Fallen Hunter (Jesse McDermitt Series)

by Wayne Stinnett

  Turning right, we met Deuce and Julie halfway around the reef as Deuce was putting a lobster in the catch bag. I could tell it wasn’t alone. I held my pressure gauge up in front of Tina and she lifted hers up to look at it. Holding up nine fingers, I jerked my thumb upward. Deuce motioned that they were going to continue around the rest of the reef with a circular motion of his fingers. I nodded and took Tina’s hand as we slowly finned our way to the surface. We’d only been down about fifteen minutes, but I was already getting a little cold.

  When we broke the surface Tina pulled her mask down below her chin, looked at me and grinned. “Can we go back down again?” she asked.

  “I only have four tanks,” I said and saw her grin turn into a frown. “But, I have a compressor to refill them,” I added. “We’ll start them filling while we have lunch. Deuce should have enough to eat. Next dive, I’ll show you how to catch lobster for tonight’s dinner.”

  We climbed aboard the Revenge and removed our dive gear. Tina said, “I can’t believe all those beautiful fish. I’ve never seen or imagined anything like that before. And I touched a frigging shark! None of my friends are going to believe that.”

  I wrapped a big towel around her and removed the two tanks from both our rigs. “I’ll get the hoses ready to refill the tanks. Deuce and Julie will be up in about five minutes.”

  “Anything I can do to help?” she asked.

  “I got it,” I said. “Why don’t you help them up, when they get to the platform?”

  I went down to the engine room, unrolled the four air hoses and started the generator, which powers all the onboard electrical systems including the small air compressor. When I got back out on deck, Deuce and Julie were handing their fins up to Tina and climbing aboard.

  “A quarter of our limit down,” Deuce said as he lifted his catch bag up to me.

  “What’s that mean?” Tina asked.

  “Means he’s already started on dinner,” I said. “The bag limit is six per person.”

  I opened the bag and looked inside. “All nice size, too,” I said.

  Deuce helped me hang the tanks in the water to fill. Then I mounted a small portable grill in one of the rod holders so that it hung over the side of the boat. We had a lunch of grilled lobster tails, with steamed broccoli from the galley and sliced pineapple.

  By the time we finished lunch the tanks were full and we got ready for our second dive. I gave Tina a net and tickle stick and explained to her how to use the stick to coax the lobster out of a crevice and into the net.

  When we got back in the water Tina was much more comfortable. We found lobster almost immediately and she managed to catch three with the net. I got another three by hand and Deuce and Julie got another eight. Once we were back aboard, we had sixteen to take back with us. We hoisted anchor and started back to Marathon with three hours of daylight left.

  “I could stay out here all day,” Tina said. “I still can’t believe all that beauty was just below the surface.”

  “Not to mention all that bounty,” Deuce said.

  Our plan was to bring Deuce and Julie to the island and they’d go back to Marathon taking both the Grady and my skiff. With Rusty and his skiff, they’d be able to bring nine people to the island when Doc and Deuce’s team arrived in the morning. Tony, Art, and Chyrel would come by helicopter, along with two other team members that were Tony and Art’s backups.

  An hour later, we were tied up under my house. Deuce and Julie wanted to get back to Marathon before dark, so we pulled the Grady and my skiff out and they left an hour before dark. “Don’t eat all that lobster before we get back,” he said as they pulled away from the dock.

  “I put four traps in the deep part of Harbor Channel yesterday,” I said. “Should be able to have a lobster lunch for the whole crew tomorrow. See you guys in the morning.”

  Tina and I walked up the steps to the deck as Trent and Pescador came up the rear steps. “I overheard you,” he said. “Been catching a lot of fish with your dog’s help. How many will there be tomorrow?”

  “About two dozen,” I said, “Counting your family.”

  “I have plenty enough then,” he said. “Put about forty filets in the cooler the last couple of days.”

  “Good,” I said. “We’re going to need it. Want to go out with me early in the morning and pull the lobster traps?”

  “Sure,” he said. “I got those other three tables built you wanted. Had some lumber left over and made some stone crab traps and set them out.”

