She scurries away to get our drinks.
Barron slides his chair closer to the table. “We went home, and you stayed?”
“Yeah. When the club quieted down, Saif called their transport, and they left.”
“They just left?”
“They just left.”
“And that’s it? They just left. Then why this meeting?”
Mandy comes back with our drinks. Barron tells her that we’ll flag her down when we’re ready to order lunch. He takes a large gulp of his scotch.
“Pete? Why this meeting? Why now?”
“I’ll get there. Let me continue.”
“Okay?”
“We thought that it was a one-time deal. We told nobody.”
“The Fourth of July!”
“Yes. Saif called again. We had to do it again the weekend after the Fourth.”
“You used my phone at Put-in-Bay. You were a wreck.”
“I called my son, Mike. He’s a U.S. Marshal.”
“Why him?”
“I didn’t know where else to turn. We were stuck in this horrendous situation.”
He takes another drink. “I need to let this all sink in for a minute.”
I slide my chair back. “And I need a potty break.”
* * *
“Okay. Let me summarize. You imported a bunch of probable terrorists in June. They contacted you again on the Fourth. You called your son, the Marshal.”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
“He got the FBI and ICE, and the Canadian Government involved. But it was too late for them to do anything the weekend after the Fourth. I had to ferry another boatload. But this time, to Put-in-Bay.”
I take a drink and let that sink in. “The American and Canadian governments are now prepared to act after the next trip.”
“That sucks. Kate must be beside herself. But Pete, I still don’t understand why you’re telling me all of this. And why now?”
“Because.” I pause. “Because Saif called again last night. I have to do it again next weekend.”
Barron looks at me hard. I see the question on his face. “Pete? What aren’t you telling me?”
“This time, they need two boats to make the trip. The second boat is to be Bella Fortuna.”
I think he turns whiter. “Jesus. No. I won’t…”
As I’ve been talking, I have gotten out my B iPhone, hit the “Messages” button, and opened the message I got a half hour ago. I slide it over to Barron. “Do you know him?”
He frowns. “That’s Katya’s son from her first marriage. Where...”
“Slide to the previous photo.”
He does. “That’s her daughter.” He raises his voice. “Where did you get these, Pete? What is going on? What…”
“That is the phone that Saif gave me to contact him. He sent me that message a half hour ago.”
He says nothing. I say nothing. We just sit. Neither of us know what to say.
Mandy sees us just siting, and comes over to our table. “Are you guys ready to order?”
I say nothing. Barron reacts. “I’m sorry, Mandy, but something has come up and we need to leave. We need our bill. As quickly as you can.”
She frowns, says she’s sorry we have to go, and promises to be right back with our bill.
“Barron, you can’t run from this. Those pictures are a threat. A very real threat.”
He says nothing.
Mandy comes back with our bill. Barron grabs it, looks at it, pulls out a twenty, puts it in the tray with the bill, and gets up. He heads for the door. I follow.
* * *
There is a small park across the street. “Barron, stop. We’ve got to talk.” I point to a bench in the park.
He pauses. He crosses the street. I follow. He stops at the bench, but doesn’t sit. “How could you do this? How could you involve me? Jesus. Why me? Why Katya? I thought you were my friend.”
“I didn’t do this, Barron. They did. They told me that they needed you and Bella Fortuna. They told me to contact you, and tell you everything. They threatened my family if I didn’t.”
He plops down on the bench. He literally sags. He looks defeated. I sit beside him. He looks at me. “Now what?”
“Now we deal with this. Now you go home and tell Katya.”
“Jesus.”
“I had a call from my son, Mike, this morning. He was conferenced in with Frank Simmons, the FBI Agent in Charge. Frank said that there will be a FedEx package waiting for you when you get home. It will contain a secure phone. You are to call Frank on it. Hit speed dial 1.”
“They know about this? They know about me?”
“They know everything. They intend to put a stop to this after we complete this trip. They intend to do it in such a way that we will not be in danger, and in such a way that the terrorists will see us as innocent bystanders who can no longer be used.”
“Jesus.”
“Frank’s words were, ‘I will call him and explain our plans for the apprehension of the bad guys and the protection of the good guys.’”
“Jesus.”
“The four of us -- you, me, Kate, Katya – need to get together this weekend, Barron.”
“Jesus.”
CHAPTER 53
It’s early Friday evening. A week before our next trip. I pull into the club, and park next to Katya’s BMW.
I sit for a minute. Kate gets out. Katya is on her foredeck; she waves at Kate. They meet on the dock, hug, and disappear aboard Bella Fortuna.
Barron jumps up on the dock. I get out, and meet him at the end of the dock. We do a man hug. “Let’s go aboard Morning Star; let the women talk.”
“Before we get on board, you need to know that Morning Star may be bugged by the bad guys. I don’t know for sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“This is some bad shit, Pete.”
“Yes, it is. And if it is bugged by them, they will expect us to talk about them and the next trip. But don’t mention Mike or the good guys.”
“Make’s sense.”
“There’s more. My boat is bugged by the good guys.”
“This is bizarre. Can bugs listen to bugs?”
