Caribbean Capers

by Dan Kelly

  Around nine o’clock at night on their fourth day at sea, Pete and Abby are sitting out on the upper deck enjoying the cloudless star filled skies and pina coladas when Abby voices her feelings with, “The fact that all of our searching hasn’t produced one sighting is driving me crazy. We have state-of-the-art equipment and it hasn’t revealed a damn thing and I’m bored silly.”

  “It’s a big sea and a lot of sky covers it, Abby. Just because we haven’t seen any signs of what we’re looking for yet doesn’t mean nothing’s out there. We’ve just got to keep looking. There are many under water routes and flight paths that smugglers can use to move their merchandise. And remember, we’re not the only people on the lookout for these shipments. Sea Wasp has a lot of other eyes peeled for any unidentified surface ships, subs and planes in the Caribbean. All of us have to continue to keep our eyes open and stay alert. If we do, we’ll eventually find the routes they’re using. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sea Wasp is also using satellites as well to assist in searching for the bad guys. I know how you feel. I’m dealing with the same feelings, but we can’t get discouraged and give up the search. If we do, the bad guys win.”

  “I know you’re right, Pete. I guess I just needed a pep talk. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” Smiling he continued with, “Now, would you like another pina colada to take the edge off that boredom?”

  She never got the chance to answer as Manny yelled, “Take a look off the starboard bow!”

  About a half mile away, flying at an altitude of about 1500 feet, is what Pete identifies as a Grumman Goose sea plane and it’s coming in for a landing. As it touches down Pete asks Abby, “Are you still bored?”

  “My curiosity has been aroused that’s for sure.”

  The plane taxis to a position about a quarter mile off their portside bow, shuts down its engines and just sits there bobbing on the waves. Ten minutes later another surprise livens up their evening as a decent size submarine comes to the surface and hatches begin to open. Pete says, “I don’t believe this. This stuff only happens in the movies.”

  A few minutes later two men begin to unload some small crates from the plane and pass them to a couple of men on the sub. Fifteen minutes later the sea plane was lifting off the sea’s surface and banking to a heading of due east.

  The sub had no identifying markings, but Pete was able to get the tail number of the plane using a pair of night vision binoculars. As the plane was taking off, the sub was submerging and within minutes there was no sign of either of them ever being there.

  Abby wonders aloud, “Why did they ignore us? They had to have spotted us. It’s a clear night, the starlight is shining down on us like a spotlight on center stage and the Vuelta de Lujo’s running lights are visible from a long way off.”

  We were probably seen but the interlopers didn’t care because they were in international waters and had no reason to think that the people on the yacht would be nothing more than some curious rich folks.”

  Before the sub had completely disappeared below the surface, Abby was calling Dave on the satellite phone. She told him what they had just witnessed and gave him the tail number of the plane and he said, “I’ll call you right back. I have some information for you too, but I want to get this info in the pipeline ASAP.”

  Fifteen minutes later Dave called back. “We’ve located Salazar and Christensen in Miami and have them under surveillance. We‘ve planted bugs where they’re staying, a house near the harbor, and in the car they’ve rented. When they make contact with the next level of parasites in their operation, we’ll be listening.

  “Also, if Salazar meant what he said about Bob Trumball, we don’t have much time left to find him and get him out of harm’s way. Phil and I think he’s a dead man walking if we don’t catch a break. We’re hoping we’ll hear something that will tell us where they are keeping him. They’ll keep him alive if they plan to demand a ransom so they can prove that he is alive and well, but then it will be all over for him whether the demand is met or not. These people are not going to take the chance that he hasn’t picked up on something that could identify them.”

  Abby asked, “What about the other names we’ve passed along. Anything useful come up with them?”

  “Almost all of them are mixed up someway in the smuggling activities around the Caribbean, the majority of them as lower rung participants, but making a lot more money than they could if they went straight. A few of them are a lot higher on the ladder of success and one of these few is the nephew of one of the higher ups in the Sinaloa cartel. We’ve connected a lot of dots with the information you two have provided and are now in a position to up the frequency and intensity of our disruption schemes. We’re going to have them popping Prozac pills like M & Ms.”

  Pete asked, “Can you push up Hector Montoya on your things to do list and take a closer look at Zarita Barranco? According to my source, Hector has his fingers in everything illegal in San Juan and if Zarita is tied up with him in any way, her fingers are dirty too.”

  “Will do. Where are you headed now?”

  “We thought we’d visit the ports of Cartagena, Columbia then move on to Belize and Cozumel and then return to Miami. I have friends in these ports that may be able to give us some information that will be helpful to our cause.”

