One Last Time

by James Hampson

  TWENTY-SIX

  The hot Andalusian sun blazed over the City of Seville; James Shaw lay on his sun lounger lost in thought. Many thoughts raced through the dusty recesses of his mind in regards to the next day and how it would play out with Lyndon Powell, his men and the unpredictable Javier Ramos. Ramos was the one variable in all of this that James Shaw felt he could not control or second guess, as the man was clearly some kind of lunatic from what he had read and been told about him. However, James Shaw's thoughts started to drift as they had since he was about fourteen years old to the subject of females, more specifically this time to Delinda Saint Germain, he had enjoyed the past few days they had spent together and he was looking forward to his impending trip to the USA with her. The problem was what he was seeing beyond that trip, it was something he had never envisioned before, it involved himself and Delinda having a future together. Was this the time for James Shaw to finally settle down? He asked himself.

  James was awoken from his thoughts by Lawrence Sharif placing an ice cold can of beer on his forehead, this caused James to jump up in shock.

  'You're an absolute arsehole' he shouted.

  Lawrence laughed and sat down next to him, he put Delinda and Ally's beers under his lounger out of the sun as they were chatting to each other in the pool.

  James turned to look at Lawrence and lifted his sunglasses up.

  'Do you think Ramos knows that we are staying at the Alfonso tomorrow? It seems a bit coincidental that he has arranged to have his meeting there with Powell and his men the day we decide to book a room there.’

  Lawrence sat up and held his beer in both hands.

  'I must agree with you, but on the other hand it is the cities top hotel so it makes sense that he would choose to meet there, to make Powell feel important yet intimidated, it is all about power with Ramos.’

  'Sounds the most likely reason, maybe I am just overthinking this' James said as he leant over to his table to reach for his cigarettes, he lit one and threw the packet to Lawrence who took one.

  'Thanks, you have been doing a lot of thinking, recently haven't you?'

  James Shaw took a long drag on his cigarette before he answered Lawrence with.

  'Well don't all people think?'

  'Don't get smart, we both know what I meant.'

  'Not my fault it's just the way things are' James said as he put his cigarette out in the ashtray.

  He stood up, ran and jumped in to the swimming pool, sending the water splashing over Lawrence, who said to himself I am losing him, he is all grown up now like he was James's father.

  Whilst daydreaming earlier Shaw had switched his phone onto silent mode from vibrate, as he swam towards Delinda he was unaware that a number unknown to him had tried to call his phone. James swam up behind Delinda and put his hands around her waist and kissed her neck, she responded by turning her head and kissing him slowly.

  'I will leave you guys to it.’ Ally said as she swam over to the edge of the pool near to Lawrence.

  He was shaking his head at the man who since the moment he met him, had been the consummate professional, of course he had his moments, he was a joker and a womaniser, somebody who his juniors looked up to and respected, but he had never let a female interfere with his work, it wasn’t at the moment either but he could see that Delinda had feelings for James and that he felt the same way about her.

  Hold it together for a few more days Jim' Sharif said to himself just as Ally got out of the water to sit next to him.

  James and Delinda were still in the pool with their arms around each other and still kissing passionately, before she whispered in his ear.

  'Shall we go inside?'

  'That would be a good idea, come on let’s go.’

  They both climbed out of the pool and grabbed a towel each drying themselves as they made their way back to Delinda's bedroom. James closed the door behind them and began to kiss Delinda again as he undid her bikini top, she moved her arms out of it as it dropped to the floor, he moved his hands down her tanned body as she moved hers down his before falling back on to the bed pulling James on top of her.

  After it was over, she looked up in to his eyes lovingly and said,

  'James Shaw, I love you; you are amazing, it feels like I have known you so much longer than just a few days.’

  'It is strange isn't it? I am having an amazing time with you and I love you too.'

  He had said it and he meant it, Delinda smiled at him and kissed his tanned chest.

