Chapter 15

Sydney was almost a repeat of Melbourne, but we arrived on Sunday and spent Monday and Tuesday being tourists. Monday, we saw the old warehouses and barracks down by the water, where the original convicts came in. It's now a restaurant and gift shop area, so everyone was fitted out in a T-shirt with an aboriginal image on it. We saw the famous opera house on the harbor, with its view of the surrounding water, the beautiful steel arch bridge, and the mouth of the harbor in the distance, before taking a harbor cruise. We finished up with a stroll through the Royal Botanical Garden, which is right downtown across the street from the Ritz Carlton Hotel, and marveled both at the variety of plant specimens and at the colorful parrots flitting freely about.

On Tuesday, we took a bus out to the Blue Mountains, where we saw rain forest in a desert, created by a continuous seep of water down a cliff face creating a microclimate in the valley below. From the overlook at that point we could see a rock formation called the Three Sisters, and closer by were about a thousand brilliant red parrots. From there we headed to a sheep station in the Southern Highlands where we were treated to a "bush picnic" with steaks – both beef and kangaroo – grilled over eucalyptus logs, "refreshing adult beverages", and "billy tea". It turns out that a "billy" is a tin can with a lid and a handle which is filled with water and a fistful of tea leaves, then hung over the fire till it boils. The "billy" is suspended from a string and then twirled round and round, the water staying in from the centrifugal force which at the same time pushes the tea leaves to the bottom of the can. The tea coming out of the billy was stout enough to take the enamel off your teeth, but I drank some to be polite. The old matron who owned the sheep station and hosted the picnic said, "It takes a real man to drink billy tea without milk!" I hadn't realized milk was available. My tongue is still puckered from that tea.

There was some serious practice to learn two new pieces Wednesday morning, and then everyone took another bus tour in the afternoon. We practiced all day Thursday, finishing the day by going through the show. Friday morning consisted of a show run-through with all of our new music in the morning, and naps in the afternoon. The show was another good one, with an even louder crowd than Melbourne. It became a standard practice to announce the amount taken for autographs before the encore. The crowd seemed to like the fact that the band matched it for the charity.

Saturday was the same as Friday, and the band's energy level was still good. Even the road crew seemed to be anxious to get to Brisbane, since the end of this tour was in sight. I could tell the ladies were beginning to become a little road weary. The kids were actually better than good, as they weren't fussy and seemed to just enjoy playing together on any available floor.

Brisbane became a whirlwind. The hotel where we had reservations had misunderstood the quantity of rooms and had less than half of what we required. Brandy even had the confirming e-mail with the correct amount of suites and rooms, but they were still going to be short because their thinking was that there was no way we needed so many rooms. Brandy went right to work hunting for a hotel that could accommodate all of us together. Another hotel in the area that was supposed to be nice advised they had suites and rooms available. Brandy was using her laptop to try to judge the quality of the other hotel compared to this one, and finally made a deal for all of us at the one place. They even agreed to comp us a conference room for practice. The hotel manager who had shorted us on our reserved rooms began making a lot of noise, but Brandy stood in the guy's space, speaking right at his face, telling him that he's lucky we didn't sue his hotel for the inconvenience. Go Brandy.

The hotel we went to was a real class act. It was the Brisbane Conrad, the top of the Hilton family of hotels, and had been converted from a palatial hundred year old government building some years before. It stood right on the river downtown. The building may have been older, but it was in excellent condition, as were the suites and rooms. Everyone in the band and all the family thought the place was great. We had two large adjoining suites with cross access for our family group. It gave Sue and Kathy privacy and a separate bedroom for Bonita and Lizzy. My ladies loved the huge oversized king bed, giving us enough room for all of us to sleep together. The bed was still crowded, but we were used to that. The adjoining room for the babies had six cribs for us. We found out this hotel had a reputation for its great restaurant. That was a plus for us, as I think everyone within our group were good eaters.

