Steve and ChuckChapter 55
- 3 years ago
- 26
- 0
Chuck
Oh yeah, a strange bed and it's too full. Thank goodness I was on the end or the outside. Even a super king or California King can't hold ten people. When I swung from bed and looked back, I almost broke up. Eight girls, or women as they are, were all spooning, nested together as if stacked. It was just inconceivable that we all slept in the same bed. We need to figure out something better even if it's going back to the boat at night.
Thank goodness I had brought my peg as I slipped it on to go to the bathroom. I was amazed at how cool it was with the ocean breezes passing through the room. We almost could have used a light blanket in addition to just the sheet we used as cover. I came back into the room, sat down in a side chair, and just gazed at the critters sleeping together in the bed, chuckling to myself as I observed what I was thinking of as my cast of women this morning. The four house girls from my condo wanted to sleep next to me, so I had been hugging Mertine who was hugging Flori, with Minell, Maria, Gina, Julie, Taiying, Sing, and last was Lisa almost falling out of the bed on the other side. Even the bed in the boat seemed to be getting too small and we had one more than this before the Fun Five left.
I wondered what time it was, but I did know it was past sunrise. I had forgotten to reset my watch to local time, so who knew what time it was. Julie didn't even have an alarm clock in the room. As a matter of fact, I didn't remember any clocks anywhere in the house.
I heard sounds of construction vehicles in the distance, making me think it was probably after seven if the men were already working. Oh, well, I might as well get going. I heard someone moving around upstairs, which is the third floor, so at least someone else is awake.
Amazingly, I showered alone and dressed without waking anyone. I went downstairs and found the kitchen. Mina was busy doing what women do in kitchens. She smiled at me, wiped her hands on her apron, and came over to give me a hug. She pointed at the door to the porch and said, "Vaya siéntese por favor." When I didn't understand quickly, she smiled at me, still pointing at the door, "Please, go sit."
She is really a sweet person. Out on the porch, Mark and Carolyn were sitting with Dewey and Miguel. As soon as I sat, Mina placed a hot mug of coffee in front of me. Mark told me, "The coffee is from right here in Costa Rica. Mina usually trades for a big bag of beans in Limón, brings them home to roast, and grinds them fresh to make coffee. This stuff is strong, but oh so good." He was smiling when he added, "Now that she has all of the gas she can use, she's baking and roasting constantly. Miguel here had to remodel the kitchen to give her a built in double oven, in addition to that giant stove she has. She usually has at least a couple of island wives here helping out, but most of the people are preparing to go into Limón for their Saturday market day tomorrow."
Miguel said, "It is exciting to go to land. There are many shops and many sights to see. We often stay late to have supper at the Yacht club. Because you are the whole area's patrón, we are honored people and are proudly served the best they have to offer."
Carolyn giggled, "I've never met a patrón before."
Dewey told her, "The patrón is the chosen person, the protector or guardian, as well as financial supporter. It's a pretty big honor for these people to refer to you that way, Chuck."
I was a little embarrassed as I sipped the delicious coffee.
We heard what sounded like Steve's and Sue's voices talking to Mina in Spanish before the two of them came out to join us, already holding mugs of coffee. Steve asked, "What do you say we get an early start this morning and go explore the big island first? Miguel, you know the people who live there now, don't you?"
Miguel frowned, "I know them, but I don't care to be with them. I think they might be thieves and go into Limón at night to rob people and businesses. I've seen them on the way into Limón in the late evening as we come home, and have observed their boat on the way back early in the morning. The market shops are not open late at night, so they cannot be buying food. There are no jobs at night for people who act the way they do, and they always have a fairly new big boat and motors. If you travel to the island today, you need to be careful."
I told the group, "I have to sign some papers this morning, so I think I'll have someone help me fly into Limón. How about it, Mark, want to be my instructor pilot again?"
Mark grinned, "Anything to fly. This will be good, as the girls that live at your condo wanted to be taken in this morning. The girls from the boat will come and get them if they ask, but I'm sure they would rather let the boat girls do everything they need to do for tonight and the weekend."
I was going to run back upstairs, when the door opened and all of the women who had been in my bed came out to the porch. We rearranged a bunch of tables so we could all sit at one big table. Julie said, "Your four loves from Limón need to go back to the condo this morning. I just overheard Mark talk about it. That will be perfect for them."
"When we get there, can one of you drive me to the legal office to sign some papers?"
Minell smiled and said, "I am the best driver. I will take you."
The other three girls were all pushing her on the shoulder and telling her she wasn't speaking the truth. She just wanted to hog my attention. It was cute the way they were teasing her. Maria said, "It is good for Minell to do the drive; she is not that good at keeping house anyway. At least we've found something to do she is good." Maria screwed up her mouth and corrected herself, "Something she is good at."
My smile obviously was welcome. Flori and Mertine got up and were soon coming back out, helping Mina carry large trays of plates. They passed out plates with some kind of scrambled egg concoction and a lot of fruit around the edge of the plate. Mina went back in and came back with a huge platter of muffins. Miguel said, "We are in luck. Mina only makes these when she is the happiest. I think we will have a good day."