  James lay there looking at the ceiling and said in his head I cannot believe I have just said that but I meant it, I really love her.

  Everything seemed right for him at the minute, promotion, money, nice car and now a beautiful woman who adored him as much as he adored her. He drove these thoughts from his mind to focus on the real reason he was in Seville.

  'Shall we freshen up, then re-join the others.’ He said.

  She agreed and chased James in to the bathroom. James turned the shower on and took his razor out of his soap bag and put it on the little soap dish in the shower stall, he stepped into the hot steamy water. Delinda joined him and said in her southern US accent 'I hope you don't mind.’

  'Of course not, we can wash each other.’

  He grabbed the shower gel off the shelf and squirted some in to his hands and he worked it in to a lather as he rubbed it over Delinda's body, she took the bottle and returned the favour to him. She noticed that he was getting in the mood for more lovemaking so she began to kiss him.

  They eventually got showered afterwards and James had a shave as the clock moved around to 1900hrs.

  'Shall we get ready?' James asked.

  Delinda agreed and opened the closet, as James fished out some clothes from his bag.

  'Would you like me to iron anything for you?’

  'No, I'm good' she said.

  James took out of his bag a white pair of Ralph Lauren chinos and an orange Ralph Lauren polo shirt, the ones with the big logo and number three on the sleeve, James went off to the living area to iron his clothes.

  In a world of his own ironing, James failed to notice Lawrence sneak up behind him

  'Ally and I are going to dine together tonight, you and Delinda can do the same, is that OK?'

  'Yes, why though, I was under the impression we would all be going out together.'

  'We just thought that it would be a good idea to dine alone, as it is their last night here, we will meet later for drinks.'

  'OK mate, if you are happy with that.'

  ‘Yes, Ally is good company.’

  James finished ironing his clothes.

  'Shall I leave this up for you?' He said pointing at the ironing board.

  'Please mate, thank you.’

  James picked up his clothes and carried them back to the bedroom where Delinda was finishing putting her make up on, her hair was down and she had bright red lipstick on and a light eye shadow which she was just finishing. Wow James said to himself, as she was sat there in black underwear and black patent leather high heels.

  'Are you going out like that?' He quipped.

  She replied 'No silly.’

  James put his chinos on and his desert boots, as he tied them, he thought to himself.

  I should have brought another pair of shoes, but then again, I was expecting to be in the Falklands.

  After tying his shoes, he stood up and put his polo shirt on, he was ready after a quick spray of Davidoff cool waters. Delinda got dressed into a knee length black dress, which was sleeveless and showed off her tanned skin perfectly. James looked at her, then himself in the mirror and felt under dressed Why is she with me? He asked himself. Sensing his thoughts, she said to him.

  'You look nice, very handsome and smart'.

  'Thanks, you look amazing. I forgot to mention that Sharif and Ally wish to dine alone, so it will just you and I for dinner.'

  'Oh OK, I look forward to it, shall we go then?'

  'Yes, we can meet the others
for drinks later, where shall we eat?'

  'I really don't mind, how about you?'

  Typical female response James thought to himself.

  'How about one of those restaurants near where we went last night, they all looked nice?'

  'OK, sounds good.'

  'Shall we get a taxi or can you walk in those shoes?'

  'I am OK, later I will need a taxi home though.’

  They said goodbye to Lawrence and Ally and left the apartment heading towards the cathedral.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Thirty seconds after leaving the apartment Lawrence Sharif came out chasing after James and Delinda.

  James turned around and asked 'Are you OK?'

  'Yes, you left your phone by the pool.’

  James took the phone from Lawrence and said 'Thanks mate, I will see you later, yes.'

  'You will, enjoy your dinner' and with that Lawrence turned on his heel and jogged back to the apartment. James checked his phone, it showed that he had a missed call from a number he did not recognise.

  'More PPI shite' he said aloud before putting his phone in his pocket.

