Beyond Control

by Lawrence Verigin

  Sue had her hand on Ivan’s shoulder as we walked. He was visibly sad to have let Rose go. It made me think of Sue and that we needed to give our relationship a chance once this was all over.

  Sue looked my way and gave me a sad smile, as if thinking the same thing.

  The Chevy again followed us back to the hotel.

  As soon as we climbed out from the van in the parking lot, Jorge motioned to the Mexican restaurant adjacent to our hotel. “Let’s go have lunch.”

  It had been decided yesterday that we only talked about what we were going to do in public places in case our rooms and the van were now bugged.

  As we walked toward Pedro’s Cantina, Sue surveyed my ear and touched it. “Does it hurt at all?”

  Today was the first day I’d gone without a bandage over it. “No, it’s fine.”

  “I think that notch is permanent.” She made me stop so she could get a better look. “Like a mouse took a nibble. Ivan?”

  Ivan nodded. “I’m afraid that your ear will always have that small portion missing.”

  “I know ears don’t grow back.” I didn’t really care. It could’ve been worse. “Whatever.”

  “It gives you character.” Sue patted me on the back.

  The restaurant was busy, but we managed to find a table for four. One wall had a mural of a brown, mountainous desert with cacti and a low scrub. Live cacti were in pots in the corners. The tables were made of light-colored wood with blue-and-white tiled tops and the chairs were wicker.

  It was nearly impossible to avoid genetically engineered food ingredients in the States when eating out unless you were in a place that expressly served organics. We didn’t know how much exposure it took to genetically engineered food to start getting sick, because everyone’s body was different. We did know that long and continuous consumption was the main factor, so we took our chances when we had to. The only other option was starving.

  “Any more word from yours or Lorraine’s contacts?” I asked Jorge.

  “We should hear later today.”

  “Are we still on schedule to leave in two days?” Ivan was looking at Jorge.

  “Yes.” Jorge nodded. “After lunch, I have to do the banking as per Lee’s instructions.”

  “I can go to the banks with you, Jorge,” Ivan said.

  “Good.” Jorge nodded. “As soon as the passports and IDs are ready, we can leave. I like Nick’s idea of taking a boat to an island in the Caribbean and then flying from there to Bogota.”

  “We probably need to get to Florida, right?” Sue said. “From Texas it would take forever to get to an island.”

  As soon as I heard Florida again I realized who I knew there. “Didn’t Paul, our old editor from the Seattle News, retire to Key West?”

  “That’s right.” Sue’s eyes lit up. “He was from there, and when his father died, he inherited the family home and fishing business. Fishing means boat.”

  “Yeah, he was really into boats. He even had one in Seattle,” I added. “Remember that time he took us out? We went up to Port Townsend and did some fishing.”

  Sue gave a slight memory smile. “You fished. I drank.”

  “That’s right; you got seasick on the way back.”

  “Do you think you can find him?” Ivan asked. “Even if he cannot help, maybe he could introduce us to someone who could.”

  “Shouldn’t be too hard,” I said.

  “Do you trust him?” Jorge asked.

  “Definitely,” Sue said. “And as a bonus, he hated Davis Lovemark and GM Comm.”

  I remembered. “That was part of the reason he retired early—the ethics of the company. He would definitely sympathize with our cause.”

  Ivan and Jorge were going to stop by the hospital before they went to the three banks. We hoped that the men in the Chevy would follow them, leaving Sue and me to do what we had to.

  When we arrived at our hotel lobby, Sue and I hid behind a pillar and watched our rental van drive onto the street. Two seconds later, the Chevy pulled out and followed.

  “Step one complete,” Sue said.

  I pulled the napkin with the address Jorge had given me out of my pocket. “Let’s get a cab.” My other pocket contained the wad of hundreds and twenties he’d given me at the same time.

  We walked out to the street, crossed it, and started heading south. Within a block we saw a cab and hailed it.