  “You’re an industrious man, Trent,” I said as I looked out over the trees to the southwest. “Sunset’s in about an hour, have y’all eaten?”

  “No, we were waiting for you to get back,” he said. “Charlie has about a dozen stone crab claws already and is making blackened snapper.”

  We followed Trent down to the tables on the far side of the clearing. He had done an exceptional job on them and Charlie made a great meal. Tina and I cleaned up so they could get the two kids to bed and then we walked out to the dock. Pescador was in his usual spot waiting for the light show to begin.

  “When are we going to leave tomorrow?” Tina asked.

  “I’d like to be able to drop Tony and Art about midnight. We’ll probably leave here just before sunset.”

  “How long will we be gone? I’ll have to find someone else to take my shifts for a few days.”

  “I’m thinking they should be able to get enough information in three days to be helpful. We’ll be getting back here by Friday, at least. I don’t suppose you have any vacation time coming, do you?”

  “I can call the manager and request it,” she said.

  I saw Trent and Charlie walk out onto the sandbar and sit down. They seemed to be having a discussion, Trent was pointing toward shore and motioning with his hands. I could see Charlie smile at him and nod her head, agreeing with what he was saying. Slowly the sun started to slip toward the far horizon. There was a bank of high cumulus clouds just to the north of it and the sun bathed them in a beautiful red glow. Tina leaned her head on my shoulder as we quietly watched the sun set. It almost seemed to sizzle as the water reached up and grabbed the lower edge of the orb. The air all around seemed to take on an orange glow, casting long shadows from the trees on the nearby islands.

  Slowly, the sun sank into the sea and as it disappeared and the sky started to grow dark Tina said, “No green flash tonight?”

  “No,” I said. “It’s actually pretty rare. We were lucky the other night.”

  We sat there a few more minutes and I noticed Trent and his wife got up from the sandbar and walked, hand in hand, to the little cabin. “We should go to bed,” I said. “Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”

  We got up and walked to the house, with Pescador trotting ahead.

  14

  Stars Over Cuba

  I woke very early the next morning and was able to get out of bed without rousing Tina. I let Pescador out and started the coffee pot. Breakfast would have to wait a while. I wanted to get out to the lobster traps and be back before anyone arrived. Deuce had texted me to expect the chopper about 0900 and the team was meeting him at the Anchor at 0830, so everyone should be here by 0915. I heard someone, or rather, felt someone coming up the back steps. It was Trent, with Pescador leading the way.

  “Figured you’d be up early,” he said. “Gonna be a long day for you.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “No rest for the wicked.”

  “Wanna go out and pull those traps?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Coffee’s about ready. Want a cup?”

  “Wait here a minute,” I said and went into the galley to find Tina already pouring three cups and filling a thermos.

  “Thanks,” I said. “But you didn’t need to get up. It’s barely 0400.”

  She smiled and said, “I’ve always been an early riser.”

  “Farm life, huh? Trent’s out on the deck. We’re leaving in a minute to go pull those lobster traps. Want to come along.
”

  “Y’all go ahead,” she said. “Charlie and I are going to get things ready here. Have you thought about where everyone’s going to stay?”

  I thought about it a minute. There’d be Trent’s family, Chyrel and a bunch of door kickers. I didn’t know how many would be staying on after we left for Cozumel. I assumed Chyrel and the two standby operators would stay. “Chyrel can stay here,” I said. “The Trent’s can stay where they are and anyone else that stays over can fill up the other cabin and sleep under the stars.”

  “You’d have your guests sleep outside?”

  “They’re not guests,” I said. “Half of them will probably prefer it, anyway. From what Deuce told me, most of these guys came from elite military units. Snake eaters.”

  We carried our coffee outside. I handed a cup to Trent and we sat down at the table on the back of the deck. “What time are y’all shovin’ off?” Trent asked.

  “Before sunset, about 1600,” I said. “That’ll put us just off Cuba about midnight and in Cozumel by mid-morning.”