  'What is PPI?' Delinda asked him.

  'Oh, just some nuisance calls everybody in the UK gets, even though I haven't lived there for years.’

  They strolled together hand in hand along the sun-soaked streets of Barrio Santa Cruz, the sun still burnt brightly even at seven thirty P.M.

  Ten minutes later after an uneventful walk through Barrio Santa Cruz they arrived at the little street where they had dined the night before with the others, they looked over a few menus displayed outside before settling on a restaurant with rooftop seating and serving local dishes. The waitress had seated them at a table for two along the roof wall with a view of the city.

  James Shaw excused himself from the table and asked Delinda to order him a beer if the waitress came over. He headed back towards the lift that they had just come up in, he pressed the call button and waited for the lift to arrive. He turned around and looked at Delinda who was partaking in some kind of selfie pose with her phone and was not looking in his direction. The motor and cables from the lift stopped and the doors opened, before they could open fully James Shaw launched at the lift with his right fist, using his whole body for speed, his fist connected with the man's face who was preparing to step out, the man was slammed into the back wall of the lift, as the speed and power of James’s punch knocked him off his feet. The sound of bone crunching could be heard as the man's nose was shattered along with a few teeth that fell out of his mouth. The man slumped to the floor unconscious as James relieved him of his phone. The man was dressed in combat trousers, long sleeve t-shirt, fishing vest and boots, the same throw together uniform all the other Argentines had been wearing when himself and Sharif had encountered them. James pressed a button on the lift panel to take it down to the next floor where the ablutions where located. When the doors opened, he dragged the soldier out of the lift towards the gents, hoping that they were not occupied. They were not.

  He dragged the soldier into one of the traps and sat him on the seat, he then locked the door behind him. James Shaw took the laces out of the Argentines boots and tied his hands and legs together and stuffed his mouth with one of his sweaty socks so that when he came around, he would be unable to call for help. Shaw climbed up over the locked door and dropped down the other side on to the bathroom floor, he dropped the phone he had taken in to the bin on his way out and made his way back upstairs. On the way he sent a text to Sharif saying.

  Watch out, Argentinians about.

  Lawrence Sharif replied Copied, thanks.

  Shaw took his seat opposite Delinda, she had ordered a pint of lager for him which was on the table waiting for him, he duly took a sip. Delinda spotted the redness on James's right hand and asked him ‘My god look at your hand, what happened?’

  He spread his fingers out and looked at them. 'I caught it in the door of the toilet, it will be fine.’

  Delinda put her hand on his and began tenderly stroking his hand, he looked up at her and smiled.

  Shaw had spotted the Argentine with his peripheral vision, when himself and Delinda were studying the menu downstairs and had deduced that he was following him, he was right and deciding to deal with him would make the end game a lot easier. James Shaw and Delinda Saint Germain sat laughing together enjoying the food and each other's company. They did not want to be anywhere else at that moment in time.

  Lyndon Powell, Mike Williams, Chris Hampshire and Jack Reuben were sat at the bar in Hotel Ayre with a map laid out on the table of the city. They were trying to decide where to go for the night, firstly for food and then later on drinks. Mike suggested somewhere near to the Alfonso Xiii hotel so that they could check it out before their meeting with Ramos on Tuesday. The others agreed with him and that they would leave once they had finished their drinks.

  After meeting with James, Lawrence and John earlier, the four men had gone back to Lyndon's room and went over the presentation for the meeting with Javier Ramos on Tuesday afternoon. As they sat there going over each detail with a fine toothcomb, they were unaware that Ramos had already manoeuvred floating platforms and people into the areas that they had earmarked for drilling. They also had no idea that Ramos just wanted the permits and did not care one bit about a sales pitch he just wanted a swift exchange, the fifty million pounds to Lyndon and his men and the permits for drilling for himself. This was the biggest job they were about to pull off yet it would be the easiest, usually they would pull this sort of con off with fake stock certificates, fake permits and the like, but they had done their homework on Javier Ramos and they all decided to do everything properly so as not to end up as part of the Seville metro expansion.

