Fraud: A Stepbrother Romance (9 page)

I wanted to just tell Randy to stop the
truck so I could throw her into the bed of the truck and fuck her brains out.

But, we had more pressing matters to which
to attend.

*****

Randy drove down 112 to the airport.

 He roared down the off ramp, going
off-road past a line of cars trying to exit. We spun around in some mud, and
knocked over a barricade, as the truck blew through the traffic signals.

I kept my eyes out for any local police
cars, hoping we could avoid their attention until we reached the airport.

Randy finally got us to the far west end
of the airport, where the warehouses are stationed.

He drove up the parking ramp leading to
Building 706. I hugged Megan as we went around the spiral ramp, pushed against
her.

Her scent and the texture of her skin was
driving me wild with anticipation and want.

We jumped from the cab of the truck, and I
told Megan to stay put.

I grabbed our Kriss Vectors from behind
the seat, and threw one to Randy.

He snatched it on the fly, and then we
took off to the stairway.

We jumped down three at a time, finally
coming to the first floor, and running past the TSA desk, while flashing our
creds. Then, we dropped them back on their lanyards, and locked and loaded the
Kriss carbines, as we came around a pile of US Postal pallets.

The postal workers jumped out of our way,
as we ran to the runway side of the building.

We came out into the bright Florida sun,
and I saw King running across the concrete apron.

“There he is!” I shouted to Randy,
pointing at a black S-76 that was parked next to a huge 747 cargo jet.

The blades were already spooled up, and it
was ready to take off.

King jumped into it, and suddenly there
was gunfire from a van on the other side of the apron.

Randy and I took aim and fired back, but
the distance was a bit long for our .45 caliber bullets.

I could hear the workers yelling and the
building being emptied behind us.

“Call for backup!” said Randy.

“Roger, that!” I agreed, and thumbed a
button on my headset.

“Alpha Hawk, meet us west end of MIA,
vector forty-five, runway two seven,” I said.

King’s helicopter engines revved up, and
hot air and dust whooshed all around as it lifted off, and the wind blew
through the warehouse doors, blowing papers and debris around.

I sputtered, trying to see what had
happened.

In a few minutes, we walked back into the
warehouse.

Armed guards met us, but they were busy
trying to corral the workers, who all stared at us..

Randy was swearing up a storm.

“This fucking close, Derek! This close!
God damn it!” he roared.

Randy had a cut on his forehead, and a
small rivulet of blood ran down his cheek.

“You’re bleeding, man,” I said.

Randy swiped at it with his hand, smearing
it all over his arm.

“Whatever,” he said.

We stopped at the Homeland Security
station, and spoke with the guard for a few minutes.

We waited while he checked out our
credentials.

I suddenly noticed Megan was being watched
over by one of the TSA guys.

I walked over to her, and nudged Randy as
I passed him by.

I winked at him.

“She’s with us,” said Randy, pointing over
his shoulder with a thumb.

The guard gave Megan a look.

“Lucky you,” he said to us.

We both, and even the guard chuckled.

“Nice guns,” he said. “Are those UMPs?”

“No, these are Kriss Vectors,” said Randy.

“Nice,” said the guard.

I could see Megan rolling her eyes.

*****

We got back in the truck, and Randy spoke
at length to someone, reporting what had happened.

He looked at me, while I tried to find the
first aid kit. He needed a bandage for that cut on his forehead.

“Derek, we have clearance to go to Vector
12. What do you think?” said Randy.

I had to think for a moment to remember
which safe house that was.

Then, I had it.

The
Fontainebleau
, over on Miami
Beach. Nice digs.

I gave Randy a pack of bandages.

“Here, tidy yourself up, bud,” I said.

Randy took them and walked off to the
bathroom.

While Randy was gone, Megan and I spent
the time getting to know each other a little more.

This involved some very close contact
sitting in the cab of the truck.

We rubbed against each other, and soon I
was squeezing Megan’s magnificent tits, her hard nipples pressing into my palms
like ripe strawberries, as we kissed.

I could feel the smoothness of her skin as
I kissed her along the length of her neck, driving me crazy.

She grabbed my cock, and I almost came in
my pants.

I suppressed a groan, and tried to move
into a more comfortable posture. These damned seats weren’t any good at all for
this kind of thing!

At least the windows have really dark
tint, I thought crazily.

Megan looked as though she was going to
dive on my dick any second, but I didn’t want to have Randy suddenly appear and
witness that scene.

I mean, yeah, he’s my friend and all, but
there are limits to the SEAL credo.

Sharing is ok, as long as everyone got a
vote.

The team had mostly decided that Megan
wasn’t fair game, so she was all mine.

