Vigilantes and Lovers

by Charles Dougherty

  "They're coming for you; you need to get the hell out of Georgetown, right now!"

  Now it was my turn to look surprised. Mary's expression had changed. Leaning toward me, she cupped my ear. "Don't tell him where we are."

  I nodded. "Georgetown?"

  "They put a tracker on your boat; they know you're in the Exumas. They've already dispatched a team to take you out. Is the girl with you?"

  Mary shook her head vigorously.

  "I've got things under control, Aaron. But who put a tracker on the boat? Nora?"

  "I don't think so, but I wouldn't rule it out. You sure you're safe? My information is almost a day old; they could be watching you right now."

  "I'm a long way from Georgetown. Where did you pick this up?"

  "I told you about the super-secret DOJ investigation into the Russians, remember?"

  "Yes. But — "

  "My source got into the DOJ's system. They have telephone intercepts on the suspected Russian agents. She downloaded them and combed through them."

  "And found out about me?"

  "She doesn't know who you are, but she knows I'm following certain kinds of activity in the islands. What she found was a reference to a boat one of the suspects was tracking from Puerto Rico. The boat came to rest in Georgetown a day ago. He called another one of them about it, and the second one ordered him to capture the man and the woman aboard and get the files. You're saying that wasn't you?"

  I raised my eyebrows and looked at Mary. She shrugged.

  "Yes and no," I said. "I found the tracker and spoofed it."

  "You sly bastard. Good for you. They saw you pick up the girl and take her back to the boat in some place called Guánica. The first guy said the two locals he hired to plant the tracker disappeared before he could pay them. The DOJ team's trying to get a line on the two locals."

  "Uh-huh," I said. "Thanks for the tip."

  "You're not in Guánica now, are you?"

  "Nope. Long gone."

  "Good. No point in getting mixed up with the DOJ if you can help it."

  "Right," I said. "As long as I've got you on the line, did you find out anything else about the Russians?"

  "She's still working it. There's one of them who's in charge, and you called it. He's been ordered to take over O'Hanlon's network of crooked politicians. His mission's to cause political chaos, besides fueling the drug and human trafficking problems we've already got. And he's going to line his pockets — and Putin's. DOJ's got him pegged as one of the richest of Putin's crooked cronies, but if they have a name for him, they're keeping it under wraps. That's about all we've got, so far."

  "How about on the files?"

  "Nothing new there. We’re trying to find the source of the cyberattack, so we can block 'em and get back to work."

  "Okay. Thanks for looking out for me."

  "No problem, man. It's the least I can do. Glad you're out of harm's way on this one."

  "Me, too."

  "Keep an eye on the email drop. There's no good way for me to call you, right?"

  "No, there isn't. I'll check the drop often, though. Thanks again, and stay well."

  Once we disconnected, Mary broke her silence. "Just to confirm," she said, "that was your friend Aaron?"

  "Yes. Why do you ask?"

  "I recognized his voice."

  That sent a chill down my spine. "From where?"

  "A recording. I heard it during a briefing for a hit; there was a snippet of audio. There were two men talking about the target; your friend was one."

  "And the other?"

  She shook her head. "No clue, but I definitely recognize Aaron's voice."

  "Who was the client, Mary?"

  "I don't know. I told you how the bookings work — double blind. I know the target, but not who's paying me."

  "Then who was the target?"

  "A nobody, I thought at the time. A scummy bastard named Jimmy Harris. He was a small-time trafficker, pimping out these girls he bought from the coyotes that brought them in. Worked in central Florida."

  "You thought he was a nobody at the time, you say?"

  She nodded, chewing on her lower lip.

  "You feel differently now? Is that it?"

  She shook her head, frowning. "I don't know what to think, Finn. He was a small-time operator, as best I knew. But a nasty piece of shit. How does that square with somebody like Aaron being involved with him? To me, that doesn't make sense."

  "I agree," I said. "Not on the face of it, anyhow. You remember Aaron's voice; can you remember what he said?"

