Chapter 1

Chuck (Wednesday)

Finally! We were on our way. Although the gulf coast of Florida was still in sight, I was relieved to have the Lucky Lady under full sail, headed south to sail around the keys and out into the Atlantic.

After the excitement of getting underway had subsided, only Lisa remained with me at the open wheel on deck. I punched up our anticipated course on the GPS/auto-guidance system and sat back on the built-in lounge that surrounded the rear of the helm area.

I looked at Lisa and asked, "How's your bruise from the knife?"

Lisa smiled at me, "Still discolored, but it doesn't bother me at all. No problem."

"That one scared me, Honey, it was too close." I was staring at her, thinking how much I cared for her and didn't want anything to happen to her.

She said, "Me too. This last month has been non-stop. I know we are considered go-to people for hot ops, but this has been too much. Both of us have come too close. We may be using up our luck."

"I've kind of thought that myself," I said, still gazing at the woman I admired so much. "If you don't mind, I'm going to ask that they lay off us for a while. I haven't been able to attend my Deputy Marshal responsibilities the way I should lately, either. I keep thinking and actually fearing they are going to tell me to become only an ops guy with the Secret Service."

Lisa stated, "I've wondered about that. I know you try to do everything and advise your stations through E-mail but you haven't had much face time with your deputies. Is John taking up some of the slack?"

I answered, "Only when a station manager has something serious happening. Wanda has been going out for transfers and retirements. She can do them under my guidance and no one has objected. Now that the escapes are down, the stations have pretty much settled down. Our manpower was reduced when Homeland Security took over all of the air marshal responsibilities. They took almost all of our older, semi-retired, guys from us, and that also meant a big budget cut for us. The escapee problem kept our numbers up, but we'll probably get cut again next year. My job as senior deputy isn't a big deal now that there isn't as much bad happening."

Lisa said, "Sure hope the rest of the world settles down. With the Secret Service responding to help out on immigration problems that are associated with counterfeiting and such, that group seems to be really busy lately."

"You understand, Lisa, they have been using us like CIA operatives, except that we're doing it domestically. I'm surprised that group hasn't contacted us. I'd bet they have contacted my Marshal and John."

"Isn't your Marshal getting to be retirement age?" Lisa asked, after leaning over and giving me a peck on the lips.

I answered, "Yeah, he is getting up there, but his job is supposed to be almost purely political, without a lot of pressure. It's his association with the Secret Service that's kept him so busy. He's been active all over the country, where he normally would only be over our area. I think the guy that's going to say goodbye first is John. He's had a couple of scary close calls lately that is making his mind up for him. I think he wants to go somewhere and live off the money he has stashed. If he sells his place near DC, he could go just about anywhere and live happily ever after."

Lisa said, "What about us, what do you think we should do?"

"Don't know, Babe. I do know that I don't want you on any more ops like these last few. No more line of fire ops, period. You're supposed to be a watcher, someone who reports back to the service what you observe. I know some of that has changed now that you're out in the open, but you could earn just as much flying the way you were. You don't need whatever the service is paying you."

"Well, look who's talking. You've obviously come into buckets of cash and you're still pulling duty from both services. I think they're paying you the max they can for a field operative, but I'll bet you haven't spent hardly any of your regular pay. You're getting money from S&S Air Charter, as well as whatever cash Ben Phillips has invested for you. I even get the feeling you have cash stashed in Costa Rica too. And speaking of Costa Rica, what are you going to do with an island? You are really spread thin, Chuckie boy."

Thinking about our conversation, I said, "Lisa, I don't know how the Service is paying you, but since you've been on some line of fire ops, I hope they've jacked up your grade."

Lisa said, "I was fully paid throughout the period of time I was an observer. As I got closer to you and was working full time with S&S, I had to turn in my salary from S&S, less any direct expenses related to the job. They don't let you double dip, that's for sure. Just like being a Deputy Marshal and a Secret Service agent; we get a little extra, but it's called a cross-service stipend, nothing to write home about. We both make good money, and I've been able to bank most of my income, but that's been because of my relationship with you. I think I'll have Marie look up all of the regs concerning cross-agency operations to see if we're leaving any money on the table."

