Ashes to Ashes Ch. 02

"I know we didn't get much dancing in, but what do you say we take this back to the cabin?" he asked. She smiled and grabbed some napkins to clean up their mess.

"Lead the way," she said. "But I might end up jumping your bones before we get there."

They headed back to the cabin as quick as they could and April threw off her dress as John opened the door. They fell on the bed, kissing each other as they reconnected, physically and emotionally.

They spent the next few days making mad, passionate love to each other, coming out only for short trips to eat. John made his daily calls to Mark, learning only that no one had spotted Robert. Meanwhile, the ship had stopped at Cartagena before heading through the Panama Canal, stopping at Puntarenas and Corinto. From there, they went up the coast to Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta. The next stop was Los Angeles.

Security Officer Michaels had, as promised, kept them informed about his search, which so far had turned up nothing. What none of them knew, however, is that Robert had disembarked in Los Angeles using a fake passport and was on his way back to New York.

He knew security was looking for him and they nearly caught him -- twice. But he managed to escape detection, thanks to a rudimentary disguise. He had hoped to catch the two alone, but knew that would never happen with ship's security watching over them, so he decided to lull them into a false sense of security and make his move when they least expected it. As he walked down the gangplank, he spotted the FBI agent in his dark suit and sunglasses. He snickered as he easily avoided the fed and disappeared into the crowd.

John and April also walked down the gangplank and spotted the federal agent, who looked out of place in his dark suit. The tall, well-built man approached them and flashed his badge.

"Mr. Sullivan?" he asked. John nodded his head. "Special Agent Williams. We spoke on the phone earlier. Please come with me." John and April followed Ryan back to his dark SUV where another man waited for them. He opened a back door and John and April got inside. "This is my partner, Agent Smith," Ryan said. "We'll go downtown first and discuss the case."

He pulled into traffic and headed downtown, where he parked in an underground garage. Smith opened the door and waited for John and April to get out of the vehicle. Ryan led them upstairs to a well-appointed office and motioned for them to sit down. Smith poured them a cup of coffee before sitting down in a chair at the side of the desk. Ryan sat behind the desk and looked at them before speaking.

"How are you holding up, Mrs. Sullivan?" he asked.

"I've been better," she said. "I'm trying to put my life back together." Ryan nodded his head then looked at John.

"So, do you have the videos and pictures we talked about?" he asked. John pulled a small USB drive out of his trouser pocket and handed it to Ryan, who inserted it in his computer. He scanned the drive for viruses and malware before opening the video. He made notes as the video played and scanned through it to see what else was there.

"So," John said. "What the hell's going on?"

"What's going on is we're trying to break up a sex and corruption ring that extends far into the halls of power," he said. "It's been going on for years and now threatens our national security. Your little stunt nearly cost us the whole investigation."

"You mean the funeral?" John asked. Ryan nodded his head.

"Yes, the funeral," Ryan said. "Which, by the way, was headline news from coast to coast for days. Thanks to you, we were forced to move much earlier than we had originally planned."

"Well, maybe if someone had bothered to keep me in the loop it would've turned out differently," John said, looking from Ryan to April. Ryan nodded his head.

"I understand, Mr. Sullivan," he said. "But you have to understand that you were kept in the dark for your own safety. If you had known what was going on, there's a chance you and your wife could've gotten hurt."

"And April was working with you the whole time?" John asked.

"Yes," Ryan said. "She was feeding us valuable intel from inside the operation. We coached her and advised her to put on a good performance in hopes they would trust her and open up to her, which they did. If it wasn't for her we wouldn't have gotten half of what we now have. And Jenkins and his cronies would still be on the loose."

"Instead, it cost my wife her career, her reputation and her marriage," John said.

"I thought you two had reconciled," Ryan said.

"Not quite," John said. "We've taken some initial steps in that direction, but I still have a lot of unanswered questions. It's still very much in the air."

"I see," Ryan said.

"So, have you got all the bad guys yet?" John asked.

"Pretty much," Ryan said.

