Having Fun with Dycke and Payne Ch. 14

Alletta Temple heard her son on the phone. However, when he told her he was engaged to Cynthia, she just laughed, and hung up on him.

He called his father, and said, "Dad, please do not hang up. I just asked Cynthia to marry me, and she said yes."

Piker said, "Who is this? Why are you pulling my leg?

"Dad, it is me, Steve, your son."

"If this is my son, what day were you born?

"I was born on January twentieth, nineteen eighty-seven, twelve and a one half minutes before my sister."

"You could have heard that in school."

"Dad, you grounded me in the third grade for putting superglue on your briefcase locks and you could not open them."

"I have told that story a million times."

"What do I have to do to convince you that it is me?"

"Tell me you're not getting married, and I will believe you."

"I cannot do that, dad. I asked Cynthia to marry me this morning, and Desiree heard me do it."

"Is Desiree with you?"

"Yes she is dad."

"Let me speak to her."

"Hello, Pike. Are you stunned?"

"You are telling me it is true?"

"Did the sunrise in the East this morning?"

"I never expected that horn dog to get married, in my lifetime."

"Not only married, Pike, but he is in love up to his eyeballs."

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Cynthia has a ring through his nose already. When she pulls it, he follows her like a puppy. It is too beautiful to behold."

"What did my wife say, when she heard this news?"

"She hung up. She did not think it was him."

"I will call her, and see if I get a better response."

"Maybe this will help you. Dycke helped Steve with the cost of the diamond; he bought her a four-carat ring."

"Should I bother asking how much the ring cost?"

"It started out at forty-three thousand, but Dycke ensured he is paying a little less."

"Okay, I will bite. How much less, Desiree?"

"Thirty-seven thousand dollars less, Pike."

"You have to love that son-in-law of mine."

Desiree said, "If it ever happens to me, I know where to go to get my ring."

"You can count on it. He will treat you like a princess. Let me call my wife and then I will call 911 to rush her to the hospital. Maybe I should make those phone calls in reverse."

"Either way, Pike, have fun."

73. "The Revenge of the Protection Detail."

Down at Disney World, Dycke and Payne were having a blast tormenting their agents. They took them on every child's ride in the park. They insisted they all go on the rides, not just one, or two of them, but all seven. If Dycke was going to run a marathon, he was going to make it worth his while.

Payne kept looking at Gabby's face, and her displeasure was enough to make her laugh. At the beginning of each day, they went on the Merry-Go-Round. Dycke had the agents ride the horses, while he and Payne sat in one of the seats, kissing. Then they went on "It's a Small World," twice in a row, just to get the agents growling. Then it was on to the Tea Cups. At lunch, the agents were not talking to the 'happy couple,' in words, but if body language could be interpreted, the shooting gallery would have been next, using live rounds for ammunition, and the newlyweds for the targets. Payne knew that if they started getting death threats this week, it would be coming from their own agents.

On Thursday, they boarded the jet back to Charleston, and a happier seven agents, you have never seen. Two people, in the middle of the aircraft knew, when the wheels touched down, there would be a woman waiting for them, with a smile on her face, but with evil intent in her heart. Payne wondered if there was a parachute on this aircraft. There was not!

Only one person noticed the mistake that was made on the nose of the aircraft, where Payne's name was placed. It was supposed read, "Payne's Two." Either, the painter was drunk or was being fired the next day, because it read, "Two Payne's!" As Marti looked at it, she could not have agreed more. The aircraft would be repainted, but it served as an object lesson, for this moment. As the stairs descended from the aircraft, seven agents made a beeline for Marti. Each one demanded her immediate attention, for abuses upon their psyche, caused by Dycke. They demanded time with him, for self-defense training. Putting it bluntly, each one wanted at least one hour, to beat the crap out of him, for putting them on children's rides.

Marti listened to every story of abuse, and finally said, "Children, children, children; I have listened to your messages on my cellphone and read each of your e-mails and I promise you that he will pay for his abuses. Tomorrow, he is going to run his first marathon. Who would like to volunteer to go with him?"

Seven hands shot into the sky, and Marti made eight. She said, "Wonderful. We will drive him into the ground. We will keep a pace that will burn his legs off. We will teach that 'undersize runt' to follow orders, or pay a penalty, he will not enjoy. By the way, where is that little runt?"

