10:20 Robertson Estate

Paul, Kate and Aaron had traveled back to their estate when Luca informed them that they had Alice and John in his custody. They were waiting outside their mansion when the car pulled up in front of the main mansion. When they got out of the car Alice ran to her parents and hugged them. John casually closed the door behind him and strolled up to the group.

Paul put his hand out. “It appears as if my impression of you was incorrect. Thank you for making sure she was safe.”

“Well, no one’s right about everything. Consider it water under the bridge.” John took his hand and shook it.

It takes a man to admit they are wrong. John may never be friends with Paul, but he can respect that he had a change of heart.

Alice let her parents go, turned around and hugged John. “Thanks again.”

“I owe you a couple thanks, one for bringing her back safe and sound and the other the bounty we got from Luca. Are you sure about not doing anything?” Aaron questioned John.

Kate interjected. “I insist we involve the authorities.”

“You could, wouldn’t really do anything though. Marco got shot in the dick, she did that by the way. Luca is absolutely terrified of me and that will ensure he abides by the agreement we made. As dishonorable as their initial actions were, us acting dishonorably in return isn’t going to help any. In short I’m satisfied with keeping this off the books.”

“She shot Marco?” Aaron was attempting to stifle some laughter.

“Yeah, that was some brutal shit she did. It pains me a little to say this, but the sleazy bastard deserved it.” John laughed.

“Paul, Kate. Why don’t you two take Alice inside. I need to speak to John privately.”

Alice hugged John then went inside the main house with her mom and brother. She was wondering what the two were going to chat about. John was likely going to tell her what they would discuss.

“Walk me with John.” Aaron gestured to John

“What’d you want to chat about?”

“You were unnaturally calm and flippant during that call. Why?”

“Well, it threw Luca off his game. You see, rich folk like you lot aren’t used to being talked too like that. It got under his skin. Couple that with my absolutely real and legitimate threats to his life worked to convince him to take the deal.” John snickered. “And his henchman nabbed us without hurting either one of us. They were also walking around with stun guns. I’ll admit that I did want to shoot up the place but that wouldn’t have helped us escape as easily as we did.”

“So, you were playing a mental game on him then.” They had arrived at Aaron’s office on the estate and walked through the main doors.

“Yeah, it was a battle of minds. One in which Luca was hopelessly outclassed.”

“What were your plans had I not called a car for you?”

“Call a cab? I was going to have guest services do that for me, but then I saw the car out front.”

Aaron walked around his desk and sat down. He gestured for John to sit down. “I can’t say that I approve of you letting Alice be active in your escape plot.”

“Hate to break it to you sir, but she isn’t a dainty flower. We’re training to be officers in the Navy, she’s a woman of action now. Besides, preventing her from helping out would’ve been pointless. When she figured out where she was, she was beyond pissed off.” John smiled. “Plus, she’s a hell of a lot stronger than you give her credit for.”

Aaron didn’t want to admit that he was right. Maybe he was being too protective, but he didn’t like seeing her be a full participant during their escape.

“Furthermore, had she not acted it would have been notably more difficult extricating the two of us from that situation.”

“Perhaps I was being too much of a protective father to see things clearly. You have my thanks for getting her out.”

“My pleasure. Like I said on the call, I had to get out of there too.”

“Now then. My daughter is quite smitten with you. The blunt truth is I would have never approved of you, and there’s a part of me that doesn’t approve of you.”

“With all due respect sir, who she’s with isn’t your choice. I’ve told you this before. Your ability to influence her died when she entered the Navy. What is within your control is how you respond, react and treat your daughter’s significant other in the future.” John smiled. “And that doesn’t mean you can bribe me either. Like Alice, I don’t want you interfering in how my career ascends.”

Aaron looked at the young man. He spoke the truth, he didn’t want to admit it, but he was right. For now, if John or Alice ever wanted help, he was positive they’d ask. Aaron smirked, John was the more likely of the two to ask for help too, his career aspirations were plain as day to see.

“If I didn’t know you any better, I’d dare say you hate the affluent.”

