Niccolo Souza lived in a one bedroom walk-up apartment above a local bar in Green Cove Springs. With the information Jonesy had provided, FDLE resources were already at his apartment. He was not there, but because he was believed to be instrumental in finding Maggie, his apartment was searched. There was not much to search through. The furnishings were modest. He had no television or other electronics. He had a single bed with two sets of cardboard drawers that held his clothes. His kitchen was nearly empty with only some bottled water and beer in the refrigerator. His closet contained a few shirts, a black suit and some shoes. There was nothing here to help the case.
As the FDLE team left the building, a man in dark slacks, a white shirt and sunglasses dialed a number on his phone from the diner across the street. He spoke in rapid Portuguese. On the other end of the call a warning had been delivered telling his cousin that he had been discovered and to be wary of approaching boats.
"Nico, it's a big ocean. They'll never find us before we deliver our cargo."
————
"So you and Jones believe the girls are being held on a fishing vessel and they'll be transferred to the cargo ship? It's a long shot, but based on your results so far, we can hardly ignore it," Hammersmith said.
"So where do we go from here? If the Coast Guard storms the cargo ship before Maggie is on board, we'll come up empty."
"Well, finding the fishing boat that belongs to Nico's family out in the open ocean will be nearly impossible. We will have to hope we can track the exchange. We will have to rely on the Coast Guard at this point. They have jurisdiction. It's a long shot unless we can get a location on the fishing boat. We've already seized the records from the office of the company Nico's brother and cousins run. They didn't file a plan for their travels."
"I'm not sure where I can help at this point," Frank said growing visibly restless.
"I'm not sure either. You've given us a huge jump in tracking these guys. We know that Maggie is likely on the Souza fishing boat, Rei do Mar. We know the name of the cargo ship and where it's docked. The ideal scenario would be to find the fishing boat and recover Maggie there and catch the bad guys. If we have to, as a last resort, we'll stop the cargo ship before it can leave port tomorrow. That would be tricky, though."
"Why do you say that?"
Hammersmith frowned.
"Usually, because the port is in a free trade zone, it's very hard to get clearance to stop and search a ship. It requires a federal warrant from the Department of Homeland Security under circumstances that point to an imminent threat of terrorism. It may be hard to pull that together in less than 24 hours."
"So we still have to improve our odds. That sounds like something I can work on with Jonesy. I can't just sit on the sidelines and wait to see if it all works out."
"I appreciate how you feel, but I think there is strength in numbers at this point."
"Well, we might attack it at a different angle."
"Just make sure you don't do anything crazy without filling us in."
"Crazy, we would never do that."
"Frank, I know you want to see this case through, but don't go rogue on me just to be the hero."
Frank shook his head. He said goodbye to Hammersmith and headed to his car. Once in the car and on his way, he called Jonesy.
"Jones."
"Jonesy, it looks like we are in a holding pattern."
"What do you mean?"
Frank went through what Hammersmith had told him about their options.
"Those boys are thinking on a large scale," Jonesy said. "I've got some small scale ideas."
"What do you have in mind?"
"What was Nico's address in Green Cove Springs?"
Frank pulled over to look it up on his phone.
"It's upstairs from the Corner Pocket bar at 14 South Magnolia Avenue."
"OK. Good. Get yourself to the surf shop as quick as you can."
"I'll be there."
Frank sped up and reached Jonesy's shop in about 40 minutes. Frank walked through the front door, nodded at Dusty, and headed directly to Jonesy's office.
"What's the plan, Jonesy?"
"I may have something. It's a long shot, but it's holding up the more I dig."
"Let's hear it."
"I took Nico's address and started looking at cell phone traffic. Because he lives over a bar, the traffic was pretty heavy in that location."
"So how can we identify his cell phone activity?"
"Well, it occurred to me that Nico is probably in contact with the boat that his brother and cousins are using to hold the girls. I had to make some assumptions. Since they didn't find a radio in Nico's apartment, I assumed he is using a cell phone. Unless the boat stays in US waters a mile or so from shore, a traditional cell phone wouldn't work."
