The Devil's Work

by Linda Ladd

  Black glanced at him. “Unless the text was a trap, like you said. What if Claire isn’t even on that ship? She could be somewhere else entirely. The text could’ve been a diversion.”

  “Yeah, that could happen, but it’s worth a try. I don’t think they have resources to know where we are or what we’re doing or that we’re even down here. Don’t get caught up in my worst-case scenario. I always figure all the angles. This ship is the break we’ve been waiting for, just like you said. Don’t keep looking at it sideways. I’m not anymore. Even if it is a trick and she’s not there, we can force answers from whoever is on board.”

  “She better be on that ship,” Black said, anger flaring up again. “It’s the only lead we’ve got. I can’t take much more of this waiting and worrying.”

  “Me, either. We’ll find her.”

  They walked back to the hotel in silence. Truth was, they both were pretty much terrified at what could happen but hopeful things could turn out well. Novak wanted Claire safely back as much as her husband did, but he also wanted to take Kellen down for murdering Alcina and countless other innocent women. Now that everything was falling apart for Kellen, Novak believed Alcina was dead, but he was determined to find Rosa. Finding that baby was important to Novak, and then getting her back home to Pedro. He would never stop looking until he found that little girl.

  Chapter 25

  Just after two a.m. the following morning, the Juan Cortez chugged into the port of Santo Tomas de Castilla. Novak and the others were there waiting. Black and Novak were to enter the water from a rented motorboat now tied up at a marina on the other side of the bay. Under the cover of darkness, they were to stop the motorboat in the water some distance from the docked freighter and swim in to the ship’s landing platform at water level on the starboard hull.

  Lori had not had good luck finding a spot that would cover both sides of the ship. The entire dock area was flat, with only few low buildings near the ships. She ended up climbing onto the top of a giant crane near the freighter where she had a nice view of the Juan Cortez’s cargo deck. Josie Plunkett had provided her with one honey of a sniper rifle with attached silencer and a powerful nightscope, both the best that money could buy. She and Novak had already zeroed it in out on a wooded hill a few miles from the water. She was confident that she could hit anything she aimed at aboard that ship, night or day. Novak didn’t doubt her expertise, and that helped his own confidence about her backing up his play. She would be their guardian angel, as are all Army snipers, shrouded in shadows and watching, a deadly foe for the enemy. That was good news for everybody on the team.

  Desoto and Doc Smithy would walk up the gangplank and force a contrived drunken confrontation with the Juan Cortez night watchman. They could do that well enough and long enough for Black and Novak to get aboard and locate Claire. From assigned positions, the team stayed out of sight and watched the big freighter ease into its berth. There was activity aboard for about an hour after arrival, but then most movement ceased and the ship went dark. Lori reported no visuals of Claire or Kellen anywhere on the container deck. That meant she was probably somewhere in the five-story stern tower that housed the sleeping quarters, galley, and engine rooms. It lay in darkness with only a handful of lights burning. Problem was, they didn’t know who was awake, who was armed, and who was guarding Claire.

  Black coordinated with text messages. He was as cool and calm as a North Atlantic iceberg and every bit as hard and dangerous. He would not screw this up. Claire was close now, and he was going to get to her if it killed him and/or every single crew member on that ship. Hopefully, it would be the crew who went down. Black had always been a cautious man, even in tight situations. This time he sent the go-ahead as soon as it got quiet aboard the ship.

  Without a word, Novak and Black got into the motorboat and took it out to the center of the bay. They anchored there, about forty yards off the ship. They watched the decks for a while and then eased down into the water. They had dressed in black to blend with the night but had no rubber wetsuits. The water was cold and murky and smelled of diesel oil. They had pulled black watch caps down over their heads. This was a covert maneuver, which they’d both done countless times and under worse conditions. Both had their phones and weapons secured in waterproof bags attached to their waists. The swim to the ship was easy. They could reach it in minutes.

