This is a follow-on story to Time Sensitive.
Life is tricky, and sometimes unfair. Lance had a strong personality which overpowered Lyndon’s. The good intentions of Lyndon became the guide for Lance’s manipulation of others.
Jail gave Lance an education but not of his choice. He learned ways to survive inside. Not
a path for honest living on the outside, but the skills were real, and the results could be final.
Lyndon’s personality disappeared as Lance’s grew stronger. Lyndon was his name, but
every word spoken, and every action taken was pure Lance.
Years of hard labor and solitude changed Lyndon in ways that made him a stranger to the
man he had once been. Some changes were hard to explain. Yet others were easy to see. He
looked different. Lyndon no longer had brown curly hair, now bald with a heavy grey beard and
unrecognizable to anyone from his past but beneficial for him. His new appearance deserved a
new name, Landon seemed to fit, a combination of his two personalities.
Not long after his release, he flew to the Mediterranean and found a job working on the
docks. He was strong and had abilities that were valuable. A quick learner with an infectious
personality afforded him the advantage of advancing quickly. Landon soon became well-known
as the valued and reliable go-to guy. Landon’s reputation allowed him to pick the jobs he
wanted, but there was only one he craved. Finally, an offer came for a job on the super yacht
called Graceful. He immediately accepted. At eighty-five feet it wasn’t the largest, but it wasn’t
the smallest. A yacht of its size needed a crew. Landon became the newest hire. Grace became
his boss. His plan fell into place.
Grace had no idea the man called Lance was Landon. She had forgotten him along with
the many other men she exploited. Her life seemed perfect. She traveled in high society circles,
with well-known celebrities, influential leaders and visionaries of the day. You might say she
lived a life most people could only dreamt of having. She walked around the ship carrying a
jockey’s whip. She was rarely seen without it, like a pacifier.
Landon’s life had changed dramatically as well, but he had paid a heavy price for it.
Over the next few months Landon had ingratiated himself to Grace by taking on extra duties. Landon made himself an invaluable member of the crew. Exactly, as he had intended.
One day while docked at the port in Morocco, Landon bought a gun, for his protection.
At least that’s what he told himself. It wasn’t a legal purchase, no serial number. No one knew.
He kept it in his rucksack, with his personal possessions, the only place on the ship safe from the
eyes of others. The ship ruled that your personal property was yours, untouchable, unless, of
course, you did something stupid. Landon never did . . . until that one night.
Many crew members had illegal guns, but they were ignored because on occasion guns
became useful. Landon’s ownership of a gun was exposed when pirates tried to take over the yacht. He saved the ship and Grace rewarded him with a promotion. Landon no longer had to worry about possessing a gun.
Landon enjoyed his new position on the ship. Taking on more responsibility earned him
pay increase and the first choice for shore leave when in port. It appeared that he was settled and satisfied with his life and surroundings. But down deep in his gut, he resented the luxurious life Grace had built on the backs of many weak, vulnerable men.
Nothing changed over the next few months as they sailed from port to port until they
docked at Tangier. While on shore leave, Landon got into a bar fight and was arrested which
made him concerned that his true identity would be discovered. But Grace vouched for him, and
he was released into her custody. Yacht owners were given special treatment since they were the
bread-and-butter traffic on the Mediterranean Sea.
This put Landon in a difficult situation because he then became indebted to Grace. She
would expect to be repaid in some way.
Weeks later they picked up two passengers at the port in Barcelona. Friends
of Grace, one man, Cannon, her former fiancé, and his latest girlfriend. Despite their differences he and Grace remained friends. A day of spearfishing was planned while aboard. Landon was tasked with setting up the equipment. He found the safety on one of the spear guns broken. Landon told Grace, but she seemed unconcerned and told him not to worry. Disregarding his warning she proceeded with the dive.
The dive team entered the water and within minutes returned to the ship. Cannon had
been shot with a spear gun. He was bleeding badly when they brought him on board. Grace told
the crew the spear gun she had been given had a broken safety. Landon was scolded for this. The
entire crew blamed him for this disastrous mistake. Grace never took responsibility and stated
that Landon would be held accountable for his actions. Since he was suspected of causing harm
to a passenger due to negligence, they locked him in the galley.
As the yacht motored to Barcelona, Grace had radioed ahead to have an ambulance at the
dock when they arrived. It turned out the police were there as well, which may have been a request from Grace. When they docked, Cannon, was transferred to the ambulance and rushed to the hospital.
The police took Landon into custody and Grace gave a statement of the incident. Her
account placed all blame on Landon. After weeks spent in a Barcelona jail, Landon was released. Cannon reported that he overheard Landon tell Grace about the broken lock on the spear gun. It was his word against hers. What Cannon heard supported Landon’s claim. No charges were filed on either Landon or Grace. Cannon walked with a limp the rest of his life and never spoke to Grace again.
Landon decided to join a crew on another yacht named Last Chance. Grace returned to
her yacht. Each sailed the Mediterranean, but each appeared to be moving on with life, but each held a grudge against the other.
Months had passed before they accidentally ran into each other in Marseille. She was
with her bodyguard. They ignored each other pretending the other didn’t existed. Landon was
careful and never took chances, but he always carried his gun in port. He took care of his
business and rewarded himself with a night out enjoying a hearty meal and a few pints of lager.
He left the bar early that evening and walked around the corner. Surprised, when he again
stumbled into Grace. She was alone but carried her whip as always.
Landon tipsy from the booze said. “I see you have your favorite toy.”
Grace laughed but couldn’t help comment. “Maybe if you weren’t drunk all the time,
you wouldn’t make mistakes that injure others.”
He didn’t answer, but he did push her aside as he walked by. She hit him with her jockey
whip. Blood streamed down his face. Instinctively, Landon pulled his gun and shot. He didn’t mean to, but it happened. Grace fell to the ground bleeding badly from her side. Lying on the dock by the water’s edge, she was vulnerable as he bent down and gently lifted her up. Grace leered at him, but he smiled. One gentle shove, and she would become part of the sea. The only words spoken were from Landon, “This is for Lance.” She fell into the water and flailed a little but eventually sank below the water line. Did she remember Lance? We’ll never know, but Lance was forever free.
Landon walked away with mixed emotions. One of satisfaction but surprisingly,
others were of disgust. He discovered he no longer liked himself.
He walked through the streets, oblivious of his surroundings, passing bar after bar. It
wasn’t long until three drunk sailors approached him with a need to prove their masculinity. Landon had a gun, so he wasn’t worried, but the sailors taunted him with increased persistence. He pulled out his gun, but they too had guns. Drunken words flowed freely, and each slurred word was a threat. The final threat came from the smallest of the three when a bullet tore through Landon’s belly.
Landon was gut shot, bleeding profusely. The sailors carried him to the sea and threw
him in. He was still alive, but his blood loss made him weak, and he quickly sank, never to surface again.
Grace and Lance would be forever linked together by vengeance and deceit.
