Chapter 17: Lexa

Octavia and I follow Mickey's directions heading down the 101 to Laguna street, turning onto Marina boulevard to the docks. I find a parking spot, and we head down toward the slips until we find slip number twenty-two. What we find isn't just a yacht. It is the biggest boat I have ever seen. It has to be at least 400 feet long and at least four stories tall. I look at O and say, "Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

She says, "Only when Bellamy took us to the Naval Base on the family day to tour the boats, but they weren't as nice as this, just as big. So come on, let's go aboard and see if everything is ready for the party and then explore a little before everyone gets here."

We walk down the gangplank towards the slip when a guy at a security booth stops us asking where we are headed. I tell him that we are heading to my yacht parked in slip number twenty-two. He laughs and nice try, but that is Mr. Mickey's yacht. I say it was, but now it's mine. If you don't believe me, call Mickey or Captain Miguel.

He picks up the phone, and I hear him say, "Captain, I have two young girls here that say they own Mr. Mickey's yacht. Is that true?"

I'm not sure what is said on the other end, but the guard looks at me, asking my name. Then he returns to his phone call. When he hangs up, he says, "Sorry, allow me to give you a lift in my cart here down to your new yacht. Is there anything you need to bring aboard?"

I said, "Sure, hold on and let me grab our bags." So I run to the jeep and grab both our overnight bags and then climb in the cart. The guard tries to make small talk on the short ride, but I really don't hear anything because I am too busy look at the massive boat.

When we arrive at the entrance to the slip, it is lined with the captain and what I guess is the crew. As I get out of the cart, I say, "There will be a good many people showing up in the next couple of hours looking for me, so it would be helpful if you just show them the way."

The guard replies, "Um…ma'am…I'm not supposed to just let anyone down here. I have to either call you for permission to let them through, or you can have one of your crew come and get them."

"I understand, but how about we set up a new system for me since I now own the boat and the slip. I will give all of my guests a password if they know the password you let them pass. I will change the password each time I plan on having a large group of people. How does that sound?"

He replies, "Well…um…that really isn't the policy. I will have to ask my superiors and get this approved before…."

"Okay, let me stop you right there. What is your name, and how often do you work the night shift here?"

"My name is Roger, ma'am, and I work the night shift Friday thru Tuesday."

"It is nice to meet you, Roger. I'm Lexa, and this is Octavia. I will pay you a thousand dollars to implement my system every time I have a party during your shift. All you have to do is ask for the password then send them down. How does that sound? If you want to get it approved, that's fine with me as long as, at least for tonight, you do things my way. Here is the money. Do we have a deal?"

"Umm…Sure. What is tonight's password?"

I look at O and smirk, "Tonight's password will be Stryker, anyone that knows the password is allowed down here."

He smiles and says, "Yes, ma'am."

We get out of Roger's cart and head over to where the captain is waiting. I look at him then the long line of the crew standing there. There have to be over fifty people lined up alongside the captain. I hold out my hand, "Good evening, you must be Captain Miguel. I'm Lexa Trikru, and this is Octavia Blake. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Captain Miguel says, "It is nice to meet you as well, Ms. Trikru and Ms. Blake. Please allow me to introduce you to my first mates. They will be the ones to make sure you have everything you need then I will introduce you to the rest of the crew. Jose and Reed, step forward, please."

I can't believe the two names I hear him call out. At first, I think, there is no way that it's actually the Jose and Reed that I know until they step forward. I take one look at them, realizing it is them. I run up to them, grabbing them in a group hug before the captain can introduce them. I release them and say, "How the hell…what are you two doing here?"

Jose says, "That's a long story. How are you here? How are you now the owner of this yacht?"

I laugh, "Well, that's a long story too, but one I will share once we have a chance to catch up."

The captain clears his throat before saying, "It looks like you already know my first mates. One day you will have to tell me the story of how, but right now, we need to give you a tour and introductions before your party-goers begin to arrive. How does that sound?"

"That sounds amazing, but first, I have a couple of questions for you."

Captain says, "Hold your questions until after the introductions so the crew can get back to work." He then takes us down the massive line of the crew and introduces us to everyone. I can't help thinking that I will never remember everyone's name tonight, but I will make it a priority to eventually learn them all. I also need to find out how much everyone gets paid and how often. Holy crap, I have a lot of questions, but most can wait until later.

