The Falau Files Box Set 1

by Mike Gomes

  Gabriela brushed the hair from her eyes. Her outfit had changed for the occasion. She wore simple jeans with tennis shoes. A concert T-shirt from Led Zeppelin and an open denim jacket with frayed fringe around the cuffs. She turned back to look across the street seeing if she could see Duke pull up with a driver. But nothing came and it had been more than the hour that Falau had predicted.

  She leaned back against the wall as more and more tourists fumbled about. Getting in and out of taxies and rushing to take pictures of Big Ben across the water.

  “This is the wrong side of the fucking street! I knew you were trying to build up the fair by going the wrong way. You added ten more pounds onto the fare with this bullshit.” screamed a man getting out of the cab not twenty feet from Gabriela.

  The voice was familiar and one she had heard for the first time not more than twelve hours ago. Tristan Duke was throwing money into the back of a cab furious with the driver for up charging him. The angry and scared young man slammed the door and turned around pushing the hair back on his head and he stepped onto the sidewalk and looked directly at Gabriela.

  He froze taking in the information and trying to make sense of it. He knew the face. It looked just like the girl he was with last night but this was London. Everything was exact. Her face went blank staring back at him. It was her but why? “How could she be in London?” thought Duke. And then it made sense to him “Wyatt Houston” he said under his breath. He turned and started to walk toward the bridge moving in and out of the tourists.

  “He is here on the other side of the street. A cab let him out here and he saw me. He is going to the bridge.” Said Gabriela in an excited whisper.

  Tim and Falau made direct routes to get to the bridge as fast as they could. Duke was halfway over and Gabriela was a short distance from him as he started to run.

  Falau didn’t hesitate and took off at his top speed. Each time his feet hit the pavement he got a jolting pain in his arm from the wound. He could not gather speed by only having the ability to swing one arm and he caught up to Gabriela three quarters of the way across the Westminster Bridge.

  Duke hit the end of the bridge crashing into a crowd of people standing at a pay phone waiting for Big Ben to chime so they could let their friends back home hear it. He took a sharp right and ran along the Thames arriving at Westminster Pier.

  Tim was now with the others as they finished crossing the bridge and saw Duke going down the walkway to the pier.

  Chapter 22

  Westminster Pier sat less than a hundred yards down the street from the Westminster Bridge. It had been commissioned and opened in the year 2000 as part of the Millennium Commission that used a new national lottery to fund improvements to England in various forms. The pier was one of several placed on the River Thames. Its main existence was to provide docking for several companies that were in the tourist trade. It was a convenient location so close to Big Ben that visitors could get on a ferry and cruise the river seeing many of the major sites including Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and the Tower Bridge. But as Tristan Duke ran down the platform he had no intention on taking a leisurely ride down the river looking at landmarks. He was running for his life.

  A line of tourists was boarding the next pleasure cruise. One by one the people made their way onto the boat in no particular rush. A man looked back at the sound of Duke running and he wondered why considering the boat was nowhere near ready to set sail.

  Duke’s head was still reeling as he got to the bottom of the pier. It was all finally clear that the woman was going to lead him back to Wyatt Houston and that would have been the end of him. He cursed himself for not seeing how easy it was to get the woman to pay attention to him. She simply dropped in his lap and was enamored with him from minute one. That was not his history. Women fall for him after they see his wallet and car. And those women were not the kind he was interested in having a relationship with that lasted more than one night. He had been fooled and made a fool of by the woman with the blazing green eyes.

  He came to a stop at the bottom of the dock and looked for an escape route. He glanced up the walkway and could see the group that was chasing him turning down toward him. They had stopped running and looked like they felt they were in charge of what was about to happen next.

  A small boat no bigger than fifteen feet pulled up alongside the sight seeing boat wishing its occupants a good time in their stay in London. It a was an older man maybe in his early 60’s with a woman about the same age. They smiled and waved to the people.

  Duke pushed his way through the crowd and forced his way onto the boat going straight past the ticket collector who reached out and grabbed him by his shirt.

  “Sir, I need to see your ticket so you can get on.” said the young man dressed in a sailor's outfit from the 1800’s.

  Duke did not hesitate and responded like a man who was running for his life. He turned hard and without saying a word punched the young man in the face knocking him backwards into the group of people waiting in line. Blood sprayed from the young man’s nose and he let out a whine as the front of his shirt started to cover with blood.

  “He broke my nose! He broke my nose!” said the young man whose voice changed dramatically from his injury and the blood flowing into his mouth.

  Duke turned away and saw an open seat at the far side of the boat. The railing sat directly behind it and the older couple in the boat were saying goodbyes and waving. Duke took a few quick steps faster than walking but not up to a run and put one foot on the seat and the other on the railing. He launched himself high into the air landing on the back of the boat that the couple was on.

  “What the hell?” said the older man and his face crinkled with confusion. His tan skin and white clothing were a dead giveaway for a man who spent a lot of time on the water.

  “Off the boat!” shouted Duke pointing to the ferry. “Now!”

  “You’re daft.” said the older woman.

  “Yes this is our boat. You get off.” said the man pointing in the same direction as Duke.

