River of Ruin m-5

by Jack Du Brul

  Roddy knew that his friend deserved a full explanation, but every second he spent in the building increased his chances of being discovered. “Can you trust me?”

  “I’ve always trusted you.” Essie saw the sharpness in Roddy’s features, the tension in his body. Fear crept into her voice. “What’s happening?”

  “Hatcherly Consolidated, the company who built the new piers-”

  “I know who they are,” Essie interrupted.

  “Sometime tomorrow they’re going to explode a ship in the Gaillard Cut and try to seal the canal entirely.” The elderly woman didn’t even bat an eye. For Roddy to believe this story was enough for her. “I’m working with the American military to stop them. We know the name of the ship, only we don’t know when it’s transiting.”

  Esmerelda nodded her head so that the shiny wattles under her chin compressed like an accordion. “Now I see why tomorrow’s schedule was changed.”

  Roddy seized on her comment. “I need that manifest. I also need to know if a ship named Korvald has put in at any of Hatcherly’s facilities.”

  “The schedule hasn’t been posted. I heard that the personnel department is calling pilots directly to assign ships and times.”

  “Damn,” Roddy spat. “Is there any way you can help me?”

  Essie thought for a moment, leaning back in her chair so that the wood groaned like a schooner at full reach. She was not unaware of the danger. It took her another second to reach for the phone. “Hello, Juana, it’s Essie. Yes, fine, thanks. You? Good. And Ramon, how’s his arm? That’s too bad. Well, boys are like that. You should see some of the scars mine got over the years.” She paid little attention to Roddy’s mounting frustration as she continued chatting. “And you say the recipe’s better than your sister’s? I’ll have to try it. Thanks. Oh, Juana, I called to see if you’ve received tomorrow’s transit orders? Yeah, I know he’s keeping it secret for some reason, but I need to know tugboat requisitions to see how much fuel to send to Gamboa.” She paused to listen. “I don’t care who’s on the ships, just which are going through, and when.”

  Roddy knew that Juana was Director Silvera-Arias’s secretary. In a stage whisper he said to Essie, “Tell her that they only want to keep the pilots’ names secret, something to do with the attack on the car carrier a couple days ago. Make it sound like a corruption investigation.”

  Esmerelda nodded and passed on the lie, embellishing as she went. “That’s right. I don’t think any of the pilots are involved either but they’re investigating anyway. I assume that’s the reason there’s so much security here. What? Oh, great, thanks. Yeah, just use a pen to block out their names.” Essie sighed. “Can you do me one more favor and fax it to my office. The gout’s acting up again and I don’t want to be climbing more stairs than necessary.”

  Someone rapped on Essie’s office door and blew in without being invited. Roddy had no time to react, no place to hide. The interloper was Panamanian, wearing suit pants and a button-down shirt. He stormed straight to the desk, leaning over Roddy’s shoulder like he wasn’t even there. He was enraged. “Essie, where the hell is the replacement hydraulic ram I ordered?”

  “Later, Tomas,” Esmerelda said and continued her conversation with Juana. “I’m sorry, what did you say? Your fax is broken. Oh, all right. I’ll come up.”

  “Like hell you will,” the man named Tomas shouted. “You’re going to find that ram for me. You said it was here.”

  Before Essie could answer, the guard that had challenged Roddy earlier appeared at the door, drawn by the angry voices. “What’s the problem here?”

  “Nothing,” Essie said, the phone still gripped in her hand. She looked at Roddy. “Can you go upstairs to get that list for me, Mr. Herrara?”

  Roddy turned green. From the jaws of victory, he’d managed to snatch defeat. He didn’t dare go up to the executive suite, yet Essie was suddenly stuck in a bureaucratic snafu she couldn’t get away from without arousing suspicion.

  Tomas, the soldier, and Essie seemed to be waiting for him to answer. He gulped a mouthful of air. “Ah, sure. It’s, ah, the list of lubricant suppliers, right?”

  “Yup.” She pulled her hand away from the phone’s mouthpiece. “Juana, I’m sending someone up for it. He’ll be there in a second.” She hung up.