  “If you’d like, I can have Williams run up here and check over the engines,” he said. “No better mechanic anywhere around.”

  “Might not be a bad idea,” I said. “It’s an eighteen hour run.”

  “I’ll call him,” he said as he was getting up. “He’ll be here by the time we get back.”

  “He must have a fast boat,” I said.

  “Nope,” he replied. “He’s got an old de Havilland Beaver float plane.”

  “Really?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he said. “All he needs is an excuse to fly. And gas money.”

  “Call him,” I said. “Tell him I’ll pay him $500 to come up and look the engines over. It’d be worth that just to see one of those old planes.”

  Trent got his phone out and made the call. “We should be back in an hour,” I told Tina. “When Williams gets here, would you show him to the boat?”

  “Sure,” she said.

  I got up and walked to the front steps, kissing her on the cheek. I went down to the docks and opened the east door and then climbed aboard the Grady and started the engine.

  Trent came down the steps and as he was untying the lines he said, “Williams’ll be here in twenty minutes. He was already at the airport planning to go for a ride anyway. I told him he could tie up to the end of the pier. He wasn’t real happy when I told him I was putting Miss Charlie up for sale.”

  “If he’s as good as you say, he won’t have any trouble finding work,” I said. “I could pay him to come out here once a week and spend a day or two going over the boats. Maybe three days, when we get the generator and aquaculture system going.”

  We idled out the channel to Harbor Channel and turned northeast about a mile to the first trap float. Pulling up the trap, I could tell by the weight it was going to be a good lunch. It had nine legal sized lobster in it and a few that we had to let go.

  “How’s Williams gonna land in the dark?” I asked.

  “There’s enough starlight for him,” Trent replied. “Besides, he hasn’t always been against drug smuggling.”

  Trent rebaited the trap and tossed it back in the water. I shined the light in the direction the next trap was supposed to be and finding it, I idled toward it. In the distance I heard the sound of an airplane with a radial engine. A minute later it flew over, banking sharply to the left. Two bright spotlights came on as it lined up for a water landing on the north side of the island. We pulled the other three traps and started back to the island with another thirty lobster to add to what was already in the refrigerator.

  As we idled up the channel and under the house, Williams came down the steps carrying two large tool boxes. He set them on the dock next to the Revenge and said, “Hey Skipper, how ya doing Jesse?”

  “Doing well enough,” I said. “Thanks for coming up.”

  “Sorry if I cut your fun flight,” Trent said.

  “Don’t worry about it, Skipper,” he said. “Happy to oblige.”

  Trent and I tied off the Grady and I showed Williams aboard the Revenge, while Trent carried the cooler full of lobster up the steps.

  “This is a real beauty,” Williams said. “What year is she? I’m guessing ’98 or ’99, right?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “She’s a ’98.”

  “I’m also guessing you have the bigger 865 horse engines right?” he asked.

  “Drop on down and take a look,” I said. “There’s a couple crates stored below, but you can squeeze past them easy enough.”

  He opened the hatch, squatted down and stepped into the engine room. He let out a low whistle, then stuck his head back up through the hatch. “Drug runner special, huh?” he said.

  “Bought her at a Coast Guard auction in ’01,” I said. “Some smugglers loss was my gain.”

  “I’ve only seen one other Rampage with twin 1015’s,” he said. “You’ve taken great care of this boat, Jesse. I could eat off this deck down here.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “But, the credit goes to my old First Mate, Jimmy Saunders.”

  “I know Jimmy,” he said. “Good kid. I doubt there’s any problems, but I’ll run a full diagnostics on my laptop on both the main engines and the gen-set, check all the fluids and filters. Won’t take but about an hour.”

  I headed back up the steps to the house. Tina wasn’t inside so I went down the rear steps and crossed the clearing. It was starting to get light to the east and I had a pretty good idea where she was.

  “Thought I’d find you out here,” I said as I walked out to the end of the pier. She was sitting with Pescador under the wing of Williams’ plane. I walked along the old bird, admiring the lines. The Beaver is used in a lot of remote places especially up in Canada and Alaska. It was able to take off in a short distance, due to its large wings and could carry six passengers and the pilot or over a ton of cargo.

