Bluewater Revolution: The Twelfth Novel in the Bluewater Thriller Series - Mystery and Adventure in Florida, Cuba, and the Caribbean (Bluewater Thrillers Book 12)

by Charles Dougherty

  "You're sending him an answer?" Paul asked.

  "Yes. He asked me to acknowledge receipt. If I don't hear back from him immediately, I should assume he's dead and proceed accordingly."

  "What does that mean?" Dani asked. "Proceed accordingly?"

  "I don't know what he meant," Phillip said, "but I think we're doing okay. Ortiz has to be their mole, and we already found him. If he's really undercover with ICE, we may be able to use him the way Liz suggested. We'll have to wait for Luke Pantene to get back to us, unless somebody's got a better idea."

  ****

  Chapter 24

  "Okay, Luke," Paul Russo said to his old partner at the Miami PD. He had taken the call on his cellphone while he and Liz were preparing a light supper. After several platters of hors d'oeuvres, no one was too hungry. Paul listened for a couple of minutes and then said, "Sure, we're all here, and I don't think anybody's got any plans. Should we delay dinner until the two of you get here?"

  He listened to Pantene for a few seconds and said, "Okay, then. We'll go ahead. I'll tell the others you're coming. See you when you get here."

  "What's going on?" Liz asked, as Paul slipped the phone back into his pocket.

  "He connected with that woman at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She acknowledged that she had an agent undercover as David Ortiz, but she won't confirm his identity without seeing him. Luke's going to bring her by here this evening."

  "Are we feeding them?" Liz asked. "I have some more shrimp in the freezer on Vengeance."

  "No, he said it would be a while -- maybe a couple of hours. She's out in the field somewhere right now."

  "Should we get Ortiz off the boat and clean him up a little?" Liz asked.

  "Probably. I'd forgotten about him, honestly," Paul said. "I mean, I knew he was there, but ... out of sight out of mind. I've got supper under control if you want to go fill the others in."

  "Thanks. I'll do that," Liz said.

  A few minutes later, she and Dani, accompanied by Sharktooth, opened the door to Vengeance's forward cabin. Ortiz was in the same position he had been in the last time Liz had looked in on him, but he had regained consciousness. He twisted himself around on the v-berth to look at them, making muffled sounds as he tried to speak.

  Dani moved close to him. "Okay, David. We've got partial confirmation of what you told us about ICE. You aren't in the clear yet; we still need someone to confirm that you're who you say you are. Are you following me?"

  He nodded. "Mm-hmm."

  "I'm going to untie you, but don't do anything stupid. Sharktooth here isn't as gentle as Liz and I are."

  He nodded again, and Dani took a folding commando knife from Sharktooth's hand and flicked the 5-inch blade open with her thumb. Reaching across Ortiz, she cut the cord binding his wrists to his ankles, and he straightened his limbs, groaning as he stretched his cramped muscles.

  "Can you roll onto your stomach?" Dani asked.

  When he complied, she clipped the cord that held his wrists together, and then she freed his ankles.

  "It'll be less irritating if you take the duct tape off your mouth yourself," she said. "Or if your hands are still too numb, I'll do it. That's up to you. Can you sit up?"

  He rolled to a sitting position, his legs hanging off the side of the berth. Stretching his arms, he flexed his fingers a few times. Picking at a corner of the duct-tape gag with the nail of his right index finger, he got a grip on it and peeled the tape away.

  "You ladies sure know how to show a fella a good time," he said. "Any chance of a drink of water?"

  "Sure," Liz said, heading for the galley. "Coming right up."

  Dani watched as he probed the area over his right ear with his fingers. "Any signs of concussion?" she asked. "Nausea, double vision, anything?"

  "Nope. I've got a hard head, I guess. It's tender where you hit me, but there's not even any swelling. I'm amazed."

  "Dani, she an artist wit' a blackjack," Sharktooth said, grinning, as he cleaned his fingernails with the big knife that Dani had returned to him.

  Ortiz looked warily at Sharktooth as he accepted a glass of water from Liz. He took a couple of swallows and then drained the glass. "Thanks, Liz."

  "You're welcome." She took the glass from him. "More?"

  "Not just yet. What happens now?"

  "We're going up to the house," Dani said. "Paul and Liz are serving shrimp curry for dinner while we wait for a couple of people to come identify you."

