by Dale Mayer
“I promise.”
*
About forty-five minutes later a faint knock came at the door. Vince slipped up to it and peeked through the peephole. It was Johan. He unlocked the door and let him in. With the door closing behind him, he rebolted it and turned to him. “Well?”
“It’s FUBAR,” Johan said with a grin. “Makes life exciting.” He dropped the several backpacks he carried. Vince looked at him. “Documents?”
“Passports, documents, purse, wallets, laptops, etcetera.”
“But not the bags?”
“Too many bags for me to carry. After getting your text, I left Dr. Walker’s alone.”
“All of it?”
Johan shrugged. “No. I have his passport and wallet. But I didn’t take anything else from his room.”
“Good, then at least if we can find him, we can still get him out of the country.”
“But he’s not our problem, is he?”
“No,” Vince said, running his hand through hair. “He isn’t, but yet, he is.”
Johan nodded in agreement. “Never fun when you get somebody with a mind of his own, who doesn’t want to listen to the experts.”
“Exactly,” Vince said. He motioned to Vanessa and Tony, napping quietly. “We need a plan.”
“We need information,” Johan corrected. “The streets are buzzing. They’re looking for four of us. That means we can’t travel together anymore.”
“Agreed,” Vince said. “I was thinking we should take the sailboat and head out of the country that way.”
“The airport will definitely be watched,” Johan said, “though that’s the easiest and fastest way home. But that’s only if they can make the flights, and the flights don’t get canceled. And the team isn’t stopped before boarding.”
“We don’t have time to buy fake IDs and get them out that way either,” Vince said.
“We’ll wait on the information as it comes in. I’m more concerned about what Dr. Walker will be telling them than anything else.”
Vince winced. “According to these two, he’s likely to spill his guts entirely in order to save his own skin.”
“It wouldn’t be so bad if we had some information about Jasper and Dr. Sanchez,” he said. “But chances are, all Walker will do is turn us in.”
Chapter 12
Vanessa woke up slowly. She could hear Vince and Johan talking behind her. In front of her Tony lay slumbering gently. Memories came flooding back. They were on the run, apparently from law enforcement and potentially pirates. None of this made any sense, and all she wanted to do, she realized, was to echo Dr. Walker’s refrain to go home.
She wondered just what the scenario was with Dr. Walker, but, with all their phones now out of commission, it was hard just to get a reading on the situation. She desperately wanted Vince to say, Hey, it’s all good. Come answer a few questions for the locals, and then we can hit our flights tomorrow. But she knew that would not happen.
“Any news?” she murmured.
“Some,” Vince said, walking around to her side of the bed.
She rolled over so she faced Vince and Johan. They sat in two chairs facing each other. She had no idea how the chairs arrived. Knowing them, they probably took them from another room. “What’s up?”
“Levi has talked to the consulate. They have no word of any law enforcement holding Jasper.”
Vanessa’s gut twisted. “And do they have any idea about Dr. Walker?”
“No,” Johan answered. “We just heard from them five minutes ago. Nobody has seen either of them.”
“So who were the men who picked up Dr. Walker?”
“That’s anybody’s guess. The consulate said they’ve been having trouble with various gangs. But he couldn’t see how that was connected to your case.”
“No, it’ll be connected to Laura,” she said sadly. “We just don’t know in what way.”
“I think you’re right,” Vince said. “What we need to do is lie low.”
“Is that the advice you got from the others?” she asked, wishing she could do something—an actionable step instead of this hanging around, doing nothing stuff. She’d take action any day. “Just lie low?”
“Yep, pretty much,” Vince said. “Remember that part about waiting until we get some information so we actually have something viable to act upon?”
Vanessa pinched the bridge of her nose. “Can Levi contact my father and tell him that I’m okay?”
“Already done.” Vince’s voice was gentle. “Your father understands what’s going on. He’s waiting for any updates, the same as we are.”
A heavy sigh released from her chest. She crossed her arms and pulled her knees up tighter. Chilled inside and out, it was hard to imagine how this would work out. “Does anybody have any word on Laura?”
“Nothing yet,” Vince said. “We have informants in Colombia. Everybody is looking for her.”
“But, if she was kidnapped and smuggled into the country, nobody will have seen her, will they?”
“Now there’s a possibility,” Vince said. “In that case, we don’t have any way to know for sure what’s going on.”
She sat up and glared at them. “So what is it you do know?”
Vince grinned at her.
She glared deeper.
“I know we need to stay low, to stay out of sight and to stay out of trouble.”
“So why don’t we just get back on that sailboat of yours and head down the coast?” she asked. “Or up the coast. I really don’t care which country we go to.”
“It’s possible,” Johan said. “We’ve been cleared to do that. But are you sure you want to do it without Jasper and Dr. Walker and Dr. Sanchez?”
She felt like a shit. “No,” she muttered. “God, no. It’s bad enough we don’t have Laura with us, but now with those two missing also, this is just getting worse and worse. I don’t have a clue how to find even those two men.”
“No,” Vince said, “neither do we. And, of course, time is on our side, given that they’re probably safe somewhere. But that doesn’t mean Dr. Sanchez is safe.”
