by Scott Cook
“Here,” Nikki said, handing him three pills and a beer she’d pulled from the fridge. “Just try and do it without dragging me through the dirt, huh?”
“Thanks, babe,” He said and then swallowed the pills.
“Give them enough rope…” I muttered to myself and chuckled.
He got to his feet and Paulo, the Central American, helped him hobble out through the saloon hatchway. Diego went and closed it behind them and actually gave me a thumbs up.
“Nice guy,” I said to Nikki. “Bet you can’t wait to introduce him to your mom.”
“He’s not usually like that,” She said, sitting in the recently vacated chair.
“Oh, no?” I asked. “Well, please tell me all about it. Maybe we can whip up a nice batch of the popping corn and turn on The View while we’re at it. Jesus Christ on a soda cracker, Nicole! Are you kidding me with this bullshit, or what?”
She only shrugged and grinned, “The Bureau doesn’t pay well, Scott. Kind of get tired of being the broke ass good guy all the time while the scumbags drive around in Porsches and take private cruises on hundred-foot yachts, y’know?”
“Oh, please…” I droned. “That’s the same bullshit Bill tried to feed me as justification for his atrocities. Know what I’m talking about?”
She nodded, “I know about Shade. And this isn’t that uncommon in law enforcement, you know.”
I shrugged, “I guess not… but to turn a one-eighty? You’re obviously in on this drug smuggling thing, however it works. Old Cooper… Jesus… Cooper… is as well, clearly. From what I’ve seen, he’s not smart enough to pull off something complex. So what… you’re the big cheese, is that it?”
She chuckled, “Not exactly. There’s more to Cooper than meets the eye, believe me.”
I rolled my own at that. We both paused as the boat’s two diesel’s rumbled to life beneath us.
“However, he’s only part of the machinery,” Nikki went on. “My position allows me to run interference and to provide misdirection for law enforcement should that need arise. However, there are other players. It’s the other players who want to meet you. They want something you’ve got.”
“A winning smile?”
She only shook her head and uttered a soft chuckle, “I really have missed being with you… but no, Scott, that’s not what they want. I think you know what it is.”
I said nothing and only stared at her. Finally, as the engines were put in gear and the boat began to pull out of the slip, I said: “Did you really promise to make him forget about his hurt foot by chewing on his dingaling? I mean… that’s what he said.”
Diego chortled from the sofa and I winked at him.
Nikki frowned, “Scott… for God’s sake…”
“Hey, his words, not mine… well, I guess chewing on his dingaling were mine… but I was paraphrasing,” I observed. “But my nose hurts… y’know… if you’re offerin’…”
“I like this man,” Diego wheezed through his laughter. “Muy frejoles grande.”
“Yeah, and a mouth just as big,” Nikki said sardonically.
“Nicole,” I said, all trace of good humor gone from my voice now. “Stop this. Stop this before it’s too late. You don’t know what you’re up against.”
She laughed, “You don’t think I know what you’re capable of?”
I only shook my head, “I don’t’ mean just me. And honestly, I didn’t suspect you were capable of this.”
“That’s sort of the point, Scott.”
“Then again,” I went on. “Anyone who can fake their death and betray the person they claim to love… well… if you can do that, then I suppose this is nothing in comparison.”
“Apples and oranges.”
I scoffed, “No, Nicole. They aren’t. However, I’m no longer a lone wolf. I have people backing me. Powerful people.”
She waved that off, “Oh, I’m well aware of that, Commander. But I’m working with powerful people as well.”
I settled back in my chair and only shrugged, “Very well, then. I can’t wait to meet the big cheese, the lead enchilada, the head honcho, el taco grande, the big fat throbbing—“
“You will soon enough,” Nikki said. “And I advise you not to play games with him. He’s not the kind of man who will appreciate your particular sense of humor. Jesus… I’ve never met anybody who can get into a situation like this and mock it so completely…”
“Why shouldn’t I?” I asked. “Why would I be nice to bad guys? What better time to be as big a dick as you can? Not to mention that there is some tactical advantage that can be gained… oh, I probably shouldn’t have said that last part, on account you’re one o’them horn swagglers now.”
