Wrestling the Kraken

Mahone

Mahone

Mahone walked onto the beach, sand kicking up with each step.

I hate sand. Gets everywhere. I'll probably have to take my socks and shoes off after this.

Reaching the tent, he called out. "Lanz, it's Mahone." He heard stirring inside, then Lanz appeared through the opening slit.

"Ah, Mahone! Good to see you! You look tired. You need to be getting more rest. Can't catch the bad guys if you don't take care of yourself." He stepped out of the tent and into the sunlight, squinting from a ray hitting his eye.

"Yeah, I'll rest when there's no more bad guys to catch." Mahone replied.

"Ah, but there's always bad guys to catch, eh?"

"Exactly my point." Mahone chuckled.

Lanz frowned. "Hey, I promised your wife I'd look after you." He raised his hands up in defense.

"I know, I know. She'd make sure if she couldn't nag me anymore, then someone else would have to. I swear, she chose you just to get back at me for never taking her on that vacation I promised her. How she loved the ocean..." Mahone said, palms up, looking at the blue sky. " And now here you are by the ocean, where I have to visit your sorry toukish every now and then." He waved a hand toward Lanz.

"She was a special lady, your wife." Lanz said, gazing off to the side in remembrance.

"That she was." Mahone said, lighting up a cigarette. He took a drag, then blew out. "That she was."

"So, what do I owe the pleasure, huh? It's not the first Tuesday yet. Not that I'm not glad to see your ugly mug." Lanz joked.

"Ouch." Mahone grinned, pretending to get hit. "Nah, come on. You know why I'm here. What am I always here about? You got another complaint."

"Ah," Lanz waved a dismissive hand.

"Yeah, you know. Come on, Lanz. You got to quit scaring people away." Mahone tried to reason. Lanz turned to go back to the tent. "You got to listen to me Lanz. You hear me? This is public property. Anyone is allowed to go to the beach. They have a right to be here."

Lanz stepped inside. Mahone could hear rummaging. He continued, raising his voice so Lanz could hear. "The Captain keeps looking the other way on this, because you help keep the area clean and no big wigs have complained- yet. You're lucky, you know that? But mainly, because locking you up is useless. You just come right back, right here to the same spot."

Lanz stepped back out, this time holding a piece of paper in his hand. "Look you don't hurt anyone being here, but one day we're not going to be able to look the other way." Mahone laid out.

"You won't have to." Lanz replied, handing him the paper. The next time you get a call to come out here, it'll be for trespassing. Them, not me." Lans stood, smiling.

"How'd you finally convince them to sell you the land?" Mahone asked, stunned. Lanz had tried for years to purchase the surrounding beach area where he pitched his tent, to no avail. They consistently turned him down.

"I gave them something they couldn't refuse." Lanz began.

"Well, out with it. What did you have to give them?"

"They agreed to sell me this portion over here as a residential plot." He explained, pointing to the area that housed his tent. "Then over there, I'm going to build a circus. If it works and gets people into the area, then more businesses will come, which means more money for the city."

Mahone stood staring at Lanz for a long minute.

"Who could refuse residual income?" Lanz continued, grinning from ear to ear.

"I thought you moved out of here to be away from people? Won't this... circus... give you the opposite of that?"

"It will." Lanz shrugged. "But after a recent encounter, let's say... I'm looking to the future. I'm tired of staying stagnant in the same spot I've been in my life."

Mahone tilted his head up, looking Lanz over. He was proud of him.