Aurora - Blood Moon Tribute Pt. 05

"What natural cause exactly, Doctor?"

"Just desserts." the doctor muttered, pulling open a drawer and adding the garotte to a selection of shanks, shivs, knuckle-dusters, and other ingenious weapons.

"Just desserts?" the nurse chimed. "Is that a thing?"

"In Sonya's case, definitely." the doctor nodded. He looked at her. "Use your noodle, Sister. I'm sure you can come up with the correct medical term." Taking a last, long drag, he ground his cigarette out in the Russian's half-opened eye. "That's for the African." he snarled, "And every other girl you've ever sent up here."

"What should we do with them?" the nurse asked, zipping Sonya's bag.

"Send them down to Sanitary." the doctor said, closing-up the African. "Burn them with the rest of the trash."

"Should we collect their ashes?" the nurse asked, blinking her big, liquid brown eyes. "For the relatives?"

The doctor shook his head, lips compressed. "Don't bother. We can't trace the African's, and Sonya doesn't deserve it. And let's face it, who'd want her? No. Let's just send them up in the sky and let god sort them out."

************************************************************************************************************

Caddy's bitumen-black Maserati nosed up to the iron gate, a heavy, imposing affair with bars on the front and spikes on the top, painted federation green. The tinted window rolled down and Caddy leant into the camera, mounted on a post beside the driveway. "Afternoon," she said, "can you please tell Brian Caitlin's here."

A voice crackled out of the speaker. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, Mister Hancock is not in residence."

"He is." Caddy replied.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, he is not."

"He is. He just messaged us."

"He didn't Ma'am, I'm sorry."

"Well what's this?" Caddy asked, showing the camera her phone. "See? It's from Brian."

"Anyone could have written that." the speaker said.

"Except they didn't. Brian did."

Tanya leant across her sister. "How about just checking with the boss? Before blowing us off?"

They could almost hear the security guard grit his teeth. His orders were clear; the boss was out of town and visitors were not allowed. Under ANY circumstances.

"For fuck's sake!" Caddy fumed, "I'll just ring him."

There was a brief standoff while the phone went straight to message bank and she cut the call. "Look, I know he's home because I brought him back here. Now open the gate."

The right rear window whirred down and the face of a gorgeous young female appeared. "Just tell your boss it's the McHale sisters." she said crossly. "The girls he always wanted to bonk."

"Oh nice going, Maya," Caddy glared, "tell the whole world."

"Well this is getting silly." Maya huffed, sitting back with her arms crossed. Sure enough, a moment later, the gate gave a jerk and began to rankle open. "Told you so." Maya said, as the Maserati set off up the long, winding driveway, towards the centre of the 200-hectare country estate.

Halfway there, Maya shot up in her seat, then rolled down the window and leant out. "Mum! Mum! Look! It's a giraffe!"

Twisting in her seat, Tanya leant over her sister to look out the window. "Well I'll be fucked! It is too! Quick, Caddy! Stop!"

"We can't stop!" Caddy said, fighting her off. "We're on a mission!"

Tanya punched her arm and pointed. "A rhinoceros!"

"TWO rhinoceross-eses." Maya cried, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Stop it you two!" Caddy scolded.

"Look!" Maya exclaimed, hanging out the window, "Someone cut their horns off!"

Tanya thought about it for a few seconds then drew a sharp breath. "Nooo..." she said, "He fuckin' didn't."

"Who didn't?" Maya asked. "Didn't what?"

"Dirty Brian." Tanya said. "Do you reckon he cut them off?"

"Well they didn't fall off by themselves." Maya glared.

Caddy cast her a side glance. "What for?"

"What else?" Tanya glared, pointing at her crotch.

Caddy thought about it briefly then the penny dropped. "Nooo... surely not."

"Well you've just flown halfway round the world with the dirty old fuck. Would he?"

Caddy sat brooding in silence for a moment then simply shrugged. The odds were very good.

Tanya watched the de-horned pachyderms disappear over her shoulder. "Glad Roger's not here."

"Maybe." Maya said darkly. "But just wait till we tell him."

They emerged out of the forest at the bottom of a grassy rise, manicured lawns surrounding a sprawling, three story mansion, all arches and columns and shuttered bay windows, with several smaller outbuildings behind. Caddy parked between a hulking, beige Rolls Royce, and a hot-pink Porsche Carrera, with a bingled front guard and dented right door.

First out was Tanya, dressed in a light, floral sun dress in spite of the rain, no bra, her treasures bouncing jauntily under the fabric. Then Maya. She looked as if she'd just come straight off the college athletics track, with high-end running shoes- used for actual running- and skin-tight, calf-length active wear, light grey, with suggestive contours gracing her eye-catching thigh gap. On top she wore a violet, long-sleeve, midriff, button-up cardigan, in finest cashmere, with a low V-neck and nothing underneath- an irresistible mix of semi-hard nipples under soft, sheer fabric.