We repeated what we did in Sydney by touring Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afternoon. Monday we saw the sights of Brisbane, including the Queensland Museum of Art and another botanical garden. Tuesday we took a bus out to Toowoomba, the "City of Flowers", a hill town on the edge of the Outback. From a park on the edge of town we could see empty land, dotted with hills, stretching to the horizon. All along the road there and back were trees entirely covered with bougainvillea in bloom, in various colors. It was dark as we were returning and the driver pulled off at a roadside park and suggested we get out and take a look at the sky. We were far from the nearest human habitation, so there were no ground lights to mask the stars, and the Milky Way really earned its name, a shimmering band of stars from horizon to horizon, clearer and brighter than we'd ever seen it even when sailing across the ocean, perhaps because the air there was also so dry. The driver pointed out the Southern Cross, a constellation which is part of the Australian flag. Wednesday after a morning rehearsal we boarded the bus again and went out to the Gold Coast, a really attractive beach resort where we took a boat out to an island where we could see wallabies and kangaroos up close. We also stopped at a store where we could buy Australian opals, especially black opals, for which Australia is famous, and we got some "boulder opal" desk accessories, paperweights and card holders and such, with streaks of opal showing in rough dark gray stones. We ignored the theme parks which made the area seem like a Down Under Orlando, but expected some of the younger members of the group might go back to them later in the week while we rehearsed. We worked hard on Wednesday morning, all day Thursday, and Friday morning. I was anxious about Friday evening's show as everyone was getting tired, but the whole group was in sync having fun playing for the crowd as soon as Lisa gave that opening crashing chord.

Saturday night almost was nostalgic, as Fred took over the intros and announced to the audience that this was the last concert of our tour. He told the audience he was apologizing for missing so many other important Austrailian cities but the band was becoming road weary. He told the crowd to hang on as we all wanted this to be a memorable evening for everyone.

It was a great experience, as we played some of our best music of the tour, and we knew we had performed our best. The set with Lisa doing ballads, and then our duet with the women doing backup vocals was enough to bring tears. We brought the crowd right back with some driving rock blues that had the audience dancing in the aisles. Our challenge lasted over thirty minutes before Rags whistled us down. We gave the crowd a cover piece to say goodbye, and they actually applauded and left. They had enjoyed a four and a half-hour concert that was probably the best they would ever attend.

I don't think the road crew took much of the set down Saturday night as everyone was beat. I watched as our instruments were separated from the road equipment to be sent back to the hotel as usual. Brandy went around and told everyone, even the road crew, to come to our hotel for a banquet in celebration of a great tour.

Brandy had rented a banquet room at the hotel that had a full bar. Fred, Pop, and Rags all got up and thanked everyone for their hard work and promised all of them bonus money in their checks. Fred told the road crew, "You guys have had the chance to work with all of this new equipment, and I want to tell you that we will be using it again. We want to do some shows in the States, which will also include Mexico, so when you put this stuff away, do it carefully so that we can get it out and use it soon."

When it was my turn, I told them all that Kenny was doing well and already back home in Florida, so all of us would be seeing him soon. Barb had advised me that he was already playing almost all day, enjoying being who he had always been. I told everyone, "I had visions of maybe doing exactly what we've been doing when I was in high school. Little did I know what life would be like between then and now, but I have fulfilled a dream from way back. To the whole group, thank you. To my special playmates, Bonita and Lizzy; we couldn't have done it without you. Thanks, everybody."

Lisa hugged my arm when I sat, and said, "My daddy would have been so proud to see me playing the way we have. As a matter of fact, I'll bet he's proud of what we've done. Thank you, Chuck; neither one of us would have had this experience without joining together."

We finally crashed around three in the morning. I think we might have originally thought we would leave Sunday morning, but that wasn't happening. Lisa, Jane, Brandy, Tiani, and I didn't wake up until after ten. We weren't even coherent until nearly noon. We decided to stay the night and leave early Monday morning. Our plan was to stop over in Hawaii for a day, or possibly two, before continuing on home. Jane wanted us to meet her brothers and many of her friends. She also wanted to pack up some more clothing. Kal and Kai thought we could have a luau on the beach in front of their home, and had already been on the phone planning and preparing.