  “Fuck!” Duke blurted out as his pursuers started to make their way to the front of the line. He took two steps and closed the distance with the old man and bull rushed him banging him hard against the console of the boat. The older man attempted a swing at Duke but it was easily blocked by Duke’s forearm. Duke pulled the man hard back and then pushed him to the side of the boat leading to open water. The back of the man’s legs hit firmly against the side of the boat at the railing and Duke flipped him over into the water. The crowd on the pleasure boat let out a collective “oooh” .

  The man’s wife stood shaking and looking at Duke.

  “Just jump in and I won’t throw you in.” said Duke with a pleading look in his eye and trying to catch his breath. His eyes glanced to the pier judging the time he had left. The woman saw no sense in fighting the young man especially when she knew she would end up in the water one way or another. She stepped to the side and threw herself in.

  Duke wasted no time and pushed down hard on the hand accelerator of the boat. The front of the boat rose out of the water as the back dipped and it pulled away just as his chasers made it to the front of the line. Tristan Duke was no stranger to handling himself on a boat. He had owned several from simple pleasure cruisers to large cigarette race boats that he would open up to high speeds on private lakes. For now he was attempting to squeeze every bit of horse power out of the single outboard motor.

  Falau, Tim and Gabriela reached the front of the line in time to see Duke pulling away and two people swimming toward the tourist boat.

  “Excuse me, sir. I will need a speed boat at once. Police business.” said Gabriela with a flawless English accent. Falau still wondered if it was natural or just another one of her covers.

  “Did you see that he punched me. I hope you’re going to arrest him for that.”

  “Well sir, I can’t arrest him unless we can catch up to him.”

  “You guys don’t
look like police.”

  “Not all police wear uniforms.” said Gabriela giving the young man a smile and a wink.

  The young man started to nod and smile “Oh, we are talking about some MI5 kind of stuff. Okay I get it. Behind the ticket window there is a ladder that leads down to a small boat we keep their in case there is a problem with the big boat like running out of gas or something. You guys can take that. Keys are in it.”

  Gabriela leaned in close to the young man and whispered in his ear. “Your country thanks you.”

  Leading the team to the boat Falau cut around the ticket window and slid down the ladder putting his foot out for the bottom rung stopping himself and then dropped into the boat just off to the side. He was joined within seconds by his team. The pain in his arm was limited from the rush of adrenalin surging through his body. He knew later he would pay for it but for now all he could think of was catching up to Duke.

  Tim untied the boat from the dock and Gabriela used a pole to push them away to open water. Turning the key the boat came to life and Falau turned the wheel hard and he pushed down on the throttle. The boat jumped forward. It was approximately the same size as the boat Duke was in but this boat had two Kawasaki outboard motors pushing it forward. The nose rose on the boat making it almost impossible for them to see Duke in the distance. He had two hundred yards on them. In the water it was substantially harder to make up distance but the twin engines were making short work of the wake from the bigger vessels on the water.

  Falau kept the nose of the boat directly in line with Duke. He watched the way he handled the boat and could see he had experience trying to make the boat work with the waves and wakes on the water. Falau knew they had the advantage not having to do that and the distance was closing rapidly.

  Seeing Duke looking back and then to the shore Falau examined the shore line. It was nothing but a high wall and not a pier in sight. There was no place to pull up to or swim to. Duke had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Despite being in open water he was trapped.

  The distance dropped to fifty yards and Gabriela pulled out a handgun and took aim.

  “What are you doing?” asked Tim

  “Killing him.”

  “No” shouted Falau letting go of the wheel and pulling at Gabriela’s arm. “We need him alive.”

  “We just can’t take him out here. People will see. I can cover up the shot and kill him now. No fight when we board his boat.”

  “Stand down Gabriela. I am team lead and this is not a kill mission.” Falau kept the throttle down and gritted his teeth. “Do you understand?”

  “Yes.” said Gabriela placing the gun back inside her jacket.

  The team finished closing the distance bumping hard into the side of Duke’s boat causing it to turn to the right. Duke went with the momentum and turned his boat hard in the same direction. It cut a fine and nimble spin launching him in the opposite direction.

  “Tim, can you drive this thing and get me close?” asked Falau.

  “Sure thing, boss.” Tim got up and manned the controls and manipulated the boat with ease. More than one time while in the SEALS he had to handle a recon boat.

  Tim worked himself closer to the target anticipating the rapid changes that Duke made without a pattern or set distance.

  Standing at the back of the boat Falau awaited his moment to board Duke’s vessel.

  “You’re doing it wrong. Let me show you how it should be done.” said Gabriela.

  “I know what I am doing.” said Falau.

  “No, you don’t. If you did, you would be standing on the front of the boat so Tim would not have to get side by side. He could just get behind Duke. Duke is unarmed or he would have shot by now. There is no risk being up there unless you are afraid you will fall off.”

  “Still mad about not being able to shoot him?” joked Falau trying to get a smile from Gabriela.

  “How about I get on that boat. I promise I will not kill him.”

  Falau nodded his head in approval and motioned to the front of the boat. She took his lead and walked away without another word.