By this time Randy had come back, and I
was sporting a tremendous woody, indeed.

As Megan and I gathered ourselves, I tried
to look innocent.

Tucking my shirt back in, I muttered
something about how it must have come loose when I was running down the stairs.

It was more difficult trying to hide my
erection.

Finally, we managed to pull ourselves
together.

Randy got in, and we drove back along 112,
towards the bay.

We rode along, with Megan wrapped in my
arm.

When we passed the Port of Miami, the
cruise ships were all lined up, like skyscrapers taking a bath.

They were comfortable, but performance
wise, you can’t beat a nuclear aircraft carrier for excitement!

Still, those things were fucking HUGE.

*****

“Derek, we have clearance to go to Vector
12. What do you think?” asked Randy.

Our team was assigned a series of safe
locations to which we could retreat or conduct planning for our missions. They
were alphabetical according to level of security, and the numbers were
indicative of their privacy. Z-15 was our most secret, most safe hide. But,
Vector 12 was my personal favorite.

It was a penthouse room at the
Fontainebleau
,
on Miami Beach.

Randy motored across the Causeway, past
the Port to the south.

The cruise ships were all lined up,
waiting to take their thousands of fat, eager tourists out to the Caribbean,
where the descendants of pirates would fleece them of most of their worldly
possessions, all in the name of entertainment. I still marveled at the sheer
size of some of these ships, and I’d been on aircraft carriers. The cruise
industry made fortunes every day, and spent them every night.

As we came into Miami Beach, Randy merged
with the traffic, and finally we were in the valet parking area of the hotel.
The bellboys and other attendants noticed the bullet impacts on the truck.

“Love bugs,” I deadpanned.

Megan and I rushed out of the F-150, and
Randy roared away. We walked into the lobby, where the concierge, and Travis,
who was one of our team, were waiting for us.

“Mr. Reagan, so good to see you again!”
she said. Her name was Sandra, which seemed out of place with her heritage.

She was a nicely put together Island girl.
Caramel skinned, cute, perky and eager. She bubbled with enthusiasm as we were
escorted to a waiting elevator, and whisked up to the penthouse suite.

We walked to the door, and Travis nodded.

The door opened, and four of our team
exited the room, heading for the stairway.

They went quickly and silently. All of
them were dressed in shorts and Cuban shirts, and deck shoes, but I knew every
one of them had a SOG Pup knife and a Glock on them.

Once they were gone, Travis entered the
room, while we again waited outside. He came out about a minute later.

Travis gave the all-clear sign, and then
took a satchel and a duffel bag from the foyer and walked into the bedroom,
depositing them in a closet.

All this time, Megan was clinging close to
me.

The Mylar blanket was gone, left in the
truck.

She shivered, but I wasn’t sure if it was
because of the air conditioning, which was freezing, or an after action
reaction.

Or something else…

Travis came back out of the bedroom, and
thanked Sandra. He told her we were not to be disturbed, and handed her a crisp
$100 bill. Then he gave her another one, and whispered in her ear.

She blushed, and giggled slightly.

Then, she gave him a quick peck on the
lips and scooted off.

I rolled my eyes at Travis.

“Really, dude? Are you sure this is a
level 12?” I asked.

Megan stood beside me, a bit bewildered, I
thought.

Travis grinned, his white teeth shining
from behind his gold grill.

He was two hundred and seventy pounds of
muscle, and had a bristly black beard. He looked like a reggae musician, with
his tattoos and dreadlocks. But, he was a crack shot, and could swim like an
orca.

“What can I say, ‘Mister Ray Gun’,” he
said, enunciating the syllables.

“Are you and ‘Nancy’ going to be okay
here?” he asked.

“I think so,” he answered himself.

Travis had this habit of doing that.

It was odd, but one got used to it.

He was all SEAL.

“There’s some gear in the satchel, as you
know, and clothes in the duffel. Plus, some sundries. If you need anything
else, just whistle,” he said.

I looked at Megan, and Travis walked out
of the room. As he was closing the door, he smiled.

“You know how to whistle, ‘Mister Ray
Gun’?” he said.

“I think so,” he answered himself.

“Yeah, just put my lips together and …” I
began.

“Just blow,” I heard from behind me.

Megan was sitting on the edge of the bed.

She was undoing the buttons of her blouse.

As the door closed, I wondered just what I
was going to do next.

I had a pretty good idea.

MEGAN

I’d decided that I was going to just shoot
Tanner and King, and then myself.

It seemed like the only possible
solution. 

Derek was dead, so I really had no reason
to go on living.

But, at least I could rid the world of
those two scum bags.