Fred told me Monday morning that all of the other musicians were going to head directly back to Florida. He said he wanted to make sure the equipment was packed, and then to make sure it was properly stored in their warehouse. We all shook hands and gave each other compliments on some good shows. I gave Pop and Rags hugs as they were ready to leave.

Nancy, Pop's wife, gave me a real hug and kiss on the cheek. She told me, "I can't believe that the white boy who came in with our Lisa would be the man he is. Thank you for having us along with the band, and for taking care of our little girl. You two are definitely a fit."

Lisa was with us and was given a tearful hug as well.

Elmer was going back with the band so that he could get the new controller set up in our studio and begin working on the videos for the troops and mixing some commercial music.

The women already had the luggage downstairs, with six little ones strapped in baby seats, ready to be strapped into bus seats. It had become easier to just rent buses instead of limos. The other 737 and the cargo plane were on the ramp ready to access the runway when we reached the airport. Our 737 was ready for us, and we quickly had our luggage and instruments loaded.

When we were all seated, I realized that this was the beginning of a whole new life with Jane in Florida. I was actually anxious to get home to do some flying and go down to Costa Rica to see how the resort was doing. I had only had e-mails of 'All is well' from Mark and Diego, the resort manager.

The flight to Hawaii was like a yo-yo. Even though we were in the new extended range aircraft, we flew to New Guinea, to Wake Island, then to Hawaii. We could make it to LA in one jump, then home in another. Everyone was butt weary by the time we landed in Hawaii. The kids had done well as they played, ate, and napped on the floor in the lounge area of the aircraft the whole way. They only had to be in their seats for landings and takeoffs.

Brandy had us booked into the new resort, so we were all bussed directly there. Kal and Kai said they were going home, but Jane stayed with us. We would get together tomorrow after some exercise and rest.

Upon checking in, the manager on duty told me, "The other parties have already arrived and are in the big family suite."

I looked at Brandy and she shrugged her shoulders. I think we were all a little mesmerized by being in the air so long. We paraded down the hallway to the first floor family suite and slid the key card in the door. Steve, Mercy, Juanita, Dewey, his wives, and their children greeted us when we walked in. Dewey's kids had waited up as they wanted to see Bonita and Lizzy.

Kathy and Sue jumped Steve, and then did a lot of kissing and hugging with Juanita and Mercy. It was a real reunion. Steve slapped me on the back and said he was happy to see me. He made Lisa and me a drink, then told me, "We used your Citation to get here. That is a hell of an aircraft to travel in. I'll take Sue, Kathy, Bonita, and Lizzy back with us if it's okay. You need the bigger aircraft for you and your kids."

I told Steve, "We could use a G5 now that we were down to just the six babies, seven women, and me, but we have to get the big bird home, so we'll just stay with it. I think we need something with a longer range, as there are flights direct from Australia to Los Angeles. We could have used that instead of having to go up and down so many times to get here."

Dewey ordered a bunch of snack food and we all enjoyed some visiting time while the kids were being prepared for bed. The moms all nursed their little ones, with Nancy helping to nurse Frieda's twins. It was either Nancy or Judy who always had extra milk to help Frieda.

The Freaky Five all came out in a group once the little ones were all tucked in, and Brandy told the newcomers, "We're all pregnant again and going to add another five, and I hope only five, to the group or rather to our big family."

It was funny the way that Mercy and Juanita hugged the girls as if they were sisters or other close family. It soon was bedtime for everyone. I think all of us who just returned from Australia were still dazed by the long flights.

Hawaii is beautiful in the morning. Our suite faced east, so I was up early sitting on the patio outside our main living area, watching the sun rise across the open water. This was just first light with a glow on the horizon. Hands came around me and lips pressed against my cheek. Lisa whispered, "It is beautiful, isn't it?"

