Deadly Cargo: A chilling naval terrorism thriller

by Rich Johnson

  “How do you know these things?”

  “I used to work in the shipping business. Container codes were part of my job.” He decided to test Ruiz, “Hey, I just gave you the combination to our safe. You trust me, don’t you?”

  “Uhmm.” Ruiz sounded as if he were not completely sure.

  “Look, what have you got to lose? Just go down there and read the serial number. You’ll be amazed when I tell you what it means.”

  “If you know what it means, you tell me what it says. Then I’ll go check.”

  “You’re a stubborn man, Ruiz,” Dan argued.

  “If I am going to be the boss, I can be stubborn if I want to.”

  “You’re right,” Dan agreed. “The boss is always right. Okay, the serial number you will see will say BA11M. Go see for yourself, then I’ll tell you what it means.”

  Again, the footsteps faded away into the shadows. Dan thrust his hand out through the opening and caught Jacob’s eye. His fingers worked quickly, and Jacob returned a sign of understanding. In the moonlight, Dan watched as the children crawled out the rear of the hut and scrambled across the clearing and into the shadows of the jungle.

  If all went as planned, this would be the first step in their escape. If not, there was no doubt in his mind that it would be the first step toward all of their deaths.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Nicole took Dan’s hand and whispered, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”

  Dan breathed deeply. “I am sorry for all of this.”

  “The kids …” she began, but at the sound of distant footsteps on the wooden dock he put a finger to her lips.

  “You’ve got to get out of here. Jacob knows what to do. They’re waiting for you in the shadows beside the trail to the dock. When Ruiz comes back here, you all sneak aboard the catamaran and hide below. I’ll get there as soon as I can. Now go.”

  She squeezed through the small opening at the back of the hut, crouched low as she sprinted across the clearing and disappeared into the shadows.

  From way off, Dan heard the rhythmic rush of low waves breaking on the exposed shoreline. A mild breeze blew through the openings in the hut, and Dan felt suddenly more alone than he had ever felt before.

  A few moments later, Ruiz rapped on the door and whispered, “There were letters and numbers. It said BA11M, just as you told me. So now you tell me what that means.”

  Dan put his mouth close to the door so he could whisper. “Listen carefully. We don’t want anybody else to hear this. You’re in luck, my friend. The BA in the serial number stands for Bank of America. When the bank has large amounts of money to ship around the world, they pack it in large bales, wrap it in plastic sheeting, put it in plastic totes and use containers like this one to ship it. There’s nothing but a huge load of raw cash in that container.”

  “American dollars?” Ruiz whispered the question.

  “Yes, but the best part is how much. The numbers 11 and the letter M tell us that there’s $11 million in there.”

  “Eleven million!” Ruiz said out loud, and Dan hushed him through the door.

  “Quiet. You don’t want everyone else to hear you.”

  “Eleven million,” Ruiz said again, this time in a breathless whisper. “Are you sure?”

  “Do you want to open the container and see for yourself?”

  “Yeah,” Ruiz breathed, and Dan heard the lust in his voice. “Yeah, I do. If I could get my hands on eleven million, I could—”

  “You could be the boss of this place,” Dan reminded him. “If you have that kind of money in your hands, you can tell the others that you will share it equally with them, not like what de la Vega does. They will come over to your side just like that.” Dan snapped his fingers with a loud click. “Then you’ll be the boss, and you’ll also be very rich.”

  “Yeah,” Ruiz breathed.

  “But the thing is that when banks ship money, they use special security locks. I know how to break them open. But I want in on this,” Dan said. “I want to be an equal partner.”

  “Special locks?”

  “Heck yeah,” Dan said. “You don’t expect them to ship that kind of money without special security locks do you? There are four of them. One on each of the vertical latching bars. But that’s no problem for me.”

  “You get me inside that container, and I’ll make you my right-hand man.” Ruiz laughed under this breath.

  Carried on the breeze, the raucous noise of the drunken party in the distant house sounded louder than before. “Listen to that,” Dan said, “now is the time to make your move, while everybody else is getting drunk. You and I can break into that container, and you’ll have the money in your hands before any of those guys wake up. By sunrise, you’ll be in charge of this place.”