  “What’s this about changing lubricant suppliers?” Roddy’s cover story infuriated Tomas even further.

  “We’re just looking into it,” Essie replied placidly, doubtlessly wishing Roddy had come up with a better lie considering Tomas headed one of the physical plant departments. “Don’t worry.”

  The guard continued to stand at the door, looking from face to face. Like a condemned man, Roddy hauled himself out of his chair. Tomas barely gave him a chance to step aside before throwing himself in the vacated seat. He continued to berate Essie about his missing part.

  Roddy gave the soldier an assuring half smile, as if to say the argument was none of their business. The youth gave no physical reaction so Roddy stepped past him and started down the hallway. He could feel the guard’s eyes boring through his spine. A dozen yards down the hall Roddy slid into a secondary stairway. He climbed quickly. When he reached the third floor he headed in the direction of the executive suite.

  He had only met Juana a couple of times and he doubted he’d made an impression on the secretary, but still he was concerned she’d recognize him. He dreaded getting drawn into a conversation with her no more than ten feet from Silvera-Arias’s office. His hands were already shaking enough.

  The suite of executive offices had been recently redecorated and the air conditioning seemed incapable of drawing away the heavy smell of fresh paint. The chemical stench only increased the nausea Roddy felt as he stepped into the reception area. Beyond Juana’s immaculate desk he saw the door to Felix’s office. Even as he studied it, fighting the urge to run in and kill the bastard, it swung open.

  Felix Silvera-Arias looked smug and self-satisfied in his suit and glossy shoes. His hair was slick with brilliantine and his mustache was perfectly trimmed, a black slash above his tight mouth in the style of a cliched Latin lover. Roddy nearly turned and ran right then, and would have had another man not emerged from the director’s office. He was handsome by any standard, with a commanding presence that clearly defined him as a leader of men. That he was Chinese and looked like he’d just given Silvera-Arias a final set of orders left no question in Roddy’s mind that here was Liu Yousheng.

  The emotional surge made Roddy sway. Here was the man behind the whole operation and he had a gun tucked into his waistband. Should he do it? Could he do it? Before he could react, the two men strode past him without a glance.

  “Did Esmerelda send you?” Juana asked.

  “H’mm? Oh, yes.” Roddy turned to the assistant.

  She studied him for a moment, a spark of recognition in her eye. She glanced down at her desk, dismissing whatever feeling she’d had. “Here’s that list. As you can see I’ve blocked out the pilots’ names.”

  “Thank you.” Roddy took the proffered list.

  At the end of the hall he saw Liu and Felix talking in front of the elevator. With them were two other Chinese men wearing light jackets that did little to hide their concealed weapons. Roddy turned the other way, knowing that the operation would go on with or without its architect and that it was more important to get the six-page list to Mercer than exact revenge right now.

  He exited the building as quickly as possible, coming out at the back of the structure near the parking lot. A guard gave him only a passing inspection as he left.

  Walking a wide arc around the office, he reached his car a few minutes later. He didn’t bother to give its air conditioning time to vent the stifling waves of heat that washed from the interior. The steering wheel felt like a steam pipe and the gearshift a rock that had lain in a campfire. After tossing the gun under his seat, he jammed the car in gear and spun one hundred and eighty degrees on the quiet street.

&nbs
p; Rather than drive all the way across the snarled city, Roddy decided to find a shipping service that sent faxes for business customers.

  Once he passed the old Ancon Train Station and encountered the anonymity of heavy traffic he dialed the hotel with his cell phone. “It’s Roddy.”

  “Damn,” Harry said. “I was hoping it was General Vanik. I was going to tell him that Mercer’s been making eyes at his daughter. Hey, did you get it?”

  “I got it. I’m looking for a place to fax it to you. It’ll be quicker.”

  “I’ll tell Mercer when he gets back. He’s downstairs talking to that Barber woman. Any problems?”

  “Went fine.” Roddy still felt like the tension was going to make him ill.

  “Congratulations. I’ll make sure you’re given the secret decoder ring and learn our club handshake.”