Dycke stuck his head out of the limousine and said, "I am waiting for all you pussies to stop bitching, and take me home." He slammed the door closed, and locked it. He was safe in the limousine, and he knew it.

Marti glared at him and said, "6 A.M., or I burn the house down."

Dycke smiled at her and replied, "I hope you do not mind looking at my ass all day."

The car started moving away, and smoke was coming out of Marti's ears. He had just challenged her, and no one, had ever done that to her, in all her years.

Marti had planned everything for the next morning from lead cars to chase cars. However, Dycke did a little planning of his own. At five thirty, four police cars drove up to the front of Dycke's home with their lights flashing. Dycke smiled, and walked outside to greet them, and he started warming up. At twenty minutes to six, two Humvees arrived, carrying Marti and the seven members of his protection detail, who wanted nothing short of a piece of Dycke, to mount on their wall. Marti asked Dycke what was up.

Dycke smiled at her and said, "It would not be a marathon, without a police escort, would it? We even have drink stations and cheerleaders along the way. Payne will be here to kiss me as I break the tape at the finish line, in first place. I thought all of this would add a nice touch."

Marti glared at him and said, "You do not stand a prayer in hell of coming in first place. If I do not beat you, Robin or Marlena will."

"Do you want to bet?"

Payne ran over to Marti and said, "Do not do it. He has never lost a bet. He even made it stopped raining, on our wedding day. Do not bet him, please."

"Do not worry, Payne. The mighty always have to fall the first time. Carthage fell, Greece fell, and Rome fell. Dycke Schneider will fall, today."

"Marti, please do not do it. I do not know how he does it, but he does not lose."

"Payne, do not worry. For Dycke to win, he has to come in 'first place.' Not only does he have to beat me, but also two people who are experienced marathoners. He does not stand a chance in hell."

Payne said, "Remember, Marti, I tried to warn you."

Dycke said, "All right, Marti what do you want?"

Marti thought for a moment and said, "I want you to 'Bow' to me, and call me 'Your Majesty' for the rest of our tenure here. You have to keep our entire staff for at least ten years, with appropriate and timely raises, and you will never disobey me or my staffs' instructions ever again."

Dycke smiled at her and said, "Agreed. When I win, you will do the following: You will wear dresses to work for the rest of your working career with me. You cannot quit, and only I can fire you."

Marti screamed, "No."

"Are you backing out of the bet? Are you afraid of losing to an eighteen year old 'undersized runt.'?"

Payne yelled, "Marti, do not do it. He is baiting you."

Marti looked at Dycke and said, "On your best day, you could not beat me."

Dycke stuck out his hand to shake hers' and said, "I will see you at the finish line, if you make it."

"You son of a bitch; I am going to hand you your head, today"

Steve came out of the house, rubbing his eyes and asked, "What is going on?"

Dycke smiled and said, "We are going to run a marathon. Do you want us to wait for you?"

Steve said, "Yes, I will be ready next year, good night." He turned around and went back to bed.

At 6 A.M., the first police car started the 26 mile 365 yard marathon, with nine people in pursuit. Dycke stayed in the middle of the pack, Robin and Marti were with him, and Marlena set the early pace. The police cars kept announcing the mileage and the time, to let everyone know the pace that was being set.

At five miles, Marti put on a burst of speed, which put her in the lead by more than six hundred yards. Dycke stayed in the pack.

Robin did the same thing, at seven miles, but Dycke did not take the bait, and he stayed with the pack.

Aaron made a significant move, at twelve miles, to a point; the police car was out of sight. Dycke was tempted to start, but decided it was still too early in the race. Eventually, Aaron was visible on the horizon and Dycke was happy, he had not gone with him.

At sixteen miles, Dycke made his move. He slid to the outside, and move up alongside Marti and said, "Take a look at my ass because that is all you are going to see for the remainder of this race. I will see you at the finish line."

They had been averaging five and one half minutes per mile, and Dycke picked up the pace to a blistering 4 minutes 15 seconds per mile. Everyone behind him picked up their pace, trying to stay with him. At twenty miles, Dycke was out of their site line, and running smoothly. At twenty-four miles, he was nearly three miles ahead of the pack. As he made the turn towards his home, he started to coast. He broke the tape, and Payne kissed him, as she promised. She asked him where everyone was.

