by Scott Cook
“No swearing!” the girls chirped in unison and then giggled.
I turned on my heel and peeked around the doorframe again. Still no one, which was odd. I thought I heard vehicle engines starting, though. Including a large diesel.
I’d already fired nine rounds, so I dropped the mag and swapped it for a full one. Lisa came up and pressed herself to my side, setting off a tingling flush through my limbs. I gazed down, part of my mind still not accepting what I was seeing.
“You’re here with Clay?” She asked.
I nodded, “What about you? Any backup? Who sent you?”
“I’m alone,” Lisa said tightly. “This was supposed to be a recon. A quick in and out.”
“If I had a nickel…” I muttered, lowering down to one knee and shouldering my rifle.
Lisa giggled and nudged me.
“Who sent you?” I asked.
“I work for Miles Palmer.”
“Wha…?”
“It’s a long story,” Lisa said, reaching over to gently touch my face. She smiled at me. “God… this is like a dream. You have no idea how much… well never mind that now.”
I took a few deep breaths to compose myself, “you got ammo for that pistol?”
She nodded, “one more mag.”
“Not a problem,” I said, pointing at the bodies on the dirt floor down the hall. “These shitheads will provide all the equipment we need. Who among you can shoot?”
This last I’d said over my shoulder back into the room. Only Missy responded in the affirmative. I sighed.
”I’ll collect the rifles and ammo,” Lisa offered. She then darted forward and did so quickly and efficiently.
“Okay, gang,’ I said to the prisoners. “We’re gonna walk out the front door and see what’s what. You all stay behind us and do exactly what I say, exactly when I say it, ya’ hear me now?”
The steel in my tone left no room for argument. I saw nods from everyone, even the Australian woman who seemed the most shaken up. I wondered what had happened to her and decided I probably didn’t want to know.
Lisa and Missy armed themselves, cleared their weapons and indicated that they were ready. I led the way down the corridor and knelt by the open door, carefully scanning the camp.
I was surprised to find that it was empty. Or at least, empty of people. The fuel tanker still burned, although the flames were no more than a large campfire by then. All but one Jeep and a beat up looking pickup truck were gone, including the two and a half ton six wheeled truck.
“What the Christ?” I muttered. “They’ve bugged out!”
That didn’t mean there couldn’t be a sniper lurking somewhere out in the darkness, though. Yet nothing and no one seemed to move.
“Two, One… sitrep?” I asked over my comm.
Nothing. I repeated the message and still nothing. Suddenly I was afraid for Clay. Had he been hit?
“Señor,” A man’s voice I didn’t recognize burst in over the channel. “Do you read me, senor Jarvis?”
That was a bad sign. I gritted my teeth, “Who the hell is this?”
A laugh. It was a laugh I didn’t like. It held a distinct note of triumph, “This is your opponent, Manuel Garcia. Buenos noches. I congratulate you on your daring raid.”
“What do you want, Garcia?” I growled.
“Garcia…” Missy said coldly.
I glanced at her and she scowled but said nothing.
“Oh, I have what I wanted, señor,” Garcia said, laughing again, “and you got what you wanted. We both win, no?”
“The fuck you talkin’ about?” I exclaimed angrily, my Rhode Island coming out, “you think this is a fuckin’ joke, you greasy mothuh fuckuh?”
Now he really laughed. Uproariously like I’d just laid the world’s funniest punchline on him, “Such fire! Si, señor Jarvis. You got the woman and the girls, and I got your friend.”
My stomach lurched, but I managed to get my voice under control, “They’ve got Clay… Why, Garcia?”
“I need him for my own reasons,” Garcia informed me. “And in case you’re planning any more heroics, amigo… I also have the boy.”
A string of filthy oaths was practically ripped from me. I actually started dancing with rage as I swore at him. He only laughed.
“You’re all free to go,” Garcia said amiably. “I’ve even left you additional transportation. Buenos noches, cabron.”
There was a click as the channel went dead. I shouted Garcia’s name but got no response. I turned and beat my fists against the door in impotent rage. Thankfully the heel of my fist and not the knuckles.
