by Robert Cuma
“I see him. We need a diversion to get passed him and down to the ship. Gina, my sweet, do you think you can keep him interested long enough for Hannah and me to slip by?”
“Steven, have I ever denied you a good diversion tactic?”
We made our way down to the side of the warehouse hiding behind some old crates. Then Gina made her move. She dipped her hand in a nearby puddle of water and wet her tee shirt in all the right places. This gave rise to an interesting set of distraction tools. She walked up to the guard and engaged him in conversation. He quickly became very interested in our little decoy. Hannah and I made our way passed him and down the side alley. Again hiding behind some crates, we got a closer look at what was being taken off the ship. The writing on the side of the cargo containers appeared to be written in Arabic. Hannah said, “It looks like we have a problem larger than we could have anticipated.”
“What do you mean, Hannah?”
“The writing on those crates spell munitions offload with caution.”
“That’s great, now what?”
“The ship’s crew is speaking Arabic. I should try to get a closer look.” Hannah tied her hair up in a bun and with her head down moved toward the activity. She grabbed a long shirt off a hook on the warehouse wall. After putting it on, she pulled up the collar and mixed in with the crowd. I watched her very carefully. I didn’t want to lose sight of her for an instant. As she mingled closer in, sure enough, I lost her. The crowd of workers was large. She could have been anywhere by now. I thought if they were to find her out, there would be a loud commotion. I waited. I moved back a little to see how Gina was doing with her newfound friend. They had moved down the alleyway closer to where I was. So far, Gina looked like she was okay. I kept on looking for Hannah but there was no sign of her. As I observed the activities going on, I saw large sacks of grain being carried onto another hold of the ship. “Come on, Hannah, hurry up and get back here,” I thought. Looking up the alley at Gina, I saw her embracing her target. What I put these girls through is shameful but sometimes it’s necessary. Then I saw a figure walking toward me from the ship. The person had a hat on so I couldn’t tell if it was Hannah. I stood in the shadows and waited. As the figure walked passed me, I quickly grabbed the person only to find out it was Hannah. Then the grab turned into a hug and a kiss as I whispered in her ear, “I’m really glad it’s you.”
“Why Steven, I didn’t think you cared.”
“Well, I do.” I held her for a moment more and said, “We’d better check on Gina. I think she might be at the point of submission.”
“Okay, Steven, we’ll get going right now.” I followed as Hannah walked up the alley to where Gina and the guard were standing. The guard was so enamored with Gina he didn’t even see Hannah and me sneak passed them. We moved quickly to the car.
I heard Gina say to the guard, “I’ll be right back, wait for me,” as she headed for the car also.
Once inside, I said, “Gina, are you alright?”
“Steven, I’m fine. It’s not the first time I’ve been fondled for you, is it? Relax. You look like you’re going to jump out of your skin.” Gina sitting in the back seat moved forward and kissed me.
Then Hannah ran her hands through my hair. She exclaimed, “Listen, Steven, what’s gotten into you? Take it easy, we are all very capable women.”
“I’m sorry, girls. I’m getting a little shell-shocked by putting you guys in harm’s way all the time. It’s getting too dangerous.”
Hannah continued, “Listen, big guy, if you start to lose your nerve we are all truly done for. Remember, you are the master spy here. I know it was hard for you to listen to Linda’s story but we all know it’s the nature of this business. Besides, all of us volunteered for it. Right, Gina?”
“That’s true, Steven. I told you before, you are our rock and we can’t do these things without knowing you’re there for us, no matter what we go through. So you have to get it together. We love you. All the girls love and admire you, including young Tina.” Both of them started to mess up my hair until I laughed.
“Okay, guys, you’re right. I’m shook up.”
Hannah said, “Well, you can’t be shook up, not even for an instant. Above all the things that we do in our lives, we are your team first. Understand what we are saying?”
“I do understand guys, I do.
“That’s great, now on with the business at hand.”
I asked, “Hannah, tell us what you found out?”
“The ship’s name is the Canton Seas and it offloads weapons and raw opium. Then it takes on the processed heroin and other types of munitions. I read the ship’s manifest and it’s headed for Naples. It also says the cargo is grain and farm machinery.”
“Should I ask how you were able to read the manifest?”
“Steven, a little charm goes a long way. Just don’t ask how much charm is used.”
“Okay, kids, let’s get back to the base.” On the way back, I stopped our shadow car and told them to stay at this location to keep the ship under surveillance. I also instructed them to call the comm center to report any unusual activities, especially with the passengers. They complied and we returned to the base.
When we arrived, it was late, so the three of us went into one of the less occupied barracks. There we found several bunks lined up next to each other. The room was dimly lit as we made our way around in the dark. From what I could tell, there were a few troops at the other end of the building. I heard the girls giggling among themselves. As I started to fall asleep, I felt Gina crawl into my bunk without any clothes on. She said, “Steven, can I sleep with you?”
“Where are your clothes?”
“Hannah and I decided not to wear any.”
“Her too, you can stay here but sleep it is.”
