by Dale Mayer
Tony nodded. “So am I. It’s very painful to be here in this situation and to not know what the hell happened to everyone, to not know if we will ever make it back home again.”
She nodded. “But we have to trust in the men. They’ve done well by us so far.”
“I can’t imagine the world they live in where they know how to do all this,” Tony said. “How they can procure the stuff they need to procure.”
“Speaking of which,” Vanessa said, “I don’t know about you, but I’m hoping at least we can drink something on board.” She headed toward the kitchen. “A pot of coffee would not go amiss.”
“Neither would food,” Tony said. “It seems like dinner was a long time ago.”
“Right, and it didn’t exactly sit well when we had to race out of the restaurant.”
“And damn Dr. Walker,” Tony suddenly exploded. “Why the hell does he always have to be the odd one out, to do something that completely doesn’t go along with the rest of us?”
“I think in this case it was fear,” Vanessa said quietly. “I can’t imagine that he felt comfortable with the circumstances and was looking for a way to get back to some normality. In his world, normality means, law enforcement officers are the good guys. The militia are the good guys. Government representatives are the good guys.” She shrugged. “Just think about what he does. It’s his regular routine day after day. He’s married. He goes to work at a university and comes home to his wife and family.”
“His wife must be a saint or plain crazy,” Tony muttered.
Vanessa smiled gently and continued, “He’s a regular all-American kind of guy. He’s not a sports fanatic, but he probably watches various sports on TV. He’s not a gamer, probably doesn’t even know what that means in today’s age. He’s a family man. He’s a worker, and that’s all there is in his life, and he’s quite happy with that.”
“I guess,” Tony said. “It’s just frustrating because there’s so much else to life.”
“Sure, and you’re happy to have something else in your life. You’ve got Franco. And that’s great. Dr. Walker has his wife. I think her name is Jenny or something like that.” She frowned, trying to recall it. “I can’t quite remember. But I think she’s a teacher. Something else that would match Dr. Walker’s concept of normality perfectly. Not only that, I think she’s like a daycare teacher, dealing with young children, or maybe a first-grade teacher or something, working part-time. You know? That whole homemaker thing suits him to a tee.”
At that, Tony chuckled. “Let’s go see what’s downstairs,” he said.
They trooped to the kitchen, turned on the little lights over the stove and took a look around to see what there was. With the curtains closed, it shouldn’t be obvious that anybody was on board. But they kept the rest of the lights off, just in case.
Scouting through the supplies, they found real food and drinks. Both alcoholic and non. When she found a package of coffee beans, she crowed with delight. “How about you? Are you up for coffee?”
He found the coffeemaker and a grinder and pulled both out so they could use them.
With beans ground and the coffeepot dripping, she settled on a cushioned chair. “This is quite a luxurious sailboat.” She looked around. “Most of my water experience has been left to small power boats and the research vessels.”
“Mine too,” Tony said, sitting across from her, the aroma of coffee filling their small cozy kitchen. “Are you hungry?” He’d found a package of peanuts, some chips and what looked to be pepperoni. They shared the feast. “How long do you think it’ll be?”
She shook her head. “Hours,” she said soberly. “It’s two in the morning now. We probably won’t hear from them or see them until at least six.”
“Is that an arbitrary assessment?” Tony asked. “You worked that out how?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m just guessing they would want to be here in the dark though, don’t they? So that would mean early morning hours?” She thought about all the guys had to do and then shook her head. “Although no way they’ll grab both men and get them back here by six.”
“If they need darkness,” Tony said, “they might not be back until tonight.”
The two exchanged sober looks.
“And that’s a scary thought,” she said. “I’m much happier here than I am in that dingy hotel room, but it’s hard waiting and not knowing what the hell is happening.”
Tony nodded. “I hear you. Still, it’s what we have, so it’s what we’ll do.”
When the coffee was done, they poured themselves a cup each and sat down to enjoy some more snacking. When she was finally full, she said, “There’s no point sitting here. I think I’ll go lie down.”
“Will you wake if he calls?”
She winced. “Right. So what do we do? Not sleep for the next twenty-four hours?”
Just then the phone rang. Terrified, she stared at it, then snatched it up off the table. “Hello?”
“It’s me,” Vince said. “We won’t make it back before the darkness is gone. We’ll be there before noon though, so hold tight. We’re coming.” And he hung up.
He hung up so fast, she didn’t get a chance to ask any questions. She turned to Tony. “He said they’ll be here before noon.” Vanessa shook her head. “How the hell will they make it back in daylight?”
Tony sighed. “We have to trust. They haven’t let us down yet.”
She smiled. “Isn’t that the truth? And noon is a long way away.” She motioned at the clock beside them. “We can either rest now, which is probably our best bet, or we can sit up and wait some more.”
“No point,” Tony said. “Let’s go check out the sleeping quarters.”
There was a bedroom and a bunk room. As they walked into the bedroom, she gave a happy sigh. “Can you imagine if this was actually a holiday? This is ultimate luxury.”
The bed was on a pedestal, which probably hid all kinds of storage underneath. Soft lights, when they turned them on, filled the area. They shut them off.
