Everything to Nothing

by Mark Henthorne

  ‘Good point! Well hurry up and fly out soon Mr. Gallagher!’

  ‘I will ladies. You enjoy the yacht and the cruise. It will be beautiful out there. I’ll see you soon!’

  ‘Bye daddy!’ Sally placed a few more kisses on his cheeks.

  With that he walked quickly away to the waiting helicopter and the girls watched his pilot take smoothly off. Sally and Michelle waved as he flew away from the airfield and then they turned and walked towards the jet as their luggage was being transferred from the car to the aircraft. Soon after that they heard the engines being turned on, and the pilot instructed them to their seats as they began the taxi.

  With a rush and a roar of engines the jet thundered down the runway and with a whoop of delight the girls watched the land disappear away from them. Quickly the jet banked over as the pilot turned the plane towards the south-east and the French coastline.

  *

  During the flight the young ladies were treated to a gourmet breakfast prepared for them on the flight by one of Mr. Gallagher’s chefs. While eating the meal they also drank freshly squeezed orange juice and watched a movie on the plasma television. After a couple of hours they began their descent into Nice airport and they were treated to a glorious view of the city and the deep blue of the Mediterranean as the plane dropped down to Aeroport de Nice-Cote d’Azur.

  Quickly their luggage was offloaded and they were whisked across the Aeroport to the helicopter terminal where they transferred onto a Bell-Ranger. The aircraft lifted off and headed south-west along the French Riviera. Sally and Michelle could not take their eyes off the passing beautiful coastline as they were flown over Antibes, Cannes and soon, almost too soon for them, they descended into the heliport. As soon as they stepped off the helicopter a man was waiting for them and he led them to a large Mercedes that drove them through the streets of Saint-Tropez to the Nouveau Port. Here the Mercedes pulled up alongside a boat that surprised Michelle with its size. ‘Oh, it’s quite big isn’t it?’

  ‘This is just the tender sweetheart.’

  ‘The tender?’

  ‘Yeah, it floats under the main yacht in its own storage compartment.’

  ‘Huh? It floats under the yacht?’ asked Michelle.

  ‘You’ll see when we get there.’

  ‘When we get where?’

  ‘Out to Samurai, the yacht.’

  ‘So this isn’t the yacht?’

  ‘No, of course not.’

  ‘But it’s a big boat’

  ‘No, trust me, it’s a small boat.’

  As they walked from the car to the tender two crew members leapt from the boat to help them onto the deck. When they were settled into the comfortable seats a man approached them from the bridge. ‘Miss Gallagher, so lovely to have you onboard again.’

  ‘Thank you Roger. It is good to be here. Roger, this is my friend Michelle. Michelle, this is Roger, the captain.’

  ‘Hi Roger. Nice to meet you.’

  ‘You too Michelle. Are you ready to leave straight away Miss Gallagher?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Perfect. It will take five minutes for us to approach Samurai. Please relax and of course please instruct the crew should you require anything to drink or eat but lunch will be ready for you fifteen minutes after we arrive.’

  ‘That’s fine Roger. Please depart when you are ready.’

  With a smile he left them and returned to the bridge. The crew cast off the lines and smoothly the boat left Saint-Tropez harbour on the approach to the yacht. As they rounded the breakwater they could both see a yacht moored a short distance away. ‘There she is. Samurai!’ exclaimed Sally.

  ‘I stand corrected! This is a small boat!’

  ‘Told you.’

  ‘My word. It’s huge!’

  ‘One of the biggest in the world!’ exclaimed Sally again.

  ‘Wow! It looks it! How big is it?!’

  ‘One hundred and twenty meters long and all ours for two days!’

  ‘It would take two days to see it all!’

  ‘I don’t think I’ve seen it all and we’ve had it for two years now! It is usually in the Caribbean but my dad had it brought over.’

  The yacht was indeed huge. It was in fact one hundred and twenty one meters long, with a beam of twenty meters and a draught of five meters. The superstructure of the vessel was white, but the hull was a deep, royal blue. Its maximum speed was twenty knots and had another four smaller tenders held in various berths on each side of the vessel. Usually the yacht housed a helicopter in a hangar in the rear, but this was away for essential repairs.

