The Forgiven The Fallen The Forsaken (42 page)

Before long, he
was able to remove the metal hatch and expose stairs leading down into a room. 
 He stepped down and turned on the battery operated lamp that he had brought
with him.  The boxes were there, just as he'd left them.  He grabbed the first
box and lifted it up to Maria, saying, "It's okay.  You can open it."

He heard Maria
squeal in delight as she opened the box and then the black plastic bag inside. 
"Oh my God!  How much is in here?"

Kemp handed up
the next box and said, "Each box holds one million dollars.  There are
about 360 boxes.  I'd say it's enough to stop for ice cream on the way back."
Maria giggled, and he said, "Okay, let's start loading them up."

It took some
time to get all of the boxes out of the storage room.  Once they were loaded
into the truck, Kemp started bringing out the firearms, ammunition, and boxes
of freeze dried meals.

By the time
everything was loaded into the truck, it was mostly full.  Kemp took great
pleasure in tossing the shovels and wood back into the shed and locking it
again, this time throwing the key into the woods.

The trip back
to San Francisco was boisterous.  Kemp stopped at a hotel to shower and change
into clean clothes and had to insist to the girls that they stay on schedule despite
other ideas.

He detoured to another
marina on the way back in to the city to look at a fifty eight foot trawler
that he had seen for sale online.  The yacht broker met them at the dock and
introduced himself as Phil Hayes.

Kemp shook his
hand and said, "George Wood.  Good to meet you.  Let's take a look." 
Kemp had left the girls to guard the truck.

Phil said,
"I'm sorry, but first I need to ask about payment."

With a hard
edge to his voice, Kemp answered, "If I buy it, it will be a cash sale to
be completed today.  If it can't be completed today, I have other trawlers to
look at.  Is that a problem for you?"

"Not at
all."

"Good.
I'll need to see the maintenance logs, too."

Kemp carefully examined
the Krogen trawler looking for flaws.   After a couple of hours looking over
the boat and a quick run out into the bay, he told Phil he wanted it.

As they
returned it to the dock Kemp saw Maria walking up with a briefcase.  Kemp
turned to Phil and said, "Let's get this deal done.  Do you have the
documents?"

"I'll run
out to my car and get them." 

Maria walked up
to trawler and stepped on board.  She asked Kemp, "Will it work?" 

"Perfectly,
though we'll want to paint it and change the name."  She handed him the
bag and he opened it and started putting cash on a nearby table."

Phil's eyes
went wide and he said, "I'll be right back with the documents," and
practically jogged off the boat. 

A half hour
later, everything was signed and Phil had left with the asking price, just
beaming all the way down the dock.  Maria commented, "He sure looks
happy."

Kemp chuckled
and said, "I paid him 10% over the asking price, which I'm sure he won't
bother to tell the owner.  He's probably contemplating retirement.   Let's get
a hand truck and start loading this bad boy."

They loaded
everything into the boat and Kemp asked Sonya to drive the box truck back to
the other marina.  She looked hesitant and he asked, "What's wrong?"

"What if I
just take a bus over and pick it up tomorrow?" she asked as she walked
toward him, peeling off clothes.

"That's
fine," he said, "but what's wrong?"

"So far
you haven't made love to any of us.  You always just say 'It's okay, you don't
have to do that,' or some such garbage.  I'm telling you, it's not okay.  Those
assholes in Catalina don't get to ruin my sexuality for the rest of my life. 
I'm not going to shut that part down, and neither are the rest of us.  The time
has come and you're going to pay the price for making us wait." 

Maria said,
"You're not leaving me out of this!" as she followed Sonya's example.

He was quickly
backed into the main cabin, stripped, and pushed down onto the king sized bed. 
The two of them dove in and didn't quit until he was completely exhausted and
they were fully satisfied.  Maria rolled over afterwards and said, "I'm
never leaving you."

"I'll
share, but you're still mine," said Sonya.

He kissed them
both and held them tightly.  He hadn't been with a woman since his wife had
left him three years before.  What the hell was I waiting for? 

