More M.I.C.K.E.Y
Part 2
Disclaimers in Part 1
BJ and Ginette's heads jerked up as the animal cry of release floated up from the open fore hatch and ripped apart the still night air. BJ looked at Ginette in alarm almost misunderstanding what she was hearing.
Oh way to go you pair of horny sluts! Ginette thought disgusted, Blow your cover completely and leave me to answer for it why don't you?
Turning to BJ she tried a full on engaging smile,
“My! That puts a whole new slant on coming onboard, doesn't it?”
*****
Part Six:
“You two! Up here now!” BJ bellowed through the cabin hatch, “All three of you have got some explaining to do.” She moved back to sit grimly beside a silent and tense Ginette, her hand resting on the Glock.
Fifteen minutes later her two flushed, flustered and incredibly embarrassed shipmates seated themselves opposite. Ginette threw a hard unforgiving look taking in the boxers, T-shirts and guilty faces. Victoria looked everywhere to avoid it while Mickey became fixated by her own feet.
“Spill.” BJ folded her arms stern eyes commanded the attention Ginette's angry grimaces could not. “Who the hell are you people and what is going on here?”
Mickey and Ginette turned silently towards Victoria…
“Great! It's always down to me to sort everything out!” she flung her hands in the air in disgust. The other two simply rolled their eyes at each other.
“First,” she jabbed a finger in BJ's direction, “get rid of the hardware. I'm not gonna tell you anything as long as that gun's lassoed to you.”
BJ gave her a measured look and realised there was no denying the request if she wanted her answers. Slowly she slipped the lanyard and attached semi automatic from around her neck setting it carefully on the small cockpit table between them. She sat back and waited.
Victoria took a deep breath and began,
“I am Victoria Gresham and I came to Cayman Brac on the trail of Michaela Rapowski who stole all my…private funds with the aid of my ex girlfriend Ginette Felstrom who tried to kill me in a cabin fire that Michaela Rapowski subsequently rescued me from before disappearing to…well Cayman Brac. And there you have it. Right cast, wrong script.”
BJ blinked.
“You're not Officer Rapowski?”
“Nobody's Officer Rapowski.” Mickey interjected, “I left FinCen over a year ago. But I used knowledge from there to set up a sting on Victoria Gresham's laundered assets. And I used Ginette Felstrom to help set it up.”
“Okay,” BJ said slowly, “and you're not Abbott McKenzie either?”
“Nobody's Abbott McKenzie, he was my grandfather. I rented his old cabin in order to hold Victoria Gresham hostage at one point. I knew it was comfortable there…” she tailed off. “I used the name as a front for my Cayman Brac real estate deals.”
“Nice.” BJ said dryly. “So tell me who you are, not who you aren't.”
“Mickey Rapowski.”
BJ next turned to Ginette,
“And you?”
“Oh, I'm Ginette Felstrom and I'm a victim too you know. I was dumped by her,” she pointed at Victoria, “and double crossed by her.” She singled out Mickey. “And now have to be nice to everybody in order to get my savings back.” She managed to simultaneously sound flirtatious yet outraged at the injustice heaped upon her.
BJ shook her head slowly,
“So between you all we got a tax embezzler, a kidnapper and an arsonist at the very least. My, how'd I get so high up in the world? If my mamma could only see me now…”
“And what about you Officer Bar Jack?” Ginette interrupted stating what the other two were thinking, “What have we got with you?”
BJ grinned,
“You got a pirate.”
*****
“Oh perfect!” Victoria slapped her hands on her knees disbelievingly, “Just bloody perfect. We've got Blackbeard onboard. And just what does a pirate want with Victoria Gresham?” she demanded.
“And where's the rest of your gang?” Mickey threw a furtive look around the horizon to no avail as it was still dead of night. “Pirates don't work solo.”
“The rest of the crew will arrive in the morning after I fix the radio and call in our position.”
“But what do you want with Victoria?” Ginette's reiterated brow furrowed.
BJ shrugged, “A ransom. All those millions she's got stashed away.”
“What millions!” shrieked Victoria pointing at Mickey, “She's got all my millions, kidnap Rapowski. Leave me out of it!”
“Well we thought she was you. I mean we thought Abbott McKenzie was you!” BJ frowned even she was getting lost in the maze of twisted identities.
“We?” Ginette pounced on the most pertinent word in the sentence.
“My Uncle Rudy, he's the boss.” She came clean uncertain as to why but caught up in the need to try and make this mud as clear as possible. “Rudy! As in my Manager Rudy? Scum ball! Setting me up like that!”
“Hey!” BJ frowned, “He's the only scum ball in my family to hold down a nine to five!”
“Oh,” Victoria and Ginette swapped glances, “guess he does a little moonlighting too. He is also our informant. Rudy's the guy that confirmed Abbott McKenzie was his boss and gave us all the details of your movements before we came down here.”
“Told ya, scum ball.” Mickey glowered.
“Who contacted him to procure this information?” BJ asked.
“Me.” Ginette answered, “We were making enquiries all over the place trying to trace her.” She pointed accusingly at Mickey, “He must have managed to snoop around for himself and decided his new boss was an alias for the tax evader Victoria Gresham. Fair enough. Good research. A bit left of centre but kudos.”
They all looked at her as if she was insane.
“Hey credit where credits due! He found the link between McKenzie and Gresham. All he's done is jump the queue. I got nothing against the guy for going after her.” Again she jabbed a finger in Mickey's direction.
“Except he thinks I'm her!” Mickey thumbed across to Victoria scowling at the brunette's stupidity.
“Is there anybody involved who isn't a double-crosser?” Victoria asked in exasperation. Silence followed. She sighed, business negotiations were gonna be hard.
“So what happens tomorrow morning?” she asked BJ. “How does all this work?”