  "Not really; it was more like the other man was briefing him, describing Harris, the target, talking about where he usually hung out, how many women he was running, where they worked. That kind of stuff. So Aaron was mostly asking questions, leading the other guy along."

  "When was this? How long ago?"

  "Well, I can't say exactly. But it would have been maybe two years, give or take. Not long after that hit, I got my first assignment from Phorcys."

  "Why does that fix the timing in your mind?"

  "It was one of the last of those double-blind deals. And it was like a threshold job for me; my first big payoff."

  "The last of the double-blind deals? You don't do those anymore?"

  "I do, but not often. Phorcys has kept me busy. I told you, my work with them has reached the point where there's enough trust that we skip the double-blind business. They book directly with me, now."

  "What about the broker?"

  "Oh, she still gets her cut; they pass the money through her. But it's a better deal for all of us. There's a lot less overhead work for me and for her, because Phorcys is so well organized."

  "I'm not sure what you mean by that."

  "They've done most of the homework before they come to me. Plus, they pay better than most clients."

  "Do you take on other clients?"

  "Yes, but why do you ask?"

  "Curious. I’m trying to fit Aaron into that picture."

  "I do take other work. But not often. I don't have much incentive to take the other jobs since I connected with Phorcys. Sometimes I'll do one, but it's mostly as a favor to the broker when she's in a bind. I don't want to burn any bridges."

  "I understand. I don't know what to make of the Aaron thing."

  "It set off alarms, Finn. It was a surprise. That's all. I have no idea where that client got the recording, or whether they had more than I heard. I just thought I should mention it."

  "Yes; you were right about that. But I don't think there's much point in obsessing over it now."

  "Okay. There's this Russian business he brought up, though," Mary said. "What do you think of that?"

  "I'm not sure, but that reminds me; I should go ahead and kill that tracker. What do you think?"

  "I agree. They're going to discover they've been had pretty soon. Then they'll probably start over in Guánica, looking for us."

  We went up on deck and I opened the life raft valise, taking out the tracker and the GPS spoofer. Mary closed the valise, and I took the two devices below deck.

  Putting the two of them on the chart table, I got out my set of jeweler’s screwdrivers and opened the tracker. After I disconnected the battery, I shut off the spoofer and returned it to the hiding place under the charts.

  "What are we going to do with it," Mary asked, looking at the tracking device.

  "Once we get back into deep water, we'll toss it over the side."

  "We can't reuse it?"

  "Not easily. You need the web address of the site where you can retrieve its location, plus a user name and password. Besides, I picked up a couple of new ones in St. Martin if we need one."

  "That's my guy," Mary said. "Always thinking ahead. Speaking of which, do you have any more thoughts on how to deal with Nora tomorrow?"

  "I've consulted with a person who specializes in knowing how sneaky, devious women think," I said. "That kind of thing is way over my poor, testosterone-addled head. I'm go
ing to take the consultant's advice and let Nora lead the way."

  "I'm surprised you know anyone like that consultant, Finn."

  "I'd be lost without her guidance."

  "Uh-huh. I think it's time to call it a night before you get in trouble. How about you?"

  "If you say it's time, it's time. No arguments from me."

  34

  "When are you going to call her?" Mary asked.

  We were in the cockpit, drinking the last of our coffee from breakfast.

  "They're an hour behind us; it's a little too early. And I'm supposed to call the boss, first."

  "You didn't tell me that."

  "Sorry. It's not a big deal; I need to make sure he's prepped her. That's all."

  "His idea? Or yours?"

  "The call? His idea. They're all control freaks, those desk jockeys."

  Mary smiled. "Yeah, well, I guess I can see why. It's not like they're doing anything themselves. That would drive me nuts, being hands-off like they are."

  "That's why you're doing what you do."

  "On a different subject, Finn, I'm sad that we're going to be leaving this spot. I feel like I wasted yesterday, spending it all by myself."

