Final Finesse

by Karna Small Bodman

  Samantha felt upset, frustrated, scared. She knew that Tripp must be frustrated and scared too. That is if he’s still alive. She shook her head, trying to dispel the macabre thoughts. She wondered if he had been hurt during the attack and the abduction. After all, two other men in the car had been killed. What if Tripp had been wounded? Would they take care of him? She figured they wouldn’t take a chance on getting medical care for a captive. Her mind was racing as she pictured him in some shabby place, tied up, hungry, and mistreated.

  Walking dejectedly back to her office, she again reflected on the meeting. Even with Ken and Evan’s assurances that they would check with all of their contacts, they didn’t sound very encouraging. They had no solid leads. No one on the ground who had a clue who these marauding gangs were or who controlled them. She racked her brain, trying to think of where to go next.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  EL AVILA–MONDAY NIGHT

  Lightning streaked through the windows of the small casita, casting jagged white streaks across the adobe walls. Rain pounded down on the thinly tiled roof. In between the rumble of thunder, Tripp could hear arguments and shouts above the din of the television set in the other room.

  He quietly slid out of bed, holding the chain, and crept to the side of the room so he could get a slight view of the confrontation through a crack in the door. Besides his captors, he saw a third man standing there in a sopping wet sweat shirt.

  “I said no more partners!” Eyeshade shouted. “Rafael and I are in charge of this operation. We don’t need you here. We don’t want you here.”

  “I don’t care what you want or who you think is in charge,” the new man countered. “I was in the back-up truck. My brother was killed by those security guards. I could have died too except that I got shots off that hit those bastards. I didn’t kill them. I left them there. I figured our police recruits could handle them after I got away.”

  “So you were part of the original plan,” Eyeshade said. “Fine. You will be paid. I told you that at the beginning. Your fee will come as soon as we get the money. It is a set fee. You knew that right from the start when you agreed to drive the other truck.”

  “For the life of my brother, I want a percentage of the money.”

  “Sorry,” Eyeshade said. “It’s not going to happen. We had a deal. We all knew the risks. There are risks in every operation. You will be paid. Now, get out of here.”

  Another rumble of thunder drowned out his next words, but Tripp then heard the other man say, “… on the cable car.”

  “You took El Teleferico up here? People would see you. El Avila is crowded with tourists this time of year. How could you be so stupid?”

  “In this storm, there aren’t any tourists here now. Besides, it was the only way I could get up here. My truck was damaged in the shoot-out. I barely got out of there. But I knew you were bringing him here. There were only a few people on the cable car. A cleaning crew for the hotel, I think. Nobody was paying attention. Now I am here, and I want in.”

  “Who else knows you are here,” Eyeshade said in a menacing tone.

  “Nobody. I swear. I heard you and Rafael talking before about how you would keep him up here. I know this place.”

  “Who else knows this place?” Eyeshade asked, mimicking the other man’s voice.

  “No one. My brother and I were the only ones besides you and Rafael.”

  “So, no one knows you are here?”

  “I told you that.”

  Eyeshade glanced over to Rafael who nodded imperceptibly and quietly pulled his pistol out of his pants pocket.

  “Bad move,” Rafael said as the other man turned and stared, horrified at the weapon.

  “Wait! I was part of the plan. I helped you. I stopped the security men. I followed all of your orders. All I’m asking …”

  As Tripp stared at the confrontation through the opening, he saw bullets ripping through the man’s head and throat. The victim fell against the TV set, almost knocking it on the floor. Eyeshade rushed over to steady the console as the man’s body slumped down and blood began to pool on the dusty tile floor.

  Those bloody bastards are ruthless, not that I have any sympathy for the guy. But still … I wonder if I’ll be next on their list if my company doesn’t pay what they want.

  “Do you think anybody heard that?” Rafael asked, shoving the gun back into his pocket.

  “I don’t think so. If there are any tourists left at this time of night, they are probably way over by the Hotel Humboldt or maybe, before it started to rain, they hiked to San Isidro for pork sandwiches and strawberry juice.”

  Rafael stared at the blood on the floor. “Looks like strawberry juice around here,” he chortled. “Come to think of it, I could use a sandwich. Should I go for some more food?”

  “You should go dump this body somewhere first,” Eyeshade said, resuming his seat in front of the TV. “Looks like the rain has stopped. Get him out of here. Let me know if you need help.”

  Rafael grabbed the other man under his shoulders and started to drag him out of the casita. “Where should I take him?”

  “Too bad we’re not near the Kanoche ruins,” Eyeshade said with a disdainful laugh.

  “Oh, you mean the place where that German doctor did all those strange things?”

  “He made people into mummies,” Eyeshade said over his shoulder.

  “You think you can turn that guy into a mummy?”

  “No way,” Rafael said, inching out the door. “I’ll find some gulley and drop him in. Back in a while.”

  Tripp analyzed what he had learned from the scene in the next room.

  The other man had come up here on some sort of cable car called El Teleferico. They were in an area called El Avila. That would be the mountains between Caracas and the ocean. And there was a hotel with the name of Humboldt somewhere nearby. Now he was getting somewhere. If only he could get his hands on the cell.

