by Rich Johnson
Jacob came into the cockpit and sat next to his dad. “Look at this.” Dan outlined the island with his finger. “San Luis Miguel is claimed by both Colombia and Nicaragua. I’ve heard of places like this where two countries dispute ownership for decades, maybe even centuries, but neither makes a move to occupy the territory.”
“So what happens?” Jacob looked more closely at the chart.
“Nothing. Without the political will to establish an undisputed claim to ownership through occupation, the land sits empty. These countries probably have no budget for a military or law enforcement effort. Think about it, this little spot of land is hundreds of miles from the countries that claim it, and it’s probably considered not worth the trouble or the money that’s necessary to defend their claims.”
“Well, how do people like Senor de la Vega end up there?”
“He, and whoever else is there, probably just moved in and set up house, made their own rules and basically run their own little kingdom.”
They sat in the cockpit studying the chart, and the tropical night came quickly. In the distance, lights began to appear at the base of the dark, jungle-covered island. With the final glow of dusk fading, Dan noticed a cluster of small, boxy forms that he presumed to be houses or buildings of some sort. He had the binocular to his eyes when Nicole stepped out into the cool night air of the cockpit.
“Ah, there you are,” – she gave Jacob a hug – “I made some cookies for you and Cadee. “They’re on the counter, cooling.”
“Great,” Jacob beamed and went inside. Through the cockpit window, he flashed a series
of hand signals to his dad: thanks for the history lesson.
Dan signaled back: you’re welcome. We can talk more about it later.
“You two seem like you were having a good time.”
“So, where’s my cookie?” Dan teased.
“I brought you the cook and left the cookies for the kids.”
He patted the seat, inviting her to sit next to him. “I’ll take the cook anytime. Still, I hope the kids leave a cookie for dear old dad.”
She laughed. “I can always make more. See anything interesting?” Nicole peered off into the night.
He handed the binocular to her, “Nothing that I can make out. We’re still about three miles off. Doesn’t look like much of a village to me.”
She studied the scene for a few moments. “Do you think this is a good idea?”
“A little late to be asking.”
“Not really. We could just let the old guy have the container and go on our merry way to Rio Dulce.”
“You serious?”
“I don’t know what it is, but there’s something that feels weird about all this.”
A somber expression crossed Dan’s face. “When we got married, Reverend Lofgreen gave me some counsel. Do you remember? He said, ‘Mr Plover, you wear the pants in the family, but Mrs Plover has the hotline.’ I think he was telling me that I need to listen to your intuition. So, are you having one of those intuition moments?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe it’s just that we’ve never done anything like this before and it makes me kind of nervous. I don’t want a sudden windfall to affect how the kids view life. That’s one of the reasons we came on this cruise, so we could get back to the basics and help them understand what is and what isn’t important in life. Sudden wealth that is not earned can destroy people. You’ve see that happen. And this is kind of like winning the lottery.”
He stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back into his chest. “Or maybe it’s like winning a load of somebody else’s dirty laundry. We have no idea what’s in there. Doesn’t it intrigue you?”
“Sure it does. But …”
“If it makes you feel any better,” he interrupted, “I understand how you feel about this. I’ve been having some of the same feelings myself. Maybe it comes from being married to you for so long.”
“I think we need to sit down and talk with Jacob and Cadee.”
She had barely finished her words when the kids came out of the cabin. “Mom,” – Cadee’s voice was soft and apologetic – “I’m sorry. We weren’t trying to eavesdrop, because I know that it’s rude, but we heard what you and dad were saying.”
“Yeah,” Jacob said, “we’re mature enough to see what’s going on here. Finding a treasure at sea might be great, but it isn’t real life. Cadee and I have been talking. None of this matters.”
“So, should we just let it go and head north for Guatemala?” Dan asked.
There was a brief moment of silence, as Nicole, Cadee and Jacob looked at each other and stumbled over their words. Then in unison, the decision was made. “Nah,” they all said at once. Laughter erupted, and Jacob spoke for them all, “Hey, we all know it would kill us to leave now and never know what was inside that container.”