We go aboard and sit in the cockpit. “Can I get you anything? I’m going to go get a Diet Pepsi.”
“That sounds good. Get me one, too.”
* * *
I’m back in two minutes. “How did Katya react?”
“At first she was incredulous. Then she refused to get involved. Then she was angry that they were putting you guys through this. Then she realized that we were in it, too. I told her about the pictures on your phone. That convinced her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Katya is a strong person. Stronger than most people realize. When I showed her the pictures of her kids, she went in to her ‘resolve mode.’ She’ll do whatever is necessary to protect them.”
“We’ll get through this, Barron.”
I get the sense that he doesn’t really want to talk about this right now. Neither do I.
They’re building a new house across the lagoon from us. We switch our attention to that. Somebody paid $500,000 for a cute little Vermilion Lagoons Cape Cod. And tore it down. They’re building a new -- and in my opinion way too big for the lot -- new fake cape cod. It’s become a popular project for VYC members to watch and discuss. We talk about that instead of the terrorists.
* * *
All of a sudden, Kate and Katya are standing on the dock. We didn’t hear them get off of Bella Fortuna. “Permission to come aboard, Cap’n?”
“Permission granted.”
They join us in the cockpit. Katya sits next to Barron. “We’ve come up with a new and exciting place for dinner.”
I try to look skeptical. “New and exciting, huh?”
Kate joins in the sales pitch. “Well, maybe old and not so exciting. We haven’t been there since Jim Meyers took us there a couple of years ago, and they’ve never been there.”
“Let me guess – The Old Prague.”
“Boy, you’re good.”
Kate has done her job. I suggested that she convince Katya to go there. I figured that we won’t meet any friends there, and it’s not your typical Muslim hangout. “I know. About seven sound good?”
Everybody nods. Katya gets up. “I’ve got to go find my Czechoslovakian dress.”
Barron gets up, too. “Please. It’s the Czech Republic now. See you in an hour.”
“And Slovakia. Bye, guys.”
CHAPTER 54
It’s perfect convertible weather, so we decide to cram into Kate’s Camaro. The Old Prague is in downtown Vermilion, so it’s a short trip. For a place that specializes in Eastern European fare, it’s pretty busy. But we get a booth near the back, and it’s reasonably private.
We order drinks, and I spend the next half hour going over everything that has happened to us: crossing one with Saif and the bad guys; seeing Qasim back in Canada; crossing two with Hamza and the bad guys and girls; crossing three to Rattlesnake Island for meetings with American and Canadian good guys; crossing four and the demand to involve them and Bella Fortuna. I’m tired of telling and retelling, but it’s important that they both know everything.
We break to order dinner: two Chicken Paprikashes and two Weiner Schnitzels. After our waiter leaves, Barron puts up a hand. “My turn.”
“By all means. Go.”
“When I got home yesterday, as promised, there was a package waiting. I opened the box. It contained a cell phone in some sort of metallic Ziplock bag. I took the phone out of the bag, and within minutes, it rang.”
“Wow.”
“It was Frank Simmons. He pretty much told me I had no choice but to do this. He explained that we will be under constant surveillance by them, and that their first concern is our safety.”
Kate interrupts him. “I believe that. We met these guys on Rattlesnake Island. We met the Americans and the Canadians. I do believe that they will do whatever is necessary to protect us.”
Barron continues. “I think I believe it, too. There are three things I need to share with you.”
Our food arrives. Barron stops. He tastes his Chicken Paprikash. After our waiter leaves, Barron continues. “This is delicious. Sorry, but terrorist tales are going to have to wait for a while.”
We all dig in.
* * *
When we start to slow down, Barron puts down his fork. “That is good stuff. I’m going to continue talking while it settles a bit. Keep eating.”
Katya nods. “You don’t have to tell me twice. Why haven’t we been here before?”
“I don’t know... But we’ll be back. Anyway, thing one is positive. Frank said that after this crossing, after they arrest lots of bad guys here and in Canada, after it all goes public -- and they’ll see to it that it does -- they’re going to announce a new joint U.S.-Canada initiative. Both governments are going to start randomly stopping and boarding small craft that are crossing any of the Great Lakes. They will make it clear to the terrorists that they can no longer commandeer the boats of innocent citizens and use them to illegally enter the U.S. They will work together to put a stop to this.”
My turn to interrupt. “Wow. That is new. It’s great news. It means that boaters will be safe. Again.”
Kate agrees. Katya looks relieved.
“What were the other things, Barron.”
“Oh. Yes. Thing two is not a real big deal, I guess. I’ve got to tell Norman that there will be someone here to do a little work on my boat early next week. It’ll be Frank’s people in a borrowed Great Lakes Marine truck. They’re going to bug Bella Fortuna.”
“Makes sense. And thing three?”
“Thing three is not positive. It’s just plain scary.”
He pauses. People really do gulp. I saw him gulp. “At one point, I asked Frank what would happen if we just refused. If we just told you to tell them we won’t do this.”
Katya’s turn. “You didn’t tell me about this.”