"Pretty much? What about Robert Cramer?" John asked. Ryan's face briefly turned white at the sound of Robert's name and the two feds exchanged glances.

"What do you know about Cramer?" Ryan asked.

"Just what April told me. That he's some kind of bad-ass enforcer who works for Jenkins," John said. "Former CIA, NSA, all-around asshole. Have you got him yet?"

"We have a nationwide APB out on him. We're doing the best we can, working with local law enforcement agencies," Ryan said.

"In other words," John said, "you don't have him and you have no idea where he is."

"We believe he's watching the two of you, but there's been nothing show up yet," Ryan said. "Trust me, if he so much as buys a burger at McDonalds, we'll know about it." John shook his head.

"I don't believe this shit," he said. "You let my wife become a prostitute for a shithead like Jenkins and you don't even know where his enforcer is at?"

"Mr. Sullivan," Ryan said. "I don't think you've got the big picture here. Before your wife contacted us, we had no concrete evidence against Jenkins. Nothing. Just a lot of circumstantial evidence and rumors. Thanks to your wife, we've been able to shut down a corruption ring that's been operating freely for at least seven years."

"Seven years?" John asked. "How is that possible? You're the goddamn FBI. How can you let something like that happen?"

"I understand your frustration, Mr. Sullivan," Ryan said, calmly. "Really, I do. You have to understand that before this coup attempt against the president, the corruption even worked its way into my FBI. But after that attempt, there's agencies you've never even heard of working around the clock to root that corruption out. And we're making headway, thanks in part to good citizens like your wife."

"But you let her become a whore for that slimebag," John said.

"I regret that," Ryan said. "But it was the only way we could get what we really needed. Your wife was never in any real danger. Her apartment was wired and we had agents close by just in case. We even had a bug in her wedding ring. Unfortunately, that's now buried in your back yard."

"How much longer would you have let it go on?" John asked. Ryan shook his head.

"Not much longer," he said. "Your wife expressed concerns for some time and we could tell it was beginning to affect her negatively. We were preparing to bring it to a close but then you had your funeral and served her with divorce papers, naming most of the men involved. We had no choice but to act. You should know there were some who considered charging you with obstruction of justice, by the way."

"What?" John asked. "Are you kidding me?" Ryan shook his head.

"No," he said. "I spoke in your defense and told my director that you were in the dark about the investigation. Fortunately, he relented. Otherwise, you'd be in a federal prison right now."

"So," John said. "What now?"

"Well," Ryan said. "We have agents watching your home and an agent is on your cruise ship keeping an eye on things. If Cramer makes a move, we've got him."

"I hope your agent is dressed more casually than the two of you," John said.

"That's not a problem," Ryan said. "Trust me on that." He looked at April. "Could you please step outside the office for a bit? I want to talk to your husband in private." April nodded her head and walked out of the office. After the door had closed, Ryan turned to John.

"I wanted to talk with you, man-to-man, for just a bit," he said. "First off, speaking as someone who's been through a divorce, I want you to know I thought that funeral was fucking brilliant."

"Thanks," John said. Ryan nodded his head.

"Second," Ryan said. "Your wife has been through hell ever since this all started. She wanted to confide in you from the beginning, but I told her not to."

"Why?" John asked. Ryan pulled out a stack of folders.

"This is why," he said. "Husbands, fathers, boyfriends -- all people who tried to take Jenkins to task for what he had done to the women in their lives. Several of them never lived to regret it. If April had told you what was going on, I'd probably have a folder here with your name on it as well. I didn't want that."

"So you're saying she was protecting me?" John asked.

"Basically," Ryan said. "Look, April was put into a no-win situation. She was screwed no matter what she did. If she had refused Jenkins, she'd be destroyed. If she told you, both of you would have been destroyed, or worse. If she went along, you would eventually have found out, which you did, and she would have been destroyed. So she did what she thought was best. It was damn hard on her but at least she had a chance to help take him down and put an end to what he was doing."

"But he's a Senator. Senators don't do that kind of thing to members of Congress, do they?" John asked. Ryan shrugged his shoulders.

