Ben held the body guard’s hands until the young man came back with help. Hotel security and the police. He said the ambulances were on their way.
Leo was sitting up in the sand and Dana was leaning against him, holding him tight.
The paramedics finally arrived and began by strapping Devan to a backboard to immobilize him. The second team did the same with Michael. Some police officers accompanied them back across the beach.
One of the officers who arrived on the scene recognized Ben from the incident earlier on in the week and came to speak with him.
“Mr. Shepherd? Officer Pérez. I spoke with you three days ago?” Ben nodded in recognition. “You are having an eventful vacation!” the officer said.
“Yes but not by my efforts. I just stopped by to watch the surfers and got sucked into this mess.” Ben was hazy on exactly how it went down so he pointed to Dave who looked like he was desperate to share something. Dave took this as his invitation to gush.
“So Michael shows up and he’s screaming in Dana’s face, threatening to rape her and Ben was all cool and shit. He tells him to let go but Michael grabs her tit so Ben put him down in one punch! So fucking fast! Devan punched Leo and pulled a blade on Ben but BOOM! Ben hits him and he fell on his own fucking knife! But Ben kept him still so he didn’t pull the knife out and die. He’s a fucking hero, man!”
Ben felt a familiar flare of anger at Dave’s final comment but he was able to push it aside this time. The venom in the rage was gone.
Pérez looked at Ben carefully and saw the discomfort pass on his face. “This is what happened?”
“Yeah, that… sums it up. This Michael fellow. He’s some kind of drug dealer?” Ben asked.
The officer looked at Ben to see if he was just pretending to be unaware of the circumstances but saw no fakery in Ben’s expression. He nodded. “Yes, a bad one. We have been looking for him for some time. He comes down from Nicaragua and sells to tourists. Mostly to stupid young men and women from the States.” Ben heard grumbling behind him and he smiled at the officer.
“I do hope the rest of your stay is uneventful Mr. Shepherd.” Pérez said as he turned to follow the rest of the officers as they left.
Ben turned back to the kids and was surprised when Dana crushed herself against his chest.
“Thank you,” she cried. Her head only came up to his chest so he was looking down into her dreads. He patted her back and she looked up at him.
“You were exceptionally lucky this time. I’m not going to lecture you on buying drugs. You’ll do what you want and I doubt you’d listen to an ‘old guy’ like me anyway.” Ben shared his gaze with the others but Dana squirmed when she heard her own words repeated back to her. “But try to think ahead. It sounded like you got the drugs without having the money to pay for them. Any dealer willing to do that kind of deal should be avoided. Do not build a relationship with these people. They are not your friend. Do the transaction and walk away. Better yet don’t do the transaction but like I said that’s just an old man’s advice.”
Ben’s stomach grumbled and Dana smiled up at him. He smiled back and looked for his shirt as she released him. The blond with the ponytail handed it back and he put it on. “Any place around her serve a good lunch? I’m starved.” He saw hunger pass over the faces of a few of the others. “My treat.” That put smiles on all their faces.
“The Palmelo Resort has awesome fish tacos!” Leo said as he moved closer. He had a nasty black eye and Ben realized it was the same one Trish had blackened.
“Lead the way,” Ben said and the group rushed to pick up their boards. They walked down the beach back in the direction Ben had come and passed one resort to get to the second. There was a large beach bar and restaurant and the group stacked their surfboards and pulled a bunch of tables along the edge of the patio together to make one long table. A man approached quickly, taking in the impoverished look of these new customers with a frown on his face and Ben intercepted him. He saw the nametag indicated he was the assistant manager.
The man looked at Ben’s smile and returned it tentatively.
“Hi, I’m treating my friends here to lunch. We’ll be putting it on one bill and I’ll be paying it.” He showed the assistant manager his credit card and the man caught sight of the bills in Ben’s wallet. His smile strengthened.
“Certainly sir!” He turned and gestured for some waiters to come to the tables.
Ben turned and saw he’d been left a spot at the center of the table facing the beach so he took his chair. Leo was sitting across from him with Dana on his left and Dave on his right. On Ben’s left was the girl with the ponytail, Ceela, and on his right was the muscular, dark haired young man whose name was Nathan.
When the waiters came to take their drink orders Ben told them to order whatever they wanted. He stuck with ice water. He also asked for an ice bucket with ice.
Soon the table’s occupants were laughing and talking, and enjoying their cold beer.
“You don’t drink Ben?” Leo asked.
