Code Name: Bikini

by Christina Skye

  Gina didn’t move. “I’m going to see Carly. If Ford wants my help, we can look for Sunny together. I know the ship better than he does.”

  “Like hell. You’ll stay in my cabin. Let Ford go alone.”

  Trace covered Blaine with his jacket and took her pulse.

  Thready. The woman needed attention ASAP.

  Now on top of everything they had a child missing. Another complication they didn’t need.

  Blaine shuddered and seemed to focus on Gina’s face, reaching out one hand awkwardly as she gripped what appeared to be a crumpled silk scarf. “Didn’t know,” she repeated mechanically. “He lied. Just using me….”

  Gina leaned down and straightened Trace’s jacket around Blaine’s shoulders. “Who lied?”

  “No name.” Blaine stared into space. “Has a scar.” Blood trickled from her mouth.

  “It’s going to be okay, Blaine. We’ll get someone to help you.”

  “Believe me.” Blaine took a jerky breath. “Keep this.” As her eyes closed, she shoved the silk scarf into Gina’s hands.

  “I’ll go find the doctor.”

  Trace shook his head tensely. “You’re going to McKay’s cabin. I’ll call the captain to send someone down here.”

  Gina stood up clumsily, unable to look away from Blaine’s motionless body. “Carly is on E deck. Cabin 624.” She took a deep breath. “The elevator’s right over there.”

  “Take it.”

  As Trace checked the elevator, two tired-looking passengers emerged. They studied the hall, but Trace blocked their view of Blaine and the dead crew member. The last thing he needed was mayhem caused by a stampede of terrified passengers.

  He opened his cell phone and cursed when Tobias still didn’t answer his call.

  GINA BLANKED OUT her confusion. She drove away the memory of the dead man, Blaine’s white face and the thought of Sunny wandering the ship alone.

  Hyperventilating wouldn’t help anyone. When she looked down, she was surprised to find Blaine’s silk scarf wadded up in her fingers. Without thinking, she shoved it into her pocket. The silk felt damp and slightly heavy, but she didn’t pay much attention. Trace was already at the elevator door, motioning her to hurry.

  THE WIND HAD PICKED UP, rattling the windows when Ford McKay yanked open the door of his room. Behind him Carly was reading to her two daughters, trying not to look frightened.

  McKay nodded at Gina and motioned her into the small alcove off the bathroom. “I’m going after Sunny.” He spoke in a cold whisper. “I need one of the security crew, too. Have you seen Trace?”

  Trace strode inside and closed the door. “You’ll get help,” he said shortly. “Keep Gina here with Carly. Sorry I can’t go with you myself. Keep your head down when you go out. Understand?”

  A look passed between the men, and Ford nodded. “Any way I can contact you?”

  “Too dangerous. Assume that all communications are monitored. I’ll come back here once the situation is stable.” He gestured to the door. “Don’t let anyone in, and tell your wife the same. Make sure she understands this means no one. Not even me.” Trace shrugged a Kevlar equipment bag in place over his chest. “Especially me. Nothing will be what you think it is.”

  Ford started to speak. Then he nodded.

  “No one gets in. You’ve got my guarantee.”

  CLOUDS PILED UP along the Mexican coast, driven eastward by stiff winds off the Pacific. Stars shimmered and faded under the racing marine layer as the whine of the wind was drowned out by the thump of sleek, menacing engines.

  A gray twin-engine Seahawk cut out of the darkness.

  Plans had changed. As soon as the chopper hit the cruise ship’s narrow emergency landing deck, eight men in black Kevlar poured onto the padded rubber. No words were spoken as they scattered.

  In seconds the deck was clear.

  Izzy Teague walked out of the darkness, talking on a cell phone. He hung up as Trace appeared. “Sitrep.”

  “Breach in the safe, contents missing. Tobias Hale was attacked. Two casualties, one fatal.”

  “Hale?” Izzy’s head cut around sharply. “Dead?”

  “Unconscious. Doc’s looking at him now.”

  “So Cruz scored big.” Izzy’s voice held an icy calm. “Smart bastard. I gave as much incorrect information as I could when I talked to Hale via his ship phone. Cruz will think we’re running short and late.”

