"Yeah, that's right. Once we leave, they'll tow it into the shipping channel and cast it adrift."
"Good enough," Delaney said. "We'll be stuck with the DiGenovas for future funding, but at least they aren't trying to kill me."
Dani saw the display on the satellite phone light up a split second before it rang. She touched the green connect button and said, "Hello, Mr. Delaney."
Marie was awake and alert before Delaney's voice came from the phone.
"I'm two miles out; I'll be there in one minute. Light your flares."
"Okay," Dani said, watching as Marie poked at her phone. A few seconds later, a red glow came through the opening that led to the bow deck.
"Good," Delaney said. "On my way." He disconnected.
"I go, now," Marie said, standing up.
As she walked out into the area that was illuminated by the flares, Dani and Liz took up positions in the shadows, their weapons at the ready.
They heard the unlighted helicopter for several seconds before it loomed out of the darkness a few hundred yards to the west. It plummeted as it approached, halting its descent when it was 200 feet above the water.
There was a roar from the Viper's three-barreled M197 Gatling cannon. What looked like a column of fire from the tracers linked the racing helicopter to the ship's waterline. In two seconds, it was over, 50 rounds having found their mark. To the women, it seemed much longer.
"Hold your fire," Marie said, over the radio, as she was illuminated by a spotlight from the gunship, which was hovering about 200 yards away. "I saw a lighted helicopter coming in before the light blinded me."
"I have it," Dani said. "Looks like a Blackhawk."
"That will be Delaney," Marie said, as the second helicopter hovered at an altitude of about 50 feet, a hundred feet from the bow.
"Good evening, Ms. Barrera," Delaney's voice, distorted by a high-powered loudhailer, boomed. "Have your two lady friends join you now. All three raise your hands and don't make any sudden moves. You have ten seconds to comply, or the Viper will strike again, aiming a little higher." Delaney began to count the seconds over the loudhailer.
"Drop your weapons and come out, quickly," Marie said, over the radio. "Do as he says."
Liz and Dani stepped out of the darkness into the beam of the spotlight on Delaney's count of seven.
"Thank you," Delaney said. "I will touch down and you can join me on the Blackhawk. We'll fly back to my place for our meeting, and then I'll bring you back here to pick up your boat."
Dani spoke on the radio. "I don't like — "
"Hush," Marie yelled at Dani, making sure she could hear over the noise without the radio, since Dani had keyed her mic.
Dani shrugged and nodded.
As the Blackhawk approached the bow of the wreck, Marie spoke over her radio. "This is Plan B. I say again, this is Plan B."
"Roger that," a male voice replied.
A second later, there was a hissing sound, its intensity increasing rapidly, and Marie said, "Hit the deck," over the radio, diving to a prone position as both helicopters exploded in fireballs.
"Dani? Liz?" Marie asked.
"Okay," Dani said, raising her head to see the flaming wreckage of the helicopters sinking into the shallow water.
"Me too," Liz said. "What was that?"
"Stingers," Dani said.
"That was Plan B," Marie said. "Always, we must have a Plan B for a target like this. You two take the boat and go home. I must stay behind to be sure everything is in order. I will join you in an hour or two."
"That's it?" Dani asked. "It's over?"
"Yes," Marie said. "Plan B worked."
"But I thought — "
"Go now." Marie gestured for them to leave as she turned away.
27
Dani was at the helm of the speedboat as they raced up the Bay toward the West River. They had been underway for three minutes when Liz tapped her on the shoulder.
Cupping Dani's ear and leaning close to make herself heard over the engines, Liz said, "We've got company."
Dani turned toward her and Liz pointed behind them. There was an unlighted boat following them, visible only because of the moonlight reflected from the white spray of its wake.
Dani leaned toward Liz, speaking into her ear. "How long have they been back there?"
"I just spotted them. At first I thought it was our wake, but they swung out to the side for a few seconds. They popped up out of nowhere."