"In normal times, no, they don't," Ryan said. "What if I had told you three years ago that a group of extremists were working to take down the president and transform American society? Would you have believed me?" John shook his head.

"No," he said.

"That's exactly what happened," Ryan said. "Now, what if I told you that the First Lady was involved in that plot. Would you have believed me?" John shook his head.

"No," he said again.

"Well, that's precisely what happened," Ryan said. "In fact, it happened twice in the last few years. That's what happens sometimes when people get a taste of power. They like it and are willing to do anything to get more. So, is it really all that difficult to believe that a U.S. Senator could do what Jenkins did?"

"No, I guess not," Ryan said.

"Mr. Sullivan, I know this has been hard on you, but believe me when I say your wife is the victim here," Ryan said.

"So what about her reputation? Her career? Our marriage?" John asked.

"I apologize for what's happened to her political career, but I think it was sunk the moment she was drugged. She was very well-thought of by many of us. Once this is all over, maybe she can write a book," Ryan offered. "I think I can put in a good word for her and maybe get her a spot in the Bureau if she wants. We're always looking for good legislative liaison officers. As for your marriage, I can only hope the two of you are able to work things out." Ryan motioned to have April come back in the room, opened his desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. He handed it to John.

"What's this?" John asked as April walked in the room.

"We took up a little collection in the office and got you two a room over at the Doubletree for the night," Ryan said. "It's not much, but we just wanted to show our appreciation. Your ship doesn't leave until noon tomorrow, so maybe you can take in a show or go dancing or something on us."

"You don't have to do that," John said.

"I know, but we wanted to," Ryan said. "My business card is also in there, in case you need to reach me. I'm available pretty much 24/7."

"Well, thank you," John said. Ryan stood, signaling the end of the meeting and shook John's hand.

"You're welcome," he said. "And I truly hope you two can work things out. Your wife is a wonderful person and personally, I think she deserves a second chance." John looked at April.

"You may be right about that," John said. "Thanks again." Agent Smith escorted them downstairs and drove them to the Doubletree, where they checked in and headed to their room. They spent some time in the Japanese rooftop garden and took in the skyline before heading to the Justice Urban Tavern for a burger and a beer.

John bought a couple of cigars and the two enjoyed a quick smoke outside before heading back to the room, where they showered and laid in bed naked, enjoying the 42 inch television.

"So," April said, "are you starting to feel better about things now?"

"A bit," John said. "I'm starting to understand why you kept me in the dark about everything. I still have a few issues to deal with. Like the disrespect. I heard Ryan say you were coached to act as though you enjoyed what they were doing to you so they would open up to you. Did they also coach you to be disrespectful to me?"

"They said I needed to keep you in the dark," she said. "I think the disrespect was just a natural outgrowth of everything that was happening. I really didn't mean to come off that way to you, though."

"I remember that you said a part of you enjoyed what was going on," John said. "Is that what happened? Did you find yourself starting to like what they were doing?"

"I think maybe it was just my body overpowering my rational mind," she said. "There was a lot of sex and my body responded to that. Maybe that's what happened, I don't know." She rolled on top of him, straddling his body. She could feel his manhood start to respond. "Can we please just enjoy each other tonight?" He ran his hands over her smooth skin and smiled.

"What the hell," he said. "I don't have anything else on my schedule." He smiled, then kissed her deeply. They spent the rest of the night making love and nearly missed their wake-up call the next morning. After grabbing some breakfast, they headed back to the ship.

Over the next few weeks, the ship headed south, stopping at San Diego, Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco and Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. They spent time in Lima, Peru and sailed through the Chilean Fjords. They visited Punta Arenas and sailed around Cape Horn. The ship stopped at Buenos Aires and Montivideo and they even spent time in Rio de Janeiro, where they took part in some fairly risque festivities. After a couple more stops, the ship headed out to Africa. There was still no word from Mark about Robert.

During this time, April learned to respect her husband even more than she ever had before and saw him in a completely new light. No longer a "pencil-pusher," John now had the air of a worldly explorer looking for his next adventure. She loved watching him work out in the ship's gym and found herself getting excited seeing his reinvigorated muscles flex as he went through his routines. She often joined him later as he showered, giving his new body the attention she felt it deserved.

