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Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time Started by: Star on Aug 07, '18 21:05

It was a fair evening down on Race St. Pier and things seemed to be running smoothly as she watched the crew load up a large and very expensive luxury yacht that was set to depart that evening on a cruise down the Delaware and into the Atlantic towards New York. Star was one of the guests for the journey down to New York and then again back home to Philly. At her own home, Declan was busy packing his suitcase at the last second though hers had been packed several days in advance save for the dress she was set to wear later that evening. She finished her business at the Observatory and finally left the building, heading home to pick up her own trunk and her boyfriend for what promised to be a grand party on board the large ship. 

Her friend, Madeline, was set to join them that evening as well and Star had been promised the trip of a lifetime. Once aboard the ship, she was greeted by a porter who took her trunk, directing another one to retrieve Declan's as they were directed towards the main activity deck by a friendly steward. The yacht was gleaming and new with polished wood floors and brass accents, it was a sight to behold. She found herself mesmerized by the glittering chandelier that hung in the lobby as she passed under it on her way out to where the other patrons were. 

Soon she and Declan were caught up in a cycle of shaking hands and greeting others, chattering about the sheer magnificence of the boat as the last of the passengers arrived, including Madeline. Star excused herself, breaking away from the group of people to greet Madeline as she waved a young man to bring her a flute of champagne. 

"So glad you could make it, We're heading back to your neck of the woods aren't we? 

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There was no way Madeline would ever say no to an invitation for a party, especially a party on a superyacht. She found herself traveling between New York and Philadelphia often these days, so she could keep an eye on her Meatball Sub Shop and visit with her friends and business partners. She’d met many people in Philly that she enjoyed spending time with, so it was becoming a second home of sorts. Which worked perfectly given the strong alliances between their two cities and the fact that it was only a short plane ride away.

She’d been here a few days already and would be taking this cruise back to New York City. She’d gotten the invitation from Star and had immediately accepted; Madeline grew up in a desert but since moving to New York she had fallen in love with the water. She was in the process of opening up boat tours around New York City and going out to purchase the boats had been her favorite part so far. So, the fact that this was a cruise all the way back to New York? Madeline was thrilled.

The tall blonde wore a floor-length blueish-silver gown that was beaded and hugged her curves just right. She smiled warmly when Star approached her, giving the woman a quick hug.

“Thank you so much for inviting me! This place is breathtaking, I can already tell we’re going to have one heck of an evening. And yes, we’re heading all the way back to New York, so I can even give you a tour of my hometown once we get there.”  

The wealth on this boat was extreme and her criminal mind was already at work trying to figure out how to make the most of this cruise.

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Star nodded, reaching out to lift two crystal flutes off the tray next to her, handing one of the champagnes to Madeline. 

"This boat is amazing, I don't think I've ever been on one quite so fancy before but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get dressed up and drink champagne and spend a few days just letting my hair down."

She took another sip and looked around, her eyes narrowing slightly at the sheer amount of decadnce and opulence that filled the boat. Each and every one of these party goers were loaded financially speaking and there was quite a bit of opportunity to be had if you knew what you were doing. She nudged Madeline, pointing to a man whose empire was built on the backs of the young girls who ran his factories. Near him were several other men and women who had used similar methods for their own financial gain. "legal criminals" is how Declan called them, men like Bill O'Shaughnessy who used anyone they could to get more money. 

As they stood on the deck, sipping champagne and laughing over small talk, the two of them were putting their heads together to pull off a watery caper. Yeah, what they were thinking of was highly criminal but they figured they were in good company of every other high rise low life so, why not take the loot and do some good with it?

"So, I can see the gears turning in your head Miss Madeline, what's first on the agenda for the Delaware river pirates?"

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“Why would anyone ever want to pass up the opportunity to get dressed up and drink champagne? I mean, we all deserve this kind of break every so often.”

Madeline took the champagne flute Star handed her, glancing around again while sipping it. It wasn’t like this would be all work, after all. She had already spotted a gentleman or two she’d like to get to know better as the night went on. But Star could already tell that Madeline was making plans, which was one of the things she liked about the other woman – she was up for anything.

“Well,” Madeline said, her voice soft as she thought out the next few days. “For tonight, nothing. We get a layout of the ship, figure out who the richest passengers are, where their rooms are, make friends. We need to figure out what kind of security is on the boat as well, so we know what we’re dealing with.”

