One Last Time

by James Hampson

  'I agree Sir the rest of us will stay back here and relax until you tell us otherwise.’

  Javier Ramos walked out of his house in to the back garden where his swimming pool was and made a call to Argentina. The phone was answered at the other end and Ramos spoke.

  'Everything is going ahead as planned here, soon victory will be ours.'

  He listened and then said.

  'I will you call as soon as the transfer has taken place, adios'.

  He put the phone down and sat in his sun lounger with a half worried, half happy expression on his face. He was excited to get the deal done thus beginning a fresh invasion of the Falkland Islands, but nervous also as he did not know what the British men in Seville where going to do, he thought to himself Hopefully nothing now we are going to leave them alone.

  NINETEEN

  It had gone seven o’clock in the evening and James Shaw, Lawrence Sharif, John Shaw, Will Ramsey, Delinda Saint Germain and Ally Simmons had gotten dressed again after spending time in Hotel Ayre’s swimming pool. They had decided to go out for dinner in the old town.

  James Shaw's pleas to go and get changed out of his I heart Sevilla t-shirt went unheard and he was convinced to enjoy himself and relax. They decided to get the bus back in to the old town, as there were six of them, they didn’t want to wait too long for two taxis on a Saturday night. After a short wait at the bus stop on the other side of the road to Hotel Ayre they got on to the number 32 bus, which a few minutes later dropped them off in the old town at Plaza Del Duque.

  Delinda suggested a restaurant that she had read about near to the cathedral, which served a mix of local food and steaks. They all agreed to try it out and after walking down the narrow-cobbled streets that were full of people on the evening paseo, they arrived at the restaurant, it was located on a street that split off in three directions, all of which were lined with restaurants that had outdoor tables with a view of the gothic cathedral. A young waitress dressed in all white came over and spoke to them, she was tall with blonde hair and blue eyes and very attractive.

  James thought to himself Must be German or Scandinavian.

  The waitress spoke perfect Spanish with a local accent, she sensed James questions and said in English.

  'My great grandparents moved here in the 1930's from Germany, that is why I have blonde hair.'

  James answered 'I see, Andalucia is full of surprises.'

  Then in his head he said They were probably Nazi’s.

  The waitress sat them down at a table for six and asked if they would like any drinks. James asked if everybody was happy with wine, they were, he ordered a carafe of house red and one of white. James sat opposite Delinda, Lawrence opposite Ally and John and Will sat opposite each other. The waitress brought the wine out and started pouring red for the men and the ladies had white. They ordered a selection of Tapas and James ordered a side of fries, he said ‘I need some grease after the day we have had.’

  Lawrence asked Ally and Delinda how their day had been in Cordoba, they answered that they had enjoyed it but wanted to come back to Seville early.

  'Why did you want to come back early?' James asked.

  Delinda reached across the table and took hold of James left hand and said.

  'Because I missed you.’

  James Shaw's face turned crimson.

  'I missed you too' He said to her with a smile.

  The six of them conversed and laughed before their food arrived.

  'What time are you setting off tomorrow Will?' James asked Ramsey.

  'Around five, if that is ok?'

  'Fine by me, no need to ask, it's been good to see you, when are you due a posting? You should move to Waddington.'

  'What and have you as my boss, I am happy in Gib if I am totally honest.'

  'Yeah, I don’t blame you what's not to like, same with me leaving Akrotiri, but service before self and all that caper.'

  Lawrence then cut in 'How many years until you pension out Jim?'

  'Five, and what have I said about that Jim business.'

  Everybody laughed.

  'What are you going to do when you do, you could always work with me?'

  'I work with you now, I don’t know. Maybe that is a good idea, I wouldn’t mind going back to Liverpool for a short while and relax. I will probably extend and do 30 years, maybe get promoted to Air Commodore, you know how things are.’

  'When do you have to go back to England?' Delinda asked James.

  'Technically, not July, why do you ask?'

  'Would you like to come back to the US with me for a vacation, I could show you around Nashville?’

  James didn't quite know what to say.

  'Yes, I would love to, thank you.’ He replied.

  He wasn't sure if he meant it or not. However, for now he was enjoying himself, even if the circumstances were not ideal, he wished he had met Delinda whilst he was here for leisure and not business.

  It was clear that Delinda Saint Germain was beginning to fall for James Shaw and he for her but he tried to supress the feelings, until the job he was there to do was complete and he could then give her is full attention.

  I will go to America he said to himself and smiled at Delinda as he ate a piece of lamb off his fork.

  The conversation flowed between the six of them, Will Ramsey said that he had an announcement to make after tapping his glass with his fork.

  'Well, what is it?' James asked.

  Ramsey was clearly nervous about what he wanted to say, after ten seconds he finally answered James Shaw’s question.

  'I am going to be a father, Nadine is six months, a little girl.’

  Everybody said congratulations and James got up from his seat and shook Will’s hand.

  'I am very happy for you, I cannot believe you didn't tell me, well done.'

  'Thanks mate' Will replied.

  James caught the waitress's attention and asked what champagne they had.

