The Elusive Smuggler

by Liz Turner

  “No, thank you,” Gabriella answered primly. “I have quite a lot of work to tend to this morning.”

  “Ah, the never ending to-do lists…” He kissed his wife again on the cheek and then paused before zoning in and planting a surprise wet kiss on her lips.

  Gabriella waved him away, but couldn’t help laughing. She slung her arms around his neck and kissed him gently again.

  “I’ll see you later,” he promised as he left her to finish getting dressed. “I love you!”

  “Love you too,” Gabriella mumbled despite herself.

  Chapter 6

  Prison Break

  “Awful night?” Sarah asked as she handed Gabriella her protein shake mixed with the sufficient amount of caffeine needed to pump her through the busy morning ahead.

  “You have no idea.” Gabriella sighed. “Before we start our rounds, there’s something I need to take care of, and it is better if I attend to it alone.”

  “I understand,” Sarah said with a quizzical look. “I need to check on Sebastian. He requested a few changes to his itinerary, so I need to deliver that this morning.

  “Right.” Gabriella raised her eyebrows and fixed a stare on Sarah. “I’ll see you in an hour then?”

  “That should be more than enough time to drop off an itinerary!” Gabriella teased.

  Sarah rolled her eyes at Gabi before disappearing down another passageway.

  Gabriella pulled out her phone, her fingers hesitating over Derek’s off-duty number. She delayed a few seconds longer before shoving the phone back in her pocket and continuing on her self-assigned mission.

  Despite it being almost five in the morning, the ship was still relatively busy. There were many early morning risers out to see the sunrise and enjoy breakfast. And there were even more passengers that hadn’t even realized it was the next day yet.

  Gabriella knew she didn’t have time to waste as she made her way down several ladders to the lower decks. Derek would take on his day shift in a matter of hours, and Gabriella didn’t want him around.

  There was a general security office in the main section of the ship, making it easily accessible for passengers in need. But what the public didn’t realize, was that there was a very real security office, along with a few holding cells for the law breakers, near the bottom of the ship.

  It was towards these cells that Gabriella raced with as much efficiency as she could muster, aware that with every passing second, she was losing irreplaceable time out of an already tight schedule. She halted, thinking she heard footsteps behind her. When she strained her ears however, she realized it wasn’t footsteps, but some other unusual sound playing along the passageway that a captain’s wife was unaccustomed to hearing on a cruise ship.

  Gabriella descended another level and paused as the strange noise grew louder, only this time, it was easy to identify. She squared her shoulders and picked up her pace. She could practically cover the entire ship at a jog and only break out in a light sweat, but Gabriella’s nerves were interfering and deep down, she felt as though she were disobeying a direct order from the captain himself.

  With a flick of her key card, she quickly skipped through the main security door to be greeted with a burst of barking.

  “It’s okay, boy,” Gabriella soothed as she crouched to his level on the other side of his cell door. “You’ve had a rough night too.”

  Maximus immediately stopped barking, choosing instead to sit on his haunches, his face wrinkled with concern. Anxious whines escaped his throat.

  Gabriella stuck her arm through the cell to stroke his head and Maximus relaxed at her touch, his pink tongue swiping affectionately at her hand. “Let’s get you out of here,” she said. She studied the lock and then scanned the room for likely key options.

  Her eyes fell on the only desk occupying the scant room.

  Naturally, the desk drawer was locked. Gabriella doubted herself for a second, but then she cast a look back at Maximus’s giant hopeful brown eyes following her every move and let her melting heart guide her hand. Using a hair clip, she quickly bypassed the simple desk drawer lock—a skill she wasn’t openly proud of, but proved handy in sticky situations.

  Gabriella spotted the cell key lying on top of some papers. As she reached for it, she heard the crinkle of a plastic packet beneath it. She took a split second to analyze the surrounding sounds to ensure no unexpected visitor would pop in while she was rummaging through her security officer’s desk.