Several arms grabbed me and wrapped around me. I stopped my tantrum and turned to Missy, whose eyes blazed as hotly as mine.
“Don’t lose it on me now, Scott,” She said, half ordering and half pleading. “I need you. I need you to help us get them back.”
I suddenly felt deflated. Missy hugged me fiercely. Then Lisa joined in. The feeling of her body against mine sent a strange tingle up my spine that I wasn’t ready for.
“We’ll get them back,” Lisa whispered to me and to Missy. “If anybody can, Scott, you can.”
I sighed and collected myself, “all right… let’s see what we’ve got and get the Christ outta here…”
Chapter 15
There was one working Jeep left in the compound. It had half a tank of fuel. If the Jeep Clay and I had come in was still operational, that would allow me to squeeze all ten of us in and drive back to Costa Rica. It would be tight, but I had a feeling nobody would mind very much.
“Okay, listen up everyone,” I said after a thorough inspection of the Jeep, specifically under the hood. “There are ten of us and two Jeeps. It’s gonna be cozy, but in a couple of hours, we’ll be in good shape. I know a man who’s building a state-of-the-art facility along Lake Arenal in Costa Rica, just thirty miles away. You’ll all be safe there and we can help you get in touch with an embassy or your families or whoever.”
“What if those men come after us?” Julie, who was apparently the oldest of the three blonde sisters asked. Her tone held a note of condescension in it.
I frowned at her, “What if they do? We can only deal with what we’ve got, Julie. Nothing can be gained from useless speculation. We drive out of here and get to safety. If something comes up along the way… we’ll deal with it.”
Julie struck a defiant pose with her hands on her hips. Even in the moonlight, I could clearly see that she was glaring at me. I had the impression she was a girl who was used to getting things her way.
“First of all, who put you in charge,” Julie carped. “That sounds like a real stupid plan. Just see what happens? You know, my sisters and I have been prisoners for—“
“Shut the fuck up!”
This enraged shriek came from the Australian woman. I think we were all surprised by that. By the look on Missy’s face, though, she was far more shocked than I was.
“She’s right,” Missy cut in. “You’ve been nothing but a bitch since I met you, Julie. You don’t like Scott being in charge, then you’re free to go your own way. There’s a truck over there you can have.”
“I thought it didn’t work?” Asked Tanya, another of the sisters.
“Right,” Lisa added, “but maybe you three tough girls can get it running again. Might take you a while, but what the hell? It’s not like you’re alone… in a recently abandoned Nicaraguan rebel army camp… at night… unarmed…”
That didn’t sit well. I was already tired and tired of this shit. I wanted to help these folks but I was in no mood for bickering or dissent.
“Look,” I said in a hard, no-nonsense tone, “until we reach safety, I’m the Captain, got it? You do what I say and when I goddamned say it. I don’t want to hear arguments. I don’t want to hear opinions. Anybody who can’t get with that program can fend for themselves. End of discussion. I’ll take Missy and the girls in my jeep. One of you sisters can ride with me… not you, Julie… Lisa will drive this
Jeep and follow us with the Jeffries and the other two sisters. My vehicle is a half mile away, so that gives the five of you plenty of time to argue about who rides shotgun. Let’s mount up.”
A discussion then ensued regarding who would ride with me and who would sit where. As it did, I led Lisa away from the group and around the back of the disabled pickup.
We stared at each other for a long moment. Lisa seemed shy and hesitant to speak, so I went first.
“It’s good to see you.”
She looked up at me, her sea blue eyes reflecting pale moonlight, “Do you hate me?”
I smiled down at her, “Why?”
She drew in a shuddering breath and suddenly seemed on the verge of tears, “Because I left so suddenly and without warning.”
“I was shocked,” I admitted. “If I’d known that the night we spent on the boat in Bradenton Beach after the rescue was the last time I’d see you… well, I don’t’ know what I’d have done, but I was surprised to find you gone two days later.”
