Bikini And A Badge Ch. 13

Evelyn and Brittany stopped at a convenience store for coffee on their way to the Santa Barbara airport. Boarding the Cessna Citation Eagle, Brittany glanced at her watch. It was just 7:00am, plenty of time to make their scheduled noon appointment to view the houseboat in Miami.

Finishing the last of her coffee and cigarette, Brittany reclined her leather seat back to catch up on the sleep she’d lost. The trip to Miami was smooth, quiet and extremely quick. The Eagle sat down at Miami International airport shortly before 11:30am. A rental car was waiting outside the large hanger for the women’s use.

“I’ll drive.” Brittany stated, carrying her shoulder bag and attaché. “You’re much too excited.”

With Evelyn reading off the directions, Brittany drove through the heavy traffic to the marina along the inner causeway.

“You want me to flirt with this guy!” Brittany exclaimed, jokingly.

“Let’s both flirt with him.” Evelyn quipped. “I need the practice.”

The boat dealership was busy taking care of customers when Evelyn and Brittany entered the large showroom. While Evelyn searched out the dealership’s owner, Brittany browsed through the numerous boats on display. The dealership carried Fountain, Eliminator and Baja performance boats and well as fishing and sport boats. One boat in particular peaked her interest, a new Fountain thirty-eight foot Lightning powerboat.

“Can I help you Miss.” A male voice inquired from behind her.

“How much for this one?” Brittany asked, turning towards the salesman.

“It’s quite expensive.” He stated. “Even on sale, it’s almost three-hundred thousand.”

“What’s the bottom dollar?” She asked.

Instead of quoting Brittany a firm price, the salesman, a good-looking young man in his very early twenties, started giving her a sales pitch. After a few moments and a couple of mistakes, she interrupted the young man, giving him details about Fountain boats and in particular, the Lightning 38 that even he wasn’t aware of.

“Wow! You sure know your boats!” The salesman exclaimed. “Afraid this is only my second week on the job.”

“That’s ok.” Brittany responded. “Everyone’s gotta start somewhere. You might want to read the boat brochures when you get some time.”

Evelyn and the dealership’s owner approached Brittany and the young salesman as they continued their discussion on the thirty-eight foot Lightning.

“Britt, this is Rick Cranor.” Evelyn stated, introducing her to the man. “He’s the young man I talked with this morning.”

“My wife’s already out on the boat.” Rick said, shaking hands with Brittany. “She’s the real expert on our houseboats.”

Rick Cranor was in his late thirties, fairly handsome although he was slightly overweight for his five-ten height. Brittany and Evelyn followed him through the showroom, out onto the dock area. There were almost a dozen houseboats sitting moored along the long pier.

“Are all these saltwater houseboats?” Brittany inquired.

“Yep.” Rick Cranor replied. “They’ve all got double-wall stainless steel hulls with ten year warranties.”

Stepping onboard the Somerset houseboat, both Evelyn and Brittany were impressed with its many features. The exterior of the hundred foot long boat was white trimmed in black, gray and light blue. The interior was accented with blue and gray colors. Rick handed Evelyn and Brittany copies of the detailed listing, not mentioned in the advertisement. Starting at the bow of the houseboat, Cranor pointed out every attribute, answering their questions like an expert.

“We used this boat ourselves, just for a couple of trips down to the Bahamas.” He mentioned. “We just got the new 04’s in so Monica and I decided to take one for ourselves. They’re great for entertaining guests.”

Brittany kept silent as she followed Cranor through the lower level of the boat. The five staterooms were more than sufficient in size as were the three bathrooms. Entering the master bedroom at the rear of the boat, Brittany was pleasantly surprised by its size and furnishings. The houseboat’s immaculate condition and luxurious features definitely stirred both women’s interests.

“What about the engine compartment?” Brittany inquired. “Can we have a look at the engines?”

While Brittany and Cranor walked out onto the rear deck, Evelyn strolled back towards the bow, looking through each of the rooms for another time.

The engine compartment was immaculate. Stepping down into the bottom of the hull, Cranor directed Brittany’s attention to the twin 5.0L EFI Mercruisers with Bravo II drives. Stooping down to look, Brittany was careful to give him just a slight peak up her short skirt. He definitely took advantage of the view, his sales pitch hesitating briefly.

While he was in the hold of the houseboat, Cranor directed Brittany’s attention to the two 20 KW Westerbeke generators as well as the other utility equipment. After closing the rear hatch, Cranor and Brittany ascended the stairway to the upper deck of the twenty foot wide houseboat. Rick pointed out the topside wet bar and hot tub as well as the command center at the front of the deck.

