Deep in mainland China in the backroom of a warehouse.
Quan Wu Tu smiled.
"The coast guard will be occupied on the day of the race gentlemen, their guard will be down, it is a perfect time to offload and bring the cargo on shore during the festival. The American embargo on the country has stemmed the flow of legal weapons and ammunition, but there is a high demand on the black market. My connect can move the cache of weapons within a week and there is an appetite for more. I assure you, we can use the hype of the festival first in Port Royal and then in Montego Bay next." Quan said in perfect English. "Quan you have done us proud in the Caribbean, our roots have been well established in St. Barts and in the land of the pirates. However, don't use the local Chinese to move the merchandise." The Chairman replied.
"Why are we using English?" The Chairman asked.
"Relax Quan you are among friends here, why are you so skeptical." Chairman Zhee asked.
"I was burned by a local cop in Jamaica, and he showed up in St. Barts. I was locked up in prison for a while, so pardon me being apprehensive or nervous Chairman Zhee. I know the others on the council prefer mandarin, but I am comfortable conversing in the language of the British queen." Quan replied.
"What is the name of the cop?" Chairman Zhee asked with a frown on her face.
"Marcus Dean, his wife is the current deputy prime minister." Quan replied.
"Why didn't you recruit his wife Quan?" Zhee asked.
"We tried, but she has principles." Quan replied.
"Find something on her fast, we might need leverage. No politician is squeaky clean. Affairs, money or the greed for power and if she or the cop is a stumbling block, eliminate them. Wasn't she the one who took credit for the weapons in the warehouse that you sent the tip recently? Before that was the container of chickens that fell off our ship. I see no reason for another distraction not to work" Zhee said while stroking his long grey beard.
The Chairman sat, pensive for a while. Then an evil smile crossed his face.
"Does she have political ambitions Quan to become the Prime Minister? Let's use her to decide the fate of her cop husband. Find a way to divide them. Isn't he investigating the death of the doctor Richard Hellbent Jr?" Chairman Zhee enquired.
"Chairman Zhee how are you so informed? The deputy prime minister uses a suite at one of our hotels fairly regularly Chairman."
Zhee chuckled.
"I make it my business Quan, knowledge is power. We helped Sienta Alexander to become head of the hotel chain for a reason Quan, or should I do business with her if you can't deliver? Zhee asked.
"No Chairman, I will get the task done." Quan replied assuredly.
"By the way Quan, how are your twins with Karma Brown? You know Quan, the Syndicate has invested heavily in a few women in Jamaica, and they have delivered a significant return on our investment. The men on the other hand." The chairman allowed his words to sink in, Quan swallowed hard. He saw the Chairman's guards hold tightly to the hilt of their swords. The muscles in Quan's neck tightened. A wave of fear washed over Quan Wu who wasn't easily intimidated, but he didn't like the idea of the Chairman being so informed about his children with Karma and he knew how ruthless the chairman had been.
Quan left the room quickly.
Back across in the Caribbean in Port Royal.
Stephanie sat and observed the people for a few days, but when she saw the blonde hair and the pale skin, her mouth fell agape. Sienta Alexander stood a few feet away from her. The congregation of people surrounding the festival was really a melting pot of the movers, shakers, rich and the ambitious who were all there for the unique experience. Stephanie watched as people sat in cliques while others flittered between tables like butterflies and instantly, she knew which team she had to join.
She sent Marcus a message: Give me as much dirt on Sienta Alexander.
Within minutes her phone pinged.
Sienta Alexander was the child of Yolande and Roger Alexander and she inherited her wealth after both her parents were killed in a suspicious car crash. However, after a prolonged court battle between two illegitimate children of Roger Alexander the matter was settled.
However, Marcus seemed to have hit the jackpot with his next message. It was as if he was a fly on the wall of the Maze
Yolande Alexander was a force of nature. No one who met her was able to deny her ability to capture the attention of everyone around her. While other women decline as they aged, Yolande had only grown more alluring. Although she had many offers, she always had her eyes on better options. She was getting a little worried when she realized that most of the good men were either married or gay. She was now in her mid-forties single and beginning to feel a little desperate when she met Roger.