  "Okay. I'm starved. Who's coming?"

  "Paul Russo's former partner, Luke Pantene. He runs homicide for MPD. He wants to ask you about Lupita's murder," Dani said.

  "Ask me about Lupita's murder? I'd think you'd be the one he was interested in."

  "Watch your mouth," Dani said. "I told you that you weren't in the clear yet." He locked eyes with her for a second. Then he nodded and looked away.

  "I don't know this Pantene. Who else is coming?" he asked.

  "The woman you're reporting to," Liz said. "I don't have a name, but Luke knows her. She was worried about you because you'd missed your last two check-ins."

  "Mary Weatherby," he said. "Known as the ICE Queen."

  "Charming," Dani said. "Does she know you call her that?"

  "Everybody calls her that. She thinks it's funny," Ortiz said. "About that shrimp curry ... "

  "Think you can walk okay?" Dani asked. "Sharktooth can give you a hand, if you want."

  "I think I'm okay, thanks, but stay close, Sharktooth, just in case."

  ****

  "What has Cruz learned from Ortiz?" Martínez asked. He and Maldonado sat in the living room of the safe house, sipping drinks. Martínez had brought back a bottle of Saint James Reserve that he'd found in a ramshackle liquor store in downtown Miami. They savored it over cracked ice, with just a splash of water.

  "Damn, this is good," Maldonado said, swallowing the sip that he'd been rolling around in his mouth. "Where's it made, anyway?"

  "Martinique," Martínez said. "What about Ortiz?"

  "Cruz hasn't heard from him yet; he thinks that's a good sign. Figures they're probably out in the ocean, out of cellphone range. He thinks Ortiz probably scored, as long as they've been gone."

  "Has Cruz tried calling him?" Martínez asked.

  "Yes. It goes straight to voicemail; like the phone's either turned off or out of range. Cruz is going to keep trying; I told him to call me as soon as he makes contact, no matter what time it is." He took another sip of his drink. "I can't believe the French can make rum this good."

  "They've been making it there a long time," Martínez said. "It's a favorite of mine from when I used to hide out in Fort-de-France. It's not easy to find in the States, and it's damned expensive. I only drink it on special occasions, to celebrate."

  "We're celebrating, then?" Maldonado asked. "You accomplished your mission?"

  "Of course, Willy. It was like that saying, shooting fish in a barrel."

  "So he shot himself. Same gun?"

  "Yes."

  "Did he leave a suicide note?"

  "No. That's too obvious. It's better to be subtle."

  "Then the gun is the only connection?" Maldonado asked.

  "Not that subtle." Martínez took a sip of the rum and smirked. "They might miss it. Remember who we're dealing with."

  "So there was another clue?"

  "A clipping from the newspaper about the kid, with the mention of his surviving children underlined. All wrinkled up in the pocket of his suitcoat that was hanging on the back of the chair. He'd been drinking, too. Poor old bastard." Martínez shook his head. "But now we only have Ortiz to tell us what's going on. We dare not use the director if we want to frame Olsen as the leak."

  "We should be okay," Maldonado said. "Worst case, we can go back to the original plan and snatch the girl."

  "I don't know; without Ortiz and Lupita, that might be a challenge. I don't trust those men we brought over for the attack to kidnap her."

  "That remind
s me," Maldonado said. "Cruz said Santos is happy with the new guy."

  "What new guy are you talking about?" Martínez asked.

  "Did I forget to tell you?" Maldonado asked. "Ortiz found a Haitian thug to take Lupita's place."

  "You didn't mention that. Is he sleeping with Cruz, like Lupita?" Martínez grinned.

  Maldonado laughed. "I didn't ask. Cruz says he's a real tough guy. He got crossways with a couple of our mercenaries from the D.R. over a misunderstanding about rent and kicked their asses."

  "What?" Martínez growled, a scowl on his face.

  "It's cool, José. No permanent damage, and Santos told him to stay away from them. They've been causing some problems with women, though."

  "I thought Cruz was providing women," Martínez said. "That was part of their deal."

  "Yes, he is. I guess a couple of the guys decided they liked the looks of some married women in the building. The husbands were getting upset. Cruz asked if you could tell them to chill out before Santos's new muscle decides to do it. He doesn't like people from the D.R."

