Sharkbait
Shakedown

Hammer was still at the dojo when the twins and Luke got home from school, so we all met at our place for dinner. It gave everyone a few hours to finalize their part while Susan made lasagna and garlic bread for dinner.

I gave my accountant a call, and he had some good news. “I have an interested seller on the 2004 Pacific Mariner 85,” he told me. I got all excited because this was the number one boat on my list. “I sent an appraiser over, and I’ll email you the report. Structurally it is in good shape, with the interior and appliances replaced two years ago. The engines have only five hundred hours since their last overhaul, which is good. He’s listing it for two-point-six million, but he’s smoking something if he thinks that will work. I did my research on comparable yacht sales, and we ended at a reasonable price. I offered two hundred thousand to lease it for a year, with an option to buy for another one-point-nine million at the end of the lease. All this is a contingent cash offer.”

“Contingent on me liking it?”

“Exactly. You’d never buy a car without a test drive, and you shouldn’t buy a boat without living on it for a few days. It’s up in Long Beach; I arranged for you and any guests to ride it down with the crew so you can see how it works. You’ll leave Wednesday, and the ship’s crew will drive back on Friday. If you decide not to proceed with the lease, you’ll pay six thousand dollars and walk away from the deal.”

I liked the idea, and I had another idea for the trip. “What kind of crew?”

“Captain, First Mate, and a chef/housekeeper,” he said. “I expect you to spend a lot of time with the Captain, learning to drive the boat and learning the systems unless you plan to hire someone to do that for you.”

“I want to learn, but I might need to hire at times,” I said. “The terms are acceptable, and I’ll bring my people to the docks in Long Beach on Wednesday. Email me the details, and thank you,” I said.

“I meant what I said, Vicki. You’re never boring.”

“My next project for you is to find a vehicle, preferably used, that has bulletproof glass and armor. I’m going to need protection when I head out.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” He hung up, and I started looking through the information that he sent me. I linked Amy, asking her to come to my room.

“What’s going on,” she said.

“That marina the Navy runs next to the base, Fiddler’s Cove. Can you use that?”

“Kai’s active duty, so he probably gets priority,” she said. “You’re buying a boat?”

“Damn right. I need a place to put it.” I put a call in with Amy listening in. Her jaw dropped when I mentioned the size of the boat I needed pier space for, but they had an opening for the next two weeks. Amy put a deposit down on it for a Friday arrival. When she got off, I showed her some of the pictures from the sales website. “Don’t say anything to the others until I talk about it, all right? I want to hear what they think too.”

“I will, but you have my vote! Damn, that thing is SWEET.” She left the room, and I made some phone calls to the people I wanted on my shakedown cruise. It was my money, but I’d be foolish to ignore those with my best interests at heart. Soon enough, we were sitting down to dinner.

“I may as well start,” Susan said. “Hammer is willing to help you out if you can’t find housing quickly, but you’d need a new place by the time you get back from your world tour.”

Kaia picked it up next. “First off, after talking with my husband and the Alphas, we agreed that leaving Makani and Noelani in Vampire territory after coming of age is a non-starter. Amy still needs their help, though. I’ll go to your school tomorrow and enroll you in online classes for your senior year.” The twins bounced with happiness and hugged their Mom. “This is your only warning. If your grades slip, we’ll pull you back to the Pack and put you in school there so fast you won't realize you’ve left. Do you understand me?” They quickly agreed, and she looked back towards me. “My part was to determine the boundaries of Master Caroline’s territory. As it turns out, Coronado isn’t technically part of her territory boundary, which is the San Diego city limits.”

“So we can stay here?” Amy asked.

“It’s not that simple. We started requesting permission from the Master for any Navy or Marine Corps personnel who were stationed here back before World War One. The bases are spread all over San Diego, Coronado, and Point Loma, with the main Naval Base in National City. It was easier to request permission for any, and that is now precedent. We have recognized her territorial limits to include Coronado.”

“Where can we go to be free of her rules? Staying here isn’t an option, except for you and Luke,” I said. There was no way to have the twins come of age and have the security I needed in Vamp territory.

“You could go south, towards Imperial Beach.”

“No way,” Makani said. “We don’t want to be that close to the Mexican border for security reasons.”

Kaia agreed with that. “You could go east into the mountains, or north across the San Diego River. Anything along the coast from Mission Beach to La Jolla would be close enough to drive to get Kai on weekends, and the neighborhoods are safer.”

La Jolla had good diving. I liked that idea. “Any other ideas?”

“You all could move back to Three Sisters, which solves the security issue. Amy could fly back with security on weekends, and we’d still stay under the limit with just me and Luke here. You could go to a hotel on weekends if you don’t want to stay with us. My understanding is that there aren’t a whole lot of weekends left for him this year anyway.”

That was true; he had weekends off until November, then we wouldn’t see him until Christmas. That’s when we planned our World Tour anyway. I looked at the twins. “Girls, what did you find for rental properties?”

