The Retirees

By Ed Carlson

****************************************************************************

This story is purely fictitious. The names and places are used only to illustrate

the story and should not be construed as fact, or persons, alive or dead.

***************************************************************************

Chapter 1

It was shortly after sundown when they pulled into the sleepy fishing village. Dim oil-lamp light came through windows of the houses. Electricity had not found its way to the village of San Maguey. Music was coming from the cantina as they drove slowly down the dirt street with high curbs and adobe houses with no front yards.

“What say we call it a day?” Bob said to Brenda.

She nodded approval.

“Stay here. I’ll check it out,” Bob said.

While Brenda Scott stayed in the pickup, Robert Hammer, also known to most people as just plain “Bob,” went inside. He was gone only a few minutes. He walked up to the passenger’s side of the pickup and said: “This cantina is only a bar. The hotel is down the street and around the corner near the dock.”

“Let’s head that way then,” she replied. “We can get checked in and find us something to eat.”

“I still have a lot of rations in the knapsack,” he offered.

“Good. If we use them, we might not get sick,” she said.

Bob got back in and started the pickup. They drove down the street and turned the corner. The hotel was a two-story adobe structure straight out of an old movie. Bob parked the pickup near the front entrance. They decided that Brenda would stay in the pickup while Bob registered. After a short while, he came back out.

“I was able to get a room in the back on the second floor. It’s right near the back steps. I think we should be pretty safe there,” he said as he started the pickup.

He pulled out around the building and parked adjacent to the trees but near the rear entrance. He got out and then helped Brenda.

He put the knapsack over her shoulders, and he grabbed the duffel bag containing the money. They climbed the back stairs, and Bob opened the door off of the landing. They found themselves at the end of a long, narrow typical old hotel hallway.

Their room was at the end of the building, which meant that they had a corner room. Bob unlocked the door, and they stepped into the darkened room. He found a candle sitting on the dresser next to the door and lit it. The single candle filled the room with a soft glow. Electricity had not yet come to the hotel either. Brenda backed up to the bed and wiggled her shoulders until the knapsack fell onto the bed. Bob set the duffel bag filled with money down beside it.

“I could use a bath and a good night’s sleep,” she said. “This isn’t the Ritz, but we’ve stayed in worse. What about those guns in the back of the pickup?”

“I’ll go down and get them. If I don’t, they won’t be there in the morning,” he replied. “By the way, the bath is down the hall.”

“So much for a good long soak in a tub,” Brenda replied.

He went back down the stairs and soon returned with both of his arms loaded with the weapons and the bandoleers of ammunition.

“We have enough firepower here to start a war,” he joked.

“I only wish I could use one,” Brenda lamented. “Without the hook on my right arm, I can’t even use the one in my left arm.”

“So what are we going to do about you?” he said as he locked the door and slid a chair under the doorknob.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m pretty useless this way, and I’m just as useless without any hooks at all. I almost think that maybe we ought to ditch my prosthetics somewhere and let me go without. At least it would be a lot more comfortable.”

“Well, what did you decide?” Bob asked, taking his shoes off.

“Why don’t I take first watch? Let me keep what I have left on, and you can help me get out of this contraption when I wake you at midnight.”

“I thought you wanted to have wild and wonderful sex tonight,” he said with a huge grin.

“How about at shift change,” she offered. “But before you turn in, why don’t you feed me a little something?”

Bob opened the knapsack and removed some of their rations. He alternately fed Brenda and himself. When they had finished, a very passionate good night kiss topped off the meal. Before he turned in, he removed the sheath from Brenda’s remaining left hook prosthesis, exposing the deadly blade on the inoperable hook.

Bob was soon breathing deeply while Brenda sat quietly in a chair in the corner of the room. She looked down at what was left of her mangled right forearm prosthesis and thought of how helpless she now was without the operable hook, and the loss of it had her worried. Her keen and honed senses were filled with the quietness of the night. Only occasionally did she hear music from the cantina down the dirt street. Soon that sound also faded. All was quiet as she waited in anticipation of shift change.

Chapter 2

The sun was streaming through the window. Brenda awakened with a smile on her face—the same smile she had worn to sleep after their lovemaking. She sat up in bed and looked around. Her nakedness quickly told her that her memories of last night had not been just a dream.

“Bob,” she called softly, quickly glancing around the empty room. “Bob, where are you?”

She bounded out of bed and looked around the room. Bob was nowhere to be found. She began to make a survey of the room. The knapsack was there, but the duffel bag was missing. Weapons were still stacked in the corner, but after a quick count she discovered one was missing. Her combat prosthetic arm harness with one completely useless arm and one arm with the built-in gun was lying on a chair. The chair that had been propped under the doorknob was moved away from the door. The armless woman raced to the window and peered out.

“Damn!” Brenda said to herself when she saw that the pickup was missing too. “That son-of-a-bitch has taken the money and split. Why in the hell did I trust him? Partner my ass.”

With tears in her eyes, she started back around the bed. Her panties were lying on the floor. She tried to pick them up with her toes, toes that would not work because of the frostbite years ago. Her frustration grew, and she cried harder.

“Damn it. Why me?” she sobbed in her frustration. “Why did I volunteer to go to Siberia and get frostbite? Why did I volunteer to work in that lab that cost me my arms in the first place? Why did I agree to come to this hell hole of a country without prosthetic arms that I could at least put on by myself? Why did my partner leave me so damn helpless like this? Damn it anyway.”

She finally gained her composure and sat down on the bed. All of a sudden it struck her that she had to pee, and pee really bad. She remembered Bob saying that the bathroom was down the hall, the public corridor. She went to the door and tried to turn the knob with the stumps of her arms with no success.

‘Armlessness strikes again,’ she thought. ‘I can’t even open the damn door.’

Now desperate, she looked around the room. She knelt down and leaned forward until she was resting on her arm stumps. She spotted what appeared to be what used to be affectionately referred to as a “Thunder Mug.”

She lay down on the less than clean floor and managed to hook the vessel with her foot. She pulled it out from under the bed and positioned it where she could use it. She got back to her feet and squatted over the opening in the top. A few moments later, the pressure was relieved.

She stood up and used her foot to gently push the vessel back under the bed. With that chore out of the way, she again began trying to dress herself. Her panties were first, and once she was sitting back on the bed, she first got one foot through a leg hole, then she managed to get the panties past her ankles. She lay on her back and kicked her legs a little—not enough to kick her panties off, but just enough to let gravity work and make her panties fall down past her knees. She used her arm stumps to work them on a little further and finally resorted to sliding her butt on the bed to get them on the rest of the way. This technique was not new to Brenda. She had used it before when she couldn’t find the mouth rod with the loop that she usually used.

She was trying to determine what article of clothing to tackle next when she heard a noise outside her door. She heard the doorknob rattle, and she quickly hid behind the door. The door swung open, and Brenda surprised the intruder with a kick that knocked him sideways into the wall. The duffel bag and a large package he had been carrying went sailing across the room. Too late to stop, she realized that the intruder was Bob.

“What the hell,” he said, trying to catch his breath as she stood there glaring at him. “What were you trying to do, kill me?”

“If necessary, yes! My next kick would have been fatal,” she snapped back angrily. “You son-of-a-bitch. You left me alone. I thought you had taken the money for yourself and split!”

“I’m sorry,” he said as he closed the door. “You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Where did you go, and why did you take the duffel bag?” she quizzed.

“I went to the market,” he said. “I took the duffel bag because you were asleep, and that lock on the door is like having no lock at all.”

“OK,” she said reluctantly. “You know you really pissed me off when I woke up and you were gone and I was locked in the room.”

“The door wasn’t locked,” he said. “I left it unlocked so that you could go down the hall if you needed to. The place is all but deserted. Everyone’s at the market.”

“But the door was locked to me,” she said, holding out her arm stumps. “I don’t do doorknobs. It comes with being armless you know. Ever think why ADA rules require lever handles?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think,” he said. “I bought you something at the market. It’s in the package over there.”

“Really? What did you get?” she asked.

Bob walked over to the package, picked it up, and put it on the bed. He opened the package and held up a simple dress.

“I didn’t know what size you wear,” he said. “She said we could take it back if it doesn’t fit.”

“I like it,” she said. “Put it on me. Just slip it over my head.”

He threaded the two armholes over her upraised arm stumps and then got her head through the neck hole before he pulled it down. He stepped back and admired his purchase and its model. The stumps of what had once been her arms extended about two inches below each sleeve.

“It looks good on you,” he said, buttoning up the front.

“Thanks, but why did you get me the present?” she asked.

