“I don’t think so. Maybe you ought to get back in front of the class, Jadie, unless you have something more… kinky in mind.” Gone went the playful arrogance of a moment ago. Hello darkness, my old friend.
“Yes… I had better get started. Nice meeting you, Temple.” Jadie disappeared in a flash of tight black spandex leaving nothing but a vapor trail.
“Wow, Rick!” Temple stared after the retreating Jadie, as did Lois, Karen, and Shelly, all mesmerized by what had just happened. “What did you just do?”
“He went nuclear,” Karen replied, “but how?”
“I did nothing of the kind. Jadie realized she was making a fool out of herself and retreated to a more grown up position.”
Lois wore an even larger smile. That is never a good sign. Class began, and we sweated through the usual. To everyone’s delight, Temple was gasping for air, her arms flailing like rubber bands during the weight exercises. Apparently, being a great swimmer doesn’t translate into a great aerobics performer.
“I’m dying!” Temple collapsed during the pushup position leg extensions. She regained position, but her arms vibrated, and form suffered, incurring the wrath of Jadie.
Kneeling down next to the teen, Jadie began her torture prompting. “C’mon… you can do this. Hell, your grandfather here is breezing through it. Show some pride! There you go! That’s it… now out with the leg… yes… hold it. Perfect… don’t give up!”
Jadie moved on with a smile, leaving the red faced Temple behind her. “Old people… help me… help… me!”
“Oh quit whinin’, you big sissy,” I mouthed over at her. “Never show weakness in front of the enemy!”
“Who… whose the enemy,” Temple croaked out, shifting feebly to the other leg.
“Lois,” I told her. “She’s everyone’s enemy. Look at that sneer, those pointy ears, those close together eyeballs, that thin evil slash of a mouth. My God, she’s the devil!”
“Cantelli!” Lois snarled. More than a few around us heard me. Haunting snorts and chuckles echoed around us. “You are so lucky I don’t have my Taser. What are you laughing at, sissy-girl? When I was your age, we used to eat little campfire girls like you!”
That was it for Temple. She collapsed, barking out muffled laughter through her hands. The set ended. Karen and I snatched up sissy-girl between us, readying her for the next set. The next set was a bit easier. Only one more to go. Then I saw Teddy and his henchmen ease through the open door. I put down the weights and nudged Lois.
“Let’s go, partner. We have an unscheduled meeting with Alvarez.” Lois nodded, as she set down her weights. I grabbed a towel, as did Lois, and gestured at our companions. “Stay here girls.”
“Just go along with me, Lo. I’ll explain later.”
“Okay, Rick.”
I smiled at the crew. It was Pug and the boys, fronting Alvarez with those arrogant condescending grins guys who watch too many gangster movies perfect in front of the mirror. “Hi, Mr. Alvarez.”
“Hello, Rick. Is this your partner? I had a little extra time so I thought I’d come by and get your decision personally.”
“Mr. Alvarez, this is my partner, Lois Madigan. Lois… Mr. Teddy Alvarez.”
Lois nodded and smiled. “Hello, Mr. Alvarez. It’s very nice to meet you.”
“It is my pleasure. Has Rick had a chance to talk over my business proposition with you?”
“Yes, he has, and I am in full agreement.” Lois wore her professional agreement face while lying out her ass so well it can bring tears to an observer’s eyes. “Rick explained your generous proposition. We can make it work.”
“Wonderful,” Teddy concluded. “We’ll leave you to your workout then.” He stopped smiling. “So many friends here tonight. It is so nice to keep them safe from harm. Goodnight, my friends.”
“Goodnight, Sir!” I called after him as he and the henchmen exited.
“You better have murder in mind, Cantelli.”
“He was supposed to have someone call me for our decision tomorrow.” I quickly explained the parameters of what his deal were. “I know the kiss of death when I hear it coming. I planted one of our trackers in his limo. He’s renting a La Jolla beach mansion. Guess who has the perfect beach spot triangulated, and our boat ready to go?”
Lois yanked me out the door into the larger outer gym. “Are you nuts? You can’t do an ocean incursion you old goat. Talk about your mouth writing checks your old ass can’t cash. This is without doubt the dumbest plan you’ve ever hatched.”
