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Subject: {ASSM} The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - Chapter 2 (MF, FF, Slow, Romantic Mystery)
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Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:10:03 -0400
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Hawk and Gretchen are finally going to take the cruise they've been
waiting almost a year to take. Join them as they rejoin Ted and Lisa,
as well as make new friends to form a spider's web of passionate heat.
And, of course, Death wants to join the party.

This has a real plot and three dimensional characters. It's more than
just a wanker.

Read this story on several sites and vote on each for me. Voting for my
stories encourages me to write more. Remember to vote for each chapter
on Literotica and on the last chapter on Storiesonline.

http://storiesonline.net/auth/Wine_Maker

http://english.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=560253&page=submissions


The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

(c) 2006 by Wine Maker. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter Two: Meeting New Friends

Ted

Lisa opened the door, and I carried her across the threshold while she
laughed merrily. The crewman assigned to help us, pushing a cart loaded
with luggage, followed us as we entered the Presidential Suite on the
Deep Blue Sea. A quick glance at the living room confirmed Gretchen had
been right to say there would be plenty of room for the four of us,
even with Hawk as pregnant as a human being could get and still move.

I put Lisa's feet on the floor, and she darted off to the bedroom at
the far end of the suite. Turning to the smiling purser, I pointed
after her. "I think we'll take that room."

"Excellent choice, sir," he said with a subdued grin as he followed her
with our luggage.

Shaking my head and smiling to myself, I opened the door to the balcony
and was promptly impressed. It was huge. The Miami cityscape spread out
before me, and the view was incredible. The smell of the sea mixed with
the funk of the city was incredible, too, but not in a good way.

I couldn't see anything other than the suite. There were metal walls
blocking off the adjoining balconies and this deck extended back until
I was almost certain it was over the water below.

I surveyed the wooden furniture and the possibilities percolated
through my mind. This cruise promised to be a really fun one. Gretchen
was a beautiful woman, and I would have been lying if I said I didn't
want her. Hawk wasn't beautiful in the classical sense, but she was
Hawk. Her personality was so powerful it transformed her good looks
into something memorable. And the fact she was pregnant - with my
children! - made her glow in a way that was indescribable.

I shook my head and walked back inside. As beautiful as Hawk and
Gretchen were, they didn't hold a candle to Lisa. The sound of her
voice directing the purser sent a tingle up my spine and caused an
involuntary shiver. I had such a powerful, if momentary, vision of Lisa
bent over the rail, me gently making love to her from behind, that it
threatened to overwhelm me before I pushed it back. Oh, yes, this was
going to be a magnificent cruise.

The lack of a kitchen was going to bother me, but for this week, I'd
just have to get used to someone else doing the cooking. On the plus
side, the master bath was awesome. The whirlpool bath was big enough to
seat all four of us and still leave plenty of room for playing around.

That brought my mind back around to Hawk and Gretchen. Actually, it
brought my mind around to Hawk and the impending arrival of the kids. I
still wasn't sure what to call them. I wasn't sure that I would be
their father, after all. Would I be Uncle Ted? Would I just be a friend
of the family? Or would Hawk tell them I was their father? And even if
she did tell them, would she also allow me truly to be a father to
them? How would Lisa feel if Hawk did?

I sighed and sat down in one of the comfortable chairs in the living
room, my hand automatically finding the remote for the big, flat panel
TV, clicking it on and seeing some football game. Watching TV wasn't
high on my list of pastimes but it gave me a place to forget
momentarily my worries. Even with Hawk and Gretchen's obvious
friendship, I still didn't know how they saw me or where I stood. How
we all stood with each other. This week was going to see a lot of
things settled, and I only hoped it settled my mind, too.

The purser interrupted my thoughts as he came out with the now empty
cart and headed for the door. I tipped him, and he left with a smile.

Lisa came out once we were all alone and immediately came into my lap,
kissing me softly. "This suite is wonderful, Ted. I can't wait to make
love to you on the couch," she said, her eyes twinkling merrily. "In
front of Hawk and Gretchen, of course."

