Chapter 14: Come Hell or High Water

Ethan's POV

Poker is a game based on hope; hope that the person across from you is a lot less smarter than you and a worse liar. The gamble is a given, as with any card game. With each deal, one takes a chance. That chance comes with its own price and risk.

Either I am too stupid or too confident in my talents because I'm staring at my hand and it's not looking good. I see a Queen, a 5, a 2, a Jack and an Ace. They're different suits and a mix of black and red. I essentially have nothing to play with. But like I continue to tell Kristina; I keep my cards close and my face solemn. Sometimes your poker face and make or break the game.

Heinrick, the very nice business man I am up against is looking a little hot under the collar. I think I even see some sweat forming. I see his bid and toss in a stack of chips. He places his cards face down on the table and quirks his brow towards me. He looks to one of his accomplices and nods. "Care to make it a bit more interesting my friend." A hint of a Swedish accent can be made out. I think for a moment. 'Do I?'

"What do you have in mind?" The truth is, no matter how grounded I become, there is still a devil inside me waiting for that rush.

"I noticed Mr. Spencer own quite a bit of property here. I myself own a few toys back home."

"What kind of toys we talking about." My accent just got a whole lot thicker with the excitement of possible new bounty.

"Great big manly toys. For grownups only. You interested?"

"What in exchange for what?"

"Well, rumor has it; Mr. Spencer is set to inherit some land in Northern Ireland. I want it."

"The woman hasn't even gone cold in the ground and you want Martha's farmstead? Jeez where's your heart."

"Never had one. Now, balls I have. Do you?"

"Probably bigger than yours mate. What do I get in return?"

"If you win; I'll give you pink slip to my yacht. Grand luxury, cruise ship."

"Let's not waste another moment." We place our bets and shuffle up some new cards. I gain somewhat of a better hand than before and the tedious raising and calling of chips begins.

It's down to the wire and I throw my last stack of chips into the pit. I sit back, hoping I'm not appearing too cocky. He takes a good, long, hard look and the cards fanned out before him. Is he unwilling to admit defeat. Does he have the hand that will cause Luke to loose his marbles; the one's he has left anyways? I wait. The clock on the wall tick by slowly. I feel a slight tremor begin in my shoulder. 'Hurry up, hurry up. Either call your next shot or fold. But do something. Anything I'm begging you.' Well talking to my self does nothing to ease the tension in this room. I start to imagine a giant elephant will be appearing soon. A few words come out in Heinrick's native tongue, "Ran! Rövhål!" (Dam. Asshole) I fold, it's too much!" He throws his cards on the table and I must show the dealer my hand. The cards are laid face up and a roar of anger comes from Heinrick and company. "Rodi!" (f*ck me) One of the big guys, the bald one I believe throws a chair and turns over a table. Great, I get to pick that up later. And there goes the empty pitchers. Security comes charging in and I hold up my hand for them to wait. I reach over and turn Heinrick cards over and quite literally, I laugh. He had one of the best hands I've seen played around here. It's not great, but it was better than mine. And now I am the proud owner of… a yacht. What in god's name am I going to do with a freakin' yacht? And now I move away and let Security escort the now furious, heated and rowdy men from the casino. A young thin man walks over to me and hands me a business card. "He was quite serious before. His yacht is now, well, yours. Call me sometime this week. I'll make the arrangements." With shaky fingers, I grasp the dense card and give it a flick with my other hand. 'Oh boy.'

"You know I ought to have your ass strung up on a pole for what you almost cost me son." With a few beers in me, Luke was able to get me buzzed enough to spill the beans about the earlier poker game.

"I know it was risky but I hoped lady luck was on my side today."

"It wasn't your property to gamble with." He wasn't angry, or condescending; just stating a fact.

"I know pop. But what am I going to do with a boat?"