“I didn’t think you wanted to run around in camouflage the rest of your life,” he started. “I think we should dress to blend in. And besides, we can afford it.”

“It fits perfectly,” she said, smiling broadly. “All I need are some sandals, and I’ll be all set.”

“The sandal-maker has a booth set up in the market,” he said. “I got me a pair, but I didn’t know what size you wear. I picked up some clothes for myself too.”

“What did you get?” she quizzed.

“Just some white muslin togs,” he said. “Long sleeved top and long pants.”

“You could put them on, then maybe we could go back and get me some sandals.”

“Sure, that’s what I had in mind,” Bob said as he began removing his clothes. “What are you going to do for shoes until we get you some?”

“I can just go barefoot,” she replied. “I have very limited feeling on the soles of my feet, remember?”

“Oh ya, the frostbite,” he replied as he began to put on his new clothes. “Is there anything else that you need while we’re there?”

“Well, finding new prosthetics is probably out of the question. Amputees in this part of the world just go without or have some old clunky wooden ones. I was thinking about a bra, but I think I’ll pass on that; it’s too hot,” she said as he finished pulling up his new white muslin trousers. “Would you comb my hair for me before we go?”

“No problem,” he said as he finished buttoning his new white muslin shirt.

He pulled a comb out of the knapsack and combed her hair. The combing was followed by a passionate kiss.

“Thank you for last night,” she whispered when they were finished.

“Thank you too,” he replied. “It was wonderful and well worth the wait.”

Bob slipped the knapsack over Brenda’s shoulders, and he picked up the duffel bag. They went down the back stairs, and he unlocked the passenger door of the pickup. He tossed the duffel bag on the floor in the back and retrieved the knapsack from Brenda.

With the knapsack deposited on the floor beside the duffel bag, he said, “Wait here, and I’ll go get the guns.”

Bob left Brenda standing beside the pickup and bounded up the stairs. He soon emerged at the top of the stairs with his arms loaded with guns and bandoleers. He navigated the narrow stairs and deposited them in the back of the pickup cab with their other belongings.

“What about our old clothes and my old hooks?” she asked. “Or are we just going to leave them?”

“No, we better not,” he replied. “If someone found them, The Company could maybe get a positive trace on us. I’ll go get ’em.”

Brenda again waited by the pickup while Bob went back to the room. Bob soon emerged with the remainder of their clothing and with Brenda’s badly disabled prosthetic arms. When everything was safely deposited in the back of the extended cab, Bob covered everything with a blanket that he had also borrowed from the hotel.

With Bob’s assistance, Brenda slid into the passenger’s seat and asked, “How far is the market?”

“It’s just down the street a couple of blocks,” he replied as he closed the door and went around and got in the driver’s seat. “I want to be able to keep an eye on the pickup. After all, it has all of our worldly possessions now.”

“You’re right. I guess it does,” Brenda conceded.

Bob started the pickup and moved it down the street to the entrance to the marketplace. There was a parking place in front of the entrance. Theirs was only one of the four powered vehicles on the street and certainly the newest. The rest of the parking area was littered with simple carts. A long rail of donkeys was on the other side of the parking area.

Bob got out and helped the barefooted Brenda out as well. They walked side by side to the sandal-maker’s booth. He smiled when he saw Bob again. He smiled even more broadly when he saw Brenda standing there barefooted.

“Good morning again,” he said in Spanish.

“Hello again,” Bob replied in the native tongue. “I’ve brought her to buy some sandals.”

“You’ve come to the right place sir,” he said as he motioned to a straight-back chair in the booth. “Have a seat Miss.”

Brenda took a seat, and he measured her foot. He went to the shelf and came back quickly with a pair of sandals that had to be tied around her ankles. They fit perfectly.

“Those fit fine, but do you have anything that doesn’t need to be tied?” Brenda asked. “I have a problem tying things.”

“I see,” he said apologetically, staring at her arm stumps. “I don’t have anything in your size right now. I can make you some though. It won’t take long if you can wait.”

Brenda looked up at Bob. He just shrugged in approval.

“I’ll take these, and you make me another pair,” Brenda said. “How much?”

Bob and the sandal-maker engaged in the usual price haggle that is part of the culture of the country. A deal was struck quickly, and Bob paid in advance. They left the sandal-maker’s booth with the promise of returning in an hour.

They strolled the marketplace. They both found more wearing apparel and negotiated more purchases in the native language.

They were going down the aisle near the fresh produce when they both noticed a woman maybe in her late twenties on crutches. Her expensive, well-made clothes made the tall woman stand out even more as she crutched around using forearm crutches. When they were in the same aisle, they could see that both of her legs were encased by heavy metal braces. She moved with a great deal of difficulty, as though she had no control of her legs at all and used gravity to keep them in position.

“I’ve seen her before somewhere,” Brenda whispered to Bob. “I think it was France.”

“You’re right; she looks awfully familiar,” he agreed.

They walked around to a point where they could get a better look at her. When they both had a good look, they walked around the corner out of her sight.

“I’m sure that it’s Erika Tyler,” Brenda said. “Remember she was KGB, defected, and went to work for The Company.”

“I thought that she was killed in London?” Bob said.

“No, I’d heard that she was shot seriously but survived,” she said. “She took one in the low back I think.”

“That would explain the braces and crutches,” he replied. “What do we do?”

“Act nonchalant. Let me take the lead,” Brenda said. “I’ll go first, and then you catch up.”

Bob agreed, and Brenda walked back around the corner. She walked over near where the woman was slowly crutching around and looking at produce. Brenda stepped near her. The woman looked up and stared at Brenda. She had a questioning, but still surprised, look on her face.

“Brenda?” the woman questioned.

“Erika?” Brenda replied in an acted surprise. “Is that you?”

“I can’t believe it,” Erika replied. “What are you doing here?”

“Just passing through,” Brenda said. “Just finishing up a project. What about you?”

“I live here in San Maguey now,” the woman replied. “Our professions don’t use people who can’t walk, so they put me out to pasture, and I settled here.”

“I couldn’t help but notice the crutches,” Brenda said. “I’d heard you’d been hit in a shootout in Moscow.”

“They gave me a new navel,” Erika stated. “I’m dead from there on down. I can’t even stand without these braces, even if I do have crutches. What happened to you?”

“A little accident,” Brenda told her. “I had my hands in the wrong spot when the explosion happened.”

“Wow. It’s tough enough being like this,” Erika said. “I can’t imagine not having arms.”

“It looks like we’ve both learned to adapt,” Brenda replied.

Bob walked up about that time.

“Bob!” Erika exclaimed. “It’s good to see you! It looks like they’ve got the old team back together again.”

“It’s good to see you too Erika,” Bob replied. “Do you live here?”

“I was just telling Brenda that I bought a place down here after they kicked me out,” she said. “It’s quiet, and I really like it down here. Where are you staying?”

“We got in late and had a room at the hotel. I’m not sure where we’ll stay tonight,” he replied. “Maybe we’ll stay at the hotel again.”

“You’ll do no such thing,” Erika insisted. “You’ll stay at my place. I have tons of empty rooms. It’s much more comfortable than the hotel. I have running water and power.”

“The hotel was adequate, but primitive,” Brenda said, smiling at Bob. He nodded and winked. “We’ll spend the night at your place.”

“Now you two are welcome to stay as long as you like,” Erika said excitedly. “It will be fun to talk over old times. Times when we still had all our parts.”

“I’ve got to pick up some sandals,” Brenda said. “Why don’t we meet you in the little café by the parking area when you’re finished shopping?”

“Great,” Erika replied. “I’ll have Maria finish up our grocery shopping, then I’ll catch up. How does fresh fish for dinner sound?”

“Much better than rations,” Bob interjected. “I can hardly wait.”

Bob and Brenda headed back to the sandal-maker while Erika gave instructions to the woman who had been standing away from the conversation. The sandal-maker had the other pair ready as promised. He had Brenda sit down, and he removed the sandals with the ties. The pair that he slipped on had only a simple back strap at the heel, arranged so that she could simply slide them off and on.

“These are perfect,” she said as she stood up and walked around the booth. “They fit great.”

With the sandal-maker grinning from ear to ear, they left the booth. Soon they were seated at a table in the small café overlooking the parking area. Bob took a small vial from his pocket, and he took two of the small yellow pills and put two in Brenda’s mouth.

“Now we won’t get sick,” he said. “How about a late breakfast?”

“I’m starved,” she said as a waiter walked up.

Brenda and Bob had just finished ordering omelets when Erika slowly crutched her way to the table. With a great deal of difficulty, Erika managed to sit down while Bob held the chair. She laid her crutches on the floor and moved each leg individually into position under the table with her hands.