I told Lisa, "We really don't need the money; we need more time just for us, for our family to be together, and for all of us to figure out whether our giant family is really going to remain a viable group. I worry about the girls. After they have reached their personal goals with me, will they stick around? They didn't sell their house and they keep it up just as if they still live there. They do stay at our house all the time while I'm home, but I think they stay over at their place when we're out of town."

"They do," Lisa said, "All of them say they miss being in their own place, but like to be with us when we're home. You know they have done a bunch of remodeling in anticipation of having babies. I haven't seen all the changes, but from what I hear, they're extensive."

"My thinking is," I answered Lisa, "The girls want to keep their house as a fallback place in case our relationship goes south. I don't feel as if our family is temporary, but I guess if I look at it honestly, it could be. Since we can't all get married, there is no real commitment. I've committed to you, the girls, and I guess to Tina too, but I'm still not sure about Maria and our oriental sisters."

Lisa laughed, "I think the girls just enjoy bringing more women lovers into the mix. To keep them, they need to integrate you into the mix. Taiying and Sing enjoy being a part of our large family for security they've never had. Maria likes you and thinks you might become her Toro."

"Toro?" I asked.

Lisa grinned, "That would be her breeding bull. You've already bred three women, and have indicated you are keeping all of them, so you have become someone who can keep and provide for her. Her heritage says she must provide you children. You'll have to keep an eye on her."

"I think I need to select one of you to manage the rest, to make sure that normal little girls, such as Maria and the sisters, have the opportunity to find potential mates outside our family. I'm getting a little paranoid by having so many women."

Lisa laughed, "Oh come on, Chuck. Do you mean you don't enjoy having a harem with the variety you have? You, Sir, have a very integrated multi-racial mix. They all adore you, and we all get along so far. I really think we get along because we all like girls and we all like you."

"There's lots to think about, Lisa. I'm old fashioned enough that I would like to have a wife, not a wife among my harem."

Lisa hugged me as I stood at the big wheel. I didn't need to be doing anything as the electronics were handling everything. It just seemed to be where I should be. I suppose this trip could shake out a lot of feelings and perhaps give me some insight as to how our family was going to work.

Lisa softly said, "That brings us back to the island."

The wind was picking up, making the boat heel over a little, but it also made the rigging groan with some lines snapping against booms. The sail was stretched out nicely, billowing from being pushed so nicely.

Lisa was still waiting for me to respond to her comments and her question about the island down south. "I haven't thought the whole island thing through yet. There are bunches of different things I want to do down there, and I've asked Mark to go down and figure out what will be required for wind turbines. I told him to take Caroline with him and to have the charter service take him down. I've called the condo to tell the boat people to expect them. They will take the two of them out to the island. They can also call out there to let them know someone is coming to work with them. I told Mark to try to get some utility carts shipped to the island as well. The guy has it together and will probably enjoy the serenity of the island."

Lisa asked, "Are you thinking about staying down there often?"

"Yes, actually; I think that would be great a place for us to relax at. It could be a place for our huge family to gather ourselves to find out how we all fit together. We've just slid along without ever really talking about our family structure. I've let it go too long, and now we have three more people that I think all of you girls consider as family. What's with you guys and wanting more women? My goodness, you had a quorum for a pajama party before those three. You were sneaking Lena in, and you've already made it plain that big Tina is going to be a loose part of us when she comes this fall."

Lisa hugged my arm and looked up at me with a slight blush. "You know all of us really enjoy other girls. Maria, Taiying, and Sing are really sweet. Those three fascinate your original Fab Five, as you call them. I don't know what it is at our house, but it is full of women that are at a flashpoint nearly all the time. The three that are pregnant are just as bad as the ones who are not. I didn't think Tina was all that much into girls, but every time Brandy or Tiani get a chance, they are fooling around with her. The way I've heard it, Maria, Lena, and Tina were having a nightly, or daily, party. Tiani and Frieda are all over the two oriental girls. I've kind of become the odd girl out because I've been so busy. Brandy and Tiani, along with Taiying and Sing, love me up every chance they get. Like I said, our house is an all-girl orgy waiting to happen every day."

