by J. C. Phelps
Mr. White looked at me with a glint of childishness in his eye and that cocky half grin on his face. I looked back to him with a semi-pissed off look. I was mad at him, but had in reality been glad it had been him who was doing the surveillance.
“Ms. Grey, Mr. Black,” he greeted us.
Both Mr. Black and myself gave him a small nod. Mr. Black was starting to rub off on me.
Mr. Brown sat leisurely on the couch, with his arms spread over the back. He was kind of cute, but I still hadn’t gotten over the remarks he had made before. I looked to him and he smiled at me. It was an infectious type of smile, impish.
“Alright everybody, let’s get down to business.” Mr. White said. “Mr. Brown will fly you two to Florida where you will get a hotel room and wait. We’ve been told the target has been planning a cruise on his yacht. He won’t be leaving international waters and that’s where we come in.” He looked to Mr. Brown. “When I receive confirmation that his yacht is underway, I will contact you with the exact coordinates of the drop.” Mr. White turned to Mr. Black and myself. “You two are to board the yacht and seize the target.” He handed a manila envelope and a small silver case to Mr. Black. “When you acquire the target you are to get him overboard and wait to be picked up by Mr. Brown.” He looked at us all one at a time, “Is this clear?” he asked.
We all nodded and stood to leave. I waited until Mr. Brown and Mr. Black had started for the door. I somehow felt I needed to follow them out and not lead them out. I was making my way to the door when Mr. White said, “Ms. Grey will catch up. Ms. Grey please take a seat.” Shit, I thought.
I sat and Mr. Black shut the door behind him as he left. I hadn’t been alone with Mr. White since the day of the interview.
“I just wanted to wish you luck,” he said. I was flabbergasted. I thought I was in for it. He continued, “If you follow Mr. Black’s lead and you really are as quick a learner as he says you are, you’ll be fine.” He had a soft smile on his face and a look that I thought might be concern. Nah. I got up to leave and he added, “By the way, that kind of sign language is frowned upon.” He had exchanged the soft smile for a devious grin, just when I was beginning to like more than just his looks.
I left the office and both Mr. Black and Mr. Brown were waiting at the elevator for me. Mr. Black wore a questioning look but Mr. Brown was grinning again like that day in the elevator.
“He wished me luck,” I said. Oooh, sometimes I made myself so mad. Why did I say anything? It wasn’t any of their business. I had been so much more composed before I met this gang of men. What had my life become?
I thought about that during the entire flight to Florida. I had been pretty well off before I decided to spice up my life a little over a month ago. I thought about what I would be doing right at that moment if I hadn’t quit my job as a data processor and was glad that I had fallen into this.
Things had always come easily to me my whole life, but this was a challenge. Chief Slade had worked me hard, or so I thought. Mr. Black had worked me until I had wanted to die, but I had enjoyed it.
We got checked into an obscure motel several hours later, all three of us in the same room. I thought I had heard Mr. White wrong or it was a slip-up when he said a hotel room but I guess not. The room was definitely nothing special. It had an unpleasant odor of many different bodies. There were two double beds with orange bedspreads shining up at us. I immediately went to the bed closest to the bathroom and claimed it. The two men were going to have to sleep together.
We had left our equipment in the chopper and it was just the three of us in the room with one bathroom, two beds and one TV. I had never been very good at waiting. I got bored and usually ended up pacing, and a few hours later I found myself getting an annoyed look from Mr. Black because I was doing just that, pacing. He had been reading what was in the manila envelope.
I sat on my bed and said, “Sorry. I can’t help it.”
“Yes you can,” he said, emphasizing each word and went back to reading. I looked at Mr. Brown and of course he was wearing that perpetual smile of his. I bet he slept with a smile on his face.
“Someone at least find the remote,” I said getting up to search for it myself. Mr. Brown stood up and handed me the remote saying, “Here ya go.”
I snatched it and said, “Thanks.” I turned on the TV and sat watching for almost half an hour before Mr. Black handed me the manila envelope and said, “Memorize these, then we’ll go over the plan.”
