Backfire

That night she was very amorous in bed. After the lights went out she started nibbling my neck and slowly worked her way down my body. She was not using her hands, just her tongue and her teeth. She sucked, kissed and nibbled her way down to my now erect tool. It had been several weeks since I had any relief and when her lips slid over my swollen head it only took a few moments for me to gush my warmth into her mouth. She held her head still and didn't move until I had finished coming then I could hear her swallow and start licking and sucking again.

This time she got me hard and straddled over me while slowing lowering her body until our pubic hair met. She was grinding herself into me in a slow steady rhythm. The lights were out but I could still see her body rocking up and down, back and forth. She was moaning in a quiet animal like fashion. It was a determined movement that quickly achieved the results she was looking for. I could feel her legs quiver as she put most of her weight on her arms and wiggled her hips in tiny little circles. Finally her whole body tensed up and shook as she had her first climax. Our bodies got warm and sticky and I could feel the bed sheets getting wet underneath me. Although she was still moving as before, it was different. The friction was gone. I was now sliding in and out of a soft moist tunnel. I could feel her body raising and falling on top of me but the only feeling around my member was warmth. She continued her movements and the warmth turned to heat. Soon I could again feel myself responding and at last it came. I raised my hips high into the air as I shot my second load into her waiting body. She pushed down on me and we fought each other this way until I finally collapsed in exhaustion. She climbed up to lay aside of me and we slept until morning.

The next day at breakfast I was hit with the ultimate in stupidity.

"Grady, I was thinking. I would like to have another baby."

Now I knew what the love session the night before was all about.

We need a little background here to be able to appreciate the stupidity of this comment. Peggy had been on birth control pills for several years after the boys were born. About three years ago she started complaining about the side effects of the pills. I won't go into the specifics but she was having different types of female problems that were supposed to be either caused or aggravated by the pills. In any event she decided to stop taking them. We were not using any other type of birth control.

A short time later I was in the doctors' office for a rotor cuff problem. I ask him about getting clipped and twenty minutes later I was sterile. I never mentioned this to Peggy, didn't see any need to. For the last three years Peggy and I have been having unprotected sex. No pills, no condom, no diaphragm. At no time did Peggy ever mention or wonder why she wasn't getting pregnant. Now all of a sudden she wants to wave a magic wand and have a baby.

Either she is extremely stupid or she thinks I am extremely stupid. I looked at her in amazement. "I think that would be great honey."

Now being a man, I don't know much about pregnancy but since it had been almost three weeks since the party there is a good chance that Peggy had missed a period and was covering her ass. This put a whole new light on things so I decided to move up my schedule.

The boys were back in school and I got a chance to talk to them a little bit before they left. They seemed to understand my situation concerning their mother better than I did. I felt better knowing that I had their support and backing no matter what happened. I was not sure what was going to occur at this point.

I spent most of the day looking for Collin Farrell. He had to be someplace. At lunchtime I went by the docks and spoke to Sally. Bob, Ray and Freddy were back at work but she had no idea what was going on with Colin. The rumor was that he was afraid I would go after him. That didn't make sense because I was a peaceable fellow. I avoided the work area so I wouldn't run in to any of my three tormenters. That afternoon I stopped by to see a local lawyer and started the paperwork needed to divorce Peggy. I didn't want to hurt her but I didn't want to live with her anymore. The boys would be on their own shortly and I didn't see any reason for me to stick around. The one remaining problem that I couldn't shake was the need to thank Colin and his boys for ruining my marriage. I know that the fault was primarily Peggy's but I couldn't punish her. Her paramours would have to pay for their poor judgment.

