by Dan Fairview
His comm unit chirped, causing him to jump. It was Marcus Cornwall, the director of Casino Mojito, the man responsible for John coming to Viata in the first place.
“Detective Finder, I see you paid a visit to the Star Watch Casino.”
“How did you know that?”
“There isn't an inch of this island that isn't under surveillance. The moment you landed, I knew you were here.”
“Damn.”
“The man you were following is a top associate in Sango Suzuki's drug trade. I wouldn't follow him here anymore. You were lucky they didn't realize what you were doing.”
“How did you know what I was doing?”
“Because I know you. I happen to share your distaste for Taylor and his business and since I value your friendship I will give you this advice. Make sure Miss Suzuki never knows you. I am afraid she is far, far more dangerous than you realize. Have a good evening, and don't miss your ferry.”
The call ended as the ferry gave a horn blast to indicate final boarding.
John’s pride stung a little, but he trusted Cornwall. Power was king on New Monte Carlo Island, and if Cornwall was concerned, he’d better be too. For the time being, he would have to shrink his ambitions and settle for Taylor.
3
John sat at Bill's place in his usual seat. Business seemed a little slower than usual today. The jukebox in the corner at the other end of the bar was silent. There were only a few people at the tables and nobody on the deck. John ate his lunch and talked to Victoria Sidewell, the head of Hishu security. She sat across from him, unbuttoning the sleeves of her royal blue uniform. That has to be hot, John thought.
She rolled the sleeves up and wiped the sweat beading on her forehead with the back of her hand. “This is what you get when you spend most of your time in an air-conditioned office.”
John nodded. “Coles agreed to help.”
“Are you sure she is trustworthy?”
John shrugged his broad shoulders. “I’ll admit I haven’t known her very long, but I trust her.”
Victoria nodded thoughtfully. “Does she understand the risk?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Victoria wiped her brow again. “So, now we wait. I’d better go before I melt in this uniform. I should have changed, but this was on my way. I hate formal functions.” She tugged at the collar of her uniform.
“Looks good on you.”
Victoria harrumphed and rose. “Meet you at the office later.”
John watched her go. All they needed now was for everything to go as planned. He was confident that Coles would hold up her end. He pictured her sunning on her boat. Focus, man, he told himself.
John finished his meal and called Coles.
“Everything is set on our end. Are you ready for this?” he asked.
“Don't worry. I know what I have to do. You just make sure help shows up.”
“We'll be there.” John ended the call. He threw his trash away and returned the basket his chips had come in, then paced around the deck. The boards groaned underneath his feet.
Kian, Bill’s head bartender, stepped up next to him, rubbing his hands down the front of his apron. Kian had always reminded John of a raven, with his slick black hair and protruding nose, but he was the best of friends, and the ladies loved him.
“You look a little anxious. Is everything okay?” Kian asked.
“I'm fine. I just have an important meeting later, and I'm nervous.”
“If you want to talk about it, you know I'm always here.”
“I appreciate that, but I can’t talk about it now. I'll fill you in when it’s over.”
Kian slapped John on the back and smiled. “I hope everything goes well for you.”
Kian moved off to wait on another customer, and John watched the boats in the bay.
A familiar boat slid onto the smooth beach out front, and John recognized Katrina, with her cut-off jeans and red hair under her ball cap. She tied off to the poles Bill had installed and walked up the wide path to the bar. When she saw John, she paused slightly and then climbed the steps to where he was leaning against the railing.
“Long time, no see,” John said.
Her eyes wavered to the deck boards.
“John,” she said, “I’m sorry I haven’t called you. I’ve just been so busy. In fact, I can’t talk now. I have to meet some clients. Sorry.”
Katrina said goodbye and moved to the bar to order something. She talked quietly to Kian while she waited, and when her food came, she left.
Kian came over after she had gone. “Is there something wrong between you two?”
“If I’ve done something, I’m not sure what it is.”
“Do you want me to talk to her?”
“No. When she is ready, she will tell me what’s wrong.”
John was relieved when Kian left to take care of a customer. He didn't want to talk about it. He needed to focus on the plan, so he checked the time, said goodbye, and drove his roamer to Victoria's office.
As John pulled into the lot, he noticed with satisfaction that five jumpers were being readied on the pads out back. It wouldn't be long now, and if everything went as planned, Taylor would be in custody tonight. He parked and went inside, where Victoria and her assistant, Dan, were having coffee in her office. Victoria had changed out of her formal uniform into her usual short-sleeved one. The lights were dimmed, and John thought that it made the atmosphere a little less sterile-looking. Victoria kept glancing at a flashing red dot on the holographic screen at her desk.
“Has she left yet?” John asked.
“No.” Victoria looked at the timepiece on the wall. “She still has about ten minutes before she should leave. Coffee is fresh. Help yourself.”
John dug out a clean mug from the overhead cabinet and poured himself some.
“You sure Taylor will be there personally?” Victoria asked John.
“All I know is what Coles has told me. She says he has always been there when she drops off, and he was there when I had my little incident with his buddy, Gibson.”
