No Mercy (36 page)

OCTOBER 31

B
rian Branca and Linda Tangretti were getting ready for their weekend getaway at the Royal Coconut Palace Hotel and Spa for Halloween. It was perfect for them. While there were
wanted
notifications by the FBI and Suffolk County Police, the Halloween getaway was the perfect way for them to get out and have a disguise for a fun weekend. The hideaway bungalow was a two-bedroom mini-house surrounded by trees and bushes with about twenty yards between the other bungalows. The costume party would start at 5:00 pm by the pool, with a buffet of lobster, fresh fish, shrimp, clams, and different prepared dishes of chicken and steak. After, they would board the dinner cruise ship, the
Atlantic Princess
, where 140 passengers would party into the night, enjoying wine, beer, champagne, music, dancing, and a light buffet of fish and salads until 1:00 am. The cruise ship would sail the Atlantic Ocean for the night before returning the following evening. The thought of sharing all this with complete strangers who didn't know their identity was exciting to both Linda and Brian.

They checked in at 4:00 pm and found their little bungalow within ten minutes. They unpacked their costumes and took a shower together. Linda was so excited and turned on about the weekend she enjoyed getting Brian aroused with the water coming down on them. She had never had sex in a shower before, and she made sure today she would take advantage of the opportunity. It was awkward and not like what she had seen in the movies, so it was only a few minutes when they moved to the floor of the bedroom and had rough sex with their soaking-wet bodies. Linda spoke to Brian as she encouraged him to be rough with her. He was so turned on, it was over within five minutes.

Linda noticed how hard he was breathing from it and told him to please not have a heart attack until at least they had a chance to enjoy the weekend. He laughed as he kissed the side of her face. It was another five minutes before they got up off the floor to dry themselves. Linda jumped in the shower again to have another cleansing as Brian put on his Zorro costume. He loved the black outfit and the small mask. He even shaved cleanly to look more like the character. He had a fake sword with the authentic costume. Linda did not want to wear a mask on her face, so she became a police officer with all the accessories—the fake gun, mace, nightstick, and sunglasses.

Once she was dressed, Brian grabbed her and spoke. “You know I've always had a fantasy about women police officers.”

She kissed him and told him she would “arrest” him later. They could not believe the world they entered when they arrived at the outdoor buffet between the two pools. The costumes ranged from Hercules, Tarzan, the Blues Brothers, and Zombies of all kinds to humorous costumes such as bananas and a couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to Cinderella and the sexiest costumes Brian had ever seen. He laughed at the Lucy and Popeye costumes, and he loved the thought of not knowing who anybody was. The chance that he could be standing next to a celebrity or a cop gave him an adrenaline rush. He was amused by his own thoughts and wondered if the other guests entertained the same feelings.
If they only knew they were partying with a wanted killer.
He laughed out loud as Linda poked him with a look on her face that was saying,
What the hell are you thinking
?

The advantage for the people dressed up like Hercules and Tarzan and some of the sexy outfits was that they could jump in the pool if they wanted to; however, it did not bother Linda and Brian. This was the first real time in many weeks where they were mingling and talking with other guests.

Linda was eyeing a male cop who looked like a Chippendale dancer in disguise until his partner dressed up in a sexy firefighter costume pulled on his badge. The food was the best Linda had since they left Long Island. The hour of 7:00 pm came fast, when the host, dressed as a naval commander, ordered everyone to start boarding the
Atlantic Princess
. Only toiletries and a small bag were allowed for the cruise. You would either keep your costume on or you would have nothing on for the cruise. As they boarded the ship there were mannequins dressed in some of the most famous costumes of all time. On each side of the black carpet there were Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles, Michael Myers, Star Wars characters, Jason, Batman, and Spiderman, and as they got to the end of the walk entrance there was Ghost Face. Branca gave the mannequin the middle finger as Linda laughed.

