Caribbean Capers

by Dan Kelly

  Manny Rodriguez was one of the first troops off the first bus in the small caravan and Abby greeted him with a big hug and smile and said, “It’s good to see you again, Manny. Are you ready to pick a fight?”

  Hugging her back he said, “I’ve been thinking about little else for weeks.

  Slapping Manny on the back and shaking his hand Pete said, “We’re glad you could make it to the party, Manny. I just love surprise parties and this one’s going to be a doozy if we do it right.”

  Smiling Manny came back with, “Wait until you see the piñata I brought with me.”

  For the first time in weeks Abby relaxed and let loose with gut wrenching laughter that turned her face beet red. Aloncia came over and introduced herself to Manny and then directed him to the Quonset hut where all the food was laid out. She then went to the front of the first bus in line to greet the rest of the troops and do the same for them. Pete and Abby stayed with her and made it a joint effort. The men were an impressive lot. Abby said, “If they’re as tough as they look, Senor Fuentes and company are going to rue the day they decided to go over to the dark side.”

  After the troops had eaten, they were taken to the other two Quonset huts where cots with pillows and blankets were lined up in aisles for them to stretch out on and get some much needed sleep. The huts had running water and bathrooms, but there were also portable toilets situated outside of each hut should more than a few of the men have to answer nature’s call at the same time. Aloncia and Damien have definitely been busy beavers.

  Before Manny can get some sack time, he has to review and absorb a lot of information in order to familiarize himself with the terrain. He has to determine the best spots for his the men to take up positions, places that will provide the required cover and still be within quick striking distance for the surprise assault. He also has to post men at every possible point of egress to handle anyone leaving without saying goodbye and these positions must also provide adequate cover so the men posted there won’t be easy targets for a desperate escapee want-to-be.

  Manny wants his men in position well before the first guests arrived at the farm, ideally several hours before, so they will have some time to adjust to any unexpected developments. It appears that Manny too is a believer in Murphy’s Law.

  Manny isn’t too thrilled with using the buses to get the assault team to their positions. He shares this concern with Abby. “The buses’ profiles are too big and can be seen quite easily even though we’ll be traveling at night on roads with few street lights. They’ll definitely look out of place at four o’clock in the morning. There’s no good reason for them to be there at that time and anyone seeing them will become suspicious. We’ve got to come up with another means of transportation.”

  Abby said, “At that time of the morning there has to be lots of truck traffic bringing food to the marketplace, supplies being delivered to the farms, etc. I wonder how many trucks we would need to hold all of your men.”

  “There are 360 of us. We’d need more than a couple that’s for sure and I don’t know where we could lay our hands on what we need with the amount of time we have left.”

  “Maybe there are companies that rent semis.” Abby had her laptop with her so she booted it up and let her fingers do the walking. She found that some semis had a total square footage of 3392 and a floor square footage of 424. Abby started thinking out loud. “If 14 square feet is allowed for each person and his gear, 30 people could be squeezed into a semi-trailer which means we would need 12 semis. If none of the troops is claustrophobic, they should be able to handle the cramped quarters for the ten mile trip to the farm. What do you think?”

  “If we staggered the times each semi left the storage facility, the semis shouldn’t attract any undue attention. All we’ve got to do is find a rental company that has a dozen semis to rent and somebody to rent them for us with a believable reason for doing so.”

  Abby said, “I think I know the lady that can do that or will know somebody who can.”

  “Who?’

  “The lady who arranged what you see before you now without leaving a trace as to who the real renters are. She’s been a big help to us with respect to reconnaissance, communications, keeping our stomachs full and minds focused on the ultimate task. She’s a remarkable lady. Here she comes now.”

  Aloncia Flores walked over to them and said, “Manny, the equipment you’ll need for your briefing is in the last Quonset hit in the line. Is there anything else you need?”

  “Well, Senora, there is something you might be able to help us with. I’m real nervous about using the buses for transporting the troops to the farm because if they’re spotted I fear suspicions will be aroused as to why so many buses are so near the farm at four o’clock in the morning. Abby and I think it would be better if we used vehicles that are usually seen in the area at all times of the day or night, semis. Would you know where we could rent some? We figure we’ll need twelve of them.”

  “Hmm. Let me think about this for a minute. I could use the same cover story I used when I rented this storage facility. It would make sense to need them to transport merchandise that is for sale throughout the Caribbean. I have some friends in the trucking business. I’ll make some calls. How about drivers? Driving one of those things is a lot different than driving the family car.”

  Manny thought about this for a minute and then said, “It’s going to be unlikely that we’ll have twelve men in our assault force who know how to drive a semi. We’ll have to use drivers that a rental company might have on their payroll or use on a contract basis. Aloncia, when we get to the farm and into position, we’re going to have to forcefully keep the drivers under wraps until the mission is over. We can’t gamble on them keeping their mouths shut.”