“You can control the houseboat from either here or the cabin below.” Rick stated. “Both control centers have rearview cameras so you can see backing up.”

It was all Brittany could do to control herself, becoming more and more excited as she found herself falling in love with the luxurious houseboat. Climbing down the rear ladder to the main level, she and Rick walked through the narrow hallway towards the front living area. Brittany could vaguely hear Evelyn talking with someone.

Entering the salon, Brittany saw Evelyn and another woman sitting together on the couch, chatting away.

“Britt, this is Monica Cranor, Rick’s wife.” Evelyn stated, introducing the two women.

Brittany extended her hand to shake hands with the young woman. She was much younger than her husband, younger than even she. The woman was twenty-five at most. She was tall and statuesque with long blonde hair. Her bright green eyes set her beautiful face off perfectly. Wearing extremely short shorts and a red bikini top, Brittany was given a good look at her very shapely figure.

“As soon as I heard Evelyn’s name, I remembered the newscasts about the rescue missions.” Monica said. “It was on all the news stations.”

“I didn’t realize I’d get to meet the two ladies behind them.” She added.

“Well, there was alot more than just the two of us.” Brittany responded, blushing. “There were quiet a few people involved to make them successful.”

“Did Rick give you the grand tour of the boat?” Monica inquired, her hand still clasping Brittany’s. “Isn’t it just absolutely fabulous?”

“Yes, it’s quite nice.” Brittany responding, trying to sound disinterested.

“Did you notice the two waverunners on the lifts?” She asked. “They’re brand new. They still have the plastic wrappers on them.”

“Yes I did but I doubt if I’d ever ride one.” Brittany replied, still trying to stay calm. “But they are quite nice.”

The waverunners, 2004 Yamaha FX 140 Cruisers, were great looking watercraft and irresistible not to want to ride but Brittany didn’t want to show her enthusiasm.

“Well, whatta you two ladies think of the Showboat?” Rick casually inquired.

“Showboat’s what we named her but you could change that if you wanted.” He quickly added.

Evelyn looked towards Brittany to get her reaction but Brittany wanted to talk in private.

“Could we have some time alone to discuss business?” Brittany asked, giving Rick a soft, sexy smile.

“Certainly.” Rick replied, returning her smile. “Monica and I’ll just step out on the front deck.”

Evelyn followed Brittany out onto the rear deck. Leaning up against the two waverunners, the women spoke their thoughts.

“What do you think about it?” Brittany inquired.

“God! I love this houseboat!” Evelyn exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down. “It’s gorgeous. What about you?”

“I love it too.” Brittany responded. “Do you and I still have a deal on the movie rights?”

“Absolutely!” Evelyn immediately replied.

“Well, let’s see if we can negotiate with them a little.” Brittany stated. “You wanna do the talking or me?”

“I’ll let you do the talking.” Evelyn replied, grinning. “I’ll blow it for sure.”

Back inside the living area of the luxurious houseboat, they were rejoined by Rick and Monica Cranor.

“First of all. If we can strike a deal, we’d like to pay with an electronic transfer of funds.” Brittany stated. “Can you handle that without alot of problems.”

“Sure, that’s no problem at all!” Rick responded. “Most of our banking is done electronically.”

Brittany made an offer on the houseboat with Rick making a counteroffer. Brittany countered with an offer to exclude the two waverunners. Rick’s counteroffer was better but not enough to give up the two new Yamaha waverunners for the deal.

“Let’s get off the subject of the houseboat for awhile and talk about another boat.” Brittany suggested.

Her remark seemed to surprise as well as disappoint both Rick and Monica. Evelyn sat quietly on the couch, curious as to what Brittany was up to.

“That Fountain Lightning 38 I was looking at in the showroom, what kind of price tag do you have on it?” Brittany inquired.

Taking a printed listing of the dealership’s inventory from his rear pocket, Rick scanned down the sheets till he found the boat.

“It list for three-hundred and nine thousand but we’ve got it marked down to two-hundred and ninety-five thousand.” He stated. “It’s a beautiful boat. The plum accent color in the lower deck really sets it off from the others.”

Biting her lower lip to keep from grinning, she decided to make another offer and see how she fared. Everyone’s eyes were on Brittany, intent on what she was going to say next.

“Do your salespeople work on commission or straight salary?” She inquired.

“They get a base salary plus a percentage of anything they sell.” Monica replied. “Depends on the price of the boat as to how much of a percentage they get.”

