“You betcha,” answered Fred emphatically to make his point.
They fell into further silence just as BDF1 touched down on St Vincent soil.
***
Rowe knew he was in big trouble. The game was up as far as he was concerned. Pressured for the names of all the others involved in Wednesday’s ‘grab’ of Power from the prisoner transport vehicle, Rowe did not hold back. He provided names, nick-names, addresses, vehicle numbers, work places, named gangs and finally, relayed the when and where they had met to plan their ‘mission’.
However, Castille’s name was not mentioned, as Rowe had neither met nor spoken to him.
The evidence gleaned by Inspector Gray, Public Relations officer at RBPF HQ regarding Rowe was indisputable. She was amazed at how easy getting all of this information out of him had been. She called AC Smith to give him the good news. She would secure Rowe at RBPF HQ but suggested that Smith inform both Jeremie and Innis about these developments quickly. She knew once Jeremie was made aware of this development, he would in turn advise Colonel Burke.
Smith then instructed Gray to speak with Vickers about organising three ‘visits’ (she knew he meant raids) by mid-morning to apprehend the other members of the Pressure Group gang.
***
Castille woke earlier than he would normally have done back home in his Miami apartment. It was 6:00 a.m. He body felt rested and refreshed, yet his mind was uneasy and somehow out of sorts. His brain quickly told him why. He had not yet succeeded at the task assigned to him. Castille had to change that. “This Power situation has gotten out of hand,” he murmured to himself, becoming more determined than ever to resolve this problem for The Organisation on this very day.
Finding Wharton’s location was how he intended doing so. Wharton had to have something for him.
***
On his way back home, Colonel Burke called Superintendent Innis.
“Good morning, Superintendent. I’d like you to prepare HMP Dodds to receive our escaped prisoner. As part of those preparations, please make available one of your three special isolation cells to receive him.”
“Good morning, Colonel Burke. Thanks. I’ll start making those arrangements. By any particular time?” asked Innis.
“As soon as possible. Also, please make your way over to Harold Oliver, CEO at the airport no later than 9:00 a.m. Once there, he will provide you with a briefing on where we are and what is to happen next,” Colonel Burke concluded.
***
Ambassador Madeline Carter had kept her word. Colonel Burke’s secure phone rang at 6:30 a.m., just as he had started to drink the cup of tea Diane had made for him.
What she told him was both insightful and alarming. Colonel Burke wasn’t sure from whom Ambassador Carter and her team at the Barbados Embassy in Washington had secured their information from, but she had been able to turn up much more than he’d ever imagined or expected might be possible. A ‘big fish’ from ‘an up-and-coming’ trading organisation (diplomatic speak meaning a commercial entity involved in serious criminal activity) was in Barbados on a one-day visit. The US Embassy in Barbados’ security team was said to be aware of the visit but had no plans to engage the visiting individual, although US authorities were well-advanced in building their case against the entity and members of its leadership.
One of these was known only as ‘The Principal’ whose initials were thought to be any of RT, RC or RP. Further information on this person was likely to be gathered by the Barbados Embassy’s security team before day’s end. Meanwhile, details – a name and a picture of the alleged ‘big fish’ now in Barbados had just been sent to BIB HQ from her Embassy. Once Colonel Burke got to BIB, he would be able to access that information.
Carter also offered an opinion. If she was Colonel Burke, she would consider approaching the USA’s Ambassador to Barbados, The Chief Immigration Officer and the Commissioner of Police to see how they might be able to help by providing any additional or related information. She hadn’t known why Colonel Burke had called her on Friday night, but suspected that something his BIB unit was working on was afoot which he could not share with her.
Of course, her suspicions were correct. Carter and her security team at Barbados’ US Embassy had been happy to respond to Colonel Burke’s request. She knew that she did not need to suggest that he should check with airlines carrying passengers between USA and Barbados to see a list of passengers with the initials RT, RC or RP who had travelled between the two countries in the past couple of days.
