, docks and tools so she decided to try him out for two weeks.

While she was on the dock, Cynthia walked up to her and started the conversation with “Take that asshole before I have someone hit him with an anchor and kill him.”

They both smiled and Nikki said “So, Tim is getting under your skin?”

“Oh, he got on my last nerve two weeks ago, so take him to your place for a week or so.”

“Okay,” Nikki said, “Send him down to my place tomorrow night, but he can stay with me for one week only. I suppose you’ve heard about Mark and what he was into when he died.”

“Yeah, who would have guessed he was a runner!”

“Yeah,” said Nikki. “Who would have guessed? Anyhow I miss him and not just for the work.”

“Are you telling me he put in some overtime?” asked Cynthia. “Tell me about it over drinks at your place tonight. By the way, what’s the story on that new guy with the seventy-five footer?” she inquired.

“The new guy is from Houston Texas,” replied Nikki, “and he has three boats that he’ll park here, and a lear jet. He says he’s in the antique business and is married but has an ‘understanding’ about it. I think he would have sex with a bush if he thought there was a snake in it.”

“Has he hit on you yet?” Cynthia asked.

“You bet, just about every minute we’ve been together. So if you want to have an afternoon delight, he’s your man” Nikki replied.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Cynthia said, “See you tonight around six.

CHAPTER 28

Nikki went to her office and called the Chief to see if there was anyone to take care of Mark’s body. He told her Mark’s sister claimed it, and she best leave it be. The Chief also told her he’d be seeing her in the next couple days.

That night around nine o’clock there was a knock at the door, when she opened it there he stood so she asked him in. “Would you like a drink?” she asked.

“Only if you are having one.”

“Mine is already made,” she replied. She made him one and they sat on the sofa.

The Chief started by telling her that he was pleased she was all right and then asked her how she managed to get away and be at her place when he and the DEA agents arrived. She told him the story from beginning to end about picking up the bundles, being chased, the gun fight, being thrown from the boat and hitch hiking home.

He was even more amazed when he heard the story and told her, “You know you’re done for now, you’re too hot. They are going to be watching you for a couple of months.”

Then he moved in and kissed her. She could taste his sixty year old tongue, and his two hundred fifty pound body was now pressed against hers. She was thinking she had to play this right because he held her life in his hands.

Then he said something that came out of left field. “By now you’ve met Chuck on 'My Way'. He was one of Jeff’s partners. After that last loss, he will stay here and keep an eye on things.”

“Are you shitting me, Chuck is Jeff’s partner?”

“You better forget I said anything and don’t say anything to Chuck,” replied the Chief.

“Okay, okay, I'm so glad I got away or I’d be going to court for years and then I’d get thirty or forty years in prison.”

“Nikki, you don’t think you’d ever see the court house, do you? You wouldn’t live twenty-four hours. In any case, can I have another drink?”

She went in the kitchen and made them both one. When she got back he had all but taken his shirt off. She knew there was no getting out of this now. When he kissed her as she knew he would, she returned the kiss with an actor’s enthusiasm. She closed her eyes and put her heart into it as much as she could. Her mind went back to Brett who was fifteen years her junior. Had he closed his eyes so he didn’t have to see her, had she seemed that old to him?

Then the Chief held her away from him and said “What, why are you crying?” and she wiped her cheek and told him she was crying because she was not over Mark yet.

“I'm sorry, it’s Mark. I start to cry one minute, then feel like I am going to pass out the next,” she replied. She started to cry even harder after her outburst. Joe backed off and let her go. He stood up, tucked in his shirt and went to the door.

She was still crying when he left, and as soon as the door closed behind him, she stopped crying instantly. With a smile on her face she went back to her drink. Her tactic wouldn’t work forever, but it gave her some time. Eventually, she would have to sleep with him.

The phone rang and it was Isabelle on the line. “God,” she said, “thank God it’s you! I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days. Have you seen or heard from Rita and did you hear what happened to Mark?”

“Calm down,” said Nikki.

“I can’t! First, Rita disappears and then I heard that Mark got killed, and the cops have been here twice to search his boat and to search Rita’s apartment,” Isabelle said. “When do you think Rita’s apartment will be free to rent; you see I'm looking for a new place.”

“I think it’s free to rent now; let me call and find out and I’ll call you back.”