She just sighed and shook her head, yet I thought I detected amusement. I was going to believe it was there regardless. It made me happy to do so, and as I’ve often observed, a happy Jarvis is a happy Jarvis.
“I don’t’ suppose there’s any way to talk you out of this,” I stated after a few minutes of silence, knowing the answer full well.
“What’re you offering?” She asked with a wry grin.
“What are you asking?”
“Well, Cooper is busy…”
“Oh, yeah? A roll in the hay and I’m a free man?” I asked with a crooked grin. “Miss me that much? Ha! I knew Cooper wasn’t as good as me.”
Nikki just shook her head, “Nobody is… but no, Scott, I’m afraid this is business. Too bad, though.”
“Yeah, too bad,” I said wistfully. “Probably for the best, though. Lisa might get a little peeved if you and I did bad stuff.”
Nikki laughed, “I’ll bet she would.”
“Besides, she’s already going to be super pissed when she learns that you kidnapped me and allowed me to be pummeled about my lovely visage.”
Nikki cast her eyes down at the deck for a quick second. That was not a good sign. She looked up at me and said, “That assumes she’s going to find out.”
“Oh, she will,” I said. “Even if your boss kills me after he gets what he wants. That’s the plan, right? Get me to sing and then consign me to a watery and sharp toothed fate?”
“That depends on you,” Nikki said without much conviction.
“Uh-huh.”
She was silent for a time. I could tell that we were now entering open water because the boat’s engines revved and we jumped up onto a plane. There was a moderate swell running, that the boat handled well. I could just see the crescent moon hanging low over the water beyond the portside window. I wasn’t sure where we were going, but wherever it was, it was south of marathon.
18
From the Exciting Adventures of La Dectiva Caliente
Lisa’s journal entry 3
“I’m getting a bad feeling about this,” I muttered as I studied my phone.
Jackie sat beside me on a lounge chair out by the pool. My mom and George had gone to bed an hour ago, and I was having a hard time thinking of anything else but Scott.
“This sucks…”
“You sound irritated,” Jackie observed.
I sighed, “Not exactly… well, maybe a little… it just makes me nervous when he goes off on some covert mission or whatever.”
“Oh, you mean like going by himself to talk to a couple of maybe drug dealers and almost getting blown up?” Jackie asked with a grin.
I chuckled, “Okay… but when he’s on his own, I just wish I was there, too. He’s always getting into these crazy situations.”
“That’s who he is,” Jackie pointed out. “It’s one of the reasons you love him, right?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “But it still tightens my jaws sometimes, as Scott would say.”
“That’s a man for you,” Jackie quipped. “If they’re good for anything, it’s driving us crazy.”
“Well…” I allowed. “They’re pretty good at auto repair and hooking up the stereo. Plus he cooks, so…”
Jackie laughed, “Oh yeah? That all?”
I grinned
, “Oh, no, babe… oh no…”
“So what’re you doing over there?” Jackie asked after a moment of silence. “Checking your Snapchat or what?”
I angled the screen so she could see. On it was a map and a little pin. “It’s that friend finder app. I’ve been tracking his position for a while now. He got to the marina and has been motionless for about a half hour or so… but now he’s moving again.”
Jackie leaned in closer and studied the screen, “Hmmm… looks like he’s going south… think he’s on a boat?”
“Yeah…” I grumbled. “Headed out to sea. I can’t see that being a good thing.”
“How far away is Marathon from here?”
“About seventy miles or so… why?”
Jackie looked out over the yard and to the dock. At the end of the dock was what I liked to call George’s floating phallic symbol. It was a forty-foot go fast boat. A cigarette that was big, loud and screaming fast. George once bragged it could do ninety knots in good conditions.
“What?” I asked.
Jackie grinned at me, “Think your stepdad would let you take her for a ride?”
