Disruption: A River Of Secrets And Betrayal
Page 1
Disruption
by
J. B. Jamison
Copyright @2017 by John B. Jamison
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information address ImagiLearning, Inc., 1649 Parkes-Kinner Road, New Berlin, IL. 62670.
Author’s Website: jbjamison.com
ImagiLearning, Inc.
ISBN 978-0-9988885-0-7
Printed in the United States
Here’s What They’re Saying about Disruption
“A page-turner, conspiracy-soaked saga. Chilling…”
- Doug Evans, Colorado Mountain Writers’ Workshop.
“A well-researched and intriguing thriller…”
- Dr. James Lynch, Florida Southern University.
“Fast-paced, engaging, action-packed thriller…”
- Lesele Rose.
“The only thing I can say is that I hope you make a series…”
- Judy Anable.
“An extremely tense, powerfully enjoyable ride…you won’t want the journey to end.”
- Geoffrey Smith.
OTHER BOOKS BY John B. Jamison
Six Simple Stories.
Simple Faith?
Time’s Up!
To my captains
Contents
Here’s What They’re Saying about Disruption
OTHER BOOKS BY John B. Jamison
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
PERSONAL NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CONTACT INFORMATION
Chapter 1
With the normal night noises in the warm bayous north of New Orleans, you could barely hear the low rumble of the huge boat as it drifted its way up the Mississippi River. A light appeared up high as the door to the pilothouse opened. The dark shadow of a man moved down the stairs.
"If somebody is getting a blowjob down there, I'm throwing the son of a bitch in the river."
As he walked down the gangway, he could see the ski boat tied alongside the tow. It happened a lot. People wanted to see what a real towboat was like. These dry landers had read too much goddamn Mark Twain and believed that working on a towboat was all romantic and exciting stuff. He thought how he would like to set them straight. He’d like to tell them just what a hellhole life this really was; away from home for months at a time, living with a crew that always included two or three assholes and at least one very nice but completely useless drunk.
The first time it had happened was back when he was still a new Captain. He had walked into the small galley to meet the visitors, and the first thing he had noticed was a thin blonde on her knees, blowing one of the deckhands. Then he saw the brunette sitting on the bench, giving hand jobs to the cook and the engineer. There was another brunette in the kitchen doorway grabbing her ankles, but he couldn't see just who else might be involved there. And in the corner, some slicked haired guy in sunglasses was counting a wad of bills in his hand.
As Captain, it had been one of those decision times.
The proper thing would have been to throw the pimp and his girls back into their ski boat and write up the crew for what was clearly a violation of company policy.
Instead, he had stepped back into the hallway, returned to the pilot house, and drove the boat on up the river.
The Captain of a towboat isn't always the most popular guy. The good ones try to be fair, but there are times you just have to kick some ass to get things done. The Captain might spend an entire trip with no one talking to him, and a few crew members always watching for some way to get even with him. In this Captain's defense, he knew of others who had stopped a shipboard party, only to end up with a crew very creative in getting even. So, the Captain had let it go, hoping the little bit of fun might help morale.
What he hadn't counted on was that one crew member – the one with the religious bent; the one who always carried his bible with him, who took personal offense at the mini Sodom and Gomorrah taking place in the galley, who wrote a letter to the head office describing the behavior of the crew and their Captain. It was the second-closest the Captain ever came to actually losing his job. The letter the bible thumper had sent to the Captain's wife caused a bit of a stir as well.
That afternoon long ago was one of the reasons he was ready to get off these damn boats. He was tired. The magic that pulled him to the river instead of attending his high school graduation had faded. Too many lazy crewmen. Too many days and nights away from home. And now all of those pain in the ass, politically correct rules and regulations from the home office. It just wasn't the same anymore, and he was counting the days until he was done with it all.
So tonight, as Captain Cha
rlie Graff moved down the gangway to meet the visitors from yet another ski boat, the one thing he was certain of was that he was not going to let these disloyal bastards risk his job again. Not this close to retirement. He had his Captain’s voice ready as he pushed his way into the room.