“We’ve ordered breakfast,” Brenda said when Bob was seated again.

“I’m glad you didn’t wait. I had breakfast at home,” Erika said. “Maria is a great cook. You’ll see tonight.”

“So Erika, what do you do with your time now that you’ve retired?” Bob asked.

“Because only the top half of me works, they put me out to pasture, but I didn’t say retired,” she replied. “I own and operate the local shipping business, Intercoastal Connection. You know we handle the freight that comes in and goes out of the area.”

“That must keep you pretty busy,” Brenda said.

“Intercoastal Connection keeps me jumping, so to speak, but not literally,” Erika offered. “We have a lot going on. In this remote part of the world especially, shipping is the key to goods and services.”

“I’m assuming that you have your thumb on everything,” Bob said.

“Sure. Especially all the vehicles that come in,” she said. “What are you driving?”

“That pickup right over there,” Brenda said, pointing with her right arm stump.

“That’s José Fernadez’s truck, isn’t it?” Erika observed. “I heard that he was taken out yesterday and that one of his lieutenants took off with all his cash, safe and all.”

Both Brenda and Bob looked at one another and shrugged as if to say they didn’t know anything.

“So which one of you two got him?” Erika pressed with an evil smile on her face.

“I can say unequivocally that it wasn’t me that shot José Fernadez,” Bob said.

“Was it you Brenda?” Erika continued to press.

“How could I shoot anyone? I don’t have any arms,” Brenda protested lightly and smiling.

“I know you did it; come on, how?” Erika urged.

Brenda looked at Bob. He nodded his head affirmatively.

“They had a gun mechanism made up that was built into a prosthetic arm. It had a neat laser pointer on it,” Brenda said. “All I had to do was aim and shoot. It used twenty-two caliber long-rifle cartridges, so it was pretty quiet.”

“Sounds slick,” Erika marveled. “Can I see it?”

“I suppose you can see what’s left of it,” Brenda offered.

“What do you mean ‘left of it’?” Erika asked.

“We ran into a little trouble along the way and part of it was blown away,” Brenda said.

The waiter brought the breakfast. Erika ordered some coffee. Erika watched and sipped her coffee as Bob alternately ate his breakfast and fed the armless Brenda. Finally, Erika said, “I can’t imagine being armless like you Brenda.”

“It isn’t easy. Bob’s great,” she replied as Bob finished feeding her. “I can’t imagine not being able to walk either.”

“For me, it’s like this huge weight in my butt that no matter what I do, won’t go away.”

A man walked up to them and whispered something into Erika’s ear.

“All right. Tell him I’ll be there in ten minutes. Bring the van over here,” she told the man, then turning back to Bob and Brenda, said: “I’m sorry. I have some pressing business to attend to. I hope you understand.”

“Duty calls,” Bob replied.

“What do you say that I meet you back here at three o’clock?” she said. “I’ll lead you up to the house. It’s the only way you’ll be able to get in.”

Erika retrieved her crutches from the ground. Then using one of the crutches and the back of the chair for support, she hoisted herself high enough for one of the knee locks to operate with a loud click. She shifted her weight, and the knee lock on her other brace clicked into the locked position. She reached for her other crutch and, in the process, knocked it back to the ground with the sound of rattling metal.

Bob sprang to his feet and retrieved the crutch for Erika as she balanced herself precariously. It appeared to both of them that she was about to fall. Bob steadied her right arm as she slipped her left arm through the loop in the forearm crutch. She smiled at Bob and said, “I’m not quite as agile as I once was.”

Bob didn’t respond but just smiled at her as she began the laborious task of crutching away. Erika slowly worked her way across the parking area to a shiny black van that had just pulled into the lot. As they watched, the side door opened and a wheelchair on a platform appeared, then made a slow descent to the ground. By the time Erika was there, the driver had come around the front to assist her. She sat down in the wheelchair still on the lift platform and laboriously lifted both of her braced legs into position on the footrests before the platform raised up, then disappeared. The driver was carrying her crutches as he walked around to the driver’s side.

“Poor woman,” Bob said.

“But just as ruthless,” Brenda observed. “She may not be able to walk anymore, but I bet she can still shoot the eye out of a needle.”

“Or take anyone else out for that matter,” he agreed, sipping his coffee, then holding the cup for Brenda.

When they had finished their meal, Bob paid the waiter and they walked to the pickup. He unlocked the door and helped the armless Brenda get inside. After closing her door, he got in himself and started the engine.

“Where are we headed?” Brenda quizzed.

“You know me. I just like to get a lay of the land.”

They backed out of the parking area and onto the dirt road that was referred to as the main street. They drove nearer the water and spotted a long pier jutting out into the bay. Several smaller boats were tied up to the pier, which was just about their deck height. They also saw a large warehouse near the dock. The black van that had transported Erika was parked near the front entrance. By the windows in that portion of the building, they guessed that it housed the offices for Erika’s shipping company.

They drove on past the Intercoastal Connection warehouse and continued on down the road past several small houses that appeared to house some local fisherman. Soon the road ended, and a heavily wooded cliff rose up from the bay. Once Bob turned the pickup around, they drove past the warehouse and the road that had brought them down to the water. They continued past a few more small beach houses before the road ended again at a small lagoon. As he was turning the pickup around for a second time, Brenda spotted a large house built high on a bluff.

“Look at that would you. If that isn’t out of place in a spot like this, I don’t know what is.”

“You’re right,” Bob replied. “Whoever owns that place probably controls the town and the surrounding area.”

“It looks unprotected from here, but I’ll bet it’s heavily fortified.”

“They probably know we’re down here looking at them.”

“Hell, they probably knew when we got to town last night. I had a feeling we were being watched.”

“You too?” he said. “I’ve had a gut feeling from the time we hit the pickup.”

They headed back down the beach and turned up the dirt road that was the main street. They turned and went up the hill the opposite way from the house. The road became extremely steep and rutted, but when they got to the top of the hill, they had a commanding view of the entire area.

“This is magnificent,” Brenda said. “Can we get out and look around?”

Bob got out, then opened Brenda’s door. She slid out unaided. He reached behind the seat, retrieved the knapsack, and took out the binoculars. He slowly scanned the entire surrounding area.

“Can I try?” Brenda asked when he was finished.

Bob put the strap around her neck, and when she lifted her arm stumps, he placed the binoculars between them in a way that allowed her to grasp them. She held the binoculars up to her eyes and began to scan the surrounding area as well.

“That looks like a pretty good size airstrip on the little island over there,” he said.

“It sure is,” she replied. “Is that a business jet sitting there by the hangar?”

“That’s what it looked like to me. Did you also see that old DC3 sitting there?”

“It looks like some drug lord has himself some expensive toys,” she remarked.

“I think the term is had. My guess is that those used to belong to José Fernadez. I wonder if he had a will?”

“How do you figure that Erika fits in all this?” Brenda quizzed.

“Paralyzed or not, I bet she’s in up to her eyeballs. The way she knew the pickup and the guys stealing his money makes me think that she’s a lot more involved than she let on,” he replied. “I just can’t imagine an ambitious woman like Erika simply being in the freight business when there’s a lot of other things happening around here.”

“Maybe we’ll find out this afternoon when we meet her,” Brenda said, training the binoculars on the large house they had seen from the beach. “I have a feeling that the house belongs to Erika. It looks like there are several satellite dishes over there and a large radio tower. From by the looks of things, the whole place is solar powered. There are enough solar panels over there to light up the whole town.”

“We know different than that,” he said. “Those poor people in that town are still in the dark ages. I bet most of them have never seen a TV.”

“Then they’re luckier than we are,” she replied.

Bob looked at his watch and said: “It’s two-thirty. We should head back to town and be there when Erika shows up.”

He put away the binoculars and started to help Brenda back into the pickup. They were sidetracked for several minutes with very passionate kissing.

Chapter 3

Robert Hammer and Brenda Scott sat in the pickup in parking area of the San Maguey market. It was almost three o’clock, and the marketplace was now almost deserted. Bob looked at his watch and said: “She should be here anytime. It’s almost three.”

“Relax,” Brenda said. “Now that we’re retired, we have nothing but time.”

“So what do we want to do with our time now?”

“I bet we could live in a place and just keep busy doing almost nothing, especially if I have to live like this with no prosthetic arms.”

“I need to keep my mind busy doing something. Hell, maybe I’ll get a job.”

“I bet there’s a big market for paid assassins here in San Maguey,” she joked.

“Probably not,” he joked back. “I haven’t seen an espresso stand. Maybe I could start one here on the corner.”

“Like all the people here are ‘in’ to espresso.”