"So how can he use his phone to get in touch with them?"
"If they have a satellite phone, Nico could call them wherever they are on the ocean."
"Would that be common? That's pretty high-tech."
"They used to be, but now satellite phones are about the size of your average smart phone. You can get one for about $600."
"So how does that help us?"
"Satellite phones only go through a limited number of carriers. There are six worldwide, to be exact. Only three service the United States."
"So you were able to find calls using one of these carriers?"
"Eventually I was. A single cell phone was used to call a satellite phone at or near Nico's address. One call was as recent as today."
"Today? But the FDLE searched his place today."
"The coordinates of the phone are accurate to within 300 yards. He could have been close to his apartment watching the FDLE while he placed a call warning his relatives."
"What can we do with this information? We have a number, but we can't exactly triangulate them on the ocean, especially if they are moving."
"We might just be able to find the boat's exact location."
"How?"
"Actually, we can use simple technology. After 9/11 all cell phone manufacturers were mandated to put a GPS tracking chip in all phones, including satellite phones. When an individual needs to be tracked, this tracking chip can be activated and tracked to a nearly exact location within ten feet or less. The signal is emitted from the phone several times each minute even if the phone is turned off."
"So how do we get the chip activated?"
"Well, there are two ways that I know of. One is to go through proper channels with the federal government and wait for them to decide if the request is compelling enough to approve."
"That sounds too slow. What's the other option?"
"The other option involves me hacking into the satellite phone carrier's system and turning on the tracking chip."
"How long before you have that done?"
"Five minutes before you got here."
Frank smiled.
"OK, so what do we do now?"
"I have a plan," Jonesy said. "We'll need Anita and a couple of pieces of equipment."
"Well, it's almost dark, let's get Anita here."
"She's on her way."
Jonesy filled Frank in on the plan.
"I want to handle this quickly," Frank said. "FDLE asked me to keep them informed. They just didn't say when. Let's put your plan in motion and we'll bring them and the Coast Guard in at the right time."
Just then, Anita arrived.
"What's the plan?" she asked by way of saying hello.
"A little late night rendezvous on the water," Jonesy answered.
"Well I hope there's more to the plan."
"There is, but first, we need access to a fast boat," Frank said.
They both looked at Anita.
"Why am I the source of the boat? Doesn't Fat Sam have a boat?"
"The Big Easy IV?" Jonesy said. "It's not exactly built for speed. We could probably row it faster than the engines would take us. That boat is built for partying not stealthy, high-speed ocean espionage."
"Didn't you just confiscate a boat in that drug bust a couple of weeks ago?" Frank asked.
Anita smiled.
"Well, I am in charge now that Bubba's missing. I suppose we can take it for a spin."
"I need to pick up a few things from the trailer," Frank said.
"That works. I need to get the boat keys out of evidence."
"I need to get a few things together too," Jonesy said.
They agreed to meet at Jacksonville Beach Marina in an hour.
Frank returned to the trailer. Lucy was happy to see him and he felt guilty for neglecting her.
"It will be over soon, girl, one way or another."
Frank went into his bedroom and lifted the small throw rug in front of his dresser. He grabbed a duffel bag from under the bed and unlocked the small trap door that was under the rug. The compartment held a few emergency provisions that Frank had collected for occasions like the one they were facing tonight. Among the supplies were some non-lethal flash bang grenades. He took two. These devices were used to temporarily blind and disorient targets. Frank also grabbed two SIG Pro semi-automatic pistols with four extra clips. To these, he added a handful of assorted zip ties to use as restraints.
While Frank was gathering his materials, Jonesy was also retrieving a couple of essential supplies. He had a special GPS tracking unit that could easily be tuned to pick up the satellite phone's signature on the open water. He also grabbed the night vision goggles they had used on Cobb's property along with an infrared sensing pair of special binoculars.
Anita collected the keys to the confiscated speed boat as well as some things they would need for the roles they would be playing. She then changed into a skimpy sun dress to complete her transformation into a bimbo out with two men for a late night cruise.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Frankly Speaking - A Frank Rozzani Detective Novel (#1) Page 28