“But you must really be mad,” Lisa went on, “especially after what happened with Nikki Sloane…”
I put my hands on her shoulders, “Lisa… you did what you had to do. You didn’t play me. I told you even before you left that you owe it to yourself to do what’s right for you. In the immortal words of the great Ziggy Marley, ‘You got to be true to yourself.’ You had to go find what you were looking for, to find out who Lisa is, as I recall. And apparently Lisa is an international woman of mystery?”
She chuckled and then threw herself into my arms. More than that, she leapt up and wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. Her thighs gripped me tight and I could feel the heat of her groin pressing, grinding against me.
She kissed me fiercely, her tongue probing desperately and hungrily. Her breathing grew heavy and she moaned repeatedly. I was as surprised by this as I was to feel her tears on my face.
Finally, she pulled back and sniffled, “You don’t know how hard it’s been… how much I’ve thought of you… God, I meant what I said in that letter… you’re overwhelming… all I want right now is to make love to you. Fuck I want you… I’m so sorry…”
I understood her feelings… or at least the chaotic nature of her feelings. My own emotions were surging and flailing all over the place, too. I didn’t expect to see her again, especially in the jungles of Nicaragua. Neither did I expect to get this kind of reaction.
“Let’s talk later,” I whispered huskily, my own desire making itself felt uncomfortably in my jeans. “I want to get out of here. I don’t know what Garcia might have planned. How did you get here?”
“Motorcycle,” Lisa answered. She relaxed her grip and slid down my body and giggled, “I drove up on the Pan American Highway from Panama. I found a half-overgrown track a few miles before the Nicaraguan border, though. I sort of… circumvented… the border crossing.”
I grinned, “So did we… I wonder if we can get the Jeeps down your track. I don’t want to try to go through a border crossing now, either.”
She frowned, “It’d be tight, but I think we can do it.”
“Do you want to retrieve the bike?”
“Nah. Your plan is better. Let’s get the Christ out of here.”
I chuckled, “Why are you here, though?”
Lisa sighed and seemed to lose some of her good humor, “It’s a story… but I’m investigating for Miles. He wants me to find his ex-wife.”
I chuffed, “That’s why I’m here, it seems. Okay, we’ll compare notes later. Let’s get moving.”
Lisa grinned and brushed her hand across the tight fabric near my zipper, “Notes, huh? Looks like you’ve already got the pen ready.”
I laughed, “You sayin’ I’m a pencil dick?”
She snorted, “Yeah, that’s what I’m sayin’.”
Lisa started getting her crew loaded up and I led Missy and the girls along with Tanya, the middle sister, back down the gravel road to my jeep. There was little conversation on the seven or eight minute walk. When we got to where I hid the Jeep, I once again did an inspection.
“Looks good,” I said. “You guys decide where you want to sit. There’s some food and water in the back.”
Lisa drove up just as we all got in.
“You know the way back to Green City?” she asked from the driver’s seat.
“Yeah,” I said, “Pretty easy shot. I’m thinking that we take your… shortcut… and then take the Pan American, though.”
I felt that taking the exact same route back might not be a good idea. Garcia could have arranged any number of ambushes on that remote and narrow dirt road. Instead, I kept going east until we came to what was little more than a game trail. Lisa led the way, our Jeeps scraping through underbrush and the errant tree branch until we broke out of the forest on the Costa Rican side of the border.
We got onto the Pan American Highway. It would add twenty miles or so to the trip, but we could also move faster. I could then call Miles or Umberto on the sat phone and get directions once we were close and safely in Costa Rica.
Missy sat in the front seat next to me and was quiet until well after we’d gotten onto the highway. A quick glance over my shoulder showed that Tanya and the girls had fallen asleep. The blonde was in the middle and seemed perfectly fine with Aubrey and Shelby’s heads on her shoulders.
“You okay?” I asked Missy quietly.
She glanced over at me, “yes and no… I’m glad the girls are safe, but now my husband and son are prisoners.”
I nodded, “Yes… but I think they’ll be okay.”
“Why?”