I scoffed, “he’s not my stepdad. Just mom’s new husband… and I doubt it. It’s his baby.”
“And letting a girl drive it would take away from the boner quality?” Jackie asked with a little giggle.
I chuffed, “Exactly.”
“It’s easier to get forgiveness than permission.”
I met her eyes, “Are you serious?”
Jackie took in a breath and let it out slowly. “There’s no way Scott is headed out to sea… after midnight… for any good reason. With that boat, assuming you know how to drive it and know something about the water down here, we can be there in an hour. I don’t think I could get any of our assets moving any faster. Even a helo would take longer by the time we got things organized.”
Jackie was suggesting that I steal George’s boat. Considering what she said, I couldn’t disagree. Scott was probably in trouble. Yeah, he could probably get himself out of it… but still…
“Okay,” I said. “What’ve you got for weapons?”
Jackie’s pearly white teeth flashed in the moonlight, “That’a girl! Unfortunately, I’ve only got my Sig. How about you?”
I smiled, “Thankfully, Scott likes to take precautions. I’ve got my Glock and he brought his AK. Luckily he brought it in the house and it’s not in Marathon sitting in my SUV right now.”
“An AK?” Jackie asked in surprise.
“Yeah, modified for full auto,” I said, getting to my feet. “I thought you read the books?”
Jackie thought for a moment and then smiled, “Oh yeah… okay, let’s lock and load and get underway.”
I felt a thrill of excitement as well as trepidation in my stomach. I was about to steal a boat and race off into the night with a Gunnery Sergeant to rescue a Navy Commander from some possible drug dealers. Par for the course, I had to admit. I did wish I had Nikki’s phone number. She could probably help.
I jotted down a quick note and left it on George’s desk in his office. He kept the keys to the boat in his desk. At least he’d know it wasn’t a random crime.
So that should comfort him to no end, right?
I retrieved the big rifle from the gym bag in our bedroom and checked to be sure it had a full magazine. There were two more in the bag and I grabbed them and my own pistol and headed out back.
“Christ!” Jackie said as I walked out on the dock where she was already climbing into the cigarette’s cockpit. “That’ll punch somebody’s goddamned ticket! Now… you’re sure you know how to drive this thing, right, Sonny Crockett?”
I handed her the rifle, “Yeah, between Scott and my own boating experience, it’s a cinch. I’ll just need you to keep an eye on the gauges on your side. Oil pressure, engine temp and that shit. George keeps her full of fuel and she’s got a range of three hundred miles at a cruising speed of forty knots. Up to date chart plotter and all that.”
“Okay,” Jackie said. “Want me to untie?”
“Yes,” I replied, feeling a stab of guilt. “This bitch roars like a lion, so once I start the engines, we’ll have very little time before I’m sure George comes flying out the back door in his undies howling like mad!”
Jackie chuckled and went and threw off the bow, stern and spring lines. I remembered the procedure for getting the boat going from the times we’d been out with George. I turned on the batteries, activated the blower and waited a minute. The tide was apparently going out, because we were already drifting slowly away from the dock. I turned the key and the two big turbo-charged gasoline engines roared to life with a sound that almost made me pee my pants it was so loud.
“Jesus!” Jackie exclaimed. “So much for stealth!”
“Haaaaaah?” I drew it out and laughed maniacally.
I put the boat in gear and wheeled us around and headed out into the main channel and the main body of Biscayne Bay. On the chart plotter’s large screen there were several spaghetti tracks. These had been recorded from previous trips and acted as an exact roadmap if you needed it.
I could clearly see the one that led out of the bay and into the Atlantic proper. I bit my lip and eased the twin throttles forward slowly.
I remember George telling us that you couldn’t just shove them to the stops. The engines were so powerful they’d simply blast the water out from under the boat and you’d cavitate for several seconds. You had to get her going and up on plane before you could blast off for real.
Even at a quarter throttle, the big boat’s bow rose and she seemed to leap from the water, levelling off somewhat and sliding across the flat surface like an ice skater.