“Well,” BJ frowned, “I don't really know all of it cos I'm sort of lowly, like a cabin boy sort of thing. In fact I'm only included cos I'm family and need to pay off my student loan. But as I understand it right at this moment Abbott McKenzie has been kidnapped and a ransom demand has been delivered to Uncle Rudy.” She looked at Mickey.
“Which he will pay out almost immediately in a brown paper bag to himself. Without contacting the police as per his ransom note!” Mickey concluded flatly. It all sounded so familiar, she should have patented the formula.
“Yea, nice plan. Except you ain't Abbott McKenzie or even Victoria Gresham. Not that he'll worry as he empties your office safe and business account. But he'll want more than the immediate cash and he knows you got it stashed somewhere semi-legit.”
“And then what happens?” demanded Victoria, everyone was being very free with her money here!
“Mmm,” BJ looked rather contrite, “I think he comes out here, tortures you for the rest before killing you.”
This was greeted with absolute silence.
“Oh,” Mickey finally piped up, “Kudos! Credit where credits due!” she glared across at Ginette.
“I wonder which one of you he'll actually torture?” Ginette snipped back looking innocently from Victoria to Mickey.
Still glaring Mickey turned to Victoria,
“We're all gonna die. We're shark fodder!”
*****
The words had a magic effect on Ginette and her Selachophobia,
“Shark fodder my shiny white ass!”
Leaping to her feet she grabbed the Glock taking a stance on the cabin roof glaring defiantly down at her companions. They all froze with an instinctual respect for a crazy bitch with a big gun.
Victoria was the first to speak very, very gently,
“Careful Ginette, point it in the air, in the air…”
“Yea,” muttered BJ with a dark frown, “It's got a hair trigger and the safety catch is…”
“Don't tell me what to do with a gun like this! You forget I've had lessons at an exclusive Beverley Hills gun club; I know exactly what to do!” and with that she simply hurled the thing overboard.
BJ's jaw probably dropped faster that the weapon on it's way down through the briny.
“My gun! My beautiful gun…it was a Christmas present from my brother.” Her angst wheezed out through slack lips.
“Way to go Ginette. Now we can keep the bad guys at bay with bad language and rude hand gestures!” screeched Mickey giving the brunette an example.
Victoria turned to BJ who stood transfixed watching the ripples spiral away from her Glocks watery grave.
“Okay BJ, you're either with us or agin us! Are you onboard or do you follow the gun?” she stated coolly, “What was the cut you were gonna get from the bogus kidnapping?” she began to sweeten the deal.
BJ started from her requiem and turned dazed black eyes to Victoria,
“Mmm, the boat.”
“The boat?” Victoria and Mickey asked in unison.
“Yea, this sloop, Green Eyed Monster; Rudy was gonna give her to me for minding you overnight. Make it look like he sold her off after your unfortunate death at the hands of the ruthless kidnappers. Seemed like a good deal at the time, and she's a beauty.”
“MY BOAT!” Mickey howled in anger, “No way! Absolutely No Fucking Way!”
“Actually she's my boat.” interrupted Victoria, “My money bought her so in theory I own her.”
“Okay!” Mickey huffed, “You can get tortured on her then!”
“About that,” Ginette came back down into the cockpit now that she had successfully disarmed the wrong team. “Why don't we just pile into the power boat and run away. Mexico is over there…” she pointed to a distant horizon.
“I'm staying here and fighting for MY boat.”
“If Rudy finds you've escaped I'll be re-united with my Glock.”
“Mexico is in the opposite direction you numb nut!”
“Hey! It's all about being helpful!” Ginette snapped back.
“Helpful! You just threw our only weapon overboard! It's a pity none of us are on insulin, you could toss that too!”
“Stop being such a sarcastic twat!” the brunette hissed.
“Perhaps if I'd a crutch you could bend it round the mast…”
“Mickey! You're semi hysterical. Stop it now!” Victoria spoke sharply.
“I'll get you a crutch alright…” Ginette muttered under her breath.
“Ginette I heard that! Either you two shut up or I'll lock you both down below” Victoria scolded her ex before sitting down head in hands, “I need to think this through.”
Turning to BJ she said,
“An old tub like this is pretty poor payback for aiding and abetting in a kidnap and murder…”
“Hey! She's not an old tub she's a 1958 classic…”
“Shut it Mickey.” Attention back on BJ she said, “I'll give you half a million…when I get it back.” and scowled at Mickey for a second time.
“Half a million? To do what?” the black woman blinked at her.
“Whatever I say.”
*****
Part Seven:
Sea green eyes held coal black as quickfire mental calculations were made by both parties. The night sky was fading as a new day prepared to dawn; decisions had to be made, lines had to be drawn.
“And her.” BJ indicated Ginette, “I want her.”
The slightest flicker of hesitation passed through Victoria,
“Done.”
“What?” Ginette squeaked while Mickey just snorted derisively.
“You owe me one very expensive Glock. Not to mention its sentimental value.” BJ glowered at her, “This needs to be settled.”
“You're getting half a million bucks go out and buy a freakin gun shop!” Ginette shrieked back.
“It's a matter of honour. I wouldn't be a pirate if I let you just disarm me like that without taking retribution. I've got a code to keep!”
“This is fucking ridiculous. Victoria, I need a word…”
She pulled the smaller woman to one side and whispered heatedly,
“Since when did I become chattel?”
“Oh I don't know, since you tried to steal from me, tried to fry me, double crossed your partner in crime, threw our only gun overboard…”
“Okay, okay, but I'm not yours to be brokered in a deal!” she hissed sneaking an appraising look at the tall muscular black woman patiently waiting for the outcome if this aside.
“At least not for any longer than a week.” She smirked, her baser instincts as usual winning out. The seven deadly sins had found a good home in Ginette and they cared for their host well.