Once the introductions have been made, the captain tells us to follow him, Reed, and Jose. As soon as we are on board, the captain begins our tour, but first, I need to ask him a few questions. "Captain, how long will it take to sail from here to the sea cliff community, and can we drop anchor offshore there?"

He replies, "It will only take about thirty minutes to get there, and I'm sure we can drop anchor there, but I will check with the harbormaster about how long we can stay. Why do you ask?"

"I'm staying there with a friend right now, and I am supposed to pick her up at noon tomorrow. So I thought if it were alright with her and, of course, whoever else needs to give permission, that I would probably anchor there and live on the ship."

He says, "I will make a few calls and see what I can find out for you. As for tomorrow, it shouldn't be a problem. Will you need a full crew?"

"That's my next question, how does the whole crew thing work? Is everyone full-time and live on the boat or…how does it work."

He smiles, "Well, that is up to you and how much you plan on using the ship. Mr. Mickey hardly ever used it, so he would just call ahead letting me know his plans so that I could staff accordingly, but it is really up to you."

"This is a lot to think about. What if I plan on using it as basically a floating house? How many crew members would I need daily? Could I keep the rest on like a retainer type plan when I plan a trip or something?"

He replies, "We can hash out all the details later, but yes, you can keep some of the crew members as live-in, and others can be on-call, so to speak. What do you require for tomorrow?"

"I really don't know, so can we just plan on the whole crew working tomorrow then figure it out from there?"

"Sure, that will be fine. Now let Jose and Reed show you and Ms. Blake to your quarters and give you a quick tour of the ship."

"Thank you, Captain." As the Captain walks away, I turn to Jose and Reed and introduce them to O. She asks, "How do you know these guys?"

Jose, Reed, and I laugh. Finally, I say, "That is a long story, but you have heard most of it. Remember when I told the story of how I met Ash in the battle of the Valley? Then the mission in which Ash was taken? Well, these two guys were with me on all of those, plus they helped me capture Ahmed."

She looks at them and then me and says, "Really? Then how are they here now if they were working for the Taliban?"

"Like I said, it's a long story that I don't even know, but we will find out when we have more time. Right now, just know that I trust them. Now guys, if you will give us a quick tour before our crazy friends arrive."

We spend the next thirty minutes following them around the main parts of the yacht just so we kind of know our way around. This thing is impressive. It has its own spa with a pool that can be heated or turned into an ice bath, a sauna, two different massage areas, a jacuzzi, and a hammam (I don't even know what that is.) even a cryotherapy chamber. These will definitely help to keep us in tip-top fighting shape.

After showing us the spa, we are shown the dive deck with a professional dive center with experienced dive instructors. Some of the dive equipment onboard is four Poseidon, seven rebreathers, and ten other conventional dive equipment. Then we move on to where the water toys are stored. In here, we have three GTX300 jet skis, one GTX260 jet ski, four F5S Seabobs, hoverboard, foil board, stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, water skis, towable inflatables, and more. Next are the onboard boats available: a 12.50m Compass Limousine, 11.80m Windy Limousine, 10.50 work tender, a 9.50 inflatable work tender, 8.30 Super Air Nautic Sport tender, and two Pascoe tenders.

I look at O and say, "What the hell? I don't even know what half this stuff is, do you?"

She laughs, shaking her head, "I mean, I have seen some of it on tv and stuff but never up close. We are going to have an awesome time playing with all this stuff over the next few weeks."

"Yeah, I hate to say it, but I almost wish I didn't have plans with Ash tomorrow so we could try this stuff out. I guess we have all the time in the world, though since I own it now."

Reed says, "Lexa, we have just enough time to show you the cinema, then we will take you to your room. Once you are settled in there, you can give us a call, and we will take you up to the 'party deck' where the band is setting up, and the caterer is setting up the food."

"Wait, did you say band?"

Jose laughs and says, "Yep, Mickey hired a band, told us to stock up on alcohol, and is having a full buffet of food set up. So how exactly did you come to be the owner of this fine vessel?"

O and I laugh before she says, "Lexa here likes to bet big on her fights. She won it in a bet. We will tell you the whole story later. Show us to our rooms, please."

We follow them down to what they call the 'master suite.' I call it the 'master floor' because it is literally a whole floor. I ask, "What about Octavia?"

Reed says, "I will show her the other suites, and she can choose one."

"Oh…okay. Yeah, O pick whichever one you want, we'll put your name on the door, and you can do whatever you want to it. Jose, give me about fifteen minutes, then come get me. I just want a few minutes to look around here before heading up. O, I will see you up on the party deck."