  It took twelve minutes to reach our destination.

  Once out of the cab Sue pointed toward the end of the block. “There’s the store with the phones and the Internet caé two over from it.”

  Just then the Ford that we hadn’t seen in days pulled up right in front of us. We were standing at a bus stop, so there were no parked cars. Before the sedan even stopped, the passenger door opened.

  “Run!” I pulled Sue around by her arm but was too late.

  A large man with hands the size of baseball mitts grabbed her other arm and twisted her toward him. “I want to talk to you two.”

  I’d lost my grip on her.

  “Let go!” Sue swung up so hard her feet left the ground and nailed the man with her palm between his eye and nose. “I don’t want to talk to you!” Then she kicked him in the stomach.

  The man fell back, hitting his head against the open door of the car.

  Sue lost her balance, and I caught her just before she landed on the sidewalk. Pulling her to her feet, I propelled her away from the car. We both bolted.

  We sprinted around the block away from the store and caé we needed to visit. It was a busy sidewalk, and we had to dodge and maneuver around pedestrians.

  As we came to the corner at the next street, I slowed and glanced to see the big man half the block behind us. He wasn’t agile; he was lumbering.

  Sue stopped. “Look, the Ford’s coming toward us.”

  They’re trying to box us in. I saw a restaurant to our left. “In here.”

  I opened the door and let Sue go first. We tried to look casual, walking slow while catching our breath. Sue went straight toward the back of the informal eatery. We came out into a patio courtyard landscaped with high shrubs to block the view of the back alley. The tables were half full of patrons. I spotted a break in the bushes with a gate. Sue was already heading toward it. She threw the latch and headed out.

  “Excuse me.”

  I turned to see a server holding a tray coming toward us. I didn’t bother explaining and went through the spring-loaded gate that was closing.

  We were in the alley and running. Sue had a head start and her legs were in full motion, so I had to give it all I had to catch up.

  We turned onto the other side of the block from where we’d first come, back toward our original destination. Luckily the light was green, and we didn’t have to stop before crossing the street.

  I’d caught up to Sue as we arrived at the store, and we went in one after the other. It sold phones and the gadgets that went with them. We stopped at the window display and looked back outside.

  After a long thirty seconds, Sue said, “I think we lost them.”

  “Stand watch and I’ll get the phones.” The handgun I’d hidden behind my back under my belt had ridden up from the running and was about to fall out. I lifted my shirt and pushed it down to the point where I could feel the barrel between my butt cheeks. Then I turned and walked farther into the store.

  It was a small shop with no one else there but a teenage guy behind the counter.

  I realized that when I’d pushed the gun back into place, it had been in full view of the teen.

  He was watching us carefully and looked nervous. I’d be apprehensive too if someone barged in like we had and was carrying a firearm. He probably thought we were going to rob him.

  “Hi.” I tried to look and sound friendly. “I need six prepaid, disposable, cell phones—basic ones, nothing fancy.”

  “S-sure. You need burners.” He came around the counter to a display on the wall and pulled off a phone wrapped in a plastic cas
e. “How’s this?” His hands were trembling as he handed it to me, and his face was red, accentuating his acne problem.

  I wanted him to feel more at ease, so spoke softly. “Six of these would be fine. Can I get two hundred dollars put on each of them?”

  “Yes, sir.” He took six phones back to the counter and unwrapped them.

  It took over ten minutes for the phones to be ready and then another minute for him to instruct me on how to add more minutes. After that I counted out the cash, he placed the phones in a plastic bag, and we were done.

  “Anything?” I asked Sue when I came up to her.

  “Nothing. They must’ve thought we went the other way.”

  “Good. Let’s go.”

  Two businesses over was our next stop, the Internet caé. It was basic and clean with three desktop computers in front of the window and a row of them on long tables against a wall. There were only two people in front of computer screens. On the opposite side was a bar where you could get drinks, sandwiches, and desserts.