At three-fifteen, Erika Tyler’s customized van pulled into the parking area. The driver pulled alongside Bob’s door and rolled his window down.

“Ms. Tyler wants you to follow us,” he said in heavily accented English.

“We’re right behind you,” Bob replied.

Bob started the pickup and followed the black van through the parking area and onto the dirt main street. He continued back up the street past the cantina and turned onto a side street. They drove along the dirt street for several hundred feet and turned into a gated driveway. The van stopped at the guard station, and the driver said something to the two heavily armed guards on duty there. The van preceded on, and the guard waved them on through the gate.

“It looks like Erika doesn’t like uninvited guests,” Brenda said snidely.

“Looks that way.”

They continued to follow the van up the cobblestone-paved driveway until they came to the top of the hill. The house that was now in front of them was the same one that he had spotted from the other hill.

“I didn’t know you could afford a house like this on a retired shooters pay,” Bob said as they pulled in beside the now parked customized van.

“I bet she’s ‘in’ to more than just shipping.”

“It all depends what you’re shipping,” Bob said before he got out of the pickup.

He closed and locked his door, then came around and helped Brenda out of the pickup cab. He closed and locked her door before they walked over to the van where the platform that contained Erika and her wheelchair was being slowly lowered to the pavement.

“Come on this way,” Erika said as she wheeled herself off the platform and toward the massive front entrance to the huge Spanish style house. The white stucco walls appeared to be at least a foot thick, and the roof was done in red tiles.

“This is quite a place,” Brenda remarked.

“The building got a little out of hand,” Erika replied. “It ended up a lot bigger than I wanted, but it’s designed to handle my needs.”

As they approached, the front doors swung open and a man dressed in typical white muslin greeted them. They continued on into the massive front entry. All of the floors throughout the house appeared to have been done in marble. The walls were mostly plaster, and the ceiling was exposed wood planking with round rafters.

They continued on into the living room. A massive stone fireplace was at one end of the large room. A leather couch faced the fireplace.

“This is the living room,” she announced.

“I like the way you’ve decorated,” Brenda remarked.

“Thanks. I had an architect from Rio do the house. He had some great decorators.”

They continued into a formal dining room. The huge table looked like it could easily seat twenty in the massive chairs around the table. Bob and Brenda noticed that a formal chair was missing from the head position.

“I guess that it’s obvious that this is the dinning room.”

“It looks like you entertain a lot,” Bob said.

“I usually only entertain clients here,” Erika said as she continued to push her way on into the large commercial looking kitchen. “If you need anything, help yourself. If we don’t have it, we can get it.”

She rolled herself on into what most people would call a family room. It had another massive stone fireplace flanked by built-in well-stocked bookshelves. The entertainment center housed at least a five-foot screen. The room was beautifully appointed in comfortable looking leather furniture. It looked as though she had not spared any expense for comfort.

“This is where I like to spend most of my time,” Erika said. “I’ve tried to make it comfortable.”

“This place is beautiful,” Brenda remarked.

“Thanks,” Erika responded. “I’m glad you two showed up. I kinda rattle around in this place by myself. The patio is this way.”

She pushed herself through the large double sliding door that made up most of one side of the wall. They followed her onto a smooth flagstone patio with an outstanding view almost the same that they had seen from the opposite hill. A large built-in barbecue was at one end, and a bar was next to the house. A large inviting swimming pool was on the other end. Next to the pool was a hot tub. A hoist with a canvas sling was near the hot tub for use by their host.

“The view is wonderful,” Bob said.

“It’s breathtaking,” Brenda chimed in.

“I live out here so much of the time that I sometimes take the view for granted,” Erika said as she turned herself around and pushed back toward the family room.

She led them down one of two halls that went from either side of the family room.

“My bedroom and my home office are down that hall,” Erika said, pointing across the room at one of the hallways. “Your rooms are this way.”

She wheeled her way down the other wide hallway. Windows on one side went to the floor, revealing a jungle-like landscape outside. She wheeled her way into the first door they came to. It opened into a sitting room.

“Are you going to be sharing, or would you each like your own set of rooms?” she asked. “Don’t worry; we have plenty of them. There are two more suites just like this one, plus the cabins, if you really need privacy.”

Bob looked at Brenda, who returned his smile, then said: “This is great. We’ll share this suite. That way, I can help her.”

“That’s fine. Spread out all you want,” Erika said, turning and rolling toward the bedroom. “This is the bedroom obviously. The bath is over there.”

Rolling over to an alcove, she opened a closet door that revealed a large safe. It looked like one of the newest kinds with a reprogrammable lock.

“This part of the world runs on cash only, and many of my guests find it necessary to carry, shall we say, large sums. Feel free to use the safe. It’s reprogrammable and virtually pick proof. Instructions for changing the combination are on the back of this door.”

“We could use that,” Bob remarked.

“It’s better than locking all that cash in the pickup,” Erika said with a smile. “Why don’t you two get settled in? Manuel will help you anyway that he can. I’ve assigned him to you for as long as you’re here. Cocktails will be on the patio at five. I’m going to shed these damn braces and get comfortable.”

She backed up and turned herself around, then wheeled out of the room.

“This is quite a spread,” Bob remarked when she had gone.

“You’ve got that right. It sure beats the hotel.”

“I’ll go get our stuff,” he said. “Do you need any help?”

“Naw. Manuel can help me.”

Bob left for the pickup while Brenda continued to look around their suite. The doors all had lever handles and she could easily open them with her arm stumps. She looked in the bathroom and almost gasped. It contained a huge soaking tub, a freestanding walk-in shower which could hold several people, a toilet with a bidet, and a long counter with two sinks and a mirror. She opened the sliding glass door with her foot and walked out onto the private patio. Like the main patio, it had an outstanding view of the water below and had its own private hot tub. She walked back into the bedroom and looked closely for concealed cameras. She thought she saw one in the smoke detector. She walked back into the sitting room and sat in one of the comfortable chairs. That room also had a questionable smoke detector. Bob and Manuel soon appeared at the door with their arms loaded.

“I brought everything except those guns and bandoleers,” he said as he and Manuel took the things into the bedroom. “The pickup has already been washed.”

They put their things on the bed, and then Manuel left them alone.

“Come look at this view,” Brenda said as she led Bob out onto the patio. When they were outside by the rail, she said, “I think that the smoke detectors have cameras.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me. I’ll take a closer look,” he said. “Let’s sweep for bugs now.”

They went back into the room, and Bob looked at the smoke detector. He stood on a chair, gave it a quick twist and it came off the ceiling. It looked normal except for the thin optical fiber line. He pulled the line loose and put it back in the ceiling box before he replaced the smoke detector. His next stop was the one in the sitting room. He found the same situation and applied the same remedy. Next, he took the bug detector out of the knapsack. He swept the rooms and found two in each room. He removed the bugs and set them all outside on the patio table.

“Good job spotting those,” Bob said. “Let’s count our money.”

Bob first opened the safe, then opened the duffel bag and began counting the cash that they had liberated from the gunmen. The money was in large bills that were held neatly bundled with paper bands containing identical amounts. According to the markings, each bundle contained one hundred thousand U.S. dollars. Bob put them in piles of one million dollars each while Brenda watched excitedly. When he was finished, they had twenty-five piles.

“I count twenty-five,” Bob said.

“Me too,” Brenda said. “I can’t believe it. Twenty-five million dollars.”

“Tax free too,” he smiled.

He knelt down in front of the safe, and Brenda used her arm stumps to pick up the stacks of money to pass it to him. When he had put all twenty-five stacks of cash neatly in the safe, he looked carefully at the back of the door and studied the safe instructions.

“Give me a four-digit number. One that you can remember.”

“Three-seven-nine-one,” she said. “The year I was born, backwards. That’s the way I was born.”

“I didn’t think you were that old,” he teased.

“Hell, I’m just a kid compared to you,” she teased back.

He set the new combination and tried it before he closed the door of the safe. He put the duffel bag on the floor of the closet, then hung up all their clothes.

“I could use a shower,” he announced.

“And a shave too,” she teased. “This way. There’s plenty of room for both of us in there.”

Brenda led the way into the bathroom. Bob undressed her first and left her standing there armless and nude while he undressed.

He turned on the shower, and water flowed simultaneously from several showerheads. He adjusted the temperature, and they both walked into the cavernous enclosure. He soaped her and shampooed her hair. She rinsed under several of the showerheads while Bob soaped and washed his hair. He began to soap her a second time, this time paying attention to the places that he knew aroused her.

“Have you ever had sex in the shower?” he whispered in her ear.

“No, but I’ve always wanted to.”

“Against the wall or on the floor?”

