We would set up Risky Business as a parent company or whatever it needs to be and provide support when needed. “Just something to think about,” I said, “but you would have to stay on top of how things proceed down here legally.”
“True, and we don’t even know if it will come up for sale,” Theresa said.
“You let me worry about that,” I said, “that is if you’re willing to take on the challenge.”
Doug looked at Theresa, and she nodded. He turned to me and said, “Yes, we would be thrilled beyond words to take it on.”
“Great, then let’s close at least the concept of the deal with a drink.”
No champagne for this crew; the margaritas flowed like water the rest of the evening.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Our stop at Sean’s the next morning was a short and somewhat sad visit. He was concerned that Eduardo had decided to stay in the mountains but seemed greatly relieved when I assured him that Eduardo would be safe and that staying was his own choice. I think the young lady at the service counter that we had met earlier teared up when she heard the news, but they were both glad to hear that he had promised to come to visit. We left the Beast with Sean with our same arrangement. He would store it and take care of it till we returned, and he was excited to hear about the possibility of working with Doug if the winery deal went through, which I asked him to keep confidential at this point.
We took a cab from Sean’s place to the airport. I had made an executive decision. Since we were carrying numerous alien devices that I was pretty sure would raise red flags or set off alarms at the commercial terminal, I chartered a Gulfstream G500 for our trip home. I keep forgetting you can do stuff like that when you have money. Five people in a jet that seats 19, a little over the top, but I didn’t have that many choices, especially to fly non-stop to OIA.
Reggie, for now, stayed behind. I was sure we were going to be able to clear up her legal tangles in the States but hadn’t heard definitively. Not wanting to chance it, she said she would stay in Ecuador and help shepherd the winery deal with Doug and Theresa. I gave her access to our local bank account, which had plenty of money in it, for any expenses she might incur, and she seemed quite happy with that.
I also called Chief Gallegos and told him of my desire to purchase the Mendez estate and winery if it came up for auction as part of the legal proceedings against him—and that I wanted to keep all the people working there employed. He liked the idea very much and was sure a deal could be worked out. He also indicated that the judge assigned to his case was a law and order judge and hated drug dealers. He was fairly certain that Mendez wouldn’t be seeing anything but the inside of a prison cell for many years. Dangerous repercussions seemed unlikely since Mendez was widely reviled in the region.
I thanked him, gave him Reggie’s phone number, and told him she would be working as my agent on the deal. He said he would contact her and stay in touch. I thanked him again, to which he replied, “No, Senor Burnett, it is I who should thank you.” We ended the call, and I immediately called Uncle Harold.
He answered, and there was obviously a celebration going on from the background noises.
“That was a hell of a job you did,” I said.
“You liked that, did you?” he replied.
“Oh, hell, yeah, not sure what I expected, but a freakin’ dump truck, wow.”
“Hey, go big or go home. Got the job done, didn’t it? And evidence was spilled all over the intersection. The police should have no trouble making a case with that.”
“The chief assures me that Mendez is going down for a long time, so job well done. And what’s this I hear about a Huey? I thought you were a submariner.”
He laughed loudly and said, “What can I say? I’m just a renaissance man.”
“Oh, that you are, my friend, that you are. Are there any outstanding expenses that I need to take care of?”
“None whatsoever; in fact, Rita says she had so much fun we should be paying you. Plus, she got some serious payback with Mendez. That was payment enough.”
“Well, that’s good enough for me. We’re headed back home. Reggie’s still down there working on stuff for us. Give her a call; I think you’ll like what’s cooking.”
“Will do; you all be safe now and don’t forget your friends down south, okay? And give Fitz a big smack on the back for me and tell him he owes me a visit soon.”
“Roger that; kiss Rita for me. We’ll be in touch.”
I put the SAT phone down and leaned back in the luxurious leather seat of the G500, sipping on a twelve-year-old single-malt Scotch. As I gazed out the window at the puffy clouds, I thought, now this is the life.
We were picked up at the airport and made our way back to Fitz’s
office. He immediately wanted a full report, which none of us felt like giving at the time. Luckily, O’Reilly volunteered to stay back and do a de-brief while the rest of us headed for Cocoa. I called Tony on the way and told him we were coming in and asked him to alert the others.
Getting home was nice; even though the jet could not have been more luxurious, it still felt great flopping down on my old leather sofa. I gave myself fifteen minutes to soak it in before I jumped into the shower and washed all those international travel miles off. My sweatpants, a glass with four ice cubes, and another three fingers of twelve-year-old single malt, and I hit the couch