  'None of that Cava either, the real French stuff' he said.

  She went away to check, then a minute later came back and said.

  'Sir we have Bollinger or Moet and Chandon.'

  'Thank you, Bollinger please, three bottles please.'

  'Sir, it is one hundred euros per bottle.'

  'No problem, we have good news to celebrate.'

  The waitress said ‘Very well Sir’ and went off to get the champagne and glasses.

  The champagne flowed, along with the conversation, the six of them were enjoying themselves. Once all the food had been cleared away and the bill had been paid, they sat some more and James and Lawrence smoked some cigarettes.

  Eventually they left the restaurant with the waitress happy after being left a very handsome tip. James and Will held back whilst the others walked on ahead.

  'I really am happy for you mate, why don’t you think about moving back to the UK after the baby is born, get settled in Lincoln' James said.

  'Thanks mate, I think you may be right, it would be good to get settled somewhere, what's the deal with you and Delinda anyway?'

  James looked at his friend and said 'I don't know, obviously it is good at the moment, I will just see what happens. I will probably have forgotten about her this time next week.'

  Will Ramsey laughed ' You never change.’

  They both laughed and hurried to catch up with the others who were about to walk in to a bar in the Alfalfa area of the city, it was busy with young locals and backpackers. There were people inside and outside drinking, smoking, talking and laughing, Spanish pop music played out of the speakers, people were dancing to it and enjoying themselves. John was at the bar ordering some drinks.

  Lawrence nodded to the door that James and Will had just walked through and pointed at James, motioning him outside. James Shaw stepped back out on to the noisy street followed by Lawrence Sharif who offered James a cigarette, who said 'Thanks, what's the matter?'

  Lawrence lit James’s cigarette then his own and asked.

&nbs
p; 'What is your plan for tomorrow, for when Powell and his people arrive?'

  James took a drag of his cigarette.

  'Well I have two, the first one is based on Ramos not having any eyes on us, or a single entity at best. I will board the train at San Bernardo and observe them.'

  Lawrence nodded and said 'OK yes, and second plan?'

  'Assuming somebody will be watching them, I will be at Hotel Ayre waiting for them to arrive with John.’

  At that moment John walked out and handed James and Lawrence a plastic glass of lager each, they thanked him and then John asked.

  'Did I just hear my name?'

  James answered 'We are just talking about tomorrow.’

  At that point Delinda, Ally and Will joined them outside. They continued drinking and enjoying themselves for another hour. James said that he wished to retire for the night. The others agreed so they flagged down two taxis. John, Lawrence and Ally in one and James, Will and Delinda in the other.

  Will Ramsey had been dropped off at his hotel in Triana first and the taxi drove back across the river to Seville to drop James and Delinda at the Air BnB in Barrio Santa Cruz. Lawrence and Ally were not back yet. James Shaw and Delinda Saint Germain walked up the stairs hand in hand, the alcohol had a numbing effect on James as he could not feel any pain from his wound. Delinda opened the door and they stumbled in to the living area kissing passionately. As they worked their tongues around each other's mouths Delinda lifted James’s top up, taking care not to catch his stitches. They moved in to Delinda's bedroom where she got his top off and he took hers off, she had a black lace bra covering her breasts. James cupped one in his left hand and reached around with his right hand and loosened her bra strap, Delinda moved her arms out of it and it fell to the floor. She pressed her body against his and reached her arms around his waist whilst kissing him hard, he moved his hand to her lower back and reached lower and squeezed her firm buttocks in his left hand whilst his right slowly ran up her spine sending a tingle all over her body. After a few minutes more kissing and fondling they fell on to the bed and made slow passionate love. James lay next to Delinda and closed his eyes; she did the same and took hold of his hand.

  Day had broken and they made love again, this time was better than the first. How is that possible Delinda thought to herself.

  After they had finished, James kissed Delinda and went to the bathroom to get a shower and freshen up, Delinda got up and walked into the bathroom behind him.

  'Do you really want to come back to the US with me or were you just saying that to get me in to bed?' She asked.

  James opened the shower cubicle door turned it on and waited for it to heat up before stepping in.

  'Of course, I do, I would not have said otherwise, when is your flight back?'

  'It's an open return, I just have to ring a couple of days in advance and pick a flight.'

  'I see, well how about Thursday? Lawrence and I will be wrapping things up here on Tuesday, then Wednesday head to Malaga and fly over Thursday.’

  Delinda was excited that James wanted to go back to America with her, she got on the phone to the airline immediately. Five minutes later Delinda walked back in to the bathroom and said.

  'Damn, Delta just sold their last two seats a half hour ago.'

  'Not to worry gorgeous, we will sort something out' James said from the shower.

  ‘When are your friend’s due back from Granada anyway?’

  ‘Oh, they are going to Valencia then Ibiza to party.’

  ‘Do you and Ally not want to go with them?’

  ‘Nope.’

  ‘Fair enough’ James said and carried on with his shower.