  The metallic sound of a key being forced into the lock brought a sigh to Dan’s throat. The door swung open and the shadow of a giant of a man stood before him. “Get out here,” Ruiz demanded. “Your kids stay in that one,” he pointed toward the other hut, “and your wife stays here until we’re done. You got that?”

  Dan nodded, “Yeah, I got it.”

  Moonlight flashed in front of Dan’s face, and he saw the blade of a large knife in the hand of his captor. “Don’t do anything funny,” the bearded pirate warned, “or I’ll slit you open and take your wife for myself.” Ruiz quietly closed the door and snapped the lock back in place.

  “Hey, I thought we were going to be partners,” Dan protested.

  “We’ll be partners after we get the eleven million.”

  “You don’t trust people very easily, do you?” He glanced over the big man’s shoulder toward the dock and thought he saw three crouching forms duck over the side of the catamaran and disappear.

  “I don’t trust people any more than I think they should trust me. Now let’s get going.” They crossed the moonlit clearing and entered the dark trail leading to the dock. As they stepped onto the wooden planks, Dan snapped his fingers as if he had a sudden thought.

  “We need a couple of tools. Do you have a hacksaw and a bolt cutter, by chance?”

  “Yeah. They’re on the boss’s tug.”

  Dan smiled at the big man, “Good. Grab those and I’ll go have a closer look at the locks.”

  Ruiz stared at his prisoner, hesitated and then decided that he had the situation under control. “Just don’t get any ideas,” he threatened, waving the knife.

  Dan held up his hands. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll just be right over there.” He pointed toward the barge. Sixty feet farther down the dock, Dan glimpsed Jacob’s face peering at him from the shadows of the cockpit, and his hands went to work. Jacob saw the signals and signed back, and Dan saw his son quietly slip the aft dockline off the double horns of the cleat, leaving the eye of the line hanging to the cleat by a single horn.

  A noise behind him turned Dan back toward the tug, and he saw Ruiz coming. In his hand was a large bolt cutter. “This what you need?”

  “No hacksaw?”

  “Couldn’t find one.”

  Dan took the bolt cutter and stepped onto the barge. “Well, let’s see if this will do.” He walked around behind the container and Ruiz was right behind him. Dan swung the handles wide to open the jaws, then turned to Ruiz. “Give me a little room to work. Stand over there. This is going to take a minute.”

  Ruiz stepped back and Dan clamped the bolt cutter jaws over the lock and pretended to squeeze as hard as he could. Nothing happened. He gritted his teeth, grunted and squeezed again, but still he was not able to break the lock. “These special security locks are made of hardened steel,” he looked sheepishly at Ruiz, “I don’t think I’m strong enough to break it. That’s why I wanted a hacksaw.”

  Ruiz stomped forward. “Get out of the way, you’re too weak.” He grabbed the bolt cutter and shoved Dan aside, who made a point of tripping and falling on his side in full view of the catamaran. Quickly he flashed a sign into the night.

  Ruiz gripped the
bolt cutters in powerful hands, clamped the jaws on the lock and pressed the handles together. Snap! “Hah!” he said, pointing at the broken lock and admiring his work, “nothing to it.”

  Dan flashed a sign and, in the distance, the sound of a diesel engine came to life. “Congratulations,” Dan yelled, scrambling to his feet, “the money is all yours.” He jumped from the barge to the dock and ran toward the catamaran. Jacob was already at the bow line, releasing the eye from the cleat.

  “Go, go!” Dan yelled as he ran. Jacob took the wheel, shoved the throttle forward and the catamaran started to move. As it cleared the end of the dock, Dan leapt and landed on the starboard hull swim-step, grabbed the stainless steel railing and climbed up into the cockpit.

  “Good job, son.”

  “Thanks, dad. I did like you said and told Mom and Cadee that you wanted them to go below and stay out of sight.”

  “Let me take the wheel. Go below and tell your mother and sister that it’s okay to come up now.” He scooted onto the captain’s seat, and Jacob reached for the cabin door. From the main salon, a scream pierced the night.