“Okay, whatever you say. But Steven, I think your body is trying to tell me something else. Did I excite you this evening?”
I didn’t answer. I kissed her with extreme passion and made love to her.
Morning came early with the soldiers. They had the lights on at 5 a.m. Gina went back to her bunk sometime earlier and was sound asleep. Hannah woke up first to find several soldiers kneeling on the floor in a half circle around the girls’ beds.
She said, “Gina, wake up we have an audience.”
Gina sat up in bed as perky as ever and exclaimed, “What are you guys doing?”
One of the soldiers said, “Ladies, we are praying to the gods that you two are the new replacements we are expecting. And if you are, we hope you sleep this way every night.”
Just then, my cell phone rang. I answered, “General, yes sir, your daughters are with me and they are safe! I’ll get them to you as soon as possible.” With that, all the soldiers scattered to the four winds.
I continued my conversation with Grimes.
He asked, “What on earth are you talking about?”
“Oh nothing, Dean, I’m having some fun. Give me some good news.”
“Your targets have left Washington. Bono went back to Italy and the other guy is headed your way. We intercepted a phone call he made to Hightower headquarters. He’s coming with a small army and will be hooking up with a band of Abdullah’s people out by you!”
“Did anyone mention exactly where?”
“A city called Chi-lung. Do you need any extra support?”
“Not in this country. We’ll be able to handle just about anything coming our way.”
“Good, keep me informed.”
“Will do, Dean, talk to you soon.” We broke our connection. The girls were putting their clothes on in a hurry. I said, “See, you can’t tempt the boys in uniform. Hannah, you should know better.”
“Oh, Steven, it was fun. We liked your way of getting rid of those guys. That was hilarious. Besides, you’re back to yourself - quick thinking Steven.”
11 – A Small War
______________
We all dressed and went to Miller’s place. There we had coffee and
showers waiting.
Miller asked, “Did you guys find anything out last night?”
I answered, “Well, Frank, we found a dirty ship handling munitions and drugs at the same time. We left our shadow guys there to monitor any unusual activities.”
“I’ll have the NSA boys start tracking the ship when it leaves port.”
Hannah chimed in, “I read the ship’s manifest and I think it’s headed for Naples.”
“How did you do that?”
“The Captain showed it to me.”
“What did you do, have dinner with him?”
“No, that happens tonight, if you guys want me to. He thinks I’m an Arab from Lebanon. I told him I’m trying to get back to my homeland. He seemed friendly enough. At least until this other big guy came on the bridge. He spooked the Captain somewhat. That’s when the Captain told me to come back tonight. I waited outside to listen in on their conversation. I couldn’t hear much but I detected a Russian accent from the big guy.”
I said, “Hannah, you’re not going back on that ship tonight.”
“Steven, I can handle it fine.”
“I know you can but I just got word from DC that Campo is coming this way. And he’s bringing a small army with him.”
Miller asked, “How much time do we have?”
I responded, “I’d say about two days.”
“Well, I’ll get my troops together and take them down in a hurry. The only problem I see is getting some of the girls out of here.”
Gina spoke, “I agree, General, but we need to let the ship sail without any suspicion. It’s important to see exactly where it goes and who receives delivery of its’ cargo.”
I said, “It probably will leave under the cover of darkness without any legal departure. Maybe Hannah should keep her appointment this evening.”
She replied, “Not a problem, gentlemen.”
“We’ll give you plenty of backup, Hannah,” Miller said.
“Whatever you think is best, General.”
Then I asked, “Frank, do you think we can spare a small detail of men along with a chopper?”
“I think so. Why do you ask?”
“I feel we should bring Bianca, Zia and Tina to Cheng Liu’s estate until we can sort things out. We should leave the chopper there with some soldiers for added protection.”
Miller responded, “Steven, that’s exactly what I was thinking. You know what they say about great minds.”
“Okay, people, we’ll regroup at the conference room later today to formulate a more detailed plan.”
It took about an hour to get the chopper and the girls to leave for the Liu estate. Tina wanted to stay with Hannah and me but I couldn’t allow it. I didn’t think she should be around in case we would have to kill her father. Once they were gone, I made a phone call to Cathy and told her of our plans. She volunteered to return and offer support. I explained that the possibility of the enemy moving to her area was very high. Also, I told her to stay put and keep her vicinity under tight security. She complied without any questions.
_____
Later that day the rest of us got together to iron out the details of the impending attack. As we sat around the conference room, each member of my team stated their intended assignment. The first one was Tao Li. He said, “My house is protected by a team of secret police. Nothing can get to my family without causing an all out war. Also, I have a detachment of paramilitary forces ready to move at a moments’ notice.”
I responded, “That’s great, Tao. Mike, what are your objectives?”
“I’ll be checking all commercial flights coming in from the States and the Middle East. I’ll have some of Tao’s troops with me.”
“Okay, John what will you be up to?”
“I’ll be with General Miller manning the comm. center to coordinate all activities. We will have video feeds from some locations, like the docks and certain traffic cameras in Chi-lung and Taipei. Also, we’ll wire Hannah so we can monitor her every move tonight.”