  Carefully, she slid the papers away and noticed four packets bound in brown paper. One had been torn open, revealing fine white crystals inside a second plastic bag. Gabriella recoiled in horror upon realizing what she was staring at.

  Maximus, as though sensing her panicked revulsion, began barking viciously again, ferocious snarls gurgling deep inside his throat as he bounded menacingly along the length of his cramped cell.

  Gabriella rammed the key into the cell and unlocked it before quickly tossing it back in the drawer. She slammed the drawer shut, ensuring everything was as she found it before daring to release Maximus.

  It took all of her strength to tug Maximus out of the office by his collar; it was as if some escaped fiend had suddenly possessed the dog, transforming him into an uncontrollable beast. With one last tug, Gabriella wrenched Maximus out of the office before the door slammed on them.

  He continued to scrabble at the door with his front paws.

  “Maximus, stop!” Gabriella ordered.

  Maximus sat down immediately, his pleading brown eyes turning on hers and dripping with betrayal from the harshness of her tone.

  “That’s better,” Gabriella huffed, her head no longer pounding along to the tune of his barking. “Now, we will have no more of that. Follow me.”

  And he did. Maximus followed Gabriella on their long, back-routed journey all the way to Pamela Savage’s door. Knowing where they were, Maximus squeaked excitedly as Pamela made her way to open the cabin door.

  “Maximus!” she squealed like a little girl who’d just laid her eyes on her first puppy.

  Maximus leapt into the room, careful not to bump Pamela, and practically wrapped his long, warm tongue around her hands as he licked her.

  Gabriella smiled. “He’s happy to see you.”

  “Thank you,” Pamela said sincerely. “How can I ever thank you?”

  “There’s no need to.” Gabriella bowed her head graciously. “Now, if you’ll please excuse me. I have some urgent business to tend to.”

  Pamela waved Gabriella off, and as Gabriella turned to leave, Maximus let rip a gentle woof as if to scold her for not saying goodbye to him too.

  “Sorry, boy,” Gabriella said through a toothy smile as she massaged his soft ears. “I didn’t forget about you.”

  Maximus licked Gabriella’s hand again before returning to Pamela’s side.

  ***

  “Thank you for attending to the Pamela Savage luggage problem so efficiently,” Gabriella told Derek.

  He was sipping his first mug of coffee, and though he looked exhausted, his black eyes were alert. It was something Gabriella genuinely admired about Derek Figo—he missed nothing and always proved vigilant in preventing danger before it even unfolded.

  “Were there any problems?” Gabriella asked tentatively, aware they had already discussed the incident the night before.

  “None,” Derek answered in between sips.

  “Have there been any other strange incidents regarding passenger luggage that I should know about?”

  “None worth mentioning to you.”

  “So nothing out of the ordinary was discovered or confiscated so far on this voyage?”

  Derek drained his cup casually, but his eyes remained focused on Gabriella’s. “Is there something specific that you’re concerned about?” he asked, lowering his mug.

  “I had a complaint of sorts from Mrs. Savage,” Gabriella finally admitted, feeling guilty.

  “Ah…” Derek nodded as if instantly understanding
what was troubling his feisty little friend—the dog.

  “You shouldn’t have taken him away from her—not without my or Nick’s consent,” Gabriella reprimanded.

  “I’m in charge of matters of security,” Derek countered, “so I have to be trusted to care for certain matters in the best way I see fit.”

  “I understand that but –”

  “Where is the dog now?”

  Gabriella squirmed slightly in her seat. “I had him released.”

  Derek nodded his head again stiffly.

  “Derek, I’m sorry if you feel I’ve overstepped –”

  “Please don’t apologize, Gabi,” Derek said with a thin smile. “I can’t expect anything less from a woman with a heart as soft as yours.”

  Gabriella forced a laugh, though she still sensed something was slightly off with Derek; he seemed almost annoyed with her. “So there were no suspicious parcels received that the captain needs to know about?” she reiterated.

