Chapter 13

Got to get outa here. Why did I do this? Never should have banged her. Rang her bell at least twice, but not me; what the fuck is wrong with me? This is so fucking weird, haven’t been able to even jerk off since Dave got killed.

Damn, the woman has the sleep of the dead. Gotta go. Clothes. Where the fuck are my clothes? The doggy still here? That doggy is a voyeur, just like Nayato. You get your jollies there, pup? That’s gotta be the biggest shit-eating grin that I’ve ever seen, doggo.

Shit. Security goon is downstairs. At least they didn’t break the door down and shoot me when Sandy screamed.

“You guys on duty all night?”

“Only when guests are in the residence.”

Fuckin ‘in residence’? Why does everybody around here sound so aristocratic?

“Yeah? I’m leaving. So I guess you can go off-duty. Sorry about keepin you security guys awake.”

“Not for you, Mister Watson. Mister Collins has several guests in the library at this time.”

“Bill Collins?”

“That is correct, sir. Would you like to join their game, Mister Watson?”

“Dude, I’m Mark. I’m just your boss’s fling for the night. What game?”

“Poker. As for Miss Collins, she has never indulged in any such manner of a ‘fling’ that you referenced. Would you like me to show you into the library?

“Nah, thanks dude. Have a good one. You guys also run site security?”

“That is correct, sir.”

“You guys need to change the code to your fancy alarm system. I saw the code entered for Sandy’s room and for the aft port. I think some other guests saw codes being entered.”

Well that sure as shit got a rise out of Mister Aristocratic control-freak security guy. Calm your tits. Just trying to help you goons.

“You are certain that Miss Collins’ guests witnessed the codes being entered?”

“That’s what I said, man. Bye.”

Shit, why’s the dog downstairs? Damn doggo, there’s a hot naked woman up there at with an outfuckingstanding pair of tits to look at. Get your priorities straight, doggy.

“Hey, doggy. Go back upstairs to your bud.”

“Interesting. Miss Collins’ dog does seem to appreciate your company.”

You find this furry slobbering guy interesting? Whatever, I’m outa here.

“Uh, yeah. See ya, man.”

“Mark? Why so late?”

“Spent the evening at Bill and Sandy Collins’ house; the baseball jock and the music nerd I told you about. They asked me to a graduation thing. They had pretty good layout of fancy chow and beer. How ya doing?”

“ ... Dunno, ‘kay I guess.”

“Why you up so late, girl? Ya eat anything?”

“Had some tacos at work today, off the truck. Couldn’t sleep.”

“Shit. Gonna make you some eggs and potato. Then it’s in the rack.”

She’s not adjusting to reality. It’s almost like I’ve become her parent. I need to call her sister again. Damn you, Dave. Fuckin got yourself killed over nothing.

And fuck you, karma. You had the wrong guy murdered. No one would have cared if you’d taken my ass off of this rock. Gunny always said that karma is a bitch. Shit, karma is a vindictive bitch.

“It ain’t gonna work, Merl. The mains box is rated forty amps, and the two breakers are only fifteen amps each. No can do. Remember the list I gave you?”

“Yeah ... Yeah, I remember. Damn. I know a good electrician. We have two weeks to get it fixed ... Did the good doctor sign off your complex endorsement?”

“Yep. Said that I could rent his banana for fifty wet, or forty for whatever was in the tanks.”

“Good. Going to start working on your commercial?”

“Probably ... What ya know about that pacer that been parked at the west end? Don’t think it’s been touched for about six months.”

“The blue and white? Four Eight Five Eight Zulu?”

“Nah, that’s a one-oh-eight Colt. The PA one twenty, the yellow and white tail-dragger.”

“Dunno. Art would know. Some guy rented three tie-down spots, maybe a year ago, that Pacer is on one of them.”

“If you’re down there, would ya take a look at it?”

“Looking for a plane?”

“Not really. If the right one at the right price happens by, I’d be interested. Where’s my idiot furbag?”

“You get one guess.”

“Shit. Wish Art’s ol’ lady wouldn’t feed him all of that weird stuff.”

“While you’re here, need you to write up requirements for the electrician. Let’s re-wire the place and do it right. I still have twenty eight hundred remaining.”

Whoa ... what’s this? Feebies?

“Mister Watson?”

“Yep.”

“Miss Collins has instructed me to deliver this to your person.”

To my ‘person’? Fucking aristocratic society. Talk normal, assholes.

“I am to await your reply.”

Yeah? Await this, mother fucker. What the fuck is this shit? Damn that’s a fancy envelope. Fucking personalized paper? Not that’s definitely upper-crust shit.

