Bandits and Buccaneers
By JSRobertson
It was late afternoon and Admiral Harriman Nelson was sitting at his desk in his office at the Nelson Institute of Marine Research. He was mulling over an invitation to a luncheon from Mrs. Harriet Abernathy, one of Santa Barbara's wealthy citizens. He didn't mind attending her luncheons but they always had a cause attached to the invite. She was the city's ultimate charity fundraiser. She could talk him and the other guests into participating in her various projects for raising money. He was also generous to various organizations in Santa Barbara that needed his help.
He knew she liked when he, Lee and Chip attended her fundraising projects as it always brought in more money. It seems the ladies of Santa Barbara enjoyed his command staff when they were included in the charity events. The luncheon was two days away and he was up to his elbows in projects that needed to be completed before they left on their next mission. Lee and Chip were working on the overhaul of Seaview's engines and couldn't spare the time. After checking with Lee and Chip, who really didn't want to go, he decided to send Angie, Wanda and Janet to the luncheon in their place. Harry knew that Harriet would be upset that he wasn't there but the three women would be great representatives. He picked up the phone and dialed Angie's extension.
"Angie, would you please come into my office and bring Wanda and Janet with you," he asked as he took the invitation and sat down on one of the two couches that faced each other in his office.
"Yes sir," she replied quickly and got up to get the other two women.
The three women stood outside the door of the admiral's office. "What does he want with us," Janet asked quietly.
"I don't know," Angie replied as she knocked on the door.
"Come in," the admiral responded. "Please sit down." Angie and Wanda sat down on one leaving Janet to sit with the admiral on the other one. He looked at the three women, all of them with concerned looks on their faces, "You haven't done anything wrong, and there is nothing wrong," he snorted. "I would like you to attend this luncheon in my place," he said handing Janet the invitation to look over who then handed it to Angie and Wanda. "Lee and Chip are also unavailable and I don't want to offend Mrs. Abernathy so I've decided to send the three of you. I'm sure you know who Mrs. Abernathy is?"
Angie spoke up, "Yes sir, she does a lot of fundraising and always comes up with a unique way of getting people to contribute money. She's held auctions, dances, fairs among other things."
"Yes, she has and we have has participated in some of those when we're in port."
"But sir, who'll take care of the office while we're gone?" Janet asked curiously. "You know Chip and Lee can't handle the phones. They can pilot a huge submarine but one phone call sends them into a panic," Janet chuckled. The admiral also had a grin on his face knowing that has happened a few times.
"Angie, make arrangements to have Dorothy from accounting fill in. She's done it before and I know Lee and Chip get along with her. Also, please RSVP to the invitation and give them your names."
"Yes sir," Angie replied as the three women stood up and left the admiral's office.
"Have you ever seen her mansion?" Wanda asked after noticing the luncheon was being held there. "That place is huge and right on the ocean. She has almost as much ocean front property as the admiral does."
"I guess we better make sure we look out best," Angie replied. "Black suits and heels," she announced as the Wanda and Janet shook their heads in agreement.
The women returned to their desks to finish what was left of the work day. Angie and Wanda headed out at 1800 hours but Janet would wait for Lee to return from Seaview. He and Chip came up from the sub pen a little while later. Both were covered in dirt and grease. Janet was surprised even Chip had dirt on his uniform.
"Don't you have men that could take care of the engines?" Janet asked looking over the two men.
"Yes, if you think we're dirty, you should see them," Lee laughed. "Let's go home. I'm tired and hungry as well as dirty."
"Yes sir," Janet replied giving him a two finger salute. She got her purse and put on her jacket. Even though his hands were clean, she went to Lee's office to get his jacket and cover so he didn't have to touch them. The three of them walked out of the institute together.
"See you tomorrow," Chip said as he got in his car.
"Bye Chip," Lee and Janet replied back as they got into their car. "I can't wait to take a shower," Lee said as he drove home.
"I can't wait for you to take one too," Janet answered back having never seen her husband that dirty from working on the boat. "I'll get dinner while you shower and change."
"You could join me in the shower," Lee remarked deviously. "I'd rather have dessert first anyway."
Janet looked at her husband, smiled and shook her head as they pulled in their driveway. Janet took Lee's jacket and cover and put them in the closet while he took his uniform off before heading upstairs and put it in the cleaning bag they forgot to take that morning. He ran upstairs while Janet put dinner in the oven. She went upstairs to change her clothes and saw Lee was still in the shower so she decided to join him and engaged him in some romantic fun.
As they toweled off, Janet told him about the luncheon. "Did you know the admiral was sending us to Mrs. Abernathy's luncheon?"
Grinning as he pulled on a pair of jeans, "Yes, he told us and we're very happy the three of you are going. She's a very nice woman but she can be very persuasive when she wants something and the admiral can't say no to her. I actually think she's got the hots for him," Lee said pulling his shirt on as Janet put on her top and jeans as well. Janet broke out in a huge grin when Lee told her about Mrs. Abernathy and the admiral.
They walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where Lee took a beer out of the refrigerator for him and poured a glass of wine for Janet and went out to the patio. He sat down at the table while Janet brought out dinner. Even though it was a cool evening they sat outside for awhile before going into the house. When they finished cleaning up the kitchen, they watched TV before going to bed.
((()))
The day of the luncheon had arrived and Janet was up early making sure she had enough time to get ready. She hopped in the shower with Lee joining her just as she was finishing up. She took extra care doing her makeup and hair. She put a pink shirt on with her black skirt and high heels. She was just getting ready to put on her jacket when Lee came up to her and kissed her very gently on the lips as he ran his hand down her back. He felt her shiver.
"Lee, please," Janet pleaded resting her head on his chest. "Don't do this to me now."
"Do what?" he asked as he kissed her again with more passion. On any other day she would have given in and jumped back into bed but not today.
"Lee," she said as she wiggled out of his arms. "Can we continue this tonight? I don't want to have to redo my hair and makeup."
"Okay," he conceded with a grin, "to be continued later."
"Thanks," Janet replied as she gave him a hug and patted his butt before putting on her jacket. "Do I look okay?"
"Sweetheart you look great. What are you so nervous about? She's not going to bite," he laughed as he walked downstairs to the kitchen and poured them both some coffee.
((()))
They arrived at the office just as Angie and Wanda were getting out of their cars. Lee looked at the three of them and chuckled. They all had on black suits only with different colored tops. "Well ladies I see you have your uniforms on today."
Angie gave him a dirty look, "It's easy for you men to dress everyday as you wear the same thing. Only some days it's blue or white instead of khaki. Women don't care what you wear because all they see is the uniform but..."
Lee quickly apologized before she could finish, "Sorry I didn't mean to offend you. The three of you look very nice as always." Angie smiled at his compliment.
Janet whispered, "Nice recovery."
Lee took Janet's hand and they walked into the institute with Angie and Wanda. The admiral and Chip were already there when they arrived. They both noticed they were all dressed alike. Lee was walking behind them and saw Chip about to say something and gave him a look. Chip saw the look and said nothing but the admiral missed it.
"Why are you all dressed the same?"
"Sir, we have that luncheon today and want to make a good impression," Angie responded nervously.
"Well you all look lovely and I know you'll make a good impression on Harriet." The admiral shook his head conceding he would never understand women and their clothes. Before he walked into his office he turned to Lee and Chip, "Could we meet in ten minutes? I'd like to discuss how the engine overhaul is going."
"Yes sir," they replied.
Before Lee went into his office, he heard the women discussing who was going to drive. They decided Janet would drive as her SUV had more room and it was easier to get into the back seat. He went to his computer, booted it up and printed out directions to Mrs. Abernathy's mansion. He handed them to Janet. "Did you bring your keys?"
"Yes, I have them and thank you for the directions," she answered giving his hand a squeeze and walked to her office. She took off her jacket hung on the back of her chair and pulled out the work she needed to do as Lee and Chip reported to the admiral's office.
((()))
It was 1045 hours when Angie entered Janet's office. "We better leave soon. I know it's not too far away but we don't want to be late."
"I'll be ready to go at 1100 hours," Janet replied as they heard the elevator doors open and Dorothy from accounting was standing at Wanda's desk. "Hi Dorothy," Wanda said and explained to her what the schedule was for the day. "We should be backing around 1500. The admiral, Lee and Chip are in the admiral's office so take a message if anyone calls," she told Dorothy as she put on her jacket
"Will do," Dorothy said happily.
Angie and Janet had their jackets on, grabbed their purses and were getting ready to leave when the three men came out of the admiral's office. "Hi Dorothy," the admiral said. "Thanks for helping out."
"No problem sir. Does anyone need anything right now?"
"Not me," both Lee and Chip replied. Lee walked over and gave Janet a quick kiss. "Good luck," he said softly. He looked at the women and could tell for some reason they were nervous. Janet and Angie had been to other luncheons before but this one had them rattled. They got on the elevator, into the car and drove to the Abernathy mansion.
((()))
When they arrived at the mansion, a gentleman greeted them at the gate. "We're here for the luncheon," Janet said handing him the invitation.
"Yes, ma'am. Just follow the road to the front of the house. Have a good day," he told them.
"Thank you," Janet replied and followed the road to the front of the huge mansion. There were a few cars ahead of them so as they waited in line the three women stared at the house.
"Oh my goodness," Wanda murmured, "I've never seen anything this big. It looks bigger than in the pictures."
Angie and Janet just shook their heads as they stared in awe. It was Janet's turn to have her car parked and two valets opened the doors and helped the women from the car as a third one jumped in the car and drove it away. A woman dressed in a black dress greeted them. "Welcome," she said politely, "just follow the path around on the side and it will take you to the back of the house where everyone is meeting."
"Thank you," Angie said as she led the way to the back.
When they got around back they stopped and stared at the view of the ocean. The house was on a hill that overlooked the ocean. "I thought the admiral's view was great. This view is fantastic," Janet said as they continued to the back where quite a few people had already gathered.
