by Scott Cook
“In the meantime, what’s our plan?” Turner asked. “Once he gets the necklace, we’ve got to take him down.”
“What if he insists on a hostage?” I asked. “I’ll have to go. We have to take his threat seriously. Then what? What’s important here is stopping any use of those germs. Preventing Bolivar from getting his land seems secondary to me.”
“That might mean we lose you,” Turner said. He didn’t seem overly broken up by the idea, but neither did he sound pleased.
I shrugged, “Might have to take that chance.”
“We could put a tracker on you,” Grayson said. “Once he takes you and rendezvous with his yacht, we can send in a strike team.”
“That’s the only option,” Turner said. “We certainly can’t sneak aboard while she’s at sea…”
“I doubt a tracker will work this time, Colonel,” I said flatly. “Neither Garcia nor his brother is stupid. I’ll be thoroughly searched at best. Probably stripped naked and given new clothing just to make sure. Our only option is for me to figure something out from the inside…”
“With help,” Jackie offered.
“No way, Gunny,” I said. “I appreciate the thought, but this could very well be a one-way trip for me. They’d have no problem killing you, too. Probably would as a matter of course, in truth.”
Jackie frowned, “I’ll tell Lisa. Do you have any idea how pissed off she’ll be?”
I chuckled, “Yeah… if I go and get myself murdered she’ll kill me.”
“What do we do about this?” Amanda asked sternly. “Either Scott refuses to go, or to go with Bolivar… or we let him be taken. What do we do in that event?”
No one had any suggestions. As the silence fell over the quiet cabin, I began to feel the inexorable pull of time. Sooner or later Bolivar would call, and I’d have to act.
“What about the old-fashioned way?” Jackie finally offered. “We follow Scott wherever he goes. We’ve got this plane, for God’s sake. If he’s forced to go with them, then can’t we pursue the boat until it makes its rendezvous? Then we can HALO jump in?”
“Do a high altitude, low open jump… at night… over open water,” Turner said archly. “And hope we can land on a moving ship?”
Jackie scowled, “I thought you were a snake eater… sir.”
Turner’s face flushed a bit. His blonde-haired and blue eyed chemistry probably made that happen easily. I’d bet he was a terrible poker player.
“The Commander has a point,” Grayson said. “Not to mention there’s no guarantee Scott wouldn’t be killed before such a rendezvous.”
I harrumphed, “Secondary concern, right? I’m expendable so long as we get the big fish?”
“No,” Grayson said flatly. “Nobody on my team is expendable, Scott. What we do, we’ll do surgically and with the expectation that everybody who goes in comes out.”
I was glad of that. I didn’t mind risking my life, especially for a good cause. Yet it was more than a little distasteful to be considered as cannon fodder.
“Okay, then we tail him on the water,” Jackie said, sounding anxious. “In his first book, Scott and Nikki Sloane tailed Ravetti using the DEA’s low profile, ultra-quiet go-fast boat. Surely that must still be in key West…”
“A possibility,” I said. “I could even contact Captain Harry Bride of the Marine Patrol. He oversees the DEA’s assets. And I’m sure the Colonel here could talk drug enforcement into letting us borrow it again.”
Grayson nodded, “Good points. But what I want for Scott is an insurance policy.”
I thought for a long moment and then grinned, “A sub-cutaneous transponder.”
“A what?” Turner asked, glancing at Kelly.
“I thought you guys were like some kind of James Bondy organization,” I continued. “Don’t you have your own version of Q? Some cool gadgetry I could use?”
“Yes…” Grayson said. “To some degree… but what are you referring to?”
I grinned, “No Star Trek fans here? It was an idea used more than once. Sort of the 1960’s interpretation of your own satellite tracker. McCoy inserts a tiny transponder under Kirk and Spock’s skin just in case they lose contact. The Enterprise can pick up the signal and beam them up without the need for a communicator signal.”
Turner rolled his eyes, “Oh, for God’s sake! Jarvis, maybe you’ve been writing books too often, this isn’t—“
“I get it!” Amanda said with a grin. “If we can implant a tiny GPS transponder in a shoe… why not under somebody’s skin.”