"Exhibitionist," I said. "You'd be happy making love in the middle of
the mall, too."

"Ooooo," she said with a sly smile. "Do you think we could?"

I laughed and kissed her soundly. "That's no way for a woman running
for Harris County District Attorney to talk. Or, should I say 'the
future Mrs. District Attorney?'"

"Think positive," she said firmly and stood up to grab her purse. "I'm
ahead in the polls by almost twenty percent, so I'd almost have to make
love to you in the middle of the mall to lose. Where do you think Hawk
and Gretchen are?" she asked, changing the subject.

"There's no telling," I said as I rose and we walked out the door.
"This is a big ship. They might be in the mall, or eating or goodness
only knows. Let's just do what we want for next few hours, and we'll
check back here when the ship pulls out at five. "

Lisa nodded her agreement, and we headed for the elevators.

We hadn't taken three steps when the door to the cabin next to our
suite opened. A man and woman joined us in the hall, turning to walk
ahead of us. I did a mental double take as I sized the woman up. She
was a real looker, tall and very, very leggy with beautiful red hair of
a shade a bottle could never match. Her curves made her into a
voluptuous Amazon. The sundress she was wearing played very well to her
assets.

Then my "man sense" kicked in and I looked away from the woman. Giving
that kind of attention toward another woman would usually get me an
elbow and an amused comment from Lisa before I could yank my eyes away,
but for once, I could see that she was staring too. I knew she liked
Hawk, but I hadn't seen her stare at another woman like this before.
Then, with a blink, I realized she was staring at the man.

I supposed he was worth the look, if you were into guys. He was tall,
dark and handsome, as the saying went. He was also large and very fit,
with long black hair in a braid that fell to the upper back of his
beaten leather jacket. Seeing Lisa check out his butt made me smile. I
poked her with my elbow, and leaned over.

"Put your eyes back in your head," I whispered.

Lisa blushed and glanced at me guiltily. "Like you weren't staring at
her, too," she said gamely.

I laughed quietly and slid my arm around her waist. "We're not talking
about me and my lecherous ways. Did you like how he looks?" That
prompted another blush from Lisa and a hesitant nod. "Maybe I should
invite the new neighbors out to lunch."

Lisa stopped abruptly and grabbed my arm. "You wouldn't..."

"Excuse me," I said loudly enough for the couple to hear me. As they
turned at my voice, Lisa let me go and composed her face in a bright
smile. I couldn't suppress a grin; oh, how I was going to pay for this
later. I turned my grin into a welcoming smile and said, "I'm sorry if
we're disturbing you, but my wife and I saw you're our neighbors, and
we'd like to invite you to join us for lunch."

The man glanced at the woman who nodded, eyeing us with interest. He
smiled and stuck out his hand. "I'm Keven Braddock and this is my
girlfriend Sandy Craig."

I took his hand and we shook and firmly without trying to crush the
others' hands. "Ted and Lisa Stansbury. It's a pleasure to meet you.
Shall we go to the dining room or up to the cafe?"

"The cafe," Sandy said. "I don't feel dressed for the dining room."

I nodded. "The cafe it is."

We trooped off to the elevators with our new friends, and the women
started chattering to each other like long lost friends while Keven and
I rolled our eyes and shared a grin. They were too busy exchanging
personal details to notice us mocking them.

"The Saturn Grill," I said, "is located on deck 12, aft. So, straight
up we go. The map says it's like a 50's cafe."

As the elevator lifted up, Keven put his hands in his pockets and
looked me over. "So, you're in the Presidential Suite?" At my nod he
continued. "What does someone have to do for a living to travel like
that?"

I laughed. "I'm just along for the ride. If I was paying, we'd be in
third class."

Lisa fixed me with a withering stare and poked me. "Don't you lie to
him! We could afford second class." Then she lost control of her
mock-fierce scowl and laughed with me. Sandy and Keven smiled at each
other. I could see that we were going to get along just fine.