I grinned and nodded.
“When do we leave, Brainiac?”
“I’ll drive my GMC over to your place. Frank’s our wheelman tonight, and establishes our alibi at your house where we’ll be all together… in spirit. Our high tech security system at the Marina will be glitching tonight on command, showing our boat never left, or returned, nor will we be in any of the security footage.”
“Let’s get showered and say our goodbyes. I like the kid more and more.”
“And for some reason, she likes old people without any sexual underpinnings.”
Lo cackled, smacking my arm. “I saw that shot you gave Jadie. It fired her off like a Roman Candle. Give me the lowdown.”
“Nope, I gave my word. C’mon.” I had to listen to the harpy give me shit all the way to our friends who were just finishing the last set. I picked up Temple off the floor where she had dropped after the last set. “You did good tonight, kid. When’s our next gig together?”
“To…tomorrow night at my house. I’m hosting a cast party. I wish I could invite you all, but I’m only able to have Rick there as my bodyguard.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Lois assured Temple, while guiding her toward the showers with Shelly following. “We’ll all get together for Casablanca night. It will be a real big party.”
“I was hoping you’d come over tonight, Rick,” Karen whispered to me as Jadie approached to head us off.
“Sorry, business meeting with Lois and Frank.” And then some.
“Hey, where are you all heading?”
“Lois and I have to meet with her husband Frank about some security concerns, Jadie,” I explained. “We’ll see you at the next workout on Wednesday. Nice outfit, by the way.”
Jadie grabbed our arms. “I know you two are getting together tonight. Let me come along.”
“He just blew me off, girlfriend,” Karen said. “He really is going over to Lois’s house. Why don’t you come over to my house and we’ll have some wine and watch a movie?”
Jadie released us, nodding her head with some embarrassment. “Sorry… sure, Karen, that sounds good. I’ll meet you outside.”
“See you then.” Karen watched Jadie walk toward her private office. “That must be some business meeting to turn us down.”
There’s an understatement. “Another time for you, never for Jadie. Have fun tonight. I’ll FaceTime you from Temple’s dinner deal tomorrow.”
Karen smiled. “I know the producer. I’ll be there.”
“Even better. See you then.” I walked away toward the men’s showers. I soaked it all in. I would have some nice thoughts for in the cold water tonight.
Chapter 20: Ocean Incursion
Lois kissed Frank in a way not to be seen by strangers. Hell, even I looked away.
“I’ll be here when I get the signal, Lo,” Frank stated. “I love you. See you on the other side, Rick.”
“If you have any Bushmills, would you bring it along?”
Frank and Lois both laughed as they separated. Frank got in and drove away from the Marina. Lois turned on me like a rattlesnake as we walked toward the boat.
“Okay, genius, lay it on me. How the hell do you think you’re going to make the beach and back? We haven’t done anything like this since Angola back in ’92, the year before we adjourned to the private sector.”
Uh oh. “Oh, that was one sweet in and out, Lo. You dropped me off just outside of Luanda. I took care of business, an
d we were on our way before anyone was the wiser. Good thoughts, partner.”
Lo grabbed my ear, and damn near smacked me upside the head with her fist. She cocked it, but changed her mind since I was hitting the water. She let me go reluctantly. “You old fool! Did you think I wouldn’t remember the target wasn’t near the beach like he was supposed to be, and instead of aborting like a professional, you took off inland. Then you get back just before dawn with a round through your shoulder, a furrow in your head, and shrapnel in your side. You barely made it to the boat before they launched that damn motorized raft after us.”
Damn it! She even remembers the number of wounds. “You should get your head pumped out once a year, harpy, and let a few things go. Besides, you didn’t have anything to do. I saw you start grinning while you cocked the .30 caliber M1919 we had on board. Those guys never knew what hit them. I’m surprised you didn’t make me circle around so you could dip your fingers in their blood to paint your face with.”
That set her off cackling as we reached our boat in the darkness and climbed aboard. “The race was on then. It’s a lucky thing we had a cruiser within distance. I still had ammo for the .30, but they sent those damn patrol boats after us. Good thing the captain got our distress signal and ID code in time to pump some twenty millimeter shells in around those skunks.”