They entered a huge ballroom with more food on the side tables, in addition to couches and high tables to mingle and talk. There was a DJ waiting for them as he started playing music to get everyone in the Halloween mood for the evening. Linda shook her head over how much detail was given for the party. It wasn't five minutes before she dragged Brian to the dance floor. She was feeling so comfortable that she took off her hat and sunglasses and let her hair down as she moved to the club music. The lights flickering with the sound of music and champagne brought her to a level of escapism she hadn't anticipated. For the first time in years she didn't have a care in the world. The main floor was filled with so many different characters, from Marilyn Monroe to the Great Gatsby to vampires and politicians. It was a room filled with familiar faces.

As Linda moved closer to Brian Branca and put her hand on his groin, she spoke in his ear.

“Tell me, Zorro, is that your sword or are you happy to see me?”

He laughed as he brought her closer to him. “Let me show you.” Two hours had already passed as the big boat was now over three miles out to sea. He started walking toward their room holding her hand as they left the dance floor. They walked through the black carpet of Halloween legends and Branca did not forget to give the Ghost Face mannequin the middle finger again, but this time he did it with both hands as he said, “Here's twice as much for you.” He was so amused he almost knocked the glass of champagne out of Linda's hand.

They walked up the spiral staircase to the second level and turned right into the hallway that led to the suites with balconies looking over the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. They opened the door to the room that had a king-size bed surrounded by plush carpet that looked like a painting on the floor. A bar fully stocked, a mirror on the ceiling, a long sofa on the side of the room with a glass entrance leading to a 15'x10' balcony that made them feel like they could touch the ocean.

They fell on the bed as Branca started to unbutton Linda's police shirt. She took his mask off his face and told him she would be back in a few minutes. Linda got up and went into the bathroom. She fell in love right away. It had a hot tub, a shower, two sinks, and a marble tile floor with a hand-painted picture of the ocean. She felt like she was standing on the ocean. The wall had a flat-screen TV so you could enjoy shows while relaxing in the hot tub. She was thinking how she could stay in there for hours.

Brian Branca lay on his back as he looked at the moon through the sliding doors to the balcony. He got up off the bed, opened the sliding door, and walked over to the bar and dropped his cape in anticipation of fulfilling his fantasy of being with a female cop. He poured himself a glass of champagne and walked out to the balcony to take in the view of the moon and the ocean. They were now out about three miles from Key West as Brian held out his glass to the moon.

“A toast to all of you assholes. Who's the king of the world now?” He loved the sound of the water brushing up against the side of the boat. The swishing sound was so relaxing in a calm ocean.

He closed his eyes as he heard a noise behind him. Thinking it was Linda he turned around and smiled, but it was a figure dressed in dark clothes. The mysterious figure came up on him so fast he barely got a glimpse. It was enough to know it was Ghost Face who came up on him, lifting him up so fast and with such precision that Branca was over the balcony and into the ocean within a couple seconds. The figure threw the mask from the moving ship as close as he could to Branca, and as it landed Branca swam toward it. He grabbed it, and just in time, the exterior lights of the vessel came on. The mask had the words
No Mercy
written on it in what looked like blood. Branca started screaming for his life as he suddenly realized the boat was not stopping. It was only now that he asked for God to enter his life. He started to make up words to pray for forgiveness, but there was no hope. Within four minutes the vessel was out of sight and within the shark-infested waters off Florida it was only another ten minutes before Brian Branca experienced a slow, merciless death.

Linda was oblivious to what happened for she took a full twenty minutes before coming out completely naked except for the badge on a chain around her neck. “You're under arrest, you bad boy.” She looked around the room and saw the sliding door open to the balcony. “Come back in, and I'll show you what it's like to be the most wanted.”

She walked over to the bed and noticed there were photographs spread out on top. Her facial expression changed as she got closer and picked up one of them. It was a photo of Officer Franks. She dropped it and looked at the others as her breathing became heavier and her heart started beating faster. Photos of Detective Hansen, Officer Dugan, Chapman, Baker, and Wyatt bloodied with their injuries. She shuffled through the photos as she looked around to see if anybody was in the room.