Moving away Victoria rolled her eyes, Ginette would survive long after the rest of humanity was obliterated and sleaze once more ruled the earth.
“So, what's the plan?” Mickey's big blues turned to Victoria causing a jolt all the way through her body.
My God, we're hours away from becoming plankton and with one look she's got me thinking with my groin! I gotta get her away from me at least until this is over…Victoria blinked as her pulse rate finally settled.
“I need you to go to the bow of the boat and stand there.”
“Cool.” Mickey stood to go, “What am I meant to be doing?”
“Mmmm, keeping lookout for the pirate gang.”
“Okay. I'm on it.” And with that she moved off forward to the bow. Victoria blew out a long breath and relaxed, before looking up to meet BJ's quizzical gaze.
“Ain't no pirates here ‘til I give out our position.” Her deep voice held her question.
“I didn't want her to know yet that we may have to sink Green Eyed Monster.”
*****
“Oh please let me be the one to tell her!” Ginette asked delightedly.
“Ginette, if Mickey finds out she'll not go along with the plan and we'll all end up feeding fish. Now what means more to you, pissing her off or saving your own ‘shiny white ass'?”
Ginette sat down and silently sulked.
Turning to BJ Victoria continued,
“We need a safe port, a fast pc and a lot of luck. What can you deliver?”
“Port and pc!”
“Let's get going. Your friends and family will be wondering why you haven't reported in by now. They'll start searching the area soon.”
BJ nodded and releasing the lines that lashed the power boat to the yacht she shouted forward to Mickey,
“Raise the anchor.” Securing the smaller vessel astern for towing she started up the Perkins diesel and the sleek wooden hull began to cut water.
“We're heading for Little Cayman, the winds favourable and we'll make decent time. I live near Grape Tree Bay we can moor in a secluded anchorage. You can use the computer at my house. I can't think what else to do. Home will be the last place Rudy will look for me.”
At that the cell phone on her hip vibrated. Unhooking it she read the sender id and then casually hurled it in a high arc into the passing waves.
“The search is on.” Her fingers tightened on the ships wheel.
*****
“That damn boat is slowing us down.” Mickey grimaced at the small speed boat bouncing and yawling behind them. “Let's cut it loose.”
“No, it's in my name at the rental office, besides we might need it later.” Victoria protested.
“Then I'm hoisting the main to give us some extra speed.”
“There's a speck on the horizon.” Ginette offered up.
“Where? Is it Little Cayman?” Victoria asked anxiously trying to ascertain where Ginette was actually looking.
“No. If that were the case I'd say there's an island on the horizon. What I mean is there's a speck on the horizon, but I don't want to alarm everybody by saying there's bloodthirsty pirates off the port quarter.”
Mickey grabbed the binoculars and looked, shrugging she handed them over to BJ,
“Don't recognise them, do you?”
BJ raised the glasses,
“Yup. We got bloodthirsty pirates off the port quarter.”
*****
“Okay, try and haul the power boat alongside. I know we're moving but we have to do this before they're close enough to notice or care that we got an auxiliary vessel.” Mickey commanded, she was still the skipper of this boat.
BJ wrapped the line around a winch for more purchase and between her and Mickey's strength they managed to drag the bouncing craft to the starboard side.
“Victoria, jump in and start her up.”
Uncertain of where this was going but having no alternate ideas of her own Victoria made the leap onto the awkwardly bouncing smaller boat and began to fire up the outboard.
Mickey nodded at Ginette, “You next.”
“No.” BJ interrupted. “You go; it's the Victoria's they're looking for. They'll torture both of you until they get the real one. Plus you two hold the key to all the money. We're useless to them and as Rudy's my uncle I might have a little sway.”
“As long as it's not from the yard arm.” Mickey gave a grim smile as she recognised the sense in the words.
“Stay to starboard, try and shield yourselves between us and them for as long as possible. The later they see you the better.”
Mickey nodded grimly and jumped several feet to land beside Victoria, wobbling dangerously until a hand reached out to steady her.
“Here, catch.” Ginette threw her diving gear over the rail into waiting arms, “BJ says take it, just in case.”
Then she reached down and untied the final line connecting the two craft. Tossing the neatly coiled rope onto the black hull she glanced over at Victoria, they exchanged one long still look, a look of old friends possibly saying goodbye.
*****
“Will Rudy be with the pirates?” Ginette asked as she watched the powerful motor cruiser slowly gain on them. Even at full sail, full throttle and with a strong lead it was always a matter of time before the faster vessel caught up. Shielded from view Victoria and Mickey had gradually peeled away now trying to merge into a small flotilla of fishing vessels they had happily crossed course with. It was easy for the two white women to look like nosy tourists.
“No.” BJ snorted, keeping a weather eye on the motor cruisers heading, “He gets seasick. He'll be safely tucked behind a desk somewhere.”
“I'm sorry about your gun.”
“It was the best thing you could have done. No weapon no target as they say.” She smiled and caught Ginette's calm grey eyes, “Don't worry. I'd never let them hurt you.”
“That's not going to happen. I work in HR, meaning I'm human and resourceful.” As she spoke she opened a locker and pulled out several of Mickey's emergency fuel cans stringing a long line through the handles tying them at regular intervals.
“What the hell are you doing girl?” BJ asked a little bemused and a lot alarmed.
“Preparation. I like to mix things up a little.” With that she attached one end of her line to the bow, the other to a cleat at the stern and gently lowered the whole string of fuel cans down to the water line on the starboard side away from the view of the oncoming vessel.
“Can we head for shallower waters?”