  He glanced through the door again, but all he could see now were the outstretched legs of the leader, the obvious money man, Eyeshade, as he lounged once again in front of the TV.

  Tripp gingerly moved back to the bed. He had heard the scores of so many games he had more or less tuned them out. But when the news anchor came on, he paid attention. They always began a newscast by recapping the schedule of el presidente, talking about where their great leader had been, what peasant groups he had visited, what plans he had in place to raise their standard of living. What a load of crap.

  That day the president had given a speech to a rally of farmers. There was a short reference to it being a counter rally. Tripp figured that meant there was a real march of some sort, undoubtedly by the opposition, and the president’s people had to organize something to counter it.

  The announcer also talked about the upcoming elections and said that a small group of students had been arrested and interrogated regarding unlawful activities in front of the Palacio de Miraflores. Of course, the poor kids were probably protesting in front of the president’s home in the heart of Caracas.

  He thought about the students. They were probably shoved into some sort of prison outside of town and would be kept there until after the election. That’s how these people usually handled free elections.

  He doubted if they were chained though. He glanced down at his own chain at the end of the bed and then around the room. He had already scoured the place, the drawer in the rickety bedside table, the bathroom, even the lock on the window, trying to figure out some way to pry it open. No such luck. They had taken everything out of his pockets, even his keys and comb. He had his clothes, but against a heavy chain and sturdy lock, he had nothing. Nothing at all. Except his hands. At least they weren’t tied up any more.

  Rafael was gone. Eyeshade was alone. Tripp started coughing. He tried to make as much noise as possible, tried to sound like he was choking. Eyeshade came to the door and peered inside. Tripp was holding his throat as if he couldn’t breathe.

  “What’
s the matter with you?” Eyeshade said in halting English.

  Tripp coughed some more and beckoned him over to help. Eyeshade drew his gun and walked cautiously toward the bed. Tripp kept coughing. As Eyeshade leaned closer, Tripp suddenly bolted upright and punched the man in the face. His gun went off, the bullet ripping into the mattress next to Tripp’s leg.

  Tripp pounded Eyeshade again and grabbed for the gun. It skittered onto the floor, and Eyeshade fought back. Tripp grabbed the other man’s shirt to pull him in for another punch. If only he could knock him out, he could reach the gun, shoot the chain off and get out of this place. But while Tripp was strong, Eyeshade was nimble. The little guy wrenched away.

  “You jerk!” Eyeshade shouted as he hit Tripp hard in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Tripp tried to swing his legs to the floor as he tried to breathe again, but the chain caught in the footboard, and he couldn’t kick it free. He reached for Eyeshade’s throat, but the other man twisted away, fell down and rolled across the floor, out of reach. He retrieved his gun and aimed it at Tripp. “You will pay for this.”

  “What’s going on?” Rafael shouted as he tore through the front door. I heard a shot.”

  “He tried to attack me,” Eyeshade said, wiping blood from his nose with the back of his hand. “Make sure that chain is fastened tight. And keep an eye on him. He’s not going to get away from us. Not now. Maybe not ever.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CAPITOL HILL–TUESDAY MORNING

  “The hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is now in session,” Senator Cassidy Jenkins rapped her gavel and began to outline the day’s proceedings. Room SD-366 was jammed. A bank of cameras lined the walls while reporters and photographers juggled notebooks and jockeyed for key positions and the best camera angles.

  Godfrey Nims was seated at the witness table next to the executive vice president of GeoGlobal, Roy Foss, who was reviewing his prepared testimony.

  Scanning the room, Godfrey saw representatives of at least a half dozen associations crammed on the left side of the room, including the American Petroleum Institute, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Association for Wind Power, the Liquid Coal Producers Association and the Renewable Resource Council.

  On the other side a passel of constituents, consumer advocates, and other assorted spectators were mumbling among themselves. Several of them were wearing the latest rage around town—large buttons reading A-B-G. Some even wore T-shirts emblazoned with ANYTHING BUT GAS. Godfrey nudged Roy, pointed to the buttons and whispered, “Maybe those guys could do commercials for Bean-o.” Roy chuckled under his breath and raised his head as Senator Jenkins called on him.

  “I see on this witness list that Mr. Roy Foss, the executive vice president, is with us today representing GeoGlobal Oil and Gas. Mr. Foss, before you begin your testimony, may I ask why your chairman and chief executive officer is not with us? We had requested his presence, as I’m sure you well know,” the senator asked in an imperious tone.

  Roy cleared his throat. “Madam Chairman, I’m afraid that our CEO is engaged in a very difficult situation today, one that I would be glad to explain to the committee in a closed session.”

  Godfrey knew that Roy wasn’t about to explain that their CEO and the rest of the executive committee were working all day on a strategy to deal with Tripp’s kidnapping while trying to keep it all under wraps. At least for now.

  “Closed session?” Cassidy said, her voice rising. She motioned to the bank of cameras. As you can see, we announced this hearing, we have invited the public and members of the press so we can pursue an explanation into the disastrous explosions occurring on your pipelines. That subject plus an examination of the soaring price of natural gas as well as oil that we have seen in just the last few days is our focus today.