  “I understand, Manny. ‘We have to do what must be done.”

  Aloncia turned and walked over to her car, got in and drove away.

  Suddenly Abby turned to Pete and said. “Where is Damien? I haven’t seen him since the buses got here.”

  “I’ll take a walk around the facility and see if I can find him.”

  Pete headed for the Quonset hut where the troops had chowed down and Abby started to clue Manny in on her gut feeling about Damien.

  Pete checked all of the Quonset huts, but no Damien. There were some small tool sheds scattered about the grounds with troops standing around them smoking, but Damien wasn’t among them. The rental car that he and Damien had used to arrange for the surveillance equipment and he and Abby had used to get to the storage facility today was still where they parked it. Pete was about to give up the search when he walked by where the buses were parked and spotted Damien standing between two of them talking on his cell phone.

  Damien hadn’t seen him and Pete thought it odd that Damien would use that location to make a phone call unless he didn’t want to be overheard, so he quickly hid behind one of the buses and quietly inched up closer to where Damien was standing to eavesdrop on Damien’s side of the conversation. Unfortunately, Damien was through talking and the only thing Pete heard was the last thing he said. “Remember, don’t deviate from what we discussed. If you do, you’re on your own.” Damien then closed the lid on his cell, ending the conversation, and walked towards the Quonset huts.

  Pete’s thinking, “I wonder what that was all about. It looks like Abby’s gut might be on to something. If Damien has switched sides, he better stay clear of Paul if he wants to keep all of his parts in working order. If there’s any single word that can stoke his anger to the boiling over point it’s ‘turncoat’. Damn! I’m still having trouble believing Damien could do something like that.”

  Pete found Abby with Manny in the Quonset hut that was going to be used for the mission briefing later this afternoon and told them what he had seen and overheard. Manny said, “For the moment, all we have to go on is your suspicion. We have nothing concrete we can use as a cause to take him into custody and interrogate the hell out of him. Even if we did, doing so could jeopar
dize our mission because it might make the crime bosses nervous enough to call the meeting off.”

  Abby said, “You’re right, Manny. Besides, it might help us if we keep Damien in circulation and under close scrutiny. We might learn something that would prevent the failure of our mission and/or assure its success.”

  Turning to Pete she said, “Would you call Dave and let him know what’s going on with Damien and our status regarding final kickoff time? I want to go over some more things with Manny so I can effectively keep him and Phil appraised on how the mission is going. They’re going to want a blow by blow description and I want to be thoroughly prepared.”

  “I’ll get right on it. Are we going to monitor the mission from here or the villa?”

  “From the villa with the remaining members of our group. Communications are better there and we can interact more effectively with the rest of the group if we’re face-to-face.”

  As Pete is finishing his update with Dave, he sees Damien walk into the hut and start to scan the area like he’s looking for someone. He spots Pete and starts to come his way. As he approaches Pete asks him where he’s been. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  “I’ve just been wandering around and now I’m looking for Aloncia. Have you seen her? I don’t seem to be needed around here anymore and was hoping she’d be ready to go back to the villa.”

  “She already left for the villa. Abby and I will be leaving shortly after she finishes going over a few things with Manny Rodriguez. You can ride back with us.”

  “Okay.”

  Pete started to walk away to go join Abby and Manny when Damien asked, “Why were you looking for me?”

  Maybe he was imagining it, but to Pete the look in Damien’s eyes when he asked the question was more than a curious one. It was one of suspicion and perhaps a little apprehension.

  Pete answered with what he hoped came off as a casual response. “Abby and I were just wondering where you were. You and Aloncia did a great job setting everything up here and we wanted to get your input as to whether or not you thought our planning covered all contingencies.”

  “Oh. Well, I can’t think of anything that hasn’t been addressed. If I do, I’ll let you know.”

  Pete nodded his thanks and walked away thinking, “It’s getting easier for me to believe that Damien is dirty. He’s just not acting like an innocent man should act.”

  Pete joined Abby and Manny as they were finishing up and Abby was ready to head back to the villa. He told them about his brief conversation with Damien and his impressions about Damien’s behavior. “He’ll be riding back to the villa with us.”

  Abby wrinkled her nose and said, “Oh goody. Now I can watch my Ps and Qs and bite my tongue so I don’t blow my top and put the bastard in the hospital. You’re so good to me.”

  “What else could I do? Make him walk back?”

  “I know. I know. I just can’t stand to be around that creep.”

  “Well, a creep he may be, but we’ve got to act normal around him or he’ll know something’s up.”

