by Matt Lincoln
Once I was sure and comfortable with everything, I stepped off the dock. I slid into the water and waited for my line of vision to clear and adapt. Once all the air and bubbles surfaced, I focused on my mission at hand.
I scoped out my surroundings and got a feel for the water. It was not as bad as some close dock-work I’d done in the past. I was glad that this was the case, as I wanted to minimize this dive. Once I got beneath the surface of the water, I could see the predictable objects one would anticipate finding, including rusted bits of junk, rotten crates trapped against pots, and the occasional dead fish or rodent.
My eyes looked for anything pink and glowing. I scouted out a few yards in all directions and then made my way to a spot about twenty feet from where I had left Kippy on the walkway. I wanted to see what she was doing without me nearby. I had plenty of time to find the package if it was even down here.
I surfaced quietly, careful to stay hidden and not alert her. I had wanted to keep an eye on her to see if she met up with anybody or engaged in any suspicious activity while I was in the water. Not that I worried about her going through my bag like she had teased, but there might have been something else she was up to that she didn’t want me to know about.
From where I was, I could see her standing right where I’d gone in. She was talking on her phone and had started to pace as one does. A car drove by, and she ignored it, and they ignored her. I couldn’t hear what she was saying from where I was, but a quick glimpse at my bag told me she hadn’t gone near it. Appeased, for now, I went back to work looking for the packet with Arik and Mia’s phones.
It took me only a couple of minutes of truly looking to locate the only glowing pink satchel down there. It was clear and made of heavyweight plastic. It appeared to be airtight and still dry inside. The pair of phones were accompanied by some papers and a tiny bag that may have been a little kid’s coin purse. It seemed odd, but who was I to judge?
I surfaced right where I’d intended to, within feet of Kippy’s last known location. I heaved myself up onto the dock and completed my diving and gear checks. She watched me from a few feet away and was waiting patiently. I wasn’t about to hand over the bag with Arik’s future safety in it without getting on my feet first.
Once I was up and ready, I handed the package over to Kippy. “Now what?”
“Now,” she broke open the seal and proceeded to check the contents, “I have to go decrypt the scramble codes I zapped these with and access the location sensor. You’re welcome to come along with me if you want.” She re-sealed the bag and tucked it under her arm. “Given any thought to that personal chat I mentioned before?”
“I don’t think that’s a promising idea without my team. They should know what I know regarding this operation. That’s how we work.” I headed over to take off my wetsuit and pack up the gear.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, copain. I’m not asking you on a date or to have your babies! I’m trying to get us on the same page here. What do you even know about this kid and the girl? You only saw what happened that night, not everything that came before. And I seriously doubt that you know what’s going on behind the scenes with his mommy dearest.” Kippy scoffed as she waited for me to finish packing.
“I don’t have any need to know the personal details of his family. We saw a crash, a lot of weapons fire, and two kids being kidnapped. In my line of work, that’s enough to go on.” I slung my bag over my shoulder and started walking back to the center of the city. “If you want to analyze the other angles, you go ahead. Call me when you get the locations figured out. Until then, you do your thing on your own time, and I’ll do mine.”
I wasn’t prepared for what she said next as she called out to me. “When Sarabia gets here, ask her about Nace. I’m guessing she’s gonna play dumb. Not a tricky thing for her, but you might want to tap the brakes when she starts declaring the Judge’s undying love for truth, justice, and the family unit. I’ll give you that one for free.”
I didn’t reply as I kept walking, just long enough to get around the corner of the nearest building before reaching for my phone. I needed her to believe that I was gone and out of the picture, and I knew that the team was already doing their part to keep tabs on her. I dialed up Doc and prepared for the next phase.
“Just left her,” I told Doc. “You and Rosa got eyes on her?”
Doc answered on the other end. “Eyes on. She’s heading to a warehouse in the vicinity. We checked the area and found nothing too unusual. It doesn’t look too busy, compared to most around here. Hold on. She’s breaking into a tin shed looking place. Want me to send Rosa for you?”
“Please do. I don’t want to walk around the city lugging all this gear if I don’t have to.” I looked about for clear landmarks for a better site description. “I’m by ‘Laptan’s Cannery’ if that helps.” I could hear light rustling, and I figured that Doc was signing this info to Rosa.
“She’s on her way. I’ll stay put unless I have to move until you get here. See you then.” Doc was the best for that kind of surveillance, and I had every confidence in him.
I stood out on the corner, taking in the ambiance of my surroundings before having to leave. It was a nice, little place, as idyllic as something you’d see on a postcard or tourism website to entice clicks, only this was genuine.
The misty breeze, the tiered white and red-orange houses and firms, the turquoise blue water surrounded by emerald green landscapes and wooded paths… These islands were created for eyes to absorb and to be explored on foot. If only I had the time…
Before too long, I saw a black Mercedes-Benz R129 roll up with its top down and a redhead with a braid driving it. It stopped feet from me, and the grin on Rosa’s face was a sight to behold. She looked right at home behind the wheel of this vehicle. I should have known better than to allow her to pick a stake-out car.
“Hello, gorgeous. Mind if I hitch a ride?” I tossed my bag into the backseat and slid into the passenger’s side.
