Chapter Nine: Family Tradition

August 17, 1936

Chicago, Illinois

Laurence Plunder loved his life. He was rich, successful, powerful, respected… and best of all, he felt that he had restored some sort of honor to his family that had been previously lost.

The Plunder family had once owned hundreds of acres of plantation in southeastern Louisiana, along the Mississippi River. They had made a fortune growing tobacco and cotton using the forced labor of slaves. It was the Plunder family way, profiting from the misery of others. They had been ruined by the Civil War. Parts of the plantation had been burned or otherwise destroyed during various battles and of course the abolition of slavery ended the free labor that was the source of the plantation's profit.

Laurence's grandfather had never recovered from the war, both financially and psychologically. He had spent most of the rest of his life drinking and wallowing in misery in the derelict plantation manor that represented most of what the family still possessed. Laurence's father had gotten out of there as soon as he could and taken up a career in banking- safe and reliable. Laurence's father rarely took him to Louisiana to see his grandfather but Laurence still remembered the few visits vividly. The old man sitting around recounting his glory days in between sips of whiskey. He talked of being the lord of a vast estate, of being rich, privileged and powerful. It was the only time Laurence ever saw any spark of life in his grandfather's green eyes. And it inspired something in Laurence- the desire to be rich and powerful.

It was not as if he were poor. Laurence's father made a nice income, and life for Laurence and his siblings had always been rather comfortable, albeit boring. There was only so much money to be made safely, Laurence reasoned. If a man really wanted to be rich and powerful he would have to be willing to take a few risks, to do some things that others might consider… unethical.

And the US government had provided just the right opportunity for a man like Laurence to make a fortune when they adopted the prohibition policy. Bootlegging turned out to be a very profitable enterprise, and Laurence now lived the life of luxury. He owned a limousine, wore expensive Italian suits, smoked Cuban cigars and had a constant stream of young and beautiful women at his side. Of course, he had a wife and kids at home but his wife didn't seem to mind so much- as long as he kept the money coming.

However now that Prohibition had been repealed for almost three years that money was not coming in nearly as quickly as it had before. Laurence Plunder was not poor by any means, he still had money invested in various enterprises, most of the illegal variety. However he could not quite regain the wealth he had obtained during that time and that bothered him.

Tonight was a hot, sticky summer night but it did not stop Laurence from wearing a three piece Italian suit as he headed out to one of his favorite nightclubs. He had every intention of making sure that those around him knew how rich and powerful he was, and his style was a part of that.

He had come to this particular club to see a beautiful and precocious young woman who had just started singing there last week. She had long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes as well as an amazing body. She claimed to be twenty, but Laurence figured she was probably still in her teens, though that did not bother him. She was the daughter of German immigrants, one of eight children. Her family had been too poor to provide much for her and now she made her own way in life, singing in speak-easies and hotel lounges. Her name was Elisabet Bliese, but she went by the Anglicized name Betty Blight.

As Betty took the stage all eyes were on her, the men leered lecherously and the women stared jealously. Her voice might not have been amazing but it was not her voice that most people were paying attention to. She was wearing a strapless pink dress with a long slit up one of the sides, showing off all of her best features.

Laurence had arranged with the owners of the club to meet Betty after her performance. Once she had finished her set, she sauntered over to his table, taking a seat across from him.

"You have a lovely voice, my dear," Laurence said smoothly.

"Thank you," she replied sweetly, taking a sip of wine. Betty had noticed Laurence watching her performance every night for the last week. She had done her research and found out that he was quite wealthy, and quite willing to do whatever it took to acquire more wealth. He also, unsurprisingly, had a soft spot for beautiful blondes. It was not very difficult for her to convince him to come home with her.

Betty Blight lived in a basement apartment near the warehouses downtown. The building looked as if it were ready to be condemned. Laurence followed her uneasily as she led him down a stairwell to her apartment. Once inside, Laurence's eyes grew wide in disbelief. The place had been converted into a laboratory. There were shelves lined with books, not just in English, but also in German and French. The books covered all sorts of topics- biology, chemistry, physics, medicine… There were tables with test tubes, electronic devices and things that Laurence could not even identify. In one corner of the basement there was what looked like a surgical room set up.

Betty noticed Laurence staring at the operating room she had built. "Plastic surgery," she explained. "I make quite a bit of money from that, from gangsters and bootleggers trying to hide from the feds."

Laurence cringed a little. He had seen the horrible consequences of several of his colleagues attempting to change their identities using crude back alley surgeons.

"Don't worry," Betty said sweetly, sensing his uneasiness. "All of my clients are still alive and well. Come have a seat." She took Laurence by the hand and led him into her living room. Once he was seated on the couch she poured them both a glass of wine.

"How did you learn how to perform surgery?" Laurence asked curiously as he sipped the wine. The wine was French, well-aged and most likely very expensive. He wondered how Betty managed to acquire it. There was certainly more to this woman than most people would realize.

"I taught myself. I read a lot of books." She smiled. "Surgery is easy. I just do it to pay the bills. The things I am most interested in are far more… experimental."

Laurence Plunder stared at the beautiful young woman admiringly. She was not just gorgeous, she was also a genius. The two of them together could make quite a team.

"Have you given any consideration to what you are going to do now that Prohibition has been repealed? Certainly a businessman such as yourself has some kind of a plan?" Betty asked, swirling the wine in her glass. She raised the glass to her lips and took a sip, keeping her eyes on him the entire time.

Although she was trying to sound conversational Laurence knew that her question was very deliberate. She was after his money, he figured, frowning a little at the thought. "I wasn't planning on coming here tonight to discuss business," he answered, his tone betraying his disappointment.

"Oh, you were definitely planning on discussing business," Betty said with a smirk, "only a different kind of business."

Laurence grinned as he caught the innuendo in her statement. "You certainly are a special kind of woman."

Betty smiled. "You have no idea." She moved so that she was sitting closer to him on the couch. "War is on the horizon. The Nazis are already developing weapons that have never been seen before. They have all of their top scientists working on it. Soon the American government will realize their need for advanced military technology. We can supply them with that if we work together."

"I suppose we could," Laurence answered, considering the idea. "Is that what you brought me here to discuss?"

"Oh we don't have to discuss it now. I was just telling you about my idea."

"So when do you want to discuss it?" he asked as he finished his glass of wine.

"I was thinking we would talk about it tomorrow morning over breakfast." She smiled seductively at Laurence, who was now smiling back at her, his green eyes sparkling.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," he replied just before leaning over and kissing Betty passionately. He had a feeling this was going to be a very profitable relationship.


A/N: For those who don't know, Betty Blight was Dr. Blight's grandmother from the episode "Hog Tide" and she was indeed a scientist who made money by working as a singer in hotels. And also plastic surgery was common during the Prohibition with bootleggers trying to hide their identity. I totally watched a History Channel special about it.

I know this was a short chapter, but I'll have the next up in a day or two and we can see what the Planeteers are up to now. :)

And thanks again to mudget who keeps me on track with posting these updates.