“Both” she replied.

He began soaping her and just touching her lightly. She backed into the corner and put her arm stumps on his shoulders. He moved in closely while his hands continued . . .

He turned off the water and dried her off while they were still in the cavernous shower. He dried himself, and they went over to the vanity; he used the blow dryer to dry her hair, then combed it. While they were both nude, she watched him shave and then dry and comb his hair. They went into the bedroom, and he helped her put on her panties. Brenda had selected a black top and cutoff jean shorts for the evening. Bob helped her put them on. She went back into the bathroom and sat on the vanity to finalize her hair using her arm stumps.

Bob finished putting on his white muslins and then walked into the bathroom.

“You clean up pretty good for a shooter,” he said.

“EX-shooter,” she said. “We’ve retired, remember. You know, I’ve been thinking about having a facelift to change my looks now. What do you think?”

“I love you just the way you are, but if you want to, I’d support it,” he replied. “You know The Company almost insists that you have the operation when you retire.”

“I know, and I think their reasoning is sound,” Brenda agreed. “It’s a much better way of hiding out, not that I can hide out much as I run around with no arms or wearing hooks. You talk about standing out in a crowd.”

“Come on, you’re not that bad,” he said. “I’d support any decision because I know the real you underneath.”

They engaged in some more kissing while she was still sitting on the vanity and then went back into the bedroom. The clock on the nightstand said four fifty-five. They left the suite and walked through the family room and onto the patio. They looked around but Erika Tyler had not made her appearance yet but a servant was standing patiently behind the bar. A pitcher of martinis sat on the bar.

They were about to walk over to the bar when Erika made her entrance. She was wearing a short light-green top that showed off her upper attributes and dark-blue shorts that showed her badly atrophied legs. Bob remembered what great legs she once had; now they were no larger than his wrist, from her thigh to her ankles. She had abandoned her conventional-style wheelchair in favor of one of the lightweight sporty models.

“Good afternoon,” she said as she wheeled her way over to them.

“Good afternoon,” both Brenda and Bob replied in unison.

“How about a martini?” Erika asked as she used both of her hands to pick up one of her lifeless legs and place it across the other.

“That will be fine with me.”

“Me too.”

“Let’s sit at the table over by the rail,” Erika said.

She pushed herself over to the table with Brenda and Bob following. Bob helped Brenda get situated, then sat down himself. The servant brought a tray of martinis and set one martini in front of each of them.

“Can you handle that long stemmed glass?” Bob asked.

“I think I can.”

Brenda placed the stem of the glass between her two arm stumps. Holding her stumps tightly together, she was able to bring the glass to her lips. She took a drink and gently set the glass down.

“Good job,” Erika encouraged.

“Things would be a heck of a lot easier if I had my old prosthetics,” Brenda said. “Those felt so natural. I really miss them a lot.”

“Why didn’t you bring them along?”

“They were bugged. They had bugs planted in them similar to these,” Bob replied, setting the bugs on the table that he had removed from their suite of rooms.

“I meant to have them removed,” Erika said sheepishly.

“Did we find all the TV cameras?” Bob asked.

“I haven’t been in the surveillance monitoring room, but my staff tells me you found both of them,” she stammered. “It was an honest mistake. I just forgot to have them removed.”

“These are good martinis,” Brenda said, trying to change the subject.

“Thanks,” Erika said. “You said how much you missed your arm prosthetics. What kind were they? The myoelectric type?”

“No, I opted for manual body-powered arms,” Brenda said. “They just had some number five hooks and friction wrists. They had eleven-position elbows and a typical bilateral figure eight harness.”

“You know the man who makes my braces also does prosthetics. I’m told that he is probably better at prosthetics than he is with braces.”

“That sounds promising,” Brenda replied. “I’m really looking forward to being able to do things again.”

“The beauty of this guy is that he makes house calls,” Erika said. “We could give him a call, and he could fly in. I bet he could have you fixed up in no time at all.”

“I think you ought to give it a try,” Bob said.

Brenda nodded affirmatively and rapidly. Erika motioned to the servant who was still behind the bar and made a hand sign like she was on the phone. He came running with a cordless telephone and bowed as he put it on the table. Erika pressed several keys and held the phone up to her ear.

“Doctor Mendez please . . . Erika Tyler . . . Doctor, Erika Tyler. I have a guest who’s staying at my place who needs some prostheses made up. Can you help? . . . Double above the elbow amputee . . . Body powered . . . Could you be out here first thing in the morning? . . . I know it’s late . . . I’ll pay the damn extra. Just get out here. Juan will pick you up at six . . . Good, we’ll see you in the morning.”

“He’ll be here in the morning to start fitting and measuring. He said he’d have to do casts probably unless you just happen to have some liners laying around.”

“It just so happens that I do,” Brenda said. “There are liners in the arms that had the gun mounted in them. We can take them out for him to use if it will save time.”

“Let’s see what Dr. Mendez says in the morning,” she replied and signaled for another round of martinis.

When he brought the round of drinks, Erika told the servant to have Juan fly down and pick up Dr. Mendez.

“Before the party gets too far along, I need to talk to you two,” Erika said. “I need some help running Intercoastal Connection. The business has grown so much that I’m losing touch with things that need a boss’s attention. What do you think? Are you interested at all?”

“I might be,” Bob said.

“Me too,” Brenda said. “But only if no drugs are involved.”

“That’s the beauty of this setup. It’s totally legitimate,” Erica remarked. “All these other guys are running around chasing the drug trade and have forgotten about the regular goods that they need up and down the coast.”

“What’ll it cost?” Bob quizzed.

“I started with a million. It’s worth a lot more than that now, but I’d let you both in as equal partners for a million each.”

“I’m definitely interested,” Brenda said. “I’d need to see the books though.”

“Bring in a CPA if you want. It’s all aboveboard and legitimate. I’d welcome any examination that you want.”

“What would you have us doing?”

“Helping me with decisions and running the operation. We could divide it into ocean freight, air freight, and the warehouse. If each of us took one of the divisions, it would be a snap. I’m also being selfish, I need to have help so I can get out of here once in a while on vacation or a trip.”

“Why don’t you give us a tour once Dr. Mendez is finished with Brenda? I don’t know about her, but I’d like to think this over for a couple of days.”

“Me too,” Brenda said. “This is a pretty big decision to make on just a martini.”

“I agree,” Erika said. “I wouldn’t want it any other way, but please give it some serious consideration.”

Erika was called away. After she had wheeled herself into the house, Brenda said, “So what do you think?”

“I guess that I’m not used to thinking in terms of millions yet.”

“Me either. I’ve never seen that much money before. I was doing some mental calculations before, and if we only get six percent interest, I would net a million and a half a year.”

“So what you’re saying is the most we have to lose is a year and a half of interest if we don’t make anything on this deal.”

With her long but badly atrophied legs still crossed, Erika came rolling back to the table, and when she had resumed her position, Bob asked, “Why would you choose us to become partners?”

“Because the three of us are all cut from the same cloth,” she said. “We are all survivors, we all do what’s necessary to succeed, and we’ll even kill if we believe in our cause. Even though we are casual acquaintances, I know about your backgrounds and idiosyncrasies as I’m sure you know mine. In short, we have the drive to make a hell of a team.”

“What kind of return on our investments do you think we might realize?” Brenda asked as she brushed her hair aside with her right arm stump.

“Last year I cleared two hundred million by myself,” Erika said, lifting herself by the armrests of her wheel chair and repositioning herself slightly. “In two years we should be able to easily double that again. My thought was to put in better and more efficient container handling facilities. Now we unload things by hand into the warehouse. My thought was to put in a crane that could handle containers and build a road up to the flat for a storage yard. We’d still need a warehouse to off load the containers. We’re out of space in the one by the dock, and we’re constantly moving things around.”

“Are your plans down on paper?” Bob asked.

“No. They’re just floating around in my head. I was hoping that you could articulate my plans more fully and help me formulate a plan that is workable.”

“If you’re not handling drug shipments, where are the drugs being shipped from?” Bob quizzed.

“I’ve never been there. They tell me the traveling is rough going, and for obvious reasons, I haven’t been inclined to go there. It’s north of here about three hundred miles. We do handle things for the drug lords, but only their supplies and the things they’ve purchased and are shipping in. A container ship will come in, we’ll unload and inventory the container contents, then get the goods ready for when they send a boat or plane to pick up their goods. Sometimes we deliver with that old DC3 that you can see over on the island. All of their labor is by hand, and they don’t have the ability to handle large containers,” Erika said. “Not to change the subject, but how soon would you like to eat?”

“Anytime,” Bob and Brenda both replied.