Just then Vince’s phone went off again. It was a weird buzzing sound. But instead of checking the text, he lifted it to his ear. “Yes?” he answered. Obviously he knew who it was. He looked to Vanessa and nodded. “We can take them to a safe place, yes, but they won’t want to leave without the other two members of their team. Of Dr. Sanchez, we have no clue.”
They talked some more, but none of it gave her any answers. When he finally hung up, he said, “We’re moving to the sailboat tonight. We’ll go out into international waters and stay there until we get more answers.”
She looked at him, her stomach twisting yet again. “And Dr. Walker and Jasper?”
“If we have you safe on board the boat, we can then go after those two.”
“Go after?” she said on a bitter laugh. “We don’t even know where they are. How can you go after anyone?”
“We did get the license plate,” Johan volunteered reluctantly. “We’re tracking it down now.”
“From the vehicle that picked up Dr. Walker?” Tony sat up beside them.
Vince nodded. “We didn’t tell you because we didn’t know if we could run it down. But, as soon as we have a name, potentially an address, we’ll go in search of them.”
“And hopefully find both of them?”
Both men nodded.
“Then leave us here,” she said. “You will go and get those two. Then all of us can move together.”
Vince shook his head. “It’s much easier to travel as four than as six. If we get you safely on board the boat, then we’ll come back to shore and get the other men.”
“Getting us on the sailboat is one thing,” she said. “I’d be more than happy to go there. But I don’t want you to take us out to international waters. Both Tony and I can run the boat. But, if we’re moored somewhere close by for now, we can pull out of the bay on your word if it gets ugly.”
Johan studie
d her face carefully. “What benefit is there to that?”
“It’s easier for you guys to get to shore and for you to bring Dr. Walker and Jasper back to the boat.”
Vince nodded. “It would be, but it would put you in more danger.”
“Does anybody know about your sailboat?” Vanessa asked. “Will anybody suspect we’re on it? Because otherwise, I highly suggest we stick to that plan so it’s easier for you guys to come back and forth.”
The two men studied each other and then shrugged.
“That’s a possibility,” Johan said. “But what we can’t do is make that decision until we know about the black vehicle.”
It wasn’t long until they got another message. Johan’s phone lit up. “They’ve tracked down the owner of the vehicle. And look at that. It is a Colombian national.”
“See?” she said excitedly. “It’s all got to be related to Laura.”
Vince and Johan nodded.
“For the first time we might actually agree with you,” Vince said, “now that we have something that connects this. We have an address.” He glanced at Tony. “Are you okay to go out to the sailboat?”
Tony nodded. “We’re probably safer there where we have a chance of getting away than being sitting ducks here.”
“You’re pretty safe here,” Johan said.
Tony shook his head. “As soon as you pay somebody, there’s always somebody who’ll pay more. I barely slept, but now that I have, all I feel is this instinct to run.”
“Good enough for me,” Johan said. He picked up the bags and tossed one to Tony. “That’s yours, Jasper’s and Dr. Walker’s personal documents, passports, wallets, laptops.” Another bag Johan threw over his shoulder.
Tony looked down at the collection. “How did you get into the rooms and get all this?”
Johan gave him a bland look.
Tony shrugged, a smile on his face. “Well, the clothes and bags we can replace but this stuff? … Yes, thank you for that.” He quickly checked through it and then zipped it up and put it on his back.
Vanessa went into the bathroom, washed her face, used the facilities, and, by the time she came out, Vince held her bag. It was her regular backpack she used when she went on day trips. She grabbed it thankfully and checked inside. Indeed, her laptop, wallet, passport and a lot of her research papers were there.
Vince motioned at the outside pocket. “Johan wasn’t sure what you might need. But there was a bag full of USB keys.”
She looked at him in delight as she dug through the pocket. “Did you bring that?” And there it was. She pulled out the small bag and turned to Tony. “This is all our research.”
Tony shook his head. “I forgot we were even about to lose all that. I know we had some on laptops and some in cloud storage, but that, … that’s our backup.”
“It’s likely to be everything,” Vanessa said, “because chances are good there won’t be a backup on cloud storage, and who knows what’s actually been transferred. You know how spotty any communication was.”
He nodded.
She shoved the USB keys deep into her pocket. “Thank you, Johan.” When she saw her wallet, she pulled it out and found the money was still there and her credit cards. She could feel something good settling inside. She didn’t like being without her documentation and money. But now that she had both, she was good to go. She hopped up, and, like Tony, threw it on her back. “Let’s go,” she said. “I’d rather be on the ship than here.”
*
It was dark enough and silent enough that it was safe to leave. Sort of. Going out the back exit into the alleyway, Vince hung on tight to Vanessa. She was just unpredictable enough that he didn’t want her going off in a different direction than he was going. He whispered in her ear, “For all intents and purposes you belong to me while we’re here. Do you understand?”
She shot him a look but nodded.
He was grateful for that. Vanessa was small, slight, pretty, and she would be valuable goods on the streets. The last thing they needed was to have any kind of argument with a local as to who “owned” Vanessa. And neither did he want to have to slap her around and make a show of dominance for others to see he would protect his property. But, in this part of town, you could damn well be sure that she was nothing but chattel.