“In general, I’d say yes I do. But then I’d be hating myself since I’m fairly wealthy myself. I mainly resent how they hold themselves to be better than everyone else. I hate how they use their influence to prevent anyone else from achieving similar levels of power and success. And I despise how they have their hooks in the military preventing it from being a true meritocracy.”

“We are an arrogant bunch aren’t we.”

“That would be putting it mildly sir. And you lot should be worried about what I represent.”

“And who’s the arrogant one now I wonder. But no matter. You aren’t someone I’d bet against.” Aaron smiled. “And lastly while you weren’t seeking my approval you have it. Treasure her and keep her safe.”

“Always.” The two men got up out of their seats and shook hands. It seems this was a war that ended in peace accords.

“Oh, there’s a case of Papi that will be delivered to your dorm room. If you need any more, please let me know.”

John laughed. “It isn’t what you know, but who you know. Next case I order though is on me.”

Aaron shook his head and smiled. There were character traits that he absolutely abhorred from the young suitor of his daughter. But there was no doubt that he believed in and lived everything he said. The strength of character to believe that so deeply was something to be respected. He suspected John could do anything he set his mind out too, but the challenges ahead of him would be difficult.

It was clear to Aaron that John wasn’t scared to get dirty to achieve those goals. The open question was how well he’d protect Alice from those dangers. If this case was any sign of the future, then he could challenge the system and keep her safe.

Two Days Later. 03:30 Robertson Estate

The alarm is going off. John groaned a little and crawled out of bed. The alarm was going off at the terminal across the room. An effective yet horribly annoying way to wake up and stay awake. Alice was sitting up looking incredibly tired.

“No cum puddles this time.”

“That’s not even a tiny bit funny.” Alice normally would’ve laughed at that comment but it was far too early to laugh.

John was dropping clothes as he was walking into the bedroom. “Hopping in the shower, will be out in five.”

Alice grabbed a clean pair of underwear for John and tossed them onto the counter nearest the shower. After that she headed to her closet to get a change of clothes for the flight. She had far too many clothes and was having difficulties trying to choose a cute and comfortable outfit to wear onto the plane. Eventually she grabbed some clothes and was walking back into the room and saw John wearing nothing but the boxer briefs she threw into the bathroom.

“I might sound like you for saying this, but Jesus I wish we didn’t need to catch a plane.” She slapped his ass as she headed for the shower.

“That, for your information, was sexual harassment.” John laughed.

“Mhmm, it was.” Alice smiled as she stepped into the bathroom.

John was borrowing one of Paul’s suitcases for the trip. It was open but empty because he hadn’t packed anything besides his toiletry kit. He placed that, an extra tablet and a change of clothes in his backpack. He put his travel humidor with about fifteen cigars, a couple swimsuits, several change of clothes and a dressier shirt and shorts that could be worn in the tropical climate into the suitcase. He looked over the suitcase and considered it good enough. He finished his packing by tossing in a pair of sandals he had in it.

John was finishing getting dressed. The last thing left was to figure out what watch to bring with. They were going to be in and out of the water pretty frequently, he decided to go with a diver’s watch. A couple of his nicer watches were not very waterproof and paying to service them wasn’t high on his list of things to do.

He was looking at his watch roll and noticed the really cool, in his opinion that is, Tudor Black Bay Heritage 2040 that he bought in Miami during the summer. It had a striking green dial with equally stunning ceramic bezel. It was waterproof to 500 meters, about 495 meters deeper than he was planning, and incredibly shock resistant. And the best part was it only cost him around nine thousand dollars to purchase. That’s practically a steal for luxury watches these days, which naturally meant he needed to buy another watch.

Alice came out of the bathroom and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yup, just finished packing.” John put his watch on his wrist, closed the watch roll and put it in the bag.

Alice just shook her head. “You had all day yesterday to pack, but you waited to do that at the last second.”

“Well yeah, I figured I’d have it done by the time we were ready to leave this morning.”

“You know what they say about poor planning?”

“Yes, but I got it done.” He smiled and kissed her cheek. “If we keep chatting, we’re going to miss the plane.”

“You know for as good as you are at everything, you are shit at preparing for trips.”

John turned around and smiled. “Yeah, but the trips I plan kick some major ass.”

