When Mark landed in Lynden Pidling airport in Nassau, he gathered his luggage and looked for the man carrying a sign saying "THORNE". He spotted the limousine driver and waved. The man came over and took Mark's luggage, except for Mark's messenger back which he kept slung over his shoulder. They walked to the waiting limousine and Mark climbed in back for the ride to the hotel.
"You're staying at the Atlantis again?" asked the driver.
Mark nodded. "Take JFK this time. I don't need to sight-see."
"Very well," said the driver. "There are some beverages in the refrigerator for you. Let me know if you need anything, Mister Thorne." At that, the driver disappeared behind a rising divider.
Mark stared out the window as they drove along John F. Kennedy Drive He only needed to drop off the flash drive to his contact at the hotel, after which he had some free time until the next afternoon to take a cruise. He hoped they had the live tables going at the Crystal Palace. He could hit the slots and then play Texas Hold'em until early in the morning. Last time he had been there, he had won eight thousand dollars. He had spent it on a watch at a resort shopping centre. Then he had lost it while snorkeling later that week.
At the roundabout where Tompson Boulevard meets Nassau Street, the limousine continued on Nassau rather than turn onto Poinciana Street. Mark noticed and buzzed the intercom to alert the driver.
"I said, don't go on East Bay," Mark said.
"Sorry, sir, it's a habit. A lot of people like the scenic route," said the driver.
"The traffic is going to be terrible downtown. There's too many tourists," Mark complained.
"It will be fine, sir," said the driver.
Mark let it go and rummaged in the refrigerator. He pulled out a miniature travel bottle of Grey Goose and unscrewed the cap. "Down the hatch," he said and gulped it. He threw the plastic bottle and cap on the floor of the vehicle.
The limousine crept along the traffic of Bay Street and passed near Prince George port. Two large cruise ships were docked. The ship in front, facing west was stenciled with the word "ECSTASY" on the bow. Mark pressed the intercom again.
"Yes sir?" asked the driver. The divider came down and he looked back in the rear-view mirror.
"Just let me out here," shouted Mark to the front. "I'll walk."
The driver seemed perplexed. "Walk? Should I drop your luggage at the hotel?"
"Yeah, that's fine," said Mark. He jumped out when the limousine pulled over, before the driver could get out to open the door. "Thanks," he shouted and knocked on the roof. "Asshole," he added to himself.
Mark walked through the tourist traps of downtown and immediately regretted his decision. The sun beat down fiercely and the humidity was within two basis points of 100 percent. He tried to stay under any available shade and ducked into and out of tourist shops to cool down. His messenger bag was getting extremely heavy around his neck. The hoodie he always wore kept the sun off his head but the humidity did not allow the cotton to dry. Soon he was sweating profusely. Fortunately, it wasn't very far to Elisabeth Street where he knew about the ferry line that could take him over to Paradise Island.
On board the ferry, he ordered a rum and coke with lots of ice. He sipped it as the ferry pulled out into the busy channel. Mark looked over at the two cruise ships docked at the port. He could have sworn the ships where shifted over by one. The one closest to the wharf would have been the one he was going to take the next day. Sipping more rum and coke and crunching on the too-cold ice, he saw the first cruise swirl into view like a bad sixties television show visual effect. He shook his head and the third ship shimmered out of view and disappeared like fog. Mark shook his head and felt faint.
The ferry rocked to one side and Mark gripped the rail tightly. He looked again and only saw two ships, in the same formation he had seen them from the limousine.
"Fuck that," he said and turned to hide inside the air-conditioned shelter inside the ferry.
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