  “Hold on, Harry.” Roddy checked his rearview mirror. With traffic so dense it was difficult to be certain but he thought he was being followed. There was little he could do to check. The street he was on was nearly bumper to bumper.

  “What is it?” Harry asked finally.

  “I’m not sure, maybe nothing.” Roddy scanned the businesses along the street. Usually he saw plenty of places that sent faxes, but now he saw nothing but bodegas and children’s clothing stores. He turned another corner, moving deeper into the city’s commercial district. The car, a sedan with windows tinted so dark he couldn’t see the occupants, stayed with him. “Listen, Harry, I’d better go. I think someone’s following me.”

  “Where are you?” the old man asked. “I’ll have some of the French pick you up.”

  There! A copy center. “Too late, stand by the fax machine.” Roddy clicked off his phone and bulled his way toward the curb. A Kuna woman on a rickety bicycle almost went down under his car.

  Roddy pulled a wad of cash from his wallet and jumped from his Honda. Car horns screamed as he tied up traffic by blocking half a lane. The bottleneck helped pin the pursuing car fifty yards back. He dashed across the sidewalk, clutching the manifest and the money in one hand. The copy center was busy, with employees in blue slacks or skirts and white shirts helping harried secretaries and students with their orders. On the long counter sat a cup of pens. Roddy hurriedly scrawled the fax number in Mercer’s room on the top of the shipping itinerary.

  As he did he noted the names of the first dozen ships scheduled to pass through the canal the next day. Oh my God! No! He looked again, more closely. None were named Gemini. None were even close to Gemini. He scanned the rest of the list. Nothing.

  “Can I help you?”

  Without looking at how much money he was handing the clerk, Roddy passed over the roll of bills and the six sheets of paper. “Please send this as quickly as possible.” He was near panic.

  Without waiting for an acknowledgment he fled the store. He pushed past several pedestrians, and when he reached the curb he dropped to his knees. The tension and fear and defeat spilled into the gutter.

  When his stomach was empty, he looked up, wiping his mouth. Two men stood over him. Locals. Dangerous-looking. Ex-Dignity Brigades for sure. An image of Carmen and the children flashed through his mind in the seconds before one of them reached down and plucked him from the sidewalk. Without a word they began to duckwalk him back to their car. People on the street parted as they passed, all looking at anything other than the pathetic man with vomit on his chin and the look of death in his eye.

  Radisson Royal Hotel Panama City, Panama

  Maria Barber made no effort to conceal her connection to Liu Yousheng and his operation, although she maintained that she didn’t know the Chinese were going to kill her husband at the River of Ruin. Liu had told her that he only wanted to frighten Gary off so he could get the treasure himself. Because she’d already admitted to tipping off Liu that Mercer was likely headed to the Pedro Miguel Lock, Mercer took her at her word. She was in so deep that lying about her involvement would gain her nothing.

  All that took place in the first five minutes of their interrogation. The next fifteen were spent trying to learn if she knew anything about Liu’s future plans. Rene was skilled at asking probing questions, yet it became clear that she’d never been taken into Liu’s full confidence. She knew nothing about his intention to disable the canal, had never heard of Gemini, and had no idea who else in Panama was involved beyond Felix Silvera-Arias and President Quintero.

  Sobbing, she summed up her role in one line. “Liu needed me at first, then just kept using me.”

  She wanted to explain what she’d been promised, but no one listening cared. Lauren, if anything, was even more dismissive of Maria’s motivations. One of Foch’s men remained in the room with her as the others took the elevator back up to Mercer’s suite.

  In the elevator up to their suite, Lauren said, “Why she prostituted herself doesn’t make her any less of a whore.” She let loose a string of profanity. When she’d regained her composure, she added, “I’m sorry, but women like that bitch sicken me.”

  “That is quite obvious,” Foch said with an impressed smile. “And your mastery of the curse does the American military proud.”

  “We have a problem,” Harry called from the sofa as soon as they entered the room. He was backlit by the afternoon sun. “Roddy phoned. He got the list and says it’s about to come over the fax machine. Then it sounded like he ran into trouble. Now he’s not answering his cell.”