"I make wine, and Lisa is an assistant district attorney," I said
giving Lisa a loving smile, "at least for the moment."

That generated a startled look of surprise on Keven's face. "As in
Stansbury Vineyards?"

It was always good to have the name recognized. I grinned and nodded.
"Guilty is charged."

"It's a small world," Keven exclaimed. "We're from Los Angeles, and
I've been a big fan of your wine since it broke onto the market. I
wouldn't use anything else for cooking or for a dinner wine."

"You cook?" I asked, a note of sharpened curiosity in my voice.

"I fancy myself quite the amateur chef," he admitted. "You, too?"

"Here we go," Sandy said in a droll voice that interrupted my nod. "Men
just can't help talking about themselves and ignoring the women, can
they Lisa?"

Keven and I turned sharply, stung by the irony of her comment given who
was ignoring whom just moments earlier. Then all four of us burst out
into laughter as the elevator opened and disgorged us into the open
air. The cafe was right up the ship from the elevators, and beyond it
was a jogging track. Lisa had to yank my hand to get me back into
motion as I stared at the unexpected exercise area.

When we entered the cafe, it did look like something I'd see on Happy
Days, and I expected to see The Fonz pop up at any moment. A young girl
in a pert uniform seated us and took our drink orders before scrambling
off.

The women promptly ignored us again and went back to chattering. I
shook my head and, Keven smiled along with me. Making fun of us men
talking like magpies wasn't going to stop them from doing the same
thing themselves.

Keven and I started talking cooking, and it quickly became evident that
we were close in cooking ability. That was impressive in a world where
few men learned to do more than basic cooking or grilling. I found out
that he was an artist of some renown and blamed my lack of art-sense on
not knowing anything about it. Keven didn't seem offended. Sandy, it
turned out, was a reconstructive surgeon. I guessed my preconceived
notions were getting in my way, since I was surprised.

"So, that makes both of the women professionals and both us men
artistic types," I said in a conspiratorial voice. "We use art to craft
paintings and wines."

With a grin, Keven nodded. "Exactly! We fondle our muses while the
ladies bring in the bacon."

I was still laughing when I spotted trouble coming into the cafe: Ken
Price. The last time I'd seen him the police were dragging him off my
property after he attacked Lisa and me. I felt my blood instantly start
to boil at the sight of the big man.

Keven immediately noticed my expression and half-turned in his seat to
stare at Price. "Friend of yours?" he asked quietly.

"Hardly," I got out through clenched teeth. "That bastard attacked Lisa
and me almost a year ago in Houston. He punched her in the face."

That brought the girl's conversation to a screeching halt, and Lisa
shrank into me. "Oh, no!"

"What did you say," Sandy said with a tone that indicated she'd heard
me just fine.

"His name is Ken Price, and he's a lobbyist for the Texas Alcohol
Distributors' Association," I said while watching Price sit down and
order a drink. He was smiling in our direction in a way that meant he
wanted me to know for sure he was there watching me. "Then, after we
subdued him and the cops hauled him away, he started suing us for
everything under the sun."

Keven's eyes hardened. "I haven't had that kind of problem, but Sandy
and I did have a problem with an ex-girlfriend of mine. She was a
flaming bitch."

Sandy craned her neck to get a look Price, and both she and Keven
laughed with a grim humor.

There must be a story in that somewhere, but now wasn't the time for
digging it out. "Why do you think he followed you here? It doesn't look
like coincidence to me. Not all the way from Houston?" Sandy asked.

"There's only one way to find out," I said coldly and stood up. Lisa
cried out softly and grabbed for my hand, but I stepped clear of the
table before she could catch me. I marched up to Price's table and
glared down at him.

"Fancy meeting you here, Stansbury," he sneered.

"You've got a lot of nerve following me around, Price. If the District
Attorney had had any balls you'd be in jail for assault," I said
coldly.