“Dining room or out here?” she asked.

“Out here is fine with me,” Brenda said. “I love the view.”

“So do I; that’s the reason I dine out here as much as I can,” Erika said, signaling to the servant who was waiting patiently at the door. “Maria, we’ll be dinning out here this evening.”

Chapter 4

Brenda Scott stirred and blinked her eyes open trying to remember where she was. Bob was still sleeping peacefully beside her. She looked at the clock. It said six-thirty. She slid out of bed, still nude from the love making that had occurred earlier. She walked into the bathroom and, as she did every morning, closely examined the ends of her arm stumps for discoloration that would indicate infection or circulation problems. As she looked closely at her arm stumps, which terminated about three inches above where her elbows once had been, she noticed how her arms had atrophied and how tapered they had become in the last year since the accident. She noticed a slight discoloration around each of the scars near the tip of her stumps but thought nothing of it. The explosion had completely destroyed both of her arms right to the elbows. The surgeons shortened what was left of her arms so that prosthetics would fit. Now two prosthetic arms were being fabricated for her while she waited anxiously.

Brenda used the toilet, then picked up a towel in her teeth and, with a toss of her head, managed to get it over her shoulder. She walked over to the sliding glass door that led out of the bathroom and slid it open with her foot on the handle. Still completely unclothed, she walked out onto the patio, which overlooked the ocean below. The morning air was chilly and made steam rise from the hot tub.

Dipping her shoulder, she dropped the towel on a chair near the hot tub. She took one step into the warm water and waited a second or two before taking another step down. She took the final step onto the bottom of the hot tub and sat in one of the seats. The warm water felt wonderful to her. She wished that she could turn on the jets or bubbles, but the controls were inoperable with just the stumps of her arms. She relaxed and thought of the way her life had suddenly changed.

Their host had offered her and Robert Hammer a chance to buy into a blossoming shipping business. Even after much thought and examination of the books and the operation, they had not decided whether or not to join Erika Tyler as partners in the business. As Brenda relaxed in the hot tub on their private patio, she heard a noise that sounded like a motor running. She quietly slipped out of the hot tub and walked quickly but quietly over to the high fence that separated their patio from the main patio.

Brenda stood on her tiptoes and peered over the fence. She saw Erika, also nude, struggling to get into the sling for the hoist into the large hot tub. Erika finally worked the sling under her. She fastened the cable that she had taken off to the sling. The control box was almost out of her reach, and as she stretched for it, she tumbled free from the wheelchair and swung wildly free in the sling as her wheelchair went scooting away across the patio, well out of her reach. Erika was still unable to reach the control box but tried several times as her lifeless feet dragged on the concrete patio. Brenda ducked quickly when she thought that Erika was looking her way and thought to herself, ‘I may not have any arms, but at least I can still walk.’

Brenda peeked back up over the fence to see Erika still struggling in the sling. Erika had her back to Brenda in such a way that Brenda could see the huge scars in the middle of her back where they had performed the operations to seal the large exit wound. Erika continued to struggle and finally managed to get out of the sling. Once on the ground, she began slowly dragging herself over to her wheelchair, which had stopped twenty feet away, almost in the swimming pool. When she finally made it to the wheelchair, she pushed it in front of her back to the hot tub. Each movement was slow and deliberate. Her lifeless and badly atrophied legs trailed uselessly along behind as she slowly dragged herself back.

She put the wheelchair back roughly where it was before, this time locking the wheel locks. She dragged herself over to the portable control box and lowered the sling into the hot tub. Next, she dragged herself over to the hot tub and pulled herself up to the edge. She rolled from her stomach to her back and sat up. While she was rolling, her legs became crossed. Erika used her hands to uncross her legs, and then moving one leg at a time with her hands, she turned herself around. Her ankles had ended up at the edge of the hot tub. She lifted her butt off of the concrete patio and propelled herself ahead almost enough to have her knees bend but not quite. The next repetition made her knees bend and slip into the water. The third repetition put her butt on the tiles that encircled the hot tub and were flush with the patio. She gave one more lift and eased herself down into the hot tub water. Even though Brenda couldn’t see Erika’s lifeless legs under the water, they must have been caught under her because she struggled in what appeared to be an attempt to free them. When she finally finished, the water was almost to the top of her shoulders.

Brenda left her vantage point and went back over to her own hot tub and slipped silently in. Once in, she intentionally made some splashing noises.

“Good morning,” Erika called from the other side of the fence.

“Good morning Erika,” Brenda said. “I didn’t know that anyone was up.”

“I’m an early riser,” Erika said. “I’m in the hot tub; why don’t you join me?”

“I’m nude,” Brenda replied.

“That’s fine, so am I,” Erika answered. “That’s the official dress code for the hot tubs here.”

Brenda got out of the hot tub in her private patio and, using her teeth again, picked up her towel. She managed to get it under one arm stump, then went back into the bedroom that she and Bob shared. She looked at him, still sound asleep, a more restful sleep than he had enjoyed for a long time, and thought of how wonderful sex with him was.

She walked into the sitting room and then into the hall that led to the family room. The large glass doors were open, and she went onto the patio. Erika waved to her as she made her appearance.

“Good morning,” Erika said as Brenda put her towel on a shelf near the hot tub.

“Good morning,” Brenda replied as she slipped into the large hot tub with Erika. “You’re up bright and early.”

“I get up at this time every morning,” Erika responded. “It’s quiet, and no one’s usually around. I use the time to clean myself out.”

“I don’t understand?” Brenda questioned.

“It’s not something that I go blabbing around, but when I was shot, my spinal chord was more than just severed; it was destroyed along with two vertebrae,” she explained. “They fused in two new vertebrae but there was nothing they could do with the spinal chord. Of course without the spinal chord, my legs are dead and I also lost natural body function. My female organs were also badly damaged and had to be removed. The doctors used the space to put in a couple of bladders, one for feces and one for urine. I use this time to empty and clean them.”

“Wow, I had no idea,” Brenda said sympathetically.

“Well, it’s the way things are and life is,” Erika lamented. “Dr. Mendez is coming this week isn’t he?”

“No, next week, but I’m still so excited about getting some prosthetic arms again, I couldn’t sleep. I’ve gotten so used to having them, I feel absolutely useless without them.”

“I’ve noticed how even your arms were. Is that the way the accident left you?”

“Actually no,” Brenda explained. “My arms were longer at first when they got the bleeding stopped. The doctors shortened them up to eliminate the bone infection and so that the mechanical elbows in the prosthetic arms would be in the same place as my real elbows were. It also gave them the ability to tie my biceps and triceps together and make a soft end for my stumps.”

“They did a really nice job. You can hardly see a scar. I wish they had done the same on my back. Those scars are pretty ugly.”

“Have you thought about plastic surgery?” Brenda asked.

“I have some, but no one sees them, and I just didn’t want to go through the hassle of it. Down here you really need to be alert for any infection. The warm climate seems to accelerate all kinds of germs that we were not exposed to up north,” Erika said. “Besides, I didn’t have any help minding the store. We have some great help, but none of them are managers, and no one will make a decision. That’s one of the main reasons I wanted you guys to buy in and help out.”

“We’re still not sure we want to be tied down now,” Brenda replied. “I do know Bob is enjoying working down there with you though.”

“The both of you are such quick studies that I’ve really enjoyed having you around. I’m afraid that you two would take that money and slide off into the sunset somewhere.”

“Well, we kinda did,” Brenda joked. “San Maguey isn’t exactly what you would call a major resort destination or a metropolis.”

“No. It’s a place filled with wonderful people. They’re friendly, hardworking, and refreshingly simple. Their lives haven’t been complicated by the international tensions that we used to deal with.”

“You know when I first got in the business, I thought it would be so glamorous. I thought I’d be living a James Bond kind of life rather than hanging out in dingy hotels in all parts of the world. I never imagined myself crawling through the jungle to take out a guy who happens to produce an unwanted product. Sometimes I don’t sleep well at night. I wake up seeing the faces of the people who saw me just before the shot.”

“I really know what you mean,” Erika said. “I had a dream the other night that was so real that I found myself on the floor. I dreamed that I was running and stumbled trying to get away. When I woke up, I had a hell of a time dragging myself back up on the bed.”

“That must be pretty awful. Not being able to walk I mean.”

“It’s not how I would have chosen to live out my life, but it’s the way things are, and I can’t change it now. I would imagine things are the same for you.”

“You’ve hit it right on the head. My exception is that I’m still mobile. I don’t have to rely on braces and crutches or a wheelchair to get around.”

“True,” Erika retorted. “But I’m still able to pick things up in my hands and hold them.”