Caddy was last, bringing up the rear in a pair of ripped, low-slung jeans, rolled up to the calves, and a white, long-sleeved midriff top. Between them, they looked like 3 stunning fashion models turning up on-location.

Billionaire mining magnate, Brian Hancock, answered the door in person, pulling it open a crack, then beckoning them in. Dressed in a terry cloth shower robe, with nothing underneath, he was on his cell phone in the midst of a heated exchange. With a jerk of the head he led his visitors through the atrium, then onwards, into a huge expanse of living room- checked marble floors strewn with priceless Persian carpets, islands of expensive furniture here and there. Left and right, in the far corners, broad marble stairways curved upwards to the first floor, then via a switchback up to the second. Massive chandeliers cast a restful yellow glow through the space, evoking the ambience of a summer Sunday sunset.

"Well you fucken' tell him!" Hancock raged, gesturing with his chin at a pair of sofas, facing each other across a broad glass table, burdened with paperwork and golfing magazines. "No, you fucken' tell him, I'll be down there in a minute to tear him a fucken' new one. You remind that prick, we had a deal!"

While the Bragg women settled themselves on one of the sofas, Maya, in the middle, bookended by mother and Aunt, Hancock snapped his fingers at some unseen minion. A young man hurried in a bare moment later, with a tray bearing a pitcher of spring water and 3 crystal tumblers. Setting it down, he draped a linen cloth over his forearm, then quickly poured 3 glasses and hastily withdrew. Hancock stalked to and fro in front of them for a while, yelling threats and obscenities, the gaping front of his robe exposing a broad expanse of flabby chest and the burnished swell of a big, fat belly. Tied in a bow, the bathrobe sash lay buried deep under the overhang, mercifully sparing them the sight of what lurked beneath. Fat, florid ankles emerged out of novelty crocodile slippers, open-mouthed and goggle-eyed, a bit like his audience.

"Yeah, well you fucken' tell him! Not happy Jan! I paid them boongs a motza for that land. We had a deal."

Hancock cut the call and his demeanour transformed. "Caity!" he beamed, opening his arms as Caddy got to her feet, wrapping her in a spine-cracking bearhug. "And Tan. Fuck me! Don't you look two good enough to eat?"

Expertly conjuring a blush, Tanya walked into his arms. "Oh Brian," she simpered, "you silly thing. I'm way too old and sinewy."

"And who do we have here?" Hancock said, standing Tanya aside, the better to see the shy young stunner still sitting on the sofa. Tugging one side of his robe to overlap the other, he surreptitiously adjusted the junkheap-uprising underneath. That was the problem with Cialis, he thought- no fucking manners.

"This is Maya." Caddy announced proudly. "Remember my daughter? She's in medical school."

"Maya!" Hancock exclaimed, opening his arms, while Caddy's daughter sat blinking like a rabbit caught in the headlights. "You was just a little ankle-biter last time I seen you. Running around the pool in your little bikini! I'll never forget."

Neither would she. His staring eyes dogging her every step, the heat of his gaze scorching her butt.

"Doing medicine?" he asked, as if impressed. "Is that so? How old are you now?"

Maya's voice broke when she tried to reply. "Twen... ahem... twenty one."

"Where does the time go?" Hancock wistfully asked, stripping her naked with hungry eyes. "Anyway," he said, shaking free of the thrall, "to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure to?"

"Oh, you know," Caddy said and took a sip of her water, "just here to check on your pneumonia."

"Right." Hancock grunted with laughter. "And I'm the fairy godmother."

"You know," Tanya piped up, "we nearly didn't get in. What's with your bloody security? Didn't you say you were expecting us?"

Hancock's face clouded with thought. "Must have slipped my mind. I've been so bloody busy since I got back. Anyway, don't blame them. I'm not really meant to be here, you see. There's a bit of a warrant out."

"Warrant?" Caddy echoed.

"For my arrest. Nothing too serious, I swear. But they're not allowed to touch me as long as I'm in hospital."

"But you're not in hospital."

Hancock looked at Caddy, beaming. "Well them pricks don't know that."

"What if they check in your room?" Caddy said.

"No worries!" Hancock replied. "Me twin brother's standing in for me. Lyin' in at least."

Caddy arched her eyebrows. "Your twin brother? Is he? Now that's what I call devotion."

"Bah!" Hancock said scornfully, "I'm doin' the deadshit a favour. If he wasn't here he'd be out on the street. The stupid dickhead's homeless most of the time."

