Bluewater Target: The 15th Novel in the Caribbean Mystery and Adventure Series (Bluewater Thrillers)

by Charles Dougherty

  "Yeah, Bill. I know. That's why I hired you. What are you not telling me?"

  "SpecCorp's a little different, Clayton. We're not like your average government body shop that hires people and then contracts them out at a markup."

  "Make it simple for me, Bill. I'm not getting it; I got stuff I need to do, here, besides all this financial shit."

  "Okay. If we hired people to write code for the government, the banks would understand. Or if we hired people to administer government functions like processing medical claims or running prisons.

  "The risks in those are from specification changes, scope changes, schedule problems, unforeseen glitches in designing whatever it is you have to design. Most government contracts that the banks are financing are domestic. It happens close to home, and it's easy to understand. You spend a bunch of money on payroll, you invoice for it with a known markup, and then several months later, you get paid. Banks loan you money to take up the slack until you collect from the government.

  "We're different. We have people all over the world, doing stuff the government doesn't even want to talk about. Hell, a lot of our business is with foreign governments. You with me?"

  "But," Delaney said, "we've got some kind of buy-in from Uncle Sam on the foreign stuff. It's no different. Even with the foreign governments, we're covered."

  "Covered is a relative term, Clayton. We're covered unless we get caught."

  "They're paying us for deniability, Bill. That's why the markups are so good."

  "And that's my point. We've got constraints on what we can share with a bank. They won't agree that they don't need to know why we've got 10,000 people with heavy weapons in Upper Gastrovia supporting a dictator who's willing to sell us oil, or whatever. You see?"

  "I'm paying you the big bucks to make them believe, Bill. We're good for the money, and you know it. Make them know it."

  "Okay, Clayton, I can give it a go, but these guys don't take much on faith. Not with the amount of money we're looking for."

  "We can cut them in on some of it," Delaney said. "Pay them better than their other clients. You mentioned blood in the water. They don't have to go away hungry."

  "Yeah, okay. But I wasn't talking about a feeding frenzy when I said blood in the water."

  "What did you mean, if not a feeding frenzy?" Delaney asked.

  "It's just the opposite, Clayton. Once they smell blood from somebody like us, they'll want no part of it."

  "So? What's the downside for us in asking?"

  "Second-order stuff," Legrand said. "They'll get antsy about financing people who do business with us."

  "Like who?"

  "Like anybody that does enough business with us to get hurt if we fold. The people who ship stuff for our deployments, say. Suppliers of rations, anybody like that. Right now we have a problem with our receivables because our customers are slow-pay. If word gets out we're in trouble, people that sell us goods and services will want us to pay in advance, because their banks won't finance their receivables from us. It's like a domino effect. You follow?"

  "Yeah, kinda. Do it anyway, Bill. We're in trouble. Just try not to let 'em know how much of a bind we're in, okay?"

  "Okay. You still working on finding another private funding source?"

  "Yeah, and I need to get on with it. You talk to the banks and give me a daily update on how you're making out." Delaney hung up the phone.

  Delaney pondered where to find a replacement investor. He was aware of other cartels, but they were small. Montalba had built a monopoly by putting his large competitors out of business.

  Delaney thought about approaching several of Montalba's second-tier competitors, the ones too small to have been attractive to Montalba. There was a problem with that; he didn't know where to begin. Unlike some combat veterans, he'd stayed away from drugs. He shook his head, remembering what dope did to people. He suppressed his feelings of guilt for having gotten involved with Montalba. People made their own decisions on whether to take drugs. He and Montalba didn't force anybody to become addicted.

  Then it came to him. Although he delegated recruiting these days, he knew that a fair percentage of the ex-military people who worked for SpecCorp had been in trouble for drug abuse when they were in the military. Somebody on the SpecCorp payroll would have the background to get him started. He smiled as he picked up the phone and dialed the extension for his intelligence officer.

  "What is this?" Liz asked, taking the envelope Marie handed her.