  Trace looked up at the cloud-swept night sky. “Where are the dogs?”

  “Second chopper, five minutes behind me.” Izzy unzipped his black vest. “So where was Cruz headed? He has to suspect we’ll lock the ship down tight.”

  “Hard to lock down a cruise ship,” Trace said shortly. “One with over twenty-four hundred passengers and nine hundred crew.”

  Izzy pulled a laptop out of its case without breaking stride. “I want people watching all decks. We’ve set up radar and airborne surveillance of surrounding waters, but Cruz is smart enough to suspect that.”

  “So he’ll hide somewhere else. A place where we wouldn’t look.”

  Izzy pulled a headset in place. “We’re going to take this place apart cabin by cabin until we find him.”

  Trace smiled coldly. “Sounds like my kind of job.”

  FORD MCKAY COLLARED the first security officer he met. “My daughter is missing. Get someone down here to help find her.”

  The officer frowned. “Sir, if you’ll calm down, I’d be happy to—”

  Ford leaned close, in the man’s face. “Cut the therapy talk. Get a team down here ASAP.”

  The officer fingered his walkie-talkie, requesting backup. “How will I know her?” he called as Ford turned toward the elevator.

  “Here.” Ford dug in his pocket. “She’s in six of those photographs. Purple shoes and purple backpack. You can’t miss her.”

  For a moment his voice wavered.

  Then his face went blank and he vanished into the elevator.

  DOWN ON E DECK, Gina had been pacing Carly’s cabin for almost fifteen minutes, unable to get the thought of Sunny out of her mind. Blaine’s motionless body brought an equal dose of nightmares.

  As she paced, her fingers slid restlessly into her pocket. She felt the outline of Blaine’s scarf. Something was wrapped inside it, she realized.

  Sitting down at the desk, she opened the scarf and stared at what looked like a plastic envelope covered with heavy-duty Cellophane.

  Some kind of medicine? Was Blaine into drugs?

  “Mommy, when is Sunny coming back from the doctor?” Across the room Olivia bit her lip, looking worried. “She should have been back hours ago.”

  “She’s going to stay overnight so the doctor can check her tummy. Now close your eyes and try to sleep, honey.”

  Over her daughter’s head, Carly met Gina’s gaze. Something bleak filled Carly’s eyes. Then she took a deep breath, gripped her two daughters’ shoulders and began to read again, her voice calm and even.

  Gina couldn’t imagine how it felt to face the loss of a child. Her own worries seemed pale in comparison.

  A throb began at her forehead. She winced, rubbing her neck, and realized she should have taken her pills an hour ago. Opening her shoulder bag, she dug into the inside zipper pocket where she had stashed her spare bottle.

  The bottle was empty.

  Anxiety hit her in an icy wave. She had to have her medicine. If the pain came full bore, she’d be completely useless. She couldn’t let that happen.

  She moved quietly to the bed. “Carly, I have to leave. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in three minutes.”

  “Ford said you needed to stay here.” Carly shook her head firmly. “Something’s wrong aboard the ship. You can’t go.”

  Gina gave a quick smile as she tossed her bag over her shoulder. “I’ll be fine. The head of security has taught me a few secret shortcuts.”

  “But Ford and Trace—”

  “Shouldn’t worry. Lock the door behind me.”

  Gin
a checked the view hole, then slipped outside. When she heard Carly slide the lock home, she sprinted toward a small laundry area at the stern. The small service elevator inside the laundry would get her downstairs and back in minutes.

  “WHAT DID THEY GET?” Izzy stood in the middle of Tobias Hale’s office and stared at the empty safe.

  “Everything is gone.” Tobias shifted on the couch, an ice bag at his head. His neck was covered with a white bandage, and he winced whenever he moved. “There was only one cardboard box in the safe. Whoever stunned and attacked me took it.”

  “You didn’t see his face?”

  “Too fast. He had a key card, because I heard it beep in the security slot right after I was hit. Somehow he knew my code to the safe, too.” Tobias stared at the open safe. “I should have been faster, damn it.”

  Izzy didn’t agree or disagree. “How did he get the key card?”