"Your word versus mine," he said with a smirk. "And, of course, your
lovely wife."

I grabbed the table and put my face within an inch of his. "Leave Lisa
out of this."

"It's a free ship, and I can go where I please, Stansbury," he said
with a derisive laugh. "Are you going to make me?"

"If you're not afraid of him, be afraid of me," another voice said from
behind me. It was a pissed off Keven. He reached past me, grabbed Price
by the shirtfront, and yanked him out of the booth. Price gave a
startled squawk as Keven held him so that he and Price were face to
face. . "I don't like people that hurt women, and from what I hear from
my friend, Ted, that means I already don't like you very much."

Price struggled to get free, but Keven only released him when the
waitress came back out and looked at us uncertainly.

Price smiled and brushed his shirt down. Then he tossed a couple of
bucks on the table and started out slowly. "Never mind the drink,
Sister," he tossed over his shoulder. "The air in here stinks too much
to drink it. And friend, you'd best steer clear of Ted and Lisa
Stansbury. People around them end up dead. We're not finished,
Stansbury. Be watching for me. All of you. I don't forget my enemies."

I started after him, but Keven pulled me back.

"Don't play his game," he said softly. "He's trying to get a rise out
of you. Why else show himself in a public place and talk so much?"

I watched Price until he was outside and lost in the growing crowd of
passengers. I felt angry and helpless. What the hell was he up to, and
how could I stop him? I couldn't, I wouldn't, let him hurt Lisa again.
Reluctantly, I let Keven pull me back to the table and sat back down
beside Lisa.

"What did Price want?" Lisa asked. She wasn't afraid anymore. Now she
was mad. Keven and Sandy looked pretty hot, too.

"He didn't say, but it can't be anything we'd like," I said. "All he
did was taunt me."

The waitress interrupted our conversation with our food. If she had any
concerns over the confrontation a few minutes ago, it didn't show. As
soon as we were satisfied, she departed and left us to talk again.

"What's this about people ending up dead around you, Ted?" Keven asked.

I threw up my hand in a throwaway gesture. "About a year ago someone
killed a friend of Lisa's and almost killed her." I smiled at her. "If
we hadn't been in my car when her friend started Lisa's car to take it
home, the bomb would have killed her, too."

Sandy's eyes got huge as she stared at Lisa. "Someone put a bomb in
your car? Ohmigod!"

I nodded. "In the course of the investigation, several people kept
trying to kill us, but Hawk killed them back. Unfortunately, one of the
bad guys included Lisa's brother."

"Hawk?" Keven asked. "That sounds like the dude on Spencer: For Hire.
Big, black and tough."

Lisa laughed and I had to join her. Sandy and Keven smiled back,
waiting for the punch line. This was clearing up the dark atmosphere.

"You only got one out of three," Lisa said. Hawk is Shauna Hawkins. At
the time, she was a Lieutenant in the Houston homicide division. She's
also white, short and wiry. Tough, however, she is in spades. She saved
us from a fire, and although one of the bad guys slugged her and tried
to shoot her, she took them all down one by one. She didn't kill my
brother, though." Lisa held up under the last pretty well. Her brother
had been an ass and working for the killer, but it still had taken a
while before Lisa was able to work through the guilt and get over it.
"She personally took out the main bad guy and a dirty cop in two
separate gun fights. She saved my life! Ted was almost killed!"

I didn't want to think about that man shooting me, so I let my mind
wander back over the other, more pleasurable, things Hawk had done with
us. Like slowly seducing Lisa and even making love to me. It had been
Lisa's first time with a woman and Hawk's first time with a man.
Without a doubt, the pleasant memories outweighed the bad ones.

"I see," Keven said, his eyebrows rising. "How does that guy, Price,
fit into this?"