  The harbor was quiet so early in the morning, no boat traffic, with only faint moonlight illuminating the water. There was no one moving around on the dock. Occasionally they heard music coming from the cruise ship’s nightclub out in the bay. Novak wasn’t worried about Claire; she had faced worse situations than this. She would be expecting them to come after her at the docks. Her pregnancy would make no difference in the exfil because neither man worried about her ability to make the swim back to their boat. Claire could probably outswim both of them, expecting or not.

  The ship loomed in a shadowy silhouette against the dark sky. Novak could see or hear no one along the deck rail, and that boded well. He knew exactly where Lori sat high on the crane and was pretty sure she could get a clear shot of anyone who accosted Doc and Desoto. One light switched off in the tower. He felt confident that no one was watching the water side, but they kept low, their heads barely breaking the surface, until they reached the metal boarding stairs affixed to the hull. There was a deck light burning at the top of the steps. They had to get up there fast and into the shadows. Retrieving their weapons from the pouch, they armed themselves and were ready to move.

  Within seconds they were up on the deck and crouching down in the dark. Black pulled out his phone and texted that they were going in. That was the signal for Doc and Desoto to breach the other side. They waited there, tense, weapons ready to fire if anyone walked up on them. Minutes later, they heard shouts out on the wharf, and a commotion began. That was their signal to enter the tower.

  * * * *

  Inside her cabin, Claire heard shouting outside and running footsteps in the hallways. Under the blankets, she was fully dressed. It was the signal she’d been waiting for. Black was out there; it had to be him. The noise was a diversion. She knew how he worked. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she jumped up, ready to go. She knew Black would come and he’d use the hull steps to get aboard. After that, he wouldn’t know where to find her, so she had to get out there and meet him. She’d been waiting, on edge and scared that he hadn’t gotten the text, especially when time passed and nothing happened.

  Kellen was taking her off the ship the first thing in the morning. She didn’t know where they were headed. He refused to tell her, just ignored her questions and told her it was a surprise. Black and Novak were foes Kellen did not want to go up against. They were here on the ship right now. She knew it. They were out there, and she had to get out of the tower and find them.

  She eased open the cabin door. No one was in sight, probably lured away by the chaos down on deck. She stepped out into the corridor. The lights were on. The crew left them on all night. She stopped and listened. The long hall was deserted. She took off running as best as she could down toward the stairway that would take her to the cargo deck. She didn’t want to risk the elevator. She had a steak knife in one hand that she’d taken from the galley. She wouldn’t let anybody stop her, not with Black this close. She was getting off this ship tonight, one way or another.

  Minutes later, she had rounded the landings of several floors and came out on the cargo deck. She had to get to the landing steps on the starboard side so she could ease into the water without being seen. She had to find a way off that ship, because Kellen would not release her, no matter how much ransom he was paid. They were going to kill her and take her baby, just like they’d done to other women. Her body would never be found. So this was it. This was her only chance. If Black wasn’t out there, if something had gone wrong or he hadn’t gotten the message, she’d have to escape on her own.

 
The disturbance was getting louder up ahead of her, with more angry voices joining in, so she moved faster. The deck lights flashed on, and she saw people arguing on the other side of the shipping containers. Crew members faced off with two other men. Neither was Black or Novak. They were both short, but they were yelling and cursing. Then some guy ran out behind them with a rifle. He was going to shoot them in the back! Before he could, he crumpled to the ground like a marionette off a cut string, downed by a bullet to the head. She looked around and saw nobody but heard the unmistakable retort of a silenced long-range rifle. A sniper. Black was out there somewhere, and he wasn’t alone. The men scattered in all directions. When a crew member headed down the stern gangplank, she turned the other way. She had to find the landing platform and go down into the water.

  Claire ran along the starboard rail, keeping low as more gunfire erupted. The stacked shipping containers concealed her, and the steps down to the water were right ahead of her. She was going to make it.