“We got the heads up about the territory, so we’ve been looking north and east of the city. There are some nice areas a few hours east with room to run, but none are for rent. Most of what we found is north.” She pulled out her tablet and opened up a map. “It depends on what we want. The Mission Beach and Pacific Beach areas are closer, with a younger crowd and the beach. They are also very crowded, making security more difficult. There are some fantastic properties in La Jolla; it’s the rich people area, and leases and rentals are available for a price.” The girls showed us the properties they thought would be best; one was a four-bedroom, two-story home on Mission Beach, the other a five-bedroom mansion in a gated community in La Jolla. It had a fenced yard, pool, and ocean view. “What did you come up with,” Makani asked.

“I went a little wild, but I had my reasons. You all know I want a boat that can get out to places like La Jolla and San Clemente. I love the water, and I started thinking about how cool it would be to have a boat big enough to anchor at a dive site for the week. One thing led to another, and this is what I’m looking at.” I pulled up the photos of the yacht on my tablet, turning it to show everyone.

“HOLY SHIT,” Makani said.

“Language,” Kaia warned, but she was smiling. Luke’s jaw was hanging open as he looked, and the twins’ eyes were huge. Only Amy didn’t react. “Why don’t we clean the table and head into the living room.”

Two minutes later, I sent the screen to the big screen in the living room as we all headed for the couches. Everyone took their places, and I flipped through the photos and talked about the yacht. “It has three bedrooms with queen beds, and a fourth with a twin bed and two bunks,” I said.

“It’s HUGE,” Kaia said as she looked at pictures of the living area, galley, and dining room. Beautiful woodwork and furnishings gave it the look of an expensive condominium.

“Check this out,” I said. The below-decks area had four bedrooms and engine rooms. The main deck contained the living room, kitchen, dining room, and the pilothouse. The upper level was set up for entertaining. Overhangs protected most of it from the sun and rain, while the sides were open to the weather. It included an outdoor kitchen and bar, along with tables, couches, and other places to relax. It even had a two-person hot tub next to the inflatable boat stored by the davit.

I figured it was perfect for enjoying the ocean breezes after a long day of diving.

“Seriously? You want to buy THIS?”

“Why not? I can park it at any marina I want, I take my home with me, and I’m not limited to a single property. If I want to anchor off the Catalina Islands, I can do it. If I want to take it up the coast to Eugene, I can. We can use the internet to do our schoolwork and pull in when we need to travel.”

“Security?” Susan didn’t seem convinced.

“It locks up as well as a house, and there is only one way onto the pier at the marinas. With all the expensive boats, the marina security is usually good.” I finished the presentation. “I can afford it, and I’m taking this for a test drive Wednesday through Friday from Long Beach down here. I’d like you guys along,” I said.

“Will you have enough room for us?” Kaia was wondering if she should go.

“The crew will be on board, and they’ll take the stateroom with the bunks. We’ll have three queen-sized beds in the remaining cabins; Amy can bunk with me in the Master, and the twins can use air beds on the floor. The Alphas can have one the VIP stateroom, while my parents will use the remaining stateroom. Susan, you and Luke can come if you want. The extras can crash on the couches on the main deck or up top.”

“Alphas?” Susan asked.

“Yes. I invited Alpha Steven and Luna Carolyn on the trip. I need them to be comfortable with the decision since they are helping me organize our security. My accountant set it up so I could ‘test drive’ the yacht and see how it works for me before I buy it. Having all these guests tells me if it will work for some other plans I have.”

“What plans,” Susan asked.

“I’ll talk about those on the trip down.” In the end, everyone wanted to go on the cruise. If it didn’t work out, the La Jolla estate looked like the best alternative. We could make an appointment to see it the next week.

Captain Thomas Vickers and his wife Lynette, who was the Chef, called me to verify everything later that night. I gave them the passenger numbers, and helped her select a menu; they would be ready to leave port at noon.

I hired a bus to take our group up to Los Angeles, stopping at the airfield for the rest of our guests. Brent and Liv had flown to Oregon, then joined the Alphas on a private jet down to Long Beach Airport. I was thrilled to see them as they got on board. “A cruise? Such a nice surprise,” Mom said.

“I’m wondering why such short notice,” Carolyn said.

“I’ll explain everything once we get underway,” I promised. It wasn’t long until we were at the pier on the Long Beach waterfront, carrying our travel bags onboard the “Good Times.” The Captain and crew stood in their uniforms to welcome us aboard. I walked over first since I was the potential owner. “Vicki Lawrence,” I said as I shook the Captain’s hand. He and his wife were in their fifties, their deep tans contrasting with the grey hair.

He smelled weird. Salt, ocean, something I hadn’t scented before, and his wife and the first mate smelled the same. He looked at me, his eyes going wide in shock. He looked from me to the Alphas, and he let go of my hand and stepped back.

Alpha Steven was right behind me. “How could you hire MERMAIDS,” he thundered over the link.

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