  Nicole’s cry was suddenly muffled as de la Vega stumbled through the door with his hand clamped tightly around her mouth. In his other hand was a machete, and he waved it threateningly. “Don’t try annathin,” he slurred, obviously deeply soused, “or I’ll kill her.”

  The old man wobbled on his feet, as the boat took a small wave against the beam. It was all the break Dan needed, and he lunged for the machete, knocking it from de la Vega’s grip. Nicole broke free, and a noise from behind caused the old man to whirl. When he did, the last thing he saw was a heavy crystal pitcher shattering into his face. Cadee stood, feet apart and ready to swing with her fist if the pitcher didn’t do the job, but de la Vega had crumpled to the deck.

  “Sorry about your pitcher, mom,” Cadee broke down and cried. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

  Nicole took her daughter into her arms. “Oh, sweetheart, you did just the right thing. I can get another pitcher, but I’m so proud of you.”

  “What do we do with him now?” Jacob asked. Cadee and Nicole held each other and shivered, even though the night was very warm. Tears and quiet moaning came from the women as they clutched each other in mutual comfort.

  “He goes over the side,” Dan said without a bit of indecision in his voice.

  “He’ll drown,” Jacob protested.

  “He might,” Dan agreed, “if the sharks don’t eat him first. But that’s exactly what he gets for taking us hostage, stealing our money, threatening to kill us all, and just a minute ago threatening to kill your mother. If he drowns, so be it. Come on and give me a hand.”

  With that, Dan and Jacob hoisted de la Vega’s limp body and dragged it to the edge of the cockpit, where they could toss him over the side.

  Just then, a weak voice spoke with a slurr, “Pleash doan kill me. I sorry.” De la Vega raised his head and stared with glassy eyes into Dan’s face. “Por favor.”

  “Dang,” Dan cursed beneath his breath. Then to Jacob he said, “Son, turn the boat around. We’ll take him back close enough that he can crawl ashore.”

  “Dad, a man can drown in six inches of water. Let’s take him back, toss him onto the dock and then leave.”

  “Thash a goo idea.” Vega grinned a senseless and mostly toothless grin. “I sorry, you know,” his head bobbed up and down.

  A few minutes later, the catamaran eased silently up against the ageing wooden pilings of the decrepit dock and Dan and Jacob muscled the mostly limp body of the old man over the rail and onto the planks. Juan Baptista de la Vega no sooner hit the dock than he bounced to his feet and started yelling for his men to come running.

  “Quick, you low down dogs, they are getting away. Come quickly.”

  In the distance, the door of the larger building banged open and yellow light poured out. Three men came stumbling as fast as their drunken legs could carry them, trying as they ran to pull up their pants, put on shoes, and take another swig on a tall bottle.

  “Quick,” Dan said to Jacob, “get her turned around and off the dock. I’ll try to stop them,” and he jumped over the rail to face de la Vega. “You are a lying rascal,” Dan accused the old man. “We should have thrown you over.”

  “Yes, I am a lying rascal, but you are a fool, senor. You have been a fool twice, and now you will die this night, and so will your children. And after I have finished with your lovely wife, she will join you. I will still have your money and this fine sailing vessel and all the treasure that is in that container over there.” He exhaled a hearty laugh as he motioned toward his barge.

  The three men were running and stumbling, and two more were coming out of the building. Dan knew he didn’t have much time. “Get going, son,” he shouted to Jacob. And then he threw a punch that landed squarely on the old man’s jaw. Juan Baptista de la Vega had a very hard jaw, and Dan’s fist felt pain all the way to the wrist, but the old man’s knees buckled and he went down.

  Baptista hit the dock hard, but he rolled and came back up quickly, grappled Dan at the knees and tackled him. The two men rolled on the rough planks of the dock, and Vega delivered two punishing blows to Dan’s rib cage. Everything went momentarily black as Dan lost his wind, but in the edges of his consciousness he heard the low rumble of a Westerbeke diesel and he knew Jacob could get the family safely away. But for some reason, the boat was not moving.