  “I know. I know. Come on. Let’s go round him up and head back to the villa. Turning to Manny she said, “Kick ass, Seal.”

  Smiling he said, “When it’s attached to the worthless flotsam like we’re going after, that’s one of my favorite pass times, Abby.”

  They found Damien leaning against one of the buses and headed back to the villa. The conversation during the ride back was minimal and limited to last minute things that had to be done for the mission such as getting the latest weather report before the troops moved out for the farm and concerns about getting the semis they needed to the storage facility on time and the condition they would be in. Abby kept her cool and they got back to the villa without having to call an ambulance for Damien.

  Chapter 37

  - Bogota, Colombia –

  One of Aloncia’s trucking company friends came through for her and said he would be able to get her the dozen semis they needed by dinner time on the night before the planned attack, but at six o’clock on the promised day of delivery only seven semis had arrived at the storage facility.

  Ten hours to go until they had to move out and they still didn’t have the means to get all of the strike force into position. Abby’s beginning to think they might have to chance using some of the buses after all. However, at nine o’clock two more semis showed up, the drivers saying they got hung up in a traffic jam due to a multi-car pile-up on the highway. By ten, two more semis had shown up, their delay resulting from detours they had to take due to highway construction and bridge repair, and the last one straggled in at ten-thirty, his problem being a broken axle and he had to wait for another semi to be brought out to where he was stranded.

  By midnight, all of the drivers had eaten and were crashing in their trucks, not very happy to hear that they’d be pulling out at four in the morning. When one of them asked what they would be hauling, Pete told him “perishables”. Abby gave him a quizzical look and he whispered, “Well, that isn’t a total lie. Humans are perishable. They just take longer to rot.”

  Smiling she said, “Brody, all that time at sea is taking its toll. You need help.”

  The drivers were told that their trucks would be loaded with some of the freight they’d be hauling while they slept and the rest of their loads would be picked up at a farm a short jaunt down the road. All they had to do at four is grab some coffee and follow the driving directions they would be given. This would explain away any noise or movement that might accompany the troops climbing into the backs of the semis.

  The bus drivers are members of Sea Wasp’s network of eyes and ears on the ground, but are not part of any military organization and have no experience in dealing with situations involving the use of firearms where people are liable to wind up dead, so they are instructed to refuel the buses and take them back to their terminals.

  After Abby reviewed the game plan one more time with Aloncia, she and Pete returned to the villa for a final check on the setup there and hopefully to get a little sleep before things started to happen.

  Manny and the rest of the assault team have been staying out of sight all day in the two Quonset huts where they have been sleeping and preparing for their mission, but when 3:30 in the morning rolls around they get themselves into the backs of the semis and as comfortable as possible within the confines of the trailers. The eagerness for battle on their faces is kind of scary. Manny mumbles to himself, “Salsa time!” These guys could never deny what they are, every inch of them, warriors, fighting for those who can’t. It radiates from them like rays from the sun.

  At four a.m., the drivers are awakened by Aloncia who has prepared fresh coffee for them and she’s also heaped fresh pastry on platters for those who have a sweet tooth. The drivers are handed directions to the farm and at 4:15 they’re on their way.

  The farm is a large one, having well over a thousand acres devoted to both agriculture and floriculture. There is some acreage that is lying fallow at the southern edge of the farm which is a good distance from any occupied structures and that’s where they’re headed. There’s a dirt road that leads to it from the highway that is wide enough to accommodate the semis and in dry weather it’s adequate for most vehicles. When it rains, it quickly becomes an impassable bog of mud. Wouldn’t you know it? Murphy’s Law is rearing its ugly head again. The latest weather report said heavy thunder storms were moving their way and should hit the area sometime early this morning. Manny’s hoping that they’ll be able to break that damn law and get to their destination before the downpour.

  There’s a large equipment shed off to the side of the road and that’s where the drivers were instructed to stop, not knowing that that’s where they’ll be detained until the party’s over. Their luck holds out, but just by a hair’s breadth. The sky had taken on an ominous mixture of black and red hues and as soon as the last truck pulled over and the driver killed the engine there was a loud rumble of thunder, the clouds opened up and
the deluge began. Although the rain would be a little annoying, it would help conceal them as they crept into their assigned positions.

  When the doors of the trailers opened and the men started to jump down to the ground, the drivers just stared in surprise. It was obvious that they hadn’t a clue about what they were really hauling. Manny broke the lock on the equipment shed and then motioned for the drivers to go inside. The drivers started asking questions all at once, most of them with anger in their voices, and it took Manny using his size to intimidate them into silence. Well, the fact that the drivers were also surrounded by hundreds of armed men dressed in military camouflage gear might have helped to quiet them down as well.