The Gift

Baretto "The Bear" Antonelli's gift to Lou and I for saving his son's life.






I watch the sunset from the back of the upper deck. Looks real nice with the fading cloud cover we had earlier. I think of that Greek saying... Carpe Diem, sieze the day. I ought to have that shit tatooed on my forehead. These are some wild times, the here and now. Reminds me of my time in the Navy, back when I wasn't in control of where I went and how I got there. Just hop in the chopper, or on the transport plane, and land on a carrier, or an island somewhere. It was high adventure. So is this.

Me and Lou are guests on this mafia chieftan's yacht. Nice guy for a leg-breaker, as my old man used to call them. Very polite. Not what I would expect from the movies I've watched. Now those Domincan brothers, they were just like what I expected. But not this guy.

I turn on the deck and am joined by Jorge, who offers me a smoke.
"Nah, I'm good."
He sparks up his cigarette and leans on the rail, enjoying the last of the view.
"Hey, Jorge, why do they call him "Bear"?"
He takes a draw and lets the smoke out nice and slow. "A lot of people think is because first name is Baretto."
Another hit, and he holds it just a little longer. "But this is not real reason. He is Baretto "The Bear" Antonelli."
Out comes the smoke in a long, focused stream. "Is because he maul people. Is what he does when people no do what he want them to do, when they really piss him off." He looks over his shoulder to make sure no one else was party to his explanation. "He beat them so bad looks like bear, like fucking grizzly bear attack them."
He flicks the spent cigarette over the rail. "This is just between us two gentlemen... okay?"
"No problem." I turn and look back out at the ocean, "He seems nice."
"Mr. Antonelli very nice to Jorge and crew, and you men. Just hard businessman. He not "The Bear" any more. He just shoot people now, and feed to shark sometime."
"Great."

I wander the boat with Jorge for a while. We go through the galley and Jorge shows me the refrigerator where they keep the snacks. He shows me a weapons locker that I am not supposed to see, so I am sworn to secrecy once again. After we come up from below decks, we find Lou and Bear sitting at an old chess set. It looks a little too old and beat up to be on this boat.
"Hey, Jake, Jorge, you two sit down here and watch me kick his ass." Bear sees Lou move with the distraction of our arrival and scrutinizes the board. "What did you move?"
"If you're gonna kick my ass your not getting my help." Lou tells him. But his move is discovered and Bear puts him in check.
"Son of a bitch." Lou complains as he hovers over the board, "You sure don't leave me with many options."
"No, I left you with no options. Stop fucking around and make the only move you have."
Lou moves his only remaining bishop to guard his king, and Bear takes it. "Checkmate."
"I don't want to play any more."
"Come on... you're quitting?"
"You're too good for me. I don't need my ass kicked for a fourth time."
Bear looks at me and then nods at the chess set, "How about a game?"
I shake my head, "Bear, I wouldn't be a challenge. Besides... it would ruin my buzz."
"Poker?" Bear offers, gesturing to a poker table in the corner of the salon. "Agaki is a hell of a dealer. We'll have cocktail service and the whole bit."
Lou and I nod, and Jorge of course. Bear makes a call and Agaki comes up from his quarters, along with the head chef.
"How you expect me to get beauty sleep?" Agaki bitches as he sits in the dealer's chair. He presses a button to his right and one of Bear's serving girls arrives in a little cocktail outfit.
"Cocktails?"
We all order a drink and she scurries off to the bar.
"It ten o'clock at night. Agaki off by eight, that is agreement." He is a grumpy little guy. I think he was serious about being awaken just to deal poker. But you don't argue with Bear.
"Oh for Christ sake, Agaki, how about I match the biggest winner here at the table and you keep that for a bonus."
Agaki narrowed his gaze and looked at Bear, a look that would get anyone else hurt or dead. "Agaki deal card for you, Mr. Bear. Just no like waking up to play game. Tired. Maybe miss killer vein in puffer fish next time."
He shuffles, "I also take bonus."

