Chapter 42

 

 

Surprisingly, when they got back to the Floating Fantasies, people were roaming all over the ship, the casino was crammed with hopefuls looking to break the bank and there was chatter, laughter and screams of delight coming from all directions. It was like nothing had happened to interrupt their fun.

 

“I guess it’s going to take a lot more than a bomb scare to keep our guests away from the action, especially in a setting like the Floating Fantasies offers. I sure hope our luck holds out on that score. This lunatic is getting bolder and more dangerous with every passing day and he’s liable to do just about anything.”

 

When they were all settled around the conference room table in Red’s office, Jillian and Sylvia passed out the scripts they had prepared and gave everyone a chance to read through them a couple of times before rehearsal began. Chuck hadn’t shown up yet because according to Bill he was still wading his way through the administrative procedure and paperwork associated with his part in arranging for the bomb squad to be ordered to the Floating Fantasies.

 

Jillian started the rehearsal by saying, “Sylvia and I did our best to come up with dialogue that sounds natural, using phrasing and language that reflects the temperament of people who are under a great deal of stress and getting together to try to solve a difficult and serious problem.

 

“If any of you find the wording in your part awkward, something you can’t say and make it sound believable, let us know and we’ll do a rewrite. Is anyone uncomfortable with what we have written for you?”

 

Nobody was, so the rehearsal began and went rather well for a bunch of amateurs. There was some tweaking here and there, but as a whole everything went better than Red had expected. Chuck showed up ten minutes into their rehearsal session and was able to quickly catch up.

 

When they finished rehearsing Red asks, “Jillian, how long will it take for your hologram techs to set up?”

 

“Let me call them right now and find out.” A few minutes later Red had his answer.

 

“Red, the techs will need an hour to get over here with their gear and another half hour to set up. We could do our recording at eight tonight and wrap it up by nine-thirty. When we’re done, where are you going to put the conference room table?”

 

“Popeye will find a place for it. I like your idea of doing it tonight. Our rehearsal will be fresh in our minds and we’re less likely to fluff a line. Tell your techs to get over here ASAP and have everything ready to go by 7:30. We can all relax for a while, go get something to eat and be back here by 7:30 for a final review before show time at 8:00. There’s an excellent cafeteria on the promenade deck about mid-ship called the Floating Fantasies Food Fest. The food is terrific, the selection large and you can’t beat the price. Your dinner is on me. Enjoy.”

 

As they’re all leaving for the cafeteria, Nate taps Red on the shoulder and says, “How do you do it, bro? How come whenever you’re in trouble there’s a gorgeous girl in the mix somehow. That Jillian is some dish.”

 

“She’s a lot more than a looker, Nate. She’s a very special lady. I’ve never met a woman like her before.”

 

Dumbfounded by what he just heard his brother say, all he can come up with is “Huh!”

 

Red’s reply was equally eloquent. He winked.

 

“Don’t tell me the king of the bachelors is in danger of abdicating his throne. It can’t be. It must be some kind of virus. Since puberty, your heart has been encased in an alloy unknown to common man, impervious to Cupid’s arrows and feminine wiles.”

 

Red smiled, but said nothing. This too was not normal. Red has never been known to pass up a chance to verbally joust with his brother. “Oh man, something’s really out of kilter here. I better be careful. Whatever he has might be catching. One divorce is enough for any man in his right mind.”

 

As they all arrive at the large double doors of the cafeteria, Red is bringing up the rear and Jillian is waiting for him in the doorway. Smiling she says, “You’re going to have to let your brother know that he has to learn to lower his voice when he wants to have a private conversation. One never knows who might be within earshot. King of the bachelors, eh?”

 

The stunned and embarrassed look on Red’s face caused her to burst out laughing and it took her several minutes to get control of herself, but when Nate asked her what was so funny, she burst out laughing again. Locking arms with Red she said, “Come and sit with me. I’m dying to hear how you reign in your realm, what decrees you’ve issued.”

 

Getting over his embarrassment Red said, “I’m thinking of issuing a decree right now. Everybody with a big mouth shall be heavily taxed with my foot up his ass.”

This brought on another fit of giggles until she had to excuse herself to go to the ladies room. Laughing all the way, the rest of their group couldn’t help wondering what was going on.

 

Dodging the barrage of questions with, “It’s a private joke.” only brought on another deluge of queries about what could be so private with Jillian that he couldn’t share with the rest of them. A lot of eyebrow raising, lip tapping and head scratching ensued and Red was getting uncomfortably flustered with their instance on being so damn nosy. Of course, they were having a lot of fun at Red’s expense, but they finally let him off the hook when Jillian returned and told them they’d have to wait until she wrote her memoirs. Everyone chuckled and then went on to other topics.

 

When everyone was finished eating it was a quarter after seven and Red had become very quiet, looking off into space. Jillian said, “Earth to Borman. Earth to Borman. Come on please.”

 

Snapping back to here and now Red said, “You say something?”

 

“A penny for your thoughts, maybe a nickel if they’re really interesting.”

 

“They’re not even worth that much. I was just thinking of my arch-enemy the Chameleon and wondering how he got so screwed up. If our scheme doesn’t work and he finds out that it was a setup, I think he’ll throw caution to the winds and be out for blood.

 

“We’re not just playing with a little bonfire any longer, Jillian. We’re now in the big leagues and might be opening the doors to a major inferno, a bloody, monumental conflagration from which some or all of us could get burned quite severely. The hologram video will serve as an excellent fire retardant against the initial flames, but it won’t protect us for very long. He’ll be boiling mad and on a rampage.

 

“If this happens, we’re going to have to treat fire with fire and forget trying to capture him. We’ll have to put all of our energy into extinguishing him, obliterating him.”

 

“Gulping loudly, she said, “You mean kill him?”

 

“We’ll have no other choice, Jillian. It will be a kill or be killed situation. I sure hope it doesn’t come to this, but the way things have been going, it’s something we better start thinking about. Pausing for a second he lightens up with, “Boy, how’s that for an after dinner brandy. That sure got the digestive juices flowing, didn’t it?”

 

With a wan smile Jillian said, “I think the next time we dine out, I’ll pick the after dinner drink. Yours are a little too strong for me.”

 

Returning the smile, Red clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention and then said, “Show time! Let’s head back.”

 

At 7:30, everything was set to go and the recording went without a hitch. In short, it was believable and they were all hoping their performance was good enough to draw and keep the Chameleon at Red’s office window, distracting him long enough for Chuck’s team to surround him, cuff him and haul him away, creating as little of a ruckus as possible and without the Chameleon hurting anybody.

 

Red’s thinking to himself, “Okay, folks, no more bets. It’s time to spin the wheel and hope our number comes up. Man, I never had this kind of pressure as a cabbie.”