Miguel shouted, “Enrique!” as he dove into the water. Garry let go of the rod, as it was being pulled from his hands, and vaulted over the transom onto the swim platform. Manny grabbed a life ring and threw it over to where Enrique was trying to swim back to the boat. Miguel reached for Enrique and grabbed for the life ring next to him. Once Manny was sure he had a hold of it, he pulled on the rope while keeping an eye out for the shark. There were pools of blood just behind the boat from the sailfish, and to his horror, several more shark fins snaked through the water.
“More sharks!” He shouted as he pulled harder on the rope. Miguel and Enrique were now only 10' from the boat as Manny also grabbed the life line and pulled. The water seemed to boil behind them as the sharks were fighting over the fresh kill. Garry reached for Enrique, and grabbed his life jacket, hauling him onto the boat. Enrique coughed up sea water and sat on the platform as Garry released the swim ladder and helped Miguel as he climbed aboard.
“Are you OK?” Miguel said to Enrique.
“Yes, I’m fine,” he said. He was shaking from the ordeal, and Miguel could not hide his concern about the incident. That will be the last time he will have Enrique try to land fish.
“Let’s get you inside and get dried out,” Miguel said. He, himself went into the cabin to get dry clothes.
Garry, Barry and Manny stood and watched the feeding frenzy as they felt they had enough fishing for the day.
Garry’s fish, had they landed it, would have been a little smaller than Manny’s. The natural jousting this caused between the two fishermen was expected, although between the two of them, Garry had caught the largest one at close to 200 lb. a few years ago.
Two
It was disappointing for Frederico when Miguel turned down the assignment. His regular team was finishing up another project, and he had no one to assign to this one. He could hardly contain his elation when Miguel called him back the next day and said he wanted to meet with him.
“Have you changed your mind?” he said.
“Possibly. We’ll talk about it later. I’m just heading into the city right now. How about tomorrow morning? We can meet for breakfast.”
“Excellent! Eight o’clock?”
“Sounds good. Meet you at Julio’s.”
“Julio’s it is,” said Frederico and ended the call. Julio’s was a small diner-type restaurant just around the corner from Frederico’s office and was one of the few places that catered to American-style breakfast dishes. Miguel and Anna would go there early before Anna started work.
Miguel called Anna and said they were coming home.
“That’s great,” she said. “What a lovely surprise. I wasn’t expecting you for another two or three days.”
“Something came up. I’m meeting Frederico tomorrow morning.”
“OK,” she said with a quizzical look.
“We’ll grab something to eat here, so don’t wait for us to eat. Should be home by about eight.”
“OK. Can’t wait to see you. How’s Enrique?”
“Can’t wait to see you too—and Enrique’s fine. Here he is.” He handed the phone to Enrique.
“Hi Mom,” he said. Miguel was gesturing to him with a finger on his lips. Enrique nodded in understanding.
When Enrique hung up, Miguel told him not to tell Anna about the drug smugglers nor the fact that he fell into the water. “You know how she worries.” They settled on a story and agreed that Miguel would tell it to Anna. When they got home, Anna greeted them with open arms at the door. Miguel had settled well into the ‘family’ way of life, but had to admit he missed the adventure and adrenaline from the action he experienced in the previous treasure escapade. He waited to tell Anna about the incident today—it would only upset her, especially since Enrique was with him. However, she would want to know why he was home early when she was aware that he had charters.
“So nice to have you home early,” she said.
“It’s great to be home. Sometimes I wish we could be closer together with our work.”
They had often discussed how they could be closer, but there was no charter business in San José and no employment opportunities for Anna anywhere near Puerto de Quepos. So they maintained the status quo. Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder, but Anna hated it when Miguel used that expression. I want you around me all the time , she would say.
Enrique had gone to his room, and Miguel and Anna were alone.
“We had a bit of an incident today,” he began as they cuddled on the sofa. She looked up at him.
“What incident?”
He told her of the drug boat, and how the druggies had stolen Annabelle , but no-one was hurt and they made it back to shore OK. Anna was horrified, even though Miguel had toned down the story.
“You make it sound like it is an every-day occurrence,” she said of the nonchalant way he related the story. “How did Enrique react to this?”
“He just took it in his stride. I think 12-year-olds see it as more of an adventure … something cool to tell his classmates.”
“I don’t like you getting into dangerous situations, and I especially don’t like it when you expose Enrique. What about your boat?”
“Seems I’m always getting my boat stolen,” he said, referring back to the previous adventure. “But since then I have placed a tracking device on it and am aware where it is.”
“Where?”
“In Nicaragua.”
“And you’re going to get it, I suppose?”
“That’s why I’m meeting with Frederico tomorrow. I will need his help.”
Anna was obviously not happy about that .
“Can’t you just leave it to the police or coast guard?”
“If it was still in Costa Rica, but they have taken it to another country, and I’m not all that confident with Nicaraguan authorities. Besides, it won’t be any worse than getting it back from the cartel, like I did before.”
