A Shepherd Afield Pt. 02

They'd had a lovely breakfast together and Ben saw them all off. He went back to the room and spent a couple of hours working on his laptop on the balcony. Then he shut it down and looked out at the beautiful day. He decided he'd go for a walk along the beach but he brought his cell phone in case his financial advisor or Gabriella needed to reach him.

He walked along the beach for about an hour and passed a few different resorts along the way. There weren't too many people out on the sand at this time but he did see quite a few people surfing. He stopped to watch a group of young surfers riding the waves and smiled at their enthusiasm if not their skill. Two young men in the group rode their surfboards right up to the shore and quickly pulled their boards up onto the dry sand. They turned in his direction and made their way over to him. One was hobbling a little and his friend with dreads kept pace with him so they arrived together. Ben looked at them and there was something familiar about them but he... couldn't place it.

"Mr. Shepherd, sir! Dave and I just wanted to apologize for our behavior on the flight here."

That's when it connected for Ben. These were the two young men who triggered his shouting on the plane.

Dave, the one with the broken toe, nodded. "Yeah, we were seriously wasted when we boarded. Had some seriously bad Mex before we went to the airport and it took hours to get clear."

"That's ok. I'm sorry I yelled like that."

"We didn't know you traveled with personal security!" the young man with dreads exclaimed, gently touching the remnants of his black eye.

"Security?" Ben blinked.

"The hot redhead milf- lady!" he quickly corrected.

Ben nodded. "Oh, right. Yeah, she's... pretty hardcore," he said with a grin.

"Leo! Are you surfing or what?" yelled a young woman standing at the edge of the shore with her board under her arm. She also had her light brown hair in dreads and sported a number of piercings. Wide black plugs stretched out her earlobes. She tilted her head to look at them. Ben thought of Lucy and felt a little homesick.

"Oh man, would- would it be cool if we introduced you to our friends?" Leo pleaded.

Ben looked back up the beach and realized he had the day. "Sure."

"Dana! Come here a minute!" Leo yelled. Dave grinned at his friend and waved to the others out in the surf to come in.

Ben looked out at the surf and counted about eight young people, five men and three women. They all had lean bodies and tans of diehard surfers and Ben saw a wide variety of tattoos and piercings. Ben thought they all looked like they needed a good meal or two.

"Who's the old guy?" Dana asked as she got close.

Ben snorted in amusement as he saw the look of dismay on Dave and Leo's faces.

"You came down here together?" Ben asked and Leo nodded.

"Yeah, it's kinda our last blast before we all gotta go our own ways and grow up and stuff. One last surfing blowout!" He grinned at Ben who nodded with a smile.

"We rented a house and we're living as cheaply as we can so we can stay down here for a month," Dave continued.

The others began to arrive and Ben saw they were all as young as Dana. The ages of the group probably ranged from 18 to no more than 20. Compared to them he was a fossil.

"Oh shit! Dave, is this the guy you were talking about?" one of the other girls asked as she gawked at Ben. She wore her long blond hair pulled back in a tightly bound braid.

Dave grinned and nodded. "Yeah, may I introduce Ben Shepherd. The Bronze Man!"

Ben sighed. That damn statue.

Surprised eyes turned in his direction and he did his best to ignore the rude stares at his crotch.

"Don't you think it's a little weird to show off your junk to the whole world, man?" The speaker had a more muscular build than the others, with long black hair, a deep tan and tribal tattoos over his chest and arms. His expression was a little belligerent.

"You're just jealous of what he's packing!" joked another.

"No, he's right. It is weird and if I'd known the artist's intent was to display it so widely I would have refused to pose for it." Ben growled. "I had no idea the damn thing was going to be so lifelike. I expected it to be abstract."

That made them quiet down. Dana was looking at the others. "What are you guys talking about?"

Ben was relieved at least one of the group hadn't seen it.

"He posed for a four foot tall bronze statue and he's naked as the day he was born." Dave blurted.

The girl looked at him in surprise.

"Aside from surfing what do you guys do down here?" Ben asked to change the subject.

"Eat, sleep, surf-" Leo began.

"Smoke weed!" Dave blurted and the group laughed.

Leo stared at Dave to get him to cool it in front of Ben.

"Just be careful you don't get caught. I don't think any of you want to spend time in the jails down here."

