by Frank Perry
Part of SEAL training involves underwater explosive placement on ship hulls. During training, the men learn general ship construction and points of most vulnerability. Hunter understood the basic construction of the fishing vessels and was looking for a specific anomaly. He passed under the rudder, between the twin screws (propellers) feeling his way along the center of the bottom of the hull, the keel. Wanderer’s hull was amazingly clean and free of barnacles. He was able to feel the welded seems holding the steel plates together. The engine room was near the aft end of the ship, near the screws. As he moved farther forward, he was under the hold area of the ship. That’s where he felt it. There was an open seam showing an opening between metal plates. He used his full arm reach to gauge the length of the seam, which was about twelve feet long, two full arm extensions. At the front end of the seam, he found a corner with the seam continuing perpendicular to the keel, about six feet long, to another corner and seam parallel to the keel seam. Feeling along this seam, he found a heavy welded hinge, about a foot long. There were three hinges along this seam. At the corner again, he followed the seam toward the keel, to the point where he began. The hull had a door twelve feet long and six wide on the right (starboard) side. When he investigated further, the center seam along the keel was also the bottom of an identical door on the port side of the ship. This meant a twelve-foot square clamshell opening in the bottom of the ship. He had suspected it, and now had proof.
He swam underwater past the stern of Wanderer and cautiously surfaced, facing the ship. He repeated the survey of the Ocean Queen, and did not find the opening. Sea Fury was large enough for the same hull modification as Ocean Wanderer.
He had one more task, which was the most dangerous of all. He needed to climb aboard deck on the Queen. Anyone protecting the ship would be watching the dock side. At least that was his theory. At the stern, in the dark, he was able to thrust upward with his fins enough to grab a piece of the net, piled over the transom (back of the ship). He pulled himself upward enough to release his weight belt and hook it on the net. He did the same with the rest of his swim gear. His black wetsuit made it very difficult to see him as he crawled over the net, piled eight feet high. He still wore a combination bullet-proof utility vest. It took almost ten minutes to get accurate measurements and geometry of the ship’s stern. He disappeared into the blackened bay after finishing his reconnaissance.
Report
Claire was cleaning up after weekend breakfast with the kids when Hunter drove into the driveway. She opened the door for him, and he looked bone-tired. “Hi, sis. Anything going on?”
She looked at him strangely. “No, Hunt. Where have you been all night?”
He walked past her toward the bedroom. “Don’t ask.” He was relieved.
“Did you see Sue Ann?”
He stopped at the guestroom door and turned, facing her. “No, she wasn’t home.”
“Okay...” She decided not to pursue it further. He was in no mood to talk.”
He started to step into the guest room then stopped. “Call John Richards and see if he can come by at one o’clock. I wanna get some sleep.”
Before she could say anything else, he closed the door.
Four hours later, he still hadn’t gotten restful sleep. Thoughts about Sue Ann kept colliding with other facts. He worried about Laura alone in Washington. He’d been warned and decided to go tactical presuming that Peña wouldn’t expect him back in California immediately. Now, he didn’t have a good plan. It had always been easier in the military and the Border Patrol because he had a specific mission and adversaries that were identifiable and predictable. This was an intangible war. The top adversary was known, and the odds favored him a thousand fold. The Kohl side of the equation had Hunter and the law if they could ever act on anything. In the meantime, Peña had the freedom to act, seemingly at will. He was tossing in the bed when Claire knocked on the door. “Hunter, John’s here.”
A few moments later, Hunter appeared unshaven and uncombed wearing jeans and a Redskins tee-shirt. The scent of fresh brewed coffee was appreciated. John was standing in the kitchen with Claire enjoying a cup when Hunter stumbled in. “Hey, John.”
“Hey, yourself, Hunter. You look like you’re twelve hours out of sync with the clock.”
He just shook his head. “At least.”
Claire handed him a cup of black full-roast. “You wanna sit on the patio?”
Hunter nodded his head again. It would be best to talk outside earshot if the kids happened to be around the house.
