by Dale Mayer
He turned and glared at her. “Those men are coming for you,” he snapped in a low tone. “Don’t you get that?”
She glared back. “I saw you send the others away, but it’s no good if you’ll be left behind. I watched you pay the bill and then head out to the front.”
“I was trying to see where the men were going,” he said. “Whether reception sends them up to our rooms or over to the restaurant. I needed to know what window of time we had, which now you have just narrowed considerably.”
Ouch. She hadn’t meant to cause any trouble, but she hadn’t wanted him to get in trouble either. “You can’t be the one taken,” she hissed. “You’re the only one who knows how to get us out of here.”
“Which is why we split up,” he said, urging her through the restaurant to the back. “Johan is just as good as I am. But we can’t do anything if you guys get picked up.”
“Sure you can,” she said. “You rescued us once. You can rescue us again.”
“I could,” he said, “but it’ll be an entirely different story this time. It’s not pirates. It’s local law enforcement.”
“I think they were militia,” she muttered. Before she realized it, she stood outside in the setting sun. She looked around, but there was no sign of Johan and the others. “We’re separated from them, aren’t we?”
“Of course you are,” he said. “Remember that part about going with him?”
She nodded but stayed silent. This was her fault. But she’d done it for the best of reasons. She’d already lost Laura; she wouldn’t lose Vince too.
*
Vince was more than pissed that she hadn’t followed his orders, and that now stopped him from having a chance to see what was going on in the lobby. He grabbed her arm and tugged her around the block. “Stay at my side,” he said in a harsh whisper. “Don’t try to look like you’re running. Just stay beside me as if we have a place to go and a time frame to be there.”
“I wouldn’t have to run,” she said, gasping, “if you would slow down.”
He slowed his pace. “We can’t slow too much,” he warned. “We have to meet up with the others.”
Biting her lip, she stayed at his side.
He damn-well hoped so. After what she’d cost him in time back at the restaurant, it would be hard to figure out what was going on now. He saw no sign of the four men. He didn’t have an informant inside the hotel. And that was too damn bad. He also didn’t want to think they’d lost or forfeited the contents of their rooms. His laptop was there, as were his traveling papers.
He thought about how he could get back into the hotel and grab everybody’s gear without being seen. Up ahead he saw Johan waiting for them on a small park bench. They met up, and, in a low voice, Vince said to Johan, “I didn’t get a chance to see where they went. My concern is they went up to our rooms.”
Johann nodded grimly. “Take them. I’ll collect our stuff.”
“You can’t go alone,” Vanessa argued. “It’s too much stuff.”
He gave her a hard look. “It means you won’t get it all back.” And, just like that, he disappeared.
The two men looked at him. “What’s going on?” Dr. Walker asked.
“Those men were looking for you,” Vince said. “We’re trying to delay that from happening.”
“Delay?” Tony asked. “But you’re expecting them to get us eventually?”
He shook his head. “I hope not. Who are they? What do they want?”
“If they’re government,” Dr. Walker said, “maybe we should see them. They can’t be on the wrong side of this. They’re probably just looking for more information on Dr. Sanchez.”
“Yes, they quite possibly are,” Vince said with a heavy sigh. “Think about it. There were five of you on the boat. Four came back. And none of you have anything to say about the missing doctor. Yet, she has friends in high places, people who want her, and maybe not for the right reasons. Can’t you see how the government might be willing to look sideways for answers?”
Dr. Walker frowned at Vince, and he could see Dr. Walker didn’t get it. “They’ll be quite happy to charge you guys with her murder,” he said abruptly. “Or at least say you’re responsible for her going missing.”
“We didn’t have anything to do with it,” Tony protested.
“But they won’t care, will they?” Vanessa asked, staring up at Vince. “Jesus, what have we gotten into?”
“So why the hell couldn’t we have left today?” Dr. Walker jumped to his feet and paced in a circle. “If we’d managed to get on flights, it would have been a done deal.” He lightly smacked Vanessa on the shoulder. “You probably told them it was cheaper to keep us here because you were trying to get Dr. Sanchez,” he said contemptuously.
She glared at him. “Yes, I am concerned about Laura. But I didn’t have anything to do with the university making that call. Our flights are booked for tomorrow. Whether the local military or the local government know about that is a different story. If we can get checked through on the airlines, we could still leave on time.”
Vince kept his thoughts to himself, but, if the government wanted to nab them, it was pretty easy to check for flights for these four. What he didn’t know was what role Jasper had in all of this.
“Has anybody heard from Jasper since that first text?”
They all pulled out their phones. One at a time they each shook their heads. Vince stared off in the distance. “The last thing I want to do is have you guys picked up by these men.”
“Why is that?” Dr. Walker asked. “It’s not like they can turn around and slam us into jail and ignore us. We’re American citizens, for God’s sake.”
“That doesn’t mean we’re God,” Tony said, turning on him suddenly. “And they don’t give a shit what country we come from. Here, we’re in their country. Can you at least try to remember you’re not somebody special here?”
Dr. Walker glared at him, but he settled back on the bench. “I’m never getting home, am I?”