John learned a few things about his wife as well, and came to understand how she got hooked into Senator Jenkins' machinations. He didn't like it -- not at all. But he understood it, and he respected the strength it took for her to walk away from it the way she had.

Now that they were leaving the Western Hemisphere, there was one thing John wanted to do. He looked at his wife as they enjoyed their end-of-the-day cigar and brandy at the side of the pool.

He pulled out an envelope that had been delivered by courier to the ship at San Diego. As April watched, he pulled out two small boxes. Opening one, he got on one knee and held it out to her.

"Will you marry me -- again?" he asked. April's eyes widened as she saw the diamond ring in the box. She threw her arms around him and cried for joy.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "I'll marry you again. And I promise I won't fuck it up this time." They hugged and cried as others around them clapped.

John pulled out his cell phone and called Mark to give him the news. After that, he called the children and told them. The next step was getting the captain to agree to renew their vows. They spoke to their cruise director and explained the situation and two days later, she came back with the good news that the captain agreed to perform the ceremony.

Ordinarily something like this took a lot of planning, but John and April said they wanted a simple ceremony and since they were already married, there was no need for all the usual pre-planning and paperwork. John offered to pay whatever the cruise charged, and a few days later, the two renewed their vows in the South Atlantic Ocean between South America and Africa.

April had tracked down Sheree and asked her to be the maid of honor, and John asked Security Officer Michaels to stand as his best man. John made sure the ceremony was captured on video and emailed it to Mark and the children.

"Girl, I am so happy for you," Sheree said when the captain finished the ceremony. "Remember what I said. You better treat this man right."

"Trust me, I will," April said, hugging the younger woman. John and April held a small reception before making their way back to the cabin for an evening of hot, wild sex.

The ship continued on its way, stopping at several ports on the south coast of Africa, including Cape Town. From there, they made their way to Mozambique and the Maldives and from there to India and Sri Lanka. They saw the the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar before going to Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur. After that, they stopped at Singapore and Bangkok then headed to Hanoi.

They spent the night in Hong Kong and Xiamen before going to Shanghai and Beijing, where they caught a glimpse of the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. From there, it was on to South Korea and Japan, where they visited Hiroshima and shopped in Tokyo. Their last stop on this side of the world was at Petropavlovsk, Russia.

They crossed the International Date Line and headed to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. From there they headed south to Anchorage and Juneau, then on to Astoria, Oregon. They stopped at San Francisco, then headed further south to Cabo San Lucas and Acapulco.

The cruise went back through the Panama Canal, then headed to Miami and Charleston before ending in New York.

All this time, there was no word of Robert's whereabouts. Mark updated John on all the legal actions they had taken against the men April had been involved with.

All of the alienation of affection lawsuits had been dismissed since John and April reconciled. John wasn't surprised, since Mark had warned him this could happen.

Most of the other lawsuits for intentional infliction of emotional distress had been decided in John's favor, but collecting the court-ordered damages would prove to be a challenge as most of the men involved were now bankrupt.

Senator Jenkins had been found guilty of numerous federal charges but suffered a massive heart attack before his sentencing hearing. A claim had been placed against his estate, but much of that had already been taken in his divorce.

Robert never bothered to appear for any of his court appearances as his attorney kept filing frivolous motions to delay the process. Frustrated, the judge finally entered a summary judgment against him, but John never expected to see anything come of it.

The company, under George's direction, had grown and thrived. Things were looking good for the couple as they prepared to disembark. They had spent the last 200 days re-connecting, talking and working out their problems. John felt closer to April right now than at any time in their marriage.

He had noticed, though, that she was starting to feel a bit nauseated on occasion and hoped she wasn't coming down with something. He asked her about it a couple of times, but she waved him off, telling him it was probably something she ate.

They packed and made their way to the gangplank. John was surprised to see Sheree at the gangplank wearing a professional business suit. She smiled as he looked at her and walked over to him.