  "But what about Santos? He's from there."

  "Santos is paying him. I guess that changes things for him."

  "Does Cruz know anything about this new guy?"

  "I don't think so. He had Ortiz send him straight to see Santos. François, his name is. Cruz didn't want any contact with him. But he did say Santos told him François has done some hard time in the U.S. prison system. He's got a lot of jailhouse tattoos. Oh, and his front teeth are filed to points. 'Like a vampire,' Santos told Cruz."

  Martínez relaxed a bit and took another sip of his drink. "Well, at least he doesn't sound like an undercover cop of some kind. Tattoos, maybe a cop would do, but filing his teeth? That's far out."

  ****

  "Are you all right, David?" Mary Weatherby asked, as soon as Luke and Paul escorted her into the living room of the villa where the others were gathered.

  "I'm okay," Ortiz said. "A little stiff, but I'll live."

  "Glad to hear it. I've been worried. The second time you missed your check-in, it alarmed me." She looked around at the others.

  "I've told Ms. Weatherby as much as I know about the situation," Luke said, "but we haven't met everybody, so I'll ask you to introduce yourselves. Mary?"

  She nodded to Luke. "Thanks. I'm Mary Weatherby, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Miami Field Office. We cover Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. I'm responsible for undercover operations; David works for me. Call me Mary."

  When everyone was introduced, Luke Pantene took the floor again. "Paul's told me a little about what's going on here, and I've passed that along to Mary. The two of us cross paths fairly often. Right now, MPD's investigating the murder of a woman named Lupita Vidal. That overlaps with an undercover investigation that Mary's running. ICE is looking into a human trafficking operation that appears to be run by Manny Cruz. Vidal worked as an enforcer in his organization. I know Cruz also popped up in your dealings with this Martínez character who claims to want to buy weapons to overthrow the Castro regime."

  "We picked up some pieces of that invasion plot through David's work with Cruz," Mary said. "Frankly, I blew it off because some of the exiles are always plotting to attack Cuba, one way or another. We know Cruz is nominally involved in Alpha-66. Now I hear from Luke that this one may be real. He says you've had some contact with the CIA about providing arms."

  "Let's clear that up," Phillip said, "or maybe add to the confusion." He explained how he knew Martínez and summarized what had happened so far. "As for the CIA, I dealt with them when I was a military attaché some years ago, and when Martínez approached me, I called the last contact number I'd been given. I ended up meeting with an unnamed agent shortly after the call.

  "The results of the meeting were leaked to Martínez as soon as it was over. Then I got a call from a former commanding officer of mine. He was also a mentor of sorts. He told me he had been brought in from retirement to act as my contact. I told him about the leak, and he explained that he was reporting directly to 'The Director.' They had discovered the leak and dealt with it by shortening the chain of command.

  "Over the course of several contacts with him, I realized that the leak was still there. I told him, and he passed that to the director. The last I heard from my contact, he was in some kind of trouble. I need to stress that I'm not sure what agency I was dealing with. My old mentor wouldn't confirm or deny that he was working for the CIA. That made J.-P. and me nervous about the deal."

  "Can you tell us who your contact is?" Luke asked, "Your mentor, that is?"

  "His name's Rick Olsen," Phillip said. "He's a retired Brigadier General."

  Pantene's eyes opened wide. "I'm sorry to tell you, but Rick Olsen's dead, Phillip. An apparent suicide, in the last hour or so. When did you last speak with him?"

  "We spoke by telephone a few hours ago. I wouldn't bet that it was suicide."

  "My guys are investigating," Luke said. "It's early days, yet. Did he have a cellphone that you know of? We couldn't find one in his effects, which is odd, these days."

  "Yes, but tell your guys to be careful." Phillip told them about the modified iPhone that Olsen had given him. "He had the mate to it. From what he said, making a call to any number other than the mate would cause the phone to explode. So would entering the wrong unlock code more than three times in a row."

  "Interesting," Luke said. "We didn't find any kind of cellphone. Can I have the one he gave you?"

  "I don't see why not," Phillip said, taking the phone from his pocket and handing it to Luke. "Where was he found?"

  "Bayfront Park. He ate a gun, right there on a park bench. Some jogger found him and called it in. Did he normally carry a pistol?"