Mina didn't speak English that well, but understood what Miguel said. She gave him a hug before going back inside. Miguel did a Groucho Marx thing with his eyebrows as he smiled and looked at the departing Mina.
I asked, "This may sound like my music talking, but does anybody know what time it is?"
Julie laughed, "I'm not used to having to know the time. John never liked to be rushed or have to be somewhere at an exact time. He would only deal with other businessmen who could come around or be visited when he wanted it. I think we do have a couple of small alarm clocks."
I said, "That still didn't tell me what time it is."
Mark looked at his watch and said, "Coming up on seven right now, if my watch is correct."
Dewey pulled out his cell phone and said, "Six fifty-nine to be exact."
Oh yeah, I could have looked at my cell phone. I probably needed to charge it soon. I told Mark, "I think I can see the lawyer at eight. We need to go wake up Ben too. That's going to put us one person over for the airplane ride."
Sue said, "Let me go wake Ben up. If any of you men were to go in there, Carlotta will grab you and you wouldn't get out of there before lunch. She's just about as bad with us women."
Sue came back right away, but it took Ben a half hour to get ready. He had a cup of coffee and a muffin, and declared himself ready to go. I asked Mark, "What do you think? Should we risk an additional person?"
Mark said, "We shouldn't, so you'll have to fly by yourself. You did great yesterday, so you shouldn't have any problem landing. You can set down outside the yacht club lagoon and taxi into the new aircraft dock. You saw the lines in the pontoons yesterday, so just remember to tie up the front and back of the pontoons. I would recommend you put the plane to the dock on the right side. The passenger door is there. Show one or two of the girls where the lines are and they can help tie you up. You'll be fine."
I asked the girls, "Do you need to get any bags or anything?"
Maria said, "We leave clothes out here, so we'll wear what we have. All we need is our purses."
Mark went with us so the seven of us took a passenger cart down to the big hangar. Mark and I pushed the aircraft out of the hangar to the edge of where the ramp begins to slant down. I was doing the preflight and discovered the plane could use some fuel. Mark suggested, "The aircraft has enough fuel to go to Limón and back. You're going to be fairly heavy so why don't you save the weight of additional fuel? It will make your take off easier."
I told Mark, "The way the aircraft handled and the power it seemed to have, I'll bet it would take off easily over it's computed max load."
"Just to be on the safe side Chuck, go with the fuel on board. It'll make take off easier."
Before we moved the airplane from the fuel dock, I checked the engine oil and tire pressure inside the pontoons. We pushed the aircraft back near the water, and were ready to go. I made sure the ladies were all seated, buckled up, and had headsets on. Ben was getting used to small planes now, so he buckled up and put his headset on while sitting in the right seat.
I went through the cockpit checklist and started the engine. Mark's experimental engine sure was quiet. I began pushing the throttle in until the aircraft tipped over the slant and rolled into the water. As soon as we were floating, I checked the wind sock one more time and headed for the buoys.
At the buoys, I punched in the name 'Limón Yacht Club' to see if Mark had logged it. Sure enough, the correct coordinates came up with the headline name. After keying the radio and announcing my intention to take off, I gave one last check of the instruments and I pushed the throttle the rest of the way in.
Wow! This little aircraft was powerful. We lifted off with a full load in a very short distance. We turned toward Limón, climbing out to five thousand feet. When I backed the throttle off to about three quarters, watching the tachometer to make sure I was in the correct range, I couldn't believe the airspeed indicator. We were doing a little over a hundred sixty knots. That is almost unheard of in a aircraft this size. Mark said that he and Abe had created a turbo-normalized engine. This would keep sea level combustion air at all altitudes, without any overboost
We quickly traversed the distance, so after announcing my existence to the world and my intention to land, I circled my way down to the area where Mark told me to land. The water looked good, without any chop, so our landing was smooth. I did exactly as Mark had taught me. I flew into the water, or rather kept flying, until I felt the drag of the water on the pontoons and gradually decreased the run out speed. I taxied into the yacht club marina and spotted the aircraft dock at the end of the dock where my big yacht was moored. There were several people standing on the dock, along with the four boat girls. As soon as I got up close to the dock, one of the boat girls stepped onto the pontoon, opened the front hatch, threw a line to the dock, turned around, opened the rear hatch and threw another line up. The plane was pulled up close enough to the dock that Ben was able to step out of the plane onto the pontoon before taking a big step up to the dock. The people on the dock helped the four girls out of the plane, while I had to crawl over the console to climb out the right door. Pontoon boats needed a walkway between the pontoons.
As soon as I stepped onto the dock, I was surrounded by the boat girls. The condo girls were excitedly talking about their first trip in the pontoon aircraft. When the girls gave me some room, Dino, the yacht club manager, was pumping my hand as if I was his long lost brother. He finally let go of my hand when I told him we would be coming to the party this evening. I asked him, "Do you think you could separate off some more room for a band? I am traveling with some great musicians who have agreed to help entertain. They will be giving you about two solid hours of dance music and entertainment, but they can bust it up into two sets to make the music last later."