I handled the lines while Lois started The Harpy’s engines… I mean The Sea Breeze. “Then we got crucified by that wanker from Control. Remember what he said when we got back to the states after they fixed my boo-boos?”
Lois grinned back at me from the wheelhouse. “It would have been better if you two had blown yourselves up! Then you had to go and break his jaw. That was smart.”
Ah… good times. “The pussy had never been hit before. I thought he was going to start crying. I bet he never made the mistake of reading out two operatives like that again. He didn’t even do it in private. Anyway, that’s a prime example of what I’ve been saying. We spent weeks working intel and prep for that op. It still went south.”
Lo started accelerating from the dock slowly until we cleared the pier. I joined her in the wheelhouse with my equipment bag. “You nearly garnered prison time for that one. I had a family. We made the right decision getting out of there when we did. Obviously, you haven’t gotten any smarter over the decades.”
After prepping the boat’s GPS to the coordinates for my entry, I baby oiled myself into the wetsuit while Lo drove. I strapped on my knife. “I’ll need some kelp vines for cover when we anchor. I’m hoping the surf isn’t too rough near shore. It looked smooth back at the Marina.”
“I know you have that M107 .50 tuned up, but what about me?”
“I brought stun and smoke grenades for you, and this.” I pulled out the M136 missile launcher with loads from the storage box on the starboard side. When Lois finished laughing her head off and handling the M136 with practiced care, she shoved it back at me.
“So, you’re thinkin’ Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid goin’ out in style, huh?”
No, I’m not. I’m beginning to wonder why everyone thinks I’m on a suicide mission, even Lo. “I know you wouldn’t fire it unless those assholes get lucky. I confiscated it six years ago. Stick to the stunners and smoke. I am not going to be stupid, Lo. Here we are.”
I pointed at the screen. Lo coasted along the kelp bed, staying fifty yards beyond it. We were directly at line of sight on Alvarez’s rental and my prospective spot. The beach was dark, uninhabited, and no moon tonight. The water lapped gently, causing hardly a movement. The water by us barely rippled in pitch black stillness. The lights were blazing in Teddy’s windows. It was party time.
Lois smacked me in the back of my hood. “Damn, Skippy, you must have a Leprechaun chained in a crib somewhere working magic for you. Go get your kelp.”
I handed Lo our Leopold spotting scope. “I won’t need it. Look.”
Lois peered at the shore and clucked in derisive fashion. “Hell, you have enough lying in the sand right near your spot to hide an army. I’m starting to get tingles at the good luck ripple in the Force you’re tapping into. I don’t like it.”
“I’m going in. I packed my float with what I need. I’ll test our com unit when I get in the water.” I threw my black floating gear pod into the water, and began easing down after it. Lo grabbed my chin.
“Don’t screw this up, Rick. If you do, I’m going to make a mess, and believe me, you don’t want that.”
She released me into the water. I should never have brought along the M136. Lo loved to shoot things, especially things that blew other things to kingdom come. I nod, easing into the water and over to my float. This would be a precision mission, or San Diego may have some glowing hot spots come morning. I hunker into my fin crawl with mask and snorkel in place. I had packed a small breathing apparatus in my compensator, but I doubt I would have to use it. See, I have a weight belt on so I don’t bob up and down like a sick tuna in my rubber suit. That means I also have to have a buoyancy compensator to adjust my body position in the water. I found the right amount of air to add manually in my compensator within seconds and kicked slowly toward the beach.
This wasn’t Angola. I was offshore of a California beach. The only danger making the swim in was a great white shark spotting me, seeing a happy meal, and inhaling me in bloody chunks. That possibility is about the same as being struck by lightning. I reached shore safely, and relatively warm. I carefully built my kelp cave, just beyond the surf, positioning my silenced M107 solidly in place. By the time I had my small burrow formed, people could have walked hand in hand next to my kelp cover without spotting anything out of the ordinary, especially in the dark.