“I’m more concerned about Dr. Sanchez and Jasper at this moment,” Vanessa said suddenly. “There’s got to be a way to get through to Jasper.”
“Maybe, but if he’s not answering his phone and if no one has seen him …”
“We need to see if he’s been kidnapped,” she said in a rush. “Maybe we can contact his captors. Find a way to rescue Jasper.”
“Yeah, and get taken by the same men.” Tony raised both hands in frustration. “That won’t work because, if we are taken by the same group, we might not be placed in the same room the next time.” He sat down beside Dr. Walker and looked up at Vince. “This is your area of specialty. What the hell are we supposed to do now?”
Vince worked out a plan. “We’ll find a place to hide. And then we’ll send out feelers to see what the hell’s going on, which group is looking for you guys.”
“And where is it we could possibly hide?” Dr. Walker sneered. “They already know we’re registered at the hotel, so they’ll be watching for us there.”
“Yes. So we won’t be there.” He looked around the neighborhood, wondering about the best location. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Levi, saying he needed housing for five because an unknown group had come to the hotel looking for them.
“Do you think there’s any chance it wasn’t us they were looking for?” Tony asked hesitantly. “I know we all jumped to the same conclusion after hearing about Jasper, but do we really know for sure they came after us?”
Dr. Walker pulled out his phone. “One way to find out.” He hit a series of numbers on his phone while Vince watched him.
“Who are you calling?” Vanessa asked.
He held up a finger to silence her. “Yes. Hello. This is Dr. Walker. I registered earlier today. I was just wondering if there are any messages at the front desk for me.” He winced at whatever the other person said. “Oh, interesting. Well, I certainly don’t know what the problem is. I’ll be sure to contact them. Yes, yes, I’ll be ba
ck very quickly.” He hung up and turned to Vince. “They said law enforcement was looking for us. They had some questions they wanted us to answer.”
Vince snagged his phone, popped open the back and pulled out the SIM card and the battery. Then he handed him his phone and pocketed both items.
Dr. Walker looked at him in horror. “What did you just do?”
“I stopped them from tracking your damn phone.”
Dr. Walker stared at him. “How could they possibly do that? They don’t have my number.” Then he realized what he’d said and who he’d just called and sighed. “So what you’re saying is that they know I’m alive and have a phone with me. They can track that back.”
“Certainly law enforcement could. I know I certainly could,” Vince said. He looked at the other two and flicked out his hands. “Same for you guys.”
“What about you?” Tony asked as he handed him the battery and SIM card from his phone.
“I have two phones,” Vince said. “Neither of them are on, and neither of them are registered at the hotel.”
“Why is that?”
“For exactly the same reason we’re taking yours away from you.”
Dejected, the three sat on the bench, while Vince checked for messages on his own phone. Levi came through with a name and an address. He brought it up on his GPS, noted where they were and how far away they were and nodded. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Ushering the group ahead of him, he sent a text to Johan about their future location but in code, in case he was taken and somebody found his phone. Vince maneuvered the group down several blocks, over one and up another. By the time they arrived at the destination, they were hot, sweaty and protesting loudly.
He groaned as they entered the cool reception room and smiled at the lady who met them in the entranceway. She chattered away and handed him two room keys. He nodded and led them straight through.
Upstairs he opened two rooms and put the men in together, keeping Vanessa with him. When they went in the other side, he walked through and opened the adjoining room.
“Why won’t she tell the police?” Tony asked as he walked through to their room.
“She would if she had any idea the police were looking for us,” Vince said cheerfully. “But since she’s hiding from the police herself, she’s not likely to check.”
“How did you find that out?” Vanessa asked.
He shot her a slanted look and stayed quiet. Then he said, “Double beds are here. And nobody is to leave these rooms.”
“Until when?”
“Until Johan gets here,” he said. “That will determine whether we’ll have the paperwork and documentation necessary for you to leave the country.”
That shut them all up.
“If they’re watching for us at the airport, how will we get out of here?” Vanessa asked.
“That sailboat we used to rescue you may end up taking us out of here,” he said, “but I don’t have that locked down yet.”
Vanessa walked over to the first bed and sat down near the headboard. “Good thing we just ate then. I should be fine for a couple hours.”
He appreciated the steadfastness of her manner.
Tony sat down on the other bed. “Instead of getting us out of a pickle, it seems like we’re getting further and further into one, and none of this explains where Jasper or Dr. Sanchez are.”
“All we can do is circle around here,” Vanessa said. “We’re not getting any answers.”
“My team has sent out lots of feelers,” Vince said. “We lay low until some of those feelers bear fruit, and we get some answers. There’s no point in running around lost and getting ourselves into more trouble.”
His phone buzzed. He pulled it out to see a message from Johan. “Johan is on his way back.”
“Did he get our passports?” Dr. Walker asked. “If he didn’t, then I feel like I should go to the authorities, speak with them myself, and then go back to my hotel and get a decent night’s sleep, so I can fly out tomorrow.”
Vanessa shook her head. “Don’t do that, Dr. Walker. You know that’s not the right thing to do.”