Dino was excited and said he would have a large area ready for us. I found Minell and asked, "Do you want to run the girls to the condo before you take Ben and me to the lawyer, the abogado?"
We all got into the giant Lincoln convertible after removing the tarp that had been over it. Riding in it was like being in a parade, as people were waving at us all the way to the condo and all the way to the lawyer's office. The office was open and the receptionist spoke great English, "Mr. Sanchez heard you had arrived at the yacht club and opened early for you. Please let me show you in."
We went into a nice office with an older gentleman behind the desk. Ben introduced me, "This is Diego Sanchez, the attorney who has been helping me to help you do the community things you've been doing. He has also put me onto a few investments that have done well."
Diego Sanchez was as bad as Dino shaking my hand. He said, "It is so good to meet you, Mr. Johnson. I've admired you a great deal since you rid us of that plague of a man who was here. You have generously given us everything possible to help build up our community, and the whole area does appreciate it."
Diego finally let go of my hand and began moving files around on his desk. He said, "I have all of the papers right here. Let me call the seller's attorney to come. He is right next door. Diego first pushed a button and said, "Deni, please bring Mr. Johnson and Mr. Phillips some of our special coffee." He looked up at us and said, "Actually, all we have is our special coffee."
Diego called the other attorney and had a brief conversation. It wasn't but a few minutes after we had been served coffee that the other attorney came in, flanked by some pretty rough looking men. One of the men looked familiar, but I couldn't place him. He did a double take and looked at me hard as well.
After some brief introductions, the new attorney, Montego Ruiz said, "It is convenient that the present owners are here to sign, as well. Shall we do the signing and money transfer?"
The attorney gave Diego his documents and Diego began going through them. He asked me for my passport then asked the rough looking guys for their IDs. The two were grumbling as they searched through their wallets for their Costa Rican identity cards. When they finally pulled them out, Diego looked at them and back at the contracts several time before he said, "There must be some kind of error, the title of both of the islands are in two other names. Neither title reflects you two men."
The other attorney looked nervous, but the one guy I thought I might know said, "It is not your concern. I have possession of the islands, and therefore the owner. You will make this deal and give us the money. We are in a hurry to get away from here."
Diego said, "I'm sorry, I cannot assist in transferring property fraudulently. If you bring in the two owners listed on these documents and have them sign, I will distribute the monies to both of them."
The two men were becoming angry. The one was whispering to the other. I couldn't hear what they said, but one word came through loud and clear, "Martinelli." That's when I recognized one of the men who had come to the condo that night to make me pay tribute to a man that was not around any longer. I didn't recognize the other man, but he had to be another of the original Dominic Martinelli group. I guess we knew where the houseboat ended up, but I wondered where all the others were.
Thank goodness I had my sport coat and shoulder holster on in case these bozos decided to get rough. I wasn't going to let them push me or anyone else around this time.
The man I recognized said, "The original owners have died. They left the land to us, but didn't have the opportunity to sign it over to us and none of us write well, so there is no will."
Diego looked at the other attorney and said, "You know, that is not true. Jesus Hernando might have been a recluse, but the man was a Rhodes Scholar. I think there is a problem for the police here, Montego. I will call them for you."
The rough looking guy looked as if he was trying to get at something from his back pocket. My Glock was in his face so fast his eyes and mouth opened wide. I told him, "Raise your hands very slowly. No fast moves. Ben, check this guy for what he was reaching for, then check his partner." I told the two of them, "If I fire, it will go through both of your heads so you both need to be very cooperative."
When Ben laid two older forty-five semi-automatics on Diego's desk, Diego asked, "Should I call the policia now?"
I asked Diego, "Do you know how to use one of those?"
Diego picked one up, dropped the clip to check for ammo, slid it back in and jacked a round into the chamber. He said, "Before I went to law school, I served in the Policia Nacional. I know a forty-five."
"Watch them. I need to make a call. I looked at my watch to see it was eight-thirty here so it would be two –thirty in the afternoon in Italy. I pushed the buttons on my contact list and waited. The voice at the other end said, "Yes."
I said, "Giovanni, this is Chuck Johnson. I am in Costa Rica and I may have found a couple of Dominic's men." I motioned to Diego for the two men's IDs. "Do you know," and I gave Gio the two names. Gio said, "Oh yes, I know both well. How do you know those two now?"
I explained what had happened then asked, "Should I turn them over to the police, or do you have someone near here that you might want to have them?"
There was a pause and he said, "Wait, I must make another call. I am making your call silent so you cannot hear."
He didn't take but a couple of minutes before he came back. He said, "You are in Limón, right?"
"Yes Sir, in an attorney's office. If you would like, I can explain what I was doing."
"You should later tell me, but right now you will hang up and wait for a call. You tell the person how to get to you. Call me later."
I no sooner hung up than my phone rang. I answered, "Johnson" and a voice said, "Giovanni asked me to come to you. He said you have two things for him. Where are you?"
When I told the man where we were, he said, "Yes, I know the location well and will be there in a minute or two. If you could please have only the two packages and you." The man hung up without another word.