"Oh fuck, speaking of weed, did someone forget to pay the dealer?" the muscular surfer said nervously as he looked inland.

"Dana, you little cunt! Where's my fucking money!"

The group turned to see two men walking towards them from the grounds of a hotel. Some took a step back and realized it was too late to run. Ben watched them curiously then turned his face to the approaching and angry men.

The man in the lead, the one with the foul mouth, was around 5' 6", slim but hard and leathery. His long greying hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and he had a dainty little gold ring through one flared nostril.

The man at his back was obviously his body guard / knee breaker. Heavy muscles and a mean look, hair buzzed short, and too much jewellery. His gold rings probably doubled as brass knuckles. Great, a drug dealer. Ben got a bad feeling in his stomach but he knew he had to stay out of it.

"Shit! It's Michael and Devan!" Leo said quietly. "Do you have Michael's money?" he asked Dana.

She shook her head with tears in her eyes. Her face was turning red. "I didn't tell Dad where I was going so he cut me off."

"Why the fuck didn't you say something?" Leo hissed then stepped in front of the young woman. "Hey Michael, she had a little trouble getting the money but we'll-"

The man back handed him across the face and Leo fell back onto the sand. Dana screamed and reached out to him but Michael grabbed her arm and pulled her to him roughly.

"Where's my FUCKING MONEY?" he yelled in her face. She was crying in fear, mumbling she didn't have it and he shook her, hard.

Ben's eyes went cold and hard and he turned to face Michael completely.

"Let go of the girl."

Michael looked over Dana's head at Ben. Bloodshot blue eyes assessed him and slid away. "Fuck off! The cunt owes me money and if she can't pay with cash she's gonna pay with her gash!" he finished leering in the girl's face. She began to shriek.

Leo lurched back to his feet to try and stop Michael but Devan hit him once and he didn't get back up.

"Let go. Now."

The man smirked and pinched Dana's tit, hard. "Devan. Show this piece of shi-" he began then he was lying on the sand unconscious, blood splashed across his face from his destroyed nose. His sunglasses flew from his forehead to land a few yards away. The little gold ring was gone, lost somewhere in the sand. Probably with the missing teeth.

Dana was shaking with fear, staring down at the bloody mess that was Michael's face. Ben gently moved her behind him and hands reached forward to pull her back to the rest of the group who'd all moved behind Ben. They moved further back to give him room.

Devan was looking down at his boss with his mouth open. He couldn't believe how fast and hard the big guy had hit him. Doubt flashed behind his eyes. With his left hand he slid his blade free of its hidden belt sheath. The sun caught its edge.

"That was a mistake. Maybe your last," Devan said menacingly.

Never taking his eyes off of the man before him Ben pulled off his shirt and handed it back. Someone came forward and plucked it from his fingers.

Devan looked at Ben's chest and his unease grew. "You should walk away. The little bitch belongs to us now."

Ben's expression never changed and Devan was starting to sweat. He made a few feints with the blade but Ben didn't react at all. He could have been a statue.

Nerve broken, Devan surged forward but stepped on Michael's wrist with a crunch. The momentary distraction threw off the aim of his stab. Ben caught the wrist with his right hand and yanked him forward as he spun. He nailed Devan's right temple with his left fist, snapping the thug's head to the left.

Dazed badly, Devan tried to keep his footing but the sand shifted and he went down hard, landing on his own knife. He rolled onto his back and tried to scream but the knife had punctured a lung.

Ben saw the handle sticking up and the shock brought reality crashing back on him. He saw Devan reaching for the handle.

"STOP! Don't pull it out!" he bellowed and dropped to his knees beside the man and grabbed his wrists. "You could bleed out! Don't touch the knife!"

He turned his face to the frightened group. He caught the eye of the dark haired one he'd spoken with earlier. "You! Go to the hotel and get them to call for an ambulance!" He looked at Michael's bloody and unconscious face. "Make it two. GO NOW!"

The young man ran to the hotel as fast as he could.

Devan was gasping for breath as he was down a lung. "Fuck! -hurts!" he whimpered.

"I know it does but you have to stay as still as you can. Don't talk." Ben looked at the wound and there didn't seem to be much bleeding. He looked back at Devan. The man was on the edge of panic. "I've survived worse." The man's eyes went to the scars on Ben's chest and he seemed to calm a little.

Ben held the body guard's hands until the young man came back with help. Hotel security and the police. He said the ambulances were on their way.