“I can’t be sure, but Garcia said he got what he wanted… that meant Clay. What could Clay offer them, really? The only thing I can think of is that his Marine Corps training might be of value to Garcia.”
Missy nodded, “Yeah… he’s got an army to train I guess. Makes sense, but why Clay of all people? I mean how does this Garcia guy know about any of us for that matter?”
“That I don’t know,” I said, although I was starting to have an inkling, “Matter of convenience, maybe? Declan is just there to keep Clay in line. A bonus. He might not be so cooperative otherwise. From Garcia’s point of view, he got lucky there… thanks to me.”
This last I said barely above a whisper. I was feeling no small measure of guilt over letting Declan run off into the night.
Missy reached out and took my hand, “Don’t blame yourself. You and Clay both agreed on the plan. Maybe that was the plan all along, too. To get us all separated and so Garcia could snatch up what he wanted… it doesn’t matter now. All that matters is getting them back… and I don’t know anybody better to do it than you.”
I smiled thinly at her, “Thanks. You don’t know how much that means… you not being pissed at me.”
“It’s not your fault,” She stated, “and I’m grateful that you’re here. I don’t know what I’d do otherwise… you really think Clay and Dec are okay?”
“You said Garcia didn’t harm you… even got indignant at the idea,” I offered, “and if we’re right, then you and the kids were only leverage. Think about it… what would normally happen if true white slavers or drug Cartels would’ve captured you all?”
Missy shivered and cast a quick glance into the back to confirm that the girls were indeed asleep. She leaned closer to me and whispered, “Declan would’ve been killed and the three of us females… would’ve been… raped.”
I grimaced and nodded, “Right. And by extension, Clay would’ve gone insane. Garcia would’ve turned a potential asset into an enraged madman bent on revenge. An enraged special forces Marine. No, if Garcia got what he wanted and has Dec as well, then he won’t harm Declan for the same reason. I’m worried about them and not happy about this… but I’m not truly afraid for either of their lives or welfare just yet. I think we’ve got time and room to maneuver.”
Missy visibly relaxed. After a long moment she smiled, “Speaking of maneuvers… what w
as all that with Lisa back at the camp?”
I shrugged and grinned, “I’m pretty cute. Women always do that.”
She laughed, “How are you doing with the whole Lisa thing?”
I scoffed, “You’re kidding, right? I’m a bit flummoxed, a little bewildered, a smidge out of sorts you might say. In short… I’m all in a heap.”
Missy grinned, “You didn’t see this coming.”
“Nah, I figured she’d show up. I mean who wouldn’t expect his ex-girlfriend to suddenly show up in the middle of the night in a Nicaraguan rebel army camp while we were both rescuing you and your kids. Happens all the time. Christ…”
Missy laughed, “I’m glad you can joke about it.”
I blew out my breath, “It was a shock. Probably a shock to you, too. As much as my mind is reeling from the surprise, I also can’t help but wonder what’s going on? Running into her like this is one of the biggest coincidences I’ve ever experienced.”
“And I know how you feel about coincidences.”
“Yeah… no such thing when it comes to a case. She’s here for a very specific reason. And I intend to find out what it is. I’m also a little worried.”
“Why?”
I sighed, “Because something stinks about this whole deal. Those rebels didn’t take you guys randomly, as you just noted. Somebody is behind Garcia.”
Missy was silent for a time, “You think Andrea? I’ve met her, Scott… she’s… she’s pretty ambitious to put it lightly.”
I frowned, “That’s what I hear from several sources. And it certainly looks that way, doesn’t it? According to Miles, the deal he’s building in Costa Rica is only the trial Cuidad Verde. It was Andrea’s idea, he says. But the real Green City is ten times the size. This one is just a trial run to work the bugs out of some of the new tech. His feeling is that Andrea wants to build it someplace else in Central America and use it as leverage to gain control or controlling cooperation of that country’s government. Then she can use that success to sell the concept all over the world and make billions from it.”
Missy pondered that for a moment, “Like in Nicaragua, for example. So what… she’s funding these rebels in exchange for cooperation should they succeed in taking over the country?”