I snorted. "Poorly. He said some things to me most people would have
interpreted as a threat, so we turned his name over to the cops as part
of the investigation. They picked him up and questioned him, which
really pissed him off, and he came to my place spoiling for a fight. He
punched Lisa in the face, and we took him down and held him for the
cops. They charged him with assault and trespassing, but he managed to
get the charges dismissed." I shook my head and looked at Lisa. "He's
been suing both of us ever since on whatever flimsy grounds he can
dream up. Each one gets dismissed as soon as it gets to court, but he
just keeps on going like the Energizer Bunny."

"I know I could get him for harassment," Lisa added, "but I don't want
to do anything that would give the jerk."

"Holy crap," Keven muttered and looked at Sandy. "I thought we had it
bad when my crazy ex-girlfriend burned down a gallery with my work in
it, and then torched Sandy's house, before finally trying to kill us.
Safety tip," he told Lisa and me, "never hold up a Molotov cocktail and
get shot with a shotgun. Flamb�ed ex-girlfriend. Sandy broke her left
arm in that fight and I got knocked out cold."

"Oh my God! What happened? The shotgun hit her and the gas?" Lisa
asked.

"Nope," Keven said with a grin at Sandy. "Missed her and hit the gas
dead on, spraying burning gas all over her. Then the shotgun recoil
sent Sandy backwards off the patio rail. That was also about a year
ago."

Sandy blushed and glared at Keven. "I'm getting to be a better shot,"
she protested.

Lisa nodded. "Me, too. After what happened, Hawk strongly suggested
that I take shooting lessons. Since then Ted and I also got married, in
a bit of a hurry, in Vegas, and I'm running for political office.
You're looking at the next District Attorney of Harris County in Texas.
That's another reason that I'm not going after Price legally: I don't
want to give my opponent a chance to use this against me. Some people
will believe anything, and my opponent will undoubtedly use the 'where
there's smoke, there's fire.' Meanwhile, Hawk got married in Vegas
herself, and she retired from the police force to have kids with her
new spouse. We're all on this cruise to celebrate." She glanced at me
darkly. "If we can."

We ate in silence for a minute, and then Sandy took control and forced
a normal conversation about normal things on us. We discussed the
incredible array of things to do on this ship. The list included, but
was not limited to, wave boarding, ice skating, swimming, skeet
shooting, theater, shopping and more. By the time we had cleaned our
plates, I felt much more confident. Whatever Price was here for, we
could handle it.

"We should try to find Hawk," Lisa said. "I'm sorry to eat and run, but
it was nice meeting you both," she said to Keven and Sandy. "I'm sure
being neighbors, we'll be running into each other pretty often."

"Hold up, Lisa," Keven said. "Price threatened me, too. That affects
Sandy and me. I think we should go along and meet your friend Hawk and
her husband. We all need to be on the watch for Price."

Sandy whipped her eyes around to focus on her boyfriend. "He threatened
you? Well, I guess that makes sense when you drag him out of his
booth." She laughed. "You really need to work on that temper." She
turned her attention back to us. "You should have seen him when the
gallery burned down."

"I can imagine," I said dryly. I looked at Lisa, and she shrugged. Oh,
well, they would've found out about Gretchen before too much longer
anyway. "We can all go, then."

"How do we find them?" Lisa asked. "Split up and search? Have them
paged?"

My eyes twinkled as I shook my head. "You're acting like we were
already at sea. And even then, I think this will still work." I pulled
out my cell phone.

Lisa smacked her forehead. "Duh! Dumb blonde alert! Now that you've
reminded me, I remember reading that the whole ship has wireless
internet access for computers and is its own cell tower."

"Don't take it too hard," I commiserated with her as I dialed. "This is
the first ship to come this way. Even a few years ago, this was unheard
of. Admittedly, we could probably still hit the Miami cell towers in
dock," I said a bit smugly.

"Stinker," she said. She punched my arm lightly as Hawk answered.
"Hawk," she said with her usual brevity.

"It's Ted. We're here. Where are you?" I asked.