  “Nearest I can piece together, the head of beverage services was involved. She might have gotten one from someone in the head office. We have reason to think she used a card to breach the kitchen and other areas of the ship.” Tobias rubbed one shoulder carefully. “My junior security officer, John Riley, was found dead earlier tonight. I checked his cabin and turned up $15,000 in small bills, along with a plane ticket to Malaysia. He had to be involved. When I finished digging, I learned that he and Blaine had had a brief affair about three years back. I should have looked for that earlier,” he said tightly.

  Izzy met his gaze coolly. “It’s usual to do thorough background checks on all security personnel.”

  Tobias flinched as if he’d been hit, although Izzy’s tone was cool and impersonal.

  Izzy looked away, studying the screen of his laptop, which was angled over his right arm. “I’ve almost got the signal. We can trace it.”

  Tobias’s head swung up. “You had a homing device implanted in the package?”

  “SOP.” Izzy scrolled down the screen. “Bingo. He’s in engineering.” He looked at Trace. “Port side. I’ve located the nearest stairwell.”

  Trace sprinted toward the door. “Use the codes we set up. He could be monitoring our comm.”

  Tobias looked up as Izzy moved past without a word.

  When the door closed, a look of pain crossed the security officer’s face. Grimacing, he pushed to his feet, swayed and then leaned against the wall, breathing hard.

  He’d seen his son’s computer diagram indicating the location of the stolen package. Tobias knew a faster way down to engineering than his son did. You didn’t work security for nine years without stockpiling one or two useful secrets.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  WITH HER PILLS IN HAND, Gina slipped out of her room and checked the corridor. Buoyant with relief, she jogged back to the laundry service elevator. No passengers were in sight, which was unusual. At 3:00 a.m. there were usually a few stragglers returning from the casino, the theater or a late night with friends.

  Any passenger questions Gina had were forgotten when she saw a small figure with a purple backpack walking past the crew lounge. Her heart pounding, Gina whispered a prayer that her two missions were about to be completed.

  She ran down the hall past a service area where she and Andreas had occasionally prepared special events for the crew. Sunny was moving fast, holding something against her chest.

  “Sunny, wait.”

  The little girl turned, and her pale face lit up. “Oh, I’m so glad it’s you. I got lost when I went after Trouble and I couldn’t find anyone to ask directions. Well, I could have, but I didn’t want to speak to strangers, you know?”

  Gina put an arm around Sunny’s shoulders. “Everything will be fine, honey. We’ll get you back upstairs to your mom and dad in a jiffy. But where did you find the cat?”

  Sunny cuddled the squirming ball of fur proudly. “When I was at the doctor’s I saw him out in the hall. I couldn’t let anything bad happen, so I followed him. But he was too fast, and then I got l-lost.” Her voice shook. “I know Mom and Dad are going to be really, really mad at me. I did a bad thing when I left without telling my dad.”

  “Don’t think about that now,” Gina said gently. “We’ll take that elevator upstairs and get you back.”

  But the little girl didn’t move. She was smiling over Gina’s shoulder. “Look, Mr. Trace, I found the cat. Now you can go with us. My parents will be glad you came, too.” She bit her lip. “Maybe you could explain to them that I didn’t mean to be bad.”

  Gina turned. Trace was coming down the staff stairway. “Are you finished?”

  “Not quite. A few things to mop up down here.” He checked his watch, straightening his black backpack.

  Gina glanced over his shoulder. She hadn’t seen him carrying the pack when he’d left. There was something different about his voice, too. It was lower and a little gruff.

  She gripped Sunny’s hand. Trace had given her clear instructions before he left that he would call her Princess as an identifying code.

  The hairs prickled at the back of her neck as Trace came closer. The corridor seemed too small, too quiet.

  “So…everything is okay?”

  “Absolutely.” He jogged past, one hand on the service pack. “Gotta go.”

  “Great. Princess and I will just head up to the kitchen.”

  He nodded without looking back, and Gina felt the cold air wrap around her, squeezing at her throat.

  Nothing will be what you think it is. Trace had warned them not to trust anyone. What had happened?

