CHAPTER 06

It was not what Betsy had been expecting. That was mainly because it was not the boat she had signed on for. In fact, this was the boat that Garcia had said they couldn't afford. Betsy had been informed, ahead of time, that she would know it when she saw it but, this? The first clue was the big crown thing that decorated the entrance to the dock. It glowed and, if you failed to notice, it was only because of the people who were hanging flower necklaces on you as you walked up the ramp. It was not a bad surprise but, it was overwhelming.

Gar wrote it off as, “yeah it cost but, it was worth it. Hell, it wasn't even as expensive as getting a full time nurse for Pops. That really bit. Now, as long as we playing twenty questions, how did you get out of work? I thought you said your leave hadn't come up yet?”

It was a question that Betsy did not want to go into details about. That was mainly because it was one of the weird things that had been going on around work lately. That was why she gave Garcia a half explanation, “I told you, I'm on profile.” The guy actually leaned over, put his hands up like they were a makeshift movie screen, and was obviously studying her profile rather intensely.

“Not that kind of profile, goof ball. It means I'm on restricted duty because of medical stuff.” With that said, Betsy now came back with her own question. It was another unwritten rule in a kind of game they seemed to have accidentally developed between them. That was probably as a result of the unusual circumstances of their introductions. He got his question in so, now, Betsy got the next, “why did you keep this a secret? OK, I get the part about surprising me but, nobody else seemed to know.”

Garcia just shrugged, “Bob.” When that got no reaction, Garcia explained, “hey, don't get me wrong. I love the guy like a brother but, damn, you haven't seen that heard of little Bob's and Bobbettes that he keeps around. I figured if we was going to enjoy Princess Island, helping baby sit wasn't going to be in the cards, if you know what I mean.”

That made Betsy take a moment. As they stood in line to board, she slipped her arms around his, and then even kissed him no the cheek. Since that usually wasn't the nature of their kissing, Garcia got a funny look and Betsy warmly told him, “thank you. Nobody has ever done anything like that for me, before.”

Garcia was not even really sure what she was talking about but, he played it anyway, “all in a days service ma'am.” That caused the girl to giggle and, now, Garcia had to wonder about that too. He still had no clue.

After they checked in and found their room, Betsy continued to be pleasantly surprised. She was also starting to think that she had gotten lucky, for what could possibly be, the first time in her life. So far, these docks, this boat, and even the room looked new and clean. That was in stark contrast to almost everything else on this crappy planet. So they did have something civilized here, after all. She was actually, really, enjoying all of this. That was why she waited for Garcia to put down their meager luggage before jumping up on the bed and it using as a spring board to land on Garcia. He actually managed to catch her and stay standing. Betsy just decided to rap her legs around him and kiss.

Then the knock at the door came and Betsy mumbled over their tongues, “ignore it.” The knock only got more obnoxious.

Gar was a bit pissed about giving up his current activity. He was also pretty sure whoever was outside the cabin was making a mistake. His biggest worry was that they were somehow in the wrong cabin or, even worse, the tickets didn't get bought like he was told they were supposed to be. Then, when Gar opened the door, he realized that none of that was as serious a concern as it first seemed. Shannon pushed her way past him and then slamed the door behind her while shouting, “Gar! You Ass Ho..”

Shannon saw who else was in the room and then blinked before continuing in an astonished tone, “ho is right.” Shannon looked to Garcia but, pointed at his date, “what the hell is Betsy Ross doing here?” When Betsy opened her mouth, Shannon cut her off with a very hostile shout, “I know your real name!”

That was all Garcia needed right now. He grabbed Shannon by the sleeve, excused them, and then drug the teenager out of the cabin to the open deck. He then put his hands on his hips and told the girl more than asked, “just what the hell do you think you're doing?”

Shannon did not back down one little bit. She returned the posture and got nose to nose with Garcia, despite being a head shorter, “Mom sent you to spy on me. Don't lie to me Gar. I suspected something when I heard Patsy was going to be looking after your Dad.”

“Patsy?” Garcia was impressed and he began to spill it, “so that's where...” He quickly recovered and then tried to explain, “it ain't like that Shannon. Your Mom just thought if there was trouble, it might not be a bad idea to have a little extra protection around. That's all. In fact, she was pretty adamant that I stay out of your way so you can have a good time. No reason to get pissed. It's a good thing for everybody.”

That did not impress the teenager at all, “you don't get it, do you Gar?” He obviously did not and Shannon was in no mood to tell him so she switched gears, “does Bob and Donna know?”