"Ted!" The genuine warmth in her voice made me feel better immediately.
"Grab Lisa and come down to the dining room. Third deck."

"We'll be there in a few minutes, and we're bringing our neighbors with
us," I said.

"Your neighbors?" she asked incredulously. "You brought your neighbors
on a cruise?"

I said with a laugh. "I meant the couple in the suite next to the
Presidential Suite. I'll explain when we get there."

"Okay..." Hawk said slowly. "Knowing you, it'll be good, but I bet I
have you beaten with who I ran into today. Actually, the two odd people
I ran into."

"It's a bet," I said. "See you in fifteen minutes."

"You want us to order you something?" she asked.

"No, we're good. Bye now," I said and hung up. "She's down in the
dining room on the third floor. Let's roll."

-----

It had only been a week since we'd seen Hawk and Gretchen, but it felt
like a reunion when we came into the main floor of the dining room. We
exchanged hugs and a lot of happy grins. Gretchen introduced me to her
new friend Trish, who was young and very, very attractive. I saw Lisa
giving her a measuring look, and I smiled at my wife. This cruise was
looking to have its upside to go along with Price showing up. I
couldn't help but wonder what the week might have in store for all of
us.

Lisa introduced everyone to Keven and Sandy. I saw at once that Keven
and Hawk had made one of those snap connections, and they settled in
like long-lost friends. Gretchen, Lisa, Sandy and Trish settled into a
four-way girl-fest, so I just grinned and joined the men. I know that
Hawk wasn't a man, but even pregnant, she so often acted like a man
that it was kind of the same.

Keven looked around and waved over the waiter, and we ordered some
drinks. "Do we need to wait for your husband, Hawk, or can we just get
into telling you what happened upstairs?"

Hawk looked simultaneously chagrinned and amused. "I see that someone,"
she shot me a smirk, "failed to fully disclose the facts of life to you
about me. I'm married to Gretchen."

Keven was momentarily surprised but caught on quick. "Oh, that's cool.
No," he grinned at me, "Ted didn't mention that to us. I'll clue Sandy
in if Gretchen or Lisa doesn't. We're from LA, and that's no big deal
for either of us. I'm an artist, and a big part of the artist community
there is gay. No worries about that."

"That's good," Hawk said with a grin. "There are a number of people
around here that don't share that opinion." She looked at me. "I ran
into one just before you called me. I'll tell you about it after you
give me your news."

Before I could start telling Hawk about Price, she held up her hand.
"Before you start, I'm going to get Ted back for springing me on you."
She grinned at me, and I blushed, suspecting I knew what she was going
to tell him. "Ted is the missing link."

"I suspected that since I met him," Keven said slyly. "It was the
sloping forehead that clued me in."

I laughed. "Not that kind of missing link. I'm the father of her
children."

That surprised him. "The donor, eh? That's cool."

"Not in the way you're thinking," Hawk said with a wicked grin. "He
knocked me up the old fashioned way. And Ted, I've discussed this with
Gretchen, and we both agree; you're not the father of my children.
You're the father of our children. They're our children, Ted. All of
us."

I felt a warm glow inside, and I'm sure that my smile reflected it.

That raised both of Keven's eyebrows. "Okay, now I'm confused." He
looked at Hawk quizzically. "I thought you were a lesbian."

"Mostly," Hawk laughed with a nod, "but as much as it ruins my precious
self-image, I think I'm a little bi to be honest." She raised an
eyebrow. "Too much information?"

Keven shook his head and smiled. "Well, I have to admit that I don't
usually know so much about my newly met friend's sexual history quite
so quickly. Do you always tell people you meet that?"

Hawk laughed. "No, but I've got a good sense of people, and I like you.
Besides," she said with that same wicked smile at me, "I owe Ted for
all the embarrassment of being pregnant. You wouldn't believe what some
people think about that."

"Like I said, I live in LA and know a great many of people in the gay
community there. I think I can imagine that certain members of that
community didn't look kindly on you. At Hawk's nod, Keven looked over
at the chattering girls. "I just have to ask, though; what do your
respective spouses think about that?"

