Chapter 13
The Proposition
Evon released the cruiser's tie rope and tossed it aboard.
"Hop on," she said to Tony.
Tony followed her aboard. Evon had donned tight blue stretch slacks with a hip-hugger waist, curving down low on her hips and across her tanned, flat stomach, well under the navel. She wore a short, loose blouse of white terry cloth, which rode up high on her torso when she raised her arms. Once Tony caught a glimpse of the golden tan of her lower breasts and realized she wore no bra.
Evon went forward and began messing with some gauges and switches. "Check the gas tank, will you, Tony?"
Tony glanced about, feeling stupid. He'd never been aboard a cruiser before and had no idea where the gas tank might be. It was a large craft with a giant engine at the rear which looked large enough to power an aircraft carrier.
Tony moved to the stern.
"Over there, you landlubber." Evon pointed to the tank, laughing.
Tony leaned down and examined a gauge. "It looks like it's almost full."
"Good," Evon said. She turned a key and pressed the starter. The engine kicked right off.
Without giving the engine a warm-up, Evon slammed the throttle to the wall and they rolled away from the pier, churning water. They turned up the channel separating Miami Beach from the City of Miami.
Tony lurched forward, his shoulder thudding into the side of the boat. Evon looked back and laughed. "Hang on!" She spun the wheel and the boat rolled into a steep turn, spray whipping over the side. Tony edged forward, hanging onto the side of the boat. He moved up beside Evon and braced himself against the boat's instrument panel.
"Whose boat is this?" Tony yelled above the noise of the roaring engine and the drumming surf.
"It belongs to a friend of my father's. He owns an island down here."
Evon shoved the throttle again, making sure it was wide open. They approached a smaller boat pulling a water skier. Evon glanced at Tony and laughed. Her eyes were alive with excitement. Her long gleaming hair, flecked by sea water, whipped in the wind. "Watch me make that guy seasick."
They drew even with the other boat, then passed about twenty yards to the port side. As they slid by, Evon spun the wheel again and cut in front of the boat, missing its bow by scant feet. Their backwash pummeled the smaller craft and it bobbed like a cork in a hurricane. The little boat lurched to one side, slowed and the water skier tumbled into the water. Evon looked back and laughed.
A boat dock jutting out into the bay loomed dead ahead. Tony grabbed for the wheel but Evon turned the boat just in time. The dock flashed by less than ten feet away.
"How's this for kicks?" Evon yelled. Her face was flushed, her lips moist. She looked as though she were on the verge of a sexual climax.
"Great!" Tony cried, hanging on. He wasn't about to let her know she was shaking him up.
Evon saw another cruiser out in the center of the bay. She wheeled their boat toward it. The driver of the other boat seemed to accept the challenge and cut in to meet them. In the last split second before they crashed, the driver of the other boat throttled back and let his boat cross behind them.
"Oh, it's that idiot, Marvin, Frankie's boyfriend," Evon said. She glanced at Tony. "Isn't he a friend of yours, Tony?" She laughed mischievously. "Do you think I should finish the job you started and drown the bastard?"
Tony had been too busy hanging on to notice who was in the other boat. He glanced back and saw a familiar beanpole figure standing behind the wheel. Marvin was wearing a silly hat with a lot of loose, upcurled straws that whipped in the wind.
As they sped along, a small island in the middle of the channel came into view. Evon looked back at the tall basketball player. She pointed toward the island and flapped her arms like wings. Tony realized she was challenging Mr. Basketball to a game of "chicken."
Evon leaned into the wheel and the boat rocked over on its side, straightened, then headed for the island at full clip. The other boat pulled out from behind and inched up abreast to them, also pointed toward the island.
Evon gripped the wheel, excitement burning in her dark eyes like torches. Spray arched over the side of the tossing boat and wet their bodies. Little droplets clung to Evon's golden-olive skin and glittered like diamonds in her ebony hair. Her blouse and bikini-styled slacks were wet clear through and clung to her body like a second skin. Her nipples stood taut against the material of her blouse like hard little pebbles, and she thrust them defiantly into the wind.
The island loomed larger. Tony could see jagged boulders ringing its shoreline. It looked like a formidable barrier nature had erected for ships to rip out their hulls.