Anna went quiet. She realized he had made up his mind, and that any attempt by her to change it could lead to an argument. Just enjoy him while he’s home , she thought to herself. They watched a movie on TV, then ambled off to bed and made love. It wasn’t as passionate as usual, mainly because of Anna’s concern about him going to Nicaragua. Miguel felt the lack of response and when it was over, he kissed her goodnight and rolled over, falling into a deep sleep within minutes. Anna lay there awake for a while and read, but before long, she too fell asleep with her iPad on her chest.
* * * *
Emilio, Pablo, and Sergio slowed just outside Puerto San Juan Del Sur and waited for the rendezvous boat to arrive. They rolled amongst the 2 - 3' swells as Emilio maintained sufficient steerage to keep the boat headed into the wind. Emilio had called Cris earlier and alerted them of their ETA. It was now late afternoon, and they had enjoyed an uneventful trip since they hi-jacked the boat. While they were aware the Costa Rican Coast Guard would be on the lookout for them, they deduced that they had lots of time before anyone reported the incident, since they disabled the radio on the boat. Emilio charted a course about 25 mi. west of where they intercepted the boat that would place them over 50 mi. from shore—well out of radar range of the coast guard. They were now in Nicaraguan waters, and the coast guard there was no doubt notified, but they had no vessels anywhere near Puerto San Juan Del Sur, the closest being Corinto over 120 mi. north. Pablo was in the upper station and called down to Emilio when he saw the boat speeding toward them. Cris had one of the fastest boats in the area—a 2008 40' Formula Fastech with over 1100 hp that could propel it to 85 knots. Additional fuel tanks that gave it a range of up to 1,000 mi. reduced the cabin size. They watched as the sleek craft leaped from the top of one swell to the other, crashing into the waves and sending sheets of spray as far as 100’. Most of Cris's compadres deemed him crazy, and they feared being a passenger in his boat. However, no authority would ever catch him, even if they had the speed to match his boat because they would not exceed the limits he would. He had inst
alled a harness on the pilot’s seat to keep him in place when he literally flew across the water, the boat pitching as it slammed into the surf. The nose of the boat settled in the water as Cris reduced power and manoeuvred in place next to Annabelle .
Cris had large inflatable fenders able to keep both craft apart as they tied them together. Sergio jumped onto the Formula and embraced Cris. Pablo came down from the upper station and entered the cabin, emerging a few minutes later with several plastic packages of a brown substance—Black Tar Heroin. He handed them to Sergio just as Emilio stepped out of the salon with more of the packages and handed them to Cris. This transpired for almost 30 minutes as they transferred the almost 100 lb. of Heroin, with a street value of over $10m. Sergio was about to get back onto the Annabelle when Emilio told him to stay with Cris. Sergio was about to object until he saw the stern look on Emilio’s face, a look that said just do it.
They untied the boats and once clear of the Annabelle, Cris buried the throttles, which caused Emilio and Pablo to chuckle as Sergio was propelled to the back of the boat. Emilio eased his own throttles forward after engaging the transmission and followed Cris into the harbour. They knew the boat would be inspected as soon as they entered the harbour whereas Cris’s boat would not have to be. Emilio selected a mooring buoy and manoeuvred up to it while Pablo used a boat hook to grab the mooring line and secure it to the boat. A small boat came out to meet them with a man in a white uniform handling the outboard. Emilio recognized him as Jorge, the local policeman/immigration inspector.
“Buenos Días, ” he said as Pablo fended off the boat from the swim platform and held it in place as Jorge got out and greeted Emilio.
“Buenos Días, Jorge,” Emilio said as they shook hands.
“Anything to declare?” Jorge said with a smile.
“Nada ,” said Emilio.
Emilio knew Roberto had arranged with Jorge to ‘look the other way’ when his men came into town. However, they agreed that they would not bring the drugs into town, even though Jorge knew about Cris and their off-shore rendezvous. From here, they would transport to the US by road .
Once Jorge had gone through the motions of checking the boat and passports, he left them alone. He had an issue with the ownership papers of the boat, but he listed one of the occupants as Miguel Diaz, even though he had no identification papers for him. However, no one ever looked at the forms he filled out and he was just required to send basic information once a month to Immigration.
Emilio and Pablo eased the tender into the water and got in, firing up the outboard and propelling the craft to the dock. Sergio and Cris were waiting for them when they arrived, and they all proceeded to the Restaurante Brisa Marinas for supper. When they had finished their meal, two dark-skinned men approached them and slid into the over-sized booth with them.
“Excuse me,” said Emilio.
“We have made reservations at the local hotel for you,” one of them said. “You are to stay there for two nights.”
“Who the hell are you?” asked Emilio, “and why should we spend two nights in a hotel here? We are heading back to Colombia.”
“Who we are does not concern you. As to why you should spend two days in a hotel? Well, maybe this will be a good enough reason.”
He reached in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, punched on it a few times and turned the phone to Emilio.
“She is pretty, no?”
Emilio’s face filled with horror. The picture was of his 10-year-old daughter.
“¡Mis Dios! ” he said.
The man turned the phone back to himself, punched it a couple more times and showed it to Pablo.
“Your fiancé I believe?”
Pablo’s face turned white.
The man played with the phone again and showed it to Sergio.
“Oh no!” he said as he recognized the face of his wife.