  About the time she reached the last container before the steps, something moved off to her right. She was grabbed from behind and jerked behind the last container. Struggling and desperate, she jabbed her fist hard up into the guy’s face. He grunted but didn’t let go. He put his hand over her mouth and spun her around.

  “Stop, stop it, Claire, it’s me!”

  At the sound of her husband’s voice, Claire’s knees simply buckled. She had to grab hold of Black’s sodden shirt to keep from falling.

  “C’mon, baby, we’ve got to get out of here. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

  “No, no, we’ve got to go. They’re fighting out there.”

  Then Novak stepped out of the shadows beside them. “Stop with the chitchat, and get her the hell off this ship.” His big frame loomed beside her, and he whispered, “Black, get her to the boat. Sounds like they need some help out there. I’ll meet you at the hospital later.”

  * * * *

  Black didn’t hesitate to get Claire down those steps. Novak followed them to the side and stood watch as they scrambled down to the boarding platform. When they disappeared into the dark water, he took off toward the firefight still going on at the port side. Running down toward the sporadic gunfire, he stopped behind a stack of crates at midship. Two guys were sprawled around ten yards away, but neither was Doc or Desoto. One crewman’s throat was cut down to the bone. Make that both of them. Desoto had left his old trademark.

  Potshots still rang out shipboard, but Novak wasn’t so worried about his friends. Novak wanted to get his hands on Kellen. He’d hungered to do that since Alcina had told him her tale of woe. He soon found out he wasn’t going to get that chance tonight. The minute he moved out on the cargo deck to portside, he could see the baby broker running hard down the stern gangplank to a waiting car. He was dragging a woman with him, but Novak could tell that it wasn’t Claire, thank God. Novak cursed under his breath. That devil was getting away clean, and he was too far away for Novak to do anything about it. Lori wouldn’t be able to shoot him, either, not with the woman blocking her shot.

  Novak turned around and moved along behind one container after another, trying to stay out of the line of fire. He was doing fine until a big crewman gripping a Bowie knife stepped out right in front of him. He swiped the ten-inch blade at Novak’s chest, but Novak sidestepped it and knocked the man’s arm away. He hit the guy hard, an uppercut to his chin that snapped his head back and opened up a clean path to his Adam’s apple. He jabbed it hard, and the guy grabbed his throat, choking, but he hung on to his blade. Novak grappled with him and managed to wrest the knife away long enough to slice it down hard across the guy’s left cheek. A long red streak leaked blood, and the man dropped to his knees and put up his hands to ward off Novak’s next thrust.

  Novak had no desire to kill the guy, so he kicked him in the head and left him unconscious. Now he could see Desoto. He was halfway down the port gangplank, with Doc running hard right behind him, both in full retreat. Novak headed there too, ready to fend off their pursuers, but the ship’s crew had had enough. Kellen and the woman were long gone, the car disappearing at the far end of the dock. Novak cursed and ran for cover as a police siren screamed somewhere behind the harbor complex.

  Novak picked up his speed and followed his friends, who split up down on the dock and took off in opposite directions. When he hit the ground, he headed straight down through the stacks of unloaded containers until he reached the security fence at the back of the shipping complex. He scaled it easily, and slowed to a fast walk on the nearest sidewalk and kept to the shadows, angling toward the hotel where they were to meet up. Turning at the top of the next street, he heard the faraway sound of a motorboat and figured Black was headed to the hospital in Puerto Barrios that he’d chosen the night before. He hoped they made it there.

  * * * *

  As it turned out, they all made it back safely. They regrouped at the hotel, waited for the police activity to let up, and then headed for the hospital. They hurriedly piled into the van, eager to get out of the area and avoid any kind of police search. It was a short drive, and they dropped off Novak at the ER entrance. Doc drove the rest of them out to the parking lot and waited there with the motor idling. Inside the hospital, the nurse at the desk told Novak that the American lady was doing fine and was with her husband in a private room.