A server with a tray of champagne walked over to them. They each took a crystal flute of the pink drink. They were a little nervous as they knew no one and noticed most of the attendees were men. They saw only a handful of women. They walked over to the rail that surrounded the patio and looked down at a huge pool and another patio. Before long, Janet heard someone calling her name. She turned around to see Tom Allerton walking over to her. Finally a familiar face, she thought.
"Hi Tom," Janet said warmly. "This is Angie Pearce and Wanda Carston. I'm sure you've talked to both of them. This is Tom Allerton of Allerton Valves."
"Yes many times but it's finally nice to put a face to the voice," Tom replied with a smile shaking hands with the two women. "Where are the admiral, Lee and Chip?"
"The admiral's involved in a project right now and Lee and Chip are overseeing an overhaul of Seaview's engines so we came in their place," Angie replied recognizing his voice.
A couple more men joined the group wanting to meet the three nice looking women Tom was talking too. Tom introduced Scott Lansing and Timothy Steel from Royal Electronics to the women. They all realized they had talked on the phone a few times as they all had dealing with the admiral, Lee and Chip. After talking to them for a few minutes, the men excused themselves as they needed to talk about a project Tom was helping them with. Two young women stopped in front of them as they stood there watching the people.
"I don't see them," the blonde said to the brunette. "They always come. I'm going to find out from Aunt Harriet if Lee Crane and Chip Morton are attending. I can't wait to check them out. They're gorgeous and I want to see them again. Maybe this time they'll be free to go out."
Janet almost choked on her champagne. Wanda and Angie could barely contain their laughter. The two women noticed the three of them standing there but had no idea who they were until a nice looking well dressed elegant woman came over to them.
"Hello," she said pleasantly. "I'm Harriet Abernathy and you must be from the Nelson Institute. I was very sorry to hear that Harry, Lee and Chip wouldn't be attending but I'm glad he sent you."
Angie spoke up, "I'm Angie Pearce, and this is Wanda Carston."
"I'm Janet Crane," Janet said as she shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. The admiral, Lee and Chip send their apologies that they couldn't attend."
"I hope you enjoy yourselves. Lunch will be served shortly after a brief meeting," she told them as she walked away to greet other guests.
The two young women stood staring at Janet, Angie and Wanda and quickly walked away. The three women smiled as they left. Angie and Wanda took another glass of champagne when the server came by again but Janet declined as she was driving. Before long the attendees were asked to take their seats so they could begin the meeting and lunch. Each table sat six people and had pink and yellow roses as centerpieces with purple tablecloths and napkins. Janet, Angie and Wanda found an empty table and sat down. They were joined by Tom, Scott and Timothy.
"Thank you for attending the luncheon today," Harriet said and continued, "The first and only item of business is this year's charity fundraiser which will benefit the food bank for the senior citizens of Santa Barbara. Since we're going to have it the weekend before Halloween everyone will be required to wear a costume. The theme for this year's fundraiser is bandits and buccaneers. If you come without a costume, you will be given one of my choices," she warned them.
Everyone groaned as Harriet told them the theme. "Bandits and buccaneers," Tom chuckled. "Wonder where she got that idea." Wanda, Angie and Janet didn't know how to react as they weren't sure how this affected them.
Harriet then outlined the cost of the tickets, contests for best costume, best couples, and such, and the prizes to be offered to the winners and door prizes from supporters. She solicited suggestions on how best to advertise the event to increase attendance and also increase donations. Once key bits of business had been addressed, a gourmet lunch was served to reward their attention and attendance.
"I can see why the men don't want to come for the meeting but the food was excellent," Wanda commented after lunch was over.
They were having a nice time talking with the gentlemen at their table and didn't notice the time. When Angie finally checked her watch, she couldn't believe it was already 1530. "Wow, I had no idea it was so late; we definitely have to get back to work," she said as she stood up, quickly followed by the rest of those at the table.
"Thanks for the most enjoyable lunch," Tom remarked, the other two men nodded their heads in agreement. "Maybe we'll see you at the party."
"You're welcome and we also enjoyed talking to you," Janet replied as they gathered their purses and started for the door.
Before they could leave, Harriet stopped them. "I'm going to put the institute down for a table of twelve as usual," she told the women. "Harry always makes a donation. Hopefully he'll be around to attend this year's fundraiser. He always seems to be gone on that submarine of his. Please try and come as it will be a fun time."
"Yes that's fine, Mrs. Abernathy. I'm sure he'll try and make it this year," Angie replied hesitantly as they said good byes and exited.
"Angie, I hope the admiral doesn't mind you committing him for a donation?" Wanda said, as they waited for Janet's car. "Does he always make such a large a donation?"
"Yes, he does make a donation every year but I never see the amount only the tickets. The tickets are generally donated as well to people associated with whatever the cause is, I think he's only attended once or twice since Seaview has been gone the last few years. I think this year is a first for a costumed affair. I'm sure the admiral will just love that," Angie replied with a chuckle as she pictured the admiral dressed as a pirate or desperado. The car brought round, they got in the car and drove back to the institute to report to the admiral what had taken place at the luncheon