“No. I was an alcoholic for a time, a bad time, and when I got sober I promised myself I wouldn’t go back down that road again.” Then he saw their uncomfortable looks. “Oh sorry. I have no problems around other people drinking. Please enjoy yourselves.”
The waitress returned with a wine chiller with ice in it on a floor stand. Ben had her put it between his chair and Nathan’s so he could ease his right hand into the ice. He was fortunate that it wasn’t hurting too bad but this preventative measure seemed wise.
“Did you bust your hand on Michael’s face?” Nathan blurted.
“No. I dislocated a knuckle on… someone else’s face back home. I was supposed to take it easy when I was down here to let the knuckle heal. It’s only a little sore but why take chances.”
The mood picked up once more and Dave leaned forward.
“Where are your lady friends today? Your bodyguard could have helped you back there!” he grinned.
Ceela gaped at him. “You have a female bodyguard?”
Ben smiled at her. “She’s not really a bodyguard but she does kick ass and take names.”
“I’d love to meet this amazing lady!” Ceela grinned.
Ben looked thoughtful. “I don’t know if she surfs but it wouldn’t surprise me. She’s very active in outdoor activities.” He thought about the sports equipment he’d seen in her garage. “She runs, kayaks, rides dirt bikes, you name it. She’s also a master at a few martial arts.”
Dave caught Ceela’s eye and held his hands out in front of his chest to demonstrate Trish’s breast size.
“Hey! Show some respect or I’ll ask her to pay you a little visit tomorrow.” Ben growled teasingly and Dave held up his hands in surrender.
“Stupid jerk!” Ceela barked and kicked his shin.
“I give! I apologize!” Dave yelped.
The food started to arrive and the smiles grew around the table. Then the table was silent except for the quiet sounds of people enjoying their meals. Ben was surprised by how hungry they were. He guessed they’d spent most of their budget on non-essentials like booze and drugs. He ate his own burger and passed most of his fries to Ceela and Nathan though Dana reached across to snag a few when she saw he was donating them. Ben ordered a few baskets of fries for the table which brought cheers.
More beers arrived during the meal and everyone relaxed. Ben saw the clouds were beginning to roll in and knew he probably had another two or three hours before the rains began. He wasn’t that far from his resort.
“You guys surf here every day?” he asked and received nods. “I’ll ask Trish and Rain if they’d like to try surfing tomorrow.”
“Is Rain the other lady you were with on the plane?” Leo asked.
“No. She’s another guest at the resort. She and Trish run on the beach in the mornings,” Ben explained.
As the meal finally winded down Ben ordered himself a bowl of ice cream and saw the others looking at him. “What? You want dessert, order some!” With big grins some ordered bowls of ice cream but the rest ordered milk shakes.
When the last spoonful was eaten and the last drops were sucked up everyone sat back feeling pleasantly full. A cheer went up for Ben and everyone thanked him for the meal. The bill was presented to Ben and he followed the waitress back to her station to pay it. When he returned the group was slowly making their way back to their boards.
Walking up beside Leo and Dana who were holding hands Ben smiled at them. “So, back on the boards this afternoon?” They grinned sleepily.
“No, we’re all going to go take a nap!” Leo gasped.
Dana let go of Leo’s hand and hugged Ben once more. He returned the hug with a smile.
Dana stepped back and looked up at him. “I’m very sorry we dragged you into our mess. Your advice hasn’t fallen on deaf ears. We will be far more cautious in the future.” Ben nodded hearing this.
Her eyes got a little glassy. “I personally want to thank you for saving me from an awful fate.” She shuddered.
Ben hoped she’d use that memory to guide her decisions into smarter avenues in the future but limited his response to a simple ‘You’re welcome’ which brought a small smile to her lips and she gave him another tight hug.
After she stepped back he looked at the happy faces around him and smiled. “I’m heading back to the resort. I may or may not see you tomorrow but if I don’t, enjoy the rest of your stay and be careful out there.” He got a bunch of hugs then started walking back to the resort.
He took off his sandals and walked along the water’s edge enjoying the peace of the moment. It felt like he was alone on a desert island. Then his cell began to ring. He dug it out of his pocket and saw it was his financial advisor.
“Hello?”
“Ben! It’s Jerry. Just wanted to let you know the transaction has gone through. The final investment was 8. 2 million which makes you a majority shareholder in the new merged company.”
“The merger happened? I thought that fell through!” Ben exclaimed.
“No, the new corporation is properly registered and you are their largest investor. Working with Gabriella was a delight. You will probably-“