“Frank said we don’t want to do that. A couple from Rochester tried that this summer. They refused to make a second trip. They told the terrorists to leave them alone, or they’d tell the Coast Guard.”
“What happened?”
“That night, their daughter and son-in-law were involved in a hit and run accident with a truck. Nobody was killed, but both were hospitalized with serious injuries. The couple got the message.”
CHAPTER 55
Sunday night, I get a call from Mike. Frank wants us all to meet Wednesday evening, and he wants Barron and Katya to be there.
“Where is this meeting to take place?”
“Ever hear of a place called Mitiwanga?”
“You’re kidding.”
“There really is such a place? I thought Frank was BS-ing me.”
“No, he’s not. We almost bought a home there.”
“Amazing. Supposedly, there is a big natural stone house just east of the Cranberry Creek Marina.”
“I know the house. I’ve often admired it..”
“We’ll meet there at 7:00 p.m.”
“That works for us. I don’t know about Barron and Katya.”
“Frank is calling them. One of us will call you if plans change.”
“Are you going to be there?”
“Yes. I’m in Ohio now. I told you I would not leave until this is done. I just can’t be seen hanging out with you.”
* * *
We pull into the drive at the stone house just before seven. Katya’s BMW is here. And a black Chevy Suburban. Really?
Frank meets us at the door. “Hello Kate; Captain. Come in.”
He ushers us into a great room overlooking the lake. Mitiwanga. It’s amazing; they seem to have venues, safe houses, everywhere.
Besides Frank and us, and Katya and Barron, Mike and Nathan Tremblay are here. We greet everyone. Frank sits us on a loveseat. “Can I get you coffee?”
We both say yes.
He pushes a cart over. It has all the fixings. “Would you mind making your own? You probably don’t want me screwing it up.”
As we’re doing that, Frank moves to the fireplace on the wall opposite the windows overlooking the lake. “Thank you all for coming. I don’t have a lot of new plans or information to share. I just thought that it was important that we all get together in advance of this weekend. I believe that if this weekend plays out as we expect, we will put a stop to this. I truly believe that we can use this incident to put an end to this terrorist activity.”
Nathan stands. “I just want to interrupt long enough to say thank you to Kate and the Captain. Thank you for agreeing to work with us to see it through. And I want to say thank you to our newest task force members, Katya and Barron. Thank you for what you’re about to do. This is a horrendous undertaking. We know that. Again, all I can say is, thank you.”
He sits. “Thanks, Nathan. Even though we don’t have a schedule yet, we do have a time line. One: the terrorists – probably Qasim – will notify our Captains when they are to be in Leamington.
“Two: you make the crossing. Leamington Municipal Marina will know when you’re coming. But for the sake of appearances, if you haven’t done it yet, you should call and make reservations.
“Three: the terrorists board your vessels. We will be listening and watching the events on both boats.
“Four: you depart for the U.S. Probably in the afternoon. By the way, the long-term weather forecast for this weekend does not look good.
“Five: you arrive at your destination. Probably right at sunset. We will know your destination as soon as you do. We will be waiting.
“Six: we allow the terrorists to depart. That will minimize any danger to you.
“Seven: we apprehend the terrorists at their stateside destination. A small caveat here; we may arrest them en route. It depends on where you land, and our ability to follow them. We will not take a chance on losing them.
“Eight: we arrest you as accomplices
. We’ll do this with lots of vehicles and lights and noise. This will ensure lots of attention and news coverage.
“Nine: after an appropriate time, we will leak and/or announce that you were innocent victims. You will be commended for your courage throughout your ordeal.
“Ten: you live happily ever after.”
Frank sits down. We all look at each other. Nobody says anything,
After a good three minutes, Frank stands up again. “I thought I’d give the timeline a few minutes to sink in. Questions? Comments? Complaints?
I raise my hand. “You’ll have enough time to be in place when we land?”
“We will be ready to mobilize before you leave. We can get to any landing location before you can.”
Barron raises a hand. He looks skeptical. “How do you make us look like innocent victims rather than accomplices?”
“Good question. We will announce that we have been watching Morning Star for some time. Their frequent crossings to Leamington looked suspicious. We suspected that they might be smuggling contraband. When we saw lots of passengers boarding Morning Star and Bella Fortuna, we concluded that you were ‘coyotes’ bringing in illegals. When we arrested the perps in both countries, we realized that this was a terrorist operation. Pictures on cell phones indicated that they were threatening your families.”
“Okay. Sort of.”
There are no more questions. The meeting deteriorates into a very informal chat session.
* * *
After almost an hour, Nathan bangs on his glass with his ring. We quiet. “I have to leave to go home. Thank you for coming. And please believe that we have a large number of people on both sides of the border working to ensure that time line step ten occurs. ‘You live happily ever after.’”
CHAPTER 56
We get home a little before eleven. We’re ready to have a drink, watch some TV, and just unwind.
As I’m changing into my pajamas, I glance at the B iPhone sitting on my night stand. There are texts. Three of them. I left the B iPhone home on purpose. I suspect that they can track it, and I didn’t want them to know that we were in Mitiwanga.
The texts all have one word: CALL.
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