Chasing a Story

"I never took you for a masochist, but if you say so, let's hit room service and see what they have for us." I walked over and picked up the menu card and was instantly un-inspired.

"Is it that bad?"

"The only thing not mediocre about this is the cost. Oh well, it's on expenses anyway so what the heck." I handed her the menu and watched her eyebrows arch up almost to her hairline.

"I see what you mean. Do you think we can trust the lobster, after all at this price we'll be eating diamond studded solid gold."

"I'm game if you are, what about wine?"

"As this is something of a celebration of a new beginning, I say Champagne."

"Champagne it is then, two bottles."

"You aren't trying to get me drunk so that you can have your wicked way with me, are you?"

"Would I do that to you?"

"I hope so." She stood and kissed my un-reluctant lips. "Mmm, and here I was thinking that all men were bastards."

"Not all of us, there are a few good ones left in this world."

"And you're one of them, is that what you're telling me?"

"I'm one of the best."

"And modest with it."

"Justifiably, yes."

"You know, coming from you that sounds perfectly reasonable. Now if my brother had said that I'd have probably laughed in his face. He is definitely not one of the good guys."

"How'd we get back to him? Here I was trying to take your mind off him."

"You'll just have to try harder, sex might work."

"No, you don't trap me that easily. In case you've forgotten, I'm not even a month through my year of mourning."

"I have never met anyone quite like you. You're supposed to be serious but you're not. You're supposed to be helping me, or at least letting me help you, to wreak some horrible revenge on my brother, but you're carrying on as if this whole fiasco is some sort of joke."

"Words I live by; the day that I lose my sense of humour is the day that I give up on life because it will have lost its meaning. There is no reason why a serious task such as this can't be fun at the same time."

"I feel that I might just enjoy this, providing that nothing goes wrong, that is."

"Now what could go wrong?"

"Everything, haven't you forgotten that you've already been hurt by him?"

"Now you spoiled the mood." I poured us each another glass of champagne. "Time to numb the brain for a while."

"I'll drink to that." She clinked her glass against mine and then sculled the lot in one go. "Hit me again. If you intend to get plastered then I should keep you company."

Sometime in the middle of the night we both crawled into my bed but we didn't make love, not until after the phone woke us in the morning. It was AMF4 wanting to meet with me at 11:00 on Monday. After due consultation with my non-existent secretary, that took a few seconds followed by a minute and a bit stalling time, I agreed to meet him at the family mansion.

Monday morning followed a Sunday full of us, with no thought for what was happening outside the confines of my room. A cup of coffee to clear the cobwebs followed by a shower, and Naomi and I were locked in a passionate embrace that progressed to a satisfactory joining of body and soul before room service breakfast and down to the basement car park to pick up my car. I offered to drive her home but she declined. "It will be better if I sneak back home, that way if I'm caught they can't link it to you."

"What will you say if you're asked where you have been all weekend?"

"That I have been with a business associate going over plans for a new venture, one that I will want my father to put up the capital for. He'll panic and change the subject to avoid telling me that he can't afford to give me any money."

"Have you done this before?"

"Done what, made wonderful love with a great guy, or wanted funding for some stupid scheme?"

"Both."

"I've never done the first, but I'm open to a repeat experience, if that's what you're offering to provide. As for the other, I've tried it a couple of times, but he's talked me out of it. He told me to leave the making of money to the men of the family. What a joke."

We parted with a kiss that confirmed her desire for more, and I prepared myself for my trip back to Long Island and AMF4. I checked that the battery of my mini-recorder was fully charged, that my IPad had my list of questions set out so that I could easily flick from one line of inquiry to the other. These questions included a complete list, along with a thumbnail on each, and photograph, of the Bentley models.

I arrived a couple of minutes early to be met by the man himself at the front door. This intrigued me until I realised that the front gate was probably under CCTV coverage, giving him at least thirty seconds warning of my arrival.