BJ nodded in compliance. Sailing on towards Little Cayman was bringing them into a series of shallows and sandbars, she changed course slightly to accommodate whatever crazy scheme Ginette had going on. Out at sea the larger, faster motor cruiser with a crew of four nasty looking individuals changed direction too and followed, all the time slowly closing in. Behind them, small and unnoticed among the busier sea traffic this close the island came a little black power boat, the kind rented by holidaymakers. This one carried two young American women, one in an emerald bikini, the other in a cut-off wetsuit; both looked like they were having the holiday of a life time.
*****
Ginette watched the echo-sounder as the depth fell away beneath them. “Let's drop sail now and motor slowly onto the sandbank.”
“You want us to go aground?” BJ looked dismayed.
Grey eyes watched the motor cruiser close in they had maybe fifteen minutes if they were lucky. She turned to her tall dark companion,
“Aye Skipper. We're out of time, out of sea room, out of luck. Let's jam her here. At least that way they'll only get to cart away us, they'll have to leave Monster behind and maybe Vic n Mick can reclaim her.”
BJ shrugged, it was as good an idea as any, but she watched mystified as Ginette took the longest halyard that ran all the way from the mast head and tied it discreetly to the port grab rail. This woman had a definite plan, why wasn't she sharing it? Her last movements had been as precise as they were confusing. What was she up too?
“Remember to keep them port side of us.” Ginette breathed as BJ gently spun the wheel and brought Green Eyed Monster to a shuddering halt as her deep keel drove into the sands underneath. BJ cut the engine and waited to be boarded. Carefully Ginette adjusted the line of plastic fuel cans just below the starboard waterline. She had loosened a few caps and small traces of gas seeped out rainbowing the surrounding water. With a wild wave for attention towards the circling little black boat she turned back in time to see the pirate vessel arrive on the port side. Ping! Out of time, she sighed.
“Having a little bit of trouble Bar Jack?” a voice crowed from the motor cruiser as it slid alongside, “Lost ya bearings and run aground?”
“Good morning Carmelo. Why are you doggin' me today?” BJ flung back casually, arm draped over the wheel even as three of her visitors leapt onboard. She hated this guy, Rudy's nastiest but luckily densest henchman.
Carmelo advanced with a gold capped grin leaving his two lackeys to tie up alongside.
“I'm doggin' you cos you're one two faced bitch.” His smile suddenly turned cold, “And Rudy's gonna gut you when I drag your sorry ass back. Family or no.”
He turned to Ginette, “You must be this fancy fuck I gotta cut the fingers off until you remember all your account details. Rudy's missin' his lady boss by the way. He cried all the way to the bank tis mornin' to collect your ransom.”
Ginette gave a sickly smile, “Well if you leave me all my fingers maybe I'll just write a cheque?”
“Onboard now!” he thumbed over his shoulder to his boat and waiting men, “Both of you.”
His mean little eyes swept the waterscape around them he wanted any curious onlookers to assume he was helping the beleaguered vessel.
“Think you're clever running aground BJ? Think all these flash holiday fuckers would come running over to help you, get you offa this tub and somewhere safe?” he smirked nastily, “Hard luck, nonna these cunts give a damn, they too bust enjoyin' themselves to even look at you…”
“Well that Lady over there is waving…” interrupted Ginette pointing at a little black power boat that could easily dart across the sandbar with it's shallow hull, “Oh look, she's even gonna summon help. How kind!”
Carmelo squinted in surprise at the vessel the stupid American was pointing at, his eyes widened when she saw the pretty blonde in the green bikini waving at them, they widened even more as he saw her lift the flare gun, and they nearly fell out of his head as the crazy bitch pointed it not at the sky but straight at the wooden hull of the boat he was standing on.
“Holy fuck! Everyone off, everyone off now…” but it was too late, the flare popped and shot forward in a crazed stream of smoke hitting the fuel soaked hull point blank. With a crackling roar flames exploded, glazing across the white hull in a swirling liquid dance, even the sea alongside leapt with a wave of fire while billowing smoke enveloped all. As each semi submerged fuel canister ignited in turn small booms and flashes of flame rode up into the air. It was a rip roaring display that got the attention of every living thing in that sector, be it man, fish or fowl. Carmelo had to get away before the authorities came looking, there was no way an incident like this could go unreported.
Twirling he levelled his gun to where BJ had last been standing only to find nothing but swirling smoke, she had disappeared like a magicians assistant. Cursing he latched onto Ginette's forearm, the one thing he definitely had to deliver. Let Bar Jack run, she'd be hunted down eventually. This one it seemed was too stupid even to run. Well that was her hard luck.
Dragging his captive he quickly made way through the dense choking smoke in the general direction of his vessel where his crew were desperately trying to make good an escape. It was the last thing any sailor wanted; fire at sea, and to be actually attached to a burning vessel was tantamount to suicide…they had to make free and get away and quick.
Resisting as dramatically as she could, but not so much as to get a split lip, Ginette allowed herself to be manhandled. As they passed the port grab rail with one quickly tug she un-slipped the halyard's knot she had tied earlier and keeping hold led it onto the other vessel unnoticed. Carmelo roughly shoved her down on the deck,
“Sit there bitch and shut up.” Before running up top to order the escape from the smoking wreck alongside.
Ginette smiled quietly as she quickly looped the halyard hard to a cleat. Dusting her hands with a satisfied grin, sharks or no, she calmly stood up and jumped overboard.
*****
“Here, give your hand, give your hand.” Victoria reached out for BJ and hauled the other woman closer to the black hull. Grunting BJ gained leverage with her shoulders and biceps and pulled herself with minimal aid onto the power boat.
“That bitch of a girlfriend of yours kicked me overboard. She literally planted her foot in the middle of my chest and slammed me seven feet up and into the water!” BJ spluttered, “Is she into martial arts or something cos I can call it quits on the damn gun!”
Victoria smiled, “She's my bitch of an ex-girlfriend. My current bitch of a girlfriend is just about to destroy your family business. Watch and learn how corporate piracy works.”