She smirked as she lifted her glass to her lips, excited at the heist they were about to attempt. “Then we decide if we want to snatch things a little bit at a time or do one giant stick em up sort’ve robbery when we get to New York. Or a little bit of both maybe? Either way, we don't want to move too soon or we'll be stuck with a lot of angry people on a boat in the middle of the water."

Her green eyes scanned the room again, settling on one of the best looking men. Yes, she thought as she sipped her champagne again, she was going to enjoy the next few days immensely.

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Star gave a wicked sort of smile over the rim of her glass as she looked past Madeline for a moment at yet another passenger behind her. She gave a more genuine looking smile and raised her glass as he looked at her, winking slightly before turning her attention back to Madeline. 

"My inside source might be able to get his hands on the passenger list which would make things a bit easier overall for us. I say we take our time figuring out the schedules of people and then strike either just before we hit New York, or wait for your boys on the shore to give us a hand. I'm thinking this, we wait until the last night and then move and have a few of our contacts join us for the voyage back to Philly. When the time is right, we have the rest of the crew act as stewards and help unload the cargo. To add to the ruse, we allow our things to meet the same end and sort everything out afterward?"

She looked over her shoulder as one of the crew began announcing that dinner would be served in the grand hall. Quickly, she downed the rest of her champagne and nodded her head towards the crowd that was now making their way into the elegant hall. She spotted Declan and made her way over to the table where he sat staring into his drink. He whispered something to her about not understanding why rich people had to drink such frilly stuff from tiny glasses when beer came in pints and cost barely anything. She giggled and told him that he'd be fine as there was plenty of beer at the bar for people like him. He groaned when the music started and the look on his face clearly said that he'd rather be at home than around so many stodgy rich people. it was clear he was only there because of Star and not for any other reason. 

The next several days were more of the same. Declan skulked around and kept to himself as much as possible while Star and Madeline lived it up getting to know all the dandy's on the boat. It was easy to con them out of information under the guise of friendship and by the time the boat was approaching new York, they had a comprehensive list of some of the most intriguing valuables on board. Jewels, gold, bonds, and of course plenty of money to go around. 

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Over the few days it took the boat to make it from PH to NY, Madeline barely slept. She was having far too much fun mingling among the passengers, dancing, and drinking and making new friends whom she fully intended to rob by the end of the trip. She and Star had covered all their bases, identifying the passengers with the most cash and jewels on board. They were going do very well on this heist, assuming it all went as planned.

Tonight, Madeline was sitting with Star, sipping a glass of champagne as they discussed the best way to pull off their job. “I think what you mentioned that first night will be the smartest thing to do. When we get to New York we’ll switch the crew with our own people, at least the ones that handle the luggage. Once we get back to Philly, all the luggage is offloaded into one of our vans and it disappears. We get to act as shocked and horrified as the rest of the passengers and then we go back to your headquarters and roll around in our riches.”

She grinned, looking over at Star. “I love this job. We get to party, have lots of fun, take a great boat ride and rip off a bunch of rich people. Really, what could go wrong?”

Well, a few things, but Madeline was an eternal optimist. 

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Star grinned and shook her glass of champagne at Madeline as they saw overlooking the water. the lights of the boat glimmered and twinkled on the rippling water of the Delaware and the soft sound of music drifted over the hum of conversations. 

"I'm definitely leaning towards that option as well. I have a few of the boys who have gone ahead and are already waiting for us tomorrow at port. How's your surprised face? I think I've got a good one."

She and Madeline dissolved into peals of laughter as they made faces at each other, Star rolling her eyes and dramatically placing her wrist on her forehead. 

"This is the face I'd make if Declan ever asked me to marry him." She feigned another surprised look that took a decidedly realistic turn as she glanced over her shoulder to see that Dec was standing not far off, dressed in the only suit he'd brought aboard with him. He'd barely made an appearance outside of the leisure deck or the cabin since they'd left Philly and here he was looking like a modern day Jimmy Stewart. It was clear he hadn't heard Star's good teasing as he approached her and got down on one knee about as graceful as one could on the wobbly deck of a boat. Star's look of surprise wasn't joking now as he fumbled slightly for a box, pulling out a ring that she had once admired in high school. His speech was soft, barely audible, but Star could understand it all and nodded her head gently as Declan stood and slipped the ring on her hand. 

Later, as she and Dec sat together on the deck, Madeline's words echoed in her head. She thought of all the recent disasters in the search for Declan as well as the fallout of finding his eldest sister Deirdre. Declan's surprise proposal wasn't necessary something wrong, but it put a slight kink in their plans. Declan was, at least, aware of Star's illicit activities but thus far had side stepped actually being a part of it. With the ring, he'd sort of sealed his own fate in involving himself with the heist or at least in the knowledge of it as he would absolutely recognize the replacement crew.