  "A surprise for you," Marie said, hefting her duffle bag again. One of her men had just dropped her off at Vengeance. "Do you want me in the forward stateroom like before?"

  "Sure," Liz said, tearing open the envelope. "I don't… Hey! This is a U.S. passport. What's — "

  "Your E.U. one is in there too. Congratulations, I guess. You have dual citizenship now. Now you can be an American anytime you wish, like Dani."

  "But I… isn't this a forgery?"

  "Of course not. Forgery is a crime," Marie said, smiling. "It's real. It was faster to do it that way on short notice. Visas seem to be much harder to get these days."

  "How can this be?" Liz asked, studying the two documents. "I like my picture in the U.S. one better."

  "It is the one you gave me for the visa application. It is a good likeness."

  "Will I be able to keep this after we're done?"

  "Yes. It is yours from now on."

  "Will I have to pay taxes in the U.S.?"

  "I cannot answer that question. Dani?"

  "Taxes won't be an issue. There are ways to manage them. Don't worry about it."

  "It is strange that this is your first question, Liz, about taxes."

  "It came to mind because we've spent this morning trying to figure out how to get a look at SpecCorp's financial problems."

  "Ah, I see. Have you made any progress there?"

  "No," Dani said. "I think I'll have better luck with that once we're in the States. I need to renew my acquaintance with a few people I used to work with."

  "In your investment banking days?" Marie asked.

  "Right. Speaking of the States, though, we need to decide about our route."

  "Vengeance is ready to sail?" Marie asked.

  "Yes. And we have our outbound clearance; Sandrine took care of that." Sandrine Davis, Phillip's wife, was a senior officer with the French customs service.

  "But my old passport number is on our crew list," Liz said.

  "I will call Sandrine," Marie said. "I can give her the new information. Excuse me for a moment." She went on deck to make her call, returning in two minutes.

  "You have a printer aboard?" Marie asked.

  "Yes, but why?" Liz frowned.

  "Sandrine is emailing a scanned copy of the new crew list. She has already changed it in the French customs database. You should print it out and replace the old one. Now, the decision about the route?"

  "There's nasty weather brewing out in the Atlantic," Dani said. "The offshore route may be too rough."

  "You said yesterday that the route through the islands would take longer. Is this correct?"

  "Not if the storm near Bermuda develops. We could encounter hurricane-force winds and some ugly seas," Liz said. "Conditions would be survivable, but they'd be unpleasant, for sure."

  "And it would definitely slow us down by several days," Dani added. "The southern route would be better."

  "The southern route is through the islands?"

  "Yes. There are several options along that route. We'd sail from here up through the Mona Passage, between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic," Dani said. "That's around 400 miles. Under the current conditions, we'll make that in two and a half days, sailing round the clock."

  "From the Mona Passage," Liz said, "we can skirt the eastern edge of the Bahamas, weather permitting. If conditions look as if they may deteriorate, we can duck into the Bahamas and find some protection.

  "Or if we go farther west from the Mona Passage," Liz said.
"We can thread our way through the Bahamas. But all the shallow water makes that route less attractive.

  "The third option would be to take the Old Bahama Channel along the north coast of Cuba to the Gulf Stream. That puts us south of the bad weather, and the Great Bahama Bank would flatten out the swell from the north. We'd ride the Gulf Stream north along the east coast of the U.S. That's safer, because it's more protected. But it might also be slower."

  "You say the Old Bahama Channel is good if the storm develops," Marie said. "This means we would not skirt the eastern edge of the Bahamas if the storm comes? Even if it is out near Bermuda?"

  "That's correct," Dani said.

  "But Bermuda must be a thousand miles from the Bahamas," Marie said.

  "Yes," Dani said. "It's around seven hundred fifty miles, but out to the east of the Bahamas, we'd risk having a dangerous swell running from the north because of the storm. With reflection from the islands, the sea state would be horrendous."