For the next hour we play cards and drink. Bear orders up some snacks and cigars. Agaki flips the cards out like he worked in a casino all his life. Lou gives me a look every once in a while and I know he has a good hand. I think he is worried about taking Bear's money, or winning in general. But Bear seems to be having fun and after a while we don't worry about a good hand, or a bluff or two. I think Baretto Antonelli likes having someone just to play with that isn't afraid of offending him or beating him at cards.
After a while Lou has most of the table's chips in front of him. Bear antes up, "Hey, Lou... you weren't letting me win at chess, were you?"
"Nope. That was all you."

We are under way for another half an hour our so and then the ship slows. We put our cards on the table, so to speak, and all head up on deck. The KOZANOSTRAW drops anchor outside a small bay. After that it is silence and starlight. Beautiful.
"Where are we? Lou asks, sucking the flame into another cigar.
Bear points toward the sheltered side of the small bay, "That is Cabo Codera. We'll take the launch over to shore in the morning."
"Oh yeah? What's there?"
"Something I want you boys to have." Bear sparks up a cigar of his own and smiles, "An ex-business partner couldn't pay off his debt. So I took his collateral in trade and wiped the slate clean."

I haven't slept this well in ten years. The sheets are like one thousand thread count or something. It's like sleeping in an orgasm... no shit. I gotta get a set of these. My stateroom lights up with the dawn and I am up before the sun breaks. I can hear voices in the galley. I get up and take a quick shower, then walk out on deck.
Lou and Bear are up to watch the sunrise. Apparently Bear has never missed one, not ever. I sit down at the small cafe table and fill a waiting coffee cup from the carafe on the table.
"Sleep well?" Bear asks as he hands the creamer and the sugar over. I waive them off, "Black is good." I sip and enjoy the rich brew. "As for the sleep, man do I love those sheets."
"No shit, those are amazing." Lou adds.
"I had those made when I went to Egypt. They are something, aren't they. You guys want a set to take with you?"
We both nod.
"I'll take care of it."

We drink our coffee in relative silence. There is a tropical breeze that blows through you, just the perfect temperature, the right force... perfect. Bear puffs on a cigarette and looks off toward Cabo Codera.
"You guys are gonna shit when you see this thing."
"What is it?" Lou asks as he finishes his coffee and reaches for the carafe.
"Not telling." Bear looks toward the ladder down to the service deck, "AGAKI... " He stands and works a kink out of his back, "Where the hell is he?" He walks to a white phone molded into the side rail and picks it up. He waits as it rings, "Hey, where the hell is breakfast?" Bear smiles as Agaki spits something back at him through the phone. I get the feeling that this is Bear's form of entertainment... fucking with Agaki. "Well get it the fuck up here."

Within five minutes Agaki is up on deck in front of an omelette station with his little white chef's hat on. He looks like a Japanese soldier on the Bataan Death march. Like he would execute every fucking one of us if we crack on him just one more time. But Agaki knows that it is a game, and he plays his part.
"You want omelette, I got some special stuff for you." He clears his throat like he is going to spit.
"Now that's just gross you bastard." Bear tells him.
"You first, Mr. Bear. What you want?"
"What do you have?"
"I have same thing have every morning... you no want any different." He raps his spatula on the steel of the omlette station, "What you want?"
"Why the fuck do you ask me if you already know what I want?" Bear laughs.
Agaki starts to prepare his omelette. "You think Agaki funny? I funny ha ha, I funny like clown... you think Agaki funny like clown?" He grabs the knife out of his belt and whips it through the air like a ninja and lands it on a pile of green onions, chopping the shit out of them.
"I love it when he quotes Goodfellas." Bear chuckles into his coffee cup.
Agaki picks up the serano peppers and sprinkles them onto the egg mixture solidifying in the pan.
"Hey, I don't want those peppers, Agaki."
"You always have peppa." He keeps cooking.
"Not today, my stomach is hurting."
"You no like peppa you take peppa off. Agaki make omelette with peppa for everyone."
"You take those GODDAMN peppers off my omelette, you little bug eater, or I'll feed you to something."
Agaki smiles now, obviousliy coming out on top of that exchange, and flips the peppers out of the omelette with the spatula into a small dish and then with a couple of quick moves folds the omelette and lays it on a plate. He tosses some fruit garnish and then lays it in front of Bear.
"You wanna Tobasco?"