"I'm sorry about Saturday, but you know how it is, one can't always predict when something comes up that requires immediate attention. I just had to be sure that she was as ready as she could be for the races, and that the crew was fully up to speed. It's looking good for a successful campaign, I hope to be returning with the trophy."

"I'm happy for you." I couldn't totally hide the sarcasm in my voice so I had to quickly cover my arse so as not to offend him, just yet. "I can understand your love of the sport, after all my own country has a heritage of success in that field." I was hinting at our success in wresting the Americas Cup from the sticky hands of the Newport Yacht Club that had held it for a million years.

"Yes but we got it back pretty quickly." He said

"But you only held on to it in the recent races with the help of one of us as Skipper."

"We could talk yachting all day, but I understand that's not why you're here." He led me down the hallway to the library. In the background I could hear raised voices. "Pay no attention, my young sister has just come sneaking home after a night of debauchery and Father is not amused." He led me to a corner of the room with a couple of sumptuously deep leather armchairs. "Have a seat." He conspicuously consulted his large Bulgari watch, probably a knock-off I thought to myself, "Would you care for a coffee, or something stronger?"

"Coffee would be fine, thank you." Coffee would be great given how much champagne I had consumed over the weekend, we certainly hadn't stopped at the two original bottles.

He pushed a button on the table next to him and a uniformed servant came into the room. "Coffee for two thank you Rochester, and some of your scones with strawberry jelly and cream."

"Very good Sir." He bowed slightly and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

"Now you are interested in my collection of Bentleys, is this correct?"

"Yes, I understand that you own one of every model ever produced."

"I believe this to be correct, yes."

"Which one is your favourite?" I was fishing here, checking to see how much he really knew about them, whether he loved them, or if he was someone who collected things for the sake of having them, but had no further interest in them.

'I first became interested in them when I saw an early James Bond movie and he was driving a blower Bentley. That led me to buying one of each of the early sporting Bentleys including one that had actually won at Le Mans. Since then I have grown to love the current Mulsanne."

"But that's hardly a proper Bentley, is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that Bentley is now wholly owned by Volkswagen, it's no longer a British marque."

"While Volkswagen might own the Bentley name and all of the badging, it is still produced at Crewe with all of the traditions of the Bentley heritage."

"Point taken. Do you drive them at all, or do you just visit them from time to time and flick specks of dust from them?"

"There are no dust specks on them, I employ a full time curator to look after them and to ensure that they are in perfect running order at all times. I did take the blower over to Goodwood for their Festival of Speed a couple of years ago and gave her a run around the track. I have to admit she was a bit of a handful, but then I'm not an experienced race car driver."

"What I would like, and my readers demand it, is for my photographer to take a series of photos for the article. Do you think that could be arranged?"

"Certainly, when would you like to do this?"

"No time like the present. You set a time and I'll make sure that he's there."

"I will need to be there, and I'm sure that my presence would add something to the photos. Unfortunately I'm tied up for the next couple of weeks, what with Cowes and all. If you'd like I can arrange it for as soon as I get back."

"I was hoping to do it while I'm here, but I don't mind another trip back here, I quite enjoy New York, or at least parts of it."

Rochester returned with a serving trolley on which was a highly polished silver coffee pot, creamer and bowl containing sugar cubes, as well as a plate with proper scones and pots of butter, cream and jam and what appeared to be Royal Albert cups and saucers. All terribly English.

"Help yourself, this is all made from produce in our food processing plants, so it's perfectly safe." He chuckled.

We helped ourselves and I had to admit that it was nice, the scones were still warm and the butter melted into them. The coffee was strong without being overpowering, I added a splash of milk and sipped it appreciatively. "I can only dream of this lifestyle, I'll never have the money for this kind of indulgence. Most of my coffee is take out in paper cups and tastes disgusting."

"I have never had the need or opportunity to try that coffee and I hope that I never shall."

I asked him a few questions about his yacht and his prospects at Cowes before taking my leave. He walked to my car with me and shook my hand, all very polite, and just as I was about to open the door to get into the car Naomi stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her. "Oooh, I can't stand that man! How dare he suggest that I've been fucking some guy! I hate all men, especially him. You'd better not go back there for a while, he's upset about something, and I don't think it's just me." She looked at first, at her brother and then me. "Hey mister whoever you are, are you heading into town?"