She did this and she called Isabelle back and they made a date for her to move into Rita’s old place. After some small talk they hung up. Nikki sat on the sofa with a smile on her face, thinking of Isabelle and the fact she would be living next door.

A knock at the door brought her back from her fantasies. It was Chuck again because the ‘Sport Fish’ was coming in to berth. Nikki went to the neighbors dock to check on a spot. She found it very different talking to Chuck now that she knew who he was. He held her life in the palm of his hand.

Now he would be around, knowing what went on from this point forward. Should she run or should she stay and try to handle it? She knew that men were easy to lead, and all that she had to do was use her best asset, her body. She also knew that Chuck was no different.

As she thought about the options, she figured they must know what happened and that she had nothing to do with the cops finding them that night or Mark’s death and the loss of millions of dollars in coke. They must know!

She and Chuck finished putting the ‘Sport Fish’ to bed in its berth. Chuck gave her a tour of the boat and pointed out all the custom fishing gear.

As they got back to her dock, Isabelle was just pulling in to unload her clothes. Nikki introduced her to Chuck, who was immediately captivated by Isabelle. In fact, he fell all over himself when he found out that she would be living on the dock permanently. Chuck invited anyone in earshot to come down to his boat for a drink but Nikki knew that invitation was for Isabelle at that moment and not for everyone else on the dock.

“I’ll be down in a while,” Nikki said, “so why don’t you two go now, and I’ll see you later.”

Soon there was a knock at the door from Cynthia. They had a drink together, sitting and talking.

“Tomorrow night, I’ll bring Tim down,” Cynthia said. “By the look of things Chuck was occupied with Isabelle, so they’re out of the picture for now.”

“Can you blame him? She’s beautiful, thin and young.”

“That’s right; she’s twenty-eight or nine and you’re forty-two,” commented Cynthia.

Nikki blushed and said, “She’s twenty-two and I'm thirty-eight and you’re seventy.”

“I am not seventy, I'm only sixty-nine!”

“What’s the difference; we’ve been around the block and heard all his lines before and fell for them the first two or three times. Let’s go and be third wheels,” said Nikki.

“Okay, let’s go,” Cynthia agreed.

Drink in hand they walked down to Chuck’s boat to see what was going on. When they got to the 'My Way,' they yelled and banged on the side because there was loud music coming from the boat and still no one came, so they went aboard and surprised the two of them sitting close on the sofa. Nikki cleared her throat, the sound breaking them apart.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” she said.

“That’s okay, come in,” Chuck said. He stood up and offered them a drink. When Cynthia made a comment about there being three girls and Chuck, he said that it seemed fair to him.

He turned up the CD player and they drank and partied for several hours when Cynthia said, “I have some toot at my boat, would you two be adverse to me getting it?”

Chuck looked at Isabelle who said, “I’ll do one or two lines before I go to work at six and make money from lonely men.”

“Why don’t you quit your job and I’ll take care of you?” Chuck offered.

“Sure you will, but for how long? You’ll be tired of me in ninety days, then what? Besides I get that offer every other week. Talk is cheap but whiskey costs money, so put one hundred grand on the table, then we’ll talk.”

“Only one hundred grand?” Chuck said. “I thought you would ask for more. Shit I’d buy you a house,” which of course got a laugh out of everybody.

Isabelle said she had to change for work, but she did two lines, then kissed Chuck and Nikki goodbye.

“My God, she’s pretty!” Chuck said after Isabelle left. “Well, I will take you two to dinner if you want.”

They spent the evening drinking, eating, and laughing. Chuck kept hitting on Nikki all evening, paying little attention to Cynthia. At two they drove back to the marina and walked from the car to Nikki’s houseboat. Chuck and Cynthia tried to come in for a nightcap, but Nikki begged off.

The next morning while Nikki was drinking coffee with Don and a few of the other boat owners, she saw Cynthia leaving Chuck’s boat. She was carrying some of her clothes and she looked disheveled as she hurried back to her boat.

Later that day Nikki ran into Chuck and asked him if he went home or kept partying.

“Well,” he answered, “I kept partying, but I can’t say that I remember most of the night. All I know is that when I went outside it was just getting light and Cynthia went home.”

“So you two kept partying and I went to bed?” she replied.

“Of course,” Chuck said.

“She is sixty-nine or seventy,” said Nikki.

