by Matt Lincoln
I watched them wait for a door to open on the deck of the ship in question and call out to another man who came out with his back to me. I didn’t need to see his face, though. The well-toned physique and the tailored suit clued me into his identity without any problem. I got some genuinely nice images of Agent Nace onboard that ship, talking to these other guys. I still didn’t know what it all meant, but at least I knew that we were fishing in the right pond.
There was some gesturing at each other from the three men, and then the youngest one started to climb on board with the bags of food. I lost sight of him for a minute or two until he reappeared on the upper deck. He briefly stopped and engaged with Nace before he disappeared again down below deck with the food.
Nace and the man on the dock were still conversing, but the wind direction was obscuring everything they said. I pulled out a set of binoculars and focused them on the delivery guy on the dock. Years of training and working with Rosa had given me the ability to read lips, which was an effective way to get intel in situations like this.
I made out a few phrases, but this man seemed to slip between Portuguese and English too quickly for me to keep up. I did read “staking out the airport,” “nominal risk,” and then “potato salad with” something, but I guessed that wasn’t too important. I continued in my attempt to read lips, but this conversation didn’t last long. Soon enough, the young man reemerged from below deck and was making his way back to the docks.
The older guy nodded a lot, and then Nace headed back inside the boat, and the pair on the docks turned and left. They walked calmly and leisurely along the same way they’d come and even stopped to greet other nighttime fishermen and employees of the harbor. From my viewpoint, they looked comfortable here, as if they had been using this routine before tonight.
Once I was assured of the solitude of the area, I turned Wraith back on and got ready to head out. I made a quick pass to see if I could locate the two men once I had lost sight of them, but I got nothing. I was okay with that, as I was just checking for extra data.
I made my way back to Biscayne Bay and found that secluded marina that I could see from my condo. There was a night watch who eyed me as I shut Wraith down and waved him over. I’d already bribed him to let me station here tonight without the proper paperwork. I slipped him an extra fifty dollars as thanks for keeping such a late hour open for me.
I got Wraith into her covered hut and quickly tarped her over. I tied down everything that I could reach and then stepped out to meet the guard. He handed me the lock and keys, and I secured the sliding door behind me. The guard had been watching me intently, which was his job, I understood that, but my last-minute decisions put Wraith at a bit of a risk. I was going to need to secure his secrecy, and that usually involved a lot of cash. Oh well, at least it was money well spent.
It was already into the early hours of the morning by now, and I hated to wake up Eve, who was no doubt sleeping peacefully in the spare room of the condo. Even if I was extremely careful and quiet, there was a decent chance of me waking her up unintentionally. I decided to walk around for a bit and get a feel for the area until I wouldn’t feel bad about waking her.
This part of Biscayne Bay was peaceful at this time of night, or morning, whatever you wanted to call it. There were tiny hideaway patches of parks and gardens and public spaces where a lone guy at night wouldn’t cause too much of a distraction, or at least I hoped. Then I remembered that I was dressed all in black and probably looked to a regular person to be up to no good. So much for not wanting to wake Eve. I decided that it was better to possibly disturb Eve’s rest than to get reported as a suspicious individual skulking around the area. I quickly headed for home.
I made it up to my door and gently, ever so quietly, turned the key to get inside. To my surprise, I found Eve in the kitchen, baking or cooking something with her back to me. She had her laptop set up on the counter and was playing music loud enough to mask my entrance sounds. Not wanting to scare her, I knocked loudly at my open door to get her attention.
Eve turned around and saw me. A smile grew wide on her tired-looking face, and she set down the spoon that she had been holding to practically jump into my arms. She smelled like vanilla, cocoa powder, and butter. I must have interrupted her dessert making.
“Sorry,” I mumbled into her neck. “I would have called to let you know that I was heading up, but I thought that you’d be asleep by now.” I hugged her tightly and noticed how good she felt in my arms at this instant. She was warm and comforting, and just what I needed.