Colonel Burke thanked Carter stating, “I’m much obliged to you, Ambassador. You and your team have been a tremendous help to us. When you are next home, please let me know.”
“No problem, Colonel Burke. As it happens, I’m back there in another three weeks, so happy for us to meet up for a chat then.”
“I’d like that very much. Over a meal, I hope. Thanks again and have a good day.”
“You too. Goodbye.”
***
Chapter Twenty-Six
Diplomacy
Castille showered and dressed before calling Wharton to hear if the information that had been promised on Power’s whereabouts was available. Power was thought to be in St Vincent, but where? Castille needed an area or a village or better still, an address. Once he had this, he planned to jump on a flight to St Vincent and get to work. Castille desperately wanted to complete his assignment, by fair means (collect payment) or foul (kill Power).
Most of all, he now wanted to return home to the USA, ideally later this afternoon but otherwise, being realistic by tomorrow night.
***
Soon Colonel Burke placed a call to Jeremie. “Will, can you meet me urgently at BIB HQ at 7:30 a.m.?”
“Yes,” was the immediate response, before Jeremie added, “I’ll have some good news to share when we meet.”
“I’ll be keen to hear it. Today looks like it’s shaping up to be a special day for Barbados’ law enforcement agencies. See you shortly, Will.”
“Right you are, Trevor.”
Next, Colonel Burke called USA Ambassador Rowley. After pleasantries were exchanged about the time of day, Colonel Burke asked if he and Commissioner Jeremie could call on the Ambassador at 9:00 a.m. at his Embassy on an urgent matter? Without hesitation, Ambassador Rowley agreed to receive them. Colonel Burke was surprised Rowley did not ask him what the urgent matter was.
From Rowley’s perspective, he knew Colonel Burke to be a solid man. They had developed a strong professional working (though not personal) relationship since his arrival in Barbados three years earlier. Rowley surmised that there must be a very good reason why BIB’s Director, accompanied by the RBPF’s Commissioner wanted to see him urgently so early on a Monday morning.
Following Colonel Burke’s call, Rowley spoke with Amarouse Busbee, his Cultural Secretary (also his CIA officer in post). Always one of the first to arrive at the Embassy each day, he asked her to think of any reason why Colonel Burke and Commissioner Jeremie might want to meet with him urgently that morning. No outstanding issues between the Embassy, BIB or RBPF immediately came to Busbee’s mind and she told him so. Rowley was surprised at her response. Nevertheless, he invited Busbee to join him prior to and at the meeting from 8:45 a.m. when they would consider their approach at the meeting. He did not want them to be caught by surprise by any unexpected requests, especially if they were related to funding.
Colonel Burke’s third call was to Alwin Greene, Chief Immigration Officer, Barbados Immigration Department. He requested an email with a list of all USA passengers with the initials RT, RC or RP who had travelled to Barbados within the past seventy-two hours, along with their pictures from the airport’s CCTV system.
Greene asked for an hour to deliver the information.
“Thank you, Alwin,” said Colonel Burke.
“Anytime, Trevor.”
Colonel Burke made a final call to Motby. He asked for an item, just in case it was necessary. Once the basis of the request had b
een explained, it was granted to Colonel Burke.
“I’ll have an officer hand deliver this to you Trevor – to HQ, I presume?”
“Yes please, Prime Minister. I’ll be in my office by 7:30 a.m. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
By their proposed actions, Colonel Burke and Motby hoped to be able to ‘nip’ pending criminal activity in the bud. It was strange how things can come together if you played your hunches right.
***
BDF1 was now sat at the far end of the Argyle International Airport’s parking apron. Due to the openness of the airport’s layout, it was never going to be easy to hide BDF1’s presence, but at least it was far enough away from the general public’s view.