“I do miss that,” Brenda replied. “With hooks, I’m able to do a lot more, but they don’t have the feeling that you get holding something in your hand.”

“You sound anxious to get your prosthetics,” Erika observed.

“They can’t come soon enough. I’m like a kid waiting for Christmas. At least this time I knew what to expect in the fitting process. I was nervous as hell when I got the first set. Dr. Mendez was certainly thorough. He did casts, took all kinds of measurements and my old set of arms too. It’s going to be interesting to see what he comes up with.”

“I know what you mean about thorough. The first time he fit me with braces, he took all day fitting the temporary braces. He took those as well as a plaster cast back to his shop. When he brought the braces, they fit perfectly. He almost didn’t have to come back out here. He could have just shipped them to me and told me to strap them on and go for it, but that’s not his style.”

“It’s getting late, and I still have to clean myself out,” Erika said.

“Do you need any help?” Brenda offered.

“No, I can manage with the sling. That is, as long as I have the control box.”

Brenda watched as Erika worked the sling under herself. She pushed a button on the control box and was lifted out of the hot tub. In the meantime, Brenda took a quick dip in the large and much cooler pool. She stood in about four feet of water.

“Those are really ugly scars on your back,” Brenda remarked when Erika had lifted herself out of the water.

“I’m sure not going to win a beauty contest if I show the judges my backside.”

As Brenda was enjoying the pool, Erika swung the sling around and let herself down in her wheelchair. She detached the sling from the cables.

“Why don’t you join me for a quick swim?” Brenda asked.

“I never did learn how,” Erika remarked. “I fell in one day with my braces on and sank right to the bottom of the deep end. I tried to get back to the surface, but the weight of the braces held me down like diving weights. Luckily, Manuel saw me fall in. If he hadn’t dove in after me, I’d still be there on the bottom.”

“OK, I’ll see you later,” Brenda said.

Erika rolled away and disappeared through a door at the other end of the patio.

Brenda did a couple of laps in the shallow end of the pool, then got out. She was able to partially dry herself using her arm stumps to hold the towel. She walked back through the family room.

As Brenda got back to their suite, Bob was just starting to awaken. Brenda lay down on the bed beside him. He put an arm around her and said: “You’re wet. Where’ve you been?”

“Out in the hot tubs and pool,” she replied. “I started out in ours, and Erika invited me over to the hot tub she was in, so I went.”

“Like that? You’re stark naked.”

“That apparently is house rules for hot tub use. Erika was nude too. I got to see her scars that the exit wound made when it took out two vertebrae and her spinal chord.”

“Did the shot completely cut her spinal cord?”

“Blew it away is more like it. The shot must have been right dead center. The way she talked, it messed up her female organs to a point where they had to completely remove everything.”

“She has no female plumbing at all?”

“None whatsoever. She said that they put in a couple of sacks in the cavity to hold her body wastes. She has to clean the bags out each day. That’s what she’s doing right now.”

“Well, so much for having sex with her,” he joked. “What about sex with you instead?”

“Sure, that will make four times tonight,” Brenda countered. “Are you able to keep up?”

“Oh hell yes,” he said confidently. “Do you want on top or bottom?”

“We’ll figure it out as we go,” Brenda said. “Now start touching me in just the right places.”

Chapter 5

Brenda was sitting on the patio overlooking the bay and caught up in her own thoughts and wishing that Dr. Mendez would hurry making her prosthetics. She didn’t hear the car drive up or the two men get out. When she heard Bob’s voice, she jumped.

“There’s someone here who wants to say hi,” Bob said.

She turned around and was further startled to see Wayne standing there.

‘What would the head of The Company be doing here if he wasn’t looking for us?’ she thought to herself.

“Hello Brenda,” he said.

“Hello Wayne,” she said hesitantly, getting up and walking toward him. “What brings you to San Maguey? Vacation I hope.”

“No, business,” he replied. “I’ve come to tie up some loose ends.”

“Let’s sit over here,” Bob said, waving in the direction of several padded lawn chairs near the patio guardrail.

“So what kind of loose ends are you here to tie up?” Brenda quizzed as they sat down.

“Maria, may we have some refreshments?” Bob asked.

“Certainly sir,” Maria said before she scurried off.

“Well, when the two of you didn’t rendezvous with the pickup boat and your phone quit sending out a homing signal, we assumed that you had run into foul play,” Wayne began. “As is The Company policy, you were written off as missing and presumed lost. We sent out a few feelers to some of our agents down here, but no one had heard anything. So we had given you up. We were expecting one of José Fernadez’s boys to start up again, but there was no activity. I got in touch with Ramón, and he said that the two of you had connected and made the hit. He also told me that one of José Fernadez’s lieutenants had taken off with his cash and that no one had seen or heard from him since. He also heard that José Fernadez’s pickup was seen here in San Maguey and that it was being driven by someone with Bob’s description, who was accompanied by a woman with very short arms. I put two and two together, and here I am.”

“Well, it looks like we’re busted,” Brenda said dejectedly.

“Let’s not say busted. Let’s call it discovered,” Wayne said. “Like I told Bob down on the dock, at first I was upset at what the two of you had pulled off on your own, but the more I thought about it, the more that I thought you had done the right thing. I only wish that I would have thought of hitting these guys’ pocketbooks myself.”

“So what’s next?” Brenda asked. “I suppose you’re going to haul us back to stand trial.”

“No, quite the contrary,” he said. “I can’t force you to come back, even though I’d like for you to come back to work. Bob said that the two of you are now a number and are retired.”

“I’d like to think that I wouldn’t have to go back,” Brenda said. “We really like it here, and Erika has asked us to buy into her shipping company. I have no intention of going back to work now that I can sleep nights.”

Maria brought out a tray of ice tea. She set the first glass, the one with the straw, in front of Brenda. Wayne and Bob took the other glasses and Maria left them to their conversation.

“Well, let me say if I were in your shoes, I’d do the same thing,” Wayne said. “If you’re worried that I’ve come to get the money that you just happened to find along the side of the road, don’t worry. It was never ours in the first place, nor was it ever part of the scheme. Finders keepers. It’s yours.”

“Do you really mean that!” Brenda said excitedly before she bent over the glass of ice tea and took a sip using the straw and keeping her arms stubs at her side.

“Absolutely,” Wayne said. “When I told the committee about what I figured had happened, they were fully supportive of my decision to grant the two of you full retirement from The Company.”

“I don’t think we need the money,” Bob said.

“I know that,” Wayne replied. “But Brenda, because the blast that took your hands and arms happened while you were working for The Company, we want you to have full access to our medical facility for a couple of reasons.”

“OK,” Brenda said hesitantly. “We can afford it. Why would I want to go back for medical treatment?”

“Well first, you know The Company has a program that will give you a new face when you retire,” Wayne said. “They’ve been doing it for a while, and we have some of the best plastic surgeons on staff—the same ones that did your arm stumps. We’d like to have you make use of the program. We’ve found over the years that changing your looks can lead to a much longer life expectancy.”

“Bob and I have talked about it, and I’m still thinking it over. I’m not trying to sound too vain, but I don’t think that I look that bad now,” she said. “You said a couple of things; what else?”

“Now for the bad news,” Wayne said. “We would like to keep an eye on you. The chemicals that exploded are more toxic than we first thought. If they didn’t get all of the chemical the first time, you could end up losing both of your arms completely.”

“What!” Brenda exclaimed with alarm.

“They’ve been doing some lab tests, and the tests show that when the chemical comes in contact with bone, it quickly eats through outer shell and begins eating away at the center of the bone, working from the inside out.”

“Wow,” she said, sinking back in the chair in shock. “It was my understanding that they got it all the first time.”

“They thought they did too, and maybe they did. Let’s hope so,” Wayne said compassionately. “They would like for you to come in so they could take a look to be sure though. The doctors told me that all they really need to do is to take some x rays and compare them to your ones on file.”

Tears welled up in Brenda’s eyes, and after a pause, she said, “Damn you guys. I don’t want to lose my arms. I’ve gone around now for a couple of months without any prosthetics, and I’ve been helpless as hell. Being like this with just these short stumps is bad enough. I sure don’t want to lose my arms completely.”

“I know,” Wayne said. “That’s why we want to take a look now. Have you had any discoloration?”

“A little,” Brenda sniffed. “I noticed some starting two days ago.”

“Please get it looked at,” he said.

Brenda sat back in the chair and didn’t say anything for a while. She began sobbing uncontrollably and got up and ran to the bedroom sobbing. Wayne looked at Bob and gave him a head signal. They got up and walked to the patio door.