“Then we follow the barge?” Dan asked, and they all nodded like a bunch of energetic bobble-head dolls. “We’ll pay the guy his thousand bucks, so his family will have some money, and we’ll give him his forty percent?” They all agreed. “And maybe we’ll let him have the whole mess?”
Silence cloaked the cockpit, as the thought sank in. Nicole was first to speak, “Well, maybe I’ll take just one mink coat.”
Before she finished, Jacob was already voicing his opinion, “How about just one motorcycle?”
Cadee folder her arms and shook her head. “You guys are pathetic.” She held her pose for half a minute, but then broke down. “It wouldn’t hurt to have just a little bit of whatever is in there, would it?”
“You all have a point. I’m just trying to figure out where to park a new Ferrari on deck,” Dan said.
A loud blast from an air horn made them all jump and look forward. The island was much closer now, and they could faintly see through the darkness what appeared to be a cluster of small wooden buildings scattered along the beach in front of the backdrop of jungle trees. A dark gap opened before them like a deep, black concert hall. The opening was bordered along both sides by jungle growth.
“Hey Jake,” Dan said, “this must be the river we saw on the chart.”
The barge glided slowly into the mouth of the river beneath a dense canopy of limbs that had grown across it, creating a seventy-foot high tunnel that seemed to reach into the heart of the jungle. A short distance upriver, lights moved about on shore, illuminating a wooden dock that ran parallel to the shoreline. At the far end of the dock, a flash of reflected torchlight gleamed from the windshield of a small runabout. Dan couldn’t help thinking how out of place the sleek boat looked in this primitive jungle setting.
Dan looked at his wristwatch. Five minutes to ten. It had been a long day, and darkness had shrouded them for nearly the past three hours. He was tired, but his heart was pumping fast with excitement for what lay ahead.
Juan Baptista de la Vega maneuvered the barge up to the pier and half a dozen torch-carrying men appeared out of the darkness to tie the boat to the pilings. A sudden chill raised the hair on the back of Dan’s neck as he studied the scene through his binocular. So, where are all the wives and children and grandchildren the old man spoke of? The thought passed almost as quickly as it arose, as he considered the time of night. Ah, they must be in bed already.
A space at the end of the pier was the right size for the catamaran. Dan turned a wide circle and spun the boat around so it faced out toward the open ocean. Docking with the bows facing the onshore breeze and swells coming into the river from the open water was more comfortable and safer for the boat.
On an impulse, Dan turned to his daughter. “Cadee, I’d like you to go below for now.”
“How come?”
“I’m not sure,” he said honestly, “but something doesn’t feel right. Just give me some time to check things out. I’d be more comfortable if you were in your cabin.” He winked at her.
She winked back. “Okay, daddy,” as she disappeared through the cabin door.
Jacob lai
d the fenders over the side on his way forward to handle the bow line, and Nicole had the stern line in hand as Dan maneuvered the boat into a cushioned landing against the wooden dock. Four men spaced themselves out along the pier, and two of them took the dock lines. The other two held shotguns, and they were pointed directly at Jacob and Nicole.
Chapter Thirty
Juan Baptista de la Vegas leapt from the barge and strode down the length of the dock toward the catamaran, looking for all the world like a man half his age. With a glowering face he yelled at Dan, “Let me introduce my family.” Then he roared with a gutteral laugh, whirled around and threw his hands in the air as if to accept an applause, and all his men laughed with him.
“What’s going on?” Nicole whispered.
“I’m not sure,” Dan said, “but I don’t think de la Vega is the grandfather he said he was. He’s a fraud. We’ve been suckered.”
Suddenly, the old man did not appear to be so old. His bent back was straight and strong as a tree, and his crippled legs carried him easily as he marched proudly up and down the wooden dock accepting the backslaps of his men. With machetes raised, half a dozen men gave a shout.
“Julio,” de la Vega yelled into the night, “Tiago, bring the beer. It is time for celebration.”