I take a few minutes to look around at my new home. The bedroom has a king-size bed and a 180-degree view. It also has a sitting area with a huge sectional couch and a 100-inch tv mounted above a fireplace. It also has a massive surround sound system, speakers in the sitting area, and the bedroom area. The bathroom is more extensive than Ash and I's entire room in the desert at Ahmed's. It has a vast, round soaking tub in the middle of the room, with a massive shower with two showerheads. Next, across from the bathroom, it looks like two walk-in closets and something with a bunch of mirrors and makeup in it. I think I can do without this room, maybe turn it into a room with some boxing equipment. Next is a large office area, with a smaller office attached to it. Again, not sure I need these but whatever. Then there is a large living room area with couches, another 100-inch tv, a dining room table, a small kitchen, and even a bar. Next, I walk outside to an outdoor area with a large sitting area with outdoor dining. Further out, there is another sitting area surrounding a fire pit.

Jose finds me out by the fire pit, "Hey Lexa, you about ready to head upstairs?"

"Yeah, sure."

He laughs, "Are you okay? You look like you are a bit overwhelmed."

I smile, "Yeah, I just can't believe how far we have come. Less than a year ago, we were being held as captive soldiers by Ahmed. Now I'm standing on a superyacht that I own talking to someone I never thought I would see again. It's just a lot, you know?"

"Lexa, I totally get it, but you know I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. I can never repay you for what you have done for me, but I will spend the rest of my life trying."

"Dude, you have nothing to pay me back for, and once this weekend is over, we are going to sit down and have a nice long chat about how we all got here. But, unfortunately, I have a bunch of crazy people about to arrive for a celebration party. So, let's head upstairs and prepare ourselves and get some food. I should probably give you a fair warning. Most of these guys are real partiers and can sometimes get out of hand. Then there is this guy Finn, who hates me, so just watch him."

Jose smiles and says, "Lexa, you know Reed, and I have your six. So you just concentrate on having a good time."

Soon I was joined by O, we started looking around the deck. At one end of what doubles as a helipad, there was a stage where the band just finished setting up. On the right-hand side, there is a full buffet of food. Across from the band, there is a large full bar with three bartenders ready to go. The floor was lit up as a dance floor, with some high-top tables set up around it. The setup was impressive, and the band was beginning to play just as everyone started arriving.

I went to the bar, downing a few quick shots before grabbing a plate full of food. Soon the place is packed, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. A few more shots later, I'm having a great time dancing with whoever wants to dance. The only person I haven't seen is Allie. I don't know what's up with her. She is almost worse than Ash was when I first met her about being hot and cold. I decided to give her a while longer then maybe text her, but then again, she has my number so she could call me too.

Whatever! I just want to have a good time and not have to think about anything. Soon I see Clarke and Finn over by the bar arguing. It's really none of my business, but I decide to go over to get another drink. When I get to the bar, I walk up behind Finn ordering my drink. As soon as he hears my voice, he turns around and smirks. "Well, if it isn't, the war hero turned illegal fighter. How did you manage to get the use of this place for the night?"

"You know what, Finn? I have a question for you. If you hate me so much, why bother hanging around where you know I'm going to be. Oh wait, it's because you like the fact that I pay for everything. You're just a big mooch. Just so you know, this is my boat, and the only reason I let you hang around is because of Griffin. If it weren't for her, I would throw you off this boat right now."

He laughs, "Yeah, right, this is your boat. There is no way you own this."

"Oh really, why don't you ask O or, better yet, anybody working here tonight. Guess you didn't hang around for the rest of the fights tonight, or you would know that I won the boat and a whole lot of money. Oh yeah, I forgot you were the one stupid person in the group who bet against me. How did that turn out for you?" I laugh as I see him turn red and ball his fist up. Stupidly he takes a swing at me, which I easily avoid. Instead of hitting him, I grab his wrist, twisting it behind his back while shoving him into the edge of the bar.

I whisper in his ear, "Fact is I don't care what you think about me, but what I do care about is how you treat my friends. So, that being said, I better not see you causing any trouble tonight, and if you ever lay another hand on Griffin, I will kill you." I just turned and walked away.