Once we were out in the bay and headed toward the ocean, I throttled up to about sixty knots. Jackie was grinning and even whooped in delight. I had to admit it was pretty exhilarating.
“So how far out do we have to go!?” Jackie hollered over the screaming engines.
“We’ve got to round Elliott Key,” I shouted. “Then we can turn south, southwest and start running down the strait. Before that, though, we’ve got to get out of the Bay. We could run inside the reef, but Scott is still headed due south, so my thinking is that the boat he’s on is headed for deep water! Here!”
I handed her my phone. It wasn’t long before we’d passed out of the shallows of Biscayne Bay and past the many small islets that bordered it. I saw Jackie pull a set of night vision goggles from a bag that she’d brought and look around.
“Hey! Are those houses over there?” She pointed off to starboard.
“Yeah, that’s Stiltsville,” I shouted back. “Or what’s left of it. Built on the flats of the Safety Valve.”
“People live out there?”
“I don’t think so anymore! Hurricane Andrew wrecked a few. I think they’re just used occasionally. Pretty cool, though, huh?”
Once in deep water, I turned us toward the Keys and opened the throttles up to nearly full. The boat seemed to rocket ahead, skittering over the light chop as if we were on a lake. The knot meter read eighty-five.
“Holy shit!” Jackie hollered, glancing at the gauges. “I’ve never gone this fast on the water before!”
“Me either!” I shouted back. “Kind of puckers your butthole, doesn’t it?”
We flew through the night in silence for a while. Well, without conversation, I mean. The engines and the wind made talking virtually impossible. A crescent moon was hanging about a third of the way to its zenith off to the east. The slim thread of silvery light that reflected off the water connected the horizon to our port quarter as I headed us more and more west. It would’ve been beautiful out there if it wasn’t for the reason we were on the water in the first place.
My anxiety for Scott was growing minute by minute. It was probably irrational. Scott had proven over and over again that he could take care of himself as well as everyone else. Yet for some reason, I just felt a cold lump of fear this time. I didn’t’ know why,
but it was there all the same.
“Lisa!” Jackie interrupted my thoughts. “He’s stopped… no… wait… it says signal lost!”
Oh shit…
I hadn’t even thought about cell service. Depending on where you were, once you got ten miles or so from land, you couldn’t get cellular service anymore. That meant I now had no way to track him.
“Us or him?” I asked.
Jackie shrugged, “Both, I think… you’re at one bar now and… nope, no signal.”
“Fuck!” I hollered. “Fuck me!”
“Don’t panic yet,” Jackie said, flipping a switch on the console and activating another screen. “We can extrapolate from the course he’s been following and guess where he’ll be. This thing has a radar… not much range, but it has one. Maybe ten miles to the horizon.”
“Think we can intercept him?” I asked hopefully.
Jackie zoomed the chart plotter out, “Okay, he left Marathon… looks like they went out of Boot Key Harbor. Headed due south. Let’s see… it took thirty minutes to lose his signal. Okay, figure the boat is moving at thirty knots… in another thirty minutes he’ll be right about here.”
Jackie moved the cursor and created a waypoint. A small purple X appeared on the screen. She then hit the goto button and some text appeared near the cursor.
“Forty nautical miles…” Jackie was reading. “ETA zero-one-five-six. Just about perfect at this speed. We ought to see something on the radar in twenty minutes or so!”
“Okay…” I said… well, shouted really. “That sounds right. Problem is… what do we do when we catch sight of the boat? How will we know it’s even them?”
Jackie shrugged and sat back down, tapping the gauges with a red painted nail. “Who else would be out here in the dead of night? Hey… your starboard engine is starting to heat a little.”
That curdled my milk. I felt a stab of fear at her words. What if we had to slow down or worse?
“”How bad?” I asked.
“One-eighty,” Jackie said. “Not near the red line yet. I think we’re okay for a while. It’s creeping up by about a degree every fifteen seconds. It’ll be close, but if it stays constant, we’re okay. Oil pressure is good. Don’t’ worry!”