  "You needed that. Besides, we're not gone yet. We'll have to see where Nora wants to meet. And when."

  "Now that you've had time to think about it, where would you pick, Finn? To meet her, if she left it up to you?"

  "Maybe Bourg de Saintes."

  "That's in Guadeloupe, right?"

  "That's right."

  "Why there? The French police are thorough, compared to other places down here."

  "True. But Bourg des Saintes is an odd place. I think there's one cop there; he handles mostly customs clearance for yachts. Maybe there are a few more policemen. A few more, but not many. It's not a big place, but it's a tourist trap. The main access from Guadeloupe is by ferry. When the tourists come off the ferry, it's a mob scene. They mill around like a bunch of sheep. If we knew she was coming in that way, it would be easy to spot her and her backup."

  "And cut them out of the herd?" Mary asked. "Or flock, I guess it would be, with sheep."

  "Well, the reason to cut them out of the flock would be so we could interrogate her. But I'm wondering if we should bother with that, now."

  "She might give us a line on who this Russian is," Mary said.

  "Yes. She might. That's the only worthwhile thing I can think of that she might know. We could still interrogate her, though. We could shoot her up with roofies like they did Abby and lead her to the dinghy. In the mob that forms when the ferry lands, anybody who noticed would just think she was another drunken tourist."

  "What about her backup?" Mary asked.

  "She may have a heart attack, right in the middle of the crowd."

  "A heart attack?" Mary asked.

  "Potassium chloride injection," I said.

  "That'll just drop her in her tracks? Right in the crowd?" she asked.

  "Yes. All you'll need to do is inject her and get clear. It's quick."

  "Can we get the stuff we need there? In Bourg des Saintes?" Mary asked.

  "It's already in the ship's medicine chest. Syringes and roofies. The potassium chloride's in the galley, pretending to be a salt substitute."

  "And how far a sail is Bourg des Saintes?"

  "Only 120 miles, but it's almost due east."

  "Straight into the wind," Mary said. "But we could do that in 24 hours, give or take."

  "Yep. But that's only if Nora's okay with meeting in the Saintes. It's late enough now; I'll try the boss."

  "Mind if I eavesdrop?" Mary asked.

  "I was planning on it."

  The laptop and the hotspot were already in the cockpit. I went below and retrieved the phone while Mary got everything up and running. After I went through the authentication routine, the boss said, "She's all primed. You still on board?"

  "Yes," I said.

  "She wants to do this down in the islands. That work for you?"

  "Sure. But remember, I can't move all that fast."

  "There are planes and airports."

  "Yes, but the schedules aren't what you might be used to, and I'm a long way from an airport right now."

  "Where are you?"

  "I'm within striking distance of several good-sized islands. Think she's going to be flexible about the location?"

  "She should be, as long as you stay outside U.S. territory. Do you need for me to nudge her in a certain direction?"

  "I'll let you know," I said.

  "Good enough. Let's get this done; I've got work for you to do once she's out of the way."

  "Yes, sir. Looking forward to it."

  "Call me when it's finished, unless you need something before then." He disconnected.

  "Shit, Finn. I can't believe this," Mary said.

  "What?"

  "That's the other guy from the recording. He was the one briefing Aaron on that hit I told you about last night."

  "You sure?"

  "Yes. He was giving Aaron all the skinny on that Jimmy Harris character."

  I thought about that for several seconds. Mary held my gaze, a worried look on her face.

  "You killed him, right?" I asked.

  She nodded. "Why?"

  "Trying to fit the pieces together. I wish you knew who ordered the hit. I know you don't, but…"

  "What are you thinking, Finn?"

  "Whoever it was, they knew about Aaron. Somebody who had access to that recorded conversation between Aaron and Nora's boss."

  "Did you and Aaron ever discuss Nora's boss?"

  "Only in passing. Why?"

  "Do you think he might know the boss's identity?"

  "It's possible. If Aaron wanted to know, he could have discovered it, I'm sure. There isn't much information that's safe from Aaron."