Freddy Springer was married but always stopped by Mac Murray's for a pint before heading home. It was just getting dark when he came out the side door and started walking along the building to his car in the rear. I surprised the hell out of him when I grabbed his left arm and twisted it up behind his back. I ran him full speed into the wall and heard a few things break as his face met the brick. His knees buckled a little but I held him by his arm as I started to pound his kidneys with my right fist. As he sank lower my fist started to hit higher and I could hear ribs cracking. I must have hit him twenty times when his arm went loose at the shoulder socket. I dropped him to the cobblestones as a group of people came down the alley. No one chased me as I calmly walked to my car and drove away.

Two hours later I was sitting in the police station. Peggy had just put the house up for collateral to get bail and was finishing the paper work. Alice Springer came storming in screaming that she wanted me put away forever. They were able to keep her away from me but she didn't shut up till Peggy talked to her. I don't know what Peggy said but Alice looked at both of us like we were dirt and walked out. Robert and Dave had my car and drove me home while Peggy followed. The boys seemed to be proud of me but I was careful not to say or do anything to encourage them.

Freddy had a dislocated shoulder, broken nose, two black eyes and lots of internal injuries that they had not fully identified yet. Four ribs were broken but luckily none had punctured his lungs.

My wife and I didn't speak of the problem when we got home. I slept on the couch for the first time in twenty years but didn't mind. I was up and out early the next morning trying to figure out what to do next.

The Osaka-Maru was unloading at Felixstowe. The Captain, Jose Costa, was an agreeable man and was willing to take me on when and if I got my papers. I promised to get back to him later in the week.

On the way home I stopped to top off the gas tank. Just as I finished up I noticed someone rushing toward me. I turned just as Ray Collins hit me on the left side with a piece of two by four. The wood glanced off my left arm before cracking a couple of ribs. I squinted my eyes and bent over from the pain. I remember trying to breath and not being able to inhale. With my eyes closed I saw bright white flashes and then felt my knees buckle. The wooden club made a funny clunking noise as it bounced around on the asphalt. Ray wasn't able to hold on to it after the impact. My right hand darted out as I was falling and grabbed some flannel. I was able to twist around to the left as I rammed my right fist, with flannel, into the ground. I felt myself land on Rays' body, hard. My eyes were still clinched shut trying to block out the pain in my left side. I could not move my left arm. I was acting on instinct as my right hand started to hammer up and down. I don't know what I was hitting but as long as it wasn't asphalt it was good. Both sides of my body were working independent of each other. As my left side was crunching up for protection, my right side was attacking anything it could find. At first Ray was squirming under me, trying to get free but after a few seconds he was still. I didn't stop hitting him until some customers pulled me off. I still couldn't get a good breath of air and it hurt like hell.

One of the medics gave me a shot and I slept all the way to the hospital. I woke up a few hours later with a sling on my left arm and my body taped tight. I was able to breath but with care. Peggy was there and did not look pleased.

"Damn it Grady. What do you think you are doing? You are making a hell of a fuss over that little party problem."

"Sorry honey. I didn't do anything. Why did your boyfriend attack me with a two by four? And what do you mean by a 'little party problem'? Either I get a better explanation about what went on that Saturday, or I will continue talking to people."

"You are not talking. You are hunting them down and thumping them."

I gave her a big smile. "Why would I want to do something like that?"

"Stop acting like a bully and stop referring to them as my boyfriends." Peggy walked out the door just as the doctor came in.

I was more bruised than broken. Ray swung that wood like a little boy. My arm was just sore and the cracks in my ribs were superficial. The pain and problem I had breathing was just from the impact. Early the next morning Robert and Dave came and picked me up. They were grinning from ear to ear and I told them to can it. Ray on the other hand was in bad shape. He would be eating through a straw for about a month until his jaw healed and it would be at least a week till the swelling goes down on his face. One errant blow did happen to break his left collarbone. Of course all the blows were errant because I had no idea what I was hitting at the time.

There were no charges against me because several people testified that Ray attacked me first.

I had to call in to work and get another week off, this time as sick leave. I talked to Sally for a while and she told me that Bob Timbers had quit work and his final paycheck was being sent to his brothers' house in Aberdeen. They still had no idea where Colin was.

