by Matt Lincoln
I told myself that I was worrying for nothing. Sure, we were going to Bermuda, but it was still an entire country. What were the odds that I’d run into them even if we were there?
Fairly high, actually, considering the fact that at two-thousand square feet in size, Bermuda was about the same size as the smallest state in the US, or one-fiftieth the size of Nevada.
I shook my head to dispel the thought. Charlie was right about what he’d told me earlier. I wouldn’t be any use to this mission if I spent the entire time worrying about my own issues. I needed to get past this and focus on the task at hand. I wasn’t going to run into them, and even if I did, I wasn’t a frightened, helpless girl anymore.
“You said you recognized the name of the hotel?” Charlie’s voice suddenly broke me out of my thoughts. He was casting me a wary look, and I knew at once that the anxiety I’d been feeling must have been evident in my face.
“Yes,” I answered, schooling my features into something more neutral and composed. “It’s a nice hotel, located right on the edge of the beach and overlooking the water. It’s popular among tourists. Only popular among tourists, in fact, as it’s unlikely many of the locals could afford to stay there.”
“Well, we’ve established that the trafficking trade is pretty lucrative,” Charlie scoffed. “I’m not surprised the leader of the trafficking group is staying there, local or not.”
“Indeed,” I nodded. “It’s also possible he might be meeting with potential buyers. It would fit the pattern we’ve seen so far. The majority of the children we’ve recovered were given to wealthy couples.”
We lapsed into silence after that short conversation, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. When Charlie had first joined MBLIS, I’d made the assumption that he was unfriendly and perhaps a bit dim. I’d since come to realize that he just wasn’t a man of many words. He spoke when necessary but otherwise seemed content to listen and observe.
The flight from Jamaica to Bermuda was short at only two hours compared to the eight it had taken us to get from the United States to Jamaica. It had actually been quite peaceful, and I’d enjoyed having a two-hour respite from the case. Now that we’d landed, however, I could feel myself buzzing with anticipation. I felt as though we were standing on the precipice, just inches away from finally catching the leader of the trafficking group.
The L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda was smaller than the one we’d seen in Jamaica, but unlike the one in Jamaica, this one had air conditioning. It was fortunate that it did because the small airport was much busier than I’d anticipated it would be.
“That’s odd,” I remarked as we made our way through the throngs of people. “Bermuda is a popular tourist destination, but the majority of its tourist traffic typically comes from cruise ships, not planes. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the airport this busy.”
“Is there something going on?” Charlie asked.
“Not that I’m aware of,” I responded, though the closer we got to the entrance of the airport, the more I could hear the roar of the crowd outside. “A lot of people fly down around Christmas time since the tropical climate never really gets cold, but I don’t-”
I stopped talking as I suddenly remembered something.
“What day is it?” I asked.
“Saturday,” Charlie responded immediately. “June twentieth, why?”
“It’s Hero’s Weekend,” I groaned, dread pooling in my stomach. “It’s the middle of Carnival!” This wasn’t good. Not for us, at least. It meant the streets would be significantly more crowded. If a chase broke out, our chances of catching the suspect were greatly decreased. If a fight broke out, the odds of there being civilian casualties were much higher.
“Let’s find the cops who are supposed to be meeting us,” Charlie suggested.
Nelson had arranged for some local officers to guide us to the hotel. With the entire country out on the street celebrating, we’d need their help even more now.
The airport wasn’t very big, so we were able to get out onto the street fairly quickly. The crowd wasn’t any less dense out here, though. In fact, the street outside the airport was even more chaotic than the inside was as tourists and locals alike crowded around and prepared to head to the center of the city of Devonshire to participate in the festivities.
“I think that’s them!” Charlie yelled over the thrum of the crowd as he pointed toward a pair of police officers who were leaning against a railing a few feet away.
“I hope so!” I called back. I didn’t like being caught in this rush of people. It was impossible to stay alert when there was a constant stream of people moving around you. It was a security nightmare.
“Hello!” one of the police officers greeted us cheerfully as we approached. He and the other officer were both fresh-faced young men.
“Hello,” I smiled at him. “I’m Agent Patel, and this is Agent Hills. Are you here to meet us?”
“Yes!” The officer confirmed energetically. “Welcome to Bermuda! You came at a great time.”
“Unfortunately, we’re not here for the party,” Charlie chimed in.
“Of course,” the officer nodded. “We’ve been made aware of the situation. I am Officer Tucker, and this is Officer Joseph. We’ll be escorting you to the hotel and providing assistance in the arrest of Usain Davis.”
“I’m glad we’re all on the same page,” I responded. “We should head down right away. We have reason to believe that he’s already been made aware that we’re after him.”
“Let’s go then,” Tucker nodded. He led us to a car parked on the other side of the railing. As he did, Joseph barked orders at the crowd to move aside and make way.
“Perhaps you can enjoy the festival once the arrest is finished,” Tucker chirped as Joseph finished clearing a path and climbed into the car. “It would be a shame to come all the way here and not participate. It goes all weekend long, you know.”
