“You’ve got it,” Allen replied.
Zack headed into the bathroom and paused just inside the doorway. He eyed the frilly restroom then double-checked the sign just outside the door to make sure he had the right bathroom. He shook his head, returned inside the bathroom, and ventured into the first stall. Once he finished, he flushed the toilet and stepped out to wash his hands. A faint sound alerted him. Zack peered beneath the stall doors and saw a pair of neatly shined, white shoes in the last stall. The man’s foot slid and turned out. Zack removed the gun from the back of his pants and approached the last stall. He gently pushed open the door and aimed the gun. A ship’s server was propped on the toilet. His eyes remained open while staring transfixed at nothing. His neatly pressed white uniform had a large spot of fresh blood covering the chest. Zack straightened while staring at the dead man.
“Okay, that’s not real,” Zack remarked while replacing his gun. He left the stall and headed for the bathroom door. As he opened the door, he called out. “Hey, Allen, could you check something for me?”
Zack stopped and looked across the lounge. Allen was gone. Zack again removed the gun from his pants and crossed the lounge. He paused near the bar and peered over it. Allen lay dead on the floor behind the bar. Zack jumped back from the bar and looked around the empty lounge. There was no one within the room. Zack hurried for the door, checked outside to make sure there were no surprises, and rushed from the lounge onto deck. He kept his gun concealed close to his chest and kept an eye on a nearby dark area beneath the steps. He heard something move behind him. Zack spun around, prepared for anything. Several nearly silent shots fired from the darkness further down deck. Zack took two bullets to his chest and flew backward over the ship’s railing from the force of the shots. A loud splash followed.
Chapter Twenty-five
Gil and Darth entered the lounge while following the exceptionally loud voice of an irate woman. It was a little before seven in the morning. The lounge was still set up for early morning passengers, but there were several empty coffee cups on the tables and lining the bar. The pastries hadn’t been replenished and the woman from the kitchen was complaining to a security guard that the excessively large coffeepot was empty. Gil approached the guard and the woman.
“What’s the problem?” Gil asked.
“Rick took off and left the lounge in this condition,” the woman informed him while gesturing wildly with her hands. “Passengers were complaining about the state of the lounge. There’s no coffee and the pastry plates are empty. Look at all the dirty dishes!”
The guard eyed Gil. “It’s not the first time Rick skipped out on his duties,” he announced. “Usually it’s just an extended cigarette break.” He looked back at the woman. “We’ll find Rick and deal with him accordingly. Would you mind filling in for him?”
“Yeah, whatever,” the woman balked. “But this is the last time I’m covering for him.”
She began cleaning up the dirty dishes then tended to the coffee machine.
Gil looked around suspiciously. “Anything odd about what you found so far?”
“Odd?” the security guard questioned then chuckled softly. “No, nothing odd. We searched the lounge but didn’t find anything. He’s probably been gone a couple of hours, considering the coffee machine is empty. I’m going to check his quarters then search the kitchen. Would you check the nearby area?”
“Yeah, sure,” Gil replied but remained deep in thought.
He took a moment longer to look around the lounge then headed onto deck with Darth. They only walked a few feet when Darth started sniffing the nearby railing. Gil carefully searched the railing to see what had Darth’s attention and discovered a recently splintered section of wood. Considering it was on top, maintenance would have almost certainly found it on their early morning inspection. Gil removed a pocketknife and dug into the hole. He stared with moderate surprise at the bullet he held between his fingers.
“Oh, that’s not good.” Upon closer inspection of the railing, he found a fragment of black cloth. Gil removed his cell phone and pressed a button. “Hey, we may have a problem. One of the staff is missing from his post inside the lounge, and I found a bullet matching the caliber of that gun we found in Kirk’s room. It’s fresh. Only an hour or two.” He hesitated. “But it gets worse. There’s some black fabric that is the same as Zack’s combat uniform.”
†
Beck paced his suite with his cell phone to his ear and a concerned look on his face while listening to Gil’s report.
“We’ll see if Darth can track Zack,” Beck announced to Gil over the phone. “Meet me in Zack’s room in the crew’s quarters.” He disconnected his call as someone knocked on the door.
Beck looked out the peek hole and saw Bogart standing before the door with an anxious look on his usually calm face. Beck opened the door, already irritated with Bogart.
“What is it--?”
He suddenly hesitated when he saw Pinto casually leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest.
Bogart frowned and looked ashamed. “She cornered me in the stairway.”
Beck stared helplessly at Pinto and barely heard a word Bogart said. “I can explain everything,” he immediately blurted out.
She straightened and allowed her arms to fall to her sides. “You’ve been following me,” Pinto snapped hotly. “I was thinking I’d overreacted, and now I find you on some covert mission to spy on me. You’re unbelievable!”
Pinto turned and stormed down the hall. Beck stared after her but couldn’t force himself to run after the irate woman.
“What’s wrong with you?” Bogart demanded and pointed. “Go after her!”
“No, she’s in a fighting mood,” he replied. “I need to let her calm down. She has an unbelievable temper.”