“Hell no,” Garcia quickly replied, “and I would consider it a mature and adult act if you keep it that way. They got all them damn rug rats. They don't need to be weighed down with this shit.”

“Coming from you Gar,” Shannon said while poking him in the chest. It was not as pleasant as when Betsy did it, “that means absolutely nothing.” Shannon then gestured back to the cabin, “enter exhibit A. That girl stole your car and got you arrested for it.”

Alvarez shrugged, “yeah but she looked pretty hot doing it.”

The fact that Betsy came out of the cabin, right then, made Garcia wonder how much she had heard. He had to figure she was listening in from behind the door because Gar had to admit, he would have been. She did not act like anything was wrong, was even smiling, and brushed Garcia as she passed, “I'm going up to the lounge while you work this out. Want anything?”

“Na,” Garcia shrugged it off, “I don't know what they got yet. I'll catch up with you in a minute.” He then locked eyes with Shannon and was quite forceful when he said, “this won't take much longer.”

Betsy was not really that surprised by the little girl and, figured it could have been worse. Of course, she didn't figure her ex was going to come all the way from Earth, just to stalk her. Then again, she thought about that email. Maybe he did what Betsy had done and joined the marines? No, they would have never let him in the corps in the first place. Betsy's road with that had been a hard one and she could never see him doing that. It made her really wonder who did send that email. It had to be somebody she knew. Whoever it was, they seemed to know her.

It was with that thought in mind that she really wondered about the guy sitting at the bar. Betsy had ordered a mixed drink and was patiently waiting for Garcia when she could just not take it anymore. Betsy summoned up her nerve and marched right up to the guy. With a bitter edge she snorted, “can I help you with something?”

The man acted confused enough. Maybe he really was? He just picked up the drink he had been waiting for and said, “afraid I don't know what you mean ma'am.” Then he thought about it and said, “unless you're the waitress.”

Betsy huffed, deflated, and then said, “sorry, I'm just getting a little paranoid is all. You weren't staring at me, were you?”

The real waitress showed up and handed him a second drink. Betsy noticed that he nodded to another a guy over in the corner of the lounge. It was some old guy in a cowboy hat. That man seemed harmless enough. Betsy tried to apologize but, as this guy left, he just told her, “none needed ma'am. I could have noticed you but, it's just a guy thi... well you know what I mean. No offense meant.” He walked off without another word and Betsy did not go right back to her seat. In fact, she did not even move. She was just feeling pretty exposed and was never happier than when she saw Garcia out on the deck. He was obviously lost and trying to find her.

Betsy was so lost in her thoughts that she almost jumped out of her skin when another guy said, “something I can help you with ma'am? Need another drink?”

It turned out to be the bartender. As Betsy recovered she looked to the guy and said, “sorry, you startled me.”

The man seemed to be a bit older than the average employee on this ship or, at least, he was for the ones who did the public service jobs. He would have definitely looked right at home as one of the crew. Betsy said as much to him and he nodded and said, “actually I am. I just kind of fill in here sometimes. With everything that's been going on lately, you might can guess we're running a bit short handed these days.” Betsy didn't get it and he saw that so he added, “you know? With the Germans?”

That was something Betsy should have known all about and, in fact she did. It was just that most of the time she chose not to think about it. If the Wehrmacht ever decided to start shooting, Betsy had no illusions as to her chances of survival, no matter what her diplomatic status was. She just told the guy, “can we not talk about that?”

The man was pretty polite, “I completely understand. Did you need another drink while I'm here?”

Betsy looked at his name tag, “no thanks Sam, well, not yet. My boyfriend is just outside.” Betsy decided to leave it at that and she walked out to get Garcia instead of waiting for him to actually figure the entire ship out. Once there, they both decided to stay by the railing and watch the land fade in the distance. Betsy also mentioned her little 'mishap' and Garcia was not entirely alarmed. He even thought to laugh it off until she told him that the guy was still in the lounge.

Garcia turned around and put his back to the sea. More important, he was now looking in the window of the lounge. He tried being less than obvious as he asked her, “which one?” Betsy, never turning around, gave him a table count and Garcia had no problem figuring out who she was talking about, for one big reason. He told her, “well I don't know who the guy is you was talking with but, I know who the guy is that he's talking with.”

Still not turning around, Betsy became disturbed and asked, “you know him?”

“I don't know him,” Garcia replied and then continued, “but I damn well know who he is. I think everybody in the Arch knows who that man is. That's Hyrum Kingsley. He runs the Texian Legion. You know? The mob.”