  “These issues are of paramount importance not only to the senators from the states where the lines have blown up,” she nodded toward Senator Harry Walker who was sitting to her left, “but to all Americans as we’ve seen many of our fellow citizens killed by these explosions and others driven from their homes due to lack of heat. The entire economy is taking a hit from this as the Dow has plummeted. Thousands are currently out of work because factories have had to shut down, and we live in fear of yet more unexplained explosions of your unprotected pipelines. And yet, you suggest that your CEO cannot make time to address this body?”

  Roy tried again. “As I said before, Madam Chairman, there is a matter of urgency that our CEO is dealing with. I assure you that I have his testimony before me and am prepared to answer any and all questions about these acts of sabotage.”

  Senator Jenkins leaned toward her microphone. “Oh, very well. You may proceed.”

  Roy began to read his testimony about the extent of the damage, their efforts to repair the lines, divert the gas, and investigate the missing maps and equipment. Godfrey followed along, reading his copy. When Roy was finished, Senator Jenkins again took center stage.

  “And so you are basically saying that GeoGlobal is powerless to police their own pipelines, secure their own warehouses and facilities, or have any impact whatsoever on keeping the price of natural gas at any sort of reasonable level.”

  “As you know, senator, the price for our natural gas is set at Henry Hub in Louisiana, where most of the pipelines come together,” Roy explained. “It’s a free market. As for control of the price, with acts of pure sabotage, it’s a question of supply and demand, especially future demand. However, working closely with local law enforcement as well as teams from the FBI, we are very hopeful that we will be able to catch the perpetrators before any more damage is done to the lines.”

  “Meanwhile, Americans are paying dearly for both natural gas as well as oil, which also flows through unprotected pipelines,” the chairman countered. “As we have been saying for years now, it is perfectly obvious that what we need in this country is less reliance on oil and gas and more reliance on alternative sources of energy, even more than we outlined in our last Energy Bill. Well, we’ll get to that subject in a moment.” She turned to her left. “I now recognize the senator from Oklahoma for his questions of the witness.”

  Harry Walker leaned forward in his black leather chair, pulled his microphone closer and nodded to Roy. “Now then, Mr. Foss, thank you for coming today. First, let me ask you, there are many reasons for the high price of oil and gas today, are there not?”

  “Of course, senator. It’s hard to know where to begin.”

  “Take your time. This is an important issue.”

  “Yes sir. Well, first of all, in the last few decades as our population has expanded, our needs have increased and even though we have developed new sources of oil and natural gas along with increased fracking, we’ve been prevented from developing several promising areas for additional production. It wouldn’t be so difficult, and it wouldn’t also have turned into such a national security issue if all the products we need came from safe places. But they don’t.

  “As you know, we are still partially dependent on countries in the Middle-East, along with Venezuela, Nigeria, Trinidad among others—all places where oil and gas are controlled by state-run monopolies subject to the whim of socialist or Islamic regimes not necessarily friendly to our interests.”

  “Just a minute, Mr. Foss. We all know that we import oil and gas from those places, but you said you were prevented from developing our own resources. We’ve been having these debates for months now. Yes, we have environmental rules in place. Protecting the environment is very precious. Would you care to expand on your charge?”

  Walker is obviously throwing us a softball with that one, Godfrey thought. And with that opening, he knew Roy could score a hit.

  “Sir, with all due respect,” Roy said, “in some ways our country has unilaterally disarmed when it comes to energy production. There is plenty of oil and gas, especially when we’ve developed new methods for secondary and tertiary recovery. Take the Outer Continental Sh
elf for example. It may have as much as four hundred and twenty trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas and eighty-six billion barrels of oil. But 85 percent of it has been made off limits by our own Congress and various government edicts, sir. I recognize that there’s been some expansion of our options there. Yet it’s interesting that drilling can be done off the coasts of Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and England, but not off much of America. And now we get word that Cuba and China are planning to drill in waters off Florida. The same waters that are off-limits to our companies. Does that make any sense?

  “And while we’re talking about American oil reserves, a whole bevy of lawsuits are preventing us from drilling in Alaska in the Beaufort Sea area,” Roy continued. “I guess the migration of bowhead whales is more important than energy security in this country.”

  Titters came from the left side of the room, groans from the right as Senator Walker nodded and asked, “And the price hikes? My constituents are really hurting right now. More than ever. Care to expand on the prices you and the other big oil companies are currently charging?”

  “I’d be glad to,” Roy said. “First, our major companies have control of only part of known reserves. The rest is owned and controlled by these government monopolies I referred to a moment ago. Finding and drilling is getting more and more expensive. The easy oil has already been drilled. What we produce in the future will be much more expensive. Now I ask you, when you have a certain supply of an item, are you going to charge your customers what you had to pay last week for that item? Or will you charge what it will cost you to get a new supply of it next week?”

  Senator Jenkins interrupted. “Your time is up, Senator Walker. Now, before I move on to the next senator, I want to go back to my original question and that involves our use of alternative fuels. We have been putting policies in place for many years now to encourage the use of alternative sources of energy. Surely, you support those measures, do you not, Mr. Foss?”