Fortunately, there was no blonde on her knees, brunette on the bench or bent over in the hallway.
There was, however, a big guy standing in the middle of the room, another in the doorway and the third sitting on the bench. He then noticed that the big guy in the middle was holding an automatic rifle. The crewmembers in the room looked less relieved than the ones that last time.
As he took it all in, the man on the bench spoke up like an old, long-lost friend.
"Captain, welcome. I want to thank you for your hospitality for inviting us to join you on your boat."
"What the hell is going on here?"
"Captain, please. We mean you no harm. We simply want to borrow your boat for a little while; oh, and your crew, and you."
"Borrow my...? Look you son of a bitch, I don't know who the hell you think you are but you'd better..."
The Captain stepped forward, and the guy with the gun turned to face him, targeting the Captain’s more than ample belly.
"Captain, please. I strongly advise you to stop and listen to what I have to say. I'm afraid that my men are a bit more tense than I am, and having something happen to you would create problems for our plans."
"I don't give a goddamn about your plans...this is my boat, and this is my crew."
"Not for a while Captain, no. As I said, I am borrowing you for a while, until we complete our mission here. Once we are finished, I will return your boat to you, and your crew."
"Mission...what mission? Nobody comes onto my boat and tells me what they are going to..."
"Captain!"
The leader slowly got up from the bench. He was tall and thin, and had a smile on his face, but not in his eyes.
"Captain. I am sorry you are so upset. But I must tell you that I don't have the time to discuss this with you right now. We have taken control of your boat, we will be with you for a few days, and then we will give your boat back to you. You have my word. But just to show you that I am sincere in what I say, it may be necessary for me to give you a little demonstration of that sincerity."
The leader motioned to one of his men, who grabbed Danny, the youngest crew member, walked him toward the door of the galley, pulled out a small revolver with a silencer, and pointed it toward the back of Danny's head. It occurred to the Captain that the shot sounded a lot like pulling the tab on a can of beer, except for the little puff of pink smoke and Danny's clothing collapsing into a heap on the floor like it was ready for the laundry if it wasn't for Danny still being in them.
"Such a waste.” the leader sighed. “I do hope you won't ask me to give you another demonstration Captain. Fortunately, young Danny had no family, had no real friends who might miss him. The river was his life, and today you made the decision that his life was over."
The rest of the crew stared at their Captain, whose eyes slowly regained focus.
"Now Captain, why don't you and I go up to our pilothouse and I will explain what we are going to do. The rest of my men will be aboard shortly to help prepare the crew for their part in the mission. Ah, here they come now."
Before he could speak or move, the Captain heard another small boat pull alongside. The leader motioned him toward the door, and after a brief glance at his crew to tell them not to do anything stupid, Captain Charlie Graff stepped from the galley with his fists and teeth clenched.
Chapter 2
The pilothouse was the top level of the boat; a square room the size of a small kitchen and surrounded by windows. There was a long bench along the back wall, and a big chair surrounded by controls and screens at the front window. As the captain and visitor entered, the glow from the radar and control panels was the only light in the room.
"Well, it looks like we have guests. Giving a little tour captain?" The voice from the chair looked toward the door and noticed the gun. "What the hell..."
"It’s ok Frank, just drive the boat. We have a bit of a problem here."
"A bit of a problem?” the leader said. “Now Captain, we'll never get along if you consider us to be a problem. I promise you that we will do our very best to not interfere with your work at all while we complete our mission."
"And Frank, what your Captain hasn't told you is that my crew and I have come to borrow your boat for a while. We require a place we can work, and you are providing us with that place."
"You can't come on board this boat and..." Pilot Frank Maddox began.
"And Frank, what the Captain also hasn't told you yet is that I am quite sincere in my mission. Isn't that true Captain?"
The Captain nodded toward the leader, "They killed Danny; shot him in the back of the head."
Frank hesitated, and then rose from his chair, "What the fuck is going on here?"