"If you mean New York, yes I am."

"Can you take me with you, the old bastard has taken my keys so that I can't drive."

"I don't. . . "

"Look, if you're too much of a pussy then don't bother, I'll call for a cab."

"All right then, I'll take you." She didn't wait for me to open the door for her, I was halfway around to the passenger's side when she pulled the door opened and plonked herself down in a huff.

I walked back around to my side and climbed in. We were halfway down the drive when she burst out laughing. "What a performance, if that had been in a movie I would have won an Oscar."

"You had me convinced, I hope that your father and brother were."

"They couldn't care less about me. Now what happened with your interview?"

"Not a lot. He's stalling like mad, he wouldn't let me see the cars until he gets back from Cowes, so I guess that I'll just have to stick around for a while. Now I wonder what I could do to while away the time." Her silent answer was to reach across and grab my cock.

"Jeesus, are you like this with every man you meet?"

"No. Don't tell me that you've lost interest already?"

"No I haven't, it's just that . . . I'm still hurting from losing Elena. I may not be ready for this."

"Look, I appreciate your situation and promise that I won't push the issue, but a little uncomplicated sex at this time might just be the cure that you're looking for."

"I wasn't actually looking for a cure, or sex for that matter, but after the weekend's effort, maybe you're right, maybe I do need this, need you."

"Goody. How long before we reach your hotel?"

"Fifteen minutes, or thereabouts."

"Do you think that you can do it in ten?" She squeezed him to emphasise her need.

"I can but try." I almost made it and we almost made it to my room before she attacked me in the lift. I was glad that were alone, she literally dragged me down the hallway to my room and impatiently tapped her foot while I fumbled to get the card reader to operate the door lock.

Sometime the next day a plan began to form in my head. I found myself at the office of the loan shark that held the marker on the Bentley's and led him to believe that when AMF4 failed to meet the loan repayments, as he would, I had a possible buyer for the collection in its entirety."

"Are you telling me that if I foreclose you have a buyer for all of them?"

"A potential buyer. The price will have to be right. The way that I see it, you have two choices, accept the offer when it's made, or put the cars up for auction. With that many Bentleys, I would hazard a guess that the rare early models could command a substantial price, but the later, less popular models would be pushing it to make an even modest reserve price. Your chance of getting even the outstanding loan amounts could be severely eroded."

"I'll have to see the numbers before I can commit myself."

"The next thing I wanted to bring up is that he, in his current financial position, will stall for as long as he can before you can force the sale. You could bring the matter to a head as soon as he is in default on the loan."

"How can I do that?"

"You can file for bankruptcy immediately he defaults. That will freeze his bank accounts and force him to agree to the sale." And force him, I thought to myself, to access his cash deposits to avoid bankruptcy, and in the process, so Naomi tells me, allow us access to the account.

My next step was for us to go to Cowes. We checked into a hotel close to, but not on the harbour front, we were not about to make our presence known just yet.

I had gone for a quick jog along the foreshore to loosen up my muscles after having been sitting down for hours each day and not getting much sleep each night. I was really enjoying the nights, but felt a little guilty about my promise to myself not to begin another relationship so soon after Elena's death. Each day, or night, the guilt receded until now it hardly bothered me at all.

I stepped into our room to find Naomi and a bloke seated at the table staring at her laptop. "He's either supremely confident that no-one knows how to hack his computer, or he's a Luddite when it comes to IT." The man was saying. "He's using the hotel's Internet connection to access his banking details. He doesn't even have any protection, but then there's not a lot to protect. He's checking his normal balances and they aren't looking all that healthy. With what I've installed into your computer you'll be able to pick up any password he uses plus the account details of any account he has, especially any in the Caymans."

"Thanks Pete, I owe you." Naomi told him.