“Let’s not forget about Cris,” the man said. He reached into his pocket and held up a small device—a black box with a button on it and a switch. He flicked the switch and the button lit up. “When I press this button, your prized Formula boat will be sent to the bottom of the harbour. I guess I have all your attentions now?”
“What is it you want?” Emilio said. “The cartel will hunt you down if you hurt any of our families. ”
“Your families are quite safe. As I said, you are to go to the Villas de Palermo Hotel—here are your keys and room numbers. The shuttle is waiting outside the restaurant for you. Don’t worry, we will even pick up your tab here.”
The men looked at each other, not knowing what to make of the situation.
“And after the two nights?” asked Emilio.
“You will come back here and continue where you left off. Deliver your drugs to the Americans. You will not see us again.”
The two men got up from the booth to let them out. Emilio got up and said to the rest of them, “Let's go.”
They sauntered out of the restaurant and got into the minivan waiting outside.
“Roberto will kill us,” said Pablo. “Are you going to call him?”
“There is nothing he can do from Colombia,” Emilio said, “so what good would it do to call him? Let’s wait to see what happens in a couple of days. If the drug shipment is still OK, then we don't need to tell Roberto.”
“But what is going on?” asked Sergio. “Why do they want us to hold up in a hotel for two days?”
“I have no idea,” Emilio said.
* * * *
Miguel awoke early the next morning and jumped into the shower. He was out the door before 8:30 as Anna was preparing breakfast for her and Enrique. He kissed them both goodbye and said, “I gotta run.”
Frederico was waiting for him when he got to the restaurant.
“Good morning,” Miguel said as he slipped into the booth opposite him.
“Good morning,” Frederico replied in his normal jovial way. “So, what made you change your mind?”
He relayed the events of yesterday and Frederico listened with wide eyes.
“¡Mis Dios!” he said when Miguel had finished. “And you know where the boat is?”
Miguel pulled out his iPhone and tapped the app. The map came up with the pin and it hadn’t moved since yesterday. He turned the phone to Frederico .
“It’s at Puerto San Juan del Sur,” Frederico said. “Small town, nice place. I’ve been there once.”
“It shows the boat a little off shore in the bay,” commented Miguel.
“Most boats moor offshore. There’s no real safe harbour on shore and they can ride out storms better. Also, the draft can be shallow, so they tether bigger boats to buoys.”
“So, do you have anyone to help me get my boat back?”
“Jimmy’s available right now. I have the other team members just coming off an assignment in a day or two.”
“Jimmy will be fine. Is he here now?”
“Sure, I’ll call him in.”
Frederico punched a key on his phone and Jimmy answered. A few seconds later he poked his head around the door.
“Kyle! I mean Miguel!” Jimmy said with excitement. He took two big steps over to Miguel with his hand extended. “How are you?”
“Fine,” said Miguel as he got up and accepted Jimmy’s hand.
“So, what brings you to the agency? Coming to work for us now?”
“Not exactly, but I do need some help.” He relayed the story of the druggies absconding with his boat.
“Seems you can’t keep a hold of your boats,” Jimmy said in jest.
“Seems that way.”
“Miguel wants you to go with him to get his boat back,” Frederico said to Jimmy. “We can either book a hotel there or you can stay on the boat.”
“No need for a hotel,” said Miguel.
“Suits me,” said Jimmy.
“When can you leave?” Miguel asked.
“Anytime you want. I’m just finishing up paperwork, but nothing that can’t wait ’til I get back.”<
br />
“It’s about a six-hour trip,” said Frederico, “depending on traffic getting out of San José. That’s if you take Hwy 27 to Puntarenas and Hwy 1 through Liberia. Highway 4 will take you over seven hours.”
Miguel looked at his watch. “How about noon? That should get us there about 6:00.”
“Noon it is,” said Jimmy. “Pick me up outside the office.”
“OK, see you later. ”
After Jimmy had left the office, Miguel asked Frederico what the assignment was that he wanted him involved in.
“It was just a small investigation job here in San José. I was able to assign it to someone else … but I’ll keep you in mind if something else comes up.”
“What with Anna, Enrique and the charters, I have lots to keep me busy,” said Miguel. “But you never know …”
* * * *
Heavy clouds covered the sky, plus it was pouring with rain when Miguel pulled up just before noon and saw that Jimmy was waiting outside the office under the extended parapet. He dashed to the car, opened the passenger door, got in and reached for the seat belt as Miguel pulled out into the heavy mid-day traffic. The wipers were oscillating back and forth on the windshield in a mesmerizing fashion, trying to keep the glass free of water.
“So,” Jimmy said. “How are we going to do this?”
“Not sure yet ’til we get there. I checked the locater, and the boat hasn’t moved yet. Don’t think the thieves will stick around with a stolen boat for very long.”
“I guess you’re right about that, so we should be able to approach the boat without any problem.”
“I called the local police and they are going to check it out, so shouldn’t run into any issues. I have my spare keys with me and hope there’s enough fuel at least to get to a diesel filling station. There’s diesel fuel available there but we would have to haul it in jerry cans … could take us a while if it’s low on fuel.”
Death Drones Page 3