Eve pulled back and kissed me quickly. “I couldn’t. I was maybe just a little too worried about you, so I decided to do something constructive and make cookies.” She let go of me and tried to dust herself off. It was then that I saw evidence of the baking all over her clothes.
“Yeah, I know,” she admitted sheepishly. “The flour sack kind of exploded when I tore it open, and now I have to clean it all up. But I promise not to leave your kitchen a complete mess.” Eve took a good look at me and changed the subject. “So, how did your covert op go tonight? Unless you can’t tell me, in which case I’ll talk more about cookies if you’d like.”
I chuckled at her. “It went as expected, nothing too out of the ordinary. The team will be here in the morning for breakfast,” I checked my watch, “which isn’t too long from now, I see. Sorry for the short notice.” I wished that I’d had more time with her now, but that just wasn’t in the cards.
Eve snapped to attention. “Oh, okay then.” She began to clean up the counters and put away her supplies and baking goods. “Let me finish these up, and I’ll make way for some breakfast. I can do pancakes or crepes or---”
Rosa’s request echoed in my mind. I quickly changed my tactics. “Hey, don’t worry about any of that. I’m going to get some stuff in a bit. I will ask you, rather nicely,” I said as I swooped up behind her and gathered Eve into my arms, “to make us all some coffee in a bit, though.” I started to kiss her neck. This almost felt too good to be real, holding her like this, us together in my kitchen, talking about regular things.
“I can do that. But only if you ask nicely.” We kept this up for a few more minutes until it was getting to the point where more was going to happen if we didn’t step away. Knowing that we were both tired and under a time crunch, I opted for the latter, reluctantly.
“I’m going to go grab a shower and get changed. I’ll let you finish those cookies.” I gave her one more quick kiss on her neck. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.” I took myself down the hall, wishing for more time. That was something I couldn’t manage, no matter how hard I tried.
After a long, hot shower, I walked back into the living area to find Eve finishing up with her baking and cleaning off the last evidence of her efforts. The aroma of chocolate cookies filled the condo with a semblance of home and a welcoming atmosphere. It was cute and startling at the same time.
Eve’s smile met mine as she swept past me in the hallway. “My turn. I can’t let my secret of bathing in flour to make the best cookies get out. Otherwise, everyone will be doing it.” We brushed hands for an instant before she went her way, and I headed into the rest of the condo.
Before Eve had started on her cookies, it looked like she had cleaned every inch of the living space. I felt bad for causing her so much worry and being the cause of her nervous cleaning experience. I’d have to make all of this up to her when it was all over.
I remembered I had told myself that before, too, and not so long ago. I flopped down onto the couch to gaze helplessly out of the window and down at the beach and water, only barely starting to come to life in the pre-dawn. I needed to get this Arik situation resolved. It was taking so much and so long. He needed us to help him once and for all.
“Jake? Hey,” Eve’s voice startled me awake. I didn’t even know that I’d dozed off. “Why don’t you go lay down for a bit? Get a nap for a few hours?” She was easing me up, but I resisted. I shook my head, and it felt
like a lead weight. Eve was trying but was unable to do more.
“I’m alright. Let me get up and move around. That will get the blood pumping again.” I stood up off the couch, too woozy for my own good. “You haven’t, by any chance, thought about making that coffee yet, have you?” A good, old dose of caffeine should fix me up well.
“I will. But you still need some rest.” Eve was getting more insistent now, pulling me toward the hallway against my will. “Please, just go lay down for a little while. It’s not even sunrise yet. You can take a nap, and I’ll set the alarm for you. Would that work?”
“What about you?” I countered her. “You haven’t slept, either. Maybe we should both go lie down and rest. I know a certain place that is big enough for both of us.” I grinned and knew that I sounded stupid and sophomoric. I didn’t care. I was going to blame it on exhaustion later, anyway.