I laughed, "I'm sure glad you girls can take care of each other. There's no way I can keep up with all of you."

It was Lisa's turn to laugh. "You sure have been giving a good imitation of a guy that's willing to line 'em up and do 'em all. Christ, you did all those girls in Costa Rica, plus Julie, and you did me real nice. I'll make sure you eat well and get your exercise so you can keep up. Just keep putting on the stud imitation like you've been doing. You'll take care of us just fine. You're the one who opened Pandora's Box with Julie. She was just fine until you decided to include her with the condo and boat girls. Now she's going to want to be included often. Don't accuse us girls of bringing them all on. As a matter of fact, you are responsible for Lena, Tina, and big Tina too. You also were the one to give Maria the okay to move to the new house, so you are just as guilty as us girls."

I protested, "I only offered them a place to stay. Lena was supposed to stay at arm's length. Tina surprised me by joining with me and enjoying the girls. Julie was sort of a part of all those women in Costa Rica. You and Tina kind of talked me into that. Maria wanted to remain our housekeeper when we moved. All of them just happened; I didn't try to seduce any of them."

Lisa gave me a peck on the nose while standing up, "How about a cup of coffee or glass of iced tea?"

"Thanks, iced tea sounds good. The sun feels good out here today, although it is a little cool."

Five minutes later, a nude Lisa came out with a tall plastic glass of iced tea. She said, "Most of the women are up top sunbathing. I'll be back to talk and keep you company later. Are you going to begin shifts soon?"

I said, "We're doing four on during the day and two on at night. There are six of us right now, and if Kathy feels like she can do it, that would make seven."

Lisa announced as she headed into the salon to go up top, "Put me down to begin learning too. I want to learn captain responsibilities too."

As soon as Lisa left, Steve and Dewey came out carrying tall glasses like the one I had. They sat on the lounge seating and Dewey said, "Tough duty. I see you're using the electronics on this tub. Pretty neat set up you have. The boat will almost sail itself." He leaned over to check the two radar screens. Dewey asked, "What do you have them set at? One looks like about five miles and the other twenty-five. A little close, aren't they?"

"Naw, I have both units set up for tracking every target. The display will show a line for every target for the last thirty minutes. See, push this button and the lines show that none of the craft are paralleling us. There is this one on the twenty-five mile scope that is going in the same direction as we are, but appears to me to be angling toward the coast. The unit updates the target lines once a minute. If I choose another setting, it will retain the lines on the screen all the time, but that's too confusing. I'd rather push the button every so often to check up. The collision avoidance will advise me of anything that is within ten miles and is on an intersecting course. When we get out into open water, I'll set them up for ten and fifty miles. That way we can see weather coming early."

Dewey said, "You seem to have this sea captain stuff down. I know you haven't had that much training. You've studied well."

With a smile, I said, "I'm doing alright. You two guys have given me a lot of training and a lot of confidence. If you add in how much help all the equipment on this boat is, a kindergarten kid could sail this thing."

Steve asked, "So the way the roster is, Sue is from noon to four, Juanita is four to eight, next Mercy starts the night tours until ten, I'm on until midnight, and Dewey is on until two. You're back on from two to four, with Sue on from four to six. Juanita is back until eight, when we go back to the four hour shifts, with Mercy on from eight to noon. With the rotations, we'll all get about the same amount of day and night duties. It'll just keep rolling around. The two hour shifts at night should keep us alert."

Dewey asked, "I thought Kathy had her captain's license?"

Steve said, "She does, but she doesn't have a lot of experience yet. She's going to come on duty with me to keep learning. I told her to have you work with her too, Dewey. You're the master instructor."