I spent the rest of the evening planning
out my strategy, and getting my affairs, such as they were, in order.

I looked into finding a home for Nigel,
and decided I would just put him up in a first rate dog hotel.

Then, I wrote a note to the family
attorney, regarding my will.

I didn’t have all that much in material
possessions, but there was the trust fund, and the apartment.

And my car.

And Nigel.

Finally, satisfied I’d missed nothing, I
retired.

Nigel must have known what was up, because
he tried his damnedest to be cute.

I cried, thinking of how terribly I was
treating him, but I hoped he would forgive me some day.

I was just of no use to him, my heart torn
away by the loss of Derek.

It was only fair that Nigel be happy, even
if I were not able to be with him.

*****

The next morning, I left to drop Nigel at
his new home.

I paid for three months in advance.

When the stewards gave me a funny look, I
used the excuse that I would be traveling through the Amazon.

“Little dogs are great snacks for those
huge rain forest spiders!” I told them, sounding insane, even to myself.

They looked at how much I was paying them,
and shrugged.

Crazy people must have been their stock in
trade, I guess.

Smiling, they showed me Nigel’s
accommodations.

He was going to have a wonderful time,
they assured me.

A twinge of guilt shot through me, because
I knew he would never see me again.

But, better this way, than to leave him to
chance.

My attorney had specific instructions to
locate Leslie, and seek her advice, regarding Nigel.

I kissed his cute little nose.

“Goodbye, baby!” I whispered to him.

I managed to make it to the car before
breaking down.

I was surely going to go to hell…

*****

When I pulled into the garage, Raj was on
duty.

He smiled and waved me through.

I wished Wernher had been there.

I always felt safe and calm when I saw
him.

I went up to my apartment, and tried to
figure out how to acquire a gun.

Being in Florida, this was about as hard
as buying a beer, or so it was constantly blared in the media. In reality, it
wasn’t all that easy.

But, I knew several police officers who
might be able to hook me up.

Then, I stopped. I laughed inwardly.

Who gave a shit if I bought it legally?

It wasn’t like it was going to matter.

My cell phone rang.

“Hello,” I said.

“Ms. Greene, if you would be so kind as to
meet my wife and I at Bayside tomorrow morning, it would be much appreciated,”
said Robert King.

“What time and where?” I asked.

“Near the tapas restaurant, at noon.
She’ll meet you before we eat, as I may be slightly delayed,” said King, and
then he hung up.

“Won’t you get a surprise, asshole,” I
muttered into the dead microphone.

*****

Once I had calmed down, I realized how stupid
my idea of killing myself had been.

It was when I was putting Nigel’s bowls
away that it had hit me.

This wasn’t rational.

I needed to think, and so I opened the
sliders, and sat on the balcony, looking out over the Atlantic Ocean, beyond
Key Biscayne.

The ocean breeze had a salty tang to it,
and I could see some thunderheads shooting lightning in the distance.

I swore that King was not going to win!

*****

After a while, I’d decided that maybe I
could come up with an alternate plan.

Maybe I could bluff King and Tanner, or
distract them long enough to allow Peg to get a cop.

They were always prominently on display at
Bayside.

I could just hold them for the police, and
Peg could grab an officer, who’d then arrest them.

The plan seemed simple enough.

But, I didn’t know if Peg would play
along.

She really wasn’t keen on me, but I hoped
if she realized her life was at stake, she’d do the right thing.

I turned on my computer and looked online
to see if I could find a gun.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything
advertised, other than some airsoft BB pistols.

Well, I thought, maybe that might work?
From a distance, King and Tanner might not be able to tell the difference.

I saw a particular pistol that looked
mean, and emailed the contact.

Maybe I’d luck out and he would have
already sold it, forcing me to come up with a better plan.

But, I got an answer within ten minutes.

I figured it must have been Fate…

The guy selling the pistol said he’d meet
me in the parking lot at a BurgerFi, which was just down the street.

I put on some jeans and a t-shirt, then
went down to the lobby.

I crossed the street and walked over to
the BurgerFi, and bought a beer.

I sat down outside, and tried to light a
cigarette, but one of the kids running the place said that they’d recently gone
‘no smoking’, and would I please put it out.

Shit.

I waited about twenty minutes and then
this kid on a long board skates up to me, in clear violation of the signs all
over the place forbidding skateboards.

He smiled at me.

“You got the cash? Fifty bucks!” he said.

I put a new fifty on the table, and he
palmed it. Then, he took off. I got up to run after him.

He shouted back over his shoulder, “Kai
will be right there with your item, lady! Stay frosty!”

I sat back down.

In less than a minute, an old Hyundai
Sonata pulled up to where I was sitting, stopping only long enough for a girl
to drop a bag out of the window.