  "I don't know," Phillip said.

  "So where do you stand with this arms deal?" Mary Weatherby asked.

  "On hold," Phillip said. "It's not going to happen without the government's blessing; that's the way we operate."

  "And you haven't received it?" she asked.

  "No. Olsen waffled when I pressed him." Phillip explained their 'damned if they did, damned if they didn't' dilemma. "We'll err on the side of not breaking any laws," he finished.

  "How quickly could you deliver," Weatherby asked, "if we turned this into a sting?"

  "More quickly than you could get approval, probably, assuming we agreed to participate. We aren't in the business of delivering military weapons to people inside the U.S., or anywhere else, without appropriate approval."

  "I understand that; Luke's vouched for you."

  "Are you still in contact with Martínez?" Luke asked.

  "I don't have a way to reach him," Phillip said, "but he has an uncanny way of knowing when to get in touch with me. I expect I'll hear from him soon. What should I tell him?"

  "Sandbag him, for the moment," Weatherby said. "We need to get our ducks in a row. Interdicting illicit weapons shipments is within my scope of responsibility. How big a shipment are we talking about?"

  "He wants to equip a light infantry battalion," Phillip said.

  "So we're talking about a few hundred people," Weatherby said. "We'll need a task force to handle that."

  "Well, he's talking about a first shipment to equip a platoon," Phillip said. "Deliveries would be spread out over several weeks, so we wouldn't be dealing with a battalion-sized force."

  "Okay," Weatherby said. "Good to know. That's more manageable, but I'll still want reinforcements. Do you know where to find Martínez?"

  "We tried to follow him after his last contact with Phillip," Paul said, "but he lost us at a gated community in Coral Gables. We couldn't very well follow him in there."

  "Where in Coral Gables?" Ortiz asked.

  Connie gave him the address. "Why do you ask?"

  "Cruz has a house listed for sale in there. I staged it for showing a few days ago, and then he pulled it, said he didn't want it shown yet. He didn't say why,
but I can guess. My bet is Martínez is holed up there."

  "There is another person who may be involved," J.-P. said. "Dani said you mentioned someone named Willy."

  "Yes. Martínez dropped out of sight a few days ago, and somebody called Willy started talking to Cruz about this invasion thing. But that's all I know. Just Willy -- no last name, nothing."

  "I think this must be Guillermo Maldonado," J.-P. said, "He is -- "

  The cellphone that Phillip had given to Luke Pantene rang, interrupting J.-P.

  Phillip said, "Why don't I answer it and see who has the mated phone?"

  Luke gave him the phone, and Phillip stepped into another room.

  "Speaking of calls, I'm overdue to check-in with Cruz," Ortiz said. "That is, if we want to keep my cover intact with him. I'll be vague -- tell him everything's going according to plan."

  "Do it," Weatherby said.

  "Where's my phone, Dani?"

  "In a drawer under the chart table. Come with me; I'll get it for you."

  ****

  Chapter 25

  "I heard from Cruz," Maldonado said. "He just got a call from Ortiz."

  "And?" Martínez asked.

  "Everything is going well. He spent the day on the yacht with the two women, and he's just finished dinner with the whole group."

  "Okay. What are his prospects with the Berger girl? Solid? Are they getting along?"

  "He's spending the night with her on the yacht," Maldonado said. "That sounds positive to me."

  "Yeah," Martínez said. "Good for him. Did Cruz give him the message?"

  "What message?"

  "About him being our main source of information now that Olsen is gone."

  "Yeah, he did. Ortiz is cool with that. He passed along some information already," Maldonado said.

  "Tell me."

  "Two things. There's a new arrival, a man from Dominica that they call Sharktooth. Ortiz says he's a giant. He couldn't get any other name for him, though."

  Martínez chuckled. "Yeah, he's a big man, all right. Nobody ever found out what his real name is."

  "You know about this man?" Maldonado asked.

  "Yes. He's part of that group from way back, one of Berger's partners for as long as I've been around. Get the word to Ortiz to watch his step. It's easy to underestimate Sharktooth. He's big and black, and he speaks mostly patois. Sometimes, he passes as a Voodoo houngan. He can give the impression that he's not bright. About the time you decide he's not all there, he'll blindside you."