"Dodge, have you seen the size of this thing? It's not a dinky speedboat kid. It's a dam cruise liner. Thing's fuckin' huge." He takes a swig of cold beer and folds his arms over the back of the chair. One, Mr. Whistler; the thin young guy accompanying Heinrick and his goons, sent some information to the casino's private email account some time ago. My dad is right. This thing could probably carry 2 F150's, just on its deck; It's ginormous.

"Well, whatever it is what am I supposed to do with it?"

"I have no idea Dodge. No idea." We continue to drink ours beers and sit in silence.

"You mad pop?"

"I thought I was going to be, but I'm kind of proud. You didn't loose Martha's estate and you got a new toy to play with. All won with the shittiest hand of poker I have ever seen."

"It's all in the face." He shrugs and tops off the last of the brown liquid and slaps the empty bottle on the table. When he gets up, he puts a hand on my shoulder and leans in,

"You don't want to be a bartender for the rest of your life Dodge." Then he's gone. I sit for a few minutes alone and think. I'm already burning out with the long hours tending the bar and cleaning up after sloppy drunks. I'm grateful for the job and the money, but it's time I find my own way. I head to my apartment and start a long of day of research and calling a few contacts my father slipped into my pocket. Kristina calls to ask how my day is so far and I tell her to come over and I'll tell her all about it.

"Ethan, this is… this is amazing. How long did it take for you to figure this out?" She's holding a stapled packet of all the information I collected about cruise liners. I have a few notes of my own in the margins.

"About four hours. I think I could make it work. With the right people on board, who knows what could happen." I don't want to seem to excited in case my plan blows up in my face.

"Ethan, if you're really serious about this, you'll do just fine." She tackles me into a hug, not caring about being too excited for me. With me on the ground I look up at her.

"There's just one catch." I play with the button of her jeans.

"And that would be?" She tries to shoo it away. But I'm persistent.

"I would have to travel to California for a few months to get this all started."

"Then go to California."

"That's it. Just 'go to California.' No fight, no argument, no nothing." As a man, I'm confused.

"Ethan… I'm not saying I'm happy about you being gone for a few months, but this is important to you and a chance like this will not come around twice. Take it. We'll be fine."

"Long distance and all?"

"Promise me you'll come back in three months?"

"Promise." I even cross my heart. She laughs and grabs my hand and stares me down. A glimmer in her eyes tells me she's being serious.

"Then go. We'll work it out as we go. I'll miss you, but I'd be a selfish person if I held you back from this kind of opportunity. Just know that if you need anything, I've memorized my dad's credit card number." We roll around on my floor and end up well, you know what two horny people do when they're alone.

So here's the deal. I got in touch with Mr. Whistler who turns out to be Heinrick's financial lawyer. I was a little suspicious that maybe Heinrick tried pulling something on me, but Mr. Whistler assured me that he was drunk and sloppy and I won the property in question fair and square. He told me he would have the ownership papers transferred in my name and he would come by sometime on Friday for me to sign them. The boat (for lack of a better word) is harbored in Connecticut and when it was convenient for me, I could pick it up and therein lied the problem. You know with all my world traveling, I forgot my boating license. Luckily Luke knows somebody who has a license and while I go for one, he'll come with me to pick up the boat and bring it back to Port Charles. After my call with Mr. Whistler I began to do some research on cruise liners and how much they can hold and how big they are and so on. So, I made a plan.

I will turn my new found toy into a hotel and casino on water. It would be like taking Vegas and the Royal Caribbean and smushing them together. 'Vegas on the Blue,' thought that had a nice ring to it. I could paint the bottom of the ship black and red like a roulette table. I would have two restaurants on board. Roulette tables, Black Jack, Texas Hold em, poker, and other card games would occupy one ball room; and slot machines would occupy the other. The upper floors would stay as rooms. I'd need a registrar office, a personal office, maintenance, cooks, a partner or two and the list goes on and on. But I've given this a lot of thought, it's what I want. Now I just have to tell Luke and Tracy.

I own a ship. A really big, expensive ship. What the hell have I gotten my self into?