I opened the envelope and took out the paperwork. Inside I found several pictures, each with descriptions underneath, but no names. Above one of the pictures was the word TARGET. He had a dark complexion and looked to be either Hispanic or Indian. I memorized all the faces and descriptions then I came to the floor plans of the yacht. Mr. Black began to explain exactly how he wanted this done by pointing to places on the floor plans.
When Mr. Black had finished with the details he asked, “Any questions?”
“Who is this guy and why are we picking him up?” I asked.
“Terrorist.” He answered both of my questions with one word.
The rest of the evening was nerve racking for me, and the two men were not enjoying my company at all. Finally Mr. Black said, “Calm down, Ms. Grey.” I decided now would be a good time for me to get ready for bed. I went into the bathroom and shut the door.
I started the shower and heard voices in the main part of the room. Neither one of the men had spoken other than to tell me to quit being annoying since we had arrived. I quickly undressed and stepped into the shower and listened at the wall. I could hear pretty well. One of them said, “Now tell me why we have to all be in the same room.” Mr. Black, I think.
Then Mr. Brown said, “Malone wanted it that way.” Malone meaning Mr. White.
“I don’t get him lately,” Mr. Black replied.
“It’s her. You know how he is with women,”
“Not like this,”
“I guess, but he’s been acting weird since the day she showed up in the office. That’s why I think it’s her. I think he’s dying to get in her pants but doesn’t dare because she’s not just another woman,” Mr. Brown said.
“He better not even think about it,” Mr. Black said.
“Oh, someone is testy about the Ms. Grey subject,” Mr. Brown said.
“We need a woman on the squad and I don’t think we could have found a better one,” Mr. Black explained.
“Is that why you’re so protective of her?” Mr. Brown asked with sarcasm in his voice.
“Yes. Believe what you want, but I think she has the potential to be better at this job than even Malone,” Mr. Black said.
There was silence after that, so I showered for real and thought about what was said. So Mr. White might be attracted to me. That was good, at least for my fantasy life. I had never thought of him in terms of real life. It would be complicated. Oh well, I just won’t think about real life with Mr. White. As for Mr. Black, I knew what he said were his intentions were his intentions. We had a big brother-little sister thing going, kind of. I just couldn’t imagine myself with as much potential that he thought I had. I always thought I could do anything, but I’d never been confronted with these kinds of challenges. Lately though, my biggest fear had been disappointing Mr. Black. That was something I didn’t want to do.
I stepped out of the shower, dried off and put my clothes back on. Then I went back into the room with the beds and men. Mr. Brown said, “About time.”
I got under the blankets and threw the bright orange bedspread to the foot of the bed and watched TV for a while before I drifted off to sleep.
When I woke the next morning Mr. Black was sitting on his and Mr. Brown’s bed watching a show on fishing. I got myself out of the bed and pulled up the blankets and outdated bedspread and went straight to the bathroom to do my morning brushing of the hair and teeth.
When I came out of the bathroom the television was off and Mr. Black was sitting on my bed along with the
little silver box that Mr. White had handed to him the day before. He said, “Mr. White called last night and we are to head out around 10:00 tonight. When we get on the chopper we will change into our gear. We are not using tanks, but snorkels. Do not put your fins or face mask on until we’re in the water. First of all, you need to know how to get into the water safely from the helicopter. We’ll be dropping from the air and it’s very important you cross your arms in front of yourself.” He demonstrated by putting each of his hands on the opposite shoulder.
My eyes cut to the box and he said, “I’ll get to that in a minute. Don’t forget the arm placement and point your toes down or you’ll break your feet, ankles and possibly legs. After we hit the water we’ll put on the rest of our gear. We may encounter some large swells. If this happens, ride them up and swim down them otherwise you’ll tire yourself out. Okay, the box. It contains Phenobarbital, which is a sedative. We’ll use it to put the target to sleep so he’ll be easier to handle. Any questions?”