“We’ll see,” I smiled politely at him. In truth, I would have loved to take some time to explore and enjoy the Carnival, but I seriously doubted we’d have the free time to do so. Even if we found Davis right away, we’d still need to conduct the interrogation and tie up any other loose ends.
I gazed wistfully out the window of the car as we drove through the city. The streets were packed with people decked out in bright, neon colors. Feathers, beads, and flowers adorned everything from storefronts to the people dancing and singing in the street. Even from inside the car, I could hear music being blasted through speakers and played live as street performers banged on drums. We were forced to slow down even further as we approached the center of the city and the crowd became thicker. Up ahead, I could see a parade of dancers wearing magnificent, if revealing, costumes trimmed with feathers and sequins.
“We’ll have to go around,” Tucker sighed as the car was forced to a crawl.
“The hotel is only two blocks away, but at this rate, it will take us an hour to get there.”
“Let’s just walk,” Charlie grumbled. I could tell from the tone of his voice that he was becoming impatient with our slow progress.
“Are you sure?” Tucker asked. “If we find Davis, it will be a struggle to get him back to the car through all of these people.”
“You go with them,” Joseph spoke up for the first time. “I’ll get the car there as quickly as possible.”
“Alright,” Tucker shrugged. “Let’s go then.”
As soon as I opened the door, I was hit by a wall of sound. It was so loud that I could scarcely hear Tucker as he instructed us to follow him. It was stressful, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic. I’d been to Carnival a few times as a child, and the jovial, friendly atmosphere sank into my bones and lifted my spirits.
We weaved our way through the thick crowd and toward the hotel. The entryway doors were propped open, and even from a distance, I could tell that the lobby was packed.
“There are a lot of people coming in and out of the hotel,” Charli
e remarked with dismay as we stepped through the entrance. The lobby inside seemed just as crowded as the street just beyond the door.
“It’s not surprising,” I remarked as I moved to stand just to the side of the entrance where I’d have a good vantage point to see everyone who came and left. “Considering it’s the middle of Carnival. I’m sure every single room is booked. He probably deliberately chose this weekend to conduct whatever business it is he had here. He knew it would be much easier to blend into the crowd.”
“How should we proceed, then?” Tucker asked as his eyes scanned over the crowd.
I crossed my arms over my chest as I thought. We could just head straight to the room. Doing so might put the surrounding civilians in danger, though. We also couldn’t discount the possibility that Davis was already expecting us and might have set a trap.
“... agents shud bi yah at any moment. Wi can use har as leverage.” I froze as my ears caught a thread of conversation. The words might have just blended into the rest of the background noise around me had it not been for the term ‘agent’ and the fact that the speaker had spoken in a dialect of Patois that wasn’t common here. I turned wildly, trying to identify the source.
“What’s wrong?” Charlie asked.
“I heard something,” I hissed, trying to isolate the surrounding noise into individual voices.
“There,” I snapped my head toward a man slowly walking through the doors and onto the street outside of the hotel. “He said something about agents, and I think something about leverage?”
“You think that’s Davis?” Charlie asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “But I have a bad feeling. We should at least talk to him.”
We left the hotel made our way down the sidewalk after the man. When we were just a few feet behind, Tucker took off at a jog to circle around and cut him off.
“Excuse me,” he called as he sauntered up to the man. “Can I speak with you for a moment?” I couldn’t hear what the man said in response, but he suddenly turned around. His eyes widened with shock as he saw us approaching.
I knew immediately that something was wrong when the man made eye contact with me before reaching behind his back.
“Watch it!” Charlie yelled, but I was already reaching for my gun. Before I could raise it, however, the man whipped his arm from his behind his back. I dove to the side as I caught the glint of a pistol. The man fired, and I heard the blast of a gunshot followed by a loud, metallic clang as the bullet struck the back of a car parked by the side of the road. I raised my gun but couldn’t get a clear shot. There were so many people around that if I missed, I might easily hit someone else. Tucker didn’t appear to share my qualms, as the next moment, he raised his firearm and shot at the man.
Unfortunately, the bullet missed him and struck the leg of a bystander instead. It seemed that the crowd hadn’t heard the two gunshots, or at the very least, had brushed them off as some part of the festival. Several people did notice the man who was now bleeding out on the ground, though, and a second later, the once joyful atmosphere turned frantic as people began to panic and ran in every direction.
The suspect smirked at me as he turned and slipped into the crowd. I swore under my breath and gave chase, physically shoving people out of my way as I went. I needed to come up with a plan. I couldn’t shoot into the crowd, but without my gun, I wasn’t sure how else I could get him to stop.
He was heading toward the parade, where the crowd was the thickest. A group of female dancers screeched as he barrelled into them in his attempt to break through. The suspect lost his footing and fell to the ground, and I pounced on top of him. If I could just get his hands cuffed behind his back, I could hold him down until Charlie or Tucker came to assist me.
I managed to force one arm behind his back, but before I could get a good grip on the other, the suspect flipped himself over, throwing me off in the process. I scrambled to stand up, but before I could find my footing, I felt a sharp pain explode across my face as the suspect punched me. I brought my arm up to block his next blow before twisting around to punch him in the ribs. He swung at me again, but I dodged and reared back to kick him. Unfortunately, my balance was off, and my kick didn’t land.