The two rough looking men were looking at me with what looked almost like obstinate fear. I held my Glock on the two and told Diego, "Drop the hammer for me, and hand me both weapons and their IDs. Wipe all of them clean, please."
The man caught on quickly and did as I asked, holding each weapon with a tissue he had on his desk. Using another tissue, I took both guns and dropped them and the IDs into my side coat pockets. I told Diego, the attorney, and Ben, "Please have a seat. I'm going to send the secretary in here for a minute. I'll be right back."
I went through the door and asked Deni, the secretary, to please go into Diego's office. I had my piece down at my side but aimed at the men. She didn't see it on the way by and as soon as she passed, I motioned the two out into the reception area. The one guy asked me, "You were the cripple who we saw the night Dominic disappeared and the night we were pushed out to sea. I know because I see it in your eyes the same as that night."
He turned to the other guy and spoke in what sounded like Italian then turned back to me. "What Giovanni were you talking to?"
I smiled when I said, "Giovanni Martinelli."
He asked, "How do you know him? You have been to Italy?"
I nodded and added, "I did a favor for his grandchildren."
Both men's heads came up when I said that. There was a rapid exchange in Italian between them, but I did hear Mario and Sophia along with two different sounding Gios. Oh my, I wonder if?
Four men came through the door. All four were nicely dressed and not in cheap gangster clothing. The four smiled and in perfect English one said, "Thank you for keeping these two. We have been looking for them for a long time."
Before they left, I said, "I have a couple of toys that I would appreciate you taking."
When I lifted the flap of my sport coat pocket, I showed the handle of one of the forty-fives. One of the men pulled a pair of rubber gloves from his pocket and a large plastic bag. He smiled at me as he removed the guns and ID's from my pocket and put them into a bag. He pulled the gloves off and put them into the bag before sealing it.
The first man to talk when they came in, said, "Mr. Martinelli thanks you for this service. He wants you to call him soon."
One of the men had his hand in his coat pocket, and the two rough looking smelly men went meekly with the four.
Steve I was laying on my back, with Gio on my left shoulder and Juanita on my right. I could see the clock on the other side of the room showing that it was right at six AM. We were up later than usual last night. Even after coming to bed, my ladies were more active than usual, but what is normal for these women? Poor Gio, I could tell she wanted to be loved, but all she received was a lot of kisses and hugs. Our baby is more important than sex. The other girls are being almost overly...
Steve I had just discussed the medical laboratory plant with Sue and we agreed that this was an important project. We both wanted to continue to assist Chuck in helping vets any way we could. It was past time to run into work, so I went to see how the company was functioning. A walkthrough of all the shops is always the best way to get a feel for what's going on. I saw Hank in the rear of the motor shop, painting one of Shawna's chopper creations. He was doing it from a chair with his...
Chuck Holy shit! There are babies everywhere. All of them are hollering/crying and they all need attention right now. Literally hundreds of babies were demanding diaper changes, demanding a breast to nurse, and looking for loving attention. All I could do is stand in the middle of the bedlam with my mouth open, too terrified to do anything. Someone was shaking me, "Wake up, Chuck, you're having a bad dream, wake up, Honey." I opened by eyes to find Brandy looking at me with a concerned...
Steve I was having coffee in my room at the resort. I had the patio doors open, looking out from the ninth floor toward the beautiful lagoon or small harbor in front of the hotel. It was still too early for beach people, but there were workers cleaning the beach. Two tractors were dragging the sand, smoothing it out to make it more appealing to the tourists. In the harbor and at the dock were several large yachts and sailboats. None, however, rivaled the Have Mercy, the Mercy Mercy, or...
Steve Mercy was shaking me, "Steve, Steve, wake up. Chuck may need you. I think Maria's in trouble." I sat straight up trying to think why Maria would be in trouble. Oh yeah, she's about to hatch. "What kind of trouble, Mercy, what is it?" Mercy just shook her head, "I don't know, but she just woke Chuck up. He may need us. Let's get over there to make sure they are alright." I began putting some clothes on. Sue, Kathy, Mickey, and Juanita woke, seeing Mercy and me dressing,...
Steve I had been told first by Mercy, then by Sue, that all of the women wanted to talk to me. That usually is almost instant death, or maybe it was going to be an execution, mine. At least they had waited for me to finish eating breakfast before the hanging. It was with great apprehension that I was following Sue, Kathy, and Mickey up the stairs, or more appropriately, the broad curved ladder that goes up to the salon. Mercy was at the helm, with Juanita sitting beside her . Juanita...
Chuck A speaker in the room was broadcasting reveille. It had the desired effect, as I swung my foot and stump out of bed. Across from me, Lisa was sitting up, rubbing her eyes. She looked up at me and said, "Old habits are hard to break, aren't they?" Wanda was trying to pull a pillow over her head, but Lisa gave her a shake and said, "You better get up, or you won't get a shower and breakfast." Lisa looked up at me, "Since you're fast, go do your thing, and I'll go next after I...