Tony said, “We might be better off if we stay in here together.”
“Agreed,” she said. “I get the left side of the bed though.”
“Blankets on? Blankets off?”
She frowned. “I would sleep better with a blanket on.”
“Me too.” He pulled the bedspread off the top.
She chuckled, and, with gratitude, she crawled in, laid her head on the pillow.
Tony covered her up, then scrambled in on the opposite side of the bed.
She whispered, “Good night, Tony.”
His soft heartfelt whisper came back. “Good night. Sleep tight.”
*
Johan waited just on the other side of the gate for Vince. He’d tied up the canoe, crept alongside the mooring. Johan opened the gate, and they slipped out, relocked it.
As they headed back into the alley, Vince asked, “Any news?”
“Yeah. Looks like they’re preparing to move.”
“So the eyes you found are working it out?”
Johan nodded. “And he’s here with wheels for us.”
That would make the job a hell of a lot easier. They bailed into the waiting car, Johan taking the passenger seat in the front, while Vince slid into the back seat. He wasn’t sure about the driver. He looked like somebody you would meet in the back alley with double switchblades and who would take your liver faster than you could say, Hey. But he and Johan talked calmly.
With no lights, he drove through town, coming to the side of a large estate. Vince hadn’t even noticed they’d shifted from low-end to middle-class to high-end houses. He studied the estate and saw it didn’t matter where you went around the world, they still looked the same. Like fortresses.
As they watched, the gates opened, and a large black SUV drove out slowly. The driver’s phone went off. He checked the text and said, “Both guys were loaded into the back of the SUV.”
“How many men are with them?”
“That’s not good,” Vince said. “Means they’re prepared to ward off an attack.”
Vince agreed. “Any place to take them out?”
“Depends on where they’re heading,” the driver said. “If it’s an exchange to another estate, we need to get them before they get into the other property.”
“Is it likely to be that?” Vince asked. “Is there a private airstrip around here? Any small marinas?”
“The airstrip is more likely,” Johan said, thinking fast, now dialing his phone, speaking to someone. “Stone is checking for something like that close to us.”
Vince could hear half of Johan’s conversation as he spoke on the phone. As it was only half, it wasn’t helping him to clarify anything. He tried to block it out.
When Johan put down his phone, he turned to Vince and said, “A small airstrip is up ahead, about three miles from here.”
Grim, he nodded. “It’ll be our only chance.”
Johan turned to the driver. “Any chance of weapons?”
The driver cackled. “For money there’s always a chance.”
“We have money,” Johan said in a harsh tone. “And there’s a bonus if we get these people back safe and sound.”
The driver nodded happily. “Then we can do a deal.” He sent off a text and said, “We’ll head for the airstrip on the assumption that’s where they’re going.” Then he warned, “But we must be willing to change our plans if they do not turn in that direction.”
“Always,” Johan said.
In the back seat, Vince struggled to understand what was going on. Why were the guys in suits taking Dr. Walker and Jasper out of the country? And where was that flight going? Being a small airstrip, they were likely to fly under the radar, and nobody would file a flight plan. They could go anywhere in the world.
Levi called Vince just then. “We’ve got satellite eyes on both of you.”
Vince grinned. “Now that’s good to hear. Apparently we have weapons being procured.”
“Good to know,” Levi said with relief in his voice. “That was my next question. No way I can get any help to you in time.”
“No,” Vince said, “but I would love to know what the hell is behind all this.”
“With the Colombia connection,” Levi said, “it sounds like Dr. Sanchez is the one behind the original attack.”
“Behind it or was the target of it?” Vince asked. “I’m not convinced she wasn’t involved.”
“No, me neither,” Levi said, “but it makes no sense to pick up the other two.”
“No,” he said, “it doesn’t. And we won’t know if these two are in on it until we take down the vehicle. Perhaps this is actually a rescue to get these two out of the country. I don’t have any way to know. But, considering the black-suited guys’ furtive movements and shifting these people in the dark, we must go on the assumption Dr. Walker and Jasper are being taken against their will.”
“They certainly haven’t managed to get a message out either way.”
“Not sure they can,” Vince said. “Just so much is going on right now. And they don’t have any electronics.”
“So watch your back as you go into this play,” Levi said. “I’m still not sure we should have left the other two alone on board the boat so near to the bay. The two men who delivered the boat to you originally are still in port. He’s getting things set up right now, and he’ll head out to the boat to make sure they’re okay and stand guard.”
“Then I better give her a warning,” Vince said. “They won’t be too receptive to more strangers showing up.”
“Did you give her the other phone?”
“I did. Send her a message for me, will you? Let her know what’s going down.”
“I’ll let her know what’s going down in her corner,” Levi said, a note of humor in his voice. “Apparently she can get into trouble if she knows too much.”
Vince chuckled. “That is true.” Just then the vehicle took a hard right. “Looks like we’re heading to the airport,” he said.
There was talk on the other end of the phone, then Levi said, “I’m handing you off to Stone now.”
There was a short pause.
“Remember. You don’t want to get on that plane if you don’t have to, and, if we know they’re being kidnapped, it’s better to take out the plane and stop it from flying.”