Then, it kept going.

I walked over and picked up the bag, then
strolled in the opposite direction of my place.

It took me fifteen minutes of randomly
walking, sitting and ducking into stores until I was satisfied no one was
bothering to follow me.

Then, I called an Uber and had it drop me
five miles away, at the Lincoln Road Mall.

I grabbed a taxi back to my place.

I took the elevator to my apartment, and
went inside.

I was shaking with nervousness, just a
little.

I opened the bag, hoping I’d not gotten
ripped off.

Inside, there was the pistol.

It was an ugly little thing, and I thought
it looked real enough to hopefully fool King and Tanner.

Now, all I had to do was hope Peg didn’t
just run away when she saw me.

If I could meet her just two minutes
early, it might work.

I could explain my plan to her, and tell
her to go find a cop in a hurry.

Meanwhile, I’d hold those two bastards at
‘gunpoint’.

I knew I was courting an assault charge,
but I also figured to plead it down to a misdemeanor, or maybe even get it
dismissed, once we got in front of a judge.

After all, they were the ones who were
conspiring to murder someone.

Not me.

Not anymore.

But, oh, Derek!

Why did you leave me alone?

*****

The next morning, I showered and shaved.

I ate a light breakfast, and tried taking
the pistol out of my purse.

I needed it to go smoothly.

I finally got the hang of it, after about
ten minutes of practice.

I mentally rehearsed what I was going to
tell Peg.

Then, I got dressed.

I decided to wear a pants suit, and a
blouse.

My lacy tan bra was the best fit for that
ensemble, and I had some brown Van’s sneakers that would allow me to run if I
had to do that.

Then, I went to the parking garage and got
in my BMW.

Wernher watched me with his laser vision
as I drove out of the building.

I waved, and he nodded.

It felt good.

Seeing him was an omen of success, I told
myself.

I drove across town, down Brickell Avenue,
to where the Bayside parking lot was located.

I decided to circle it a few times, just
to see if King or any of his goons were around.

I didn’t see anything, so I parked and got
out to wait.

It was just 11:48 A.M.

The toy pistol was in my purse.

I saw a vendor selling these nice scarves,
so I bought one, and put it on. It made me feel happier, even though I had
butterflies in my stomach.

“Derek,” I thought for the millionth time
that morning.

“If only you were here!”

At 11:58, I thought I saw Peg walking
across the lot, from the south.

I stood to see, and as I did, I noticed a
black Mercedes-Benz parked across from the bus stop.

I pulled my sunglasses down and peered
over them.

George Tanner sat inside in the passenger
seat!

That fucker!

What were he and King planning?

I turned back towards Peg, and tried to
get her attention.

She saw me and started to wave at me.

Then, she sped up, and I walked towards
her more rapidly.

I was glad I had worn the sneakers!

Reaching into the purse, I gripped the
handle of the pistol.

Maybe I could attract attention, and stop
this madness.

I spun around, looking for a police
officer, but saw none.

Peg was almost to me, when I heard the
engine of the Mercedes racing.

Pulling the gun from my purse, I aimed it
at Tanner’s face.

I hoped he would see me and drive away.

But instead, he aimed the car at Peg!

I waved the gun at him, trying to look
like I was going to shoot.

Tanner didn’t scare off, but he did veer
at the last second, and slammed on the brakes.

The Mercedes swung around, and the rear of
the car struck Peg a glancing blow.

She tumbled off, and that’s when I saw the
Metro bus.

She fell in front of it, and, even though
the driver slammed on her brakes, I knew King had won again.

The bus rolled over her, and came to rest
with the back tires on her head.

Her hands beat on the ground for a few
seconds, then her legs jerked up and down, causing her shoe to fly off her
right foot.

It hung there by a strap, and then she was
still.

I had failed.

*****

Someone grabbed me roughly by the
shoulders, and I was ready to drop the gun and surrender to the police when I
realized it wasn’t an officer.

My mind short-circuited.

I had to be having some kind of nightmare,
or reaction to the horror of seeing Peg smashed under the bus like that.

“Derek?” I said.

“It’s me, Megan,” he said,

I looked into his eyes, and mine filled
with tears.

Derek was there! It was real!

He hugged me tightly, then pulled me
towards a blue truck.

There was a huge black man sitting in the
cab.

He shoved me into the cab, then slammed
the door.

“Get us out of here, Randy!” he yelled.

“What the hell, Derek? What about that
woman?” said the other man.

“We can’t do anything to help her, and …” Derek
started to reply.

A staccato noise interrupted us, then a
series of thuds, as gray blotches appeared on the window by Derek’s head.