Seth and Aaron walked out the back door. Aaron lit a cigarette, holding his hand to block the wind from the flame of his lighter, as Seth closed the door behind them. "This Redjack guy," Aaron said after taking the initial drag, "how are his nerves?"
"Steady," Seth said as he tipped back his beer bottle.
"Good. There will be more than just Ramos and his men on that boat. I won't be a party to cold-blooded murder."
Seth shook his head. "Just the engines and anything they can chase us down with. That's all he'll blow. We don't want anyone who doesn't deserve it to get hurt."
"About the girls."
"Yeah?"
The ashes crumbled off the tip of the cigarette and onto the ground. "If this is going to work, there's going to have to be some major changes."
Over an hour later, Leigh and Vivian returned to the house they'd rented. It wasn't terribly nice, but it was secluded and right on the water. Redjack and Chris were helping them bring in the supplies when they walked in on Aaron and Seth in the middle of a discussion at the dinner table. "... not going to like it," Seth was finishing up as he spread out the information before him.
"We brought wine," Leigh said, holding up the bottle for all to see.
"None for you two," Aaron said, standing up. "You've both got a doctor's appointment tomorrow. In Boston."
Vivian's voice dropped in tone. "What is all this?"
With a hesitant sigh Seth said, "Just hear him out, Viv. I'm afraid he makes sense."
"How long did you tell me earlier?" Aaron asked Sam.
Sitting at the kitchen bar, Sam had been sketching out his ideas for modifications for the boats and compiling a list of what was needed to make them happen. "A couple of weeks, maybe three on the boats themselves. That's me, Red, Chris, and Seth working around the clock. Another three to five days training, practicing, to get the plan workable. Then we're looking at another two to three days hauling the boats by trucks down to the Caribbean."
"Four weeks." Aaron nodded. "That should give you two enough time to recover."
"Recover?" Leigh asked. "Recover from what?"
"I can get aboard Ramos's boat with no problems. He may know of me, but he doesn't know me. I've devised an easy way for Seth to get on without being noticed. You two are the problem. He knows both of you. Pretty well, I'd imagine. So a simple wig and make-up job isn't going to be enough. We're going to have to be a bit more..... drastic."
"No," Vivian let out as what Aaron was saying began to dawn on her.
"Nothing major, I assure you. A little rhinoplasty, some work on the chin and cheeks, maybe even around the eyes."
"Some new boobs wouldn't hurt," Chris spoke out loud, though it didn't really sound as though he was trying to be part of the conversation.
Aaron struggled for a few moments to return to the topic at hand. "Well..... no..... no, they wouldn't. Aside from that, it's a simple matter of cutting and dying the hair and a little deception in changing the way you walk and talk. Of course, you two girls are pros in the area of deception."
"Aaron Mann, if you think for a minute that I'm letting someone cut into me, you're sadly mistaken!" Vivian was turning red. "You can just go back to New York right now."
"How much do you want this?" He picked up the picture of the Casino and held it in front of her. "You said it yourself. Eight million each. The biggest payday any of us have ever had. When the gain grows exponentially.... "
"... so does the risk and sacrifice," Vivian, Seth, and Leigh all answered in unison.
"That was freaky," Redjack muttered to Chris.
"Very Children of the Corn," he whispered back.
Aaron continued, "If you want it, this is what you've got to do for it. Either that, or step aside to let someone else step up who will. That goes for both of you."