After an hour's
nap, the three of them took a quick shower and dressed.   He hugged them both
and said "Thank you for bringing me back to life."  He had a feeling
things would never be the same again.

They filled the
fuel, propane, and fresh water tanks and left the marina.  Two hours later they
were docked next to Frank's old boat. 

That night Kemp
brought all of the women together on the new boat.  "The deal is that I
need to get the hell out of this country very soon.  I'd ask all of you to help
out with stocking the boat over the next week and I'll be heading south after
that. 

"On each
of your bunks you'll find two million dollars.  This belongs to you and I don't
care what you do with it.   

"Two
million changes things, so if any of you wish to head off on your own, you are
welcome to do so with the provision that you keep your mouth shut."   Lisa
started to say something, and he held up a hand to stop her.  "Just think
about it over the next few days and make up your minds then."

Lisa looked at
him and said to Maria and Sonya, "You two did him!"

Maria looked
sheepish and Sandy said, "Damn it!  I wanted to be first."

Kemp said,
"Girls…"

"Shut up
and get in that bedroom now," said Pam.  

By the time the
other three were satisfied, he felt like he was going to die, but he wasn't
about to complain.  Sandy said to him, "We told you that you belong to us
now.  You're not ever getting away.  Understand?"

He kissed her
and sunk back into the pillow.

That night,
they ate on board and thoroughly enjoyed their new home.  Kemp was appreciative
of having the focus on the boat and not on him because he wasn't sure if he could
survive another session like that.  The women had acted like they had something
to prove and he didn't believe for a second that it was something to prove to
him.  Still, he worried that he might not be enough for them, even if he was a
safe harbor for now.  How the hell am I going to manage this?

MISSISSIPPI

OCTOBER 28
^th

"Oh,
no!"  Jamie was driving and spotted a rollover accident in front of them,
blocking the road.  They stopped and jumped out of the car with their rifles in
hand.  When they got up to the badly deformed car, they saw that both the
driver and passenger were dead. 

With nothing
more to be done, they got back in their truck and used it to push the car off
the road.  After the road was clear, they kept driving. 

Jamie said,
"Doesn't it seem weird the way we do things now?  A year ago we would have
been calling the police and they would have had the road closed for hours while
they investigated.  Now we just push it off the road and keep going."

"It seems
pretty crazy.  I won't miss that part of being on the road."

They were
hauling medical supplies to Baton Rouge this trip. 

"You do
realize that we're millionaires and don't have to do this crap?"

He laughed and
said, "You always say just the right thing.  Maybe for another year, then
back to school."

"Baby, we
done been to school."  They both laughed and he turned on some music. 

They spent the
next hour or so singing and laughing, the crash forgotten.  Almost.

By the time
they got into Baton Rouge, they were more than ready for a break.   They
stopped and grabbed a shower at a hotel near the drop off site and were
thrilled to put on some fresh clothes.

As usual, when
they stopped they were dragged around the facility to meet everyone.  It was
strange, but they were almost royalty whether they liked it or not.  They kept
their side arms in place just the same.  They found it helped to keep things
friendly.

Luke thought it
funny to have professionals fawning over a couple of young accidental truck
drivers with the pedigree of the moment.  Naturally, the cameras came out and
everyone got to have their story of meeting the famous Luke and Jamie.  If they
only knew that a few hours ago we were pushing bodies out of the road so that
they could have their precious medical supplies, thought Luke.  Hell, that
would probably only make it worse. 

"We can
catch a nap at the hotel or push on to New Orleans to pick up a load,"
said Luke.

Jamie sighed,
"Let's push on.  Are you up for a lecture on social psychology?" 

"Sounds
good, but I drive."

When they got
into New Orleans they checked in at the Kunoichi hotel and found a group of
drivers there ready to hit the town.  They dropped their things in the room and
took off with the drivers.