“Is there a particular reason you asked?” Rick questioned.

Instead of answering Rick’s question, she took a moment to gather her thoughts.

“Tell you what I’m willing to do.” Brittany spoke up. “We’ll give you four-hundred and twenty thousand for the houseboat with the two waverunners included in the deal and I’ll give you two-hundred and eighty thousand for the Fountain 38. That‘s seven-hundred thousand for the package.”

“You guys wanna buy both boats!” Monica exclaimed, a look of shock on her beautiful face.

Rick Cranor took out his pocket calculator and started punching the miniature buttons like crazy. He was obviously figuring his profit margin after deducting all his overhead and miscellaneous costs.

“There’s one other thing.” Brittany spoke up, interrupting Cranor. “I’d like to make sure that nice, young salesman, I believe his nametag said Stephan, gets the sales commission on the Fountain boat.”

“Sure, that’s not a problem.” Monica replied, smiling. “I’m certain he can use the money.”

Rick finally finished his calculations; a smile gradually appeared on his face.

“Why don’t we go up to my office?” He suggested. “You can contact your bank and have the funds transferred from there.”

An hour later, Brittany and Evelyn had the their funds successfully transferred to the dealership’s banking facility. Cranor’s office staff was busy getting all the paperwork prepared for them to sign.

“Why don’t we step out for some lunch while the paperwork’s getting worked up?” Monica suggested. “It’ll be awhile yet.”

Leaving the dealership in Monica’s Lexus LS430 sedan, the three women drove to a little seafood restaurant not far from the business. Sitting out on the restaurant’s open-air terrace overlooking the causeway, they chatted about the houseboat and traveling in the Bahamas. Monica was curious as to what went on during the rescue missions, asking several questions. Brittany breezed through the details, not dwelling on them to any great lengths.

“Are you gonna write a book or do a movie about the rescues?” Monica inquired.

“I’ve already written the book.” Brittany replied. “It should be out in about a month or so. It’s called Thunder in the Caribbean.”

“Evelyn owns the movie rights.” She added. “I’m sure she’s got plans for a movie.”

“I think Brittany should appear in the movie.” Evelyn stated, grinning. “She’d be great in the lead.”

“No Thanks!” Brittany responded. “I prefer to fade into obscurity and forget about it.”

“So. Was there alot of intimacy amongst the rescue team?” Monica asked, slightly grinning.

“You mean did we have alot of sex with each other?” Brittany quipped.

“Yeah.” Monica muttered. “You know, with the guys and all.”

“Yes, there was alot of sex.” Brittany replied. “It was a way to kill off our free time.

“God! That must have been wild!” Monica exclaimed, trying her best to keep her voice down.

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Monica asked. “You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to.”

“Am I bi-sexual?” Brittany said. “Is that what you were going to ask?”

“How’d you guess I was gonna ask that?” Monica inquired.

“Just a lucky guess.” Brittany remarked. “I’m guessing you go both ways too.”

“Well, Rick’s more of a voyeur than a participant.” Monica murmured. “He just likes to watch.”

“Well, I’m sure he’s not the only one.” Brittany said.

The three women finished their lunch in silence. Monica ceased asking her personal questions. She seemed more lost in her own thoughts.

Returning to the boat dealership, Brittany completed her business, getting all the documents signed. Gathering up her paperwork for the boat purchases, she and Evelyn drove back to the Miami airport for the return flight to Santa Barbara. The plan was to return in a couple of days to prepare the boats for their trip to the Bahamas.

“I think Monica was more than just curious about your sexual escapades.” Evelyn kidded. “I think she was wanting some of that ass of yours.”

“Hmmm. I wouldn’t mind having some of her ass.” Brittany responded. “Bet she’s not getting much if her husband’s a watcher instead of a doer.”

The next morning, the two women sat out on the deck of the beach house going over Brittany’s plans one more time to see if they’d overlooked anything. It was early afternoon on the east coast when Brittany phoned Langley at his office to let him know the plan was still a go.

“You can let the team know we’ll be living on a houseboat instead of pitching tents.” Brittany stated. “That oughta make them a little happier.”

“We still need a chase boat.” She added. “I’ll use mine till you can come up with something, then mine’s going into dry dock.”

“I’m already working on another boat.” Langley replied. “The DEA just confiscated a high-dollar powerboat at some drug dealer’s residence in Fort Myers. It’s supposedly brand new. I’m not sure what the make is though.”

“What’s the chance of getting an ATV or two?” Brittany asked. “We could use one to get around the island. We don‘t need anything fancy, just functional.”