Roger was a pilot for Air Rock. He was dashing and confident and his eyes flashed whenever he smiled. He left a trail of broken hearts wherever he went. He might not have noticed Yolande if it were not for that fateful late-night flight. He had taken over a shift on the last minute, flying from Bangladesh to England. He was in between girlfriends at the time and bored. The flight was almost empty, so he had let his co-pilot fly as he sauntered down the aisle. Then he had seen her.
She was bent over picking up something that had fallen from one of the food trays. His mouth went dry at the sight. She was perfectly positioned as if waiting to receive him and unconsciously he adjusted the front of his pants. Her long, lean legs were perfect to wrap around his waist and her posterior was perfectly curved as it raised enticingly.
He must have made a slight sound of lust because she slowly turned around. Her face was just as lovely as her body. His breath hitched when he saw that in her new position, he was now able to get an unobstructed view of her ample bosom. It rose softly as she breathed in deeply and his pants grew even more uncomfortable. A soft smile curved her soft, pink lips.
"I see the skies are safe with you at the wheel, captain."
Her husky voice seemed to send pinpoints of electricity throughout his body.
She stood up slowly letting him see all her curves and smiled as she walked away with a gentle sway in her hips. Roger stood in shock. He had never felt such a sudden and overwhelming need for a woman before. He had not even been able to respond to her and had just stood there as she walked away. He shook his head at his ineptness and began to immediately plot how to get that woman in his bed.
His attempts to get to know Yolande were frustrated at every turn. It seemed as if she was an enigma. She hardly gave out her phone number and her friends were fiercely loyal. Roger was obsessed with finding out how to get in touch with this amazing woman. No other woman mattered anymore, and he lived in misery when he saw her.
Meanwhile, Yolande, who was a history buff, had been reading about the story of Queen Anne, King Henry VIII's infamous second wife. Anne had wanted to be queen at a time when the king was already married and notorious for being fond of just bedding and leaving his mistresses. Therefore, Anne's plans of seduction involved never letting the king know that she was interested. Since he was used to women who capitulated easily, her continued refusals piqued the king's interest and he eventually got rid of his first wife and married Anne.
Of course, Yolande chose not to dwell on the end of that marriage as a hangman's noose was the king's final parting gift to Anne. She, however, would be much more successful. She had done her research. Roger had so many women lined up to sleep with him he would not notice one more. She wanted to be more than a notch on his bedpost. She wanted the ring. As a child, she had a reputation for being meticulous and ambitious and she had decided that she was never going back to Nonsuch in Portland to live. Roger would be her husband and she would never work again.
Yolande had talked to a lot of his ex-girlfriends who after being plied with a few drinks were willing to spill the beans about Roger. Apparently, he was a 'sexual deviant' and easily bored after he had been with the same woman for a while. She brushed aside the deviant title as he was just a man with a healthy sex drive who wanted excitement which she could relate to and easily keep up with, but she would have to find a way to keep his attention focused solely on her.
So, she devised a plan. Every flight that Roger was on she changed her schedule so that she was also on that flight. She made sure that she was immaculately dressed in the best outfits that showed off her assets. She spent many hours choosing the right hairstyle and toning her already tight muscles at the gym. There were always some interactions between them, however brief they were in nature, which stirred his interest.
Roger would just happen to be in earshot when she mentioned to her friend Stacy about her wild night on the weekends.
"I tell you Stacy, my swing got broken because I used it so hard last night."
"Swing? Girl were you on a playground or something?"
Yolande smiled seductively and paused to ensure that Roger was listening.
"Not that kind of swing. This one is in my bedroom and trust me, no children are allowed. It feels amazing. Once I get it fixed, I will let you see it."
"Girl! You are amazingly freaky you know! Tell me all about it," Stacy squealed as she linked arms and they walked away.
Roger was too busy picking his jaw up off the ground to notice that Yolande had seen him eavesdropping. He had always enjoyed being adventurous in bed, but his partners had balked at trying certain things. Now he had found the perfect woman to explore those things with and she would not even give him the time of day.