  We went to one of the computers in front of the window so we could watch for the Ford.

  “It shouldn’t be hard to find a family of Asian heritage in Key West, especially when they own a fish market.” Sue had a tone of confidence.

  She was right as the search only took one try. Within thirty seconds the screen showed a website titled Ang’s Fish Market. Sue clicked on the “About” button, and a photo of a family standing in front of a store loaded above text. There was Paul, his wife, and two grown daughters, smiling.

  “He looks the same, but his daughters are totally grown-up …” I was distracted by a dark Ford passing by on the street outside, but it wasn’t the same model.

  “It’s been … what?” Sue looked up at me. “Five years since we last saw him?”

  “Yeah, about that.” I noticed a link. “How about ‘Charters’ at the top of the page?”

  Sue moved the cursor up and clicked.

  The screen slowly loaded, revealing pictures inside and out of two sizable boats. “They’re plenty big enough.”

  Sue copied down the address and phone number on a receipt lying next to the keyboard. “Let’s head back to the hotel before we call him.”

  A person was getting out of a cab right in front of the caé, so we asked the driver if he could take us to the hotel.

  When we arrived, there was no sign of our rental van or any of our followers.

  “Let’s call from over there in the shade,” Sue said.

  We strode over to a bench on a patch of dry grass that the shadow of the building shielded from the afternoon sun.

  “Can you hand me the number?” I opened the bag in my hand. “Now’s a good time to use one of these phones.”

  Sue pulled out the piece of paper from her shorts pocket and gave it to me, her hand having a slight shake.

  “You okay?” I realized that I was jittery as well.

  “We were almost abducted … again.”

  “Thanks to your quick moves, we got away.” I placed my hand on her back to reassure her.

  “Every time they interrogate us I get the shit kicked out of me,” Sue said. “I don’t want that to ever happen again.”

  She was right, and I needed to move faster to help make sure that never happened again in the future.

  “Call Paul.”

  There was an answer on the third ring, “Ang’s Fish Market and Charters,” said a male voice.

  “Is this Paul?” I was pretty sure I recognized his always calm voice.

  “Yes, speaking.”

  “Paul, it’s Nick Barnes. Remember me?”

  “Of course. Nick, how are you?”

  “Um, pretty good. How’s life with the fishes?”

  “Can’t complain. Love the freedom.”

  “Great to hear.” I felt an urge to get to the point. “Listen, Paul, Sue Clark, some friends, and I are in Dallas and were wondering if we could come see you? We’d like to charter a boat to take us to a Caribbean island.”

  “Say hi to Sue for me. Is she still cute as a button and feistier than shit?”

  “She’ll never change in either of those departments.”

  Sue looked at me and I shrugged.

  “Sure, I have a boat for that,” Paul said. “Will you need a captain?”

  “Yeah, and it’s a one-way trip.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’ll fill you in when we get there.”

  “Nick, I’ve read everything on your website and know you’ve uncovered some scary things. And I know about your battles with Davis Lovemark, the late Dr. Schmidt, and your connection with Jack Carter.”

  “Wow, I didn’t think anyone in the States even knew what we were doing because we didn’t get much media coverage over here.”

  “With the Internet, you can find information from anywhere. On a whim one rainy day last year, I wanted to know what you were up to and did a search. From there my old investigative-reporter habits took over, and I’ve been reading what I could find about you ever since.”

  “Well, that’ll take care of all the explaining I thought I’d have to do.” I was impressed that he was keeping track of us. “We’re in Dallas because we attended Jack Carter’s funeral.”

  “Right.” There was a pause on the line.

  The thought crossed my mind that with him knowing so much he may not want to help us. Maybe he was getting cautious as he aged. He must’ve been around sixty by now.

  Paul cleared his throat. “I’m guessing you’re in some kind of trouble?”

  “I’m not sure if trouble is the right word …”

  “I could use some adventure. The fish business can be a little stale at times. I’ll help you get to whatever island you want.”