“Not right now,” I replied.
Mr. Brown showed up with breakfast and a deck of cards not long after I had received my instructions. We ate and played poker. I was the only one without a dime, so they each fronted me a few dollars. We played poker until around 6:00 PM and then the pizza we had ordered showed up. I bought because I had won the most money. I even paid back what had been fronted to me. After we ate we lounged around and waited for the right time to leave for the helicopter.
“It’s time,” Mr. Black’s voice woke me. I had fallen asleep while waiting. Mr. Brown was gone again. Mr. Black explained he had gone to check us out of the room and he’d be back soon. We sat in the rented car and waited and I began to get nervous again. This was something I had pictured myself doing, but only in the fantasy aspect of my world.
We had been in the air for about fifteen minutes when Mr. Black handed me my equipment and suit. Along with the normal attire he handed me a wristband that looked a bit like a large watch. He explained that it was a GPS tracking device that also included a homing beacon. He showed me how to use it and which buttons were for what. Mr. Black secured it to my wrist and then put his own on. I waited for him to turn his head before I started to get the suit on. It didn’t take me long because I was afraid he might turn his head back or worse yet, Mr. Brown might sneak a peak. Only Anthony had seen me without clothes since I had become a woman and I wished he hadn’t. I wasn’t ashamed of my body. I thought it was actually rather nice, but there was always the chance that someone would find some flaw and broadcast it.
We flew low over the water. Sometimes close enough that I was afraid that we might hit it. It took less than two hours for us to reach a spot where Mr. Brown began to hover.
“This is it!” he yelled over the noise.
“Remember what I told you!” Mr. Black yelled and jumped from the helicopter.
I followed right after him, no reason to stand and think about it. I crossed my arms and pointed my toes and still hit the water hard. It was cold and black. When I surfaced I was disoriented and confused. Mr. Brown had already piloted the helicopter away and I didn’t see Mr. Black in the darkness. I pulled on my mask and began to pull on my fins when I saw a faint green light a little ways off. I swam toward it and before long I saw Mr. Black bobbing in the water. When I reached him he said, “I’m going to drop this light now.” And he let go of what looked like one of the glow sticks kids carried on Halloween.
“From now on we’ll use red chem. lights instead of green. It’s harder to see red light at night unless you’re looking for it,” he explained. He reached over and attached a line to my waist securing us together. He started to swim away and I matched him stroke for stroke. We swam for about an hour without a break, and then Mr. Black stopped and checked his wristband. I saw a small green light shining from his arm even though he was trying to shield it.
“Start watching for the boat’s running lights. We should be there anytime now.” With that he resumed his repetitive strokes.
I had been keeping my head down and not paying much attention, but now I swam with my head above the water, watching for any light. There were thick, rolling clouds in the sky, but the moon peeked out once in a while. About another half an hour of swimming and I spotted lights on the horizon to my right. I tugged on the line that was attached to my waist and Mr. Black stopped his advancement. He turned and looked at me and I pointed to the distant lights. He nodded once and adjusted his direction. I fell into the rhythm of his strokes once again.
When the lights were considerably closer he stopped and said, “No talking. We don’t want to alert anyone to our presence. Grab and go and stick close.”
“What happens if we get caught?” I asked.
“We’ll have to take care of it, so don’t get caught,” he replied.
We’d have to ‘take care of it’? I figured that meant we would have to kill someone. I most definitely didn’t want to have to do that. Don’t get caught, I told myself.
They say crime doesn’t pay, but this criminal owned an eighty-four foot yacht. We boarded the ship at the rear as planned and found the small motorboat in its place at the back of the boat. Mr. Black motioned me to one side of the boat and we lifted it to the edge of the yacht and were beginning to set it gently into the water when I dropped my end making a rather large splash. Mr. Black ushered me around the side of the yacht and we stood in the darkness for a moment straining our ears to hear if anyone would come to investigate. No one did, thank goodness.