I told Dewey, "I can always use some more training too, Dewey. Any area you think I might need more work on, jump in and teach. I want to be sure I know how to operate this boat, or any other good sized sailing or motorized vessel, correctly. I know it takes experience, but it also requires knowledge."

"You're doing fine, Chuck," Dewey said. "You've done everything exactly right so far, and you obviously know more about the electronics on this boat than anyone else."

I smiled, "Not necessarily. Steve is just as familiar with these electronics as I am. These are almost the same as the Have Mercy and the Mercy Mercy. I haven't been on the big motor yacht, yet but I'm betting it isn't any more modern than this is."

Steve said, "You're right, Chuck. You know the electronics because of your flight training and time in the cockpit. All the help these things provide are nice and makes it easy to stay on course. I like the way your autopilot corrects the course even with the slight changes of wind direction."

I told the two guys, "According to the books, there is an alarm that will go off when the wind changes sufficiently to reposition the sails. You still have to manually let out or take in some line to adjust for wind direction. You can do all of that with the windlass motors, as the boat won't do it for you."

"Dewey and I will have to study the books for this boat," Steve said. "I'll have the girls read up on them as well. Night duty at the inside weather helm should be a perfect place to study, unless there is some weather."

I said, "If there's any weather, I want to be at the helm for most of it. I've had a little experience, but I want to make sure I know how the boat acts, and feel I should be responsible during any heavy stuff."

Steve said, "That's probably good. Dewey and I will be with you so we also learn how the boat acts in weather. We all need to know how the boat works."

At that moment, Martin walked up with a pitcher full of ice and tea. He held it out, "You boys ready for a refill? Thought I might play hostess and get some sun. Most of the women are up top. The two oriental girls are below deck with the kids right now. They sure seem to love little ones. I'm surprised they don't have any of their own."

I told Martin, "I'm not sure of the whole story, but those two got out of China when their husbands were incarcerated for having opinions that differed with the government's. Both of their husbands are now deceased and they apparently didn't ever get a chance to begin families."

Martin chuckled, "Well, I'm sure you'll help them out with that, won't you, Chuck? You have three with growing bellies, why not some more? That little Latin girl that looks like Juanita looks ripe too. What's her story?"

"You know what, Martin? I don't know all of the particulars, but I do know that she doesn't have any close family around either. It might be that they are all in another country, but she's alone here as well. My women do seem to attract strays."

Steve laughed, "Yours and mine both, Chuck."

Martin said, "I'm going back down below. Beth and Missy have a big roast in the oven and I need to watch it. I'll see you boys when it's beer time."

As soon as he was in the salon, Steve said, "How about I bring up some of your arsenal so that it's on deck. I noticed you have the salon seats by the door set up for rifles too. Considering we'll be off the coast of the Keys, I'd feel better if we had equipment near."

I said, "Okay, the office door is open, and you have to use left to five, right to seven, left to eight, and right to eleven. That's five, seven, eight, and eleven for the combination lock on the gun cabinet. Bring up all eight M-16s and the four shotguns. There are magazines for the M-16s and two types of shells for the shotguns. I have the explosive rounds and the double ought buckshot. Lisa and I will bring up our MP5s and my .308. I doubt whether I'll need the fifty caliber."

Dewey exclaimed, "Holy shit. How much armament do you have? You haven't even mentioned any pistols yet. Isn't that dangerous with all these kids around here?"

Steve told him, "If we need them, they'll be within easy reach. They'll be where the kids can't get at them without us being aware. Watch the console when I lift the salon seat."

Steve went into the salon and lifted the big cushion by the door. A light came on and a beeper began sounding on the console. I reached up and pushed the reset button to shut the beeper off, but the light stayed on until Steve put the cushion back down. Steve came back out and said, "Chuck and I talked about the weapons and the kids. This was the way we thought we could handle the problem. Out here, there is a locker by the wheel that will hold a couple of rifles, a shotgun, and at least one pistol. As long as we keep the locker shut, the salt air won't get at them. We'll have to make sure we break everything down at least weekly to keep ahead of the salt air."