  "Then we could 'duck into the Bahamas,' as Liz said. Is this not correct?"

  "Only if we make that decision before the sea state changes," Liz said. "That kind of swell would make the passes into the islands deadly, and it can happen in the blink of an eye. We'd be on a lee shore. That's dangerous."

  "So, you think we must choose this Old Bahama Channel, then?"

  "Our suggestion is to sail to the Mona Passage and then decide," Dani said. "If the storm doesn't develop, we can head straight for the Chesapeake from there. We'll only lose maybe half a day over the direct route in that case. In exchange for the half day, we'll get the option to take a more protected route. That's insurance against the storm."

  "Then we leave, now, yes? And go to the Mona Passage?"

  "We're ready," Liz said.

  5

  "Are you excited to be under way, Marie?" Liz asked.

  "Yes," Marie said. "You two taught me to sail, so you know this will be my first long passage. I have some concerns, yes?"

  "Concerns?" Dani asked. "About the voyage, you mean? Not your mission?"

  "Not the mission. This kind of thing, it is what I have done many times. The voyage, though… with maybe a storm?" She shrugged, rolling her palms out and hunching her shoulders.

  "You've been in bad weather before," Liz said. "You've been up and down the islands and across the north coast of South America, and in small craft, to boot. Surely you've been caught in storms."

  "The small ones you call the squalls, yes. But they last only for a short time. And I was in power boats, always only a few minutes from safety, given the speed. I am thinking that Vengeance, she cannot run so fast, and the storms at sea, maybe they last for some days, yes?"

  "They can," Liz said, "but it's different in open water."

  Marie nodded with a jerky motion. "Yes, I have seen the films. And pictures. The waves, they get much bigger, yes?"

  "They do," Dani said. "They aren't as rough, though. Unless they're breaking. Big waves close to shore are much more violent."

  "Yes?" Marie said, raising her eyebrows.

  "Yes," Liz said. "Don't worry; we'll be fine."

  "The storm, it is not coming yet, anyway," Marie said. "And it will not make the big waves here in any case. Is that right?"

  "Right," Dani said. "We're in the Caribbean until we get through the Mona Passage. It's usually calmer down here. As Liz said, we'll be fine."

  "You have experienced storms like this in the open ocean, yes? On Vengeance?"

  "Yes," Liz said. "Worse than the one that's forecast. And Vengeance took good care of us."

  Liz traded looks with Dani. Dani was out of Marie's line of sight; she rolled her eyes and shrugged, raising her eyebrows at Liz.

  "Marie?" Liz said.

  "Yes?"

  "Can we ask you about this mission?"

  Marie nodded. "I will tell you as much as I can."

  "I don't mean to pry into things you aren't at liberty to discuss," Liz said. "Just general information."

  "For now, this is all I have, general information," Marie said. "You know my mission, already. What else do you wish to know?"

  "Can you tell us who wants Delaney dead?"

  "I am not sure of this. He has become a liability, perhaps. Probably to some people high up in the government."

  "The U.S. government?" Dani asked.

  "Yes. We would not accept this mission on U.S. soil otherwise. But I cannot say where in the government this order comes from. Only that it is authorized according to our established protocol. I don't know who in the U.S. government can make this kind of order. Perhaps the president."

  "That's reassuring, I guess," Dani said. "To know we aren't doing something they'll get upset about."

  Marie frowned, shaking her head. "But you must remember, there is no protection for us if we are caught. They use us because we are not official government agents. If they are in trouble over this, they will blame us, to protect themselves."

  "I see," Liz said. "That's called deniability, I think."

  "Yes. This is it. They use us so they can say they had nothing to do with this assassination, if it is discovered. So, we must be careful. We must not get caught because they will turn on us if that happens."

  "That's what we thought," Liz said.

  Marie nodded. "It is nothing to worry about. Always, it is like this."

  "But we are all using U.S. passports," Dani said. "If we were implicated in a killing, wouldn't that embarrass whoever hired us?"