Leo was sitting up in the sand and Dana was leaning against him, holding him tight.

The paramedics finally arrived and began by strapping Devan to a backboard to immobilize him. The second team did the same with Michael. Some police officers accompanied them back across the beach.

One of the officers who arrived on the scene recognized Ben from the incident earlier on in the week and came to speak with him.

"Mr. Shepherd? Officer Pérez. I spoke with you three days ago?" Ben nodded in recognition. "You are having an eventful vacation!" the officer said.

"Yes but not by my efforts. I just stopped by to watch the surfers and got sucked into this mess." Ben was hazy on exactly how it went down so he pointed to Dave who looked like he was desperate to share something. Dave took this as his invitation to gush.

"So Michael shows up and he's screaming in Dana's face, threatening to rape her and Ben was all cool and shit. He tells him to let go but Michael grabs her tit so Ben put him down in one punch! So fucking fast! Devan punched Leo and pulled a blade on Ben but BOOM! Ben hits him and he fell on his own fucking knife! But Ben kept him still so he didn't pull the knife out and die. He's a fucking hero, man!"

Ben felt a familiar flare of anger at Dave's final comment but he was able to push it aside this time. The venom in the rage was gone.

Pérez looked at Ben carefully and saw the discomfort pass on his face. "This is what happened?"

"Yeah, that... sums it up. This Michael fellow. He's some kind of drug dealer?" Ben asked.

The officer looked at Ben to see if he was just pretending to be unaware of the circumstances but saw no fakery in Ben's expression. He nodded. "Yes, a bad one. We have been looking for him for some time. He comes down from Nicaragua and sells to tourists. Mostly to stupid young men and women from the States." Ben heard grumbling behind him and he smiled at the officer.

"I do hope the rest of your stay is uneventful Mr. Shepherd." Pérez said as he turned to follow the rest of the officers as they left.

Ben turned back to the kids and was surprised when Dana crushed herself against his chest.

"Thank you," she cried. Her head only came up to his chest so he was looking down into her dreads. He patted her back and she looked up at him.

"You were exceptionally lucky this time. I'm not going to lecture you on buying drugs. You'll do what you want and I doubt you'd listen to an 'old guy' like me anyway." Ben shared his gaze with the others but Dana squirmed when she heard her own words repeated back to her. "But try to think ahead. It sounded like you got the drugs without having the money to pay for them. Any dealer willing to do that kind of deal should be avoided. Do not build a relationship with these people. They are not your friend. Do the transaction and walk away. Better yet don't do the transaction but like I said that's just an old man's advice."

Ben's stomach grumbled and Dana smiled up at him. He smiled back and looked for his shirt as she released him. The blond with the ponytail handed it back and he put it on. "Any place around her serve a good lunch? I'm starved." He saw hunger pass over the faces of a few of the others. "My treat." That put smiles on all their faces.

"The Palmelo Resort has awesome fish tacos!" Leo said as he moved closer. He had a nasty black eye and Ben realized it was the same one Trish had blackened.

"Lead the way," Ben said and the group rushed to pick up their boards. They walked down the beach back in the direction Ben had come and passed one resort to get to the second. There was a large beach bar and restaurant and the group stacked their surfboards and pulled a bunch of tables along the edge of the patio together to make one long table. A man approached quickly, taking in the impoverished look of these new customers with a frown on his face and Ben intercepted him. He saw the nametag indicated he was the assistant manager.

The man looked at Ben's smile and returned it tentatively.

"Hi, I'm treating my friends here to lunch. We'll be putting it on one bill and I'll be paying it." He showed the assistant manager his credit card and the man caught sight of the bills in Ben's wallet. His smile strengthened.

"Certainly sir!" He turned and gestured for some waiters to come to the tables.

Ben turned and saw he'd been left a spot at the center of the table facing the beach so he took his chair. Leo was sitting across from him with Dana on his left and Dave on his right. On Ben's left was the girl with the ponytail, Ceela, and on his right was the muscular, dark haired young man whose name was Nathan.

When the waiters came to take their drink orders Ben told them to order whatever they wanted. He stuck with ice water. He also asked for an ice bucket with ice.

Soon the table's occupants were laughing and talking, and enjoying their cold beer.

"You don't drink Ben?" Leo asked.