I took a few deep breaths, thinking forbidden thoughts of Jadie and Karen enjoying a night of Cantelli dreamscape. I then began the arduous sighting in at Teddy’s window. With my scope I could have been standing next to them. They were having a very good time. Best of all, lending to Lois’s ripple in the good luck Force theory, Teddy sat at the bar in plain view hugging one of the most beguiling professional ladies I had seen lately. Being such a good boss, Teddy had his entourage of Pug and the thugs hanging with him. They were having a very good time.
Not wanting to short change the op, I did all my checks with wind speed, etc. just like I was with the team, and my spotter was next to me. I was juicin’, hunkered down in my kelp bunker in the pitch blackness of sniper beach heaven. Being a sniper had been the ultimate thrill for me. It was a controlled adrenaline rush like no other – a cold blooded killing from afar, where the helpless target could be doing any number of mundane to exciting activities when the .50 caliber round ends life. No, I don’t go off into a corner when I kill, beat my breast, and moan dirges in the dark. Unfortunately for Teddy, I always enjoyed my time as a sniper.
The first exquisite moment when my index finger’s first pad pressed on the trigger, readying the round for final flight with Teddy’s last night on earth in an aura around it, I thought about his remark mentioning the safety of my friends at Jadie’s fitness center. I smiled and squeezed. The back of his head pulped, flying into the wall behind him. I took out Pug and the thugs before they knew Teddy was in hell. I regretted leaving the girls screaming their incomprehensible lament of an evening gone bad, but hey, not everyone can be happy all the time.
I admit it. I loaded my gear with deliberate movements, and slowly reentered the surf, dragging my pod behind me. I tasted the ocean brininess. I felt the ocean’s coolness through my wetsuit. I enjoyed the blackness of sky and water. The zone of chilling death enveloped me. I swam away like a great white shark after feasting on some baby otters. I snorted ocean residue out of my snorkel as dark completion surged through me. I swam in the enchanted isle, threading this very likely last ocean incursion into my admittedly perverted mind. And then I reached the boat.
“Holy Jesus, Flipper, could you get back to the boat any slower? I’ve seen sea turtles move faster! I watched that mayhem you created eons ago. I’v
e aged ten years since you finished! Get in the fucking boat!”
Ah yes, there’s the harpy wakeup call, heralding an abrupt end to Cantelli land’s short whimsical journey. I heaved aboard, narrowly edging over the side before Lois catapulted us toward home port, as I barely had time to dredge my equipment pod into safety after me. I rolled over on my back, enjoying the blackness of sky, and inner Cantelli. It was at that moment I came to grips with what I had always known: I am a creature of darkness. Heh… heh… I don’t care. We’re headed back to our nesting place. Lois and I are still alive and untouched. Not so for poor Teddy. Boo… fucking… hoo.
I shed my wetsuit while Lois tried to break land sea speed records. It wasn’t that she was scared. I knew better. She was in her handler persona. Lois looked out after me like a mother hen when I was doing Company work. I poured some blessed warm water over my head and slipped into sweats. I rejoined her in the wheelhouse. We rode in silence for a few moments, sucking in the blackness, the waves, the sheer thrill.
“That was tight, Skippy.” Lois glanced at me, smiling.
“Teddy would have killed us, Lo. We could hold a wake for him… or maybe a séance if you’d like.”
Lo snorted and phoned Frank. “Hi, baby. We’re done. Come get us and bring the Bushmills.”
“See, Frank didn’t think it was any big deal.”
“Seriously, what the hell took you so long to get back to the boat? Leg cramp?”
I leaned back in the copilot’s chair, hands behind my neck, and good thoughts in my head. “Nope. Just enjoying the moment.”
Lois sighed. “It’s good to know I’m not the only one who misses it. I feel really glad I didn’t have to use the M136.”
“Liar.”
Lois cackled. I closed my eyes to relive the last few hours of what I never thought would happen again. We didn’t know how the next twelve hours would play out, but I did know one thing – there would not be any public outcry about Teddy’s violent death. The PD would have to investigate this horrendous act, but we would cover every base we could.
Rick Cantelli, P.I. (Rick Cantelli, P.I. Detectives Book 1) Page 27
