"Two?" I said, lifting a surprised eyebrow.
"I pitched them the idea of our exploits on La Perdida. They loved it. It's exactly what they’re looking for. A swashbuckling adventure. If we attach the right director, it’s going to be a hit.”
“Oka-a-a-y,” I said with caution. "What's the second script?”
With an even wider smile in his voice, Flynn boasted, "My friend, I have secured the rights to Mickey Malibu's story. You know Mickey, right?"
"I knowofMickey. We’ve never actually met before. He's kind of a legend in these parts."
"So are you, my friend. So are you.”
Flynn knew how to flatter.
"This is a no-brainer,” he continued. “You’re gonna write it. I'm going to play Mickey. It will be a blast. It's obviously a biopic, so we have to stick to the truth, but we can always embellish for dramatic effect. But I don't think we'll have to embellish too much. Mickey’s lived a crazy life.”
Mickey was an infamous pilot who flew drugs for the Colombian cartel in the ’80s. He lived a life of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll until the walls closed in around him.
He made a deal with the feds to save his ass and flipped on Pepe Sandoval. Something that took a lot of balls to do. Pepe was not a guy you wanted to cross. Rumor had it that the Colombian drug lord had put a contract on Mickey’s life. Somehow, the daredevil pilot survived a nickel in federal prison. Due to his cooperation, he had gotten off light.
Rumor had it that Mickey had stolen $150 million from Pepe and hid around the Keys before he was busted. The feds never found the money. According to the legend, it was still out there somewhere.
The story practically wrote itself.
To this day, there was still supposedly a contract on Mickey's life. But Pepe had been assassinated by a rival gang while Mickey was still serving his prison term. I suspected that was the reason Mickey was still alive. There was no one to pay the bounty on his head.
"I talked to Mickey, and he's totally on board,” Flynn said. “He wants to meet you and get a vibe before he signs off on everything. But I know you two are going to hit it off.”
"Who's financing this?”
With a grin, Flynn said, "It's a co-production with the studio and me. But I have complete and total creative freedom." In a whisper, he said, "That little blue gem I found on La Perdida.” He let out an impressed whistle. "I'm set for life. That's the beauty of this. I don't need to do any of this. This is strictly for fun. That's why it's gonna be a blast. We can do whatever we want. We'll have nobody looking over our shoulders. There's no pressure." Then he added, "But there are a few caveats.”
"Like what?”
"Mickey is a big personality. But I told him we have creative control because we know the industry better than he does. He’s 62 and still outrageous as hell. He's got a 25-year-old daughter who’s smoking hot. And I mean smoking. So that's rule number one. Nobody sleeps with Mickey's daughter. I don’t want this deal going south.”
I laughed. "How are you going to control yourself?"
Flynn was a notorious womanizer. Sometimes, to his own detriment. Most of the time, to his own detriment.
"I am practically a born-again virgin. I’m the epitome of self-control now. I’m a changed man. I have been enlightened. La Perdida changed me.”
Our adventure on the island had been quite the spiritual experience.
Flynn had anything but self-control, in my past experience. That was part of his charm. His ability to throw caution to the wind and indulge his every whim. Somehow, he had made it seem bold and empowering, living a life full of passion andspontaneity. Some might call it reckless and foolish. Somehow, he always landed on his feet. Just one of those guys.
"Mickey is flying in the air show. I told him you two would go to the show and meet him afterward. Take him out for a beer and get to know him. Let him see that you're the right person for this project. I've already talked you up. He knows I'm committed to having you on the project, but we just need to earn his confidence. He needs to know with absolute certainty that you’re the one to tell his story. I have no fear that you can do that. So let's ride the wave, brother. Let's go with the flow. Let the Universe be our mojo."
I laughed. "I’ve got a lot going on right now. We just took on another case."
"You've always got a lot going on. There's always gonna be another case. You gotta start living, brother. This is a green light. Go!”
I exhaled. There was no fighting it. "Okay. I'm in.”
Flynn howled with excitement. "Woo-hoo! I'll have my agent call your agent. They can work out all the fine print. This ain’t about the money for me. I know it ain't about the money for you.“
“I’m sure we can work out fair compensation.”
“How about a piece of first-dollar gross on top of whatever fee the suits negotiate?”