“Exactly,” I said, glaring at Turner. “Make a small incision, insert the device and then close the skin over it. The incision would have to be someplace not easily spotted by a strip search. Armpit or… inside the ass crack or even”—I cleared my throat and felt heat rise into my own face—“inside the… uhm… scrotum.”
Jackie burst into peals of laughter. Amanda covered her mouth and even Kelly snickered. Turner wasn’t laughing, of course.
“Can you do that, Amanda?” Grayson asked, his mouth twitching in an attempt not to laugh as well.
Amanda grinned at me, “What, a chance to see Scott’s unmentionables? Sure. The idea is simple enough. Yet the execution is a little more complicated. I can sew a thing the size of a square quarter inside your body easily enough, Scott… but it has to be done in a way that doesn’t limit your mobility or hurt so much it limits your effectiveness. The sole of the foot, for example, would be out. I’m also afraid the scrotum idea would leave the device too… loose and it could cause quite a lot of pain if not damage. The armpit idea is okay, but that puts the device in your arm or against your ribs… I think up the bum is your best option.”
“What you need is a pill you can swallow,” I mused. “It’d only give you a few hours, but it’d be undetectable. I say let’s do it. You make an incision, shove the tracker inside my cheek and stitch me up. A weird first date, but let it not be said I’m not adventurous.”
“This isn’t a damned joke,” Turner said angrily.
“I’m not joking, Commander,” I said sternly. “And what are you so tweaked about? Nobody’s sticking anything up your ass… wouldn’t be any room up there anyway, what with that pole and all.”
Turner shot to his feet and leaned over the table, “You got a smart fuckin’ mouth, Jarvis! How’s about you and me go outside and I shut it for you.”
“Commander,” I said over the beginnings of the others’ protests. “I don’t know what your problem is. Why you have a hard-on for me. But rank or no rank, I won’t stand for it, you hear me? You want to go outside and throw hands with me, that’s fuckin’ fine by me. But let’s put it off until later and try and focus on the big picture for now.”
“That’s enough,” Grayson snapped. His usual cool southern accent now coming out as hard and snappy as any drill instructor. “I say let’s do it if you’re willing, Scott. But that still isn’t enough insurance.”
“We’ve got her,” Kelly suddenly announced. “Mr. Jarvis you were right. The yacht is about two hundred miles west of Marco Island and headed south.”
“There’s your insurance,” I said to Grayson. “Your sats can track the yacht and my ass will lead the way from the meeting point. How perfect is that?”
This produced another chuckle from Amanda and Jackie. Even Grayson grinned.
“I’d like it better if we had something on Bolivar that would force him to keep you alive,” Grayson said glumly.
“Didn’t you say that he’s married and has a family?” I asked.
“Yes,” Grayson said. “They live in Cartagena… oh, I see where you’re going…”
“Do you have any assets there?” I asked hopefully. “Or can you get to them within the next couple of hours?”
Grayson began punching keys on his laptop, “We do have a deep cover agent there… but he’s on a business trip to Panama today… won’t be back in the city before ten p.m.”
I sighed, “Okay… well, get a message t
o him. See how fast he can grab up one or more of Bolivar’s kids or his wife. I know it’s distasteful, but…”
My phone rang. Unknown number. I looked at Kelly who began typing furiously. I answered the call on speaker, “You’re early.”
A laugh, “I’m an impatient man. So, do you have the item?””
I gritted my teeth, “I do, Bolivar. Where and when?”
Another laugh, this one triumphant. “Key West. Ten thirty. Go and sit at a table by yourself at Schooner Wharf.”
“That’s hardly enough time, me being in Miami right now,” I said.
“It’s enough. And come alone.”
“No fuckin’ way,” I rejoined. “So you can take the necklace and kill me? Blow me, Bolivar.”
A short pause, “I give you my word you will not be harmed.”
I scoffed, “The word of a drug dealing warlord. That’s rich.”
He laughed scornfully, “You either show up or the waters will flow with death.”