"No. I was an alcoholic for a time, a bad time, and when I got sober I promised myself I wouldn't go back down that road again." Then he saw their uncomfortable looks. "Oh sorry. I have no problems around other people drinking. Please enjoy yourselves."

The waitress returned with a wine chiller with ice in it on a floor stand. Ben had her put it between his chair and Nathan's so he could ease his right hand into the ice. He was fortunate that it wasn't hurting too bad but this preventative measure seemed wise.

"Did you bust your hand on Michael's face?" Nathan blurted.

"No. I dislocated a knuckle on... someone else's face back home. I was supposed to take it easy when I was down here to let the knuckle heal. It's only a little sore but why take chances."

The mood picked up once more and Dave leaned forward.

"Where are your lady friends today? Your bodyguard could have helped you back there!" he grinned.

Ceela gaped at him. "You have a female bodyguard?"

Ben smiled at her. "She's not really a bodyguard but she does kick ass and take names."

"I'd love to meet this amazing lady!" Ceela grinned.

Ben looked thoughtful. "I don't know if she surfs but it wouldn't surprise me. She's very active in outdoor activities." He thought about the sports equipment he'd seen in her garage. "She runs, kayaks, rides dirt bikes, you name it. She's also a master at a few martial arts."

Dave caught Ceela's eye and held his hands out in front of his chest to demonstrate Trish's breast size.

"Hey! Show some respect or I'll ask her to pay you a little visit tomorrow." Ben growled teasingly and Dave held up his hands in surrender.

"Stupid jerk!" Ceela barked and kicked his shin.

"I give! I apologize!" Dave yelped.

The food started to arrive and the smiles grew around the table. Then the table was silent except for the quiet sounds of people enjoying their meals. Ben was surprised by how hungry they were. He guessed they'd spent most of their budget on non-essentials like booze and drugs. He ate his own burger and passed most of his fries to Ceela and Nathan though Dana reached across to snag a few when she saw he was donating them. Ben ordered a few baskets of fries for the table which brought cheers.

More beers arrived during the meal and everyone relaxed. Ben saw the clouds were beginning to roll in and knew he probably had another two or three hours before the rains began. He wasn't that far from his resort.

"You guys surf here every day?" he asked and received nods. "I'll ask Trish and Rain if they'd like to try surfing tomorrow."

"Is Rain the other lady you were with on the plane?" Leo asked.

"No. She's another guest at the resort. She and Trish run on the beach in the mornings," Ben explained.

As the meal finally winded down Ben ordered himself a bowl of ice cream and saw the others looking at him. "What? You want dessert, order some!" With big grins some ordered bowls of ice cream but the rest ordered milk shakes.

When the last spoonful was eaten and the last drops were sucked up everyone sat back feeling pleasantly full. A cheer went up for Ben and everyone thanked him for the meal. The bill was presented to Ben and he followed the waitress back to her station to pay it. When he returned the group was slowly making their way back to their boards.

Walking up beside Leo and Dana who were holding hands Ben smiled at them. "So, back on the boards this afternoon?" They grinned sleepily.

"No, we're all going to go take a nap!" Leo gasped.

Dana let go of Leo's hand and hugged Ben once more. He returned the hug with a smile.

Dana stepped back and looked up at him. "I'm very sorry we dragged you into our mess. Your advice hasn't fallen on deaf ears. We will be far more cautious in the future." Ben nodded hearing this.

Her eyes got a little glassy. "I personally want to thank you for saving me from an awful fate." She shuddered.

Ben hoped she'd use that memory to guide her decisions into smarter avenues in the future but limited his response to a simple 'You're welcome' which brought a small smile to her lips and she gave him another tight hug.

After she stepped back he looked at the happy faces around him and smiled. "I'm heading back to the resort. I may or may not see you tomorrow but if I don't, enjoy the rest of your stay and be careful out there." He got a bunch of hugs then started walking back to the resort.

He took off his sandals and walked along the water's edge enjoying the peace of the moment. It felt like he was alone on a desert island. Then his cell began to ring. He dug it out of his pocket and saw it was his financial advisor.

"Hello?"

"Ben! It's Jerry. Just wanted to let you know the transaction has gone through. The final investment was 8.2 million which makes you a majority shareholder in the new merged company."

"The merger happened? I thought that fell through!" Ben exclaimed.

"No, the new corporation is properly registered and you are their largest investor. Working with Gabriella was a delight. You will probably-"