closet.
“Because?”
“You haven’t figured any way to touch me with anything but your brain.”
Sam took her arm and turned her around. She came close to him, letting him smell her hair.
“Sam the frustrated man,” she said. “You needn’t worry. You have both your clearly delineated principles and your roll-away bed.”
She gave him a little mocking smile, but stopped short of closing the last two inches between them.
Flower scent came through the louvered windows and became part of the seduction.
“God, I want you,” he said.
“Tell me, which version of me is it that you want to sleep with?” She turned as if distracted by her suitcase and the shirts she was pulling from it.
Sam pulled out the roll-away and lay on it with an audible sigh, the moment lost, for now. Before he realized he had fallen asleep, he woke to Anna Wade in a blue sulu, the native wraparound skirt. Atop she wore a smart white blouse of raw silk. She was handing him another blue sulu.
“Put this on. Men wear these around here.”
Sam considered it, but found still too much of his dad left in him to seriously consider a garment that was in fact a skirt.
“You go topless and I’ll wear that.”
“Okay.” She began unbuttoning the blouse. “You’ve been wanting a look for days.”
“Wait. You don’t have to prove-”
“You wanna see my chest? Let’s just get it over with.”
“I was kidding, okay? I won’t mention it anymore.”
“Promise? Now put this on. I bought it for you when you were sleeping.”
“Crapola.”
“Don’t crapola me. Put it on.”
Aussie met them for dinner. He apparently felt it incumbent to give them the pan-Australian grin and wolf whistle. Anna smiled at Sam in his skirt.
“What?”
“You’re pouting. You’re actually pouting.”
“I don’t usually cross-dress.”
They ate dinner on an outdoor veranda, and the food was exquisite. Anna and Sam asked Aussie about his life, learned that he lived on Vanua Levu, just down from Suva Suva, in a house on a little acreage overlooking the ocean and Bakabaka Island. He was planning to use the money he made from this job to build a large, covered porch.
Finally Aussie pushed away his plate. “Look, I know you both need to talk some business, so how about I retire to the burre?”
Sam nodded, slightly relieved. In view of the impending drama, a threesome wouldn’t allow him to relate to Anna and her prejob jitters.
“If you’ll excuse me a moment.” Aussie smiled at Anna and pulled Sam aside.
“You know we could really use her in this. As one element of a distraction she’d be terrific. She’s an actor, mate. Dress her up in some skimpy doodad? Get my meaning?”
“I don’t know,” Sam said.
“You’re sweet on her, I know.”
The woman sizzles. I’m not the only man to notice.”
“Well, why don’t we ask her if she wants to help? It is her brother.”
Sam paused. Without good reason he did not let anyone, any time, change a plan just prior to execution. On the other hand it would keep Anna with them, save some resources, and reduce the amount of chance in the equation.
“All right. Part of the diversion before the show starts?”
“Exactly, mate.”
“I can guess what you have in mind,” Sam said.
They returned to the table.
“I know you’re gonna hate this but we have a job for you,” Sam said.
“You do?” She appeared almost girlish in her enthusiasm. “What?” Now slightly more cautious.
“You could help with the scam if you want to. Aussie here has it worked out.”
Aussie nodded, at a rare loss for words.
“You know I’ll do it,” Anna said.
“Right,” Aussie said. “Now the locals have told me all about the resort. The island chief is big time on our payroll. He doesn’t know what we are going to do. He doesn’t want to know. But of course I had to swear that we wouldn’t hurt anybody.” Aussie looked at Anna. “Everything in Fiji is ultimately up to the chiefs.”
She nodded her understanding.
“Fortunately the chiefs like American dollars, so we white folk are pretty well received. The locals think a famous writer with a huge satellite dish just moved into this resort with a staff and armed guards. The rumor is that he wrote about certain terrorists and had to go into hiding. Locals do the cooking and maintain the grounds; word is they like the bloke but think he’s crazy.”
“That would be Jason,” Anna said.
“We’ll have to execute this flawlessly. There are two Dobermans on the grounds and at least five guards.”
“What do you mean at least?” Sam interjected.
“Recently there’s been more activity. The chief wasn’t sure, just seemed like more people, he said. But the guards aren’t visibly armed. I’m assuming they’ve got guns aplenty but they’re keeping them hidden so as not to disturb the locals. That’s a big advantage for us. Locals think they’re French.”
“So maybe Chellis for some reason had one contingent of his organization snatch Jason from another. Doesn’t quite make sense.” Sam pulled a map from a slim leather briefcase and went over the plan in detail. They had a scale drawing of the resort. After he was finished he had Anna repeat the plan.
“Now when I’m here at the gate, supposedly fallen drunk on my ass, you are holding me up and wanting to use a phone to call our resort,” Aussie said. “Sam lets you in.”
“Do I make noise before you let me in?” Anna asked.
“No,” Sam said.
“Okay, then I come just a few feet inside and carry on with Aussie here,” Anna said.
“That’s right, and when you hear the first pop, or see people running, or any kind of commotion starts, you and Aussie put on night vision, run down the road, and around to the beach just like we discussed. You better not be in that yard longer than two minutes, max.”
“And you’re sure they won’t just shoot us.”
“You in a bikini top? Not a chance.”
“We could start making out. You could maybe flash them a little,” Aussie chimed in.
She eyed Sam. “Did you put him up to this?”
Sam chuckled. “Two people gonna screw on the lawn. It would be distracting. And after all, this is a distraction.”
“You’re smoking something besides tobacco.”
Sam took her arm. “I think we’re ready to go. No flashing.”
Aussie smiled at Anna. “Peace?” he said with a cheeky grin.
She winked at him and left with Sam for their room. Sam knew something about the suggestion had bothered her. Or perhaps something about the way he handled it. And he thought that odd, because she was certainly not a prude.
“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t immediately come to your rescue.”
“You think I can’t take care of myself?”
Sam smiled and shook his head.
“Well, being chivalrous with one’s friends isn’t all that out of vogue.”