"Maybe we passed them; they could have been fishing the shallows, or something," Dani said.
"With no lights?"
"Are they still back there?" Dani asked, opening the throttles.
"Yes," Liz said. "They're overtaking us, coming up fast."
Dani sensed movement off their port side. Glancing over her shoulder, she picked out the silhouette of a big RIB. As Dani veered to the starboard to open some space, the overtaking boat crowded closer.
"It's military," Liz said. "There's a machine gun mounted in the bow, and a guy aiming it at us. He's waving at us to stop."
"Uh-oh," Dani said, throttling back. "Grab the big flashlight and be ready. I'm going to ram them. Then we'll jump them."
As their boat lost speed, the RIB held its relative position. When Dani had stopped, it came alongside.
"Good evening, ladies," one of the three men said, over the sound of the idling engines. "You were in a U.S. Navy prohibited area while classified operations were under way. What were you doing?"
"Who are you?" Dani asked, leaning across Liz toward them. She began turning the helm hard to port. The boat was dead in the water, so it didn't respond to the helm.
"Navy range safety patrol," the man said. "What were you doing in the prohibited area?"
"That's bullshit," she whispered to Liz. "Hang on tight and get ready to jump the one talking." In a normal tone, she said, "Fishing."
"I don't see any tackle," the man said.
"We were using hand-lines," Dani said. "Here we go," she said to Liz.
The boats had drifted apart; thirty feet of water separated them.
Dani slammed the throttles wide open. The outboard engines roared and the speedboat surged into a tight turn to the port.
As the boat started to come up on a plane, its bow was high above the water. When it struck the patrol boat, its bow rode up over the RIB's pneumatic tube amidships.
Dani yelled, "Now, Liz!"
Liz scrambled over the speedboat's port side.
She swung the three-cell flashlight, braining the man who had been talking. He collapsed, unconscious.
Dani, meanwhile, lurched over the starboard bow, pushing the barrel of the M60 machine gun aside. The stunned machine gunner struggled to free his pistol from a belt holster as Dani grabbed a fistful of his shirt in her left hand.
She jerked him toward her as she drove her right elbow into his larynx. Gagging, he dropped to his knees and raised both hands to his throat, dropping the pistol.
Dani scooped it up and swung it like a club, connecting with the side of his head and knocking him senseless.
She racked the slide to be sure she had a round in the chamber and turned toward the helmsman, who was grappling with Liz. Dani fired a round over the side and took aim at the man.
"Let her go, Rambo. Whatever you're doing, it's not worth dying for, no matter what Delaney told you. Keep your hands where I can see them."
He turned, putting Liz between himself and Dani. As Dani tried to shift her position to get a clear shot, he struck Liz on the chin with his fist. Stunned, she shook her head. He grabbed her by her upper arms and tossed her at Dani. Dani fell against the RIB's tube, Liz on top of her.
The man pulled a pistol from his holster as Liz scrambled to her feet.
She lunged at him, knocking the pistol aside. Gripping his shirt in both hands, she smashed her forehead into his nose.
Before he could recover, she snatched the pistol from his hand and put the muzzle under his chin.
"No! Don't!" Dani yelled.
"He made me bite my tongue," Liz said, her tone shrill. "I'm going to — "
"Don't. Get a grip on your temper."
Liz took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, shaking her head. She pulled the pistol back and swiped it across his mouth. "Like the taste of blood, tough guy? I'll teach you to hit a woman." She pointed the gun at his crotch.
"Don't do it." Dani put a hand on Liz's shoulder. "Save him for later. He may know something useful."
Liz shoved him away and he raised his hands, his eyes wide above the bloody ruins of his face. "Good boy, keep them up," she said, keeping the pistol trained on his face. "Lucky for you my partner's gone soft." Liz took half a step back and nudged Dani. "Now what? Aren't we going to waste them?"
"I'm shocked that you'd think that," Dani said, stepping up beside Liz. "Turn around, asshole," she said, motioning at Liz's captive.