It was a cool-ish sunny day in the Sierra foothills, one of those days that should be appreciated as winter approaches. John was dressed in dockers and a plaid flannel shirt, looking like he had been planning to do something other than yard work over the weekend. Hunter began, “John, I’m sorry to interrupt your weekend. I’ve got some information that could help you a lot, putting Peña away.”
“It’s okay, Hunter. I sometimes go to see my daughter at school, but this is important, and I can call her tomorrow. There’s only so much face time she’ll tolerate between allowance checks.”
They all smiled. Hunter nodded and said, “I know how Peña moves his drugs.”
John had a small pad that always seems to appear when a detective is present. “Go ahead, Hunter.”
“He has twelve-foot trap doors cut in the bottom of his ship’s hulls. I confirmed it on Ocean Wanderer. Sea Fury is gone right now, but she’s big enough to have the same hull mods.”
“What about his other boat, Ocean Queen?”
“She’s too small. The hull is original. I can sketch the location of the openings pretty accurately. They’re right under the ship’s freezer tanks.”
John was righting notes. “Dare I ask how you know this?”
“Let’s just say I took a midnight swim last night and bumped into a couple hulls.”
Claire protested. “Hunt, are you crazy. They could kill you if they knew you found this.”
“I’m pretty good in the water, sis. Besides, something has to be done to put these guys away.”
John nodded his head. “Yeah, this is really hot stuff, Hunter. I’ll get a hold of the FBI right away. Maybe we’ve got enough for a search warrant now. Anything else?”
Hunter looked quickly at Claire then back at John. “I’ve got all the stern rail dimensions of Ocean Queen. If they match the crease marks under Jose’s car that should prove Peña killed him.”
John looked reticent. “Hunter, this is more difficult. I’m not sure the DA will risk a warrant on the boat if the defense can argue that it was prompted by illegal trespassing. I assume you weren’t invited aboard?”
Hunter rubbed his temples. “Look, John, what’s it gonna take to get someone aboard that boat legally and get the evidence to cook this guy?”
“It’s not that straightforward, Hunter. Even if we could get the dimensions admitted, I’m not sure it would prove anything conclusively and would probably be a signal for Peña to boogey out of here. I mean, the guy’s not stupid enough to have been on the boat when the car was dumped...sorry, Claire.”
Hunter was frustrated. “Look, I don’t want to be the only one with this information, so I’m giving it to you, and you and the FBI can use it any way you want.”
John wanted to be encouraging. “Look, Hunter, the ship hull doors are key, but it would still be best to catch him in the act.”
Hunter was tired and irritable. “Okay, John. I don’t know how we’ll do it, but I’ll think of something.”
John leaned closer, glancing at hunter, then Claire, and then back at Hunter. “Look, Hunter. You’ve got to stay out of this. You’re interfering with a federal investigation, which is a crime. I’m only telling you this as a friend. You could also get killed or cause Peña to bolt out of here. If either happens it would be a tragedy. I want you to go back to Washington and let us handle it.”
; Hunter looked at his clenched hands. “John, I’ve just given you the best intel you’ve had yet. I’m not giving up on this. Without me freelancing a little, you’re not getting anywhere.”
“Hunter, I’ve said my piece.” John looked at Claire. “Maybe you can talk some sense into him, Claire.” Then he stood to leave. She pursed her lips and didn’t say anything, walking Richards to the front door.
Claire was returning back to the patio when the phone rang. Hunter was too tired and upset to listen to her side of the conversation from the kitchen. It was a short call, and she returned to be with Hunter. “Sue Ann is coming up tomorrow. She wants to talk to you.”
He exhaled, “Oh, Great.”
Tracker
Navy SEALS (Sea, Air, and Land Specialists) have a long tradition as unconventional warriors. They train with Army and Marine Special Forces to fight alone in small units or as individuals in severely hostile environments. SEALs specialize further in maritime incursions, attacking from the land or water, or often underwater. They speak a language that only SpecOps people understand, and remain close-knit for life. They never stop being Navy SEALS.
Hunter made a call to Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC), Coronado, in San Diego. “Let me talk to Commander Hollis.”
After some interrogation by the Petty Officer answering the phone, there was a brief pause. “Hollis.” Each SEAL Team is commanded by a Navy