Smoke and Shadow

by Gamal Hennessy

  “So we’ve got a new associate.” Baker cut in to break Chu out of his imaginary violence. “She started out as a client, but she liked our work so much she’s coming on as a consultant.”

  Trent laughed and pointed at Chu. “See? I told you it was a woman. We’re the only dudes he hangs out with.”

  Baker raised his glass to toast them. “You boys should feel special, especially since you’re not that cute.”

  Chu raised his glass to join Baker’s. “It’s good to know you’re willing to let us help with the family business.”

  Baker shot his friend a knowing look at Trent’s glass joined the toast.. “Good, because there’s a lot more work we need to do.”

  Interlude: Justify My Love

  Summer 2014

  Ria Marlen looked wistful for the first time Nikki could remember. The beer and the story seemed to draw something out of her. “I saw those girls after they were rescued. Two of them were pregnant, three of them had STDs, and one killed herself within a week.” Ria took a long pull from her beer bottle and stared off into the ocean. “All the rest of them needed, still need, psychiatric care, but overall they’re doing all right. They’re in a better place now, thanks to you.” Ria looked at Warren with a warmth Nikki found sweet.

  “I wanted to make it a win-win for everybody. The girls got out of the Red Crane and we got a partner.” He smiled at Ria and took her hand. Ria looked away. Was she blushing? Nikki felt their kiss coming and was ready to encourage the tender moment when Rose opened her mouth to ruin everything.

  “Saving a few kidnapped girls hardly justifies the time and resources of the operations we’re talking about.” The flush in Rose’s cheeks might have come from alcohol or anger, but it gave her sand colored skin a bloody hue as she pointed towards the beach.

  Nikki followed Rose’s gesture and saw Hamilton and Harrison weren’t on the beach any more. Her fingers curled around the arms of the chair with a force to make the rattan creak. Her eyes darted around the beach with nervous agitation. She had no reason to be afraid of the boys, but hearing stories of them reaching out of the darkness to cripple and kill was enough to make anyone nervous. Nikki didn’t want to think about how they might react if they heard Rose’s diatribe. Rose was too drunk to tone down the criticism of the killers who might be in hearing range.

  “We spend hundreds of man hours in analysis and on the field. We’ve bent and broken enough laws to put us all behind bars for life, even if you ignore Detective Miller’s death.…”

  Baker had no flush in his cheeks and only the smallest trace of malice in his voice. “If you ask any one of those girls, they’d say the price was completely justified.”

  Nikki thought about the things Smoke and Shadow did for Baker. The risks they took and the pain they suffered was justified. They fought to save lives. They protected people who couldn’t fight for themselves. Nikki knew she had a part in their mission now. The thought of making a difference with them brought a smile to her lips.

  “The real risk of these operations isn’t worth the potential reward or the revenue stream, that’s all I’m saying.”

  “And what about our little trip to the Nostromo?”

  Rose hesitated for a moment, her anger and the liquor clouded her reaction time. She shook her head, both to disagree and shake out the cobwebs. “That’s not the same thing at all...”

  “What’s the Nostromo?”

  Baker sighed as he leaned back for another story. “One of the first pieces of actual intel from your contact Diego was a transaction secured by a rival slaving network in the Red Sea. Half a dozen girls were taken from a rich boarding school in Macau. We tracked them to a luxury yacht sailing from Abu Dhabi to Jiddah. We had a chance to put an intercept operation together which turned out to be very lucrative for the firm.”

  “So it was another win-win for everybody?”

  Baker flashed Nikki an infectious smile. “That depends on your perspective.”

  Book Five: Last Man Standing

  Chapter One: Misplaced

  Spring 2014

  “No Samantha, I’m not saying I hate Chinese guys. I’m just saying your dad wants to keep us apart because I’m not a rich Chinese guy and that’s bullshit.”

  Curtis Hudson held the phone between his cheek and shoulder as he dried his hands with a paper towel. The response on the other end of the phone had a shrill biting tone to it. Sam’s voice broke into a higher octave when she got upset. Hudson thought she might reach pitches only a dog could hear at any moment.

  “You don’t understand. He’s really traditional. He wants his son in law to be from a prominent family.”

  “A prominent Chinese family?”

  “Yes Curtis, a prominent Chinese family. I told you this would happen. I knew what he would say when he found out about us. I know what he wants.”

  “What about you? What do you want?”

  “I want to be with you Curtis. You know that. But it doesn’t matter what I want.”

  Hudson stepped out of the head and caught his hand on the railing of the listing ship. Did he lose his balance because of the ocean or because he felt his life slipping away? “This is 2014, Sam. He can’t tell you who you can and can’t marry. If you want to be with me…”

  “You don’t understand. This isn’t America or England. This is China. Don’t try to change it. Just come and see me while we still have time. I...”