“Make sure her communications are relayed to me.”
“You got it, Steven.”
“Everything sounds pretty good. Let’s not underestimate the enemy. They are vicious creeps. Hannah, if the ship should move out of port tonight, I want you to get off quickly. I’ll be on the port side with a small boat. Understood?”
“Yes, Boss, will do.”
“Okay, everyone get some rest while you can. Tonight may be very busy.”
Later that evening after dark, Hannah, Gina, and I went to the dock area with two of Miller’s soldiers. They happened to be part of the girl’s fan club from the barracks.
One of them said, “I thought you girls were the General’s daughters.”
Hannah responded, “We had to think of something to say, handsome.”
“Well, maybe after the mission we could…”
“We’ll see after the mission.”
Once there, we acquired a small unidentifiable boat. We all took one last radio check on Hannah and she was off on her mission. Along with the two soldiers, Gina and I moved offshore in the small boat. We stayed about two-hundred yards away from the target ship. Listening to Hannah’s initial conversation, things seemed to be going well. The ship’s Captain was on the bridge when Hannah arrived. The Captain was an Asian man of about fifty.
He said, “I’m glad to see you, my dear.”
Hannah responded, “You told me to be here tonight and here I am.”
He continued, “Well, I have a surprise for you.”
“What might that be?”
“We leave here tonight. Actually, we should be undocking as we speak. This is what you wanted, right?”
“You bet, Captain. Are we going to the Middle East?”
“Not directly. First we must make a stop in Italy to drop off some of our cargo, then on to your region of the world.”
“That’s fine with me. I want to get out of this place.” Another voice was heard. It sounded like the Russian guy from last night.
He spoke in Chinese, “We are underway I presume, Captain.”
“Yes sir, we’ll be out of the harbor in fifteen minutes.”
Gina, who studied Chinese, among many other languages, translated to everyone on the shared comm. line.
The Russian continued, “Did you make a last minute check on our cargo?”
“Yes sir, everything is in order.”
“Good, and who is this lovely young woman?”
“Just someone I brought along for entertainment.”
“Will you be sharing her with your comrade?”
“Oh, sure, as a matter of fact, you can have her first. I will send her down to your cabin after we are underway.”
“Be sure you do. I’m going to my cabin now so you can send her sooner.” Then we heard a door slam.
The Captain said to Hannah, “My dear, do you speak Chinese?”
“No, I don’t. Why do you ask?”
“Well, the gentleman that was just here is a very powerful businessman. He likes you and would like to spend some time with you in his cabin. It’s kind of paying for your passage out of this place.”
“I thought I would be staying with you.”
“Tomorrow night you can spend with me. Tonight you stay with the boss. Be nice to him, he is paying for the entire cargo. If you please him, I will give you some money when we reach our destination.”
“Okay, where should I go?”
“I’ll show you after I get the ship out to sea.”
“Can I go outside for some air?”
“Sure, just don’t go far. I need to take you to the boss in a little while.”
Hannah managed her way out of the bridge area. She spoke over our comm. system, “I’m going to check the cargo bays to examine the shipment.”
She didn’t put her earpiece on so I couldn’t talk to her. I told our boatman to follow the ship on the port side. The ship had no lights on and neither did we. Then Hannah said, “I can’t get into
one of the cargo areas. I’ll try another.” After a couple of minutes, she contacted us again. “I found rocket launchers, boxes of ammunition and some detonators for explosives. I also want to check on the crew, so stand-by.” As the ship made it out of the harbor, it was headed for open water. We continued to tag along on the port side. Then we heard, “Oops, guys, sorry, wrong room. I’m coming out now since I think I went in the wrong place and I’m being chased.” I grabbed my binoculars and focused on the port side of the boat. Shots were being fired. I saw Hannah on the top deck trying to find a place to go overboard. Finally, there she was on the railing of the top deck. We heard several more shots. Hannah grabbed her chest and fell overboard. I told the boat driver to speed up and get to her now! As we approached her splash area, I dove in the water followed by Gina. We both went under to try to find Hannah. There was no sign of her. The ship was moving faster away from the dark area where Hannah went over. We couldn’t be seen from the ship. I went back on our boat to catch my breath for a moment. Soon, Gina returned. We were sitting on the boat when all of a sudden Hannah popped out of the water like a cork. “Hi guys,” she said, “were you looking for me?” I reached down and pulled her out of the dark water.
“Are you hurt?” I asked.
“I’m okay, I wanted them to think they hit me and I drowned. That’s why I made a deep dive. I hope they didn’t see you guys.”
“I don’t think so.”
“When I went into the crew’s quarters I found a large group of Arab looking goons. There were too many of them for just the ship’s crew. Besides, I couldn’t get into the other hold on the ship. That bothers me.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll track the ship and board it when it reaches its’ destination.”
Then I heard through the communications system Mike calling from the airport. “Heads up everyone, a group of Middle Eastern men just landed here from Beirut. We had their papers checked and everything seemed to be in order. They boarded a tour bus. Since that’s the last flight from the Middle East, we are following them.”