Luke got a kick
out of how the Kunoichi Shipping Company drivers wore pistols everywhere they
went.  He knew it couldn't go on forever, but for now they were an elite
agency, charged with keeping the nation alive by getting essentials where they
were needed no matter what the obstacles.  It was well known that Kunoichi
drivers made a practice out of killing robbers outright instead of turning them
over to law enforcement.  That reputation probably saved a lot of lives in the
end.

The French
Quarter was booming.   I can't imagine what this must have been like before, thought
Luke, but I like it! 

Everywhere they
went, people recognized Luke and Jamie and none of the drivers could pay for
their own drinks even if they wanted to.  Luke and Jamie both said that they
didn't drink so avoided most of the foolishness if not the attention.

They hit clubs up
and down the tourist area until Jamie said, "Okay, I'm done."  The
two of them said thanks to the other drivers and flagged a taxi for the hotel.

The driver
recognized them immediately and was very talkative.  Jamie asked him how the
city was doing. 

"We lose a
lot, but people flocking in now.  Still New Orleans, just not so busy."

Luke asked him,
"What do you need here?"

"That's
easy.  We need more people.  Way more.  Everything else is getting better.  We
know you fix the country."

They arrived at
the hotel and Jamie tipped the driver well. "Good bye, Harvey.  Take care
of yourself, you hear?"

He waved and
drove on.

Jamie said,
"I feel honored by their trust in us, but it creeps me out too."

"That it
does," agreed Luke.

They were both
glad to crawl into bed.  Tomorrow's run would be a long one. 

HAVANA, CUBA

OCTOBER 29
^th

Julie, Helen,
Matt, and Richards had been meeting with representatives from the territories
for hours.  So far they had not gotten anywhere. 

Richards said,
"I know you don't like being occupied by American forces.  We are not the
American government or military.  We would like to help get your economy
running, but we're required to play by American rules.  We are not allowed to
give bribes or break laws."

Julie said,
"We're talking in circles here.  I'm done."  She stood and the rest
of them followed her toward the door. 

The Mexican
representative pulled out a small pistol and said, "I think you will not
be leaving, Senora Julie."

Julie sighed. 
"You set up an attack to capture us and that's why you've been delaying us
for so long.  Really?"

The Cuban
representative said, "The people won't be pawns of American imperialism." 
She was clearly playing to the cameras.

Julie said,
"Wow, you speak English pretty well now.  Imagine that.  You should know
that pawns are useless to us.  The world can't afford them anymore.  Free
people working in their own interests are what we must have."

Matt took a
step toward the Mexican representative, who pointed the pistol at Matt's head. 
Julie and Helen were gradually working their way toward the representative from
either side.

Large
explosions were heard outside of the building.  Matt said, "Your men are dying,
Senor." 

The Mexican
representative said, "That won't stop me from killing you," he said
as he pushed the pistol forward toward Matt and pulled the trigger.  Everything
moved at an instant and time slowed for that same duration.  Julie smoothly
stepped forward and lifted the gun hand toward the ceiling as Matt shifted on
leg and dropped to the floor, rolling to the side, and Helen pushed a dagger
deep into the right side of the representative's throat, severing all the major
blood vessels in both sides of his neck.  Both women were sprayed with arterial
blood as she ripped the blade free.  No one in the room had seen her draw the
blade.

Helen calmly
took the pistol away as he fell and set the safety before tucking the pistol
into her belt. She turned to the remaining representatives and said, "You
have made an attempt on the lives of the family of the President of the United
States.  This is a serious matter." 

The Cuban
representative said, "We were not a part of this!  You must believe this." 

Helen said in
perfect Spanish, "You were central to the plan, Representative Garcia.  We
came here in good faith and you hatched a plot to kill us.  I declare you to be
fallen
, as are any who plot against their own people to enrich
themselves.  Leave this place now." 

The Cuban woman
turned white and ran from the room.

Helen continued
in Spanish, "The people of Latin America are strong, hard working, and
intelligent, but have been kept down by those who have stolen everything for
themselves.  I declare these thieves to be
fallen
."