  Novak found them easily enough but was more concerned about whether Kellen might be there, too. On the other hand, if Kellen was smart, and he was, he would be hightailing it out of town. He would head straight for his jungle camp, if Novak was right. Kellen probably felt completely secure out there and didn’t expect to be followed. His illegal kingdom had done well for a long time in Guatemala, and without much interruption or official interference. Still, Novak felt uneasy moving about in such a public place after just attacking a ship. Maybe trouble here in the hospital corridor was unlikely, but lots of unlikely stuff had happened to Novak. He was armed, the .45 in his back waistband under his T-shirt, but nobody paid attention to him. He was alone in a dim, quiet corridor that smelled of antiseptic. He tapped on the designated door and was met by Black with a .45 in his hand.

  “Everything go all right at the ship?” Black asked, opening the door wider. “Anybody get hurt?”

  “Not us, but Kellen’s men didn’t fare so well.”

  “What about Kellen?”

  “He got away.”

  “Damn it. What about the rest of our team?”

  “Outside. We’ve got to get back to the airport. We’re pretty sure the cops are out searching for us. How’s Claire?”

  “She’s good, but they wanted to check her out just in case. I told them we had a boat accident. They gave her a mild sedative so she could rest. As soon as it wears off, I’m getting her out to the jet and then the hell out of Guatemala.”

  Claire was lying under a blanket. A big gold crucifix hung on the wall right above her head. Somehow that comforted Novak, as did Black’s composure. Her husband had relaxed a good deal and looked more like himself again, not the tortured, haggard man he had been since she’d gone missing.

  “Does the baby look okay, too?”

  “Yes, her heartbeat is strong.”

  “We managed to surprise them. It could’ve been worse.”

  Black nodded. “What’s next? You ready to get out of here?”

  “I’m not going. I’m staying here and going after Kellen. I think he’s headed to the Teten. I’m going to see if Rosa’s out there, and then I’m going to put a bullet in his head.”

  If Novak thought Black was going to discourage him from murdering the guy, he was mistaken.

  “Good, put a bullet in him for me, too,” Black told him quietly, but he was looking down at Claire. She was sleeping peacefully, and she didn’t look the worse for wear. Maybe a bit pale but okay. Novak felt some of the tension drain out of his shoulders.

  Blac
k looked back at him. “I’m taking her out to the plane tonight. She’s been through enough, and so have I. It’s a miracle she and the baby aren’t hurt. Can you do this without me?”

  “Yeah, I’ll probably go it alone. It’s up to Lori and the rest if they want to come with me. Lori will probably stay, and maybe Doc. I don’t expect Desoto to be in for another fight.”

  “He might surprise you. You sure you’re okay with me getting out of here tonight?”

  “That’s what I want you to do. It could have been so much worse.”

  Black nodded. “I’ll send my plane back down from the States with a pilot to pick you up once you’re done with Kellen.”

  “Yeah, do that. It’ll simplify customs. I don’t know how long it’s gonna take to find him, but I will find him. I’ll find Rosa, too. I think she’s down here and has been all along. Why he kept her here is the question.”

  Black nodded. He stuck out his hand. “Thanks for everything, man. I owe you big.”

  “I’m just glad Claire’s okay. They got her when she was with me. That stuck in my craw. When are you taking off?”

  “I’ve called for a car to take us out to the airport. Tell anybody who wants to get out of here tonight to head back to the plane but make it fast. When we get to Guatemala City, I’ll send a chopper over here for whoever’s still left. That’s what you’ll need if you’re following Kellen into the interior. You okay with that?”

  “Yeah, we’ll wait around here and lie low until the chopper gets here. It’ll give us an opportunity to snoop around and ask about Flores. Desoto will help us find the place.”

  “Thanks, Novak. I mean that.”

  “Yeah, okay, I’m gonna take off. Tell Claire I’ll come see her as soon as I get back.”