Douglas Dorow - The Ninth District

Tim looked to the front of the boat where he knew Matt was sitting and waited for his eyes to adjust so that he could see him.

“What’s up?” Tim whispered.

“There’s a cruiser coming. Port side. Over there.” Matt pointed across the boat.

Tim couldn’t ever remember port from starboard and followed Matt’s outstretched arm to see what he was looking at.

The boys sat and waited as they did the other times this night, waiting for the boat to pass so they could get back to fishing. “It’s stopping. What do you want to do?” Tim asked.

The large, white, Sea Ray Sundancer coasted to a stop about one hundred and fifty feet from them. The boys crouched in the camouflaged duck boat and peered through the reeds at the cruiser glowing in the dark with the lights on the bridge and rear compartment blazing. The voice of Frank Sinatra carried over the water from speakers somewhere on the boat.

“Sit tight. I don’t think they saw us. Let’s just wait and see what happens. We can leave if we need to.” Matt said. The waves from the cruiser rolled across the lake and rocked the boys in their boat. They reeled in their fishing lines and waited.

In a few minutes, they saw two men with drinks in their hands gather at the rear of the boat. The soft murmur of voices and the occasional laugh carried across the water. A woman joined them.

“Whoa, check her out.”

“I wish I had my binoculars.”

“You don’t need binoculars to see those. She has her own personal flotation devices if the boat goes down.”

The boys could see Sandy standing on the lit deck in her yellow bikini top. They watched as she talked to the men. She turned and started to walk away.

“Wait, come back.” Matt said a little too loudly.

“Shh, you idiot. You want them to see us?”

“Where’d she go?”

“Probably to take a piss or get another drink.”

“Looks like they’ll be there a while. Should we go?” Matt asked. The music drifting over the water changed to something more upbeat and Sandy reappeared with something in each hand. She crossed the deck and handed each man a fresh drink. Then she started to move with the music.

“We’re staying.” Matt said.

“No argument here, bro.”

Sandy spun around the deck, her long hair flowing behind her. She danced and moved provocatively in front of the men seated on the bench seats in the rear of the boat. Finally, she straddled a man, gyrating and grinding in his lap. She stopped and reached back behind her neck, untying the bikini top and letting it fall.

“You see that?”

“Definitely not real.”

“No, but very nice.”

“No tan lines.”

“Who’s the lucky guy?”

“I wouldn’t mind trading places with him.”

“In your wet dreams.”

“In my fantasy tonight.”

“Shh.”

The brothers continued to watch as the man and woman ground together and kissed. Finally, the woman stood up, took the man by the hand and led him out of sight. The second man remained seated and finished his drink. He looked at his watch, and put something in his mouth. A flare lit the night as the man held a match up to the end of the cigar and puffed to light it.

The smell of the cigar carried across the water. “Poor guy’s left alone with a drink and a stogie.”

“I think the show’s over and they aren’t going anywhere soon. Let’s go.”

Tim quietly pulled up the anchor and Matt started the nearly silent electric trolling motor and the brothers quietly pulled away from their fishing spot to head home for the night.

The Governor took another long pull from his cigar, causing the ember on the end to glow red against the black sky, and watched as Sandy led James below deck. He looked at his watch. They’d been slowly cruising the lake for most of the evening, drinking and looking at the large homes on the shores. He had time to enjoy his cigar and the other work he had planned for the night. He stood up and looked out over the lake. It was a quiet night and the temperature out on the lake at night was bearable with the light breeze.

This might be the last night he would spend on Lake Minnetonka and he wanted to enjoy it. The next hour or so would determine his fate. If all went according to plan, he could be on another boat looking over a larger body of water with a warm, salty breeze and perhaps a Cuban cigar in his hand. A boat in the summer would make the heat of the islands bearable and the winters would be like heaven. He had dreams of captaining his own boat, not one he had leased for the summer. Sailing his own boat from island to island, meeting new people, inviting women to travel with him from time to time.

The Governor looked at his watch again to check the date. Where the three should have been, the small window had a two in it. July 2nd. The team in the tunnel had been making progress and was in the position according to the timeline he had planned. Vadim had most of the information he needed to complete his part of the plan. There was one final piece of information they needed and James was the key. The Governor flicked his cigar into the night and watched the red glow tumble through the dark until it hit the water and went out with a hiss. He had business to do and it was time to get to it.

At the bottom of the stairs, the Governor leaned against the wall with a drink in his hand.

Across the cabin, James and Sandy lay on the bed; James was on top telling Sandy how great it was, how beautiful she was, how lucky he was.

Sandy rolled James onto his back and straddled him. “It’s my turn now.” Sandy bent over and kissed him on the lips. “I know what we should try,” she said. She reached over James’ shoulder and pulled up a rope with a loop on the end. She slipped the loop over his right wrist and pulled it tight. “I think you’re going to like this.”

The Governor swirled his drink and the ice cubes clanked against the sides of the glass. James looked at the Governor with a quizzical look on his face. Sandy put a finger on James’ lips. “Shh, let’s let him watch, OK?”

The Governor winked at James and held his drink up in a toast. James smiled and leaned back and rested his head on the pillow on the bed. Sandy took his left arm and tied it in place over his head. Then she moved down to the foot of his bed and repeated the process, tying each of James’ ankles to a corner of the bed. He was naked, spread-eagle on the bed now. Sandy lightly dragged a fingernail up the inside of James’ leg from his ankle to his crotch. James squirmed, his limbs pulling on the ropes, and groaned.

Sandy left the side of the bed, walked over to the Governor, and kissed him on the lips. “He’s all yours,” she said.

The Governor held his free hand against Sandy’s cheek and stared into her eyes. “Thanks, I made you a drink, your favorite.” He handed her the drink. “Why don’t you go up on deck and relax.”

Sandy took the drink, kissed him fully on the mouth, and went upstairs, closing the door behind her.

The Governor walked over to the side of the bed and pulled a knife from his pocket. He unfolded the six-inch silver blade from the handle until it snapped into place.

James pulled on his arms and kicked his legs. He was securely tied to the corners of the bed. “What are you guys doing? Teasing me? Cut me loose.”

“I don’t think so, James. The party is just beginning,” the Governor said.

“Hey, come on.” James face started to grow red as he pulled harder with his arms and then with his legs against the bonds, tightening the loops, making them dig further into his skin. “This was fun, but I’m not into guys. Cut me the fuck loose!”

The Governor calmly responded. “James, I’m going to get right to the point.” On James’ protruding, curly black hair-covered belly, the Governor stood the knife, the point of it supporting the knife about three inches above the navel while the handle rested between his fingers. The weight of the knife was enough to make a dimple in the white skin, but not enough to break it. “I don’t want to hurt you, but you have some information I need.”