  Marie shrugged. "Eh! Passports are easy to get. They mean almost nothing if it comes to that. They would have some explanation for how we got them — forged, stolen, something."

  "But you said my U.S. passport was genuine," Liz said.

  "Yes. It is, unless the people in power say it is not. Do not worry so. I have done this many times, in many countries. We will be fine, as you say."

  "How will you get to the target?" Dani asked.

  "I do not know this yet. I must do some reconnaissance, first."

  "But what about your team?" Liz asked. "Won't it take time to get them in place?"

  "I may not have a team, as you call it. If I need support, people are already in place. We have people on call in the States."

  "You won't have to bring in anyone, then?" Liz asked.

  "No. That would be dangerous. The people I would use are in deep cover. So no one will notice a 'team,' as you called it, moving into place."

  Marie paused for a few seconds, pursing her lips. "Why do you worry about this, Liz?"

  "We wondered, since you were using Vengeance as a base. We thought perhaps — "

  "I see. No, these people will not come on Vengeance. They will not know about Vengeance, or the two of you. This is for everyone's protection, you see."

  "But you know these people?"

  "Perhaps I may know some of them. It is possible I have met them, maybe on another job. Or perhaps not. Either way, we might not recognize one another. But if I call for a certain thing to happen, they will make it so. You have more questions than I have answers, I think. I must see what is what with the target. Then maybe I will have more answers, yes?"

  "Thanks, Marie. Sorry if we put you on the spot. We didn't mean to pry," Liz said, "but we've been curious. Neither of us has done anything like this before, and — "

  "We want to be sure we understand what you need from us," Dani said. "That's all, really. Phillip taught me that the better I understood a mission, the better I'd be able to support it."

  "Okay," Marie said. "I do not wish to keep anything from either of you. You are part of this. I will keep you well informed."

  "Thanks," Liz said. "We know there may be things that you can't share with us."

  "Nonsense," Marie said. "What I know, I will tell you. For now, I am making up this plan as we go. You have more questions?"

  Liz and Dani shook their heads.

  "If you think of them, you will ask, please. I need your ideas, not just your support. As Dani says, that means yo
u must understand. Now, I have a question."

  "Ask," Dani said.

  "Can you put me in the watch rotation? I wish to learn more about this offshore sailing. You have taught me before about sail handling and so forth. Now, I wish to go to the next level."

  "We were hoping you'd help," Liz said. "A third person in the rotation is the difference between work and fun."

  "Unless one of you has a preference," Dani said, "I'll take the first watch, starting now. That'll leave Liz free to get things squared away below and get dinner ready. Marie, if you're okay with that, why don't you go below and rest? You can take the watch from eight until midnight, and then Liz can come up. I'll come back on from four a.m. until eight. Sound good?"

  "Yes," Marie said.

  She and Liz went below, leaving Dani alone in the cockpit.

  Delaney took a walk around his estate. He was waiting to hear from Larry Thompson. Thompson was SpecCorp's intelligence officer.

  Thompson was reviewing their employee records. He was looking for people who had been discharged from the military for drug offenses. Delaney needed the insight of someone with that experience.

  To avoid starting rumors, Thompson wanted to sharpen the focus of their search. That meant their personnel specialists would need to review the files of each person who matched their criteria. The delay frustrated Delaney, but he appreciated Thompson's caution.

  While Delaney strolled, he was thinking about Montalba. He doubted that Montalba's death was an accident. It was more likely the work of a rival cartel. Delaney wanted to find that cartel.

  To eliminate Montalba would take a well-organized operation. It would have to be large and well-financed, too.

  That meant they would have the same problem managing their illicit cash. Even if they had a solution, Delaney could see a benefit to them in having SpecCorp as another channel to launder money.

  A few months ago, SpecCorp sent men to the Caribbean at Montalba's request. Montalba used them to spy on people associated with a man named J.-P. Berger.