She wasn’t entirely wrong though; John simply moved at a different pace to everyone else. They grabbed their bags and exited the building. One of the family’s employees was out front in a car ready to take them to the airport. Aaron insisted they take the family’s private jet, but John was stubborn though and insisted on flying a commercial airline.

“Morning Jack, sorry to get you up at this god-awful hour.” John was genuinely sorry for the poor guy, no one needed to be up this early unless they needed to shit, have sex, or go back to sleep.

“Master Lief, no apologies are necessary. I am happy to be of service this morning. The airport is a thirty-five-minute drive barring any unexpected traffic.”

Jack opened the back seat door and gestured for the two to get in. They complied and were sitting comfortably when Jack began driving them. Alice was sound asleep by the time the car got to the estate’s exit.

John and Jack shared a pleasant conversation to kill the time. When they got to the airport John gently woke up Alice. They both thanked their driver and headed into the terminal to check their bags.

“Thank god for first class, don’t have to wait in lines.” John smiled as they walked by a line that was at least two hundred fifty people deep. The first-class line had only five people in it.

“So, about the tickets.”

“Nope, not saying anything. Y’all got uppity the last time.”

“For a damn good reason.” She grabbed his arm. “We can afford it, why the games?”

“Because I can?” John just shrugged. “Plus, it won’t matter where I sit, those assholes will hold my bag and release it after everyone else’s.”

Alice rolled her eyes at John. He was one of the smartest and strongest men she knew. And he was just an inch away from being a mad conspiracy theorist.

“When your bag shows up with the rest of first class this trip will you please drop this nonsensical argument.”

“Well, since you asked so nicely, I’ll have to give it due consideration, with your help of course.”

Their conversation was politely interrupted by the ticketing agent. “Good morning. I’m Denise, what flight are we checking you two into?”

“Mornin’ I believe it’s DAL 1526 to Nassau.” John handed his and Alice’s passports.

“Thank you very much, please give me a moment to check your reservation.” Denise scanned the passports and checked a few things on her terminal. “Looks like everything is in order. I’ll take your checked bags here, if you take the escalator up one level, go to the far-left hand side and hand them these tickets. They’ll help you bypass security. Boarding starts in about forty to fifty minutes for your flight. Is there anything else I can do for you this morning?”

“That’ll do it, thank you very much.”

The couple slid their checked bags on the scale and headed toward the escalator up to the terminal.

“So that’s what….” Alice realized why he ‘upgraded’ his tickets. “You know what, I’m just going to roll with it from now on.”

The security line and express security lines were about the same length and were at least four hundred people deep. The airport was humming with business at this early hour.

“Yeah, I come up with good ideas from time to time, right?”

“Yeah, for a wannabe felon.” Alice rolled her eyes at him as she sarcastically said that.

The couple took one another’s hands and headed toward the bypass lane. Shortly afterwards they were ushered through security and were immediately the targets of anger, scorn and jealousy from the poor bastards stuck in the security line.

“Let’s wait in the lounge for the flight, it’s right across from our gate.” Alice said as she pointed at the map ahead of them.

“Lead the way honey. This trip is going to be awesome.”

A short walk and they were at their gate where the Airbus X330 plane was. “Sweet, this is one of their new passenger jets that came out last year. Another one to check off.”

Alice just smirked and pulled him away from the window to stop John from ogling their plane. They entered the lounge and were told they had about forty minutes before their flight was going to start boarding. An attendant would come and get them when boarding was called.

The couple found a loveseat that was overlooking the main runway that departing planes were using. It had been a crazy year. So much had happened. A lot of bad things happened but one of the best things that has happened to John was happily sitting next to him on the loveseat. They were offered a cup of coffee and a muffin. Both took the coffee but only John took the muffin.

“So, tell me about this resort we’re staying at.” Alice said sipping on the coffee.

“Dream World. Awful name, but we’ve got a private cabana that is on stilts over the bay waters. It even has a private beach.”

“The name is awful, but it sounds fun. I bet you can’t wait to see me in my swimsuits.” Alice said as she noticed John was grinning from ear to ear. “Get your mind out of the gutter big guy.”

John just laughed. They continued to sit there and chat amongst themselves. John was pointing at the planes and calling out their names to a very disinterested Alice. She added plane nerd to the long list of eccentricities that John possessed. The couple chatted about this and that to kill the time.