He said to her, "They should be here in about ten minutes or fifteen minutes, or so."

"How did you do that to them."

"One day you must come to work with me, and I will show you."

As Dycke said, Marlena crossed the line nearly ten minutes later, followed by Robin, Marti, and the rest of the troops. They glared at him as he stood past the finish line, applauding their arrival. Marti came in fourth, as he had anticipated. Her age was catching up to her, even though she would not admit it. At forty-eight, she was a physical specimen you did not want to mess with, but twenty-six miles, 365 yards was more than most bodies can handle. Dycke applauded her loudly as she crossed the line.

He handed her a bottle of Gatorade and said "Marti, my mother, you and I are going shopping Monday."

Dycke ducked as the bottle of Gatorade flew over his head.

He yelled to her, "Would you prefer a "Personal Assistant?"

The look he received nearly killed him.

74. "Fiona's Wedding Day, or In Sickness and In Health!"

It was now noon, the marathon was forgotten, and all thoughts turned to Fiona's wedding. Bob was persona non grata in his own home, so he set up shop in the bridal suite in the Kensington Manor. Marti and Alvena were with Fiona, marking time, because everything that could be done was already done.

The spies were in town, for Fiona's wedding. The FBI was in town watching the spies, who were in town. The CIA, which is not supposed to work, in the continental U.S., had sixty agents on vacation, in Charleston, for the weekend. The Defense Intelligence Agency had a workshop going on at Charleston Air Force Base, and the NSA had a Conference at Summitt Hotel. Charleston had never seen so many spies, spying on spies, since the Civil War.

Grace Church was ready. The bride and groom were ready. Time was the limiting factor, and 2 o'clock the next day could not come fast enough. Then Fiona got her period, and she wanted to shoot herself. She was a week early and normally she was as regular as clockwork. She wanted to scream. She was inconsolable. No one could talk to her. Marti called Bob and gave him an update. He told Marti to give Fiona the phone, so he could talk with her.

Fiona picked up the phone and said, "What do you want?"

"I told you once before, you let the little things drive you crazy. This is a little thing. If you do not stop this shit, right now, I am going to announce at our wedding tomorrow, that you are thirty-seven years old, and you will be thirty-eight next February. Do you hear me?"

"How did you find that out? Who told you? I will kill her."

"Fiona, I was a spy. I used to do this for a living. Now are you going to be good, or do I have to get a megaphone for tomorrow?"

"I will be good, Bob."

"I love you, Fiona Brooks. Relax, take a deep breath, and remember, 'In less than twenty-four hours, this will all be over, and we will be together, forever.'"

"I love you Robert Short."

"I know Fiona; we were made for each other, and I grow taller every day."

Fiona laughed as she hung up the phone.

Bacillica Schneider did not feel well when she got up in the morning. Her stomach was queasy and she nearly had to vomit. She went downstairs and made herself a cup of chamomile tea, which helped her greatly.This is going on too long, she thought to herself. I had better make an appointment with my doctor.She was due for her yearly physical, in October, so she called her gynecologist and moved it up to the first week in September. Her breasts had been sore, probably from over-use by Chad recently, but she would rather be safe than sorry. She dressed for the day and forgot all about it, thinking about tomorrow's festivities.

Alletta and Payne were out, apartment hunting, by the harbor. Dycke wanted to rent rather than buy, because of the nature of his businesses, and the possibility of children in the near future. They looked at a Penthouse apartment that encompassed the entire top floor of a building. At eighteen thousand square feet, it was so big, they would need a fleet of 'Segway's' to get around it. It had space for anything one wanted, and the views were amazing.

Payne called Dycke to see if he was available to look at the apartment, instead he asked her, "Payne do you want the apartment?"

She said to him, "Yes, I want it."

He said to her, "Do you remember what you told me, in our bedroom, about making decisions?"

"Dycke, I was only joking. This apartment is two hundred thousand dollars a month. That is 2.4 million dollars a year."

"Very good, Payne; high school was not wasted on you. I will put my office in it, and it becomes a business deduction."

"You are going to get such a beating, when I see you."

"Payne, make a decision. Live at home, with your mother, or live in that apartment. Choose one or the other."

"Dycke, I want the apartment."

"Alright, stay there. I will send Art over."