  A chill ran through Mercer’s body. “What kind of trouble?”

  “Don’t know,” Harry admitted. “He said he thought he was being followed. That’s it.”

  Just then the fax line rang and the compact machine began to whir. Lauren was closest and read the list as the pages emerged. Her worried frown deepened as she passed each sheet of paper to Mercer. The six pages made a circuit of the room, frantic eyes looking for the name they sought. None found it. It was Bruneseau who stated the obvious. “There’s no ship called Gemini.”

  “Not even close,” Foch said.

  “What does this mean?”

  “I don’t know.” Mercer’s face had drained of all color. “Gemini must be a code name of some sort, not the name of the vessel.”

  Harry was the only one not entering the heated discussion that flew around the room. He sat calmly on the sofa, the list of ships’ names spread in front of him. Miguel sat at his side, looking along with him, although he could barely read English.

  “Even if your father gets us troops, what’s the purpose?” Rene told Lauren. “We have no target.”

  “We’ve got to do something,” she defended.

  “Guys,” Harry called quietly, repeating it louder and louder until his ragged voice cut off all arguments. “If any of you knew the first thing about crossword puzzles you’d see the answer right here.” He rattled the first sheet of paper.

  “What do you have?” Mercer recognized the triumphant gleam in his friend’s eye.

  “The ship that Liu’s going to use to blow up the canal.”

  Bruneseau’s impatience boiled over. “Out with it, damnit.”

  “It’s the Mario diCastorelli, a bulk carrier registered in Liberia.” He checked the manifest again. “Says she’s loaded with twelve thousand tons of scrap steel and cement, but that’s gotta be bullshit.”

  “Why do you say it’s the Mario diCaso-whatever?” Lauren asked.

  “DiCastorelli. It’s an old crossword clue.”

  “Mario diCastorelli is an old crossword clue?”

  “No. Listen, what is Gemini?”

  “It is a sign of the Zodiac,” Foch answered.

  “That’s right.” Lauren brightened “The twins.”

  Mercer saw it then. “Castor and Pollux. DiCastorelli.”

  Harry looked smug. “I’ve seen Castor or Pollux as a clue for Gemini a hundred times. This has got to be our ship. She goes into the canal at seven A.M. on the Pacific side.”

  “Good job, you cagey old bastard,” Mercer said amiably.

  “One mom
ent.” Bruneseau took the list from Harry. “I thought ships entered from the Atlantic in the morning.”

  “Usually, but if you’ll see here, there are a bunch of cruise ships returning to the Caribbean.” Lauren pointed out the names of several PANAMAX cruise liners. “They always transit in the morning so the passengers get the full show. Remember the one we saw before crashing the chopper on the car carrier?”

  “Jesus.” Mercer looked up sharply. “Any of them close to the Mario diCastorelli?”

  She double-checked. “No. There are a few freighters in between, Robert T. Change, Englander Rose, and the Sultana, a container ship.”

  “I wonder if that’s intentional, that maybe the canal director is trying to minimize the loss of life?” Harry commented. “You know, by isolating passenger ships from the explosion.”

  “I’m not looking for altruism from these bastards,” Mercer said sourly. He had to ask Harry the time. “There are only about eighteen hours before that ship enters the Gaillard Cut. We’ve got to get a plan together.”

  “I’ll call my father right now.” The phone rang as Lauren reached for it. “Hello. Roddy! Are you okay? Where are you? What happened?”

  “I’m fine. I’m in my car. I was stopped by an undercover traffic cop who saw me pull an illegal U-turn. I’ll be at the hotel in a few minutes. You or Mercer didn’t tell Carmen, did you?”

  “No, we didn’t tell her anything.” Lauren’s relieved laugh dispelled the anxiety in the room. “We got the list and found the ship. Harry figured it out.”

  “Thank God,” Roddy breathed. “When I read it I thought we were sunk.”

  “I have to get off this line,” Lauren told Roddy. “I need to call my father.”

  “Okay. Hey, I’m going to spend some time with my family before I come up.”

  “That’s a good idea. We’ll call you if we need you. I’ll send Miguel down too.”