  Tina looked up and said, “It’s a real pretty plane your friend has. I’ve seen it fly around Key West sometimes. Is it new?”

  “New?” I said. “No, it was probably built before I was born.” I sat down next to her on the pier and she took my hand in hers as we waited for the sun to rise. There were low clouds to the east blocking the sun, but the colors were still pretty spectacular. Living on an island you learn to not only live off the sea but to appreciate the beauty in everything around you.

  Far in the distance, I heard the sound of a heavy helicopter. Sound carries over water and I knew it was probably still a few miles away. “Let’s get back to the clearing,” I said. “We’re about to have company.”

  As we passed between the two bunkhouses, Trent and Charlie came out with the kids. The chopper passed slowly over our heads. It was a Bell UH-1, commonly called a Huey. Noting the flag, the pilot continued over the island, turned a wide circle and approached from the southeast. I trotted across the clearing and guided him into the center of the clearing. Tony, Art, and two other men jumped from the skids while the chopper was still a foot off the ground. They turned around and pulled several bags and cases from the two open doors, as Chyrel climbed out of the right front of the aircraft.

  I walked toward them and nodded in the direction of the tables by the bunkhouses as the chopper lifted off the ground and disappeared over the west side of the island.

  “Good to see you again Art,” I said once the noise died down.

  “Nice to see you again too, Jesse,” he said. “These two guys are Donnie Hinkle and Glenn Mitchel. Both SEAL’s before coming over to DHS. Guys, this is former Recon Marine, Gunnery Sergeant Jesse McDermitt.”

  Reaching out my hand to the two men I said, “Haven’t been that in a few years. Just call me Jesse.”

  “Pleasure, mate,” said Hinkle with an Aussie accent.

  “Heard about you, Jesse,” Mitchel said taking my hand after setting his bag on one of the tables. “One of my instructors at Camp Atterbury told us about an impossible shot some Jarhead made in the Mog in ’93.”

  Tina look
ed from Mitchel to me and I said, “Lucky was all. Donnie, Glenn, meet Deputy Christina La Mons. She’ll be going with Deuce and me to drop Tony and Art off. And these are my caretakers on the island, Carl and Charlie Trent.”

  The two men shook hands with Tina and Charlie, then Trent stepped forward and shook hands with the two men and said, “If there’s anything you need, just yell. Since you’re the first to arrive, you’ll get dibs on the bunks in the east bunkhouse over there.”

  Hinkle looked around the clearing and stopped on a small area under some hibiscus and jasmine and said, “Thanks, mate. But I think we’ll pitch camp over yonder. Leave the bunks for the city boys.”

  Trent looked at the two men, then at me and shrugged. I nodded to Hinkle and they picked up two of the four packs and walked towards the wood line. I made them to be a sniper team as soon as Hinkle mentioned Atterbury. The massive old base in Indiana is where SEAL Snipers are trained.

  Once out of earshot, Chyrel said, “Those two are kind of strange if you ask me.”

  “Not strange at all,” I said. “In the spring, I string a hammock over there at night.”

  Tina looked up at me and said, “What was he talking about an impossible shot in the Mog? What’s a Mog?”

  “Mogadishu,” I said. Then changing the subject I said, “Deuce and the rest should be arriving in a few minutes. Let’s get down to the docks.”

  Without waiting I turned and headed across the clearing. Tina ran to catch up and said, “You’re a sniper?”

  “I was. A long time ago,” I said. “Now I’m a fisherman.”

  Walking up the steps to the house I could hear the approaching boats. Deuce was right on time. As I walked down the front steps, Williams was just coming up out of the engine room.

  “Everything looks great, Jesse,” he said. “You had a loose clamp on one of the air to air’s, but I tightened it up. Also tweaked the injectors a little over the stock setting on the computer. You might get another knot at wide open throttle.”

  “Thanks Dave,” I said. “Every little knot counts. Stick around for lunch? Got lots of fish, lobster, and stone crab claws.”