Chuck Lisa and I were having fun doing what we liked to do when we were relaxing. We were both sitting on a little raised stage at the bottom of what was like a theater in the round. The platform had a baby grand with a bench and two chairs, with Lisa and me sitting on them. An interesting part of this is that there was absolutely no sound system. If you were looking for un-plugged, this was the ultimate. The acoustics in the theater had been designed so that what was played on the little...
Steve I was up early, as usual, sitting in the parlor on one of the fixed stools at the bar in the suite. You know how it is; waiting for coffee to brew can seem like an eternity when you don't want to sit there and wait. There was no place else to go and nothing else to do. If I went out to the patio, I would just have to come back in. If I went back into the room, I would probably disturb someone. Wonder why I can never sleep late? Only on rare occasions can I sleep until seven or eight....
Steve As soon as I stepped out on the patio, Tiny came in the back door, waving some papers while grinning his conspiratorial grin. I asked, "What are up to, Tiny? What's got you wound up so early?" "I've just heard from another Saudi sheik who is buying a new 737. The man heard we were buyers and called our office. The night customer service people transferred the call to me and we will get the new or rather new/used bird today. The Sheik's agent said we would like the price. I...
Chuck When Sue and Don relieved me at midnight, I went down to the office to check the rings I was going to hand out later that night. I separated eight of the rings, along with the special one I had made up for Lisa. The only difference between the special one and the others was that it had two brilliant blue diamonds on each side of the big diamond while the other rings had two bright red rubies on each side of a big diamond. The bands were wide, much wider than what a normal engagement or...
Chuck I woke up in a sweat. Remembering the night before didn't help with the PTS, with maybe a D on the end. That was close. I wonder why the bomb detonated, did it have a timer? Was there another person with a remote detonator? I doubt I'll ever know. I do know I was grateful to have carried Lisa out of the way. A heavy-breasted person was at my back and it wasn't Frieda as the belly wasn't bulging. That's when I remembered Gina. My, oh my, what do I do after hearing Giovanni's...
Steve Chuck had come out for breakfast this morning to talk to me about something. When we had our coffee and were sitting at the bar away from people, Chuck said, "There's a bunch of things coming together all at once. Magellan called to say the boat's ready to be picked up. I've transferred funds and paid them, so we can bring it up any time." He took a sip of coffee and said, "You want to go to Hawaii for a few days, which at a minimum is a day going and a day returning. I can get...
Steve Amazing, one night the little ones don't wake you up, and the next they wake up a couple of times. It wasn't bad either time, as Mickey and Giovanna were quickly up to take care of them. I can't imagine what Chuck is doing with ten of them in his big suite. Chuck has made some very nice plans for us, considering I thought the resort was sold out to other customers. Chuck is sneaky that way. He'll have had this planned for months now, and was able to coordinate holding the Costa...
Chuck It seemed like just a few minutes ago I was totaled, dead tired, completely exhausted. So what the heck, what's the matter? I never have trouble sleeping. I can even sleep soundly on the hot sand snuggled up against a track, like an APC or an Abrams tank. The shade is always good unless it's too close to mid-day. What's in my head now that I'm having trouble sleeping? I looked at the clock to see it was only two o'clock, and I was wide awake, tired but definitely wide awake. Oh...
Chuck I heard a baby cry and the bed shifted a little. There was activity over by the small table that I was told was a changing table. I raised my head to see who was up and saw Nancy changing a diaper. Her little one was making noises, but not crying. I suppose since she was getting attention that was what she wanted. Wanting to watch what the process was, I turned on my back and propped my head up on a folded pillow. After she changed the diaper, she put the infant back into the...
Steve We had eaten a great supper and were all relaxing on the patio when Wanda came to get me. She asked if we could go somewhere to talk. Not knowing what was up, I took her to Sue's offices in the other end of the trailer from the bedrooms. Wanda and I sat down and she said, "Steve, I don't know what to do. I talked to Chuck this morning and he's been shot. Lisa, Nightfox, and him, were all shot. He says they're not too serious, but I'm not sure about that. When I called our base...
Steve I had just kissed Sue goodbye when she left the airpark to go to work and Chuck was inside the hangar going over evidence. This was going to be a busy day. Turning back to the charter office, I found a new person at the desk. "Hi, Charlotte, I thought Star was working this morning." "No Sir, Star is right seat on the G5 out there leaving in a few minutes. If you need to talk to her, she's probably on the aircraft now." "That's okay, I'm sure she's fine. Do we have the other...
Steve, Sunday mornings are always fun around home. Chuck showed up with his crew, dressed to stimulate as much as my ladies did. As breakfast was eaten, Chuck said, "I want play with the new boat. What do you think, Steve, could we take it out for a while?" People heard Chuck's request and were speaking up, "Yeah, take us out on the new boat." "Let's see if Chuck can captain his new boat." "Come on Steve and Mercy; let's help Chuck check out his boat." Sue rolled her eyes and...
Steve Now that Chuck was back from hiding out in the Gulf, life around home seemed to be getting back to normal. He was busy with a bunch of federal people and his prisoners were all transported to DC where they would be held or given an option to be bailed out. I told Chuck that I didn't care what happened, as long as they left me and my company alone. Tiny told me that a major military supplier was negotiating to have us produce bodies for their equipment. That is what we wanted in the...