“Yeah. Have a seat, guys. I’ll get to this shortly ... Merl, I’m thinking at least two, forty amp circuits; three would be better. I want a NEMA 5-20 and a 5-15 every meter along the south bulkhead, and a L6-20 one at the north and another at the south bulkhead. Make all outlets about two meters off the deck. Big fuckin ‘shroom disconnect next to the door. I’ll sketch out the return paths I want now. And let the electrician know that we’ll need a magnetic breaker for one of the forty amp circuits. I’ll write this shit down for you.”

“Mister Watson?”

“Yeah? What you want?”

“Your reply, sir.”

My reply? To what? ... Oh, shit. Yeah, sorry about that dudes...”

So just what is this shit about? Dearest Mark? Dearest? Whatever. I would like to invite you to visit our family ranch in Northern California during the early summer. My family will be gathering at the north portion during the second through the fourth week of June ... Not a chance, woman. Not about to get pulled into some weird family aristocracy.

“No.”

“Sir?”

“My reply is no to her invite. Don’t have the time. Dude, some of us have to work for a living. Know what I mean?”

“Very well, sir. But if you could consider...”

“Merl, one other thing I forgot about. Since we’re gonna re-wire the building, let’s get get two L6-30 receptacles for isolation transformers. I know a company down towards San Diego that makes medical-grade transformers; they’re claiming a few pico farads of coupling. We may need that shit for the scope and nav-head sim.”

What’s with Merl? He’s looking at my specs like I just handed him a rattle snake. And why are those two goons still lurking?

“Dudes, what y’all need?”

“So I will provide your response to indicate that you have prior work commitments?”

“Yeah. Whatever. You can say that.”

Whoa, both of those fuckers are packing guns. Yeah, right. I can see how it’s real fuckin dangerous here at Meadowlark Airport. Fucking clowns. Would you look at the machine they’re driving. Wouldn’t mind having that Land Rover at all. Damn those people must be swimming in dinero.

“Mark?”

“Huh?”

“Did you read this whole letter. It’s a bit personal.”

“No. Just the first paragraph.”

“Who is ‘Sandy’?”

“Tutored her in math and some science for a few semesters. Her parents are, apparently, filthy rich.”

“I believe that she sees you as more than a tutor. You’re not going to talk to the young lady? I think that you should.”

“Ya wanna know what I’m thinking, Merl? I’m thinking that your generation doesn’t understand what a fuck-story it is for male/female relationships these days; it’s all high-risk and low return. And I’m guessing that it’s gonna get even more confusing and risky for the children of the next generation.”

“What’s so different for your generation? Boy meets girl. Boy and girl decide that they like each other. Boy and girl live happily ever after.”

“May have worked that way for you and Angie, but it ain’t working that way for me and the people of my generation; at least not for the people that I know.”

“You are getting close to thirty. You need to find someone, and it should not be difficult because you’re a decent man. But, and I’m saying this as a friend, you can be a self-absorbed asshole at times. Your outlook on life is blinding you as to what is real and who are your friends.”

“Yep, I am a major asshole, Merl. Guilty as charged. Any question about my specs for the electrician?”

Geez, just what I need, another Buddha trying to fix my karma. This does make it more interesting that Dave advised me to not ever be pressured into any relationship.

This couch surfing has gotta end. And I’m gonna guess that the furbags don’t really like this place and want a back yard.

“Hey, Janice. How was work?”

“The usual. They promoted Jenny to test supervisor. She asked me about you.”

“Good to hear. She has her shit together. We need to get Dave’s files and personal test logs to her. I’ll get them tomorrow.”

“Did you hear me, Mark?”

How could I not hear you, woman? You’re standing less than ten centimeters from my face.

“Uh, yeah. What?.”

“Jenny asked me about you.”

“So?”

“The engineering director and Jenny want you back.”

“I’d work for Jenny anytime. But upper management at ALS are lying dirtbags; they can’t be trusted. Doesn’t matter anyway. Remember? The company is gonna be sold. It’s gonna be a bloodbath when that place gets bought by some Fortune 500 corporation. The c-level owners are gonna take the money and walk away.”

“You are so cynical.”

“It’s called reality, Janice. What will you do if they decide your boss is redundant?”

“That is in the future. I’ll just find another job. But back to what was being discussed last night. What are we going to do with Dave’s property?”

“We?”

“Yes. ‘We’. I cannot do this alone.”

“Janice, that shit is between you and the lawyers of the two estates.”