Eve was smirking, and I could tell that she was tempted to take me up on the offer. Instead, she hauled me off to my bedroom and led me to the bed. “You rest. I’ll get you up before anyone else arrives so that you can get whatever food you want. And there will be coffee, piping hot and ready for mass consumption soon enough.” She was at the door and closing it before I could object.
I laid there for maybe ten seconds before I closed my eyes. A tiny, little insignificant nap would only make me feel better. I knew that. And then, there would be a bunch of planning to do and an operation to fine-tune.
Chapter 31
Jake
By the time I got back from the breakfast run, Doc and Xavier were already there and setting up. Xavier had claimed the table once again and was busy searching for whatever on his laptop. Doc and Eve were talking over the Judge’s financials in the kitchen when I interrupted with the food.
“Here,” Doc said as he unloaded the sacks and separated the different foods, “let me see what wonders you have brought us today, Header.” He was in a good mood this morning. “Beignets, banana turnovers, I don’t know what those are, cinna-rolls, and… what? No bacon?” Doc looked up, looking quite disheartened.
“Those things that you couldn’t identify? Bacon and cheese scones. You’re welcome.” I knew my audience and tried to never disappoint them. “I tried to get enough for everyone to try everything at least once. If that doesn’t work, then you’re on your own next time.” It was an idle threat, and we all knew it.
There was a final knock on the door which had to be Rosa. Eve got it for me as I tried to work around Doc in settling the buffet meal into some kind of order. “Morning, Rosa. How are you? Oh, hello, Kippy.” Eve’s tenor dropped and fell flat.
I swiveled around to see the duo standing in the outside hallway. Doc and Xavier had taken notice as well, and we all looked at the front door. Rosa walked in as she was expected and headed straight for the dining table. Kippy, however, hung back, waiting.
“I wasn’t planning on crashing your breakfast party, copain. This was all a coincidence. I just wanted to let you know that Nace had seized several ships last night. He has entire crews down at a few docks scrubbing the ships and taking them apart.” Kippy waited for any of us to respond.
“Now, that is interesting.” That must have started incredibly early this morning after I had left them. “Any word on what’s being found?” It could be helpful to know what they were looking for exactly and what Nace deemed as important enough to do this kind of action.
“Sorry, my eyes don’t cover the inner workings of the DEA. Not yet, anyway.” Kippy smiled and waved as she started to walk away down the hall. She was looking as tired as I felt, and I wondered if she had been doing her own reconnaissance as I had. “Enjoy your food, folks. See you later.”
We shouldn’t let her leave. She may have seen more. Rosa rapidly signed at me, but I shook my head. I wasn’t going to bring her into this without good reason. If our two groups were somehow being set up, then we were better off working this separately. It would make it harder for the Judge to imply that we colluded.
I motioned for Eve to close the door before I said anything aloud. Once I heard the door click shut, I started up. “We’re all safer if we keep our intel apart and unique. Rosa? I have thought about what you told me last night, about what you and Xavier have worked up about us getting framed somehow for Arik and this whole mess. I think that makes as much sense as anything else here. So, we’re going to have to think in those terms going forward.”
Doc looked confused at hearing this. “Wait. What? Now you all think this is a frame job? When did this happen?” He had left his vigil over the food and faced Rosa, looking almost stung at being the last to know.
Xavier replied, ready to share what he’d learned from his constant research. “Yesterday afternoon, at the garden place, after everyone separated and went their own way, Rosa and I were hanging out, and I just sort of let it slip that maybe the reason the Judge is hiding so much is that she’s using us.”
“I just keep going back to the same points, and it feels funny,” Xavier explained. “Two very different under-the-radar, off-the-books teams looking for her son? Why? It doesn’t add up unless you’re trying to hide more than you’re showing. So, I did what I do, and I started looking deeper.”
Rosa nodded at him, urging him on. I got the impression just then that he’d been worried about bringing this to our attention before. He found it easier to talk to Rosa, and for that, at least, I was glad.
