Notes: So there's the Small Fandoms Fest that has prompts. I never officially claimed any of them because I write so slow, but I have used a couple in this story. "Phone calls in the middle of the night were never good news" and "Brothers in every way by blood." They come later in the story. All errors are mine, and of course, I own nothing, gain nothing, etc.
"Mimi to Riptide, come in Riptide, over."
Cody dropped his pen on the table. He'd been working on the report for their last client and was glad for the interruption. He picked up the CB receiver, "Riptide here. Go ahead, Mimi."
"We're on our way back. Should be landing in about an hour."
Cody smiled, hearing the fatigue in his partner's voice. Served the idiot right for booking two four-hour harbor tours in one day. "Good flight?"
"Yeah, good visibility and guests with lots of questions. Mimi's had a great day."
Cody managed not to snicker. Just because Mimi had had a great day so far didn't mean that she would continue to do so. And though her pilot appreciated good visibility and a well behaved machine, chatty tourists occasionally got on his nerves—especially when he was tired. Still, a lively, amiable pilot got better tips than a surly, sarcastic one, so Cody would bet good money that Mimi's pilot would continue to be on his best, plastic, tour-guide behavior. "You want us to pick you up? I saw you left 'Vette here."
"I just needed a little exercise after dinner last night, but don't worry about picking me up; I've been sitting practically all day. Need to stretch my legs. See ya in a bit. Mimi out."
Cody put the receiver down and leaned down over the front stairs. "That was Nick, Boz. He'll be back in an hour or so."
"Okay. I should be done with this soldering by then, and we can get something to eat."
Nick sighed in relief, watching his tourists get in their car. He threw up his hand one last time as the two kids waved at him like they were trying to start a fire. Once he saw the back of their station wagon leave the parking lot, he dropped his head and breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a very, very long day. He really just wanted to go back to the boat, grab a shower, and hit the sack. If he hadn't told Cody he'd be back soon, he might've just curled up on Mimi's sofa and gone to sleep right there.
But he had work to do. He climbed in the hold and eyed the couch with longing before cleaning out the stuff left from two tours. A couple of soda cups and garbage from McDonalds. Once the hold was straightened, he stuck his head up in the cockpit and grabbed his own few leftovers of the day. He hated a dirty chopper.
Back out on the helipad, he walked around to Mimi's off side to check the holes he'd patched and painted last week. A recent case had left six bullets in her left flank, and he wanted to make sure everything looked ship shape again. Sometimes, different lighting could make a patch job stand out like a full moon on a clear night. He ran his hand over the areas, not seeing—
His inspection was interrupted by someone jumping in the hold and sliding the door shut. He stood there for a second, wishing he had a gun, but he hadn't brought one today, knowing he was taking up kids. Kids got into everything—especially stuff they were specifically told not to touch—so he'd left all the weapons at home. And the car was back at the boat. Damn.
He sidled around Mimi's tail and checked out the parking lot. No cars, no one waiting or watching that he could see. He edged up Mimi's flank and tapped a knuckle on the door. "I know you're in there. Come on out."
His answer was silence for a few seconds, then he heard a nervous, "Nick?"
It sounded vaguely familiar and, clearly, she knew him, so he pulled open the door. He stood there feeling like someone had hit him with a chair. "Melba?"
Murray's knockout beautiful sister glanced nervously around the parking area behind Nick and then motioned him into the hold. "I wasn't expecting anyone to be here this late in the day."
"What are you doing here? What's going on?"
"Where're Scooter and Cory?"
Nick didn't even bother correcting her on Cody's name. That was a hopeless cause. "They're on the boat; what's wrong?"
She hesitated for a couple of seconds, then, "Some people are after me."
"Who?"
"I wrote a paper that these guys don't want published."
"Who?"
She bit her lip and winced slightly, "I don't want to tell you."
Nick lifted a skeptical brow. This was starting to sound a little fishy. "Why not?"
"Right now, they're only after me; I don't want to get you in trouble. Or Scooter."
Nick pointed a finger at her pert little nose, "Look, I'm not gonna fall for any of your jokes, Melba. No pranks. I'm not doing it."
She grabbed his finger and sighed, looking put upon. "I swear it's not a joke. I'm not kidding."
Nick narrowed his eyes, trying to discern if she was pulling his leg. Again. But she seemed sincere. And maybe a little scared. "Then we need to go back to the boat."
"No!" She took a deep breath, "Nick, I don't want Boz to know about this. I nearly got him blown up the last time I asked him for help. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to him because of me."
Nick blinked in astonishment, "You think he's gonna feel any better if something happens because you didn't come to him?"
Melba switched her grip on his finger to encompass his whole hand, gently massaging it. "It's hard to explain, but he's already kind of involved anyway—he just doesn't know it yet. And I don't want him to get hurt any more than he's already going to be."
"Murray's gonna be hurt? Who's after you?" Nick's intensity ratcheted up a notch with a threat to one of his partners.
Melba rubbed her forehead in frustration, "Not physically hurt—you know I'd never let that happen. That's why we can't go to him now. I didn't even plan on you finding out about this. I just need a safe place for tonight till I can get a handle on this."
Nick had no idea what was going on—this woman made him crazy. But still, if he'd had a sister, he imagined she'd be a lot like Melba—except for the dumb jokes. The Bozinsky sense of humor wasn't something he'd ever understand. And he still wasn't sure that this wasn't a prank. But on the off chance it wasn't… "Okay. Okay. No boat. No Boz." He thought for a second, "Look, it's not safe here, but I got a friend. I think she'd let you stay with her."
"No, Nick. I don't want to put anyone else in danger."
"She's a cop. And she's got a house, so it'd be a heck of a lot safer than here."
Melba considered for half a second. "How do we get there?"
"The quickest way is my car back at the pier, but Boz and Cody are waiting for me."
"No!"
"Okay, so if we go the other direction, it'll take a little longer, but we may be able to catch a bus about a mile from here."
Melba glanced out the crack in the hatch door as dusk descended on the empty parking area. "Okay. Let's do it."
Nick took a careful view of the parking lot, too. He didn't see anything, but Melba's paranoia was rubbing off on him. If she was playing the biggest practical joke ever on him, he would kill her himself. He didn't like the idea of not telling Murray, but Melba's concern over Boz being hurt made Nick hesitate in following his instincts. And not having a gun made him feel naked and vulnerable.
He slid the door back and hopped down after a moment of observation. He turned around and helped Melba out and slid the door shut. He gripped her hand, and the two of them took off across the parking lot.