  “I’m going to be there soon, but I need to finish this job. I can use the money to show your father…”

  “You can’t buy tradition with money, Curtis. He’s not going to change his mind if you show up with a bag full of money.”

  “Money changes a lot of things, Sam.”

  “It won’t change this. Just come and see me before it’s too late.”

  Hudson felt the deck sway again as he soaked in the voice of his lady. His eyes drifted out into the ocean. He caught a glimpse of a cigarette boat speed through the dark water, cutting a sharp spray in its wake. Hudson needed a cigarette. He reached up to the chest pocket of his uniform searching for his Chunghwa’s.

  “We’re supposed to dock in three days. Once the job is over, I’ll get on the first plane back.”

  “You promise?” The childlike anticipation in her voice brought an image of Sam’s smiling face to his mind. He felt himself smile in response.

  “Promise. When I get there I’ll take you back to Hengshan and we can work things out there.”

  “Ok. Dad will be out of town next week, but when he comes back, he wants to start the search for…”

  “Don’t worry about that now. Just pick out something to wear when I come see you, ok?” Hudson patted his pants pocket for his lighter.

  “Ok Curtis. Stay safe. I love you.”

  “Love you too. Bye.”

  Hudson disconnected the call with the image of Samantha’s smile still fresh in his mind. She was worth the bullshit. The odds weren’t good for an army boy from Ohio living growing old with a Chinese socialite, but…

  But where the fuck did he put his lighter? He checked his front and back pants pockets, the side pockets on his thighs, and the chest pockets too, but he couldn’t find his lighter. His heart sank into his stomach. Sam gave him the lighter as an anniversary present. She even wrote a letter about the flame of their love or something. Hudson didn’t remember the exact words of the letter, but he took the lighter everywhere. He had it just before he went into the head....

  And gave it to Hicks. Now he remembered. He was just about to share a smoke with Hicks on the starboard deck when Sam called. He handed the lighter to his watch partner, went to the head for privacy and a quick bathroom break. The emotion of the conversation clouded his short term memory. Hudson strolled along the starboard with an unlit Chunghwa dangling from his lips.

  His foot brushed against something small and hard before he reached Hicks’ post. Hudson sucked his teeth and bent his knees. His gold lighter sat open, the fly wheel half submerged in ocea
n spray. Hudson snatched up his prize possession and whirled around looking for Hicks’, ready to throw his ass overboard. He wasn’t anywhere near his assigned position. Hudson punched the button on his shoulder mounted radio and snapped as he spoke.

  “Hicks, what’s your position? Over.” Hudson bit his lip to prevent the tirade building up in his head to spill out into the radio. He wasn’t afraid of confronting Hicks, but he didn’t want the rest of the team in his business. Hudson was the rookie on the team. He knew from past experience where he stood in the dynamic of the squad. This might be a private operation, but everyone on the team served in Afghanistan or Iraq. The pay might be better, but the rules were still the same.

  Hicks didn’t answer. Hudson imagined him hiding in the dark somewhere, masturbating to the videos he kept on his phone. The man had no shame. They’d only been out on the Nostromo for a few days, but Hicks loved himself whenever he found the chance and he considered himself an expert in subtlety. Now he deserted his post after tossing away Hudson’s special lighter. The rookie closed his eyes and gripped the railing to steady himself. He tried to put himself in Hick’s shoes. Didn’t he miss Samantha? Wouldn’t he feel less stress if he followed Hick’s example? Hudson chuckled to himself as he looked down at his palm, thinking about his woman.

  Hudson stopped laughing when he noticed the blood on his hand.

  When did he cut himself? He wiped his palm on his pants leg and looked for the cut. The blood was gone and he couldn’t see any wound on his hand. So where did the blood come from? Hudson looked down at the railing and saw droplets of red staining the polished steel. He bent down and found the small pool of red right between his feet, right where Hicks stood guard. The blood and the discarded lighter suggested a more gristly explanation for Hicks’ absence. He couldn’t have fallen overboard, could he?

  “Hicks, come in. Over.” Hudson could hear the strain in his own voice now and it reminded him of Samantha’s agitated voice. The response to his request snapped him back to reality.

  “What the fuck is all the chatter about, Hudson?” Apone’s voice jabbed at Hudson through the radio speaker.

  “Sarge, I can’t seem to find Hicks. I think there might be a problem.”

  Apone’s bitter chuckle spoke volumes. “There’s no problem, son. Hicks is probably just hiding somewhere so he can play with his dick. Now get the fuck back to your post and stop jabbering in my ear.”