  Derek shook his head, his black eyebrows raised. “No, nothing that you need to worry your little head about. Besides, I’ll inform the captain of everything in my report.”

  Chapter 7

  Questions & Answers

  “Excuse me, Miss?” a passenger called out to Gabriella as she passed by.

  “Good morning. How may I assist you?” Gabriella asked with a brilliant smile.

  “I just wanted to lodge a minor complaint,” the young man continued. “I tried and tell one of the other crew members, but he wouldn’t stop laughing at me.”

  “I apologize for his rudeness.” Gabriella internally sighed, knowing what was about to happen. In her years of working on their beloved cruise ship, she’d grown accustomed to being asked strange questions. The crew members received special training on how to answer the most bizarre of questions with a straight face, but even their intense training wasn’t always enough to cover the vast array of ludicrous inquiries they encountered. It wasn’t the policy of Fischer Cruises to make a passenger feel stupid. “So, what seems to be the problem?”

  “The microwave in my cabin doesn’t seem to work. And before you ask, it was plugged in. I couldn’t even find its power source. It’s kind of stuck to the wall.”

  “That is quite a problem,” Gabriella sympathized, her lips twitching involuntarily.

  “You want to laugh too, I can tell!” the man said in a hurt voice.

  Gabriella bit down on the inside of her lip, wincing slightly but grateful the pain helped her regain control. “Sir, I’m afraid we don’t have microwaves in the cabins,” she explained as kindly as she could.

  “What do you mean? There is a microwave in my cabin. It has a door and buttons and everything!”

  “Can you describe the location of your microwave?”

  “It’s randomly hidden inside the closet!”

  “I see.” Gabriella found the right words. “I’m afraid you’ve been trying to use the safe to reheat your food,” she said in a lowered voice.

  “What?”

  “The safe—a storage box where you can lock away your valuables so that the cleaning staff have no access.”

  The man’s eyes widened with humiliation, realizing his own stupidity. Occasionally, passengers humbly admitted their own faults, but usually the conversations progressed to new heights of ridiculousness.

  “Where can I purchase a microwave for our cabin?”

  “Unfortunately, that’s not possible, sir.” Gabriella shook her head before moving swiftly away from the bemused man. She took a deep breath as she stepped out into the fresh air at the stern of the ship. It was an exquisite day with a gentle sea breeze, fresh, tugging at the tendrils that had escaped her neat ponytail.

  She leaned her head over the railing, closed her eyes, and lost herself in the choppy, deep blue waters churned by the ship’s rear motors, creating mesmerizing turquoise and white foam.

  Voices carried across the breeze, piquing Gabriella’s interest, for she recognized at least one of them.

  “I’m sure you’ll love the itinerary I set out for you today,” Sarah was saying.

  “Yeah, but it will suck doing these activities alone,” Sebastian complained.

  “There are some group events that’ll help you easily make new friends.”

  “I’ve already made a new friend…”

  The voices stopped, and Gabriella edged a little closer to the concealed conversers.

  “I think of you as a friend too, but I’m a crew member,” Sarah resumed, her voice laced with anxiety, “which means I can’t –”

  “Fraternize with the guests,” Sebastian said. “Don’t you get a day off or something?”

  Sarah laughed. “I usually work on those too.”

  “Why?”

  There was another pause.

  “Sorry,” Sebastian spoke again. “I can tell that was a personal question. You don’t have to answer.”

  “It’s all right,” Sarah said, surprising both herself and the eavesdropping Gabriella. “My family’s hit difficult times. My father, who was originally from China, opened a shop in the States. He did really well for himself, but grew ill. The medical bills are very steep for a non-citizen…”

  “I can help,” Sebastian said, eager to please and fatally overstepping his boundaries.

  “That’s out of the question,” Sarah’s startled voice objected.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry into your life,” he spluttered nervously. “It’s just that I feel this incredible connection to you, and I can’t explain –”

  “Stop!” Sarah ordered, her voice carrying loudly and startling Gabriella. “If anyone even heard you say that to me, I’d lose my job. Here’s your itinerary.”