I walk straight up to the stage where the band has just finished playing a song. I asked for the microphone when it was handed to me spoke, "Hey everyone, I hope you are all enjoying yourselves tonight. I see some faces that I don't recognize, so if you don't know who I am, my name is Lexa, and this is my boat. I just wanted to say a few words, and then I will let you get back to having a good time. First off, I would like to say thank you to my best friend, Octavia. O, without you, I wouldn't be standing here right now on my own boat. Second, everyone is invited to stay the night. There are plenty of rooms, so if you can't drive, please stay. Lastly, if you do stay, I need you gone by ten in the morning. Okay, that's all I got. Now everyone have a good time." As I start to hand the mic back over to the singer, I say, "Hold on, can you play She Got that by Drew Green? I feel like singing a song."

He looks at me, nodding his head. He hands me the mic back before going to talk to the band. Soon the song begins. I look over to where Clarke and Finn still stand at the bar and sing… She got that red carpet class when she wanna go out on the city/She got that red dirt swag when she wanna get nitty-gritty/She got my heart, my soul, my back/She got that window down, blonde hair down blowing out of my Chevy/She got that indigo front seat, glow everywhere she go sexy/
She got my heart, my soul, my back/She got my heart, my soul, my back/And whatever she wants (I add…I'll give her)/Whatever she needs (I add…She'll have it)/Whatever it is, she gonna get it from me/Whatever she wants, I'll give her/Whatеver she needs, she'll have it/Whatevеr it is, she gonna get it from me (I add…not him)/'Cause she knows I got it bad, bad, bad/Yeah, she got that/She got that red carpet class when she wanna go out on the city/She got that red dirt swag when she wanna get nitty-gritty/She got my heart, my soul, my back/She got that fight like her daddy/She got that love from her momma/She got that same dream as me makin' me think maybe I wanna/Wanna put a ring on it/Wanna get that house/If she wanna put a swing on it/She gets whatever she wants/Whatever she needs, she'll have it/Whatever it is, she gonna get it from me, (I add…not Finn)Whatever she wants, I'll give her/Whatever she needs, she'll have it/Whatever it is, she gonna get it from me, not him/'Cause she knows I got it bad, bad, bad/I got it bad, bad, bad/Yeah, she got that. I finish up the song with the chorus, then walk off the stage.

O comes up, "What was all that about?"

"I don't know. I just wanted everyone to know they are welcome to stay, but I have plans for my new toy tomorrow. I also just wanted Finn to know that I was serious about this being my boat. He really just irritates the hell out of me. I also wanted Clarke to know that…I don't know that she deserves better than Finn. I want her to know that I'm interested in her. I don't know why Clarke stays with him, especially if he hits her. Now, let's have some fun. Then again, I may just take my tired ass down to my floor and soak in a hot bath and then crash."

She gives me a surprised look and says, "What? You can't go to bed. This is your celebration. You need to drink up and find someone to hook up with. I know that's what I'm going to do."

"O, I'm tired, and hooking up isn't really my style. Besides, doesn't everyone here have a significant other?"

"Well yeah, but there are a few that don't. Besides, it's early, and I'm hoping more people show up. You are just upset that Allie didn't show."

"You know what, maybe I will stay and party some, and who knows, maybe I will follow your lead."

"That's my girl, now let's go find those single girls and show them a good time!"

As we walk to the bar, I notice Finn walking straight towards us with Griffin right behind him. He looks pissed. I smirk, "Looks like Finn didn't like what I had to say."

He gets up in my face, yelling, "What the fuck is your problem?"

"I don't have one. I just think that you are an asshole, and Clarke could do better."

He steps towards me, drawing back his fist. "I really wouldn't do that if I were you, Finn. I'm just itching to kick your ass." I say with a smirk. "Besides, didn't you just try this a few minutes ago?"

Clarke comes up, "Finn, stop!"

He spins around to face her, "What! So, you are taking up for her. I thought we talked about what is expected of you."

She looks at her feet, turning pink. "I…well…come on let's just go."

By this time, Jose and Reed are both standing behind Finn. I guess he notices because he turns to stomp off, saying, "Fine! Let's go. I don't need this crap from a dyke!"

Clarke starts to follow him obediently, looking at the ground as she does. When she passes me, I reach out and place my hand on her arm. I feel the electricity immediately. She looks up at me, "You don't have to go, Clarke. You don't have to do what he tells you."

She shakes her head, "I'm sorry. I'm not like you. Why are you doing this?"

That statement hurts worse than any punch I have ever taken. What does she mean, she's not like me? Does she mean that she doesn't feel the sparks when we touch? Is she afraid…what the hell does she mean? O looks at me as if she is going to say something, but I shake my head no, going straight to the bar for shots.