Dewey said, "You two seem to know what you're doing. How many of the girls can shoot? I know Sue, Mercy, and Juanita can, but how about Kathy and yours, Chuck?"

With an amused smile, I said, "Lisa is a crack shot with a rifle or handgun. Brandy and the girls have all been practicing for about six months now. The two oriental girls have some military experience. I'm not sure about Maria, but I'm sure my girls have been taking them all with them. Brandy said that Kathy goes with them when they go to the range. They've been practicing with rifles and pistols. I think we have it covered. The range has a couple of ex-army types that have taught the girls cover and how to position themselves to shoot. I feel very secure with them around."

"Wow!" Dewey said, "I had no idea you guys were preparing yourselves so much to defend the boat. I guess Steve's girls let the others know how important it is for them to be prepared. I should probably do that with Sheila and Sheena. Perhaps your girls can provide some instruction for them."

Steve said, "Have Lisa work with them. She has a lot of experience and can probably teach them easier since she's a girl. As soon as we're out to sea, you can even let them do some live fire out on the deck. A round will only carry for a mile or two so we'll know if another craft is in the direction we're firing."

I said, "I'll tell Lisa when she comes back from sunbathing. Go get some of the weapons and I'll bring mine up after lunch."

Dewey and Steve left just as nine naked women came out of the salon. The Fab Five, Lisa, Maria, Mercy, and Juanita came to the wheel area and sat on the lounge seating cushions by the helm. I could see into the salon that the other women were coming down the ladder from up top and going below to probably get ready for lunch.

Brandy said, "Darn, I wish we could make this a nude cruise. I love to be naked out on deck like this."

Mercy said, "It's a little chilly right now, but it's really nice if you're out of the wind with sun on you."

Tiani said, "Nancy and I don't need that much sun, but it is nice to lay out a little. We have to use more sunblock than the rest of you, though."

Juanita said, "Maria and I are going to be darker than either of you two. I think Sue will be too, the way she tans. We'll all be island girls, or at least look like them."

Mercy said, "Speaking of island girls, have you girls gotten any indication from Chuck about when you're going down to see this island he now has?"

Brandy said, "Not yet. Lisa and Tina saw it, and we have a couple of hundred pictures of it. I'll get the memory stick with the pictures out and we'll look at them this evening. That place is gorgeous. The main house is huge too."

Juanita said, "Let's get dressed and help get lunch started. It's almost noon, so Sue is on duty next. Chuck, you may need to set the sun cover up for Sue, since she's already been out in the sun for a while."

"No problem, Nita, I'll just push this button right here and watch." I pushed the button marked 'cover' and shade cloth moved on rails and covered the whole helm area."

Mercy said, "Another innovation that Chuck had the Magellan guys install. It isn't a hassle to put up and take down the sunshade now. Come on, let's get lunch."

Lisa and Sue came out of the salon right at noon. Sue said, "Lisa and I have had lunch, so give me a quick tour of your setup and go eat. I'm going to begin showing Lisa about the boat and about being at the helm. She's going to get Kathy's books to read so she can get ready for her test. She wants to be ready to help out when you guys go sailing. I'll bet some of your other women will want more training too."

I said, "Nancy, Judy, and Frieda all took the formal classes, but don't have any practical experience yet. I'll have them come up with me and work with you girls, as well. It would be good to have a big crew of captains when we go out with the family. I am planning on spending more time on the water in the future."

Lisa said, "I'll make sure Brandy and Tiani take an interest as well. I'm surprised Brandy is letting something as important as being rated as a captain slip by. She's usually the first to want to compete with guys."

I showed Sue how the auto-guidance helm worked, and how it was set up with the GPS. I showed her how the radars worked with their history trace. None of the traces indicated any craft intersecting or paralleling us. Sue said, "I have the helm, go eat."