The Barbadian contingent had been met by Gomez. As neither Fred, Alleyne or Browne were in uniform, anyone looking on would not know who the three men walking alongside Gomez towards and then into the new airport’s air-conditioned VIP room were. Once inside, they were met by JJ.
“Hello guys, thanks for coming over so quickly,” he said.
“So, this is where you disappeared to?” asked Fred, hugging JJ with a broad smile.
Returning the hug and smile, JJ answered, “Yeah. When the chief calls, you move. I had a rough sea ride over. Almost sleepless nights too, but it was all worth it. The ride home should be more pleasant…and we have our guy.”
“Buddy, you know you shouldn’t keep secrets from me!”
“I only do as I’m told,” responded JJ before turning to shake the hands of Alleyne and Browne whom he both knew.
“Good job, JJ. Where’s the escaped prisoner?” asked Alleyne.
Gomez answered, “Somewhere very safe but not too far away from here. Not even a cockroach could get out from where he’s been stashed.”
“Fine. How soon can we get him and be on our way back to Bim?” asked Browne.
“Relax, guys – no need to be so anxious. We’ll move your man shortly. We could not keep him at this place because it’s insecure. We also did not want him to be on the move close to your arrival in SVG and were then ready to receive him. So, make yourselves comfy. My men and JJ will go for him, returning with an appropriate escort, just in case someone or one of his friends from a Vincie organisation have any thoughts of trying to spring him for what would be the second time in a week,” said Gomez.
“How long do we have to wait before you and JJ come back with him, Inspector?” asked Alleyne.
“Hour…hour and a half max,” responded Gomez.
“That long? Well, can we do anything to help you to speed up the process rather than our just sitting here twiddling our thumbs for the next couple of hours? I don’t mean to appear harsh or rude, but with all due respect, I didn’t expect we would have all this down time here this morning. You sure that your guys can’t get him here any quicker, enabling us to get away sooner?” Again, it was Alleyne asking the searching questions.
“Look, friend, I’ve just told you what our realistic timelines are. The sooner we stop talking, JJ and I can get moving. We’ll do our best to deliver your man as quickly as we can to allow you to depart our shores. Getting back to normal will be a real pleasure for my small unit. Now gentlemen, if you’ll excuse us, JJ and I’ll be on our way. Stay here. This place has no bookings for today, so no one will disturb you. My Commissioner has arranged with the Airport Manager to have his staff provide you with some refreshments, you know. Vincie hospitality. It should be here any minute,” said Gomez, starting to make his way to the door.
Catching JJ’s eye, Fred chirped in to help diffuse a potential tricky situation.
“Thank you, Chief Inspector. We’ll sit tight. Can our two air-crew also join us?” asked Fred.
“Of course! I’ll go and bring them over before I go. We’ve included them in our offering that’s being delivered.”
“Many thanks,” said Fred.
With that, Gomez left the room, heading for the airport parking apron where BDF1’s air crew had remained in BDF1.
JJ spoke. “Sorry about that, guys, but I think we all need to take a breath. Take it easy on this guy. Fred knows that I’ve worked with Gomez before. He’s a good man to have on or by your side in any tight situation as I’ve found out in the past. He’s been kind and accommodating to me since I arrived on Friday morning. So, lighten up guys. Remember, it’s our prisoner that his team have recaptured. He escaped from us, yes?”
“We hear you, JJ. I’m just not used to hanging around,” said Alleyne. He was not angry, just wanted to get on with the job that he’d come to do. His work often called for speed, accuracy and efficiency which were at a premium and always uppermost in his mind. The current standstill, as he saw it, was a tad sloppy and inefficient. Such situations worried him. However, he understood the need to keep the escaped prisoner in a safe and secure place. His experience told him that airports were never the safest or most secure and reliable place to keep dangerous people.
Five minutes later, Gomez returned to the VIP room with Collins and Taitt in tow. He motioned to JJ to follow him and together they exited the VIP’s security door and headed towards Gomez’s vehicle to start the journey back to where Power was being held.