  "Would he share that with you?"

  "Yes, if I asked point blank. And if he knew."

  "Would you trust his answer?"

  "Yes. Unless…"

  "Unless what?" she asked.

  "Unless he gave me a reason not to. Why?"

  "I think you should ask him."

  "About Nora's boss? Why?"

  "Well, not just about that. About Jimmy Harris, too."

  I mulled that over for several seconds. "Maybe so. I'm not sure it changes anything, as far as Nora goes."

  "No," Mary said. "I didn't think it would. I'm looking down the road; her boss is our next target. Right?"

  "He's definitely on the list," I said.

  "There's no reason to wait, is there?" she asked.

  "You mean to wait to ask Aaron?"

  "Right."

  "Not that I can see. You think I should call him before I call Nora?"

  "What can it hurt? More information's always good, isn't it?"

  "I reckon. Let's see what Aaron remembers about Jimmy Harris." I keyed the number for Aaron's latest burner phone into my iPhone.

  35

  "I've got a question for you," I said, when Aaron answered. "It doesn't go back as far as Elena, but it's a trip down memory lane, just the same." I wanted to make sure he had time to recognize my voice.

  "Okay. Ask away."

  "You ever get any background on a person named Jimmy Harris?"

  "Jimmy Harris," Aaron said. "What brought you to ask about him?"

  "His name came up in conversation with my friend. He was some kind of lowlife in central Florida, and we wondered if he was connected to… let's just say, one of the people we dealt with recently."

  "If he was, it would have been a while back." Aaron said. "Somebody punched his ticket a couple of years ago. But he could have been connected to that person who died of the accidental overdose recently. He was in the same line of business. And I don't mean politics."

  "Mind telling me what you know about him?"

  Aaron was silent for several seconds. "I can do that. But what I know is limited. We were checking him out in connection with a drug-smuggling ring
that was funding some ugly people from one of those countries where you and I used to work. You with me so far?"

  "Yes." Aaron's oblique reference was to Middle-Eastern terrorists. "I'm following so far."

  "It turned out he wasn't involved with them, but he was still a vile bastard. Nora had me work up a profile on him before we decided he wasn't of interest to us. She hooked me up with an anonymous source who knew a lot about Harris. I had a phone call or two with him. I remember picking his brain, but I don't know who he was or where she found him."

  "And what happened with the information?"

  "I consolidated everything we had. Put together one of our normal dossiers on him. The next thing I heard was that somebody blew him away. It appeared to be a typical drug-related hit; could have been one of his competitors. As far as I know, that was nothing to do with us."

  "So he was dealing?"

  "Small time. His main thing was women; he was heavily into pimping. But drugs are part of that whole scene. You know that. And that's about all I can tell you. Does that help?"

  I looked at Mary before I answered. She shook her head and shrugged.

  "I think so. Sounds like he was gone before any of the stuff we're working on happened. Thanks anyway."

  "Sure, man. No problem. I'll be in touch on the other things. Stay safe."

  "You, too," I said, and disconnected the call.

  "Do you trust what he told you?" Mary asked.

  "As far as it went, yes. But I think he knew more. He wasn't going to volunteer it, and I didn't want to push him on something that may not matter to us. He didn't think it was relevant to what we're into, or he would have been more forthcoming. I can always go back to him later if need be. What's your reaction?"

  "It sounds like Nora was putting together the file on the guy, from what Aaron said. And she set her boss up as an anonymous source for Aaron. That's weird. Why would she have done that?"

  "She and her boss wanted this Harris out of the picture. Or maybe just her boss did, and farmed it out to Nora. She got Aaron to put together one of our standard target profiles and then told Aaron that Harris wasn't the sort of target she was hunting."

  "But why would she have done that?"

  "It could have been to cover their tracks. She got the dossier from Aaron and told him 'thanks, but it was a false alarm.' Or something like that. Then she passed the dossier on to someone else, who put out the contract on Harris."