“I've been trying to nail this scum forever, but something always happens and I come up empty.”
John pulled up a chair and blew on his coffee to cool it a bit. “Well, I wasn't involved any of those times.”
Dan chuckled and rose from his seat. “I’m going to make sure everyone is ready and loaded.”
“We'll be right there,” Victoria said to Dan as he left the room. She went to a small pile of vests in the corner and tossed one to John. “Put that on. The vest works for projectiles and one, maybe two blasts from an energy weapon if you’re lucky.”
John took off his shirt, slipped the vest on, and cinched it tight, then pulled his shirt over it. For a moment, he was taken back to his time as a detective on Earth. His pulse quickened as he pulled out his sidearm and checked the action, then slid it back into its holster.
“You look natural,” Victoria said. “I'm making you a gift of the vest. You should have been wearing one long before now.”
“Thanks.”
John's gaze strayed to the holo-screen. The red dot was moving now. “Looks like she got impatient.”
Victoria took one last sip of her coffee and slammed it down. “Let’s go.”
4
Coles sat at the wheel of her boat. The boat’s speed caused the wind to whip around her. The load of Passion drug that she had picked up from another of Taylor's mules earlier was carefully wrapped and stowed away under the seats. She had left a little early because the waiting was getting to her. It was better to be out here on the water.
Not for the first time, she wondered if she had lost her mind to agree to this. She was taking most of the risk. If something went wrong, she would probably be the first to die. Her fingers went to the blaster tucked into its holster at the base of her back. She pulled it from behind her and made sure it was set to stun, then put it away again. They needed Taylor alive, so they could force him to name everyone in his
organization.
The waves pounded the hull as Coles swung wide of a small island. A Shore Patrol boat came into view as she came around its tip.
She cursed under her breath as the patrol boat started after her. That was all she needed. Panic gripped her as she thought of what would happen if someone boarded her boat and found her cargo.
Her mind raced, considering all the possibilities open to her. Her first thought was to just ignore the patrol boat, but a voice called over a loudspeaker for her to stop and shut her engine down.
Coles quickly decided the best option was to stop. Maybe she could talk her way out before it got ugly. She stopped and killed the engine.
The patrol boat slowed and pulled alongside hers.
A salty-looking old man in a slightly disheveled uniform tied his boat to hers, then removed his cap and wiped the sweat from his brow. “I thought you weren't going to stop.”
“I was lost in my own little world. Sorry. What's the problem?”
“No problem. I just need to verify your papers are in order. We've had a lot of illegal fishing going on lately, and I've seen your boat through here before. You charter, don't you?”
She relaxed a little and grabbed her paperwork from underneath the console. “Yes, sir. I was on my way to pick some folks up now.”
The man went through her papers and checked the numbers on the boat.
“Everything seems to be in order,” he said as he handed the papers back to her. He wiped the sweat from his brow again and checked the position of the sun. “Wrong time of day to be fishing, ain't it?”
Coles tucked the papers back under the console. “Yeah, but they don't know that,” she said with a sly grin and a wink.
The man laughed and untied the two boats. “Have a good afternoon.”
She started her engine as soon as he pulled away. When she checked the time on her comm unit, she slammed the throttle to the stop.
Shortly, Coles approached the inlet that led into Taylor's warehouse. She scanned the area but found no sign of Victoria and her team—not that she expected to. They would stay out of sight until she was inside.
The large metal bay doors of the warehouse groaned, their motors straining as they slowly opened. She guided the boat inside. Her eyes gradually adjusted to the lower light. Taylor and Gibson were waiting for her to pull up and tie off.
“You’re late,” Taylor said.
“I got held up. Sorry.”
The large bay doors closed behind her. Coles scanned the building to get an idea of how many people were here. Taylor usually had most of the people off for lunch or something. There had never been more than one or two people here on her previous drops.
The only people in sight were Taylor and Gibson.
Coles shut the engine down and let the boat drift to the platform where they stood. She tossed a line to Gibson, and he tied it off.
Suddenly, the unmistakable sound of jumpers swooping in filled the warehouse.
Taylor gave her an accusing look and reached for a weapon he had tucked into the front of his pants.
Coles had the advantage of knowing what was coming. She had her blaster out and fired before he could get a hand on his.
The stun blast caught him squarely in the chest. It sent him flying backwards to land, unconscious, on his back. His weapon fell into the water.
Gibson leapt toward her onto the boat and wrestled the blaster from her grip. It fell and rolled away.
The side door burst open, and Victoria and her deputies flooded in with weapons at the ready.
Gibson wrenched Coles’s arm behind her. He wrapped a big, meaty arm around her neck and lifted her from the deck like a rag doll.
Coles knew Gibson was trapped. A handful of deputies had their weapons trained on him. He had to realize there was no way out of this. Two deputies knelt, rolled Taylor over, and secured his arms and legs.
At least he isn't going anywhere, she thought.
Coles let out a sharp cry when Gibson jerked on her arm. “Open those bay doors or she dies,” he said.