  Hearing Sarah’s hurried footsteps approaching, Gabriella panicked for a few seconds before spinning around and pretending she was just walking onto the scene.

  “Oh, hi, Sarah.” Gabriella faked a surprised voice. “Are you all right? You look a bit shaken.”

  “I’m fine,” Sarah lied. “Just a difficult passenger.”

  “Do you need to talk about anything?”

  Sarah shook her head. “I’d rather just take my mind off things.” She checked her watch and sighed. “Can this day go any slower?”

  Gabriella chuckled, though she was slightly hurt her friend wasn’t ready to confide in her yet. “I know what’ll cheer you up.” She nudged Sarah in the ribs. “How about another chapter from ‘The Fischer Romances’?”

  Sarah chuckled. “How could I say no to that? Yes, tell me more. I seriously need a break.”

  Seventeen-year-old Gabriella had prized every second she lived on a ship, after she got over all the throwing up and adapted to the gentle roll of her bed on rough nights. She made sure she travelled every bit of the ship, investigating every activity that might hold her interest.

  During the day, Gabriella relished the warmth of the summer sun against her skin. She spent two days sunburnt—thanks to her British blood—but then she bronzed into a gorgeous tan, courtesy of her continental blood. Her English grandmother would be livid when she saw Gabriella’s common tan, but out in the sea breeze, her concerns and worries were long forgotten, easily washed off with a dip in the swimming pool.

  In the evenings, Gabriella delved into an array of exquisite dishes from all across the world, paired with a live orchestra and even the ballet rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Gabriella soaked up as much of the cultural life she felt comfortable with, but her thirst for something new and exciting pushed her into the unknown. Gabriella drifted towards a little Mexican club, and she soon found her feet enlivened by the rhythm of a salsa beat, her body twirling so fast she thought her sea sickness had returned. The vivid colors, addictive music, and exotic tastes brought on a new flavor of life that Gabriella was thrilled to experience; she felt electrified, like she was living for the first time.

  Her fun and excitement was only tainted by one small problem—no matter where Gabriella found herself on the ship, not far
behind was the tall, imposing shadow of Nicolas Fischer.

  “He followed you around?” Sarah interrupted indignantly. “I didn’t take the captain for a creeper!”

  Gabriella gave her friend a warning look at the word ‘creeper’. But then she laughed, considering she’d thought exactly the same back then. “Just wait,” she said with a knowing smile.

  Tiring of her stalker, yet too afraid to address the matter with management, Gabriella finally lost her temper and quickly darted into a cupboard. Her relentless tracker, having lost sight of her, reeled around wildly to find her again.

  She growled in a low voice as she leapt out of her hiding spot, “I’ve had enough of you, Mr. Fischer!”

  Nicolas jolted in surprise as her voice suddenly resonated behind him. “Excuse me?” he said, his lips twitching as he tried to hide his smile.

  “When you said you wanted to marry me, I thought it was rather brave and sweet of you,” Gabriella admitted. “But now, you stalk my every move and I can’t take it anymore! My father warned me about men like you.” She circled menacingly around Nick, delivering a scathing scowl and waving a stern finger at him. “So if you don’t leave me alone, I’ll take drastic action—or throw you overboard and feed you to the sharks!”

  “Calm down,” Nick said, raising his hands innocently. “I’m not stalking you.”

  “But I see you everywhere!”

  “I’m flattered that you’re so fine tuned to my presence…”

  Gabriella pursed her lips and glared at him, her ability to find words eluding her.

  “Why don’t you sit down and have a cup of coffee, and I’ll explain everything,” Nick suggested calmly.

  “Fine,” Gabriella huffed, stomping toward a coffee bar and leaving Nick trailing behind her.

  She sipped her coffee, all the while giving Nick a biting look over the brim of her mug.

  Nicolas cleared his throat. “Your father requested that the cruise line provide a crew member to…” He paused, noticing Gabriella’s scowl darkening.