I pulled the woman I loved around to me and sat her on my lap. Who would have believed how attached we had become to each other in the short amount of time we had been together. Lisa said, "I love the travel and music, but I'm dying to be flying again and can't wait to have something really dicey to deal with."

"I know, Babe, I'm the same. Now that I've spent time with the babies and more time with the mothers, I'm apprehensive to be away from them so much. I should be apprehensive about possibly being in danger, but that's what we do. I am looking forward to doing something that's exciting."

Lisa softly said, "Why don't you call our contact and give him an ET (estimated time) of when we might be available."

I felt a need to comment on us making contact so said, "You know that we'll be on our way to somewhere very fast if he thinks we're close. Let's get home first and do some flying before we jump into shit with both feet. We need to go south to see Mark and Diego too. I know Mark has his son available to take over for him, but he'll work himself to death before he says he has too much."

Lisa chuckled while her head was on my shoulder, "He's like that, isn't he?"

"Yep, but he's happy and that's what makes it work. He has Caroline, his kids, and grandkids to help him enjoy life down there. He even thought his daughter might come to visit the last time we talked."

Dewey came out to the patio with three Bloody Marys in his hand about that time. He handed one each to Lisa and me and sat in a chair near us.

"Look at that sunrise," Dewey said, while pointing his glass at the ball of orange peeking over the edge of the water. "That's always the most beautiful part of the day to see here in Hawaii."

I had to ask, "What are you doing here, Dewey? Are you already tired of being at home?"

"Steve called me and said he wanted to surprise Sue and Kathy here in Hawaii. Sue had kept him informed of your travel, so he stopped in Seattle and we met there for the trip here. He'll drop us off on the way home. I think he's planning on leaving tomorrow sometime."

Steve came out the door with his own filled tall glass. He sat with us gazing at the sun as it now rapidly moved up over the water's edge. He observed, "Great sunrise. Have all you guys been here for the whole show?"

Dewey said, "Chuck and Lisa have, but I came when it was already peeking out."

Steve asked, "Did you ask Chuck about the property yet, Dewey?"

Aha, there is an ulterior motive for them being here.

"Nope, not yet. I thought I'd let him get into his second waker-upper before I mentioned it."

I was nearly laughing, "Okay, what's up, Guys? What property, where, and what are we going to do with it?"

It was Dewey who wanted to describe it, "You know all of those pineapple fields and the coconut tree farm on the other side of the airport?"

"Sure, that's the land the owner and son wanted to keep so the farm could continue."

Steve said, "They still want to keep that property to be agricultural, but there is a lot of the land that's unused and undeveloped that could be put to use. We have the waterfront resort here that only has one golf course, but we do use the other resort's courses too. We could probably build another resort there with three professional type golf courses and be able to share seaside beaches with this hotel."

"Sounds good, but what does the seller think? That's the son, right?"

Dewey said, "Yeah, the son is the one selling it. The old guy passed away last year and the kid doesn't want to mess with agriculture other than to attempt to ensure the ground is still used the way it always has been. I think the kid is going through money a little faster than anticipated, but he does have a good limousine business now. He has an interest in a couple of nightclubs in the city, but we all know what that business is like."

"Well, Dewey and Steve, if you've had the property appraised and think it's fair, let's have the partnership buy it."

Dewey spoke again, "Steve and I were thinking that you might want to do this one by yourself."

"Why in the world would I do that? I have enough to do right now, and I'm sure you two will enjoy the extra holding. How about the other guys? Do you think they might want to go in? They love to build things."

Steve spoke, "Dewey and I were thinking the resort should be built to look native, rustic. You know, with little grass shacks. We actually thought we could have grass roofs on some cabins or cabanas and have what looks like a grass roof on the main building too. I'd bet it would look great and be very attractive. It would probably be better by the water, but we can have a huge pool that winds around the cabanas like at the nude resort. People love that place because of the way the pool runs all over the grounds."