“Gotcha,” Vince said. “Levi doesn’t ask for much, does he?”
Stone laughed and hung up.
Johan chuckled from the front seat. “Just everything. He’s very much like Bullard. They expect the world and that we’ll get it for him.”
“The problem is,” Vince said, “too often that’s exactly what we do. And then they expect more the next time.”
The driver nodded sagely. “That is with all bosses. We pull off one amazing feat, and then they want another one and another one. And suddenly, amazing feats aren’t enough,” he said. “And we have to do more.”
Vince chuckled. “Exactly.”
Chapter 14
The beeping phone woke her. She snatched it up and answered it. “Hello? Vince, are you okay?”
“It’s not Vince. It’s Levi,” said the man at the other end. “First, I’ve spoken to your father, and he’s doing fine. He knows you’re okay.”
She closed her eyes and sagged back in the bed. She rolled over to see Tony staring at her wide-eyed. She held up a finger and said, “It’s Levi.”
He relaxed back and listened.
“I’m glad to hear that,” she said. “Thanks for contacting him.”
“There’s another reason I’m calling. The two men who delivered the sailboat to Vince and Johan in the harbor, they’re coming to stand guard with you and Tony,” he said. “Dr. Walker and Jasper are being moved again in a black SUV and are heading for a private airport. Johan and Vince have gone after them.”
“Do we know for sure they’ve been kidnapped?” she asked hesitantly. “Has anybody seen if they’re tied up or if they’re just part of it all?”
“Interesting thought,” Levi said. “I wish I had a confirmed answer for you. The fact is, we just know they’ve been moved into a vehicle. Two men are in the front of the vehicle, and two men are on either side of them in the back.”
“Protection or guarding?” she asked again.
He chuckled. “I’m glad to see you got your head on straight. But again, I don’t have answers. Maybe we’ll know as soon as they hit the airport. Johan and Vince will be at the airport probably within an hour. It’s five a.m. already where you are. And they’ve already been alerted that I’m sending the guards on their way to you.”
“How are they coming?”
“No idea,” Levi said. “I’m sending you visuals, so you know exactly who is coming on board. These are your guards, men from the friend of ours who is lending us your current sleeping quarters.”
“And very nice sleeping quarters they are at that,” she said with alacrity. She hopped up and looked out the window, surprised to see it was early dawn. “I can’t believe it’s light out. It seemed like I’d never fall asleep and the night would never end. Then, of course, I crashed, and now it feels like hours have gone by.”
“Good,” he said. “I hope hours have gone by because, the fact of the matter is, you can do nothing except stay safe. When I get off the phone, remember. I’m sending you two images. Don’t let anybody else on board.”
She gave a broken laugh. “And just what is it you expect us to do if it isn’t these two men?” she cried out. “You realize no weapons are on board.”
He hesitated, and then he said, “Actually there are. But, if you don’t know how to use them, don’t touch them.”
The breath whooshed from her chest as she remembered the crates. “I didn’t even look last night, but that would explain what Vince grabbed on his way out. He kept it hidden.”
“Yes, he would,
” Levi said. “But remember that’s what he does. He knows how to handle them. He knows how to handle the situation. You don’t. So, if it isn’t the people you’re expecting, send me a message if you can. If not, stay quiet and know Vince and Johan will return.” And with that he hung up.
She headed to the kitchen and put on another pot of coffee. She didn’t think she’d sleep another wink. As she waited for the machine to drip, two photos came through. Both men looked to be happy-go-lucky sailors. That didn’t mean they were though. She’d grown up a lot in the last few days. People weren’t who they appeared to be, and she wasn’t even sure that Jasper, Dr. Walker or Laura were who she thought they were.
Tony came out and joined her. She filled him in on the little he didn’t know. He pointed at the crates and said, “Those are the weapons, aren’t they? That must have been what I saw Vince grab on his way out, but I didn’t realize what he took.”
She said, “I don’t even want to look.”
“Neither do I, but,” his voice turned serious, “it might be our only chance to see if there’s something we can handle.”
Bolstered by the thought they could have enemies coming their way, and they could get caught again without any way to defend themselves, they lifted the lid off the crates and whistled.
“Wow. Okay. So that’s not something I’m prepared to handle.”
But the second crate held handguns. Hesitantly she picked one up, and, keeping it pointed to the floor, she said, “Am I more dangerous with this or without it?”
“I don’t know,” Tony said. “This is one of the times when I feel like my education is sadly lacking. Here I am, just a researcher, and don’t even know how to tell if this damn thing is loaded or not.”
“And yet,” she said, “if we can’t tell if they’re loaded from looking at them, that means anybody coming on board can’t tell either.”
He looked at her and grinned. “Good point.” He picked one up and laid it on the table. “Do you want a second one?”
“Hell yes.” She snatched up something small and black with a snub nose. “This is a little smaller than the ones you and I have. It’ll be easier for me to carry.” She glanced at her pants. “But how …” And then she remembered her vest. She took it out of her backpack, put it on, happy to find the handgun fit into its big pockets.