BJ and Victoria stood side by in the mildly swaying little boat. They watched the scramble to abandon the burning sloop and speed the cruiser away at top knots.
“”Mmm,” BJ frowned, “is that a line going from the mast top to Carmelo's…” Her question was never finished. A splash and angry cry alerted them of Ginette's entry into the water. Victoria fired up the engine to go collect her. Even as they moved forward, a loud unholy creaking scream rent the air as Green Eyed Monster shifted off the sandbar dragged mercilessly by the high powered vessel now effectively towing her sideways.
“Holy shit!” shouted BJ, “they're pulling it down on top of them. It'll land on her!” and she found herself into the water for a second time that day because of Ginette.
A 1958 classic 38ft sloop has a tall mast, the working lines or halyards that run up and down it are even longer. As Carmelo's boat powered away the line attached snatched tight and slowed him abruptly. The power of this final mighty tug managed to prise loose the sloop's long keel from the small groove it had made for itself in the sandbar when it had gently motored to a standstill earlier.
Directionless, aflame, towed from her masthead, all the groaning vessel could do was tilt towards the force pulling at her. Had she been in deeper water she could have drifted sideways, but she was perched on the semi solidity of a sandbar, and that gave her keel a pivot point, and that allowed her to simply fall over slowly but surely towards the vessel dragging her mast top down.
BJ cleaved through the waves until her head bobbed beside Ginette's. One strong arm wrapped around her chest and began the drag her away from the ensuing carnage.
“No, no!” the brunette screamed splashing hysterically nearly pulling them both under with her kicking and flaying.
“It's me babe, it's me.” BJ soothed her strong strokes leading back towards Victoria and the waiting power boat, “Calm down. I got ya.”
“Oh thank god, I thought you were a shark!” Ginette twisted round and floated face to face with her rescuer. They paddled together grinning stupidly at one another until a voice from above coughed and said snidely,
“Ahem, excuse me but now that you're all in love and everything is there any chance you might climb onboard so we can get the hell outta here?”
*****
All three sat a safe distance away and watched with interest the choreographed terror of the men on deck as Green Eyed Monster slowly crept closer and closer to the hull of the pristine motor cruiser. Sparks and flaming tatters of canvas sail were drifting across from the beleaguered vessel along with a gallon of smoke that teared up and choked all onboard. These raining sparks had begun to singe and smoulder on various surfaces of the fibreglass hull. A much more flammable material than the wooden one drifting down upon them.
Ginette sighed happily, “Look at my beautiful creation. This is how Shakespeare must have felt.”
One demented crewman ran around with a fire extinguisher another finally found the ties that bind and hacked away at Ginette's knot with a machete to free them from the burning hulk. Above on the upper driving deck Carmelo was screaming at his pilot to “Get the fuck outta here!”
The sudden severing came too late, Green Eyed Monster keeled right over to lie ninety degrees with her beam on the sandbar, the surrounding waters finally becoming effective in quenching part of the blaze. Freed from their 38ft anchor the power craft shot forward in what should have been a safe evacuation.
“Oooh, watch this!” Victoria murmured. With an awful thump and a sickening grind the motor cruiser came to an immediate stop as if it had hit an invisible brick wall.
“What the hell happened there?” BJ asked.
Victoria smiled, “Current bitch of a girlfriend has been underwater winding a length of chain around their propeller. Their engine is well and truly fucked after that. They ain't going nowhere soon.”
A large splash heralded the return of the diver. Hauled onboard and shivering Victoria wrapped her arms around Mickey as they all stood and watched Monster lying on her side smoking and sizzling as the last of the flames ravished her beautiful teak planking. Victoria cradled her gently realising the shakes were not due to cold but mild shock.
“Oh,” Mickey managed a small sad sigh as her future dreams were slowly destroyed.
*****
Part Eight:
BJ wiped the steam from her bathroom mirror. Finally it had been her turn for the shower. Forever the perfect host she had surrendered up her guest room, her bathroom and copious amounts of hot water to her bedraggled comrades.
Ginette had elbowed her way to the top of the queue claiming grime, smoke inhalation, and sea water mixed with petroleum as absolute musts for her to go first. It was agreed that she should, not so much for the reasons listed as no-one wanted to hear her moan any longer.
Victoria and Mickey had gone next under the guise that showering together would speed up the whole process. They took over an hour and left BJ's bathroom looking like sea-world after the dolphin show. But her guests were squeaky clean with very smug smiles when they finally exited the steam filled room.
Now BJ relaxed and scrubbed, wrapped a clean towel around her waist strolled down the corridor of her small bungalow to her bedroom briskly rubbing her dreads. She smiled contentedly, overall it had been a good day; she had seen Carmelo and his amigos hauled away by the extremely suspicious authorities. His hard won reputation going against him for once now he was among the law abiding.
She passed the lounge where a blonde and a dark head were bent over her computer talking Babel, but they seemed to be content in their unravelling of the mysteries of high finance and money laundering. BJ smiled soon she would be a half millionaire…what a day! She was alive, Carmelo was arrested, she was rich…sniffing the air appreciatively her grin widened…and her new wife was cooking gumbo in her kitchen! What a day.
Mickey nodded as her host passed through.
“It's a real godsend BJ let us collapse here tonight. I need a deep sleep before we confront Rudy the reptile!”
Victoria looked up her attention drawn from the columns of figures on the screen. She silently watched the tall black butch stroll through the lounge with considerable appreciation.
“Yea, so much better than a hotel,” she murmured absently taking in the broad shoulders tapering down to a lean waist and a belly with just a cuddlesome trace of soft roundness. Long strong legs gave BJ her impressive height and proclaimed her love of women's soccer. Victoria's appreciative gaze drank it all in from muscular calves to high rounded breasts up to the handsome profile.