"Forget it, I enjoy shafting scumbags like him."

"Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" I asked.

"Hi Darling, this is Pete, a friend from college, he's come over to set up my computer to track Brother's transactions. We're confident that we can gain access to his hidden bank accounts. Pete this is THE man, the one that I was telling you about, the man that I'm going to marry as soon as he asks me."

"Hi, pleased to meet you." Pete came around with his hand extended.

I shook it. "This is getting weird." Turning to Naomi. "You surprise me, knowing computer geeks was not what I expected."

"Why not? That's what I was studying at college, I wanted to study something as far removed from what was expected of me. To my father and brother I was just a dumb chick with no intelligence that they could manipulate for their own ends."

"And you aren't. That much I had already worked out, but if I were to be asked I would have said that Business Admin or something similar would have been your course of choice. Having said that, I approve of what you have done and the friends that you have acquired along the way."

"I'm the tech geek and Naomi's the logic geek, together we make a good team, but that's as far as it goes, I have no interest in her sexually." Pete said before going back to the screen.

"His yacht is due to go out tomorrow for a trial run to check that everything is ready for the racing, I think that their return to harbour would be the best time to shake them up. The crew will be less than pleased when they find out he has no money and he will not only not be able to pay them, but their accommodation expenses." I picked up my phone, dialled a number and spoke to the person on the other end. "It's time to kick this pig."

"What was that all about?" Naomi asked.

"His loan on the Bentleys has just fallen due and he has made no payment. I've just told the loan shark to foreclose and file for bankruptcy. That will effectively freeze his funds so that he can't pay his crew or his expenses. There will be a lien placed on the yacht as she docks tomorrow afternoon, a very public fall from grace. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Remind me to never upset you in any way." Naomi came over to me and kissed me just to make sure that I wasn't upset with her. I returned the kiss to tell her that she had nothing to worry about.

"Hey guys, before you go off to your bedroom to do whatever you have planned, our friend has just accessed his offshore account, and it seems as if he's running a balance enquiry to see how much money he has. It looks like he does this on a daily basis just to gloat over how much he has, and believe me he has every reason to gloat."

"Have you got his password and account number?"

"Yep. It's all stored on your computer, all you have to do is access the information, and bingo you're in and can do whatever you want to his account. I presume that you're about to clean him out."

"Totally."

"Good. I'll set up a series of cut-outs for you so that you can move the money around the world a few times so that he won't be able to trace it back to you."

"Hey, I've got a good idea. In case he decides that he needs to get back to the States to try to find out what's gone wrong, I think that we should cancel his return flight so that he has no way to get back. Actually, Pete, you're flying back tonight, how would you like a free flight?"

"Sure thing."

Naomi bent over her computer and found his return flight booking. She cancelled it and used the money to purchase a business class seat for Pete on a flight leaving the next day. "There, done. Enjoy your flight." She printed off his ticket and boarding pass.

We found a small restaurant in a back street, one not likely to be frequented by AMF4, and had a pleasant meal. Pete went back to his hotel to pack for his return flight, and Naomi and I returned to our room, our bed, and our lovemaking.

"I must say she does look good." I stood watching 'Fair Winds' clear the harbour for her trial run, her sails filling with the breeze and pushing her along at a good speed. "What say we wander down to her dock so that we can be on hand to witness the action?"

"You really know how to kick a man while he's down, don't you?"

"I worked for a guy once who told me that you should always kick a man while he's down because you might not get another chance."

"More words to live by?"

"No, but in this case I'm prepared to make an exception."

As is often the case in this part of the world, the weather went from good to bad, and then to worse. AMF4's prospects similarly went from good, to bad, to worse. The strong winds damaged his rigging and 'Fair Winds' had to be towed back to her dock. He was in a foul mood, not unlike the weather, and when a court official went on board and presented him with papers, his mood assumed hurricane proportions. "What the fuck is this?"

"It is a court order seizing this yacht because you have defaulted on one of your loan payments and your creditor has filed for bankruptcy. The court is now in possession of this yacht."