“Brian!” She started yelling his name over and over as she saw the photos of the three young women that were killed in the nightclubs. She started ripping up the photos as she yelled for Brian again. There was a frightening silence in the room that was too much for Linda. She put on her uniform pants and was in such a hurry she didn't even bother to button the shirt when she put it on. She ran down the hallway almost bumping into a couple dressed as Mickey and Minnie Mouse. She walked quickly down the spiral staircase to go back to the large room where the party was. She was hoping that Brian had played a silly joke on her and she would apologize for taking so long in the bathroom.

As she went toward the room and past the Halloween legends on the black carpet she stopped when she got to the mannequin that had the Ghost Face mask on it. Staring at her was a male mannequin. The mask had been taken off. Linda started screaming as she ran into the party. She was grabbing both men and women to help her. Most of the party attendees were aware of what was going on, but they were trying to avoid her. Finally one man dressed in a captain's uniform was able to grab hold of her and he finally convinced her he was part of the ship's crew.

“Help me!” she said. “Someone is trying to kill me, please help me!”

“Hold on,” the captain said, “how do you know this?”

Linda dragged him to the hall of mannequins outside the party and showed him the male head. “He's missing the white mask! The Ghost Face mask.”

The man looked at her like she was crazy but still tried to calm her down. “Ma'am, we have a doctor on board, let me take you to him.”

“Oh, fuck you!” she screamed as she ran down the opposite hallway.

There was a door half open so she entered. In the room it was a young couple making out on the sofa in full costume of Robin Hood and Maid Marian. Before Robin could say anything Linda left the room not sure of what she was going to do.

She started to walk slowly toward the center of the ship when the famous white mask appeared all the way at the other end. Linda stopped in her tracks as she began to cry. “Stop, please stop!” The masked figure started walking slowly toward her as she backed up, taking a few small steps before turning around and running to the hallway exit and up the emergency stairs. She didn't even notice the three guys dressed as the three Stooges in full character.

“Hey, Moe, it's a sexy cop.”

“Never mind.” Curly received a slap.

Even Larry had a comment.

“That's what I call a wardrobe malfunction.”

Linda ran up two flights of stairs and asked a sexy zombie if she knew where the purser's office was. The pretty zombie pointed to the third level as Linda ran to the center of the ship, where the spiral staircase was. She reached the third level within seconds in her bare feet and found the purser's office empty. She stood there not knowing what else to do, when an announcement came over the ship's speakers. It was in a whispered inflection but loud enough to be understood: “No Mercy.”

She left the purser's office not knowing where to go or what to do, but her heart was pounding so hard she started looking for the doctor's office. Her thoughts ran wild as her hair was now soaking wet and she was shaking with fear. She crept slowly down the hallway and even jumped when a door opened. She decided she needed to get back to the party because it would be safer with the large crowd. Slowly, with her head turning constantly and her breathing getting harder, Linda made it back to the costume party. Her shirt was only closed at the bottom two buttons, so most noticed that depending on how she moved, her breasts were exposed, but she was sweating so hard with stress, physical activity, and emotion she didn't give it a second thought. Once inside the party she found the man dressed up as the captain again.

“I'm sorry,” she said, “I need help to get off this ship.”

He looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“We are over three and a half miles from shore and we are not scheduled to arrive back until tomorrow evening.”

“I would do and pay anything to get off this ship,” Linda said to him. “I'll even pay for a helicopter to come here and take me back. I have a family emergency.”

The captain looked at her and said, “$3,000 for the helicopter expense and $10,000 for me.”

Linda nodded her head. “Deal, just get me out of here.”

“How do I know,” the captain said, “that you won't screw me? You don't have the money on board. I need some collateral and the key to your room back at the hotel with the number.”

Linda moved closer to him. “You can come with me to my room. I have cash there, and honey, if you get me out of here I will definitely screw you as well as . . .” She grabbed his crotch.