  “Go Jacob, take off, now!” Dan yelled the order.

  “No dad, I’m not leaving you,” Jacob protested.

  Dan scrambled to his feet, being quicker and more nimble than Vega. He looked hard at his son, caught his eye and gave a signal with his hand. Jacob responded with a nod and a hand signal of his own, then thrust the throttle forward and the catamaran moved away into the dark.

  Just then, the three other men surrounded Dan, grabbed him by the arms and threw him hard on the dock. One of them stepped on the back of Dan’s neck, and cursed. He recognized the voice of Ruiz. “You stupid idiot. You ain’t goin no place but to perdition.” Then he turned to de la Vega, “Should we go after ‘em, boss?”

  Juan Baptista de la Vega got to his feet, straightened his back, rubbed his jaw. “Naw. We ain’t none of us in condition to go out there tonight. We’ll go get ’em in the morning. I can outrun ’em with my fast new boat. Let’s just get this gringo back to the hut. Only this time, he ain’t gettin away again, you hear?”

  “Yeah, boss,” Ruiz agreed.

  De la Vega wobbled on uncertain feet. “I came down to the boat to get away from all that drunken bellering at the house. Then, all of a sudden, there’s the woman. She walked in, right past me, ’cause I was passed out in the aft cabin. But when the motor started, I thought I’d better get up and see what was happening.” The old man stared at Ruiz. “I thought I left you to guard the man and his family.” His tone sounded accusatory.

  “Right, boss,” Ruiz grinned at the old man. “But I tricked him into telling me what was in the container and how to break in. I made him think I was going to cut you out and take over.”

  De la Vega closed one eye and stared hard at Ruiz with the other. “But you would never do that, right?”

  “Right, boss.”

  “And then what, you just let the bunch of ’em go?”

  “Naw, I gotta admit that he tricked me while I was busy with the lock.

  “Well lock him up tight this time,” the old man slurred. “I’m going to bed.”

  Dan watched in amazement as Juan Baptista de la Vega stumbled a crooked line down the dock and into the shadows. “How can he fight so well when he’s so drunk?” he asked Ruiz.

  “He’s old and dangerous. He’s got a lot of years of experience, and somehow being drunk doesn’t slow him down when it comes to fighting.” Then Ruiz shoved Dan along the dock. “You get back in your cell, mister. You dang near got me killed here tonight, listening to your stuff about me becoming the boss.”

  As they walke
d down the dock, two other men stepped in to surround Dan. “The boss said we need to stay out here with you.”

  “What!” Ruiz protested, “He don’t trust me?”

  “We’re just doing what we’re told,” one of the men said.

  “That’s a fine thing!” Ruiz spit. “He figures it takes three of us to watch one prisoner?”

  Knowing the answer before he asked, Dan put the question to Ruiz in front of the other men, “So, did you see what was inside?”

  “Didn’t have time, what with all the ruckus down at your boat.”

  “What’s he talking about?” one of the others slurred. “What did you see where?”

  They arrived at the hut, and Ruiz shoved Dan through the door and slammed it, then set the lock. “It ain’t nothin’,” Ruiz dodged the question. “Just sit down and help me guard this guy. You two don’t look too good.”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Dan pressed his ear to the door and listened as the men began to argue. “Maybe we better listen to Ruiz,” one of them said after a while. “It’s the best chance we’ll ever have to make it big.”

  “I don’t know, Pacheco,” the third man said. “I don’t know about killing the boss.”

  “Well, if we don’t kill him,” Pacheco said, “he’ll come after us and kill us. For his cut of eleven million dollars he’ll sure do that. And this world won’t be big enough to hide in.”

  “Well, I never did like him,” the first voice answered. “And besides, here we sit guarding this stupid gringo, and they’re all in there sleeping like babies, or maybe drinking more rum.” Then, in a low voice the man growled, “I say let’s kill ’em all and take the money and run.”

  “We don’t have to run. Just take the money and stay here,” Pacheco argued.

  Ruiz spoke up, “Listen you two, if we do this, then I’m gonna be the new boss. And that means you two follow my orders. Right?”