“Hell! The DEA’s been stacking them up in a warehouse down in Atlanta!” Brad exclaimed. “I’ll call down there and see what they’ve got.”

“Can you get in touch with this Rob Garrison guy and see if he’s ready to go?” Brittany inquired. “I could use him to fly me back to Miami once I get the houseboat to the island.”

“I’ll call him. He’s in Lawton, Oklahoma visiting his family.” Langley replied. “I know he’s awfully anxious to get started. Don’t know whether it’s the money or he’s just out for revenge. I suspect it‘s more for revenge.”

“Where’s the airplane at now?” Brittany asked.

“It’s not far from where you are.” Langley answered. “It’s sitting in a hanger in Bakersfield. I did have them take the two rear-facing seats out of it like we agreed on.”

“Why don’t you see if Garrison can meet me at the Miami airport Sunday morning with the airplane.” Brittany suggested.

“That reminds me.” Langley said. “I need to get you and everyone else their credentials. Better yet, I’ll send them all to you and you can give them to everyone when you get them assembled.”

“Evelyn and I are gonna leave for Miami the day after tomorrow so you better FedEx them overnight so I’ll have them.” Brittany stated.

The rest of the day, Evelyn and Brittany worked on getting everything packed up for their trip. Brittany stuffed the dossiers and files into her attaché along with her laptop computer. Evelyn phoned her attorney to have the documents drawn up to transfer ownership of the movie rights. Once they were signed, Brittany would be finished with “Thunder in the Caribbean”.

The following day, Brittany and Evelyn drove down to Beverly Hills to meet with Evelyn’s business attorneys. The two were warmly greeted with open arms by her new legal team. After carefully reading the transfer of rights documents, Brittany signed off on them. Evelyn would now own all the copyrights if a movie were made of “Thunder in the Caribbean”.

After a light lunch at one of the trendy restaurants in Beverly Hills, the two began their drive back to Santa Barbara. Brittany was planning strategies in her head while Evelyn sang along to the soft rock music playing over the radio.

“Maybe, we should rent a small van instead of a car at the airport in Miami.” Brittany said, disrupting Evelyn’s rendition of a Barry Manilow song.

“Why do we need a van?” Evelyn inquired. “You planning on doing alot of shopping?”

“Yeah.” Brittany replied. “I’ve got to get everything to furnish the houseboat. Six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a galley. It’ll be like furnishing one helluva big house.”

“Don’t forget bikinis, sexy lingerie and sneakers!” Evelyn kidded. “You’ll need to stock up on them too. Might want to pick up a vibrator or two and plenty of batteries!”

“Doubt if they’ll be much need for sexy lingerie.” Brittany responded. “There won’t be a whole lot of privacy with eight of us onboard.”

Arriving back at the beach house in Santa Barbara, a FedEx truck pulled in as they were exiting the car. The driver opened the rear doors of his truck, retrieving a large package.

“I wonder just how big these identification credentials are?” Brittany exclaimed as the deliveryman approached them.

Setting the box down in the livingroom, Brittany opened the large carton. A packet of laminated credentials rested on top of stacks of black t-shirts and black caps. Large, white letters “DEA” were imprinted across the front of the items.

“You should get yourself a black bikini with DEA imprinted on the butt!” Evelyn joked, putting on one of the caps.

Early the next morning, Brittany and Evelyn boarded the private jet with their luggage. The Cessna Eagle gently lifted off the runway, setting a course for Miami. Brittany took one last look at the Pacific Ocean before the aircraft banked to the left.

Arriving in Miami, it was almost 3:00pm east coast time. Evelyn had made reservations for a small minivan, even though she preferred something more luxurious. The Thursday afternoon traffic was heavier than usual, making it an hour-long drive to the marine dealership.

Brittany found Rick Cranor in his office, busying himself behind a pile of paperwork.

“Business must be good!” Brittany exclaimed, standing in the doorway to his office.

“Too good!” He responded with a grin. “It’s been hectic the last couple of days.”

“Monica’s had your houseboat moved down to the end of the dock.” Rick continued. “Let me get her to show you where it’s at.”

“What about the Fountain boat?” Brittany inquired. “Is it down there with it.”

“No. It’s sitting in the storage building.” He replied. “Thought we’d wait till you were ready for it before we set it in the water. I had the service techs double-check everything.”

Looking down at the showroom floor, Brittany and Evelyn saw Monica making her way through the mass of boats on display. Joining her, the two exchanged greetings before following her out onto the dock area.