The blond officer said, “Oh, I wish. We would, but we’re still working.”
“Are you sure?” She turned on the charm.
“They both shook their heads and said, “Duty first, but we do appreciate it.”
“Some other time,” she said, then put her hand on Terry’s nineteen-inch bicep, “The jet ski?”
Terry pointed at a new Kawasaki jet ski nearby and said, “Let’s get on the water.” They trotted to it as the other young people milled around, blocking Marc’s view. When they parted a bit, he saw Ariel and Terry sitting on the Kawasaki.
“Stop!” Marc yelled, and he and Denson hurried forward. As they came through the crowd, Marc heard the Kawasaki motor roar to life, and Terry steered away from the dock as Marc and Denson stopped five feet from the edge.
A young woman in the group said, “Don’t worry, mister, Terry’s good on that thing. He’ll bring Rihanna back safe and sound.”
Marc turned and walked down the dock when Ringo Bazin started the Bertram and waved them over. As they stepped on the boat, Marc said, “Go.” Ringo steered the Bertram out of the marina and spotted the jet ski.
It was going south, paralleling Dodge Island. He shoved the controls forward and threw Denson off balance to land on the deck. Several shouts came from other boaters for Ringo to slow down, but he ignored them.
Ariel held tight to Terry’s waist as she glanced over her shoulder and saw the Bertram coming. She recognized Marc, and felt a shiver go down her spine. She leaned forward and said in Terry’s ear, “I’d like to play a joke on my managers, if you will help me.”
Terry slowed, turned his head and asked, “Sure, Rihanna, whatever you want.”
Ariel said, “They are behind us in a boat,” Terry looked over his shoulder and saw them, and she continued, “I’m staying at the Four Seasons, and think it would be funny if you could give them the slip and drop me off so I could go to my room and wait for them there.”
“You don’t want to go out on Biscayne Bay with us?” She felt his disappointment.
She pulled his face back and kissed his cheek, “I’ll come back and make it up to all of you.”
Terry said, “Okay, let’s lose these guys.” He sped up, then steered in a long, sweeping curve toward the mainland.
Ringo cut across the curve to shorten the distance between them, putting a strain on the Bertram’s hull. Marc thought he heard a groan in the motor. Ringo clenched his teeth, leaving his face in a grimace. He wanted Baimby, wanted her throat in his hands.
Terry saw what Ringo planned, and he said, “Hold on.” Spinning the jet ski in a tight one-eighty, Terry pointed them toward the north end of Brickell Key and pushed the Kawasaki to top speed. Ariel felt them skim across the water’s surface, almost as if they were about to fly away.
Ringo worked the larger boat to follow them, but had to cut back on speed to gain control. Denson said, “Damn her!” Ringo looked at him as if he was an insect. Denson averted his eyes and concentrated on the jet ski. Ringo accelerated again and saw they were gaining, and fast. He saw the young man look over his shoulder, and Ringo imagined what the young man’s face would look like when Bazin ran over the jet ski and the Bertram’s propellers ripped into him.
Ariel gripped Terry’s waist and said, they are very close.”
Terry said, “We’ll be all right. I may have to turn fast, so hold on tight.” He rounded the northeast corner of Brickell Key and steered toward the mouth of the Miami River, which had boat traffic coming out of it. A large white Hatteras equipped and rigged for deep sea fishing sailed from the river’s mouth as Terry nudged the jet ski slightly right to pass very close on the boat’s starboard side.
Bazin saw the move and nudged the Bertram left, staying on the jet ski’s tail. He was ten feet behind them. Soon he would put the bow of his boat right on top of them.
The Hatteras blew its horn and people tried to wave the approaching vessels away, but both came on at high speed.
Terry slid by the Hatteras so closely that the jet ski leaped into the air when hitting the small bow wave of the slow moving vessel. They landed twenty feet later, and Terry fought to keep control. Ariel’s heart beat so fast she could hear it in her ears, and the large boat beside them was close enough for her to touch.
Just as they passed the stern, Terry worked the jet ski into an abrupt left turn that threw an arc of water twenty feet high as they shot across the Hatteras’ wake, narrowly avoiding entering the mouth of the Miami River and a smaller boat immediately behind the Hatteras. Terry glanced behind them, then patted Ariel’s leg and steered the Kawasaki south, paralleling the Florida shoreline on the right and Brickell Key on the left.
Terry’s acrobatic move surprised Bazin and he missed the chance to cut behind the Hatteras to give chase, especially because of the smaller boat right behind it. He was in the Miami River now, so he cut his speed and let the Bertram settle in the water. He glanced at Marc, who said, “Don’t stop. Get them.”
Turning in a slow circle, he took the Bertram out of the river mouth and steered in the direction he last saw Ariel going.
Marc called on his phone, “Get to Brickell Key Drive and watch for a jet ski going under it heading south.” Someone said something back to him and he replied, “Don’t lose sight of them. We’re coming.” He said to Bazin, “Did you get the registration number?”
“Yes. I will take care of things.”
Terry steered the Kawasaki under the Brickell Key Drive road and continued south, hugging the shore. He asked Ariel, “Those guys weren’t your managers. They were mad.”
“It’s complicated baby, but you were magnificent. If you will put me ashore just beyond Point View where it curves into shore, it’s an easy walk to the Four Seasons.”