Victoria spoke up. “Give it up. There is no way out of here for you.”
Gibson released her arm, reached down to pick up the blaster Coles had dropped, flipped a selector with his thumb and pressed it to her head.
5
Coles’s heart raced. The blaster Gibson held at her head was no longer set to stun. It dug into her ear painfully.
“I ain't telling ya again. Open those doors or she dies,” Gibson said through gritted teeth.
The meaty arm squeezed harder against Coles, causing her to grunt.
Victoria motioned for one of her deputies to open the bay doors. Soon, the doors were grinding open.
“Toss off that line, “Gibson said to the nearest deputy, who reluctantly moved to do so.
Gibson moved Coles over to the steering console and shoved her face down onto the deck, holding her down with his foot.
Coles managed to turn her head to where she could see what he was doing. Gibson's grin cracked his face like a shark after the kill. She struggled to get up, but a kick to the back of her head stunned her.
“Stay down,” Gibson growled. He started the boat and called to the deputy who had untied the boat. “Kick us off.” The man hesitated. “Now!”
Gibson threw the boat into gear and started swinging the boat around, headed for the outside.
As soon as he gets me out to open water, he will probably kill me and toss me over the side, Coles thought.
The pressure of Gibson's foot eased a little, and she managed to spin over onto her back and rise up a bit. The deputies were watching helplessly, and Victoria was looking up into the rafters. Another kick hit Coles in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. She lay back to catch her breath.
Movement in the rafters overhead caught her attention. She smiled. “You won’t get very far,” she said to Gibson between laughing and coughing.
Gibson gave her a look like he thought she was going crazy. His eyes darted around the building and then back to her. Coles clutched her side as she laughed.
Suddenly, a figure swung through the air, impacting Gibson and sending him flying overboard with a huge splash.
Coles laughed at John as he swung back and forth, dangling from a rope, until he dropped into the water next to the boat. She struggled to her knees and shut the boat off. It drifted into the side of the platform with a loud thump, just short of the open bay doors.
The deputies scooped up Gibson and Taylor and carried them to the jumpers. Victoria was making her way to the boat as John swam over and climbed in. Coles had pulled herself into the driver’s seat.
“You okay?” John asked Coles.
“I think I may have a broken rib, but it was worth it to see you swinging through the air.”
John's face turned red. “I thought you would give me away.”
“Tell me that wasn't what you had planned all along,” Coles said.
John shrugged. “I had to do something.”
John's eyes drifted around the warehouse, soaking in the scene. A strange-looking container caught his eye. It was four feet square and black with bright yellow warning labels marked “Demolition Explosives”.
“What are you looking at?” she asked.
“That explosive container over there. I’m glad no bullet hit it.”
“That box is bullet-proof.”
“Oh.”
Coles winced in pain and held her side, but a smile spread across her face. “I don't think I've had this much fun all year.” She chuckled. “I wish I could see you swinging up there again.”
Victoria came alongside on the platform. “Are you okay? A medic is on the way.”
John shook his head. “She took a beating, but I think she will live.”
6
John startled awake. The boat next to his was pulling away. He missed the privacy of his own island, but this was home until he rebuilt his house.
Dust motes floated through the air,
lit by the sunlight filtering in through the window. He laid there for a moment longer. The gentle rocking of the boat almost lulled him back to sleep until the angle of sunlight reminded him it was past time to get up. It was midmorning already. He had been neglecting his detective business lately. His receptionist was probably wondering if he would come in today.
Probably not, John thought as he folded his arms behind his head. He wondered what Clarissa was doing back on Earth.
He eventually used his elbow to roll over and push himself up. He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his face in an attempt to wake up. His palms smarted from the rope burn yesterday and he could smell himself, so he rose and showered.
John slipped into his customary cargo shorts and Barnacle Bill tee shirt, grabbed a pair of sunglasses, then left the boat and walked the sandy path to Bill's to get some breakfast. There was a good breeze this morning so he ran his fingers through his damp hair to help it dry.
Bill's place sat on an outcropping of rock overlooking the bay. Bill owned the dock where John parked, but most visitors ran aground on the beach just below the bar. There were only two boats there this morning, and John recognized both as local fishermen.
John climbed the gently rising path until he took the steps onto the deck and went inside. Sabrina was working. He yawned widely. “Am I too late to get some breakfast?”
“No. I’m sure I can get you a BLT. Would that be okay?” Sabrina asked.
“Sure.” John sat in his favorite table next to the kitchen door. He sucked down a small glass of orange juice Sabrina had brought him and soon felt almost human. About the time he took his last bite of breakfast, Victoria walked in. She wore the blue uniform with the short sleeves and shorts. John didn't think he could recall a time when she wasn't wearing some kind of uniform. She didn't look happy.
She never comes unless it’s bad news, he thought.
“I checked your boat, but you weren't on it,” she said.
“What’s the matter?”
Victoria slapped her cap onto the table and took a seat, waving Sabrina's inquiry about food or drink away. She looked ready to explode. “You're not gonna believe this.”