Before he is done cooking Jorge shows his face and joins us for breakfast. Before he is done, Agaki fixes himself an omelette and joins us at the table.
"This is some good shit." Bear tells him, chasing the last bite around his plate with his fork.
"Shit?" Agaki tries to sound insulted.
"You did good." Bear tells him.
"Agaki make same every morning." He takes a bite of his own creation. "Is good shit."

We leave KOZANOSTRAW behind us as we head toward the small cove in the bay. As we get closer, a shape comes clear against the jungle and shoreline. It is a seaplane. I don't know what make, but she is a beautiful sight.
"Well? What do you guys think?"
We both look at the plane as we approach the shore. Lou shakes his head, and I know what he is thinking.
"Bear, we can't accept this?"
"Hey... you've got no choice in the matter. So how do you like that shit."
The launch hits the beach and we climb out and walk toward her. It is flawless, old but flawless.
"What's wrong with it?" Lou asks him as he wades out toward the plane and tries the compartment door. It opens.
"Nothing. Better not be or I'll part that guy out."
I walk around the other side and give the flight controls a shake. Everything seems to be okay.
I return to the compartment door and follow Bear inside.
"Ever fly one of these things?" Bear asks Lou as he climbs into the plane after him.
"Not yet."
I get in and look around. It is set up for cargo, with two seats just behind the captains and first officer's seats. Lou parks it in the right seat and waits for me. Bear sits behind Lou and I climb past him and park it in the left seat.
The whole set up is quite similar to Abby. It wouldn't be that much different. I mentally search for a few things that aren't in the same order, but for the most part it is all quite similar. I remember Jerry telling me about the difference between a seaplane and a land based aircraft. It is all in the take-off and especially the landing. You take your time with both, and with the landing you keep your nose up and drag the ass a little bit.
"I think I can do it." I start flipping switches, setting her up for a flight. "The one thing you gotta remember is that when you are on the water, you don't have any brakes. Taxiing and lining up for take-off is kind of tricky."
"Well let's go." Bear says, moving back to close the door.
"Now?" Lou asks him, looking at the fuel gauges. "We have full tanks."
"You think I would give you boys a plane with no fuel?" Bear returns to his seat and buckles up.

The number two engine fires up after a few tries. She chokes and sputters, but catches good and strong. After blowing out the stagnation of the past months, it runs strong with good indications. Number one engine fires and runs up with little fanfare.
"Flaps?"
"Let's try them at five."
"Do you know what your doing?" Lou asks as he moves the flap handle.
"Hey... you're not instilling me with too much confidence." Bear says.
"Don't worry, guys. The thing with a seaplane is drag and water conditions. You would think you would want calm waters... but that isn't it. That causes more drag, and when you are landing it is a real bitch. We have a little chop in the bay here, so that is good."
I throttle up and she starts to move. "The other thing is the angle you hold her at while you are taking off. You don't want to pull up too soon or you push your ass into the water and slow yourself down. So it is nice and gradual."

When I get her lined up for clear water I move the throttles up gradually, but fairly quick, playing with the elevators to get her to plane. At first she starts bucking from one wave to the next, so I apply a little nose-up pressure to get us to skim over the waves. Full power, a couple of skips and you can feel her overcome the drag of the water on the hull and she is up."
"YEAH BOY, That's the stuff." Lou yells. It is always like the first time with him and flight. He loves this shit.

The aircraft flies nice and responsive. We are up and gaining altitude. "Sweet, very nice." I tell her. "Lou, bring those flaps to zero."
I feel Bear's hand on my shoulder, "What do you think?"
"I think she's a great airplane. I think I am going to have to get Lou behind the wheel."
Lou smiles wide, "No shit?"
"Gotta get her home some how."