“We all know that Arik likes to steal stuff and give it to his friends, or to those he wants as friends. He has a pattern. I looked it up.” Xavier had gone into the kitchen to gather up a plate of food as he spoke. “He loves phones and jewelry. He’s been flagged at several Columbus pawn shops for passing off stolen merchandise, but he never gets into trouble over it. Like someone is keeping his name out of the news.”
“Mommy coming to his rescue again? Covering up for him?” Doc sneered and went to get his own food. I figured this would probably go over better with a meal anyway, so I did the same.
Doc was shaking his head at this news. “That’s her pattern, then. But what changed this time? If she sent him off overseas and this was a legitimate abduction, even by a group trying to double-cross her, then why doesn’t she turn around and blame them outright? That would seem to only strengthen her case and reputation.”
“Arik must be the actual problem,” Eve said with a growing concern in her voice. “Phones and jewelry, you said? These are items that can be credited for insurance if stolen or lost. The Judge has a habit that, damn, I didn’t see it until now, but she’s always got a new cell. It’s like, I just thought that she was losing them or dropped them a lot, but…”
Maybe they’re being stolen? Rosa suggested. Eve, could you tell if they were burners or plan phones? Going through that many, I can’t see anyone buying the newest models all the time. I had the same thought. It sounded like the Judge and Arik were causing their own problems on some level.
“I couldn’t tell you.” Eve shrugged. “They weren’t the fancier models. I know that. It would make sense for them to all be burners. Untraceable, disposable, that sort of thing. Arik could have given those away like candy when she finished with them.”
“So then maybe he picked up the wrong one, or she forgot to erase some sensitive info on it. Something that could get them both into trouble?” I was trying to think this through quickly. “Maybe something that he took with him to the Azores?” It hit me like a brick. “Could Arik and Mia have been kidnapped for their phones? And then when Kippy tossed them, they kept Arik around to find them?”
“No…” Doc’s long, drawn-out response hit us all. “That means that Kippy has one of the Judge’s old cells? Then why bring Arik into Miami? No, it has to be something in that bag that got lost. The one you were telling us about, Eve.”
Eve was nodding, and I think we all concluded the same things around the same time. “That missing bag has what the Judge wants in it. A phone that connects her with something that could ruin her reputati
on or damage her Task Force…”
Arik knows where it is. Rosa was signing faster than we could keep up. That’s why they’ve kept him alive and not been asking for any ransom. He is the ransom. Whoever gets to that bag first gets the upper hand in the drug business thing.
“If all signs point to the airport, then they may have it already figured out too. We have to get in and get that bag secured before they do. It's as simple as that.” My mind was racing, seeing this as a race against time now, more than anything. I felt the distracting need to get there as soon as possible. I couldn’t explain it. I just knew that we had to get there before they did. “Once they have that, Arik will be expendable, as well. But they’ll need him to locate it if we’re lucky. That gives us a little more time.”
“We have to get to the airport now!” Eve cried out. “If Kippy is right, and Nace scoured those ships last night, that must have been what they were looking for! If they didn’t find the bag on the ships, then it has to be at the airport. I think Chorley stashed the bag there. That’s why the Judge wants all of his stuff returned so badly. She knows what’s at stake! They could already be there, Jake. It’s the next logical place.”
My eyes widened as Eve’s words sunk in. “Then I say let’s grab and go, people. So, that’s where we need to be, too.” I headed to my room and gathered my Ruger, a couple of extra magazines, and a Browning Hi-Power 9mm for a backup. I would have to leave them in the vehicle, unable to carry them into or through the airport, but it was good to know that they would be available if I needed them.
This was where my growing collection of ceramic blades and push knives came into play. They were too small to do too much damage, and besides, I wanted these guys alive. For starters, we had to make sure that we could get to Arik through them and that he could be extracted safely.