Steve Three weeks later Wes was sitting on an overturned bucket, staring at the right wing of the parts that Jeff's team had molded before he had been hired. He had been determined to have this bunch of parts flying within a week or two. No such luck. He kept finding flaws in how the pieces fit together. He kept checking the blueprints that were downloaded from the internet with the finished product, and found the pre-made parts to be exact to the print. The problem was they didn't fit,...
Chuck This party is an amazing testament to all of the girls' ability to organize, plan, and carry through to their objective. There were many people who showed up that I would not have expected. John, the Marshal, and their families came followed shortly by Dewey and his family. I was honored to have him here, as that man has some "cool." I had to ask John and the Marshal, "I thought you two were staying down in Costa Rica?" John answered, "I wanted to surprise you. You know we had...
Chuck I was on my way to Cut Bank, Montana. Way up in northern Montana. My Aunt Etta-Mae had called saying she was in trouble. Lisa had just asked me to tell her what was really happening. The cabin satellite phone was ringing. Julie went to answer it and looked up at me. I told her I could transfer the call to my headset. "Johnson." "Is this Charles Johnson?" I told the voice, "It is. Most call me Chuck." "Chuck, you have an aunt named Etta-Mae Johnson, right?" Being wary I...
Chuck Waking up in a strange bed, or in this case, on a strange couch is disconcerting. I had to look around to find my leg before going to the bathroom. As I traversed to the toilet, I thought I smelled coffee brewing. When I left the bathroom, I went straight to the kitchen and found Julie and Missy sitting at the big kitchen table with fresh cups in front of them. In a chair across from them was a steaming cup of coffee. Julie smiled, pointed to it, and said, "Good morning,...
Steve Last night had been strange. Chuck was in a fight, no that wasn't right. He really didn't have a fight. That monster guy attacked him, and Chuck just tossed him. He did whack the guy in the nose, but it could have been the heel of the hand into the nose, a killing blow. We all learned that one. That wrist thing Chuck did was so quick that it was just something that happened as the big guy went over the top of him. I was sitting drinking that first cup of coffee contemplating what...
As soon as we all made it back to Mac's after the kidnapping, Sue, Mercy, and Kathy cornered me. Sue said, "You shouldn't have been involved in that. You are the father to a bunch of kids with another on the way. What in the world were you thinking?" Before I could answer, Mercy said, "I know you felt you had to help Chuck, and we all love him, but you have to be careful, Steve. We need you, we don't need you hurt." Kathy actually defended me, "Steve is a man. He has to defend his...
Steve I woke up several times during the night, hearing things that were normal sounds. Sure wish Chuck had stayed, I would have felt a lot more secure. Funny how a guy like that can make you feel safe. He's just a guy, a one- legged guy with a crooked smile, who is as friendly as a kitten. He can be vicious when he's on the job though. Drinking coffee at 5:55 in the morning is a good way to enjoy the day. I called down to the gate guard to see how everything was going and he said that...
Steve (Tuesday) Mercy and I were in the restaurant early, having coffee, when a couple of salt and pepper guys came in. I stood and both came toward me with their hands stuck out to shake. They sat with us and were brought coffee. Bud Anderson, said, "I've been working on this case for a year and thought we had most of it put to bed. There must be more to it, as you've turned up a significant group here in Nevada." Jim said, "Chuck split me off as his backup a while back to work with...
Chuck A few days later, we were passing Gibraltar. Everyone on board was out on deck to view the sight that was so familiar from the kids' geography books, the thick yellow National Geographic magazine pictorials, and advertising. The iconic view we all remember from the Prudential Insurance ads, though, is visible only from one angle, on the Mediterranean side of the Rock. Fortunately, our course kept that view in sight for quite a while. Gibraltar looks unrecognizably different from...
Steve As I passed through the galley, I was confronted by Glenda, still in her robe. I asked, "Are you going to stay in today?" Glenda said, "I think Martin and I have been overdoing it. The scooter thing we did yesterday helped, but we were both so tired last night that we thought we should stay home and rest a little. I can spend the day doing some dusting, and I need to wash some clothes for my man. The two of us could use the rest. I thought I might give home a call this afternoon to...
Chuck The last baby had been fed her middle of the night feeding, and I was really deep asleep. Lisa was shaking me. When I came out of my fog, I heard her say, "Your cell phone is ringing. Hope that isn't a problem." I got up from bed and hopped into my closet/dressing area to retrieve my phone from the tray I put pocket junk in. "Johnson," "You son of a gun, we did just like you've been doing and let it ride, all of it, we kept letting it ride. Brother Chuck, Tiny and I have hit...
Chuck I woke being hugged between Julie and Brandy. The two were really hanging on, but I needed to offload pretty soon. Sliding from the grasp of the two women, I saw that Lisa was sleeping with her head on Gina's cushions. I was going to go back to bed after using the head, but saw it was five fifty already and we were going to shove off early this morning. Instead of going back to bed, I hopped back to the head, showered, shaved, and quickly dressed to go see if anyone else was up. The...