Peggy and I were not communicating very well. I was sleeping on the couch every night now. I was able to shed the arm sling pretty quickly but my ribs were still a little sore. At least I could move and breathe normally. The Osaka-Maru was leaving in four days. I stopped by to see my lawyer. The divorce papers were ready so I told him to have them served in four days. I was leaving everything with Peggy. She would get the house but the bonding company would take it when I skipped bail. I could care less. I included a copy of the vasectomy paper work and a recent sperm count lab report in with the divorce papers.

I made a few phone calls to some friends in Scotland and spent some time at the gym trying to recover from the two by four attack. Henry Clark was not happy to see me leave and agreed to keep my departure quiet as long as he could. I ask him to look out for my boys if necessary.

Peggy had stopped going to the gym and the house was going to pot. The wash was backing up and the general appearance of the whole place was going down hill. The meals were just thrown together and the conversation was less than sparkling. I swear it looked like she was putting on weight again. The whole world went to shit in four weeks.

The next day the boys handed me my set of maritime papers. I had never seen them so happy. All three of us were ready to go. I told them to wait and finish this year of school before making any decisions. I don't think they were listening to me. I returned to the Osaka-Maru and took care of everything I had to. The quartermaster gave me a list of things I had to get prior to sailing the next morning. I got my gear and checked into my room on board and then left ship one last time. Robert had left his Triumph Bonneville 750 parked at the end of the dock. A few minutes later I was on my way to Aberdeen.

An eight hours trip on a motorcycle is not a pleasure. The Triumph was shaking so hard that you could not read the odometer. The motor ran smooth and the weather held but I was still glad when I arrived.

My friends had located Bob Timbers and planned to have him at the Four Crowns. The men's at that place was in the back and you had to exit the building to get to it. I stopped in and looked around just enough to let my buddies know I had arrived. Then I went to the side of the building and waited. The first two guys were local but then Bob came out. I heard the door lock behind him as he started toward the toilet.

I grabbed his right arm like I did Freddy's and shoved his head against the stone wall of the building as I went down the alley way. His whole face was scraping along the stone as I walked and he stumbled. I went about fifty feet and dropped him against the wall. He was half moaning and half crying in pain. By the dim glow from the streetlight I could see his right eye socket was solid blood. His cheekbone was showing below his eye and the entire side of his face was one big abrasion.

"Don't kill me Grady, please don't kill me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Now I had no intention of killing him but I figured there was no point in telling him that. "I'll give you a choice, Bob. Tell me the truth about everything that happened at the party and I'll let you live. Lie to me and you die."

"Ok, OK. I'm hurting Grady."

"Talk damn it and I'll get you a doctor."

"When Peggy came into the party without you, Colin got all excited. He started bragging about how he was going to get her loaded and shag her ass. She did look good, Grady, honest. She was all dressed up and looked liked she wanted to have fun. Colin started loading her up with drinks and he told us that we could have sloppy seconds. We didn't think he could pull it off. After a bit he took her back to the storeroom and we followed him. Are you sure you want to hear this Grady?"

"Yes. Keep going."

"Ok but don't hurt me any more. We could hear Colin and Peggy behind the door going at it. She was moaning and saying dirty stuff like the girls in the porno movies. We got hot as hell just listening. After awhile Colin opened the door. Peggy was on the couch with one knee in the air and her bush exposed. It was sticky with cum. Her top was down to her waist, her tits were out and she had a big smile on her face. We each took turns fucking her and she started blowing us while she was being screwed. Grady, we never hurt her. We never forced her to do anything she didn't want to do. Colin and Freddy fucked her in the ass but Ray and I weren't into that. When we got done we helped her get dressed. She and Colin left together and I think they stopped someplace before he dropped her off but I don't know for sure. That's it Grady. I'm sorry. We didn't hurt her honest and we didn't make her do anything she didn't want to do."