Minutes later, two ladies rolled in a trolley on which were sumptuous breakfast items – fresh fruit, tea, banana bread and juice. There were also five small plates with bacon, sausage and scrambled eggs.
Before taking their leave of the five persons in the VIP room, one of the ladies turned on the large television nestled in the middle of a well-laden bookcase. She asked them which of the cable channels showing international news or morning magazine programmes they wanted to watch. Fox, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC or the local station’s ‘SVG Today’ programme. They chose the local station and thanked the two maids for delivering the goodies.
“The remote control is here in case you want to change…” were the parting words from the second lady as they departed, leaving the VIP room to their Barbadian visitors.
***
The news Castille received from Wharton during their phone call was at last good.
"He is either in St Lucia or St. Vincent, I think it’s the latter, though his exact location remains unknown. Yesterday evening, I was promised confirmation by 8:00 a.m. today of his exact whereabouts from a Vincentian friend of mind living here whose ear is pretty close to the ground in Barbados’ neighbouring countries You should consider booking a flight to where he is. There are several daily flights to both countries that leave between 11:30 a.m. and mid-day.
“Is your friend reliable?” asked Castille.
“Yes,” was Wharton’s instant response.
“Will you call me back with the country and an address, or should I come to you?”
“No. I’ll meet you at the airport and put the information in your hand. How about 8:30 a.m.? Phones have ears, understand me?”
“Yes. Here is like the US. You can buy your airline ticket at the airport.”
“How much?”
“How much what? You don’t need to pay me anything for what I’ll give you.”
“Not going to. I mean how much are the flights to St Lucia or St Vincent?”
“Don’t know, but I doubt it would be more than $500.”
“You’re kidding!”
“No, not US money, Barbados dollars…so US$250.”
“Return to Barbados?”
“Unlikely. Probably a bit more.”
“Thanks. Where to meet?”
“By the electronic departure notice board.”
“Which one?”
“There is only one.”
“Any specific place?”
“It’s in the open area, across from the British Airways check-in area.”
“’8:30 a.m.?”
“Yes,” said Wharton.
“Got it. Bye,” said Castille.
“Be jolly now,” said Wharton.
Castille decided that the phone he had just used had outlived its usefulness and so shoul
d be disposed of. He would also skip breakfast and check out of his south coast hotel and head for the airport. He could pick up breakfast there before or after meeting Wharton and buying his ticket to either country. Checking himself in for the flight should be easy enough before clearing immigration.
Castille was feeling better. Real progress at last, he thought.
By 8:10 a.m., he was driving away from the hotel. His conversation with the car-hire company had confirmed that he could take the vehicle he’d hired to the main airport car park where they would meet him to retake possession of it.
***
Inspector Moss had come up empty at the first of the three remaining hotels. He now approached the second hotel’s reception. Showing his RBPF identification, he asked to speak with the Manager on duty.
Desmond Alli quickly appeared. After introducing himself to Moss, he listened attentively before taking the room key card presented by Moss. Turning it over, he stated quickly, “Yep, this is one of ours.”
“Are you sure?” asked Moss.
“Yes, Inspector. All hotels on Barbados’ south coast carry the south coast hotels logo on their room keys,” explained Alli. “Rather than promoting our hotels individually using separate business cards, we have collaborated while identifying each property operating on Barbados’ south coast through specific property room keys which look like a business card.”
Alli beckoned Moss to come closer to him before continuing.
“This is one of our room keys because of the code shown on the back. See it? In the bottom left hand corner is S/17. That’s our property’s code. It’s actually built into the card itself. Each south coast property has its own code shown on the back of its south coast hotels room key. Once a guest checks in, we provide them with two room keys. If there are two guests in a room, then they receive four room keys. We no longer use old-fashioned door keys to enter rooms on our properties Inspector, and guests are required to return all room keys issued to them on their departure.”
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