  On the ground at Liverpool John Lennon Airport; Lyndon Powell, Mike Williams, Chris Hampshire and Jack Reuben sat in their seats on a Ryanair Boeing 737 which had been pushed back from the gate and awaited clearance to taxi to the runway. The four men felt awake and fresh, even though they had been awake since three o'clock. They were also nervous, yet excited about the upcoming few days. Lyndon had tried to calm the excitement within the group but the others knew that he too was excited, how could he not be, this was to be their biggest payday and without much effort compared to previous cons they had pulled off. Even though weeks of planning had gone in to this job, they had changed their strategy. Usually they met with potential marks, along the con they would give small returns to the mark in order to keep them investing, finally once the big amount was invested, the mark would be told that things had changed in the market or some other excuse and the four men would be away with the money. This time it was different, there were no investments to lure the victim in, it was just a couple of meetings and telephone calls, the next of which would be made later that evening once they arrived in Seville. As the aircraft lined up on the runway ready for take-off, Lyndon looked across from his window seat to the other three.

  'Gents, this is it no turning back now, in a few days we will be millionaires and set for life thanks to all your hard work.’

  The others looked back and said in unison.

  'Let's do it.'

  The aircraft inched forward then the engines roared to life and they began speeding down the runway, a few seconds later they were in the air on their way to Malaga, from where they would complete their journey to Seville.

  TWENTY

  James Shaw stepped out of the shower and shouted through to Delinda in the bedroom.

  'What about the next morning?'

  'That’s booked up also, I hope we don’t have to wait too long.'

  'Have a look to see if there are any other airlines that we could fly with, I will pay for the flights.’

  ‘Don’t be silly sweetie, I will see if I can arrange something with Delta.’

  ‘OK, sort that later. Let us get a flight booked first.’

  Delinda picked up her phone and began typing as James walked in to the room.

  'Air Transat have a flight leaving at one thirty p.m. to Montreal, we could change there to New York and maybe spend a few nights there and then fly down to Nashville.'

  'OK, we can do that, let me get my card, I will book a hotel too.’

  James got his card from his wallet and handed it to Delinda whilst he got busy looking at hotels on his phone, he booked The Plaza Hotel, which was pay on arrival.

  Delinda finished up booking the flights and sent James's boarding card to his phone.

  They walked in to the living area to find Ally sat at the breakfast bar drinking coffee whilst Lawrence Sharif was making scrambled eggs. He made James a cup of tea and Delinda a coffee.

  'Ally and I are flying to America Thursday, are you two wanting to join us?' Lawrence said whilst focusing on the stove.

  'Yes, we are flying to Montreal first then to New York and we are going to stay there for a couple of nights.' James replied.

  'Good, how come you are flying to Montreal?'

  'Flight was sold out, I assume you have not long booked tickets?' James said with a scowling grin.

  'Yes, sorry about that.'

  'Forget about it, I am hungry and after breakfast we need to talk.'

  'Right you are' Lawrence replied.

  Lawrence Sharif served breakfast which they all ate and thanked him for making it. James and Lawrence walked out to the swimming pool where they both lit cigarettes. They leant against the rail that overlooked the city towards Plaza de Espana.

  'I remember the day I first met you' Lawrence said.

  'I remember that day too.'

  'I told you about my family connections to T.E. Lawrence and Prince Faisal, and you said you were a fan of T.E.'

  'Yes, one of my heroes, where are you going with this?'

  'What would you say is the most relevant thing he said that reflects our current situation?'

  'That is a bit heavy for a Sunday morning Lawrence, I don't know “We can't all be lion tamers” maybe.’ James said whilst laughing, he took another drag on his cigarette.

  'If you stop being a clo
wn for a minute, maybe we could all be lion tamers, now think and tell me your plan, after you think of what he said that is relevant to this mission.’

  James extinguished his cigarette and lit another one.

  'I have got it “All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible” Javier Ramos is the latter I presume?'

  James took a big drag on his cigarette and turned to Lawrence waiting for his reply.

  'Exactly right, he has the most to gain and will do anything to make sure it goes his way, hence surrounding himself with Argentine special forces soldiers, who much to our annoyance have been following us to keep us out of the way, this deal is big James, if he gets his hands on those drilling permits and gets away, the Falklands will be under threat, he is working with the Argentinian government, using his oil platforms as a staging base to launch an invasion.'

  'How, he has not gotten the permits yet?'

  'Lyndon Powell and his friends don’t know either, I doubt very much they care. They fall in to the former part of what you have just quoted, they have one aim, which is to get money, they don’t know what Ramos's plans are, they have just set up a bogus company in order to relive Javier Ramos of a sizeable amount of money.'

  'Is there any evidence to suggest this is what he is planning?'

  'The RAF are flying past once a day on reconnaissance flights, that is one of the reasons you were supposed to be there, but I wanted you here instead to tackle Ramos and stop this planned invasion.'

  'Tricky one for us as well, they don't want to start a war with Argentina surely, so they want us to hold it up here secretly?'

  'No, they want this doing with as little fuss as possible but we will if we have to.’

  James and Lawrence extinguished their cigarettes and James said.