  “That’s a good idea. We’re hearing through our sources that there has been a substantial increase of drugs being smuggled into San Antonio, TX from Colombia via Mexico. In fact, the entire southwestern rim of the Caribbean is a nest for a lot of smuggling activities. Keep your eyes and ears open and keep up the good work.”

  The line went dead and Abby said, “We’re heading to the playground of some very tough guys, Pete. They make Hector, Pablo, Zarita and even Juan look like milquetoast. We’re really going to have to watch each other’s backs. I’m definitely going to have to heed your warning about being too aggressive with my questioning.”

  “Perhaps it would be wise if I spent more time with you on the mat. I’m not going to be as good as you are in martial arts, but I don’t have to be. I just have to be better than the animals we’ll be dealing with. How about it?”

  “It certainly wouldn’t hurt to try to prepare for every eventuality, except maybe parts of your body and your ego when I start working you over.”

  “Hey, when we worked out before you weren’t able to put me on the mat. I wasn’t a cream puff.”

  Laughing she said, “True, but then I was being easy on you because we had just met and I didn’t want to do anything to get in the way of us developing a partnership.”

  “Yeah, sure you were. I guess I’m going to have to take some of the wind out of those sails of yours. Too much cockiness can land you in a world of hurt. Tomorrow morning, eight o’clock. In the gym. Don’t be late for your comeuppance.”

  Both laughing, they headed for their beds.

  Chapter 19

  - Still Somewhere in the Middle of the Caribbean Sea –

  At 8:05 the next morning, Pete is on his rump in the middle of the workout mat scratching his head. “How the hell did I wind up here? How did you do what you did so fast?”

  Neither of them is laughing this morning. This is serious business that could save Pete’s life or Abby’s.

  They spent a couple of hours working on Pete’s skills and when Abby thought he had had enough punishment for one day she ended the session by letting him throw her to the mat. She knows she isn’t fooling him, but he’s going along with the charade because he appreciates her willingness to try to make him feel better about his performance. He’s a fast learner, has the physical ability to be very good at martial arts, but he doesn’t have the desire nor is he willing to devote the time to become an expert at it. He doesn’t have an ego problem when it comes to her superior fighting skills though and she’s surprised yet pleased by this. Most of the men she’s encountered haven’t been able to deal with that too well.

  Mopping his brow Pete says, “Let’s shower and th
en get back to our surveillance schedule.” Then lightening the mood he adds, “If you’re up to it, we should do this every morning for a while.”

  Chuckling she repeated, “If I’m up to it? If I hadn’t ended this session when I did, you’d be out of it for the rest of the day.”

  “Oh come on Abby. You know I’ve been holding back because it’s ungentlemanly to beat up on a woman. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Oh that does it buster. You’d better prepare yourself for a world of hurt tomorrow. Don’t hold back on my account. I don’t want to hear any excuses tomorrow when I beat your butt to a pulp.”

  Laughing, they both head for a shower wondering where this relationship is heading.

  Later that morning, Abby spots two cargo planes of some kind flying at a very low altitude for one of those kinds of planes. She calls Pete on the intercom. “Pete, can you come quickly to the upper deck. There’s something weird going on up here.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  When Pete appears on deck, Abby’s points at the planes and asks him, “What do you make of that? I took some pictures with the zoom lens and they have no tail numbers or other identifying logos on them. They look like FedEx planes to me and they’re flying very low.”

  “They’re on a southwesterly course, could be headed for Colombia, and are probably flying low to avoid radar detection. I think you’ve spotted some of the bad guys up to no good. Let’s get this to Dave right away so he can arrange to intercept them and blame it on some of their competition or members of their own organization. I’m surprised that they’re making these flights in broad daylight.”

  “These people are enjoying a great deal of success with their smuggling activities and are making tons of money. They obviously feel there are enough holes in the region’s security blanket to chance moving their cargo during the day. They might even think they’re catching the authorities off guard by not restricting flights to the cover of darkness. That kind of thinking makes things easier for Sea Wasp to mess with their operations. I don’t think Phil will intercept these planes. He’ll let them lead him to other members in their pipeline and monitor their activities for opportunities to create greater havoc than the interception of the planes would afford.”

  Nothing else out of the ordinary occurred until they were a couple of days out from Cartagena. About one in the morning, Pete detects signs of a sub moving away from them in a northwesterly direction towards Nicaragua. Pete’s thinking, “This is no Navy sub. This is the third private sub we’ve sighted since we left Miami. Business must be good. Submarines don’t come cheap. From what Abby’s told me these guys can afford to buy a lot of them, but I wonder if this is the same one we saw taking on cargo from that sea plane. Hell, I’m letting my imagination get away from me. This could be an oceanography sub or a sub on some other kind of innocent underwater expedition.”