Lisa gave me a peck as I went by. Steve and Dewey were coming up the curved stairway, or ladder, as I entered the salon. They brought the weapons to the salon seating and lifted the cushion. Lisa came running in, "There's a beeper going off and a red light on the console that Sue doesn't know what it is."

I went out and explained that it was to indicate that the seat where the arms are stored had been lifted. I showed her the reset button and the beeper went off, but not the light. Sue said, "That's a neat idea. We need that on the other boats. Good thinking."

I also showed her the button for the sunshade. Sue smiled and said, "Yeah, we don't need any more sun right now." She pushed the button and the sunshade moved into place. Sue asked, "Is that another of your ideas?"

I smiled and nodded heading back into the salon.

After helping to store the weapons there, I took a couple of M16s and a shotgun to the helm and put them into the weatherproof cabinet. Lisa asked, "Are you going to bring anything to shoot them with?"

"Let me bring you some magazines and a couple boxes of rounds. I'll bring both some explosive and some double ought shells. You two can load the magazines while you're out here."

Sue said, "Bring all of the magazines out here and the boxes of rounds for them. We'll get them loaded up, stow some out here, and put the rest under the cushion."

I told the two girls, "You'll see the slots for the magazines. We'll get some bandoleers for shotgun shells out so whoever grabs a shotgun can have extra shells. Remember to load two explosive rounds last so you have them to shoot first if you have to. Put the shot shells in first. I think all they will hold is five of the three and half inch, and that includes one in the chamber. Check the safety before you put them in the rack."

Below deck, there was pandemonium in the galley. At least, all the kids were creating kid pandemonium in their excitement to eat. Steve's eleven, along with Dewey's four, made up a big group to feed. Barb, Kathy's oldest, was actually directing the kids pretty well. Barb had been a last minute addition to the crew, as she had obtained permission to fulfill her school course work and transmit it, along with a log of our travels. The school thought the trip would be more educational than being in class.

The adults were grabbing sandwiches that had been made up as they passed by the counter. It appeared to be that Missy, Beth, and Glenda had made up the sandwiches. A huge platter of them was rapidly disappearing. I took a sandwich and filled my glass with ice and tea again.

The kids were at the special table that had been installed on the boat. Each place setting had a place for a plate to rest in, as well as a round hole that the plastic glasses the kids had for milk or juice fit in. The glass was the same size as mine on the bottom. I noticed that Beth was sitting with the kids and had a coffee cup in her slot. That told me that even the cups had the same size circumference so they would be stable in heavy weather.

Beth was cautioning the kids to slide their glasses into the holder before they let go so they wouldn't spill. Something else the kids needed to learn about living on the boat.

Steve and Dewey announced that after lunch the kids could go out on deck to play for a while. They were to stay away from the railing or they would have to put on life jackets. I could see that Mercy and Kathy intended to be with Steve and Dewey. A couple of my girls acted like they were going to be out there too.

When the crowd exited to go out on deck, the parents and grandmas put sunscreen on the kids before they rushed up the curved stairway to the main salon. I followed to get an idea of how big the area really was. The stairway was more toward the front, where the weather helm was. The weather helm took up the entire front of the salon. There was standing room around the dash area, along with seating all around behind and next to where the captain could guide the boat. An impressive array of monitors and instruments were around the wheel of the helm. On the opposite side of the salon from the stairway or ladder, behind the helm, was a round bar area with ten stools around it. Looking up that side of the lounge, there was a couple of tables with four chairs around them, and seating along the outside of the salon and a row of two sided couches that faced the outside seating, as well as the other side of the salon/lounge. On the opposite side of the lounge, after the big open stairway, was a cabinet area that stored the music equipment and controls for the boat's speaker system and the stereo. The cabinet looked large enough to hold a dozen guitars and other instruments. There was an area that had a keyboard, with seating behind and on each side of it. Next were a couple of lounge tables with four chairs at each. There was still an amazing amount of empty floor space in this huge salon. I suppose it was a good thing, as there were a lot of people on board.