We continued on with the rest of the plan by quietly walking through the empty rooms making our way to the stateroom where the target should be sleeping. Our plot hinged on the hopes that everyone would be sleeping or at the helm at this time of the morning. Our luck held as we crept through the first deck, which held the living quarters such as the dining room. We got to the stairs leading to the birthing floor and heard a bathroom being used. We stood at the top of the stairs and waited until we heard some doors open and shut.
Slowly Mr. Black started down the stairs with me right behind him. At the bottom of the stairs it was quiet, but light filtered out from a nightlight in the bathroom.
Mr. Black reached to his utility belt and pulled out the little silver box. He opened it up and inside was a syringe and a small vile of a clear liquid. Using the little light filtering out from the nightlight he filled the syringe. He replaced the vile back to the box but not the needle. We resumed our slow pace to the stateroom at the back of the ship.
Mr. Black stood at the door for a moment listening and then quietly opened the door. There, lying in the bed was the target. This is too easy, I thought with glee.
Mr. Black and I went to the side of the bed and he motioned for me to get ready to cover the target’s mouth so he couldn’t scream out when he felt the needle stick him. I motioned I was ready.
He grabbed the target’s wrist just as I leaped onto the bed. I put my knees onto the man's arms and shoulders and my hands over his mouth and held on tight. He put up a bit of a fight but was soon quiet again, breathing evenly.
I looked to Mr. Black and he was replacing the syringe back into the silver case. I crawled off the man in the bed and went to the door. Looking out carefully, I noticed everything seemed right. I turned and nodded to Mr. Black, who now had the man on his shoulder.
Slowly I opened the door and made my way back to the stairs, making sure Mr. Black was still right behind me. My heart was bursting from fear and excitement and it was all I could do to control my breathing. We slipped up the stairs and back out on the deck. Cautiously we started to make our way back to the awaiting motorboat when we heard noises coming from our destination. Mr. Black set the target down and motioned me to stay put. My eyes had become readjusted to the outside light and I saw a man trying to pull the small motorboat back onto the stern of the boat.
Mr. Black was on top of him before the guy knew it, but somehow he managed to slip from the grasp of death and knocked the silver box out of Mr. Blac
k’s belt at the same time. I saw the box fall and open on impact and the syringe rolled across the deck. The man had it in his hands before Mr. Black knew it was gone. The man came at Mr. Black with the syringe. He stuck the needle into Mr. Black’s leg and scurried away from him. Mr. Black was on his way to finish the job when he faltered and went down on one knee. The next thing I knew he was lying motionless on the deck.
What the hell was I supposed to do now? I thought. The man was inspecting Mr. Black by the time I got up behind him. I had been quiet and he didn’t know I was there. I reached out and grabbed him around the neck, cradling it in the crook of my arm. I grabbed onto my forearm with my free hand to secure my grip. Mr. Black had just recently taught me this maneuver and it had the choice of several outcomes. The man could either be choked into unconsciousness or death or I could move my arms just a bit and I would break his neck.
The man wriggled under my grasp and clawed at my arms. His feet were kicking wildly and I knew choking was not an option. He was making too much noise. I squeezed just a little tighter and not only heard the crunch and crack of breaking bones but felt it in my arms and chest.
I was immediately nauseous but repressed the urge to run to the back of the boat and empty my stomach. Instead, I set the limp body down on the deck and went to look at Mr. Black. I was worried when I reached his side that he may no longer be alive because he had told me the syringe held at least three doses and too much would be lethal. But was relieved to hear a smooth stream of air going in and out of his lungs. The syringe was still in his leg and there was a little of the clear liquid left in it. I pulled it out of his leg and retrieved the silver box and its spilled contents and replaced them all into Mr. Black’s utility belt.
This took me a little while and I became aware of the time I was wasting so I hurried and dragged Mr. Black to the waiting motorboat. Somehow I managed to get him inside. Then I returned to where I had left our target and dragged him to the motorboat. I had to fight with his and Mr. Black’s limp bodies to get them both in the boat and not spill either one of them out but I handled it.