  Then another unsettling thought crossed his mind. “It could be an enemy sub, a terrorist sub. Shit, this cloak and dagger stuff is getting to me. I’m starting to see enemies everywhere. Better to be safe than sorry though. I better call Dave and clue him in. Let him find out what the sub is up to.”

  At breakfast later that morning, Pete tells Abby what he saw, holding back his thoughts about his possible overreacting. “I wonder how many subs are being used by smugglers.”

  “Pete, cost isn’t a prohibiting factor with these guys. They have the funds to buy whatever they want to use to move their goods around. They’re not going to go overboard though and flood the oceans with fleets of subs. They know the means countries have to monitor what’s going on beneath the waves. A few subs have a very good chance of eluding the counter measures employed against them. A large number of them would defeat the purpose of subterfuge as they would be readily spotted. In the majority of cases where the cargo is to be transported by sea, it would be safer to hide it on a surface ship in a way to avoid custom officials’ scrutiny.”

  After their martial arts session, they’re sitting in the galley sharing a bowl of fruit and discussing what they’re going to do when they get to Cartagena while Pete subconsciously tries to rub the ache out of his sore muscles. Abby can’t help but smile at his discomfort as he refused her offer of some cream she has for sore muscles, claiming he didn’t need any. “I’ll never understand the male ego.”

  “Maybe we overdid it this morning. Why don’t you try some of the cream I have? I guarantee you’ll feel better.”

  “I’m okay. You know that old saying, ‘No pain, no gain.’ It’ll work itself out.”

  “Okay, Captain Courageous, suffer.”

  “May we get back to our agenda for Cartagena please?”

  “Boy, you can be stubborn when you want to be can’t you?”

  Before Pete could respond, Manny walked into the galley. “You two got a minute?”

  Abby said, “Sure, what’s up?”

  “I just spoke with Dave and he wants me and my men to stay closer to you when you go ashore. He thinks the danger level is going to be a lot higher for the rest of your planned trip than it has been up to now. To quote him, ‘Daniel’s lion den was a baby crib compared to what they’ll be walking into from here on out.’ We’ll do our best to blend in with the surroundings, but we’re going to be out in the open a lot more than we have been. I hope this won’t cramp your style.”

  Pete responded with, “Abby’s way ahead of Dave. She has already warned me about the increased risks we’ll be taking and has been working my butt off in the gym to prepare me for any physical altercations that we might face.”

  “That’s good. Hopefully, we’ll be close enough to intervene or lend you a hand if you need it.

  Abby said, “We were talking about our game plan for Cartagena just before you showed up. We’re primarily going to be talking with Pete’s friends and contacts with a few visits to some of the upscale bars in the city. I’m going to be a lot more subtle and a lot less insistent with my questions to avoid raising the rancor of any of the seamier element of Cartagena’s society. We’re looking for information not a physical confrontation.”

  “That’s good too. We’ll do our best to stay out of your way. I’ll …..” He never got the chance to finish what he was going to say as there was a big explosion off the portside bow and a fountain of water rose as high as the upper deck. Pete yelled, “What the hell was that?” When they all ran outside to see what had happened they saw a good sized boat, at least sixty feet in length, a custom built job from what Pete could see, and there was a man at the bow with some kind of grenade launcher sighting in on Vuelta de Lujo’s bow. Another man is on the bridge with a megaphone ordering them to shut down their engines or be blown out of the water and six or seven other men were lined up along the side of the ship with rifles raised in firing position.

  Manny said, “Don’t answer him. Stay where you are, both of you. Let them continue to see you. Manny talked into a shoulder communicator and a few seconds later the man with the grenade launcher was falling into the water with a bullet in his brain still clutching his weapon. The man had barely hit the water when the men lined up alongside the ship joined him as Manny’s men eliminated that threat with what sounded to Pete and Abby like a synchronous burst of rifles being fired before they could react to what had happened. Manny shouted, “Now it’s your turn to take some orders. Is there anyone else on board?”

  There was no response. “Answer me truthfully or join your friends. Now!”

  “Just a cook below deck.”

  “Call him up on deck.”

  He hit an intercom button, spoke into a speaker and a minute later a scruffy young man appeared on deck. Manny said, “Both of you, put your hands on your head and don’t move. If you do, you’ll be food for the sharks.”

  “Pete, maneuver the Vuelta de Lujo closer so my men and I can board that tub and take them prisoner. We’ll take a look around to see if there’s anything of interest to us on board.”