“Be sure she gets in,” Wayne said as they walked through the family room. “It could kill her if she doesn’t.”

Bob nodded and continued walking him out to the front entrance.

“Thanks,” Bob said when they got to the front door. “I appreciate you coming.”

“I’m just relieved that you two are OK. Well, for now anyway,” he replied. “Get her in for that checkup.”

“I will,” Bob said as he shook hands with Wayne. “Thank you for everything.”

Wayne walked out to the waiting car and was gone. Bob walked back to the bedroom where Brenda was lying there crying.

“It’s going to be all right,” Bob said comfortingly.

“I just don’t want to be armless,” Brenda sobbed. “What am I going to do if they have to take my arm stumps off? I can’t use my feet because my toes don’t work. I’ll be completely helpless.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Bob said, cradling her in his arms.

Chapter 6

Brenda waited patiently by herself on the patio overlooking the bay and the little island that contained the airstrip. Bob had gone to the warehouse with Erika to supervise the sorting of the contents of the containers that had been unloaded from the ship and then onto the barge to be brought near the shore where they could be opened.

Brenda shielded her eyes from the sun with one of her arm stumps as she scanned the horizon for the jet that belonged to Intercoastal Connection, the one that two weeks ago had carried Bob and her to Grand Cayman Island for a visit to their banker and to make a rather large deposit. After keeping enough to buy into Intercoastal Connection and keeping a million of cash on hand for spending money, they had made a deposit of twenty-two million dollars.

Her heart began to pound when the sound of the jet broke the morning silence. Suddenly, it was coming into view. The wait for it to circle and then land seemed interminable. Once on the ground, her view of the jet was obstructed by the hangar. She heard the engines shut down, and she knew it would now be only a matter of minutes. She listened closely for other engine to start. The sound she was waiting for finally happened. It was only ten minutes, but to Brenda it seemed like ten hours before the helicopter lifted off for the quick trip to the large space beside the driveway.

Manuel came to the patio door and announced that the helicopter with Dr. Mendez had arrived. She followed him to the landing area. The rotors had stopped spinning by the time they arrived and Dr. Mendez was already outside the sleek craft. He saw Brenda coming and started her way to greet her.

“It’s good to see you again Ms. Scott,” he said. “Are you ready for the fitting? I think you will like what I have done for you.”

“Oh yes,” Brenda replied. “I can hardly wait. Like I told you before, I’ve really come to depend on prosthetics. I’m so helpless without them I can’t believe it.”

“Let’s go in and get set up,” he said. “We’ll use the workshop where we did the casts and measuring. That’s where I fit Ms. Tyler’s braces; it seems to work well.”

They began walking toward the workshop. Juan, the pilot, and Manuel brought two large boxes. Dr. Mendez opened the door when they got to the shop and directed where the two large boxes were to be placed. He pulled out a stool and had Brenda sit on it.

“I’ve done as you’ve asked,” Dr. Mendez began when they were alone. “I’ve made up a matching set of lightweight prosthetic arms that you will wear normally, and I rebuilt the prosthetics that contained the gun. I also built another set of upper arms for that set so that you won’t need to wear that heavy harness if you don’t want to. Which ones would you like to try first?”

“Let’s try the ones with the gun and the new upper arms,” Brenda said excitedly. “That way when we’re done, I’ll be wearing the lightweight arms.”

“Good thinking,” he said, opening the first box and taking out two sets of arms with harnesses. “Let’s get the stump sock on first. I had the ones made up that have the pad across the back to prevent cable chafing as you wanted.”

He removed the white polo shirt that she was wearing and left her sitting there in her bra and tan walking shorts. He closely examined both stumps and had a serious looking frown but didn’t say anything. Next, he slid the stump socks on both arms and smoothed out the back panel. She held her arm stumps up in the air while he threaded the new upper arms over both of her stumps simultaneously. The harness was loose, and he had her rest the hooks on the bench while he shortened the over-the-shoulder straps.

“How do those feel on your arms?” he asked.

“Perfect. They feel like they belong there.”

“Good. Let me make some more adjustments, and we’ll see if you can make these things work.”

He tightened the over-the-shoulder straps a little more, then adjusted the elbow control cable. The last adjustment was to the control cable that opened her right hook.

“Now put them through their paces,” he instructed.

Brenda opened and closed the right hook on her rebuilt prosthetic arm. She repositioned each elbow and tried putting the arm in the firing position. With her left arm in the firing position, she had no problem getting the right hook into position to depress the trigger.

“They work like a champ. I know it’s not as versatile as the other harness, and the other harness had its purpose, but this is a lot more comfortable. I think it’s more maneuverable too. I like it.”

“Thank you,” Dr. Mendez replied. “The design posed a challenge. I’m glad you like it. Let’s do the others now.”

She locked both elbows in the straight position and raised her arms above her head. He grasped both arms at the elbow and lifted them up off of her arm stumps. He laid those arms on the workbench and opened the other box. He took out another set of arms. The control straps were loosely attached to these as well. He slipped the new lightweight arms over her arms stumps still covered with the stump socks. Again, he had her rest the arms on the bench while he did the initial over-the-shoulder strap adjustment.

“How do those feel?” Dr. Mendez quizzed.

“Wonderful,” Brenda said excitedly. “These fit like a glove too. I can’t get over how much lighter these are than those others are or the ones I left behind are. I’m anxious to try these.”

“Let me do the rest of the adjustments,” he said. “You’ve probably noticed a different wrist on these arms. I’ve taken the liberty of adding what is called a ‘Sierra Wrist Flexion Unit.’ I want you to try them for a while to see if you like them or not. They give you the ability to have your hook terminal devices at different angles to the axis to your forearms. It should give you more flexibility.”

“I see, they just screw into the friction wrist, and the hook screws into the wrist.”

“You can easily take them off if you want to. If you decide you don’t want the wrist and take them off, you’ll need to shorten up on the control harness. I’ve tried to give you plenty of slack,” he said as he finished adjusting the harness. “OK, give them a try and see what you think.”

Brenda put her new lightweight prosthetic arms through their paces and said: “These are going to be great. They’re just the way I wanted them. I’m really excited about the wrists.”

“I’m happy that you’re pleased,” he said proudly. “Now I’ve just included some Dorrance style number five hook terminal devices. Those are pretty much standard now, and you said that’s what you had before. I also brought along several other hook type terminal devices. Try them sometime and see if they work better for you.”

“These will be fine just the way they are. I’m used to the number five hooks and will probably just stick with them. I will try the others though.”

She turned to the workbench and effortlessly picked up a screwdriver in her right hook and then grasped it with her left hook before she released the right hook. Then with the screwdriver still in her left hook, she laid it back on the workbench.

“Perfect,” she said. “I love these things. I can take my life off hold now, and I can get on with things I want to do.”

“I’m amazed how well you handle them,” Dr. Mendez observed. “How long have you been wearing prosthetics?”

“A little over two years now.”

“You handle them like you worn them all your life,” he said, helping her put the polo shirt back on.

“Well, losing my arms was like starting a new life all over. I was amazed how much I had to relearn.”

“You’ve done remarkably well,” he said. “While we’re talking, have you ever considered a hand type terminal device? Ones you could wear like to dinner parties.”

“Not really,” Brenda replied. “I have hooks for hands now, and I’m proud of what I can do with them. I guess subconsciously I want people to see them and be proud of me too. Besides, in case you hadn’t noticed, San Maguey isn’t what you would call the party capital of Central America.”

“It was just a passing thought,” he said, handing her a booklet that she took in one of her hooks. “I’m going to leave an accessory catalogue with you in case you change your mind. If you see something you want, just call me and I’ll have it shipped in. I’ll leave these boxes with you. I need to see Ms. Taylor before I return.”

“She’s down at the warehouse. I’m sure that Juan can get you there,” Brenda said as they started toward the door.

He reached for the doorknob, and she said, “Let me try it.”

She reached out with her right hook and was easily able to open the door. As she had predicted, Juan was waiting for him. Dr. Mendez waved goodbye as he got back in the helicopter. Brenda went back into the house just as the motors were being started and before the dust was being thrown about. She asked Manuel to take the other arms to her room. When he was gone, she changed her clothes. Life was much simpler for her now, and she was able to quickly dress herself. She loved her new prosthetic arms.

Maria was fixing lunch when Brenda walked into the kitchen.

“May I help you?” Brenda asked.

“What can you do with your new arms?” Maria asked.

“An easier question to answer would be, what can’t I do?” Brenda replied. “Right now, I feel like I can do it all. I love my new arms!”

E N D

Note: This is only the second part of the story. The story continues.

What are two quite wealthy retired assassins going to do for fun?