  Hudson imagined Apone and the rest of the team laughing at his rookie anxiety, but he couldn’t ignore the pool of blood on the deck. “Um, sir. I think we might have a man overboard. We might need to swing back around before we go too far to…”

  “Hudson, we are on a timetable. The client wants his boat and his cargo delivered by the close of business on Friday. We are behind schedule as it is. I will not sacrifice my reputation or my commission because some jumpy fucking rookie thinks his bunk mate fell overboard. After Hicks blows his load and gets back to his post, let him explain to you the fine art of not falling the fuck off the boat. Are we clear?”

  Hudson clenched his fist around his lighter and grit his teeth. “Clear, Sarge.”

  He shut off his radio and cursed Apone, Hicks and the whole fucking team. Apone was full of shit. He wasn’t even a sergeant; he just made everyone call him that. He didn’t know how to lead men. He didn’t even bother to ask why Hudson thought Hicks went overboard. He just climbed up Hudson’s ass to prove…

  The engines on the Nostromo fell into an abrupt silence. The lights on the deck and in the state room went out without warning. Hudson only heard the hollow lapping of the waves against the hull before Apone went ape shit on the radio.

  “Hudson! What the fuck are you doing? I thought I told you that under no circumstances did I want this boat stopped?”

  Hudson responded without trying to conceal his confusion. “Sarge, I’m still on the starboard deck. I haven’t left my post.”

  “Then who the hell told Bishop to stop?” Apone waited for a beat to let the captain of the ship respond to his furious question. No answer came.

  “Bishop? Bishop, respond. Over.” Captain Bishop didn’t reply. Apone lost even more of his shit.

  “Goddamn it. Vasquez, are you still fucking answering the com?”

  “I’m right here, Sarge.” Hudson usually got nervous when he heard the smoky toughness in Vasquez’s voice. He was happy to hear her now. She could sort all this out and get Apone off his ass.

  “Go meet Hudson at the bridge and get us moving again. And when you’re finished there, find Hicks and cut his dick off. I’ve had enough shit from him tonight.”

  “I’m on it.” Her voice suggested movement.

  “On my way.” Hudson moved forward on the deck as fast as he could. Vasquez was tough shit. Hudson didn’t want to keep her waiting.

  Chapter Two: Lost at Sea

  Hudson tried to think of an explanation for the sequence of events that didn’t include a huge cluster fuck.

  When he took this job, it sounded like easy money. Just protect a private yacht on a trip around the Arabian peninsula. Some sheik or sultan or whatever didn’t want his expensive toy getting snatched up by pirates, so he hired a team of operators to baby sit. When Hudson heard what the sheik offered to pay, he leaped at the chance to join the team. The job screamed low risk, high reward. Erik Prince’s new mercenary navy cleaned up most of the pirate activity. The only thing they had to worry about now was a Yemeni Coast Guard captain unwilling to take a bribe. The boat wasn’t the sheik’s only toy. He had other toys locked in the state room. Those toys had to be gagged and blindfolded. Those toys would create a problem if an official didn’t take the money and turn a blind eye.

  Hudson was ready for pirates and coast guards. He wasn’t ready for missing teammates and stumbling around in the dark. He held his flashlight high and close to his head, but the uneven motion of running on the swaying boat made the beam jarring to follow. He held his other hand on his MP5 without knowing why. The team was on patrol and they did have an unknown situation, but he didn’t need his weapon now. He needed Hicks to pop out of the shadows with a stupid guilty grin on his face. He needed the lights to come back on and the Nostromo’s engines to kick into high gear. He needed to get back to Sam. Her smile was on his mind when he climbed the short flight of carpeted steps and reached the hatch to the bridge.

  He pulled the lever and pushed, but something blocked the door from opening. Hudson tried to look through the port to signal to the men inside, but he didn’t see anyone at the controls. The radar screen and navigation panels were dark. The wheel swayed back and forth. A limp wrist sat trapped in its bottom spoke.

  Hudson craned his head to see whose hand was trapped in the wheel, but he couldn’t lift himself high enough to get a good angle. He pulled the lever again, this time slamming his shoulder into the hatch to force it open. He put too much force into the blow and he tumbled onto the bridge as the steel door gave way. Hudson landed on his back and came face to face with the corpse of Captain Bishop.

  Hudson had experience with death. He lost friends in raids against the Taliban. He saw bodies lying out in the streets of Fallujah. But Bishop’s glassy brown eyes made him jump back and kick away with a yelp. The hole in his throat still pumped out spurts of black red blood. Hudson felt himself sitting in a lukewarm pool of the man’s lost life.

  “Shit!”

  He staggered to his feet, slipping on the blood slick floor. He bumped into the body of the first mate and nearly fell face first into a new puddle of blood. Hudson threw his back against the control panel. He couldn’t catch his breath. Then he coughed and the nauseating smell of released bowels filled his nostrils.

  “Oh Shit!”

  Apone’s bark from the radio broke his cycle of cursing. “Vasquez, what’s your status? Why aren’t we moving? Over”