With a hard look at Johan and Tony, he led the way. They walked steadily through the back streets. He had the route in his head that would take them to where they needed to go. They passed several groups, but nobody seemed to want to challenge them. Then again, he had also had several staring contests with men as he walked past.
It was a dangerous mission, but, at the same time, it was necessary. Necessary to get them to safety. Because Tony was right. As soon as you paid somebody to do something, always somebody else would be willing to pay more. There was only so much Vince and Johan could do. Vince could protect Vanessa and Tony to a certain extent, but that was it. At some point, all hell would break loose, and he wanted them well out in the middle of the bay before then.
As they came to the large docks, Vince pushed her gently toward Johan. “Stay here,” he said in a guttural whisper.
He stepped out into the darkness, surveying the path to the marina. The entrance was locked. He frowned. He hadn’t expected that. But then there had to be some kind of security here.
A small rowboat supposedly waiting for them at the end. Not exactly his choice, but any motor would make too much noise. They wanted to be quiet, didn’t want to make it look like they were skulking. The trouble was, a rowboat would do the same thing.
He picked the lock on the marina gate and slid down to the docks. As he came to the end, instead of a rowboat there was a canoe. He studied the size of it and nodded. That would work fine. It would allow both Johan and him to put some muscle into the job.
He headed back, rejoined the rest. Moving silently now toward the water, hating the shadows that moved with him when he walked them to the marina, he stopped.
As they gathered, Vanessa whispered, “Did you see anyone?”
Johan looked to Vince. He just shot him a look and slyly pointed to the back wall. Johan disappeared.
Tony asked Vince, “Where’s he going?”
Vanessa turned to him. “Shh.”
Tony glared at her but then seemed to realize Johan was going after someone. He frowned and followed her into the canoe. He kept glancing back as if to ensure Johan was coming. At one point he turned to Vince and said, “Should he be alone?”
Vince nodded. “Sometimes it’s the only way we can do this.” He untied the canoe, then got in. Johan would have a ten-minute window, and that was it. Otherwise, Vince would go after him when he got Vanessa and Tony to the boat. He checked his watch and then pushed off but Vanessa and Tony whispered, “Wait. Wait. We can’t go without Johan.”
In as quiet a voice as he could manage, because their voices carried over water like loudspeakers, he said, “Remember? I’m going back to the shore.”
They fell silent but were obviously not happy about the circumstances. Tony did settle himself to the other end of the canoe, picked up a paddle, and, with Vanessa in the middle, the two men steadily struck their way out to the bay.
“Why didn’t you bring the boat in and moor it?”
“Paperwork,” he said. He could feel her puzzlement until Tony spoke.
“Moorage fees, registrations, things like that.”
She sighed. “It really is a shallow world when you have to think about that.”
Vince nodded. When he heard voices from a nearby party boat, he held up his hand with a finger in the air to be quiet.
Stroking strong and silently, they slipped past the party boat and kept going. He could feel the tense atmosphere behind them. He understood it. For him, it was something that drove him. It gave him a certain amount of comfort to realize they’d made it this far. A battle on the water was a battle he was in command of. But he had two innocents, and that gave him a handicap.
It took a little longer than he’d expected. Tony was good, but he wasn’t Johan. Eight minutes off his timing, he pulled the canoe up to the side of the sailboat. There he threw up a rope onto the ladder. Secured, he pivoted to help Vanessa climb the ladder. Then, with Tony following, he scooted up behind her. He did a quick search of the boat, found it all good to go, made sure there was gas and that the engines worked, shut her down and whispered, “I’m gone.”
“How will we know if there’s a problem?” Vanessa asked. She grabbed his hands. “What if something happens to you?”
He knew that partly she was asking because of her own fear and fear of what would happen to them. He handed her one of his two cell phones. “If you get three separate calls in a row, and nobody is there, you turn this boat on and head straight out for international waters, then go up the coast. Understand?”
Both nodded dumbly.
He smiled. “And, of course, if you get a text or phone call, make sure you answer it because I could be on the other end. I’ll let you know as soon as I can what we’re doing.”
She nodded, then kissed him gently on his cheek. “Thank you.”
He flashed a wicked grin at her. “Is that the way to send a warrior into battle?” He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her hard and deep and passionately. When he released her, she sagged back against Tony. Vince climbed over the side of the boat, landing easily into the canoe, picked up his paddle, disconnected the rope, and he headed back toward shore.
Chapter 13
“Holy shit,” Tony said. “You know what? As far as exits go, that was movie-worthy.”
His grin was a mile wide, but she could hardly argue with him. “It sure was,” she said with a sigh. “And he’s a hell of a kisser too.”
Tony just chuckled. “Not my style, as you well know.”
She grinned. “Well, it would be if he were kissing you,” she teased.
He shook his head. “You know who I have at home,” he said, “and thanks for not making an issue of it.”
She shrugged. “I have absolutely no problem with you having somebody you love and care for at home. I’m just sorry you’re not there with him.”