The connection went dead. I looked to Kelly who was scowling. He shook his head no.
I heaved a sigh and stood, “Guess that settles that. Amanda, darling… have you ever seen the moon rise over Miami?”
35
“All set…” Amanda said from somewhere behind me. “The only way somebody will notice this is if they spread your cheeks apart.”
She’d given me a local anesthetic, and my entire right butt cheek was numb. Oddly, though, I could still feel her hands on me and the pressure of the scalpel and the pull of thread. It didn’t hurt, yet it was definitely an odd sensation.
“You know… if my father sees this, we’ll have to get married,” I joked.
“Least I know I’d be getting’ a cute butt out of the deal,” Amanda jibed back. “Okay… I’ve used very fine thread and superglue. Can’t have big old prickly stitches jutting out. For one thing, it’d be uncomfortable and for another, obvious. I also can’t dress this. Which means it may get uncomfortable when the local wears off. I’m going to give you an antibiotic shot. I’ll also give you some Vicodin for later. Take them just before you get out of the car in Key West. They should help with the pain for a few hours more.”
“I turn my back for an hour and look what happens,” A voice said from the hatch into the sleeping compartment of the plane.
I turned my head and was surprised to see Lisa standing there, a crooked grin on her face.
“Lisa! It… it’s not what it looks like!” I declared.
“It looks a lot like a woman doing something uncomfortable to your hind quarters,” Lisa replied with a snicker.
I grinned, “She started it.”
Amanda laughed, “Just a clever excuse to get your drawers off and scope your naughty bits.”
“Yeah…” I mumbled. “If I had a nickel…”
“Okay, all done,” Amanda said. “You can cover up your shame now, Commander.”
“Lisa, you remember Chief Amanda Wilson, Navy Corpsman,” I re-introduced. “Chief, Lisa’s the one you’ll have to give the five dollars too for the peep show fee.”
I rose off the narrow bunk and began to pull on my skivvies and jeans. Lisa tittered and shook Amanda’s hand.
“Make it two bucks,” my soon to be ex-girlfriend joked. “Doesn’t really seem fair to charge you full price.”
“Oh, you’re a riot, Alice,” I grumped.
Amanda turned around once I’d dressed and winked at both Lisa and me, “would it be inappropriate of me to suggest that I’m getting’ off light with only five bucks?”
“See… now her I like,” I said. I paused and then. “So are you going to tell me why the Christ you’re here or what?”
Lisa sighed, “Jackie called me… she also told me what’s going on.”
I glanced at Amanda, “Bet she’s in hot water with the Colonel over that.”
Amanda shrugged and led the way back out and into the conference section. Jackie was standing at attention by the next forward bulkhead.
Grayson wore a frown but finally said, “I understand why you wanted to fill Lisa in, Jackie… but I would’ve appreciated you running it by me first.”
“Sorry sir,” Jackie replied stiffly. “I think she’s got a right to know.”
“She’s not part of our team, Gunny,” Grayson chided gently but firmly.
“Sir, she’s been in a car accident as part of this,” Jackie protested. “She was used as a staked goat to catch Shade… and at the very least, she should be made aware of when we’re sending her boyfriend to his potential death.”
“That’s enough, Gunnery Sergeant,” Grayson said more firmly. “I get it. I agree that Lisa has a right to know… but the next time you go behind my back, I’m gonna have Amanda here insert a tracker up your six… without a local… we clear?”
Jackie cleared her throat, “Aye, aye, sir.”
Grayson’s stoney look melted into a thin smile, “Okay then. Lisa, since you’re here… would you be willing to drive Scott to Key West for us?”
“Of course, Colonel.”
“Okay, good,” Grayson said. “Richard, any further news on the yacht?”
Kelly looked up from his laptop, “No. She’s still holding position out there. Good thing, too, because I’m going to lose the bird in about an hour. There’s significant cloud cover building up over the Yucatan channel and the lower Keys.”
Grayson frowned, “I suppose that’s fine… we’ve got a GPS track on Scott.”