“Hey!” Mickey nudged with her shoulder. “Stop drooling!” she objected huffily.
“I can drool all I want. I'm a single woman. I can tie a bib round my neck if I have too.” Victoria sniffed. “Not like it's any of your business.”
“Well stay away from the keyboard then or you'll fuse the house.” Mickey responded surly. Returning to the screen with a huffy face. Is this all it was going to be. Sex? Good, red hot sex, but still, just sex. I dreamt of more all these months. If it had just been sex I wouldn't wake up from those dreams feeling like this. I wonder what she dreams about?
Passing the kitchen BJ made a small detour. Ginette stood at the stove checking on the contents of a massive stew pot. Coming up behind her BJ enveloped her in a huge hug burying her face in her neck, inhaling the wonderful essence of the woman as well as the food.
“Hey!” Ginette squirmed but didn't pull away, “What do you think you're doing?”
“I'm squeezing my wife of the week.” She smiled into the softness just below the ear lobe kissing it with relish. “You still owe me one Glock 33. So I got a whole week of wifeyness to collect on.” She teased.
“Talking of guns…” Ginette squirmed even more at the nibbling kisses on an extremely sensitive spot, “…I knocked you overboard thereby saving your life…” she managed to gain enough space to inch around in her captors arms and face her, “...that should make us even…My God You're Naked!” She found her palms on the heated satin of BJ's ribcage her eyes level with the valley of her breasts. Her eyes widened and her face uncharacteristically flushed.
“No. I'm not naked. Not yet.” One quick flick the towel pooled around her feet leaving her tall body totally nude. She pulled the smaller woman closer grinning widely her eyes glittering mischievously.
“Stop that!” Ginette squeaked, “We're in the kitchen, it's unhygienic!”
BJ continued to sway the beauty in arms,
“You were saying?” Her eyebrows rose in teasing question, “You saved my life by kicking my ass into a flaming sea and that means…what, we're even?”
Ginette smiled suggestively pale fingers caressing a velvet back,
“In some cultures that means I own you…”
“Mmmm, maybe so Mrs Jack, maybe so.” She reached down and kissed her, slowly tasting her. Full of bravado for this attractive and completely mesmerising woman.
They drew back from each other with blinks and deep breaths completely wrong footed when what should have been a salacious, lusty exchange dissolved into addictive sweetness. It left both with an instant rush, not an ache low in the belly as expected but higher up in the heart, a small echo of need resonated making each step back in a small daze.
“Hmmm, when will dinner be ready?” BJ groped for something to say, pulling her towel back in place. Ginette stood silently for a moment and watched the tall woman right herself. Decision made she reached across the stove and turned off the heat. A small hand slid into a large one as she slowly led BJ from the kitchen towards her bedroom,
“Not for hours.”
*****
“Done!” Victoria clicked the shut down icon, “We have saved the world as we know it!”
“Saved your ass more like.” Mickey snorted, still out of sorts from earlier.
“My ass, your world…” Victoria shrugged getting up to go find what was keeping dinner. She was famished.
Mickey stood up stretched and scowled she had had a very bad day. She had lost all her illicit millions in one fell swoop to a little blonde corporate pirate. She had also lost her holiday resort investment and witnessed the destruction of her beloved yacht. Watching Victoria wander off to the kitchen her shoulders slumped; now she was losing her other green eyed monster, the one she'd named her boat after. The one she'd wanted to share her future with in one form or another be it flesh and blood or oak and teak. Both were sinking.
Victoria was right, she was a single woman. A successful, rich, corrupt single woman who could ogle any big spunky butch she fancied. Mickey had nothing to offer her, never really had. She was good at taking, but had nothing to give.
Glancing up Victoria had returned frowning,
“Where'd they go? The kitchens empty and the stove is turned…” just then an orgasmic cry echoed down the hall. Victoria's eyes widened then crinkled as a delighted smile crossed her face. She raised her eyebrows at Mickey who ruefully rolled her eyes at the cries.
“That answer your question?” she answered flatly.
Watching her intently Victoria drew closer,
“What's up with you? Aren't you happy for them?”
Mickey shrugged, “Sure I am.” She replied indifferently.
“Then why so glum?”
“Oh, let me think. There must be something… oh I know, this morning I was a multi-millionaire with real estate on a beautiful Caribbean island just bopping about on my beautiful classic yacht. Then you came…”
Victoria shrugged, “Easy come easy go.”
“Yea. I guess so.” Mickey looked deep into the sea-green eyes peering up at her and knew she was going to lose her again. She had searched for this shade in the waters off her boat and had plunged into it only to surface empty of the things she was diving for. Her pearl at the bottom of the ocean, her siren out at sea drawing her onto the sharp jagged rocks of reality. She was a lost mariner without that song.
Victoria watched her closely trying to ascertain the thoughts behind the sad, lost eyes.
“Sometimes some things stick.” She said carefully, gently reaching up to place a hand on Mickey's shoulder. “Like…” she searched her mind quickly for an analogy, “…like…barnacles.” She winced.
“Barnacles? You callin' me a barnacle!”
“No, no, I'm the barnacle. Well, no I'm not…that was a bad analogy.”
“You're the barnacle?” dark brows rose.
“I was thinking about the boat.” She defended hotly annoyed at her crummy word selection, why couldn't she have said Sea Hawk or something!
Mickey cocked her head in askance her hands coming up to unconsciously span the waist before her. Victoria absently ran her palms down the strong biceps savouring the contours. She frowned and tried again,
“I was thinking about you and your boat. Sailing the seas…”
“Aaah.” Mickey nodded, “and you're a barnacle…”
“I'm not a barnacle! It was a bad…”
“You're the boat.”
Victoria blinked at her confused.
“You're the boat.” Mickey continued to explain, “You're Green Eyed Monster. I named her for you. I wanted to sail away with her. Sailing is the closest I've been to happy since…well…you.”