  Along with the helicopter and tenders, there were numerous jet skis and other watercraft held at various point in the yacht. On one of the decks of the yacht there was a large pool and spa area, surrounded by a large bar. There were also two others bars and spas, one located on the port side, one located on the starboard side. These were hidden behind large watertight hatches when the yacht was moving, yet when they were needed the hatches dropped down giving another access point to the sea. In order for the yacht to function smoothly when it was full of passengers, it needed a crew of sixty, but while it was only Sally and Michelle who would be using the yacht for the next couple of days, the crew was merely thirty.

  The tender approached and it drew alongside the yacht. All that Michelle could see was the deep, royal blue of the hull, and as she looked up the side of the vessel she could see one of the two massive radar beacons that she was sure were bigger than her house. Reducing its speed, the tender turned wide around the rear of the craft and was held here while a massive section of the aft of the yacht was lifted up to reveal the docking station for the tender.

  Expertly Roger guided the tender; its name was Katana, into the storage berth underneath the main superstructure, between the port and starboard bulkheads of the hull. Slowly it came to a stop, and as the ladies stepped from Katana onto the teak deck that ran around the tender’s berth, they were greeted by the Chief Steward. ‘Miss Gallagher. Miss Walmesley, welcome aboard! Please, allow me to guide you to your cabins.’

  They followed him through Samurai, up two levels until they reached the sumptuously decorated residential area of the yacht. With a flourish the steward opened one of the cabin doors and Michelle could not help gasping as she looked into the cabin.

  ‘Miss Walmesley. This is the Princess Suite. I hope you will find it satisfactory for your needs.’

  ‘It’s perfect! Thank you.’

  ‘Please, feel free to settle in. We have lunch ready for you in fifteen minutes which will be served in the pool area.’

  ‘I don’t know…’

  ‘I’ll come and get you in ten minutes honey. Freshen up. Oh, and change into your bikini, but underneath something less revealing while we eat.’

  ‘Right, will do. See you soon.’

  Sally left her and Michelle turned to study the room. The first thing she noticed was the bed. It was huge, it was similar in size to two king size beds next to each other. She kicked off her sandals and her feet sunk into the thick carpet which she ran across and dove onto the bed with a squeal.

  Bouncing off the bed she ran across to the windows and opened the curtains which gave her a view of the sea across to Saint-Tropez. With another squeal of delight she found the refrigerator which was full of bottles of expensive champagne and snacks such as caviar and truffles. Turning around she looked into the bathroom and a sigh of contentment left her lips as she saw the large marble Jacuzzi bath then quietly she heard a discreet knock on the door and one of the crew called her name. ‘Miss Walmesley. Your luggage.’ Michelle opened the door and one of the crew members carried her bags into the room. ‘While you are at lunch I can unpack them for you. Is there anything you need now?’

  ‘Erm, yes. My bikini and cotton shawl. They are in that bag.’

  ‘Please feel free to freshen up why I find them for you.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  She went into the bathroom and had a quick rinse
in the shower until she heard another discreet knock on the bathroom door and the member of the crew stated that Miss Gallagher was here to take her to lunch. Quickly Michelle threw a towel round her and skipped into the bedroom to find her bikini and shawls out on the bed. The crew member was making good work unpacking the rest of her clothes and Sally was lounging in one of the chairs looking out of the window. ‘Are you ready?’

  ‘Two seconds honey.’ Michelle grabbed her bikini and shawls and skipped back into the bathroom to put them on. A short time later she was ready and Sally stood up from her chair.

  ‘You look good Michelle.’