“Up Scott,” I corrected amiably. “What other traffic is out there that your bird can see now?”
He consulted his computer again, “A smattering of vessels. Probably shrimp boats, a few private boats, a handful of freighters in the Florida straits and coming into and out of the Gulf. Usual stuff.”
Lisa met my gaze. Hers was both worried and seemed a little peeved as well, “Ready to go, then, 007?”
I chuckled, “I guess so.”
“Permission to accompany the Commander,” Jackie asked the Colonel.
“Denied,” Grayson said. “We may need you with us, Jackie. I’m assembling an assault team. You’re joining Commander Turner and a few others now en route.”
Jackie looked like she might protest, but Grayson shook his head. Turner stood from his place from behind the table and came around to face me.
“I want to wish you good luck, Commander,” he said stiffly, extending his hand.
I was a little surprised but shook it anyway, “I appreciate that, Commander.”
“I may not like you… think you’re an insubordinate smart ass,” Turner said softly, leaning in close and eyeing me with a steely gaze. We held each other’s gaze for a long moment before he softened his tone a little. “But I respect you. Any man willing to put it on the line for a greater cause and take enormous personal risk is a man that deserves my respect.”
I squeezed the man’s hand hard and grinned, “Much obliged, Commander. Maybe we’ll be able to work on that first part sometime. I am a smart ass… but I’m also very lovable.”
“Good luck,” He said and this sentiment was shared by everyone.
Jackie looked fit to be tied when I stepped past her. Suddenly she reached out and hugged me tight.
“Be careful…” She muttered.
“Always, darlin’,” I drawled. “You look mad enough to chew neutronium.”
Lisa giggled as we went by, “She’s just mad cuz she didn’t get to see your butt.”
Jackie grinned, “Yeah, but I can satisfy myself that you’re going to spend the next couple of hours getting yelled at.”
“Yeah, thanks to you,” I grumbled.
“Next time let me see your ass then,” Jackie chided. “Sir.”
I only got yelled at for the first five or ten minutes. Lisa was angry that she’d been left out of the loop and that I was going off on another wild adventure without her.
“I don’t know why you’re mad,” I said.
She glared at me as we drove across Card sound, “Rea
lly? You have no idea why I’m mad?”
“Well… I know why you’re mad,” I said with an impish grin. “I just don’t think you have a right to be. Amanda only caught a glimpse of my bits.”
“You’re such an asshole,” Lisa grumbled but there was a smile playing on her lips.
I drew in a breath, “First off, as for you being kept out of the loop, I can’t control that. I’m part of Grayson’s team and you aren’t. There will be times that issues of national security and such keep us separate. I know that sucks, but it’s beyond my ability to control.”
She heaved a sigh, “I know… I just don’t like it.”
I reached out and took her hand, “Me either, for what it’s worth.”
“What I’m really mad about is that you’re rushing off into the night… again. You’re unarmed. You’re placing yourself in the power of a man… of two men… who have proven themselves to be extraordinarily bad. What’s to stop them from taking you out to sea once they have the medallion and blowing your brains out and tossing your body overboard? Why wouldn’t they? You’re of no use to them once you hand over that necklace.”
I shrugged, “That’s assuming I’m going out on a boat with them. I don’t plan on it. We’ll be in public. I’ll hand over the necklace and that’s it… I hope.”
“Uh-huh,” she mimicked me. “Even if they don’t ask you to go, I’m so sure that the thought that if you do you’ll be able to get inside and try and stop their big plans won’t even cross your Captain Kirk mind, right?”
“Hmm… that’s a pretty good idea,” I joked. “I hadn’t even thought of it, but now…”
“Not funny.”
‘It’s a little funny.”
“Scott… I’m scared. Really scared this time! Garcia shot you in the back when you dove off the rib the night I came after you, remember? He wouldn’t have done that if he cared one iota about your life… and yes, I know… fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to the dark side.”
I chuckled, “Exactly. So relax, calm down and stop being mad.”
She shook her head, “You do realize that those are probably the three absolute worst things you can say to an angry woman, right?”