  James Shaw and Delinda Saint Germain stepped back on to the cobbled street and were surrounded by people sat outside of restaurants eating and laughing, generally enjoying themselves, it was mostly tourists on desert and locals just getting started, as they went out to eat later than the tourists. Shaw had a good look around to see if anybody else was planning to surprise them, there wasn’t which he was happy about. He took hold of Delinda's hand, they walked along the cobbles, Delinda taking each step with care in her heels. They reached a road and James flagged down a taxi and asked to driver to take them to Maria Luisa park. After a short taxi ride, they got out at the gates to Maria Luisa park which was home to the awe-inspiring Plaza de Espana, the plaza consists of a semi-circular building with a canal separating the building from the plaza, four bridges cross the canal from the buildings leading to a big open tiled space with a fountain in the centre. It was built for the Spanish expedition in 1929 and has been used as a filming location for various films including Lawrence of Arabia. It was now home to government offices. James and Delinda walked through the park gates towards the vast Plaza de Espana and they took some pictures together in the square. The canal had rowing boats for hire a handful were struggling around the canal in the evening heat.

  ‘Would you like to go on a boat?’ Delinda asked.

  ‘Yes, why not. I will have to take it easy with my stitches though.’

  ‘I will row sweetie, you relax.’

  ‘No, it is ok, I will just take it slow.’

  ‘Well if you are sure.’ Delinda said.

  ‘No problem at all, let’s do it.’

  James got in to the boat after paying the attendant and helped Delinda in before he set off rowing. Even at this late hour the temperature was well above thirty degrees. Delinda offered to take an oar but James declined, as he powered the boat along the canal with his arms. Delinda was posing for selfies whilst James had control of the boat, unaware that she was also taking photos of him. After twenty minutes, James turned the boat around to head back to the starting point.

  'Are you sure that you want to come back to America with me, I wouldn’t want you to feel as though you have to?’ Delinda asked him.

  He rested the oars. 'Of course, I want to, why would I not, do
you still want me to come?'

  'Yes of course I do, I suppose I am not used to this having only met you a few days ago and feeling like this, it is crazy.’

  He smiled at her 'It is crazy you're right, but then the world is crazy.’

  He picked up the oars again and rowed through gritted teeth as he was in pain from where he had been stabbed a few nights earlier but he continued on through the pain. They eventually reached the end and the boat owner helped Delinda out of the boat, James stepped out without any help.

  James was now in some pain and struggled to walk. However, his luck was in as he spotted a horse and carriage, they got in and asked the rider to take them to Bar Chile. Bar Chile was where they had first met and they thought it ample that it should be where they would spend their last night in Seville together. As the coachman controlled the horses Delinda rested her head on James shoulder and held his hand tight.

  ‘Thank you for a lovely night, you really are a gentleman.’

  ‘Thank you too. The night is still young.’

  ‘It sure is.’

  They sat in silence holding on to each other for the rest of the journey.

  They arrived at Bar Chile and Delinda took the initiative and ordered them both a bottle of the local lager Cruzcampo.

  'When we get to New York can we go to Central park? I have always wanted to walk through Central park.’

  Delinda replied 'It is right opposite the Plaza Hotel, so we can do that for sure.'

  'I look forward to it, my first ever trip to New York.’

  ‘It will be great, just me and you in the big apple.’

  ‘Then on to Nashville, I have only been to the north and Las Vegas.’

  ‘You are going to love Nashville and meeting my folks.’

  ‘Yes, I am looking forward to it.’

  Truth was James Shaw was nervous about meeting Delinda’s parents, even though they were getting along great, in reality they had only known each other for a few days. What were her parents going to think of him? Delinda had not mentioned meeting her parents earlier.