†
Bogart and Jackie sat with Sal on his private balcony while he sipped coffee and stared out into the ocean. They watched him without saying a word. He finally sighed, adjusted his glasses, and then looked at them. He was clearly disappointed but there was something else beyond his eyes.
“Beck definitely crossed a line,” Sal informed them, “but I understand his concerns.”
“So he should show Pinto the photos Zack found?” Bogart asked, satisfied he was right.
“Oh, absolutely not,” Sal announced as his eyes widened and he shook his head. “Will is a sensitive subject, and admitting they searched his apartment without justification will send her over the edge.”
“There’s definitely something going on, Sal,” Jackie informed him. “I know Zack is known for his disappearing acts, but something is different this time.”
“Yes, the bullet Gil dug out of the railing,” Sal replied then sighed. “That’s troubling. Someone would have heard a gunshot and reported it, which means the gun most likely contained a silencer.” He raised his brows and eyed both. “Guns are prohibited, so one with a silencer was certainly brought onboard with foul intentions. And you found another gun containing a silencer in Kirk’s room, but it hadn’t been fired?”
“Zack was suffering a concussion from another assignment, which was causing hallucinations,” Jackie informed him, “but I think he may have actually stumbled upon something. If he believed he was hallucinating, he may have underestimated the situation.”
Sal again sank into thought and stared at the ocean. He sighed softly without looking at them. “My first priority is my daughter,” he informed them. “I want to see her happy and more importantly, I don’t want something to happen to her because I underestimated what you’re telling me.” He again looked at them. “I trust the instincts of your team. If you believe either of our lives are in danger, I’m willing to suffer her wrath if you’re wrong. You say Banks already hired Beck and Monroe as additional security guards for the wedding, so they’re covered. I’ll see that the rest of you receive accommodations at my friend’s resort. Completely under the radar stuff. My friend will keep your identity between us
. He’ll trust my judgement.”
“Thank you, Sal,” Jackie replied.
“What about Beck and Pinto?” Bogart asked. “Can you help smooth things over with her?”
“You can’t tell that girl what to do,” Sal announced. “There was a time she barely spoke to me. I don’t have any influence over her decisions. I’m afraid she’ll have to come to her own decision about Beck.” He groaned softly. “Believe me, no one wants to see her get back together with Beck more than I do, but it’s out of my hands.”
“She’s going to realize we’re at the wedding reception,” Jackie informed him. “We can’t fly that low under the radar.”
“I’ll handle that,” Sal informed them. “She’ll be mad, naturally, but I doubt it can get much worse.”
Chapter Twenty-six
The Andrea Maria docked at the port in Cartagena, Colombia. Most of the passengers disembarked the ship to explore the shops and countryside. The wedding guests left the ship and immediately headed for Nelson Banks’ luxury yacht, which would take the nearly fifty guests to Giovanni’s private island just off the coast of Columbia. The team remained on deck and watched the wedding guests board a rented bus to take them to the dock where their yacht awaited. The six exchanged looks and frowns, their concern for Zack growing.
“He should have been here by now,” Gil remarked and again checked his watch.
“In his current state--” Jackie began but Beck interrupted her.
“He’s fine,” Beck snarled, a little more on edge than usual. “He’s gotten into worse situations. I sincerely doubt he met his demise on a cruise ship.”
“Should we search the ship again?” Bogart asked, showing the same concern as Jackie.
“Darth couldn’t pick up his scent,” Monroe muttered with an oddly defeated look while slumped over the railing. “If he doesn’t want to be found, we’re not going to find him.”
Kirk straightened and showed no emotion. “He’s fine,” he announced boldly. “He’ll show up later like always.”
Bogart eyed the four men then raised his brow. “If you’re all so damned confident he’s fine, why are we still standing here?”
When they didn’t acknowledge Bogart’s sarcastic comment or even bother giving him their usual annoyed look, Bogart straightened with concern.
“You actually think something happened to him,” Bogart announced with surprise.
Jackie placed her hand on Bogart’s lower arm and gave it a slight squeeze, silencing him. He shook his head with disbelief and some hostility.
“I’m going to his room to pack up his things,” Bogart announced boldly. “I’ll meet you guys on the dock.” He turned and left with disgust. Jackie eyed the guys then hurried after Bogart.
Monroe straightened and glanced at his friends. “We should probably collect our things and head to the airfield.”
They nodded in agreement, yet none made a motion to move away from the ship’s railing.
†
The older helicopter had seen better days, leaving the five men clinging to their seats on the nearly thirty-minute journey to Giovanni’s private island. Despite the term ‘private island’, Sal’s friend had a luxurious hotel resort along the beach, which offered many amenities to its guests. The mansion was further down the beach and nearly inaccessible from the hotel. A manmade rock formation created a natural looking barrier to keep guests from wandering onto the wealthy owner’s property. The wedding guests were staying at the resort, which remained closed the entire week to accommodate the nearly two hundred wedding guests. It allowed them sole access to the resort and its facilities. They were holding the wedding at the hotel for convenience and security reasons.
