<div align="center"><strong>-=Griffin Kingston, Captain – Escorting Mrs. Sylvester from The Gamble - Greeting Lex and Steve=-</strong></div><br/>Standing in the cargo hold in the midst of most of his assembled crew, Griff grinned knowingly at the reaction his suggestion of a chaperone had elicited from the lively young pilot. Her words nearly caused him to chuckle and her contemptuous look only caused his smirk to widen. Turning away from Mae and Vincent just enough to remain unseen, he flashed a playful wink to Si and Dani, his attempt to clue them in on his successful bid at getting a rise out of Mae, though inwardly he had hoped to get a reaction from Vince just as well. “Of course he is, Mar-Chue,” Griff shot back pointedly, making certain to put emphasis on Mar-Chue, the nickname that her former employer had given her.<br/><br/>His attention was suddenly averted to the top of one of the set of stairs leading down to the cargo hold where he saw Sasha in her seductively alluring, yet strategically practical outfit. For a brief moment, he forgot about his playful dealings with Mae and Vince as his eyes once again drank in the irresistible visage of Sasha’s loveliness. But his jaw suddenly snapped shut as he took notice of Mrs. Sylvester latched onto Sasha’s arm. He stood silently, watching the two as the descended the stairs. His mind was conflicted with thoughts of first Sasha, and then Mrs. Sylvester and that horrific night he ran into her in her birthday suit roaming the ship, just as he had been doing.<br/><br/>Si’s words to Vincent brought his attention back to the conversations at hand and he forced a smile and a chuckle, putting himself back into the middle of it all in an attempt divert attention away from himself. But his efforts were in vain, thanks in no small part to his first officer. Griff’s dressed smile faded to a look of disdain at her pawning Mrs. Sylvester on him.<br/><br/><strong>“Captain, would you be a dear and escort Mrs. Sylvester off the ship and take her to her driver?”</strong><br/><br/>Quickly, he plastered that winning smile back onto his face and stepped forward to assist, offering his arm to the little old lady. “Certainly Sasha. Take my arm. Right this way Mrs. Sylvester.” Griff couldn’t help but chuckle when Mrs. Sylvester shot out her hand to grope Vince’s rear end. He gave a wide-eyed shrug, nodding his head towards Mrs. Sylvester indicating that she was the guilty party, but his amused expression suddenly vanished as he felt the firm grip of the old lady’s hand curve around his own ass, squeezing and clinging to him like a starving leach.<br/><br/><strong>“Yes - take me, Captain!”</strong><br/><br/>Griff shot a look at Sasha over his shoulder as the soft sounds of stifled laughter fluttered through the hold. “Okay, come along now Mrs. Sylvester. Let’s get you a ride,” Griff replied, moving her along trying to get her off of his boat as quickly as possible. “Oh, you can give me a good ride whenever you’d like, Cap’n,” the older lady’s wit was still as sharp as ever. Luckily, Sasha started in on debriefing the rest of the crew on the day’s agenda, delegating tasks and responsibilities to each crew member. He hoped they were all paying attention to Sasha and were unaware of the continued advances from Mrs. Sylvester.<br/><br/>"I've had a good time on your ship" the old lady said with a smile before leaning in closer to whisper for Griffs ears only "I can do tricks ya know... a woman doesn't get to be my age without learning a thing or two, if’n y’know what I mean?" She gave his rear another squeeze at that innuendo, but didn’t stop there. “ The captain just smiled and nodded as he lead her down the loading ramp."The midnight entertainment was a favortie of mine" she added before once more talking softly out of the corner of her mouth "a woman of my age knows things these youngsters can only dream about." Griff cringed a little at the thought. “I have no doubts about that, Mrs. Sylvester.” The old spitfire was persistent in her attempt to persuade him to let her have her way with him. “Are you sure you won’t reconsider, Captain? You know I’ve been fixed for a long time now so you can have a go bareback if you want. I know how you men like to go bareback.” He felt himself getting sick to his stomach as she persisted, painting unpleasant pictures in his mind. “Mrs. Sylvester…” he started, but was interrupted by her continued advances, “I can twist in ways you wouldn’t believe. I’ve got new hips. And I can take my teeth out. I promise you  you’ll love that.”<br/><br/>“Lex! Steve!” So good to see you! Steve, drop your gear and come give Mrs. Sylvester here a helping hand, would ya?” They were already down the loading ramp by now and as they moved past Lex, Mrs. Sylvester took the liberty to feel of his bum, much to Griff’s relief. She had had her greedy old hand on his rump for far too long, and Griff still needed to go snag the old, worn out catalyzer from Hayes to be sure he got the right part.<br/><br/>“Lex, would you mind showing our new guy to his bunk after he sees Mrs. Sylvester off? Just let him pick out one of the singles. Doubles are reserved for paying passengers… or paying crew, then send him back up to the cargo hold. You’ll be taggin’ along with me today, Steve, once you’re gear is stowed in your quarters.” He slipped Mrs. Sylvester from his arm and onto Steve’s. “There you go now, Mrs. Syslvester. Steve here’s a strapping young man who will be happy to take care of your every need. Right Steve?” Griff smirked with a wink before turning back to the others. “Oh, and one more thing before y’all make like smoke… everyone make sure you have shortwave with you and leave it on at all times, just in case.”<br/><br/>Marching back up the loading ramp with purposeful steps, Griff glared at Sasha as he approached her. His expression was stern, serious… he didn’t look at all happy. Crossing his arms over his broad chest, he squared off with Sasha with an authoritative air that belied his usually playful personality. “Sasha,” he began, staring into this startling blue eyes for what seemed like hours before he finally continued. His cold, serious expression suddenly cracked into a tiny grin which gave way to a huge smile. He reached out a strong hand and grasped her shoulder as he broke into quiet laughter. “That… was good. I’ll get you back for that one, never you doubt.” Giving her shoulder a squeeze, he let his hand drop back to face the others. "Okay everyone. We’ve all got jobs to do. Let’s not dawdle. Let’s git ‘er done!” He clapped his hands together, two, thunderous and enthusiastic claps. “By the time I get back, y’all better all be about your business, Dohn luh mah? And DON'T FORGET YOUR RADIOS!”<br/><br/>Griff turned to face Sasha once more with a smile in his eyes, lifting his hand and pointing a finger in her face in a playfully threatening manner as he backed towards the stairs leading back to the upper deck. He wanted to grab that part so he could compare it to the new one when he got it to make sure it was the right part... and to show the guy so he'd know what it was Griff needed, just in case he forgot what the part was called."<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Dohn luh mah? = Are we clear?<br/>