“Excuse me you two.” A young woman in her early twenties was in front of them. “I’m sorry for bothering the two of you. You don’t know me, but I was there in the restaurant. Thank you so much.”

John smiled but put a finger in front of his mouth, winked at her then said, “Unfortunately, I think you may have mixed us up for a different couple.”

She smiled then walked away, content in knowing she was able to provide a proper thank you to the people that kept her alive during that horrifying night.

“John, how is it that you are so comfortable doing things that no one will thank you for doing?”

Before John got a chance to answer a lounge employee came up to the couple. “Boarding is about to be called for your flight.”

“Thank you very much.” John and Alice got up; he took her hand. “We do what we do because we have too. If we get thanks, consider that a bonus. Most of the time no one will know the nonsense we go through to keep them safe. That’s our burden to bear. And it’s better the public does not know what really needs to be done.”

“Still, it felt good to hear.” Alice countered.

“Can’t say that your wrong there. Well honey, let’s have a great vacation.” He hugged her then they got into the queue to board the plane.

The plane was near new. They were sitting in first class, naturally, and were getting settled into their seats. There was a positively gargantuan screen in front of their seats. For a plane that is. Time enough for a movie or two.

“Ok plane nerd, this is really really nice.” Alice had to begrudgingly concede that point.

After they got settled in, they were served champagne. It didn’t take long for the airline to fill the plane up. The plane pushed back but thankfully had priority over several other flights, so they taxied straight out to the runway and took off without delay. It didn’t take long until they were at cruise altitude heading to the Bahamas. Alice was watching an indie romance movie. John had live television on and was watching cornhole. Alice saw that, shook her head and just started laughing at her boyfriend.

The flight was a bit over three hours long. As they were collecting their things and exiting the plane Alice directed some sarcasm to John.

“So how long are we going to wait for your bags?”

John answered immediately. “Twenty-three minutes, count it.”

He looked down at his watched and set the bezel to the minute hands. He was sure it was going to take forever. They walked down to the baggage carousel and sure enough, Alice’s bag was among the first to come out. John’s bag wasn’t. When his bag did show up, he checked his watch and determined that they waited twenty-one minutes and change before it showed up. Alice couldn’t help but think maybe he wasn’t some weird conspiracy theorist. This is the third time she’s personally seen it happen.

“Stupid mother fuckers. I’m going to write a letter to these assholes. But I’m not going to let it ruin our vacation.” Alice couldn’t help but laugh at her lover.

Two days later. 10:00 Dream World, Cabana 36-A.

Alice was relaxing on a lounging chair in a blue and grey bikini. John was nowhere to be seen at the moment. There was a slight breeze blowing through the bay which cut through the humidity a bit. It was a bit on the warm side but still very comfortable out. Then a John-sized shape burst through the surface of the water.

“Honey, there are lionfish here in the bay. Just speared another six of those delicious bastards.” John was beaming from ear to ear, he held up the specialized collection bag containing the speared lionfish.

The previous day they went reef diving and spearfishing. It was strongly recommended to spear any lionfish that they saw. It helps moderate their numbers and their meat was extremely tasty. You just had to avoid their poisonous spines. John got a little careless and got poked once. He said it felt worse than getting shot.

“I’m going to filet these up so we can have fish tacos for lunch.”

“Look at my handsome provider.” Alice looked up and slid her sunglasses down a little.

Fifteen minutes later John came out and had two piles of trash. The fish carcass, sans spines, were tossed into the water. The other fish in the bay would come in and clean that up quickly. The spines he tossed in a small burn put they were using to dispose of certain food stuffs.

“John, what’s the plan for today?”

“Nothing planned, what did you want to do?”

“Let’s skip spearfishing today, the zoo and museum this afternoon would be fun. Then let’s do dinner down at the beach and then go to the night club.”

“Alright sounds good. Spearfishing tomorrow morning and relaxing afterwards. Got plans for us on New Year’s Eve though.”

“Still keeping secrets from me?”

“Yeah, but you’ll like what I have in mind.”