“But very thin, tan, and has a great attitude,” Chuck remarked. “I like them thin! Just look at the Victoria Secret special on TV. It’s watched by millions of married men and most of them married to fat women. Cynthia may be old, but she is thin and tan”.

“What you should have said at this point is any port in a storm or any woman in a storm,” Nikki said.

Isabelle called out a hello, and when she caught up to them, she gave each a kiss hello. She looked good with her short night shirt on and looked as if she had been up for hours, not just minutes. Soon the conversation turned to her and she told them that she’d made a lot of money from tips and lap dances last night.

Chuck apologized about the toot. “No, in fact the higher I get, the dirtier I dance, which translates into more money. Fridays are always good as it is payday, and guys don’t leave until they are broke.”

“Let’s go to town and have breakfast,” Chuck suggested. The girls said they would be ready in less than an hour.

When they got to the restaurant and were waiting to be seated Nikki couldn’t help but notice the Chief sitting in a booth with four or five men. The Chief and Chuck pretended not to know each other of course. The three of them got a table and had a surf side breakfast except for Isabelle who had coffee and a bowl of fruit.

On the way back Chuck said, “Nikki, I know you have to tend to the dock but Isabelle, would you like to take the go fast out for a spin with me in two or three hours?”

“Sure, I’d like that, but I have to be at work by six,” replied Isabelle.

When they got back to the dock they parted and Nikki went to her office. She sat at her desk and thought about Chuck and Isabelle and all that was going on. She knew she had to be very careful because it was obvious that Chuck wanted Isabelle and Isabelle wanted Chuck. She also knew that Chuck was very powerful and very rich but most of all he was very careful. She sat at her desk for several minutes thinking about her dilemma and came to the conclusion that she had to give both Chuck and Isabelle what they wanted. The best way to stay on Chuck’s good side was through being good friends with Isabelle. She needed to stay very close to them yet stay out of their way.

Then her thoughts drifted to the bodies under the dock. She had to move them out to deep water. They’d been there over a month. She planned to do it this week. She pushed her thoughts aside and went to work on the dock with her new maintenance man Jay.

A short time later Isabelle walked down the dock to Chuck’s boat. Nikki admired how great she looked in her black one piece with a beach towel tied around her waist and her high heels on.

Isabelle knew what she was doing, Nikki realized, and that Chuck’s tongue would be hanging out when he saw her. Soon Nikki heard Chuck’s go fast pull out for the day.

Nikki walked down to talk to Jay to see how he was coming along with the list of work she had given to him. Don was talking with Cynthia. When Cynthia saw Nikki she motioned her to them. “Boy,” she said, “How are you feeling after last night? Don’t forget I'm bringing Tim to your place to stay for a week or so.”

“God,” Nikki said, “he’s so skinny I hope I don’t kill him.”

“I hope you do,” Cynthia laughed. “So where’s that animal Chuck? You know the man that gives a licking but keeps on ticking?”

“Is that so? I guess Isabelle will have a good time with him this afternoon then!”

“Isabelle!” exclaimed Cynthia. “I guess Chuck can take care of her today, too. He’s a keeper!”

“Well,” asked Nikki, “can he? Take care of her?”

“You bet,” replied Cynthia, “and her sisters, too.”

“Oh well, I guess I'm the only one on the dock that does not believe he has it in him,” Nikki said.

“Don’t worry, he’ll get to you in time.”

They parted and went on with their day.

Nikki worked on the dock with her new man until about four thirty or so. Chuck and Isabelle pulled in, went to Isabelle’s apartment where they continued their partying and then parted with some long and lingering kisses.

Chuck came over to talk to Nikki, and when she asked how their day was, he told her that they only went under the bridge up to the sandbar and back because Isabelle had to be at work by six. “Nikki, I'm going to make a drink. Do you want to come along?” asked Chuck.

She looked at her watch and replied, “Okay let’s go.” After they got settled down with drinks and music, Chuck kissed her and pulled her to him.

“I thought you liked Isabelle?” Nikki said.

“I do,” said Chuck, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t like you and Cynthia, too. No,” he said, “I like all women, and I like sex of all kinds with them. When I'm on my death bed, be it tomorrow or one hundred years from now, I won’t be thinking about my boat or my plane. I will be thinking of you and Isabelle and your bodies and the fun we had together.”