Steve On Monday and Tuesday, Sue and I went through our local plants, visiting with the managers and workers, assuring them of what a great job they were doing. A highlight of the visits was my time spent in the recently expanded R&D building. The new guy, Sandy Flowers, had become an integral part of the team there. After setting up software to track testing and modifications, Sandy had begun helping Gerry on one of her quests to create a special polymer composite that would resist...
Chuck Life was settling down all around. I was just doing the usual office work with no flying everywhere on an almost daily basis for a change. John Scott seemed to have settled down in DC and was enjoying his job again. I had the flying lessons and was checked out in the new Citation X but had no reason to go anywhere. The charter company used it once for a quick trip to San Diego and back, but Lisa took that one. She said it was great to have an aircraft that could fly that far, that...
Steve Oh, what a night! My lovely ladies must have thought I needed the attention as they were absolutely on fire. I think they were trying to help me set a record as they all had some of my loving and started over again. The surprise among the players was a sneaky person, as all of a sudden, when Mercy fell to the side, two large bazooms were in my face and they did not belong to Sue. Sue's mother was sitting on my pride and joy, smiling down at me. She said, "Oh, Steve, this feels so...
Chuck How can that be? My cell phone is ringing. I don't remember leaving it on. Jesus, who could be calling at, I lifted my head to see it was six thirty? I was on the outside of the pile of female flesh, so I was able to get up and hop to the table where my pocket stuff and cell phone was. "Hello." A sort of familiar voice said, "Hey, Chuck, how're you and that sweet Lisa doing?" Trying to figure out who this was I said, "We're all fine, ah, who is this?" "Hey man, this is...
Chuck Sunday mornings are fun out at the park. The women wear near nothing, driving us men crazy. I anticipated a good time. When I woke and began my exercises, John joined me on a treadmill, followed by some weights. He said, "It sure would be nice to have you close by. We could workout together. It's a lot more fun to do this stuff when you have a buddy." About that time, Lisa, Brandy, and Tiani came in and began using the other treadmill and the stationary bikes. Little Tiani said,...
Chuck Sunday Waking up in a strange place is always weird, but this is too much. I'm hugging someone different, my hand is around a soft full breast, and if what I feel is real, I'm balls deep in a very juicy unfamiliar pussy that is sliding slowly back and forth. I can feel breath on my shoulder and hear Lisa breathing. She has a little catch to her breathing when she is sleeping and when she's excited. But her hand is holding and squeezing my balls so she is probably not...
Steve We picked up a nice wind the first day out. There was a low pressure area stalled to the northeast of us, providing us with an almost direct stiff wind from the south-southeast. If we can keep this up, we'll be home in four days easy. Chuck had the helm this morning and seemed to be contemplative about going home. I went up and handed him a fresh mug of coffee. "What's on your mind, Guy, anything to worry about?" Chuck smiled and said, "I love being out on the water, but I...
Steve It was after seven when I woke up to an empty bed. I was still sleepy, but got up to at least start the day with everyone. When I sat down and joined the regulars with a cup of coffee, Sue came over and kissed me good morning, "Morning, Sleepyhead. I know you didn't get back until after four, but it's unusual for you to sleep late." "If there was not so much to do today, I would just go back to sleep for a while," I said, looking around while hugging my wonderful wife. "I see...
Steve Perhaps things are getting back to normal, or for what may pass as normal lately, and that has been near chaos. Everyone at the shop that had some activity to report visited with me, until Ruth looked in on me and said, "Its lunch time, and Sue has called to make sure you come home. DeDe said you are scheduled for a flying lesson this afternoon too. What's that about? I thought you could fly already." "I can, Ruth, but I need to be checked out in the new aircraft, and I have to...
Steve I feel as if everything is going faster. Time was rushing by the closer it comes to the time for us to sail. When I woke up Monday morning, I felt a sense of urgency to get up, do something, prepare for something, to take care of last minute anything. Mercy hugged me and whispered, "Relax, everything is taken care of. You have wonderful people who will take care of everything while you're gone. They can call you anytime, and can even e-mail you with pictures or other information, if...
Steve I had slipped out of bed while the girls were all sleeping soundly. Sue raised her head, smiled at me, looked at the clock, and lay her head back down. While I was taking a quick shower, Kathy joined me and was very amorous this morning. It wasn't long before the shower degenerated into doing her while she leaned against the wall. When we both successfully and enjoyably completed our coupling, we clung to each other as the water rained on us. Kathy said, "This is nice. Sometimes I...
Steve Monday mornings are always fun. Everyone is getting started on a new week, with new energy, new ideas, and new motivation. My first task was to return a stack of non-urgent calls that had come in the previous Friday. The first was that the St. Louis cart plant was concerned their production was not keeping up with orders. The easy solution was to ship the extra production from Florida since the local plant was working at less than sixty percent capacity. I think the St. Louis plant...
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...