Jackie flew the helicopter with Gil as her co-pilot. Despite Gil’s piloting experience, Jackie was the better helicopter pilot. She circled the island, allowing the guys to scope the area below. The island interior was mostly wooded jungle terrain, although they could make out a roadway directly through the center of the island. The shoreline on the other sides of the island contained some beautiful beaches, but not nearly as large as the one where the resort was located. They could see old docks on remote beaches but none contained any boats.
Once they had a lay of the land, Jackie found a quiet spot to land the helicopter. It was a short walk to the hotel, although they were anticipating a moderately unfriendly greeting. As the helicopter shut down, the guys unloaded their gear. Beck gave Jackie several annoyed looks as she finished shutting down the craft. She finally climbed out of the pilot’s seat, glared back at him, and folded her arms across her chest.
“Something you’d like to say, Beck?” she demanded.
He tossed his bag to the ground. “I can’t believe you went to Sal without talking to me first,” Beck snarled. “That should have been my call.”
“And you should have made it,” Jackie snapped back, alerting the guys to the heated conversation. “Sal’s a reasonable man, and he’s on your side.”
“You could have ruined everything,” Beck growled back in response.
“You already have!”
The guys stared at them with surprise and silence. Beck seemed stunned by Jackie’s hostile outburst as well. He was suddenly at a loss for words, but Jackie had little trouble finding her own.
“We’re only here because you pissed off your girlfriend,” she lashed out. “Will may be a creep and he may be stalking her, but she was never in any danger. Maybe if you were a little more committed to your relationship, we wouldn’t be here and Zack wouldn’t be missing.” She shook her head with disgust. “I have half a mind to call Ross.”
The guys seemingly fidgeted at the same time. Jackie had no qualms about going over Beck’s head; displaying a newly found lack of respect the others wouldn’t dare show. At a moment when Beck should have been yelling back, he had nothing to offer.
“Zack came to me last night a broken man,” she continued with less hostility and more sorrow. “He needed help. He asked for help, and now he’s gone. Missing or worse.” She glared at the five men. “We let him down. This is our fault!”
All five fidgeted, displaying their discomfort for what they already seemed to know. They heard resort jeeps approaching and immediately snapped to attention. Their differences and concerns would have to wait.
“Do you want to leave?” Beck asked Jackie then eyed the others. “Anyone who wants to leave can do it now. I’m upset about Zack too, I truly am, but I need to see this through.”
The others glanced at Jackie, almost as if waiting for her response to the question. She suddenly felt subconscious that the rest of the team was looking to her for leadership. Going against Beck would be bad for moral, and she needed to think of the team.
She groaned softly and shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere,” she informed Beck. “If Zack is alive, he’ll come here. If something did happen to him, someone here is in danger. You’re right. We should see it through.”
The others immediately agreed with her, leaving Beck slightly dismayed by their loyalty to Jackie. Had Beck lost the respect of the team? Or was Zack’s disappearance too much for any of them to bear? The resort jeeps approached and stopped before them. Heavily armed men jumped out and aimed their weapons at them. The remaining team raised their hands defensively in the air.
“It’s okay,” Beck announced. “We’re with security. Corbin and Mr. Banks should have notified you.”
One man checked his portable tablet then eyed Beck. “Are you Beck Larue?”
Beck nodded and lowered his hands. “Yeah, I’m Beck Larue.”
“We’ll have to clear the rest of these people,” the man announced. “Let’s go.”
They secured their bags and joined the men inside the jeeps. Within seconds, the guards whisked them away to the resort.
Chapter Twenty-seven
The resort, although smaller than most island resorts, was lavish and catered to a filthy rich clientele. The building itself was only four floors with less t
han two hundred rooms. There was exotic beauty everywhere. Colorful flowers covered every corner of the painstakingly landscaped resort. The pool was small and intimate with several hot tubs isolated in romantic coves throughout, giving guests a feeling of seclusion. The white, sandy beach with plush lounge chairs scattered about was clean and raked every morning. Wait staff were on hand to serve guests exotic, fruity drinks on the beach, tending to their every whim.
Jackie and Bogart walked along the soft white sand in colorful island shirts and white shorts they’d picked up in Columbia in an effort to fit in. Bogart wore exceptionally dark sunglasses, allowing him to watch people without them realizing he was spying on them. Despite their attempts to blend, they looked more like hotel workers than guests. The guests were mostly millionaires and dressed the part even in something as simple as beachwear. With good reason, both felt slightly out of place and uncomfortable. Jackie held her cell phone to her ear then disconnected the call with annoyance.
“Holden still not answering?”
“Cell phones don’t seem to work on this island,” Jackie replied with a soft groan.
“The resort has landlines,” Bogart informed her. “I have to assume they’re crappy, but you should be able to get a call through to him.”
“I left him a message before we left Columbia,” she replied then frowned. “I hate feeling isolated.”
“People pay big bucks for isolation.”
“Yeah? Well, obviously they were never in the witness protection program,” she remarked.
Bogart hid his smile at the comment then casually glanced around the beach and focused his attention on Will, who stood near one of the small bars while talking with Luke.
O-Dark-Hundred Page 13