  “Keep your speed full and get as close as you can behind him not beside him.” said Gabriela to Tim as she passed by and pulled herself over the wind screen and onto the front deck. The wind pounded her as they cut through the waves yet her balance was impeccable.

  Duke looked back at the woman who had played him for a fool with anger and hatred in his eyes.

  She placed herself in a crouching stance on the front point of the boat looking like a hood ornament on a car. She seemed un-phased by the salt water splashing up into her face and soaking her. Her eyes fixed on the back of Duke’s boat getting closer and closer. She steadied her stance and waited.

  Tim maneuvered the boat as close as he could drawing to within feet of his prey when suddenly Duke cut hard to the right into a large wake from a shipping boat. In an instant Duke’s boat slowed and Tim collided into the back of him. No doubt that Duke must have felt that Gabriela would fall into the water and he could make a clean get away but she didn’t. She remained in her crouched position and absorbed the blow of the two boats. She had seen it coming and was able to handle it easily.

  The pause was all she needed. She did not jump as much sprang from her crouched position landing in the back of Duke’s boat. The young billionaire hit the throttle to full causing her to take a half step back and to pull away from the other boat.

  He turned with purpose and swung at Gabriela. She ducked easily never bothering to even raise her hands to defend herself. He swung again with the same result. She was too fast and had the reflexes of a cat. Gabriela’s foot shot out catching Duke in the stomach with a ball kick. He grunted and slid back. She moved in keeping the exact distance she wanted for her knee thrusting upward and meeting with the bridge of Duke’s nose. It cracked and both he and Gabriela could hear it. His eyes instantly started to water and his vision was obscured. It sounded like a dull thud echoed in his head. Despite the force of the knee he stayed half bent over and saw his blood dripping from his nose to the floor making a speckled pattern.

  Staying bent over he could see the fire extinguisher behind him clipped to the wall of the steering compartment. The hand of Gabriela grabbed a fist full of his hair and started to pull him head up. He reached back and pulled the extinguisher from its clips and in one full motion drove the but end of it up into the chest of Gabriela. All at once the air left her chest and lungs. Her body quivered as she felt the inability to take in more air. Her mouth gasped and she groaned unable to draw in another breath.

  The boat rocketed forward remaining non steered by anyone with Falau and Tim right on its heels seeing the action up close.

  “Get me close, Tim. I need to help her.” yelled Falau.

  Tim gave a thumbs up and twisted the boat. He noticed the nose of the boat had dropped despite the same level of throttle. He cut again and heard a sloshing sound from inside the boat.

  “Falau!” shouted Tim causing Falau to turn to him. “I think we are taking on water. We must have got a hole when we crashed into him.”

  “Shit! Just get me close and then we can take his boat.”

  With the extinguisher still in his hands Duke turned his hips backwards and swung himself around crushing the but end of the extinguisher into Gabriela’s stomach. A hard wheeze came from her mouth like a person suffering an asthma attack. She fell back against one of the back seats on the boat and grabbed at her chest like she was having a heart attack. Duke did not waste the opportunity and grabbed her by the legs. The lack of oxygen made her kicks and punches useless against the young man. He pushed her legs to the railing and then lowered himself to her back. Pressing up like a weightlifter he pushed her overboard and into the Thames. She couldn’t breath and had no strength to swim.

  Falau jumped from his boat into the water not waiting for Tim to slow down. Gabriela immediately started to sink. She was dead weight in the water and the lack of oxygen was causing her to black
out. Falau dove under and kicked hard with his legs. Despite the nice weather the Thames was still cold and hypothermia was a real possibility. He pulled hard with his arms and looked to the left then right.

  He saw her. Her face was motionless and there was no struggle in her. She looked dead. He kicked his legs again propelling him through the water fighting the tide and came next to her. He pulled himself in front of her and wrapped his arms around her.

  There was no movement. He looked into her face for any sign of life as he started to kick upward. He stared into her eyes and saw her pupils change adjusting their focus to the closeness of his face.

  They broke through the surface and Falau gasped for air. He shifted the young woman in his arms onto her back and placed his arm under her while keeping the both of them afloat by kicking his legs. He leaned in close to her and felt no breathing from her mouth and her chest was still. Tilting her head back and clearing her air passage he started emergency breathing for her. He puffed in bursts of air and waited the required time. He tried to remember what was the proper sequence for this kind of emergency breathing. If he were wrong it could kill her or worse she could have drawn water into her lungs. He breathed again into her mouth causing her chest to rise. She did focus on him under the water he thought. She was alive then and that was just seconds ago. Another breath and then another.

  Tim approached in the boat that showed a hole the size of a football in the front. Falau knew the outboard engine on Duke’s boat caused it.

  Falau breathed again filling her lungs and then again.

  A gasp of air was sucked in hard by Gabriela’s mouth. Her body shook and she breathed in again and again on her own. Falau thought he could hear her lungs reinflate to their natural state.

  She punched hard at Falau and desperately flailed trying to sit up and reach for anything.

  “Jim! Jim! I love you! Jim!” she called eyes wide and not seeming to focus on anything and not knowing where she was.