A moment later, out of the darkness, a man trotted onto the torch-lit dock, carrying an old beat-up picnic cooler. “Set it down there,” de la Vega ordered, and the man did as he was told. “The first and the coldest one for me,” de la Vega shouted, looking around at his men, “unless there is anyone here who wants it some other way.”
All the voices went silent as the old man stared from man to man. “No complaints? Then I will have the first and the coldest.” He reached into the box and pulled out two bottles of beer, twisted off the cap from one and raised it to his lips. Without pausing to take a breath, he drained the bottle, sucked out the last of the brew, wiped his mouth on his sleeve and smashed the bottle against the rocks at the edge of the dock. As if he had accomplished a great feat, he threw his hands into the air, and a cheer went up from the men. He turned to Dan and held out the other bottle, then snatched it back. “The best plunder so far was the yacht with the generator and ice-maker.”
Dan looked around. “I don’t see a yacht.”
“It is now in Nicaragua, wearing a new name.”
Out of the crowd, one voice rose above the rest. “What have you brought us tonight, boss?”
“It is in there,” de la Vega pointed at the container, “and it is in here,” he pulled a wad of $20 bills out of his pocket and waved it in the air. The men erupted in a wild cheer, but he stopped them with a raise of his hand. “That is not all.” He stepped aboard the catamaran, grabbed Nicole by the hair and yanked her head back. She screamed and Dan lunged toward de la Vega, but a bearded giant of a man jumped into the cockpit and laid the sharp edge of a machete to his throat. “Do not be so stupid,” de la Vega spit at Dan and glared at him with icy eyes. Then he reached a grubby hand into Nicole’s blouse, smiled wickedly and pulled out the other half of the bills that she had hidden there.
“You leave my mom and dad alone,” Jacob screamed from the bow, but the man with the shotgun stepped in close and with a powerful thrust drove the barrel into Jacob’s stomach. The staggering blow knocked the breath out of him and he collapsed in a heap on the deck.
The old man shoved Nicole to one side and she stumbled into the far corner of the cockpit. The crowd exploded in a cheer worthy of a bullfight, as de la Vega waved both hands full of $20 bills. Like famished vultures, the men moved in, clawing over each other, trying to be the first to grab some of the money.
“Easy there men. Back up,” Vega yelled, pocketing the money so he could pull a pistol from his belt and fire a round into the air. The men stopped where they stood and he waved the gun at them. “Don’t make me shoot any of you. You know how I don’t like being crowded.” Then he laughed as he put the gun back in his waistband, and slowly the men began to laugh with him.
“That was a good joke, boss,” one yelled.
De la Vega shouted above the uproar, “You will each get a share of this, and you will each get a share of what is in the freight box.”
“What’s in there, boss?” one of the men asked.
“I don’t know. We will find out soon. But whatever it is, it’s ours now,” de la Vega said. “Ruiz and Javier,” he ordered the ones holding weapons on Jacob and Dan, “take these people and lock them away until I decide what to do with them. Juanico,” he called to a third man, “there’s a little girl inside. Get her. The boy, I think we can sell him to the Colombian cartel to work as a drug mule. I am sure we can get a good price for the girl in Aruba. The woman …” his rotted teeth showed as his lips spread wide, “… I have my own plans, for her. And the man, tomorrow we can turn him out on the island and hunt him for sport. Lock the kids in one hut and the parents in the other.” He motioned toward a pair of wooden sheds just beyond the trees in the clearing toward the larger buildings.
Nicole struggled as a man with a nasty scar across his face pulled her arms behind her back and bound her wrists with a rough rope. “Dan,” she yelled, “do something!”
“Yes, Dan, do something,” the bearded man named Ruiz held the machete to Dan’s throat, and showed his yellow teeth. His breath smelled like the bottom of a garbage disposal as he pressed his face in close and sneered, “I beg you to do something. I haven’t killed anybody yet today, so go ahead and do something so I can be happy tonight.”