  Phew. “Great. We should be there by the end of the week.”

  “I’ll be ready for you.”

  We met at a bistro two blocks away from our hotel. Sue and I had scoped it out when we went for a walk after talking to Paul.

  They advertised using fresh local ingredients, and the menu sounded good. The restaurant was bright with two walls of windows, clean, and modern, with glass table tops and generous amounts of chrome. There was an open kitchen and a bar where patrons could sit and watch the food being prepared. All types of ingredient aromas mingled together.

  Ivan had stayed at the hospital to take a shift with Lee.

  “I heard from Eugene today.” Jorge was the last to join us. “Sam needed a second surgery on his shoulder. He’s going to be out of commission for a while.”

  Sue and Lorraine looked concerned.

  “So for sure we’ll be down four security people in Colombia.”

  “Maybe I should come,” Lorraine said.

  “No, someone needs to stay with Lee,” I said. “Hopefully you two can join us when he is better.”

  “We’ll be okay,” Jorge said.

  Sue said to me, “Tell them the details of your call with Paul.”

  I went through our conversation.

  “I like that idea,” Jorge said.

  “Ask your friend if Lee and I could use a similar route once he’s able to travel,” Lorraine said.

  We paused when a young server with red hair and freckles came to take our order.

  As soon as the server left, Lorraine looked at Jorge. “We should tell Nick and Sue what our contacts told us.”

  “Of course, I was just getting to that,” Jorge said.

  Lorraine leaned toward Sue and me. Cleavage was showing above her white tank top, so I consciously focused on looking her in the eyes.

  “We found out that the men in the Chevrolet are FBI, working with Interpol to keep tabs on us,” Lorraine said.

  “Which is actually a good thing, because the men in the Ford are Naintosa security,” Jorge said. “So with the FBI around they can’t just abduct us.”

  I never thought of it that way. The FBI was actually protecting us.

  “The guys in the Ford tried to snatch us today when we went t
o get the phones,” Sue said.

  “What?” Lorraine looked surprised.

  “We lost them, though,” I added.

  “They still tried to abduct you?” Jorge said.

  “That’s brazen if they tried to grab you right on the street. Splitting up wasn’t a good idea.”

  I didn’t want to make a big deal about it, but he was right—if there had been four of us, they wouldn’t have tried to grab us. “Did you find out anything about Agents Furyk and Stenson?”

  “That’s a bit of a gray area we’re not positive about yet,” Lorraine said.

  “My local police contacts say they’re FBI,” Jorge said.

  “My FBI friends say they’re CIA,” Lorraine said, “but have some kind of special status, like counterintelligence.”

  “What kind of special status is that?” I asked. “And how does that work with the FBI, if they’re CIA?”

  “That, we don’t know yet,” Lorraine said.

  CHAPTER 20

  May 12, 2003

  We all did a shift with Lee at the hospital that day and otherwise laid low. There wasn’t much to do until our IDs arrived tomorrow. Our plan was to rent a second minivan, distract the men in the Chevy, and then make a run for it to Florida.

  Sue and I were each sitting on our beds as the credits rolled of the movie we’d just watched on the hotel pay-per-view.

  I clicked the TV off. “It’s getting late. We should get some sleep.”

  “Nick.” Sue bit her lip.

  “I know we decided to wait until this was all over, but …”

  I knew what she was getting at and had an instant urge. It was an opportunity to release the tension of what was coming in each other’s arms, if only for a few moments. I jumped from my bed to hers and came almost close enough for our noses to touch.

  “Yes?”

  She smirked. “Well, that didn’t take any convincing.”

  There were three successive knocks on the door.

  Sue fell back against the pillow. “You wanna get that?”

  “Why did I know that was going to happen?” I got up from the bed.

  “Because we’re supposed to wait.” Sue sat up.

  Looking through the peep hole, I could see it was Jorge, so I opened the door.