“You think of me as a monster!” Victoria was shocked.
Mickey nodded solemnly,
“A diabolical, monstrous mad woman. My little monster. I love you. Please don't go.”
Victoria blinked up at her several times as her words sank in. Finally in a choked voice she replied,
“I can't. I'm a barnacle.”
*****
Part Nine:
BJ's hands slid under rounded buttocks tilting the ass leveling the pink and pearl slit with her face, allowing her to freely inhale that secret scent. She growled deep in her throat; this was going to be so rich, so delectably delicious. The scent, the scent alone made her feral and hungry. She wanted this crazy white woman so much, wanted to bite down on her like a coconut candy.
Gazing up the curvaceous body sprawled before her the twin peaks of the generous breasts stood out proud and puckered in the sultry night air. The belly rolling and rippling as Ginette gasped for air, a sheen of perspiration coating her soft skin. Hips undulated and squirmed inches from her nose. She was ready, her body was begging, wanting and waiting.
BJ's own breath hitched and she blew a long hot puff of air along the glistening crack. A whimper from above approved and she blew again, the legs splayed even farther. She watched in fascination as the petaled lips pulled gently apart and opened up for her; the invitation of her sex was irresistible. It offered what a locked throat and heaving lungs couldn't say, Take me please take me.
Plunging a tongue tip into the sopping crack she slowly stroked up to the engorged clitoris. She scooped the sweet saltiness, and dragged along the crevices and frothy lips. A beautiful sigh floated down to her, encouraged she dove in again, following the same path, only this time slower using her whole flattened tongue. She repeated it again and again, quicker and quicker; addicted to the flavors, seduced by the texture. Lapping like an animal.
Next she began to swirl the tip of her tongue around every crevice, every fold – searching for another morsel of salty moisture, determined to devour her lover alive. Her head swilled between the spread legs, her nose constantly tipping against the swollen clit, each nudge pulling out a moan of agonized need. Heeding the warning in the cries she withdrew from touching the pulsing little pearl at all. In no mood to give release so soon she blew on the little nubbin and promised to return to it.
Pulling the crumpled rose lips into her own hungry ones, she suckled and stroked gently. Ginette's weak protests at the abandonment of her clitoris changed as she ground down onto BJ's mouth to try and cheat an orgasm that way.
The dark woman accepted the pressure, not afraid to suck harder and grind her teeth back into the tender flesh. A hiss of pained pleasure told her Ginette had discovered another rite of passage, the seduction of pain. Continuing to gorge on the soft folds she willfully scoured and chewed the rippled flesh and was rewarded with a fresh flood of liquid desire straight into her mouth. In return she gently massaged the tenderized folds with the flat of her tongue all the time gauging her success from the soft mewling above.
At last she turned her attention back to the throbbing pearl at the apex of the thoroughly laved folds. She suckled it into her warm mouth and with the tip of her tongue swirled and stroked as Ginette thrashed above her, a mass of twisted sheets and ragged cries. Large hands mercilessly pinned the heaving hips to her mouth, fingers biting into soft buttocks as she gorged incessantly. Ginette came, and came again almost immediately screaming, a total victim of her lovers passion.
Remorselessly BJ pulled her face away and slid a long thick finger through the folds into the hole she had reamed with her tongue. It pushed through easily even though the sheath inside was tight. She pulled back and pushed through again a few more times to coat her finger well. Above her exhausted lover writhed at this new sensation heaped upon the bliss marathon she'd already run. A quick twist and BJ found the spongy texture she'd been probing for, she stroked and tapped gently as Ginette grunted and nearly levitated from the bed. A few more knowing strokes and the small grunts turned to lusty cries as another deeper orgasm swept through her spasming her vaginal muscles. BJ quickly withdrew knuckles and hand coated in the small but forceful ejaculation. Bowing her head again swilling her tongue through each fold and crevice she hungrily lapped her clean.
Exhausted, blissed out, liquefied under the loving ablutions Ginette lay panting up at the ceiling. The weight shifted and her lover appeared beside her, her beautiful smile beaming down like warm sunshine.
“I…I can't move…” Ginette croaked, lying sprawled across the bed. “I'm a starfish…” She gave up trying to lift her sweat soaked head to offer a kiss.
BJ snuggled down under a shoulder and cradled her waist, “Sssh. Don't fret, starfish regenerate.” She reached over and kissed a cheek.
“You smell nice.”
“It's you.”
“I know. I like me on you.”
“I like it too. Sssh. Sleep now my little starfish.”
And both did.
*****
A telephone chirped out maybe half a ring before being silenced. It woke Victoria out of her sleep long enough for her to register her growling stomach. Shifting out from under Mickey's heavy arm she pulled a large T-shirt over her nakedness and wandered off in search of the gumbo.
The ding of the microwave brought Ginette down the corridor from BJ's bedroom. Yawning she pulled out another bowl for herself and filled with the cold stew to reheat too.
“What time is it?” both women sat at the dining table and ate.
“Hmm, around four o'clock I think. Who was on the phone?” Victoria asked.
“BJ's bro warning her Uncle Rudy has been arrested and to lie low. Seems Carmelo's boat was jam packed with coke and he's squealed like a stuck pig on the lot of them in some police deal.”
Victoria looked surprised at Ginette's unconcern,
“Is BJ gonna be alright?”
“Oh yea, she had nothing to do with their drug running. She was only brought in to work in the kidnapping, torture and murder of you department. And since that never happened, and Rudy never reported his boss's abduction she's safe. Blackmailable, but safe. Rudy is never gonna add those charges to the string they already have against him now is he?”
“Blackmailable?”
“Well when I say blackmailable I am in fact talking of me and BJ's future together…”
“Blackmailable.”