The rest of the day went as planned. They stopped by the local museum to view the different works of art and historical items that were on display. There was an amazing display there about a man that enlisted in the marines, was offered a chance to attend officer candidate school then eventually become a general. The zoo was busier than expected but still fun. The highlight of the day for John was when a monkey fell out of a low hanging branch after it smelled its finger. Alice just had to roll her eyes at her boyfriend’s poor sense of humor.

The dinner at the beach was amazing. The sun was setting and there was just a hint of a chill blowing inland from the ocean. It was a beautiful setting, and the food was fantastic as well. The night club was a bit much for the pair. It was overly loud and just felt like they had too damn many people packed into the small building. After they finished their second drink they decided to walk back to their cabana.

Two Days Later. 09:00 Onboard ‘Boaty McBoatface’

“I’m not going to lie, the only reason I chartered y’all was because of the name of the boat.” John said as the boat took John and Alice and three other couples out to the reef minutes away.

“Two hundred years ago my great-great-great-great grandfather won a boat and asked Reddit what he should name it.” The guide said.

“That was a mistake.” Alice smirked.

“That it was.” The guide laughed. “Our company, which is still going strong after all this time, will always have a Boaty McBoatface in the fleet.”

“The boat face painted on the bow was a nice touch.” John smiled.

The guide and other couples laughed. The couples chatted amongst one another. Most were a bit older than John and Alice and were all recently married. Everyone was excited to swim around the reef. John was having a hard time sitting down as he wanted to spear lionfish.

“Ok folks, we’re getting close to the reef. I’m going to find anchoring position. Couple rules here. Don’t touch lionfish spikes and don’t step or push on the corals. Lastly don’t put hands or feet in tight or dark spaces. Never know if an eel is going to mistake your digits for a snack or if a rock might trap you under the water.”

“Don’t drown. Got it. I just want to spear all the lionfish.” John said eagerly.

“We’re in ten feet of water here. I’ll be on the boat, but the guides will work with you. If your spear fishing you need to stay on the boat side half of the coral. Basically, we don’t want unintended accidents.”

John put his mask on, grabbed a spear and a PVC tube used to store the lionfish. Alice grabbed a spear but not a tube, she was going to let John carry that thing around. The couple swam in the water for about an hour and a half before the guides called them back.

When they got back to the boat the guide captain was impressed with the haul. One of his employees began fileting the fish they caught. As part of the deal, the boat kept all fish its occupants caught. John and Alice would get several filets earmarked for them back at the restaurant the guide owns. The rest they would use at the restaurant.

John smiled at that business plan. Get someone to pay to swim around or catch fish at the reef. Then use those fish to sell to customers at the beach. That was the kind of business plan John could get behind.

The couples ate a snack before they went back underwater. All of them were now spearfishing. The guide said that no matter how many lionfish they spear, there’s always dozens more you don’t see. There were no limits on that specific fish and the guides that did that line of work all pushed to spear them first and foremost.

Eventually they got back in the boat and headed to shore. They’d have a four-course lunch with three different ways of serving lionfish. Dessert was an overly rich chocolate ice cream. The couple walked back to their cabin where they cleaned up and relaxed.

John’s plan for New Year’s Eve involved serving Alice breakfast in bed. The couple then went spearfishing in the bay for lunch, lionfish was once again on the menu. The afternoon was spent mostly in the cabana enjoying some lovemaking or relaxing on the deck. Dinner was also cooked by John. The first course was a simple side salad. The main course was A5 wagyu tenderloin, it was specially ordered just for this occasion. He also had skewers of shrimp with Cajun seasoning and a baked potato. He grilled it slowly over open coals. Desert was some chocolate, caramel and vanilla gelato.

After dinner that night they relaxed on the deck and cuddled with one another while they watched the fireworks show. They turned in early that night give in to the carnal pleasures that they offered one another.

Nothing weird, scary, or dangerous happened during this vacation. The couple would walk around the island to visit and experience different things. It was essentially a relaxing vacation for the couple to enjoy. It was something that they desperately needed. To rest and unwind after everything that had happened. They needed some uninterrupted and quality time with one another. But, all vacations come to an end and they had reluctantly accepted that it was time to head back to reality. They were well rested, relaxed and ready to take on the challenges they’d face in the next semester.