When he was facing away from her, Dani swung her pistol, connecting with the back of his head. He collapsed, and she said, "We'll tie them up and call Marie. She can send people to deal with them."
"Are we going to wait?" Liz said.
"I don't know. Hang on." She called Marie's cellphone.
"Dani?"
"Yes. I didn't know if you'd answer."
"I am almost finished here. Is something wrong?"
Dani told her what had happened.
"Okay. This is no problem. They are immobilized?" Marie asked.
"Yes. And unconscious, at least for the moment."
"Leave them in the boat. I will send someone. What is your position?"
Dani gave her their GPS coordinates.
"Okay. Good work. I will see you at Vengeance soon. I will not be as long as I feared I would be."
"Hey, Liz?" Dani shut off the twin outboards. She watched as Liz tied the speedboat alongside Vengeance.
"Yes?"
"You sleepy at all?"
"No. I'm still on an adrenalin high. How about you?"
"Me, too, but we've got a little while yet before Marie gets back. What do you think we should do?"
"How about a pot of green tea? We'll chill out in the saloon until she's here. Then I can fix a light breakfast and we can all crash. Sound okay?"
"Perfect," Dani said, climbing aboard Vengeance.
While Liz was making the tea, Dani stood in the galley with her, watching.
"Were you surprised when Marie's people blew away the helicopters?" Liz asked.
"Yes, but in hindsight, I shouldn't have been, I guess."
"No?" Liz asked, pouring boiling water into a china teapot and dropping the infuser in. She put a cozy over the pot and put it on a tray with two cups and saucers. "What do you suppose will happen to the three men in the bogus patrol boat?"
Dani shrugged. "I don't know. Not high on my list of worries. But didn't we handle them well?"
"We did."
"Did you really want to waste them, like you said?"
"Not now, no. But right then? I would have. I was pissed off when that jerk punched me. I'm glad you stopped me, though." She picked up the tray with the tea. "Let's sit down while it steeps."
Dani stepped aside to let her by. She waited until Liz put the tray on the saloon table and sat down.
"About what I said a couple of weeks ago…" Dani said, as she joined Liz.
Liz raised her eyebrows and looked at her, waiting. Dani fidgeted with her empty cup.
"What you said a couple of weeks ago?" Liz asked, after several seconds.
Dani gave her head a quick shake. "Sorry. I'm not sure how to…"
"Just spit it out, Dani. What is it?"
"About the charter business."
"Oh," Liz said. "About your being bored with it?"
"Yes. That. I was envying Marie then; her life seemed so exciting. I mean, compared to running charters…"
"I got that, yes. You want to talk about it?" Liz lifted the cozy from the teapot and filled their cups.
"You know how I am," Dani said, pausing for a sip of the steaming tea. "Never quite satisfied."
Liz waited, saying nothing.
After a few seconds, Dani said, "I've been thinking about that ever since we started this trip. At first, I was super excited." She took another sip of tea and sat, looking down at her cup.
"At first? Because of the sail? Or the chance to work with Marie?"
Dani looked up, frowning. "Both. We had a great sail, didn't we?"
"We did," Liz said, "with just enough heavy weather to spice it up. Tell me about working with Marie."
Dani looked at her for a second and nodded. "It was okay. I mean, you were there, so you know."
"I was wondering how you liked it," Liz said. "Did it get your juices flowing?"
Dani shook her head. "No. I don't know everything she did, but I know enough to fill in the blanks. It was just plodding, one foot in front of the other. Like work. Even Marie didn't seem to be excited by it."
Liz nodded. "She said more than once that it was just a job."
"I know, but I thought there would be more to it. There was the thrill of anticipation, but in the end, it was just… I don't know. Too straightforward, I guess."
"Reality never turns out the way you imagine it will," Liz said.
"But I'm frustrated with myself, Liz."
"Go easy on yourself. We only want things we don't have already, Dani. That's the way we're wired."