The man lifted his fist as if to hit me again but suddenly turned and took off instead. The paraders had moved away as we fought, unintentionally clearing a path for him. I took off after him, but just a moment after I did, I saw Charlie tackle the man to the ground in front of me. I wasted no time in running up to them. I knelt to the ground to help Charlie place him into a set of handcuffs, then allowed myself a moment to regain my breath once he was secure.
“Where did you come from?” I asked through huffs of breath.
“I saw you both heading toward the parade,” Charlie replied. “I ran around to cut him off. Probably wouldn’t have made it if you hadn’t stalled him with that fight.”
“I wish you’d gotten here before he broke my nose,” I griped, reaching up to inspect the damage. I wasn’t actually sure if it was broken, but it certainly hurt, and I could feel that it was beginning to swell already.
“You’re bleeding pretty badly,” Charlie commented as we hauled the suspect onto his feet. He wasn’t struggling, which was a bit surprising after the chase he’d led us on. In fact, he was smirking maliciously.
“I’ll be fine,” I brushed him off, though it was getting hard to breathe through my nostrils. “Let’s just get this scum to the police station so I can get some medical attention.”
We dragged the suspect back toward the hotel where Joseph was supposed to be waiting with the car. I was a little perturbed by how cooperative he was now that we’d caught him. Typically suspects who went through so much trouble to get away didn’t just give up like this. Unless they had something up their sleeve, of course. I eyed the man suspiciously as we made it back to the car, nervous about what he might be hiding.
28
Charlie
“The man who was shot is doing fine,” Tucker informed us. “He was in pain, of course, but the doctor said he should make a full recovery. Of course, the police will be covering any medical expenses. Thankfully for us, he didn’t seem very upset about it and even joked about how he’ll be able to tell his friends he was involved in an international arrest.”
“That’s good,” I nodded.
We were sitting in the waiting room of a hospital while Patel got patched up. The suspect actually had broken her nose with the punch he’d thrown at her. By the time we’d made it to the hospital, her entire shirt had been soaked red with blood. The staff in the emergency room had rushed straight over upon seeing her. While she was rushed into the hospital, I’d walked down to the corner to buy her a t-shirt from one of the street vendors. It wasn’t her style, possibly not even her size, but at least it wasn’t covered in blood.
“As for the suspect, I have some information,” Tucker continued. “We ran his fingerprints, and he is, in fact, Usain Davis. He hasn’t said a word since he was brought in, insisting that he will only speak to you.”
“He knows what we’re here for,” I remarked. “He’s committed an international crime. He probably wants to speak to us so we can get straight to the point. Maybe he thinks we’ll cut him a deal if he cooperates.”
“No,” Tucker shook his head. “I don’t mean the two of you. I mean you, specifically.”
“What?” I asked, furrowing my brow in confusion.
“You’re Agent Hills, right?” Tucker asked.
I nodded.
“That’s what he said,” he shrugged. “He wanted to speak with Charlie Hills.”
I frowned at that. Why was the suspect asking for me by name? I didn’t have time to dwell on it, however, as a moment later, Patel finally emerged from down the hall.
“What a pain,” she groused. “This is the last thing I needed right now.” There was a thick medical bandage stretched over the bridge of her nose, and I could see faint bruises were already beginning to f
orm under her eyes.
“Are you okay to continue the case?” I asked.
“I am,” she responded. “I can’t really breathe right now, but I’m not on my deathbed or anything. Is the suspect ready? We should head down to the station as soon as possible.”
“He is,” I nodded. “Tucker says they’ve confirmed it is Davis. Apparently, he also asked for me.”
“What do you mean he asked for you?” she asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
“He asked for me,” I shrugged. “I got you a shirt, by the way, so you don’t have to keep wearing that one.” I reached into the plastic bag I was holding and handed her the t-shirt.
“Thank you,” she replied as she took the shirt from me. “That’s peculiar. In that case, we should definitely go see what he wants. I’ve had a bad feeling he was up to something ever since we managed to apprehend him.”
“I agree,” Tucker chimed in. “He’s acting strangely. I’ve had suspects put up ‘tough guy’ acts before, but something about this one was very unsettling.”
“Let’s go then,” I nodded before turning to Patel. “We can wait for you to change before we leave.”
“No need,” she replied submissively as she pulled the t-shirt on over her blouse. “It’s fine like this. I don’t really have anywhere to put my other shirt, anyway.”
I’d bought her a small, but it still seemed big on her. Blocky blue and yellow letters spelled out ‘Carnival’ over a plain white backdrop. The cheerful font seemed very out of place in contrast to her serious expression.
Tucker drove us over to the police station, which was only about ten minutes from the hospital. It was a small, plain white building with a blue door and window sills. It seemed, oddly, like an unfitting location for such a virulent criminal to be held. We were far enough away from the center of town now that, as I stepped out of the car, I could no longer hear the sounds of the festival. Instead, I was greeted by the sound of birds chirping as a warm ocean breeze blew past me. It was peaceful, and it was hard to imagine that just a few feet away sat a man who’d wreaked such havoc and misery on so many people’s lives.