“Mark, sit down with me. There are two people who I can trust at this time. My sister has her own problems and she’s a thousand miles away. That leaves you. I have no one else that I can trust in absolute terms.”

Shit, I wouldn’t trust me. Now she’s giving me that soft look. Please don’t cry. Good, she’s relaxing, taking off her coat. Damn. She went to work braless? I bet that put office productivity in the dumpster.

“Get your eyes back in your head. You have seen my boobies before.”

“Damn, lady. No one could ever see those tits enough. How did anyone get anything done in the office with those on display?”

“How sweet. Nobody was distracted because I wore my coat.”

“Well I’m distracted. Go change into your sweats, then we can go down to the weight room.”

Not now, Janice. Please don’t do that. Don’t take your shirt off here. Oh, holeee shit. Those are a galactically perfect example of heavy hangers.

“Uh ... Janice?”

That smile. Those hooters. I can’t take this shit. Can’t take another hard-on with no relief.

“Uhh ... gonna go downstairs to the gym. Come on down when you change.”

“Those two Collins radios are smoke city, Merl. They’re lucky there wasn’t any fire. You need to look at the generator and the airplane’s regulation string. Sure that none of the bird’s breakers opened?”

“None were tripped. Don’t the radios have internal fuses?”

“Yep, but they won’t blow from a just a short surge, and DC current doesn’t cleanly open a fuse. I’m guessing that bird’s electrical system is one hundred per cent toast.”

“I’ll tell the owner tomorrow. What about that VOR head and DME?”

“Both done. And I’m done, unless you have anything else?”

“Nope. Found this in my FAA submission file.”

“What’s this?”

“That letter from the girl you tutored. You wrote the shop specs and wiring diagrams on the back.”

“Yeah? So?”

“You never read the whole letter, Mark. Read it ... See you next week.”

What the fuck? Why is Merl getting all wrapped around an axle over someone he doesn’t know? In the shit can this goes.

“Get off of your furry butts, guys. Let’s go see Janice.”

“You guys stay in the truck. Too many people around the hacienda.”

Who fuck are these people? Where’s Janice? Interesting, that’s the old lady’s lawyer.

“Mister Watson, there are a few issues before estate liquidation may proceed.”

“Whatever. Do your thing, Mister Salik.”

“It cannot proceed without your oversight.”

“Other than that forty thousand bucks, which my poor ass thanks you for very much, I’m not part of her estate. Where’s Janice?”

“You become the second beneficiary, along with Janice, for the property, resulting from the event of Mister Khunle’s demise prior to settlement.”

“Say fuckin what? Dude, Janice is supposed to get everything. What are you talking about?”

“David Khunle amended his trust after the quit claim was enforced. He named you in succession after Janice. She did not inform you?”

“She hasn’t been dealing well with Dave’s death. Janice is getting better, but doesn’t surprise me that she forgot to tell me about this shit. So what’s up?”

“Janice has filed a quit-claim with the Orange County assessor. Title will convey in a few weeks. We would like both yourself and Janice to co-sign for liquidation of household content. Mostly as a mitigation against a claim of executive malfeasance.”

“Whatever. I’ll sign it. Who the heck is that?”

“She apparently lives down the street, and has been protesting the use and transfer of the property. She has no legal standing, but she has been an interference.”

“Lady, just what do you want?”

“You cannot cast her property into evil hands. Mister Khunle was the hands of Satan.”

“Say fuckin what? Are you fuckin crazy?”

I’d also be pissed at the world and bat-shit crazy if my tits hanged down to my waist. Damn, how many chins does she have?

“The property must be cleansed of the evil...”

“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”

That shut up her fat face. I’ll stomp her again.

“You think you are a christian woman? Tell me where in the bible that came from ... Well? ... You are full of shit. You are the evil. Only Satan’s minions do not know the bible. It’s from Proverbs, specifically 6:16-19. Get the fuck off of my property or I’m gonna have your fat ass arrested for criminal trespass and assault.”

Yeah, eat that, you phony religious nut-case. Run back into your hole ... Yeah, here’s Janice. She’s looking a bit better.

“Damn, Mark. Impressive bible quotation. We have been trying to get rid of the old bat for the last two or three hours.”

“Hey, Janice. Just found out that you transferred the old lady’s property to me. What the fuck am I supposed to do with it?”

“It’s yours, Mark. Live in it if you want to. It is close to the beach. And your cat and dog probably prefer it to my condo. Or sell it and buy something else.”

“Mister Watson, if we could go into the house and complete the documents?”

“So tell me, Mister Lawyer. Could I have actually charged that crazy old broad with assault?”