Caddy and Tanya exchanged a glance. "Your own twin brother?" Tanya said. "He's homeless?"

"Yeahh... the fucken' dropkick. Coupla weeks in a private hospital? Just like a fucken' holiday."

"Really, Brian," Caddy said, "you always have been generous to a fault."

The big man's pendulous gut bounced with laughter. "I reckon you're having a dig. Don't forget who brung you back home."

"How could I?" Caddy replied, suffering a flashback.

"So, Caity..." Hancock said, moving on, "waddaya think of me ranch?"

Caddy ignored the hanging, 'And when would you like to move in?'. "I'd hate to have to clean the joint." she replied. "How many rooms?"

Hancock frowned in thought. "I dunno. Forty? Fifty? Never bothered counting to be perfectly honest."

"How many giraffes do you have Mister Hancock?" Maya asked, the slightest hint of stress on the 'cock'. Since meeting Rebekah, if one thing got her hackles up it was animal cruelty.

"Oh I dunno, Darlin'." Hancock shrugged. "Five or six. Gotta watch them bastards you know, or they'll kick the livin' shit out of you. Them bloody back legs can shoot out in any direction. Anyway, Love, just call me Brian."

"Is that your pink Porsche in the driveway?" Caddy asked, steering the conversation towards safer ground. "Must say the colour really suits you."

"Nahhh..." Hancock replied ruefully, "that's the wife's. She doesn't have her licence yet so can only drive on the property."

Hancock's phone rang. He raised a finger for silence and put the speaker to his ear. Ranting and raving, he wandered off, leaving his guests once more to fend for themselves. A movement caught their collective eye and the Braggs looked up to see a young Asian female, by the looks of her barely a teen, standing at one of the countless doorways, glaring daggers at them. Tanya waved and the young woman's eyes narrowed another degree. A second girl appeared, of similar age, cupped a hand to the first one's ear, and after a short, whispered conversation they turned on their little bare heels and left.

"Must be running a day-care centre on the side." Caddy said.

"He always did like his meat undercooked." Tanya confirmed, flicking her hair back.

The butler turned up, young, tall and handsome, his footfall so quiet he might have been walking on air. "May I offer you coffee?" he asked. "Or tea? Or a cold beverage?"

"Thanks mate," Tanya replied, "got any Veuve?"

"I've got Dom Perignon," the young man replied, "the seventy-six. Would that do?"

"That would be awesome." Tanya nodded with a hearty thumbs up. "And if you could rustle up some savouries, thanks."

The butler returned a few minutes later with a bottle of Champagne in an antique silver ice bucket, and 3 crystal flutes. Hot on his heels, a tiny maid set a tray of mixed hors d'oeuvres on the table then withdrew with a bow.

Ten minutes and a couple of flutes later, Hancock was back. He'd changed into baggy white shorts, with a voluminous T-shirt hiding an inch or 2 of stiff cock poking up out of the waistband. He'd swapped his crocodile slippers for black sheepskin moccasins, and had hastily combed his sparse white hair. The phone in his hand rang again. He squinted at the display, then killed the call with a swipe of a big fat finger. "The fucken' prime minister." he said for his guests' erudition.

"Not gonna take it?" Tanya asked.

"Nahh..." Hancock shook his head, "Let him sweat."

"What's that dickhead want?" Caddy piped up.

"Me." Hancock replied, "To let him off the hook."

"He wants YOU? To let HIM off?"

"Yep." Hancock nodded, then lowered his bulk onto the sofa. "That was him before. Ya see, a bunch a' boongs out west reckon I'm blowin' up some sacred site, so now he's got a conundrum, since government already gave me the go ahead. And now he's gonna look like shit on a stick, the idiot. Sacred site my arse. Every rock, stick and tree's sacred to them. If there's a dollar in it."

"Boongs?" Maya asked, feigning innocence.

"Indigenes, Darling." her mother said, patting her knee.

Maya crossed her arms. "That's not very nice. Calling them that."

"Look." Hancock said reasonably, "Some people reckon I'm a racist, but I'm not. These boongs... sorry, abos... I mean these blackfellas... most people don't realise but they're a bunch of absolute pricks. Cunning as shithouse rats, stone cold businessmen who'd sell their own grandmother. They're lazy, greedy, lying, and ya can't believe a word they say. And I respect that. I respect them. In fact we respect each other, the boongs and me. I might call them spooks and cannibals, and they might call me a fat white cun... bastard... but at the end of the day we know who we're dealing with. Just think. They went from spearing each other one century, to thrashing multinationals in court the next, with just a little bit of help from the odd white do-gooder. Fast fucken' learners if you arks me. I wish I had a few on the board."