  ‘So do you.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  Michelle watched as Sally left the cabin and all she could do was dream of ever looking as good as her friend. Sally had been to London recently and dyed her hair a deep copper red. It cascaded down her back to just under the strap of her bikini top. Sally must have felt that Michelle was not following her and she turned in the doorway to beckon her friend to follow. The bikini top fitted snugly around Sally’s large breasts, slightly smaller though than Michelle’s. But it was the stomach, hips and legs where Michelle really lost out. Sally’s were toned with no fat on them at all. Faintly you could make out her stomach muscles under the translucent shawl, and her hips and legs also slender but with toned muscle on them too. No matter how long Michelle spent in the gym, no matter how hard she tried she could never look as good as her friend did. She looked into Michelle’s eyes and smiled which lit up her emerald green eyes. ‘Are you coming?’

  ‘Yeah, sorry. Thank you Sally so much for letting me come with you.’

  ‘Nonsense! It is my pleasure, well our pleasure. We’ll both enjoy your company. Now come on and stop being silly! Lunch is ready. I’ve heard a rumour that it’s one of the chef’s specialities; a delicious seafood salad!’

  ‘Sounds even more perfect!’

  Sally held out her hand which Michelle took and she led them through the yacht, along the corridors that looked like they had been lifted straight out of the Gallagher’s mansion, to the large pool area.

  *

  After the seafood salad lunch the yacht began its journey. It turned away from Saint-Tropez and made its way out into the Mediterranean heading east towards the north shore of Corsica. While they were sailing, Sally and Michelle relaxed around the pool area, swimming or enjoying the Jacuzzi. During this time they were served with delicious exotic fruits and a limitless supply of ice-cold fruit juices to help keep the Mediterranean heat away.

  It took five hours to reach the north coast of Corsica and they moored two miles off the island. When Sally told Michelle that they could take the jet skis across to a secretive cove that could only be accessed from the sea, Michelle let out a scream of excitement and they both ran through the yacht down to the starboard hatch that had been lowered for them. While they waited for the jet skis to be brought round from the rear hangar, they relaxed in sun loungers and drank more juice that was served to them from the starboard bar.

  Soon enough the skis were ready to go and they were moored next to the starboard hatch. Both the women had used this exciting medium of transport before, so they were quickly away, blasting across the perfectly calm Mediterranean Sea towards the cove. Quickly they arrived at the beach and they both dragged their skis onto it and took their prepared towels and sunshade from the storage compartments on the skis.

  The rest of the day was spent swimming and relaxing, with no one around them. The sheer cliffs of the cove stopped anybody seeing them from above and the yacht was far away, so the young ladies were comfortable enough in each other’s presence to bathe and swim topless. Within one of the compartments were light refreshments so at one point during the day they lounged in the sand to eat the sandwiches and fruit.

  All too soon though the day was over and reluctantly they both loaded the skis back up and made their way back to Samurai. As they disembarked from the jet skis at the starboard hatch the Chief Steward met them and informed them that dinner would be served around the pool area at eight o’clock. When they walked towards their respective cabins Sally could not help notice a sense of heightened activity on the yacht so she approached one of the crew. ‘What’s going on? You all seem very busy?’

  ‘Oh, nothing Miss Gallagher. Just cleaning and preparing.’

  ‘Preparing for what?’

  ‘Your father’s arrival.’

  ‘But he doesn’t arrive until the day after tomorrow?’

  ‘Yes, we know ma’am, but we have a lot to do.’

  ‘Okay. Whatever. I’m going to have a rest now so please keep the noise to a minimum around my cabin.’

  ‘Of course Miss Gallagher.’

  As they left the steward Sally expressed her thoughts with Michelle. ‘Strange. They always start to run around like headless chickens only on the day my dad is due to arrive.’

  ‘I wouldn’t think about it. They’ve obviously started early.’

  ‘Yeah, maybe. Never mind. Right, here we are. I’m going to go to the bridge and call David off the satellite phone. Do you want to come with me and you can call Simon?’

  ‘Yeah, good idea. I wanted to call him but I guess our mobiles won’t get a signal out here?’

  ‘Yep, they won’t work out here. We’ll go up now.’

  ‘Can we change into something a bit less revealing first?’