It took months of torturous begging for Roger to finally get Yolande to go out with him. He had felt as if he was going out of his mind with frustration. By the time they had their first date, he was so wound up he hardly heard a word of their conversation. He blurted out the magic words right as the waiter who had just brought their entrée left the table.
"Marry me."
Yolande paused with her fork mid-way to her mouth and smiled. Men were so easy. She rewarded him with a slow glide of her feet on his under the table. His obvious pleasure was shown in the tightening of his fingers on the fork in his hand. When her feet found its goal, a loud gasp escaped his lips and his hand trembled slightly.
"Check please!" he croaked.
She threw back her head and laughed. He was not only handsome and had lots of potential but also hilarious. She followed him out of the restaurant and mentally began calculating where they would live once they were married.
They had a whirlwind romance for several months. Roger was in heaven as all his fantasies were wrapped up in one woman. He had never met his match before. She was insatiable in bed as he was, and he found himself ensuring that he could keep up. He enjoyed polishing his knob while flying at thirty-six thousand feet. She was turned on by the threat of being caught having sex in the cockpit and Roger was fully loaded for a white guy. He was long and wiry just like his dick. She relished the reach and agility he displayed in touching her most intimate spots.
Within six months of meeting Roger, she was pregnant with Sienta and as soon as the baby was born, she became Yolande Pratt Alexander. She immediately stopped working as Roger's salary was enough to care for their young family. In the late eighties and early nineties, the airline was the place to work. The pay was not the best, but the benefits were tremendous, and customs were extremely open and free.
They bought the house at 230 Cherry Drive in Cherry Gardens in cash because of Rogers's connections and the need to transport goods between the rock and the two countries. The business was quite lucrative, and in addition, he was one of the best pilots with experience allowing him the choice of destinations.
When the airline folded, he was offered a job flying for an airline in Dubai. Yolande had no regrets being married to Roger, he had long trips and was always overseas and it allowed her freedom and lots of U.S. dollars to spend. Trading in the black market with U.S. dollars in the early nineties made them even richer. However, they were not affected by the meltdown of the financial sector, and they used a lot of the unaccounted funds to buy properties that were confiscated by the financial company from a few unfortunate friends who needed to be bailed out. Yolande was a wizard of turning around money and her investments in Hash Plus and Lint made her a fortune. She was brilliant and ensured that the returns were in her and Sienta's name.
"Is that enough dirt?" Marcus asked
"Shit, some people are really born lucky," Stephanie replied via a messagebeefore walking over to the table clearing her throat.
"Hi do any of you notice how novice like those people paddle, when I was training with the Trinidadian Dragon Boat team we were all in sync. I was a coach before I became a senior professor of Caribbean Studies at Harvard University. Stephanie said in a Trinidadian accent.
She watched the faces and saw when eyes popped open wide. "Would you like to join our team?" came, in unison, from around the table. Sienta recognized a few faces at the table. Her glasses transmitted their pictures to Marcus who provided their names.
Stephanie smiled. "Hi, I'm Dr. Kerry Steele. I'd love to be a part of your team, I love the camaraderie. I have been here a few days making observations."
"Really?" Sienta replied, "this is Uncle Ben. He used to fly jets with my father back in the day. Stephanie was introduced clockwise to all eight persons sitting around the table. Slowly she learned that they all had connections, or were quite influential.
"What are you guys drinking?" Kerry Steele asked, and she remembered what Clinton Gene had done a few weekends ago. Within seconds a new waiter arrived. His head was almost fully gray, clad in full black. "Yes Doctor Steele how can I assist you today?" The waiter asked.
"Take the orders of my friends please and put it on my tab." Kerry said authoritatively.
"Yes Doc right away." Kerry winked at Delano.
Stephanie loved being in the character of Dr. Kerry Steele, she met many people, ate, drank, laughed and became a part of the families around the tables. It took her mind off the last few weeks and her own personal tragedy. She was now a part of the Maze of Life.