There followed a moment's tense silence, which Hancock mistook for tedium. Changing tack, he rubbed his hands. "Well, that's enough shop-talk. Now what can I do for you little hornbags?"

Caddy took a sip of her Champagne. Never one for beating around the bush, she licked her lips. "Brian. Mate. We need to borrow your plane."

Hancock jerked like he'd just been slapped. "Me plane? Which one?"

"The Challenger."

"Me Challenger?"

Caddy nodded. "The one that just brought us back."

"Err..." Hancock hedged, "wouldn't me Lear do, Darlin'? The Challenger's kinda tied up."

"Only if the Lear can get us to London."

"Well, they can all get you to London, Love."

"I mean more or less non-stop." Caddy said and took another sip. "Without twenty refuels."

"What's the problem with refuels? You can use 'em to stretch your legs, check out the scenery."

"It's not a holiday, Brian." Caddy said.

"I sorta' gathered that."

"No, really. Time, as they say, is of the essence."

"But me Challenger?" Hancock whined. "Jesus, Caity, she's my favourite."

"I know that Brian, but it's an emergency."

"What about yours?" he asked. "Don't you own a GulfStream or something?"

"It's gone missing." Tanya cut in. "With our two best pilots."

"Well where's Roger then?" Hancock pleaded. "Can't he do something?"

"Roger's in India." Tanya replied.

"With the dysentery." Maya added.

"Uh huh," Tanya confirmed, "and the minute he's better he's off to Rome."

"Property deal?" Hancock asked. "Can't he do it virtual?"

"No." Tanya shook her head and hastily necked some Champagne. "Not a property deal. He bought a zoo. Some bankrupt billionaire's private collection. He's releasing all the animals back to the wild."

Hancock grunted with laughter. "He'll be after my pets next." he said, then his face clouded with thought. He gave his head a rueful shake. "What ever happened to poor old Rodge? One minute, he's knocking on the billionaire door, the next we hear he's gone feral. Sinking super-trawlers and blowing up coalmines. Dust-ups with hard-working triads... he's like that old Donald Quicksote bloke, burning down windmills. You know, a little bird told me he even bought a yacht. Not a proper one, neither. A bloody' sailboat.

"Yeah, well," Tanya said, "funny you should mention that."

"It doesn't make sense." Hancock said, brows knitted at the mystery of it all. "You don't go throwing your membership away. Not to the club. Not unless some tasty young crumpet's involved." Realising what he'd just said, Hancock raised his hands. "Just kidding Tanny, no offence."

Tanya traded a glance with her sister. "Of course not, Brian. None taken."

"Well what did happen? He was THAT close to being a billionaire."

"Religious experience." Tanya said at the same time Caddy said, "Midlife crisis."

"Religion." Hancock scoffed, eager to avoid any reference to midlife crises. Or any mention of St Moritz, and that starlet he was trying so hard to impress. Or the broken hip, five minutes after literally hitting the snow. Old-person injury, his lovebird called it, in a text composed the airport as she was flying the coop. "Complete waste of time, religion. Unless you're running it. And even I'm not that much of a crook."

"Roger's just settling the bill." Tanya said.

"What bill?"

"The one he racked up at Karma and Co. Look, we might not be making as much as we used to, but even so we're doing okay."

Hancock looked at Maya as if just realising she was there. "Look at you, poor Darlin', sitting there bored out of your brain." He patted the silk upholstery beside him. "Come on love, come and sit with your old Uncle Brian."

Ad-libbing for all she was worth, Maya shot her mother a look of timorous uncertainty.

"Well go on Maggie," Caddy urged, "he won't bite." She looked at Hancock with a doleful shake of the head. "The poor wee thing is such a shrinking violet."

"It's true." Tanya sighed. "Honestly. I have no idea where she gets it from."

"We're trying to drag her out of her shell." Caddy went on. "Helping her make some connections. Aren't we, Darling? Like Aunty Tanya says, you have to put yourself out there."

"Mu-umm!" Maya glared, rocking forward onto her feet. The words 'put' and 'out' made instant connections in Hancock's brain and he watched, wide-eyed, as the tiny, slim firecracker, with the pointy little tits and two-finger thigh-gap, rounded the coffee table. She moved like a cat, and he didn't have to be Jules Verne to imagine the plump, perfect, pink-slitted delicacy she was hiding. He shuffled aside and she sat down next to him, arms crossed, eyes downcast, but she didn't pull away when his leg touched hers.

"There," he jollied, slinging an arm over her shoulders, his flabby biceps as thick as her thighs. "Better than sitting with that boring old pair."