  Sally turned and looked at her friend. She noticed how her breasts seemed to be defying any known laws of physics by somehow remaining in her bikini top. Catching a glimpse of herself in a nearby mirror she also concluded that it would probably not be a good idea for her, the daughter and heiress of a billionaire, to be surrounded by sailors dressed the way they were. ‘Probably a very good idea honey,’ stated Sally. ‘Meet you here in five?’

  ‘Perfect.’

  Ten minutes later, both dressed in shorts and t-shirt, they stepped onto the bridge where in a fluster they were approached by the Captain. ‘Miss Gallagher. A pleasure. Can I be of assistance?’

  ‘Can we use the satellite phone to call England?’

  ‘Of course, of course.’

  ‘What’s going on? Everyone seems very busy?’

  ‘Nothing, nothing at all. Just keeping busy running some safety drills.’

  ‘Oh. Do you want us to come back later?’

  ‘No, no. Now is fine. Please, you know where it is.’

  Sally nodded and wandered through the banks of computer screens and aviation style chairs to where the satellite phone was housed. They both phoned their respective partners, both expressing how much they were missing them and how Benidorm was rubbish without them. Claiming the expense of the call, neither of them talked for long so they both made their way back through the yacht back towards their cabins. ‘Right, I’m going to have a sleep I think so I’ll see you here at eight and we can both go up to dinner,’ said Sally.

  ‘What should I wear?’

  ‘Just one of your cotton summery dresses will be fine. Nothing too revealing, nothing that’s going to make you hot either because it’s going to be a balmy night.’

  ‘Sounds great!’

  ‘Yeah, it does.’

  ‘Are you okay? You seem distracted?’ Michelle asked.

  ‘There’s something going on.’

  ‘Do you think he’s coming early?’

  ‘I doubt it. He sounded like he was very busy to get everything in a fit state to leave it for a few days.’

  ‘He doesn’t like to leave it does he?’

  ‘No, because whenever he does someone messes up. He doesn’t have anyone he trusts implicitly to control things when he’s away, hence why he’s always trying to persuade me to join him.’

  ‘And are you going to?’

  ‘I doubt it. I don’t want to live like he has done, never seeing my future husband or children, working every hour and every day. There’s more to life than that isn’t there?’

  ‘Of course there is. But remember, I’m sure he di
dn’t enjoy being away from you or your mum, but he made the sacrifice. Without that sacrifice we wouldn’t be stood on a hundred million dollar yacht.’

  ‘Two hundred million.’

  ‘You know what I mean.’

  ‘I suppose you’re right. I’m still thinking about it. Anyway, I’m tired after all the travel and swimming so I’m going for a rest. See you later.’

  ‘Okay. See you later.’

  *

  At seven o’clock that evening Sally’s alarm woke her. After a few more moments of resting her eyes, she leapt out of bed and did some light pilates exercises. Once these were complete, she felt more awake and started to prepare herself for dinner. It was while she was applying a little makeup that she heard the distant noise of a helicopter.

  Used to hearing helicopters come and go through her life, she did not pay it much attention. Then she thought about where she was. The north coast of Corsica is not renowned for its plethora of heliports. She also noticed it was getting closer and when she listened harder she thought she recognised the tone and beat of the engine. ‘Oh my! That’s the Flying Star!’

  With a shout of delight, she threw her mascara onto the dressing table and raced out of her room, banging on Michelle’s door as she passed. Michelle jumped as she heard her door being hit so vigorously and she flung it open without thinking that she was dressed only in her lingerie.

  ‘Get some clothes on quick! He’s here, he’s here!’

  ‘Calm down! Who is?’

  ‘My dad, my dad! Hurry up!’

  Quickly Michelle flung on her dress and followed the now sprinting Sally through the yacht. As they reached the rear of the vessel they were just in time to see the yacht’s helicopter touch down on the helipad. They both tried to approach, but the beat of the rotors beat them back, but it was not long before the passenger door was opened and Mr. Gallagher exited the helicopter. ‘Daddy!’ Sally screamed, but he could not possibly hear her over the roar of the settling engine and rotors.