He gave her an astonished look. “My dear, it’s law enforcement. They’re not executioners. I know we’re not on American soil, but they do understand the kind of trouble they’ll have if they treat us poorly.”
Vince snorted and stared at him in wonder. He didn’t know if Walker actually believed what he was saying or if he was just trying to say something to make himself feel better. Either way it was all blarney. But Vince could understand from his point of view that maybe he was grabbing at straws to get out of this mess. He knew in his heart of hearts it wouldn’t work. But he wouldn’t force the man to stay.
“You do what you think is best,” Vince said. “My advice is to stay here and to avoid problems. But, if you want to turn yourself in, then do so. And good luck.”
Dr. Walker stared at him and slowly said, “Maybe I will.”
Vanessa jumped to her feet. “Please don’t.”
He brushed away her concerns. “You’re worrying too much. All this cloak-and-dagger stuff, it’s turning your brain into thinking we’re in some Bond movie.” And then he walked out of the room.
Tony and Vanessa looked at each other and then at Vince. “Why did you tell him that?”
“Because it’s true,” Vince said. “I won’t sit here and argue with somebody who doesn’t want to be saved. I’ll have enough trouble keeping you guys safe. I don’t need somebody who doesn’t want to be looked after. That’s just the way of it.”
She sagged back on the bed.
Vince had pulled out his phone again.
“You know he’ll tell them where we are, don’t you?” Tony said. “Dr. Walker is one thing and one thing only, and that is concerned about his own ass.”
Vince sighed. “Yes, I do know.” He made a call.
Chapter 11
She was stunned to hear him speak a variation of Spanish. And he did it well. When he was done and hung up the phone, she looked at him and said, “Now what did you just do?”
“I changed our rooms. They have a sister hotel around the corner. It’s more low-key. You’ll love it.” He nudged them both up. “Come on. Let’s go. No time like the present.”
“Don’t you think we should wait a little bit,” she said. “In case Dr. Walker changes his mind.”
Vince looked out the window. As he watched, Dr. Walker stepped across the road and headed down to the main street. Vince kept watching for several minutes until two vehicles pulled up on either side of Dr. Walker. Vince closed the curtains. “Go, now.” He grabbed their hands and ran them from their hotel room to the back stairs and outside.
“What’s the rush?” she asked, racing beside him.
“Dr. Walker was just picked up.”
Outside he immersed the three of them in the crowds, then texted Johan with a new address. He didn’t get confirmation and didn’t waste his time waiting for it either. Keeping to the back alleys he moved them through to the next lodging. Going in the back door, he made his way up the back stairs.
A young boy stood beside a door. He had a big grin on his face and a key in his hand. Vince took the key, handed him a few coins, opened the door and moved everybody inside. Then the door closed. Inside were two large double beds. Tony sighed. “I’ll get sick of double beds very quickly.”
“It seems like our lodgings are getting smaller and smaller,” Vanessa said with a poor attempt at a laugh. She sagged on the nearest bed and looked up at Vince. “You think it’s bad news he was picked up, don’t you?”
Tony looked at her. “Even I think it’s bad news he was picked up so fast. It means they were already looking for us.”
“Of course they were,” she said. “They want to talk to us and to ask questions. How long do we wait here?”
“Until I can get more answers.” Vince looked around the small room and walked into the bathroom. After using the facilities, he came out with a drink of
water in his hand. “And we wait for Johan. That will tell us what we have available to work with.” He studied the two people in front of him. “It’ll work out. I promise.”
Vanessa gave him a wan smile. “It’s not that I don’t believe you because, if there’s anybody who can make this happen or make this all go away, it’s you. We never expected to survive the ocean.”
“How did you get our coordinates for that anyway?” Tony asked.
“We were going off the last GPS coordinates for the research vessel,” Vince said. “We were prepared to be out there for a week if need be.”
Tony sighed. “I don’t trust Dr. Walker,” he said suddenly. “I really don’t trust him to not turn us in.”
“I’m pretty sure they’ve already gone to our first hotel rooms,” Vince said. “The thing is, we don’t know if they can find us here too.”
“Will the first hotel tell them?”
He shook his head. “No. This is the lawless land. Nobody’ll tell on us.”
“Except for more money,” she said. “It’s a very poor area of town.”
“True.” He flashed her a grin. “But they’ve already been paid, and they’ll get paid more if we’re left alone. And everybody wants that second payment.”
She nodded. “I guess we can’t have any contact with anybody either, can we?”
“No,” he said. “Not right now. Complete blackout.”
“My father will worry.”
“Your father has already contacted the consulate, looking for you,” Vince said. “My boss put him onto that as soon as they realized we were in trouble.”
“Why would that make a difference?” Tony asked.
“To make waves to ensure you don’t just disappear off the face of the earth.”
That shut them up. Vanessa sat back on the bed. “I’m tired.”
“Nap,” he urged. “Just close your eyes and let all this float away. I’ll wake you if I need to move us real fast.”
Tony nodded. “Me too,” he said. “Because it’s cramped quarters, I’ll lie down beside her. But if anything happens, you promise you’ll wake us?”