"But why? Why can't I be satisfied with what I have?"
"Because then you'd be complacent."
"But you don't seem to always want something new. You're happy with our charter work."
"The key word there is work, Dani. It's work. Doing any work well is a challenge. There's satisfaction in that; you feel good about the business we've built, don't you?"
"Yes, but you didn't answer my big question. Why aren't you looking for excitement?"
"When you're good at doing something, there's an element of sameness to it. If you're good at your job, it's not exciting; it's repetitious. But we're all looking for excitement. Exciting things happen all the time. The trick is learning to recognize them."
"Where's the excitement in running charters to the same places?"
"Well, it depends. I get excited watching the reactions of our guests. Every one of them sees our 'same places' differently. You get excited by the challenge of keeping the boat going, and sailing, don't you? It's always a little different — the wind, the currents. Stuff breaks at the wrong time and you have to improvise."
"Maybe I'm just an adrenalin junky, Liz."
"Maybe. That's okay. There's some of that in all of us."
"But I don't know what I want to do next."
"Join the club. Keep plodding. Opportunity will come to you if you're looking for it. Don't wait around for it, though. You have to be in active pursuit. Keep looking; stay alert. Sorry for the clichés, but they fit."
Dani was frowning.
Liz looked her in the eye and smiled. "And hey! At least we got to cut loose on those jerks in the bogus patrol boat. This venture wasn't a total loss."
Dani grinned and shook her head. "Thanks for putting up with me. If nothing else, now I know I don't want to sign up with Marie and Clarence."
"Sorry you didn't find what you were looking for. I thought it was exciting, myself."
"You're right. Now that I look back, it was exciting. But doing more of the same — well, we might as well run charters."
"I hear a boat coming," Liz said. "Maybe it's Marie, coming back early."
"I hope so. I'm fading. Breakfast and a nice, long nap are an exciting prospect." Dani grinned.
"Now that we've slept half the day away, tell us what happened after we left," Dani said.
Liz and Marie were sitting with her at the table in the main saloon.
Marie put her coffee mug down. "Well, I already told you most of it at breakfast, before we went to sleep."
"I know, but we want all the details."
&nb
sp; Marie smiled. "There were no survivors except those three men in the patrol boat. The rest was just boring work. We picked up everything we left on the wreck — our weapons and the flares. The support people brought me back here and took the boat we've been using, but you saw that. What else can I tell you?"
"What will happen to those guys in the patrol boat?" Dani asked.
"They will be dealt with," Marie said. "I cannot tell you more right now; it depends on whether they may be useful."
"Speaking of not telling us things, you didn't warn us about Plan B," Liz said.
Marie shrugged. "I did not mean to keep it from you. It was not important when we were getting ready. It was to cover what I thought was a remote possibility. I didn't think it would affect us. I did not expect that Delaney would do what he did."
"What made you decide to waste him instead of getting on the helicopter?" Dani said.
"Before this happened, I went through many scenarios in my mind. One was that Delaney would try to kill us at the wreck. He could have attempted that in several ways."
"That's what I thought he was doing when the gunship shot at us," Liz said.
"That could have been," Marie said, "but as it happened, they did it to intimidate us. They were careful; they aimed so as not to put us at risk. When Delaney called out from the Blackhawk, I still thought he would land and meet with us, but I was expecting an assault by men from his helicopter. Once he told us his plan, I could see no good result from going with him."
"If we had boarded that helicopter, we would have been at his mercy," Dani said. "He would have taken us to his compound and tried to force us to give him the recordings and the money. He would have never released us."
"That was my conclusion, too. We might have been able to take him even after we got to his compound, but that would have shifted the odds in his favor. So, I made a compromise decision. Our best option was to shoot down the helicopters. If we were lucky, he might survive to be questioned. But if not, then we had an acceptable outcome."
Bluewater Target: The 15th Novel in the Caribbean Mystery and Adventure Series (Bluewater Thrillers) Page 20