"Lisa was there," I said with a smile. "But, I'd appreciate it if you
kept that under your hat. Her political enemies would love some dirt to
throw on her before the election in a few months."

Keven made a lip-locking gesture and threw away the metaphorical key.
"My lips are sealed."

"It was before I met Gretchen," Hawk said piously.

"By what?" I asked with my own grin. "Less than twenty-four hours?"

"Yeah," she admitted. "About that. It was a hell of a thing. I never
expected to find someone that loved me as much as I loved her, much
less to find it as fast as it did happen. We got married just a week
after we met, and I'm still bowled over by Gretchen."

"Wow," Keven said. "That was fast."

"It was more by accident than intent, but we're happy." She leaned
forward and waved a finger at Keven. "Never sign a marriage license as
a joke and let a minister file it. That was one prank that backfired on
Gretchen, and how!"

"It sounds like one hell of a story," Keven admitted, "and I can't wait
to hear the details. I think Ted should fill you in on what went on
upstairs first, though."

Hawk nodded and transferred her attention to me. "Okay then, spill it."

"We were ambushed by Tom Price upstairs," I said without preamble. "He
came right into the caf� and started trouble. He knew we were here."

I saw that Hawk didn't even have to think about who Price was. She'd
questioned him a year ago in a police interrogation room about the
murder of Lisa's friend, and the memory looked to have stuck. Or, I
admitted, she might just have that cop memory thing going. She had
often surprised me in her stories by recalling the names and even
addresses of the most inconsequential witnesses to cases going back
years.

"That sleaze? Here?" she asked with a growl. "He's got a lot of nerve
showing his face around my friends, especially after all that legal
crap and after hitting Lisa." The rage on her face was controlled, but
I could see it peeking through.

"I don't know what he's up to," I said, "but I don't want him hurting
Lisa again."

"I'll toss his ass over the side of the ship if I see him," she said
coldly. "You're right, Ted, this is much more important than the people
I've met. An asshole writer and the televangelist from hell take a back
seat to him. I'll start making some inquiries to find out where he is,
and I'll have a chat with the weasel before the sun sets."

"Asshole writer? Televangelist? Who have you met?" I asked curiously.

"We met The Right Reverend Billy Swaggwell and some schmuck by the name
of Skip Niccio that is using Trish."

"Swaggwell!" I said, sitting up straighter. "I've seen some of his
preaching. He's a firebrand and detests the gay and lesbian community.
Hopefully you won't run into him again."

"Right," Hawk said with a sigh. "It doesn't work that way, you know.
He'll find me. Count on it."

We spent the next several minutes exchanging all the details of our
various encounters and sipping our drinks. Keven was the only one of
the three of us that seemed cheered by the looming chaos.

"I was afraid the cruise was going to be boring," he admitted. "Now I
know where to come for all the excitement."

Hawk was smirking and looking over my shoulder and suddenly sat bolt
upright. "I don't fucking believe it! What is this, old home week?"

I looked over my shoulder and saw a man and woman walking into the
dining room. I didn't recognize them but, obviously, Hawk did. The
woman was petite, maybe four inches over five feet and was quite
obviously Eurasian. She was in her mid-forties, and her long black hair
made a nice frame around the blue eyes that made her look so exotic.
Right now, those blue eyes were widening in shock as she looked at us.

The man was taller than the woman by half a foot and built pretty well.
I could see the obvious signs of age shifting weight from chest to gut,
but I only hoped I was still in as good a shape as he was in ten years.
He had dark eyes and Marine Corps short, sandy brown hair.

"Jo Beller? Earl?" Hawk yelled, struggling to her feet. "What the hell
are you doing here?" The name rang a bell for me, and I suspected
Hawk's cop memory was working its magic once again. I did the only
thing I could, and helped Hawk to her feet as I turned to meet Jo and
Earl.

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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