Payne looked at her mother and said, "Mom, he said it is okay."

"Darling, how many times has Dycke said 'No' to you?"

"I do not believe he ever has, mom."

"Then Payne, you better start thinking about furniture for this place. It is going to need a lot of it."

"I cannot do that without him, mom. It is going to be his home, too."

"Then Payne; Sunday is furniture shopping day, with your husband."

At 12 PM, Grace knocked on Fiona's door. When Marti answered it, Grace told her Dycke was downstairs, and needed her immediately. She would stay with Fiona for the rest of the day.

Marti picked up her things, and went downstairs and found the limousine waiting for her. She opened the door and got in. Dycke was not inside, Lord Jeffrey was. He said, "Good afternoon, Martina. Are you all ready for tomorrow?"

"Yes, your Lordship, I am ready."

"Is that the hairstyle you are using for tomorrow?"

"Yes, what is wrong with it?"

"Milton, you know where to go. Immediately, please."

"Where are you taking me, your Lordship?"

"I am taking you to a place you have never been before. I am going to stay there, with you the entire time. If you make a scene, one of the four people there, will shoot you with a tranquilizer dart, and we will take care of you, while you are unconscious. Do you understand?"

"Yes, your Lordship."

Milton pulled up along the Regal Salon and Spa, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Marti's immediate reaction was, as expected. "You are not doing this to me, are you?"

"Martina, you are my escort for tomorrow. You will look every bit the part. Stop complaining and let's get this started."

Marti stepped out of the car and noticed four people, standing in strategic positions, smiling at her. Lord Whitbred took her by the arm and led her inside, where a group of women was waiting for her arrival. At 5'11" and 160 pounds of muscle, Marti was an imposing figure. With the growl on her face, most people would have run away. Lord Whitbred said to them, "If Martina gives you one moment of trouble, come to me and I will take care of it." He pulled Marti's bag away from her arm, and the women took her into the back to be waxed, plucked, steamed, pedicured, manicured, trimmed in unmentionable areas, massaged, given a haircut by a stylist, and made up by a professional make-up artist.

Nearly four hour later, they were finished. Martina went to get dressed and instead of finding her clothing, she found a completely new ensemble: a matching bra and panty set, garters and stockings, a rose color suit, with a knee length skirt and matching shoes. If she had a gun, she would go out front naked, shoot his lordship, and then shoot herself. However, he had the foresight to take her gun away. So she got dressed and she had trouble doing so. She had to ask one of the young women to show her what to do with certain items of clothing to make them fit properly.

She had to walk around in the shoes for a few moments to get her balance, because she was not used to the slight rise in the heels. Running shoes were a way of life for her, and she had never worn anything else since she was a teenager. When she was ready to go outside, she put her head down, and prayed no one would laugh at her.

Lord Whitbred was sitting in the waiting area, as he had promised. He raised his eyes, when he heard the door open, and saw Marti, as a woman for the first time, in either of their careers. He stood up, looked at her, and was amazed. He said, "Martina, you are ravishing. Have you seen yourself, in a mirror?"

"No, your Lordship, I was afraid to look."

He kissed her on both cheeks, took her to the full-length mirror, and stepped aside, so she could see how wonderful she looked.

Marti gasped, "Is that really me?"

"Yes Martina, that is you, not the persona you hide behind. Any man would be proud to have you on his arm. You are truly magnificent. You are tall, straight, and proud. It exudes from every pore of your body. Let's go, we have people to see, and places to go." He held out his arm, and Marti put her hand through it, and held on. As they approach the limousine, a group of people turned around and started taking pictures of the handsome couple.

Marti was stunned. Dycke had done it to her, again. The entire office staff was there and half of her agents. They began taking pictures of them. They were applauding the way she looked, as she walked out of the spa, and into her new lifestyle. There were also professional photographers there. Dycke was taking no chances. He wanted pictures of Marti looking her absolute best, and walking next to the debonair Lord Whitbred could not have made her look better.

As she approached him, she said to Dycke, "Thank you. I should kill you, and maybe I will, but thank you for what you did for me today."

Dycke bowed and said, "You are welcome, Your Majesty."

Marti smiled and smacked him on the back of his head.

Dycke said, "Ooow. What was that for?"

Marti said, "It seemed like the right thing to do, at the moment."