They were fifty yards from the island now, both boats bearing down on the rock-strewn shore like metal-robots bent on suicide. It was the old automobile chicken game on water. The first to veer from the island was the chicken.
Evon leaned over the wheel, excited eyes defying the rocks, feet wide apart as if bracing for the inevitable crash. Tony could sense that she would never turn away first, that she'd go all the way in and kill them both if necessary. Forty yards thirty-five. Tony glanced at the other boat. It was still headed in toward the rocks. He could see two girls and another guy squatting in the bow behind Marvin. They were jeering and shaking their fists at Tony and Evon. Tony caught some of Evon's insane excitement. By God, they'd show them who had guts.
"All the way, Evon!" Tony yelled. "We'll die if we have to, but dammit, don't let them beat us." He moved a hand to the wheel, holding it steady with her, the muscle in his strong arm corded hard as iron. His other arm moved about her waist and squeezed her in a silent death compact.
Thirty yards twenty. Tony saw the other boat pitch over on its side and veer away from the island. They'd won! Tony tried to turn the wheel to steer them away from destruction. But Evon's hands were locked on it, heading them straight in. She seemed hypnotized by a death-fascination. Tony lurched forward, shoving her away with his shoulder. He spun the wheel in a desperate bid for survival. The boat rolled heavily to one side as the rudder bit into the water. They were right on top of the rocks. Tony closed his eyes and braced for the inevitable impact. The boat seemed to turn in slow motion, each foot taking an eternity. For a heartbeat, the boat seemed to hang, then it swung away from the island. Tony thought they had made it, then there was a loud bump and a scraping noise. The boat shuddered. Tony and Evon staggered, almost losing their balance. The boat shot on past the island.
Tony grabbed the throttle, chopping it back. The engine coughed and died. The boat glided on, its speed diminishing.
Evon sank to the bottom of the boat, laughing almost hysterically. Tony moved over to the rail and leaned over, looking down at the side of the boat. He saw a crinkled dent and a long brown scratch.
"It looks like we scraped one of the rocks," Tony said. "But the boat doesn't seem to be leaking."
Evon casually shook the spray from her hair. '"Who cares?" She reached over to a beach bag and took out a pack of cigarettes. She smiled strangely, looking as though she were intoxicated. "If we sink we'll both just go down with the ship, okay, lover?"
"Your friend isn't going to like what we did to his boat," Tony said, glancing up to see the other boat circling away and disappearing in the distance.
Evon shrugged. "Oh, he has a dozen of them. Don't sweat it."
She took out a cigarette and lit it with a small silver lighter. Tony knew by the caressing way she handled the cigarette that it was a reefer.
She motioned for him to come to her. "Let's let her drift a while."
They did. They were quiet, resting from the thrill of a death race, yet still reveling in it.
After a long time, Evon brought into words all that she had been thinking.
"You were ready to smash into the rocks with me, weren't you?" she said.
"Yes," he answered simply.
"You've got guts, Tony."
"Thanks. You too."
"You know, baby," Evon said, "the squares would think we were kooks for playing the chicken game, but they can't see the beauty in it, you know? It's sort of a moment of truth like in the bullfights. Ever see one, Tony?"
He shook his head. "Only in the movies and it looked sort of bloody."
"It's a thing of pure beauty, like a wildflower freshly plucked. You see two souls one animal, one human stripped bare. And only two things remain, bravery and fear. When bravery is proved, it's almost an intoxicating feeling."
Tony saw an opening and seized it. "You get a charge out of danger, don't you "
She smiled. "What else can give you kicks?"
Tony hesitated, groping for words. He wasn't sure what her reaction was going to be.
"Would you like to have some real excitement?" he asked finally.
She cut her eyes at him, amused. "You mean more sex. God, you're a perpetual-motion man, aren't you?"
Tony flushed. "No not that I wouldn't like it but I was talking about something else. You see, I know a guy who has a scheme for getting a lot of money. I know you don't need it, but we sure do. I I thought you might want to go along with it just for kicks."
She turned to him, eyes interested. "What kind of scheme?"
"It's -- it's sort of a hijacking."
"Hijacking? You're kidding."