The next morning, Star was awake early, awaiting Madeline with a cup of coffee. As the two of them sat at the breakfast table, Star gripped her mug tight. The ring she now wore made a nervous sort of clink against the porcelain cup as she bit her lip. 

"Madeline, what am I going to do? I brought Declan along as a foil because he's quite good at blending in but now he's gone and made a bit of a spectacle of things. Do we follow the plan and just hope for the best? I can't have anything happen to him, so much has already gone wrong in that man's life, but I don't want to pass up the opportunity to play Robin Hood either. What are we gonna do?"

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The trip to New York had been a blast. Madeline had kept busy scoping out passengers in the most pleasant ways imaginable. Now she was sitting here with Star trying to come up with a plan to move forward. Sipping champagne and making funny faces at each other, Madeline was especially glad to have met the other woman.

All their talk over surprise faces seemed to be incredible timing, as Madeline was able to witness the real thing when Declan appeared and proposed to Star right there. After congratulating the couple and giving them her well wishes she left them along to enjoy their celebration privately.

The next morning, Star seemed more nervous than excited, and she quickly explained why. Madeline smiled reassuring at Star as she spoke.

“I’ve been thinking about this all night. When we get to New York we can have some of the porters switched out with my people. Declan shouldn’t recognize people from a New York crew, right? And then when we get back to Philadelphia your people can be on the docks to accept the baggage. We can keep Declan distracted away from the unloading so that hopefully he doesn’t recognize any of your people.”

Of course, it didn’t really solve the bigger issue, which Madeline wasn’t sure was her place to bring up. If Star was going to marry this man, he deserved to know it all – the good and the bad, for better or worse - right?

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Star tippped her head in thought as she listened to Madeline, nodding slowly.

“It’s not that Declan doesn’t know about what I do, and in fact he doesn’t really seem all that bothered, I just don’t want any more trouble. After everything that happened with O’Shaughnessy, he’s still a bit wary of the scene as a whole. I mean honestly he’s practically been a ghost this trip except for last night, hanging out in the leisure deck where he can read. I think it’s more me worrying than him, I just don’t want him getting hurt.”

She fiddled with the ring in her finger, marveling at the square cut diamond in the middle before looking at Madeline again.

“See he picked this ring out for me, knowing I like flashy things. I was just wondering if, to make the cover more convincing, I have to take it off and whether it’s going to upset him or not.”

”it won’t.” Came a deep but jovial voice from behind her as Declan approached the two women. His Irish accent was even more noticeable than Star’s was as he ran his hand through his hair, plopping down next to Star. 

​​​​​​​“I’ve been around you and my sister long enough to know that for whatever reason, you two make this work. I can see, judging by the lady here, Madeline right? I k ow this isn’t some hobby but it’s your life now take it or leave it. If the ring has to be “stolen” in order to make this more convincing, entrust it to someone who will make sure it comes back to you. Or take it off and hide it. I didn’t know this trip was a heist but if that’s what it is, I’ll roll with the punches. I’m good at that.”

He held up his hand that o’Shaughnessy had broken and laughed, his eyes crinkling with merriment. The look on both Star’s and Madeline’s faces were priceless which meant his job was done. He got up, grabbed a roll from the table, kissed the top of Star’s head, and sauntered jauntily off back to his hideout near the chess boards. Star’s mouth hung slightly agape as she watched him go and then turned back to Madeline where the two of them broke into hysterical giggles. Their plan was going to go off better than imagined!

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As the two women discussed how best to keep Declan semi in the dark, without Star having to give up her shiny new accessory, he joined them unexpectedly. His voice had a deep accent that Madeline appreciated – she’d learned to hide her own Southern one long ago but every so often it would show itself. Much to their surprise. Declan was perfectly fine with whatever approach the women decided to go with; as she watched the two of them interact Madeline couldn’t help but smile. She didn’t really believe in love, not after her history, but she was glad to see her friend so happy. Not to mention, Declan seemed a very understanding and easy-going man.

When he walked away, Madeline watched him go and couldn’t help but commentStar, does that lovely man have a brother?” She was joking…mostly.  Turning back to the other woman she grinned.

“So, we have a plan then? We’re switch out half the men in New York, go back to Philly and rob the place blind. While we’re in New York maybe you can place a call back to Philly to make the arrangements. The real tricky part is going to make sure the local authorities in Philly don’t become alerted while we’re at the dock and interrupt before our men make a clean getaway.”