I want this car, Rosa signed excitedly before flipping a U-turn and returning from where she’d just come.
“Get one. It’s not like we wouldn’t use it.” I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the ride. “Shipping it back home might cost an arm and a leg, but I’m sure we could find one in Puerto Rico for you.”
She tapped me on the arm as we pulled up short, not too far away from Doc. Couldn’t we load it onto the back of Wraith before we go? It’s not like you’re going to notice the extra weight all that much.
“We’ll see.” We pulled up on the far side of the lot where cover was most available. We didn’t need to get seen by anyone for any reason. I stepped out and noticed Doc gesturing to the tin building he’d described on the phone earlier. Both Rosa and I cautiously made our way to him. She’d parked the car in an area that was hidden from anyone coming or going from the building in question.
“Kippy hasn’t left it yet, and I didn’t see a back exit or side door when I checked,” Doc informed us. He was shaking his head, clearly bothered by her extended stay. “No undue sounds, no company, nothing. I don’t know if this is her base of operations or a side place where she’s keeping her secrets, but there hasn’t been another living soul around here since she went in there.”
I understood his frustration. “Did you two find anything at the crash site? Do the locals still have it locked down?”
Rosa shook her head, making her braid flip over onto her shoulder. Just the opposite. You can tell something happened there, but the clean up was insanely fast and quiet. It looks almost like it did before. There are fewer outside tables and chairs around the cafes, but otherwise, it’s clean.
“Someone didn’t want any reminders,” Doc added with a slightly dismal tone of voice.
It sounded too tidy and prompt for my liking. “That would normally take a good chunk of money and influence to enact so rapidly. I don’t think we’d be out of line by suggesting that someone is helping to pull strings on this.”
Well, I
take it that you found the phones she tossed. Did you get anything else from the Ozoa woman? Anything to help us out? Rosa took a break from watching the building. She scouted the surrounding area just to make sure we weren’t being watched or had missed something important.
“Maybe. She may like the Judge’s money, but she doesn’t seem to care for the Judge herself too much.” I recalled our snippets of conversation. “She knows that Ms. Sarabia is on her way here. Mentioned someone or something called ‘Nace.’ We need to have Xavier check into that.” I tapped out a quick text to Xavier on my phone as we waited.
“What was the context?” Doc seemed interested in this.
“None, really. Warned me that Sarabia would pretend that she didn’t know what it meant and threw the Judge under the bus about her family life. Kippy isn’t exactly a bastion of intel.”
Maybe we should engage her, get her to trust us by some means? Like you said earlier, she enjoys play-acting when we’re all together. Maybe one on one she might be more forthcoming? Rosa’s suggestion made me want to kick myself.
“Yeah, about that. She suggested that previously, and I ignored her.” I held up a hand to acknowledge my failure, preemptively. I knew that I had missed a chance, one that Doc or Rosa would have most likely taken regardless of personal feelings. “If it comes up again, I’ll bite. I just didn’t relish the idea of spending any more time with her than I had to, that’s all.”
“What is it about her that makes you so unnerved, Header?” Doc wasn’t accusatory, just inquisitive. “Given, she’s not on my list of favorite people either, but you seem to truly detest her. Why is that?”
Good question. “There’s just something… off about her. She’s…” I couldn’t put it into words.
Rude, arrogant, obnoxious, and condescending. Isn’t that enough? Rosa knew how to put things into such perfect expressions sometimes.
“What she said.” I couldn’t have put it better.
Doc made a ‘tsk’ sound and dropped it, but I could tell that he wasn’t satisfied. Maybe that was for the best. The less we tried to explain her actions away, the better.
Fortuitously, the door to the tin building opened, and out came the woman in question. Kippy looked as if she’d been laboring in the dust of some project. Her clothing showed signs of filth and sweat, and her facial expression betrayed disappointment. She took out her phone and made a call that none of us could hear from our vantage point.
Once the call was completed, she dusted herself off and tried to make her hair more presentable. I noticed that she still had the bag with the phones on her, just tucked into the back of her pants at the waist. Minutes later, an area cab pulled up, and she got in and left without further incident. Now, it was our turn.
“Let’s give it ten minutes, and then we go in.” Whatever Kippy had gone in there for, we needed to see for ourselves. I watched the clock on my phone, and once the ten-count was up with no signs of anyone returning, the three of us went in.
The place was dingy, and the only light coming in was from a busted patch in the roof and a few bullet holes along the thin walls. What stood out the most were the mounds of open and shattered crates that cluttered the concrete floor. There was a pry bar leaning against the wall by the door, as well. The arid smell of rotten fruit and fuel permeated the air.
“What the---” Doc didn’t have to finish; we were all wondering the same thing.
Did she do this? Rosa knew there was no way to know for sure, but we could speculate all we wanted. What the hell was she looking for?
“She didn’t come out with anything she didn’t go in with,” Doc informed us before I could ask the question. “Unless it was small enough to fit inside a pocket. Do you think there’s any reason for us to even search the place now?”