“Yup. Some people have Happy Ever After, I have blackmail. Comme ci, comme ca.”
They ate a few more spoonfuls in silence.
“What about you?” Ginette asked.
“Me?”
“You and what's her face.”
“Ah, we don't have blackmail. We have ‘You're penniless and you're mine'.”
“Nice.” Ginette nodded slowly in appreciation. “Bankruptcy.”
“Plus I love her.”
“I know.”
Another companionable silence which Ginette again broke,
“So, what are you gonna do about it. Stay here, take her back, what?”
Victoria contemplated this and shook her head,
“I'm not sure what will happen. I only know the one thing she ever wanted to do was runaway on that stupid boat. I'm not sure what's ahead for us.”
Ginette nodded knowingly, everything seemed just a confused and jumbled in her own life too.
“What about you?” Victoria asked. “You and BJ seem quite cosy.” Understatement of the year! Hyenas mate more quietly.
“I'm getting there. I can feel ‘It' stalking me.” She shrugged, her face totally honest, “You know how love is…an evil warlord, always out to get ya!”
“You look at things very uniquely Ginette.”
“Thank you. When will I get my money?”
Victoria smiled at her ex-lovers directness,
“Tomorrow. We'll talk about it then, with BJ too.” She stood up to rinse her dish in the sink. Dropping a light kiss on the top of Ginette's head she murmured, “Sleep tight sweetheart.”
“Oh I will…like a starfish.”
*****
“No, no, please. I can't take any more. You've got to stop, you're killing me.” Victoria gasped her hands weakly pushing at the heavy dark head nestled between her thighs. “This can't be legal. It's a sneaky assassination attempt...”
Sweat drenched her breath came in ragged heaves, all her limbs had liquefied under the carnal onslaught she'd undergone. Moaning she rolled off her side and flat onto her back.
“I'm done in,” she groaned, “I just can't multi task at this level.”
Dawn was creeping through the window and her body felt as if she'd never closed an eye all night.
Mickey looked up along the spent body,
“Hey. This is supposed to be a sixty-niner you haven't been keeping your end of the bargain. Where's your fifty percent, huh?”
Victoria shook her head feebly, “Can't...can't do math right now. Brains turned to soup.”
Crawling up the bed she appeared beside her lover and snuggled in.
“Okay Soupy, but you owe me half a sixty-nine.”
Victoria idly played with the long strands of dark hair, letting them run through her fingers like silken threads. “Are you making demands?”
“I'm calling a debt.”
“A debt…for oral satisfaction?”
Mickey rolled onto her belly and languorously licked Victoria's lazy pink nipple as if it were a blob of raspberry ice cream.
“Yes. You owe me some oral satisfaction.”
“Hmmm. What if I just said something nice, would that not count?”
“Wellll…” Mickey ceased her lazy licking and scrunched up her face in thought, “I suppose if you said you're my sex slave for a day that might be nice.” She chanced her luck.
Victoria sighed she would obviously just have to manage the conversation herself,
“What if I told you Monster was salvageable…at great cost mind you, but salvageable.”
Mickey's head popped up, blue eyes bore into hers full of hope. She stayed silent.
Victoria cleared her throat,
“What if we got her ship-shape again and took a cruise, just the two of us. Sort of like a make or break honeymoon thingy.”
Big blue eyes blinked at the word honeymoon. Misreading the glance Victoria hurried on,
“I mean if we can survive in a confined space for several weeks and not poison, drown or stab each other there's a pretty good chance that maybe we could…hang out together…”
“Hang out?”
“Mmm, well, be together…”
“Like a couple.”
“Yes, a couple.”
“Who live together?”
“Yes, I suppose we could live together…somewhere.”
“Like girlfriend and partner.”
“Mmm, well, yes, maybe…”
“Like wifey and wifey.”
“That's a bit quick!”
“Like barnacle and boat”
“Hey!” but further protests were smothered by a big kiss from her intended.
*****
Part Ten:
BJ and Ginette sat and blinked in unison,
“You did what?” Ginette asked.
“Huh?” BJ managed.
That's so sweet they even blink in harmony now. Victoria smiled patiently and explained again,
“We've signed over the resort to both of you. You have co-ownership.”
“Where's my savings?” Ginette demanded.
“In the resort.” Victoria answered with growing impatience.
“And my half mill?”
She looked at BJ, “In the resort. What part of this don't you both get?”
“You've put all our money in that resort?” Ginette spluttered.
Finally! Victoria sighed in relief.
“That's not what we agreed!” she continued her voice beginning to squeak.
“Actually we didn't agree on anything, just hat I recompense you, and I've done that through real estate. Same goes for you BJ. You now take over from your Uncle. May he rot in hell…sorry jail.”
“Hey...” Ginette began again but Victoria held up her hands,
“It's done. Take it or leave it. Run it or sell it, but it's done. You both own the resort.”
*****
“How'd they take it?” Mickey looked up as her partner joined her on the pier.
“I left them bickering over who was going to be the General Manager. It'll be their glue in the first instance until all the other things drop in place.”
“And then what?”
“Then they'll wake up one morning and realise they're a couple.”
“Just like us?”
“Just like us.”
“What was our glue?”
Victoria smirked, “Greed. For money.”
“And here we are waiting to see a man about a boat so we can sail away and life like ship rats. What happened to our glue there?”
“It's still there, the greed has changed.” Victoria rubbed a possessive hand over Mickey's belly as she snuggled in under her arm. “Now all I want is you.”
Mickey smiled down at her,
“Okay, it's a deal. You got me. Now let's go see this guy about a salvage operation.”
In the warm Caribbean sunshine, arms twined around each others waist the tall brunette and her smaller blonde companion wandered down the jetty. Topaz water sparkled on either side of them, the breeze was balmy, they finally had each other and life was good
The End ©msprism2007