I just looked at him. "Do you know where Colin Farrell is?" He just shook his head no. This man was in no position to lie to me. His story was a lot closer to the one Sally told me than to the one Peggy told me. His face looked gross in the yellow light. He was bleeding more and his eye socket was turning a dull black color. Flakes of skin were hanging from his cheek and the raw meat under it was bright red. I knocked on the locked pub door, shook hands with a couple of old friends and got on the bike.

A few miles down the road I passed the medical emergency vehicle going to the pub. It was early morning when I parked the Triumph at the spot I picked it up and boarded the Osaka-Maru. Robert would pick up the bike later. My first duty schedule was that night so I spent the rest of the day resting from my trip. That damn motorcycle beat the hell out of me. I should have taken the car.

I woke up several hours later, showered and got some supper. My supervisor gave me a job description, explained my duties and left me by myself. It was an entry-level job and was not that difficult or mind-boggling. My crewmates were less than friendly and not very helpful. They would answer any direct questions I had but offer no help or advice and none of them seemed interested in establishing any kind of association. I was looking forward to some sort of connection with the rest of the crew but it looks like it will not be easy. They all seemed to be friendly with each other but I was not included in the circle. I decided to wait it out.

Peggy was now aware that I was gone. She should have been served her divorce papers that morning. I am sure that Bob Timbers had given his whole story to the officials by now. I could see my two demon sons snickering to each other over the current events. My shift ended and I went to bed.

Two days later I was summoned to the Captains office in the middle of the day. Captain Costa did not look happy as I stood in front of him.

"Mister Baxter, The Royal Navy has requested permission to land a helicopter on the Osaka-Maru in order to transport you back to the main land. I received an extensive wire this morning justifying their request. I will summarize some of the items on the extradition request. If there are any errors you can explain them."

I simply nodded in agreement.

"They wish to talk to you about the disappearance of a fellow named Colin Farrell. You have charges against you for the beating of a man named Fred Springer so badly that he lost one kidney and might lose the other. You forfeited bail on that charge. You have charges against you for the maiming of a fellow named Ray Collins that was listed as self-defense, but is being changed because of the severity. Finally on the night you boarded this ship you beat a man named Bob Timber in Aberdeen so bad that he lost his right eye. I don't know how the hell you could be here and in Aberdeen at the same time and I don't want to know. It says here that all this mayhem was done with your bare hands to avenge a personal affront. Do you have any comments Mister Baxter?"

"Sir I am sorry for any problems I might have caused you."

"I mean about the charges."

"Just that if I could have found Colin Farrell he would be in the hospital with the other three. I really don't know where that son-of-a-bitch is. I'll pack my things and get ready for the helicopter when it arrives."

Captain Costa just looked at me and smiled. "That won't be necessary. I told them you never got aboard. There is no Grady Baxter on the Osaka-Maru. Now get back to work."

I went back to the crew quarters, took a shower and got ready for my shift. By the time I finished the evening meal the police report had circulated through the entire crew. For the rest of the tour I had more friends that I could handle.

I had no contact with anyone from home until we were about a month out. I got a wire from my lawyer. The divorce had already been finalized so I was now a free man. Peggy lost the house to the bail bond company when I left the country. Colin Farrell was in the hospital with extensive internal injuries and two broken kneecaps. The police were looking for Robert and Dave in connection with the beating. My sons found Colin with Peggy in our bedroom before the house was taken back. Peggy was now living in Austell with her sister. She was pregnant and her old weight problem was creeping back. I still had charges pending and my attorney recommended that I do not return. He had no idea where my sons were.

The news left me with mixed emotions. The next day at breakfast the Captain walked passed the table and stopped.

"I just wanted to let you know that Robert and Dave Baxter are not aboard the Tanaka-Maru headed for Cape Town." We both smiled. I always wanted to be a sea faring man.