I sighed, "So, what do I need to do so we can buy this place, just us three, or with the two other guys?"

Dewey said, "Just tell Ben to release the money so we can have Perkins, the attorney, close the deal. We'll mention the deal to the other guys, but I think they're back in Italy looking at another opportunity. They'll be tied up there for a year or so. They'll get confused if we put too much on their plate."

We all laughed at that. Lisa got up and asked, "Do you three want another drink? I'll chase it for you."

The three of us nodded yes, and Lisa was back with our refilled glasses in a minute.

Two small critters came crawling up to me while we were talking. They pulled themselves up with "Dada, Dada," so I would pick them up. We had an intelligent conversation with their jabbering attempts to communicate. Frieda came out and said, "It's crazy how those two can escape so fast. I didn't see them crawl out the door. I'm surprised they didn't try to walk out here."

Frieda scooped the two up in her arms as they cooed and jabbered. It was Dewey who said, "You and Steve have the quietest kids I've ever been around. What do you two have that others don't? My kids did a lot of squalling, but I really don't hear your kids doing a lot of crying. I actually don't think I've ever heard any of your kids really loudly cry, Chuck. What's with your kids?"

"I don't know, Dewey, but I like it the way it is. I'm not going to question it. The grandparents all say that too, and Sue told me Steve's kids were like that. They still aren't that loud. Have you ever really heard them angry loud? I haven't."

Steve was smiling, "It's all the love the kids get. It's not that we give them everything they want. We redirect their attention to something they enjoy when they beg for something unnecessary instead. It's easier now that we can discuss things, but that's how we handled them when they were little."

Kathy came out and told us, "Breakfast is served. Come in and watch the critters stuff some pancakes."

I saw Dewey make a cell phone call while we sat down. He was smiling as he sat down to eat. "The deal is going to be done right away. I talked to Ben and Perkins, so it's set. Now we need to get surveyors and architects started. You're going to head those up, right, Chuck?"

I laughed, "You know I have things to do. I'm not just being a musician with tons of spare time and money. I actually have a job that the dot gov bunch may want me to begin working at again. I'll talk to them in the next few days to see what they think. I'm sure I'll have to be mentally and emotionally evaluated again, but nothing's changed over the last couple of months other than that I'm rested."

Lisa and I went to the hotel gym to use their mat room to do some light sparring after breakfast. Lisa is always so quick that she mystifies me in the way she can do so many alternate kicks and sweeps at a time. Jane came into the mat room and began doing some Tai Chi forms while we were sparring. She was very graceful, but included some jumps and kicks in her regimen. When we finished, she said, "I'd like to see how you two spar with my brothers. They are really good."

Lisa said, "We aren't in good shape right now and need a lot of practice. We haven't been doing any major workouts on this trip, so we would embarrass ourselves."

"It would be fun anyway, Lisa. I'd love to see Chuck compete. I'd bet that his foes would be totally surprised that he didn't have a leg if he were to wear a long-legged gi."

"They already have, Jane," Lisa stated. "Ask Taiying and Sing about that. Chuck had a real bout with a couple of Chinese brothers who are decent in the arts. They doubled up on him two on one, and one was injured because of it."

"Well, practice, Chuck, I know my brothers will want to show off with you."

I talked to Ben for a few minutes after our workout, and he was happy to report that the Costa Rican resort was doing very well. He also said that our Colombian gold mining town now had a real hospital, with a university staff teaching more nurses and doctors. He mentioned that we were still hauling tons of gold out of the mines.

Wanda said all was still well, but our contact had called a couple of times. She didn't think it was serious or they would have contacted us directly. She did say that Sam wanted me to come back to duty, but he'd have to talk to me about that. "I'm thinking they want you to do more traveling, doing some kind of training along with your supervisor responsibilities. You'll have to see." Wanda was smiling as she said, "How ya doin', Teach?"

Not understanding, I asked, "What's that mean, sweet thing?"