Chuck This had been a busy day. We docked in Ireland this morning and have been busy all day. The kids demanded a lot of Lisa’s and my time, as they wanted the two us to help the Irish kids to learn what they had learned. The Irish kids were lucky to have Serene to teach them at home, since she was a lot more accomplished than I had thought. That was the fun part, and then there were Julie’s adult kids. Sue had made the call for me so they could take the ferry to Ireland, be here for the...
Steve Thursday Tiny, Sue's dad Ben, and I were in the helicopter shop with Bret and Carter. Tiny handed each of the two men a check and said, "That's exactly half each of all the numbers we agreed upon. If you two have some cross debt, handle it yourselves. We can put a fork in this deal." Bret said, "You should have heard that asshole from Alcam when I told him I'd already sold out. He cussed and threatened me until I finally hung up on him. He called back and demanded to know who...
Chuck There was a noise in the room. I couldn’t place it right away, but I finally realized it was my cell phone that was still in my pants pocket. I moved over Tiani and Lena and hopped to my pants. I pulled the phone from the pocket, flipped it open, and said, “Johnson.” The voice was very dry, very curt, “We have a job for you. You need to be in DC in four hours.” I said, “Who are you?” The voice once again with a very curt response, “We have a job for you. Get in your plane and get...
Steve My pile of women was surrounding me, with Sue doing her sleeping best to smother me between her triple Zs. No boobs are that big, but Sue has enough for three or four women. Don't you just love those big balloons? I sure do. I slid to the edge of the bed without waking anyone, but knew that we needed to get up and get going this morning. We have to leave around seven-thirty. I stretched before beginning to gently wake the women. Oops, there were two extras next to Juanita. Trixie...
Steve I rolled over and almost rolled off the bed. My movement, while catching myself at the last minute, woke Sue who looked at me funny. She smiled at me and asked, "What are you doing up? You were on duty until two this morning! Sleep a little more." I looked at the clock and said, "It's already six and we should be near port by now. I want to be up when we enter that lagoon at the yacht club. Chuck probably won't have a problem but I should probably be there to help tie up. Let's...
Chuck I checked on Lisa as soon as I woke up. Yesterday's encounter was too close to the confrontation on the island. This time it wasn't her adrenaline that got her, it was the cruelty of the men who had been dumped into the sea. It's hard to believe people could just kill the young couple and make the parents watch them get tossed overboard. It makes me shudder. Then that poor older woman, about Missy's and Beth's age, just walked out and shot those men in the head. There could have...
Steve As I opened my eyes, I realized it was Wednesday and we would be sailing in a week. That almost scared me, thinking there were suddenly too many loose ends for me to be taking off like that. As I thought about it a little more, I realized that it will always be that way, and that's why we have good people working for us. I sat up and made a decision, the guys needed to get on their horses, or airplane in this case, and get over to Hawaii as they needed to be back at home while I'm...
Steve Ah, Wednesday morning! I was still half-asleep, but knew something was happening today. I sat up straight and said, loud enough to disturb the sleep of the ladies next to me, "We're going sailing today!" Mercy rolled over, looking up at me while stretching, and said, "Only because Chuck is back." I asked, "He is? Did he call last night?" "No, Silly, he came home while we were playing up at the hot tub. His girls should have called, and may have tried, but I think they were...
Steve The girls have been all over me for letting Mark be everywhere, helping as many people as he could, and I had not put him on the payroll. Crystal should have done that, but she didn't really know whether he was going to be full time or part time. Ruth sort of made up my mind, as she signed him up as a full time employee with the employee benefit plan. I suppose that was alright, but you never knew. My cell phone rang, "Steve here." "Steve, this is Chuck. Can I use your shop up...
Chuck Julie whispered into my ear, "It's almost four. Get up and get a shower to get your motor running." When I slid from bed and checked the clock, it was only three thirty. Wonder why so early. I can do everything necessary in five minutes flat. As I slipped from bed, peed, and started the shower, a sexy older, or more mature, lady stepped under the spray with me. Julie whispered some more as she held on to my growing interest. "I need you, Lover; you make me feel so good, so alive....
Steve Life around the park and S&S is going very well. The family was busy getting the kids through their current school year so they could be free of most classes while on the coming sailing adventure. Chuck is busy with some kind of intense investigation out in Omaha that has him tied up for a while. Mercy is acting worried, so whatever Chuck is doing has her concerned. Lisa and Mercy have been seen huddled together, obviously discussing what they know Chuck is involved in. The...
Steve Monday As soon as everyone was eating breakfast this morning, I checked with Abe about the engine he had been working on for our entry into the light sport aircraft market. So far, the engine showed it was generating between 115 and 125 horsepower. This would put it in competition with the Rotax 914 or the Continental engine. We knew that the Rotax engine retailed for about thirty five grand and the Continental for around twenty, but Abe figured we could sell ours, fully certified,...
Chuck I awoke when the clock clicked over to five thirty. My internal clock was working as always. As I moved from between Lisa and Tina, Tina raised her head, "Do you have to get up so early? I don't have to go in until nine this morning." Lisa also woke up and told her, "The man is flying to his islands this morning with all of the investors and architects. I'm sure he's strung pretty tight this morning." Tina grinned at me and patted the bed, "Lie down here, Lover, and let me...