  She didn’t plan to stay to find out. Calmly, she took Sunny’s hand and walked toward the closest door of the staff lounge. “Let’s get you some milk before we head upstairs, honey. You’re probably thirsty.”

  Gina heard the sound of low laughter and glasses clinking beyond the open doorway.

  Ten feet to go.

  Suddenly she was hit by a dizzying sense of…wrongness.

  Her pulse hammered as she fought to keep walking normally. Eight more feet.

  Six.

  Sunny’s fingers trembled in hers. “I feel sick, Miss Gina.”

  “We’ll get you something for your stomach, honey.” Gina heard the sound of a chair sliding back. Her heart thudded….

  A man’s fingers gripped her shoulder, incredibly strong, covered in black leather. “You don’t want to go in there after all,” he whispered.

  Gina froze. She couldn’t fight the force of his voice as it wrapped around her.

  “You want to come with me. Both of you. Right now.”

  Somehow her feet turned without her control and she followed him, with Sunny’s hand still in hers.

  GINA LOOKED AROUND in a daze and saw metal walls covered in layers of white crystals. She was shivering with cold, and she couldn’t seem to clear her head. Something warned her that she was in danger, but the uneasiness seemed to melt before she could figure out why.

  Metal hissed and grated, and a tall man loomed out of the shadows. He crouched near a set of wires pulled from the wall. Sliding on a headset, he connected three of the wires to a small metal box.

  Gina realized they were inside a freezer in a back storage room on the opposite corner from the kitchen. Heavy equipment lined the walls next to floor-to-ceiling boxes with canned goods.

  No one would find them here until morning. Maybe not then.

  A part of Gina’s mind screamed for her to run, that this was a bad place, but she couldn’t move. She stayed frozen, just the way he had told her.

  Something wrong, her mind screamed.

  Then that thought faded, just like the others.

  Funny, at first she’d thought the man in the corridor was Trace. Now she saw that they looked nothing alike. This man was older, and his face had an unnatural pallor beneath his dark stubble. He moved quickly, crouched near the bottom of the wall as he shifted wires, then adjusted the headset. Gina guessed that he was listening to something aboard the ship via the computer network and telephone system.

  Sunny yawned
sleepily, leaning against her leg while the cat wriggled in her hands.

  Go, Gina thought. Have to go while he isn’t looking.

  She touched the metal wall behind her and felt more ice. She tried to fight the mental fog that trapped her. The man looked sick, his face sweating as he pulled something from his field vest. The large bag was wrapped in the same kind of plastic that had covered Blaine’s.

  Gina felt the outline of Blaine’s smaller package in her pocket.

  Suddenly the man’s eyes cut to hers. Gina had the sense that he was looking into her mind.

  His eyes turned cold and assessing. He stood up and slowly walked toward her.

  Beside her Sunny made a low, rumbling noise and leaned over to throw up. The man jumped back. He seemed uneasy as he gathered his equipment and took off his headset.

  Weak and pale, Sunny leaned against Gina. “I don’t feel so good,” she whispered. “I want to go.”

  “I know, honey.” Gina didn’t want to draw the man’s attention. She stared desperately at the outside door, but something still held her in place.

  “He looks angry,” Sunny whispered. “I don’t like him.”

  Gina still couldn’t remember how she’d gotten down to the backup kitchen storage area. Everything was fuzzy. “Don’t worry. If we’re quiet, he’ll go away.”

  Sunny took a deep breath. “Can’t we leave now?”

  The man pulled tools and a lock out of his vest, and in that second Gina realized he meant to keep them here in the freezer. They were never going to leave.

  But there were safety overrides on the equipment. Gina knew every one. She stepped backward, pulling Sunny with her. Even one small movement left her sweating, her energy drained.

  Wrong. All wrong. It shouldn’t be so hard.

  The man zipped up his vest and turned. She felt the force of his gaze like a knife.

  “I want to go,” Sunny announced loudly, the cat clutched to her chest.

  The man folded up a sheet of paper that appeared to be a floor plan of the engineering level. Then he glanced down toward the pocket where Gina was carrying the plastic package from Blaine. Something told her the package was very important.