Later that day, when the boat docked in New York, Madeline hurried to put their plan into action. The boat would stay in New York overnight and leave for its return trip to Philly in the morning, giving them plenty of time to round up some men and switch them out with porters who were already on the boat. Granted, they had to quietly knock some heads together and find creative ways to get them off the boat without anyone noticing, but Madeline was confident it had gone off without a hitch and no one had seen them.

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As the boat pulled into the dock, Madeline and Star put their heads together to make sure they knew what the plan was. Surprisingly, Declan was in on the plan and suggested the best way for the two of them to not be noticed. He'd take care of the grunt work and meet them for dinner later in the evening so that they could explore the harbor a bit. 

Declan made quick work of dispatching the porters and soon, Madeline's crew was on the boat, sorting through clothes to make sure each one had the right uniform. As he took care of the crew on the boat, Star made her way to a telephone booth, ringing up Constance and Cary to let them in on the plan. Throughout the trip back, Madeline's lackeys would arrange for the valuables to go missing, including Star's and Madeline's to throw off suspicion and then once back in Philly, they would meet the crew of the Observatory who would ferret the stolen goods away to a place where he two of them could reconnoiter and divvy up the spoils. 

After her phone call, and a little shopping, the girls made their way to a waterfront restaurant and waited for Declan to show up. He was all smiles and gave them the thumbs up as he took his seat next to the ladies. 

"Work's all done. Madeline, yer boys are a good bunch and they're all set. Now all we have to do is wait for them to get to work and head back to Philly tomorrow right?"

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Madeline grinned as Declan arrived and complimented the men she'd chosen for this job. She could tell that Star was both excited and surprised at his hands on participation in all of this; she had to admit that a part of her envied how comfortable the two seemed to fit together like they were made for one another. Nodding slightly at his question, Madeline checked the time and looked around the restaurant where they had settled down. 

"Exactly that Declan; we enjoy our evening while the boys get settled in on the boat, and then we head back to Philly in the morning. Assuming all goes well we'll get off the boat tomorrow night and have bags of spoils to divvy up between us." 

The rest of the night was spent having a fantastic meal on the waterfront, with wine and good conversation between the three. Madeline truly enjoyed her time spent with them and she could tell they would be friends for a long time to come. By the time they headed back to the boat it was time to turn in for the night; by morning they would be on their way back to Philly where the rest of their plan would unfold. 

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The next few days went as planned – mostly. On their return voyage to Philly, many of the guests would notice things missing and buzz of gossip and whispered accusations started to fill their waking hours. Of course, Star and Madeline would play along, their items also mysteriously disappearing.

The Captain took the allegations seriously and began an immediate investigation. It was all the two women could do to keep the heat off the replacement staff; after all, nothing had been stolen until they had come on board, so of course, they would naturally be the first suspected. Extensive searches of the crew’s rooms were completed but nothing would be found – mostly because all the stolen gems were quietly tucked away in Madeline’s room and the Captain wouldn’t dare search the rooms of the guests.

The last night they had to get all the stolen items packed away and ready to take off the ship. This would be the hardest part of the trip. The Captain was on high alert, as were the passengers. But Madeline had thought up an excellent diversion – after Star and Declan got engaged, Madeline arranged for a surprise engagement party to happen on their final evening. All the guests would attend, as would the high-ranking staff like the Captain and his first officer. This would leave plenty of time for her men to pack the items away and have them ready to be smuggled off the ship.

The party itself was an enormous success. The guests all showed up to give their good wishes and to help Star mourn her stolen engagement ring. Madeline ensured there was ample alcohol that flowed throughout the night so that when they docked in Philly in the morning, the guests were hungover and tired. This made it easier to unload the luggage in the morning, the ones full of stolen items making their way into a special cart that would be taken right back to Star’s headquarters.

The cops would come, and Star and Madeline would give statements and report which of their items would be stolen. They would play good citizens, urging the police to find the culprits and even offering a reward for the stolen engagement ring.

Once it was over, Star, Declan, and Madeline would all head back to The Observatory, where they would spend the next day sorting and splitting all the jewels and items that had been taken during the boat ride. Star would, of course, get her engagement ring back right away and would hopefully never be parted with it again. Madeline would head back to New York a short time later but she would visit Philly often over the next few months, and she worked to keep in contact with her new friends.

Not only was it a nice relaxing trip, but it had turned a pretty profit too. And, perhaps most importantly, the trip had formed a lasting friendship.

 

The End

RIP Don Star

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