Tony shook his head. "A bunch of wealthy gamblers are going to be holding a big stakes game. My friend, Race, wants to steal their pot. He says they can't complain to the cops because that kind of gambling is illegal. There'd be very little risk."
"What could I do be your gun moll?" Her eyes were amused, yet the interest lingered.
"No ... Race says you would only have to play up to one of the gamblers a big red-haired guy and find out where and when they're holding the game."
Interest deepened in Evon's eyes. "Sounds like fun."
"Then you'll do it?"
"I wouldn't miss it. It sounds exciting." Her voice softened. "And I also have another reason " Her voice trailed off. Tony didn't ask what it was.
She laughed unexpectedly. "Tony, I wouldn't have thought you were a hijacker. You just don't seem the type." She squeezed his arm. "But I'm thrilled. I'm glad my first man is a fearless adventurer. This will really be something to talk about at Wheaton Hall when I get back to college. It would even top what my roommate of last semester did. She went on tour with a bullfighter in Spain and talked about it all the semester." She laughed. "A real hijacking now that'll really spice up a conversation."
Tony felt a little uneasy being classed as a professional crook. "This is only my first job," he explained. "My friend and me needed at little cash to get started here in Florida."
"When do we begin?" she asked eagerly. "When can I meet this red-haired man? Who is he?"
Tony was pleased with her interest. "We can start right now. The guy's name is Spade Yorty and he hangs out on the beach near my motel. You'll have to meet him on your own, though. He doesn't know me and I can't introduce you."
"You just point him out to me," said Evon confidently, "and I'll take it from there. I've been fighting off drooling wolves for years. I'll just hot fight so hard against him and I think I can find out what you need to know." She touched his arm. "Oh, Tony I'm so glad I met you. You've made this a most exciting holiday for me. I'll always remember it."
Tony squeezed her breast lightly in silent affirmation, then reluctantly removed his hand from that golden appendage and got to his feet. They had drifted in toward shore and were only two or three hundred yards off the beach. "How do you start this thing?" Tony asked.
Evon rose, smoothed down her damp blouse and walked forward. She showed him how to start the engine and a minute later they were roaring in to the shore.
They pulled into the boat dock and Evon cut the engine. Tony leaped out and caught the securing line as she tossed it from the boat. He tied it to a piling and glanced regretfully at the jagged scar on the boat's hull. Another few inches and they might not have made it back.
Evon jumped gracefully from the boat to the dock, like a beautiful, fine-limbed antelope. She took his hand. "Come on. I'm anxious to meet this red-head. I've never known a big-time gambler before."
"Evon," Tony said, voice serious, "this could be dangerous. These guys play for keeps when they're crossed."
She squeezed his hand until it throbbed. "That's the only way to play the game. All or nothing. I thought I showed you that in the sea chicken game."
Hand in hand they walked to the beach, then turned toward the motel area. Tony scanned the sands nervously. He knew it would be less risky if Yorty didn't see them together. He might suspect a conspiracy.
As they neared the crowded area of the beach, Tony paused and looked over the sea of working humanity. In a moment he spotted a familiar mop of red hair.
Yorty was sitting in a beach chair under an umbrella. He wore swim trunks and Tony could see the reddish curly hair on his chest and stomach. His Negro apeman was nearby, dressed in slacks and tight T-shirt, bulged by huge bullish muscles.
"There he is," Tony said, nodding.
"He is a big lug, isn't he?" said Evon, rising on tiptoes in the sand to see him better.
"Notice the Negro who looks like an ape? I think he must be some kind of bodyguard. He's always hanging around."
Evon glanced at Tony. "I think this assignment calls for a bikini, don't you?"
Tony grinned. "That's the best weapon I know of."
She pressed his hand, then released it. "I'll go slip into one. And Tony ? "
"Yes?"
"I think it would be better if you didn't stick around. I believe I could work it better so he wouldn't get suspicious. You agree?"
Tony nodded, feeling a pang of jealousy. But hell, wasn't it just a business proposition? He was angry at himself for letting sentiment come into the picture.
"Drop by the apartment tomorrow, Tony. I think I'll have something to report then."
"Be careful," Tony warned.
He watched her as she walked through the sand toward the motel. He felt much the same as he had when Margo sold herself to get him the twenty-five dollars.