I didn’t know what to think of it. This was not what I’d been expecting to find here. I walked around, looking at the splintered wooden crates and busted up bags of once sealed food goods like sugar cane, canned beef, and containers of expensive tree nuts.
Rosa examined yards of unfurled cloth and prepaid phone cards. Doc was backing away from the farthest corner and covering his nose with his shirt. “We need to get out of here. Now. There’s a fuel leak, and it’s heading for something I can’t identify.”
Both Rosa and I heeded this word of warning, and we took off toward the car. There was no reason to put ourselves in danger for something that we didn’t understand at this point. This visit and what we had seen Kippy do didn’t give us anything new to go on, as it was.
“What did it look like, Doc?” I asked him as we ran.
“Some kind of powder. Most likely placed to create a slow burn that would flare up hours from now. It’d be good enough to destroy evidence and plain enough to look like nothing more than a careless accident.” The strain in his voice was starting to become more pronounced. This kind of thing was not uncommon in missions he’d been a part of before I knew him. It was a time he rarely ever mentioned.
“Do you think Kippy placed it?” I questioned out loud, not really expecting it to be answered. If so, what was she trying to cover up, and for who? The answer to that would answer some other problems we were facing.
“I can’t solve that one, Header. There’s almost certainly only one person that can.”
Once we reached the car, Doc took the backseat after moving my bag while Rosa got ready to drive, and I sat beside her in the passenger seat.
Where do we go from here? Do we call the police and let them know about that place? Rosa started up the vehicle, giving me time to think about the best way to go about it.
“We have to. I’ll do an untraceable call, but let’s put some distance between us and it first. Agreed?” We didn’t need to draw any more attention than was essential just now.
They did agree, so after a few blocks, I typed in the call blocker that Xavier had placed on all of our phones and informed the port authorities. Kippy would soon know that someone had foiled her attempt to burn that building down, and there was a great chance that we’d be at the top of her suspect list.
Chapter 8
Jake
Once Doc, Rosa, and I had gotten back to the safe house, I took a shower, changed, and stowed my gear back on Wraith. I investigated for any more particular signs that anyone may have been getting too close but found none. I’d make sure to follow up with Xavier soon.
I found Rosa relaxing on the couch in the living room, Doc setting up the coffee maker, and Xavier at the bar with a furrowed brow and anxious expression. I decided to find out what had him so disturbed.
“Not liking what you’re finding?” I sat down at the bar next to him and gestured toward his laptop. The cool metal surface of the bar had recently been cleaned, as I could still see a few streaks along the exterior.
Xavier barely shook his head. “The Judge’s lawyer just sent another email to you through me. It appears that the kidnappers have been in contact with demands. She sent a redacted copy and has requested a private call with you. The Judge, I mean, not the lawyer.”
I turned to the screen as Xavier swiveled the laptop to give me visual access to the email. A good deal of it was blacked out, most likely because of the names, numbers, and legal instances that it referred to. From what I gathered, whoever had Arik was using his confinement and safety in an attempt to leverage judicial favor with Judge Fu.
“Rosa, Doc, listen.” I knew they’d need to hear this. “Arik’s mother received a type of ransom note, but there are no instructions on how to negotiate delivery or terms. Here we go. Whoever this culprit is, they seem to make reference to another person being incarcerated by the Judge’s orders or ruling.”
I scrolled further in the email. “There’s a lot of redaction, so bear with me. ‘The culprit wants future considerations on another case.’ I’m guessing that’s a personal angle we need to exploit. So, it’s basically blackmailing her in exchange for her son.”
This wasn’t a major surprise to any of us. Know
ing what we knew about the players involved, it seemed a likely scenario for Arik’s abduction. Mia’s part was less clear, but it could have just been a case of opportunity and not wanting to leave any loose ends or witnesses.
That would have been my main and first conclusion if not for Kippy Ozoa being left behind and alive. My mind went directly to her unspecified participation in this. She’d made it known that she was working for the Judge, but that never meant that was the only person she was in contact with.
“What jumps out to any of you?” I asked this expecting the whole team to have nuanced takes on what my gut was telling me.
No mention of Ozoa. No other names were given to give us a lead here. Only the slightest hint of motivation. And no direction on what actions to take. Rosa wanted to make her point clear. This didn’t give us much more than we already had.
Instead of answering right away, Doc went for another cup of coffee and used that time to think through his take on it. “From a federal judge’s perspective, I would imagine that she’s very disturbed about leaking any prioritized intel to us through these means.” He nodded at Xavier’s laptop.
Doc continued, “She doesn’t know us any more than we know her. She’s being asked to put her entire faith into a group of people she’s never met and being given feedback by another source in remarkably parallel circumstances.”
“You mean Ozoa?” I nodded, understanding that completely. “I think she’d be giving the Judge very choice information about how things have gone down around here, especially with us.”
“So then, you can see how and why Judge Fu might not be as forthcoming toward us as we need her to be,” Doc finished, taking a seat at the kitchen bar several seats away from Xavier and me.
Xavier chimed in. “Legal matters and confidential intel aside, I agree with Rosa and Doc. There’s not much to go on. It feels like we’re being given only enough information to keep the whole thing open but without any clear path to follow.”