"Just do your job and keep us going up river Frank, and I will tell you and your Captain all that you need to know."
Frank paused and sat back down, "And how do you know my name? Just who the hell are you anyway?"
The leader continued as he reached into his pocket.
"But first, just so you clearly understand how important it is that you do work with us, let me give you these.”
The leader handed each man a small photo.
The first thought in the Captain's mind was that it was a very nice photo of his wife, one of the nicest he had seen in a while if it wasn't for that set of cross hairs focused on her forehead. "What the fuck is this?" Charlie asked.
"Gentlemen, we didn't just decide to come out and jump on the first boat we found running up the river. We have taken a lot of time to prepare for this mission. We know all about you, and your families; who they are, and more importantly, where they are. In fact, we have friends who are watching your wives, and your children, and grandchildren right now...well, all of the time."
Two men spoke with one voice, "You son of a bitch."
"Our friends mean your families absolutely no harm, and you have my word that nothing will happen to them...any of them...as long as our mission is allowed to continue. Do we understand each other gentlemen?"
Silence.
"Gentlemen?"
"Yeah, I get it," strained out of the mouths of the two men.
"Wonderful. Now. Captain, I'm sure your crew is growing concerned. I need you to go and let them know that everything is fine and that they are to cooperate with us fully. I have photos to give each of them that may help you explain the situation. For now, simply instruct them to go about their work as they normally would. They should do nothing to raise any suspicion that anything is not perfectly normal. Please let them know that if anyone does not follow these orders, I will be forced to instruct our friends to pay a little visit to your families...and I am sure none of us want to see that happen."
Charlie and Frank stared at their photos.
"One more very important thing you need to communicate to your crew immediately. From now on, no one is to go aft of the ship, behind the engine room. This is absolutely off limits from this point on. Is that understood?"
"What are you..." the Captain raised a hand.
"NO! There are no questions about this Captain; it is off limits to every member of your crew, including yourselves. Am I clear?"
"Yeah, fine."
"Trust me, Captain; this is as much for the safety of your men as anything else. My men will make no unnecessary trips to that space during our mission as well. Only the doctor and his team will have regular access."
"The doctor? Who the..." the Captain asked.
"Ah yes, you will meet him later. He will be boarding soon with his team and the, um, supplies."
The leader briefly looked around the pilothouse as if he was thinking about having the place redecorated.
"Captain, we have a long trip ahead of us, so I sug
gest that we all take a deep breath and go forward like this is just like any other run. We will not interfere with any of your work, and I know you will not interfere with ours. In fact, if we all do our parts, you probably won't even notice that we are here."
As the leader and Captain moved toward the door, the leader turned to Frank, smiled, and spoke in a voice you would use as you leave the room after tucking your three-year-old in for the third time after they keep getting out of bed.
"And Frank, while the Captain and I are down talking with the crew, please do not try to do anything brave like sending any calls for help. We have friends watching and monitoring the boat; the radios, cell phones...honestly, we have thought of most everything...this mission is that important to us. So just drive the boat, and when we come back, I will explain more."
As the leader and Captain made their way back to the galley, the Captain saw the body of the young deckhand being loaded into the skiff, on its way into one of the dark bayous. Between the gators and other scavengers, there wasn't much risk of anyone asking questions anytime soon.
Chapter 3
The seven men were standing in a circle around the crowded galley, staring at the little photos they each hold in their hands.
One finally turned to the leader, "So, you're telling me you have some asshole with a gun following my wife and kid, and if I do anything wrong you're going to have that guy kill them...is that it?"
The leader smiled.
"Well, that's the general idea, yes. You see, if any one of you does anything that might threaten our mission, our friends will...not just one of them, but all of them will do what they have been prepared to do. You see we are all on this mission together. But, I assure you, we have not come here to harm anyone, and you have absolutely nothing to worry about as long as we all do our jobs. When our mission is completed, you get your boat back, and everyone goes on with their lives. You have my word."
The Captain glanced at the floor where Danny had fallen and then at the leader.