"I'm talking about you being an instructor in the field. I personally think it's all a smoke screen so that Sam can get you into some situations he needs you in. Just listen to him, and if you have to send a plane for him to come and have a one on one with you, do it."

"Thanks, Wanda, that's what we'll have to do. I'm going to check in on the Costa Rican stuff before I come back full time. I also need some flying hours in both fixed and rotary wing. Lisa and I might be candidates for every one of our bosses if we can get that accomplished."

Lisa took the phone and told Wanda, "Make sure you tell the guys to call me so I can help out if they have anything that might be fun. I'm crazy for some adrenaline rushes."'

Wanda laughed, "You have the perfect girlfriend, Chuck. She's possibly more tuned into some danger than you."

I told Wanda, "Even Jane has been biting the bullet to go out on some captures. I suppose most of the women in our household are just plain adrenaline junkies. Don't tell anyone, Wanda. I'll try to keep them under control. This new one doesn't seem that aggressive yet, but I think she may come out of her shell with both barrels flaming."

"Just like you to bring another crazed female into your midst. And to think, the Hawaiian office and the Service say Jane is who you need to be around in order to relax, cool off, simmer down, and to not shoot the place up." Wanda hung up on me as she laughed really loud,

She's been in too much contact with the DC people.

Lisa asked me, "How about a shower, then we'll check with Kal and Kai to see what's up today. I know that Jane wants to pack up a bunch of stuff, so she's taking the Funny Five and kids with her to entertain her parents while she packs. How about we check in with the Service to see if they have anything here? If they don't, we can check in with the Marshal's Service to see if they need some help."

I called our contact and we informed him that we were in Hawaii, but would be headed to the mainland soon. Our plan was to visit there, then go to Costa Rica to make sure everything was running well.

The contact told me, "You can take care of several problems if you want. I'll e-mail your account about the problem on the islands. I'll send a separate e-mail about a problem that has arisen in Albuquerque. I doubt you will have time to just stop and cure that problem, but take it under consideration on the way. While you're down in Costa Rica, we want you to check out a couple of new companies that have started up in the capital and on the West Coast. You and I both know no one is going to mess with the east side of the country, and the folks to the north of it enjoy the money they get for turning their heads. We need you and Lisa to take a look at what's going on there, and help us decide if we have to do something about it. I'm telling you that it should be an observation mission, but you know when to do something and when not to."

Lisa was grinning, "You mean that you think we might jump at the chance to clean something up?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Lisa. You've been around long enough to know when you should and shouldn't shut something down."

Lisa was already printing out the SS problem on the islands. There was a new counterfeiting problem that had cropped up. Some large fake bills had shown up within a few mile radius. They were very well printed and on good paper, but they didn't do the coloring just right and all of their serial numbers are the same. We figured them for amateurs, but also knew that people like this could be as dangerous as a whole army of defenders, or would that be offenders.

We decided to do some work that could border on two agencies' domains, but figured that it would give us some excitement. The women didn't mind staying in Hawaii for a while longer. Lisa and I figured we could get this one taken care of reasonably fast.

We used the intelligence the Service had and were able to track the people who were using the bills to a housing area in a wealthy part of the island. Lisa and I watched the house for a couple of days, with Jane accompanying us on one of those days. We followed people from the house to shopping plazas while there, and were able to confirm those from the house passed the fake bills.

Back in surveillance mode, we watched the house to identify any guards or outside camera placements. After visually searching every square inch of the grounds, we determined there were no outside cameras and that there were no outdoor guards. We hadn't done anything special other than do some appropriate detective work.

Our next step was to call the Marshal Service in to assist when busting the house.

Lisa and I prepped ourselves and Jane with the appropriate weapons and armor. I wanted Jane to know we didn't go into a confrontation without the proper equipment. All of the Marshal Service Deputies were wearing their vests and all carried either rifles or shotguns along with their sidearms.

That's when the plan went to hell. Shots started being fired at us through the expensive front entrance door as soon as we announced our presence. Others in rooms close to the front door began firing through windows as well.