Dan choked on the foul breath. “I’m sorry,” he apologized to Nicole. “There’s nothing I can do.”
The taste of acid rose in his throat and he felt weak and sick inside as Javier and Juanico pulled his children off the boat. Cadee cried so hard she could hardly stand up to walk, so Juanico grabbed her by one arm and dragged her over the rough wood of the dock. Jacob flashed a defiant look and jerked back and forth as he was led away.
“Be strong, Jake,” Dan called out. “Comfort your sister.” Then the kids were led away into the shadows. Nicole broke into tears and Dan’s heart ached as he helplessly listened to Nicole’s sobs and Cadee screaming in pain and fear in the distance.
Juan Baptista de la Vega stood before Dan and Nicole, a proud look on his face. “Give me the combination to your safe. You will have no need for the money. There is no way for you to get off this island, and there is no point in refusing my demands.”
Dan looked the old man in the eyes. “Why should we make it easy for you? You make it sound hopeless for us, so why should we cooperate?”
“That is a good question, senor. You are looking for incentive, are you? As you have seen, I am in charge here, and I can command my men to do as I please. For example, I can command that your little girl be released unharmed on Isla de la Juventude, a small island that belongs to Cuba. There she will be cared for and adopted into Cuban society by people I know. Or, I can sell her into the white slavery trade on Aruba and she will grow up giving pleasure to whoever will pay. Or I could simply tell my men to do with her as they wish.” He stopped in front of Nicole, looked her in the eyes and spoke in a slow, evil voice. “Some of my men are not … how should I say it … they are not normal, when it comes to children. I assure you that what they wish to do to a little girl like her is not a pretty sight. But I leave it to you. It is your choice.”
“Look,” Dan begged de la Vega, “please let us go. There is nothing to be gained by harming any of us, especially the children. What satisfaction would that possibly bring you?”
“You make a good argument, senor.” De la Vega showed the gaps in his rotted teeth as he grinned at Dan. “You want your freedom, is that right? Is that all you want? Just your freedom?”
“Freedom for our family, for all of us, yes, that is all I want,” Dan said. “You can keep everything. Just let us sail away from here with our children.”
“Ahhh,” the old man looked deeply into Dan’s eyes, “yesterday you had your freed
om, and you had your children. But you wanted more than that. You wanted a treasure that you found floating on the sea. And now suddenly you are no longer interested in the treasure? Now you are willing to trade everything you have just to get your freedom and your children back again?”
“That’s right. You can have our money, you can have the container and everything that is in it. We don’t want any of it. What would you gain by not letting us go?”
The old man thrust his finger at Dan’s face. “I gain the fact that you will never be able to lead authorities to this island. And I also have a nice new catamaran to go with my nice new runabout.” He nodded toward the sleek boat tied at the dock beyond the barge and chuckled. “Haven’t you been wondering where that boat came from?”
The words escaped Dan’s mouth before he could stop them. “You are pirates!”
“Ha!” de la Vega laughed, “Pirates, are we? Hey,” – he glanced at Ruiz – “he says we’re pirates. How about that,” and the two men burst into laughter. Then suddenly de la Vega stopped laughing and growled through clenched teeth. “You’re right. We’re the deadliest pirates that ever took these islands, and there’s nobody for a thousand miles who dares to get in our way. Now I want the combination to the safe on your boat, or I’ll tear it out of there and blow the thing wide open. One way or another, I’m going to get all your money, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“I’ll give you the combination,” Nicole snarled, glowering at the old man, “but if anything happens to my children, I’ll come back from the dead and tear your heart out through your throat.”
“Hot dang, boss,” Ruiz blurted, “she’s a live one, ain’t she!”
De la Vega backed up a step and looked long and hard at Nicole, his eyes serious. “This is a real mother.” His words were quiet and sounded almost reverent. “Not that I have known it personally, but I can respect a mother’s love for her children. Perhaps if my own mother …” His words trailed off and lost themselves in bitter thoughts of his childhood.