by Matt Lincoln
I immediately prepared to jump into action, lunging forward and opening my mouth to yell for the man to stop. Before I could do either, though, Holm beat me to the punch. He raced forward ahead of me, straight toward the pickpocket, who was rapidly walking away.
“Hey!” Holm barked at the man, loudly enough that several other people turned to look at him in surprise, including the woman whose things the thief had stolen. I approached Holm and the man but decided to keep my distance, for now, both to let Holm do his thing and in case the man tried to flee.
“What’s your problem?” the man muttered nervously as Holm stalked up to him. He fidgeted uncomfortably as he looked around and noticed all the people who were now watching the scene unfold.
“You took something from that woman’s bag,” Holm accused the man boldly, nodding toward the victim. She jumped in surprise before reaching into her purse and riffling through it.
“My wallet’s gone!” she exclaimed a moment later. From the shocked look on her face, it was obvious that she hadn’t even noticed she’d been robbed until Holm pointed it out. “My passport, too!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the shady man argued weakly as he shoved his hands into his pockets in a poor attempt at looking calm.
“Cut the crap,” Holm sneered at him as he crossed his arms and stared the man down. “Give her back her things, now.”
“Or what?” the man snapped back, evidently choosing to drop his innocent act completely. “Man, I’m out of here.” He turned to walk away, but before he could get more than two steps, Holm reached forward and locked his hand around the man’s arm.
“Give them back,” Holm repeated, his eyes dark and threatening. “Or I’ll make you give them back.”
The pickpocket’s face went pale at Holm’s vague threat. Of course, I knew that Holm wasn’t about to go all-out on some scrawny punk over stealing a wallet, but his glare and imposing stature were enough on their own to cow the man into submission.
“Whatever,” the pickpocket grumbled as he yanked his hand out of his pocket, pulling the wallet out with it. He attempted to pull his arm away, but Holm held on tight, his fist like a vice around the smaller man’s arm.
“Not so fast,” he sneered as he turned to the victim. “Is this all that’s missing?”
“Yes, I think so,” she replied demurely as she took the leather wallet from Holm before opening it. “Yes, my passport’s in here. That’s all that was missing.”
As soon as she confirmed that she’d gotten her belongings back, Holm let go of the man, who was still yanking against his grip. He stumbled and nearly fell as Holm let go, his face turning red as he righted himself.
“Get the hell out of here,” Holm warned him scornfully as the crowd began to disperse now that the drama was over.
The pickpocket muttered something that sounded suspiciously like a string of four-letter words before hunching his shoulders and slinking away.
“Not bad,” I complimented my partner as I walked up to him. “That guy looked like he was about to wet himself just from the glare you gave him.”
“Good,” Holm scoffed. “He should find a decent way to make a living instead of ripping off unsuspecting tourists.”
“Um… excuse me,” the victim’s soft, feminine voice interrupted. She was holding her wallet in her hands and watching Holm with a stunned, fascinated expression. “I just wanted to say thank you. That was really amazing. I didn’t even realize he’d taken my things until you stepped up for me.”
“It was nothing,” Holm replied, his face reddening slightly as he looked at the woman. I couldn’t blame him. She was really pretty, and she looked up at Holm with large, half-lidded Bambi eyes.
“No, it was amazing,” she insisted as she reached up to brush a lock of her wavy hair out of her face. “No one’s ever done anything like that for me. Are you a cop, or something like that?”
“We’re federal agents, actually,” I supplied helpfully. “We’re here on a case. Isn’t that right?” I turned to look at Holm.
“Wow, that’s so cool.” The woman smiled before tucking her wallet back into her bag and reaching her hand out to Holm. “I’m Amanda.”
“Robbie,” Holm replied as he shook her hand. “And this is my partner, Agent Marston.”
“Wow,” she said again as she looked at the two of us, her hand lingering on Holm’s for just a second before she let go. “That sounds really exciting. I’d, um… I’d love to hear more about it if you guys aren’t busy.”
“Oh, actually, I do need to be somewhere,” I replied, doing my best to sound genuinely remorseful. “Important preparation for our mission tomorrow. But I think Holm’s free, aren’t you?” I gave him a pointed look. “There’s not that much left to do, anyway. I can get it all done on my own.”
Holm was looking back at me with a mixture of confusion and surprise, but I could distinctly see that he was pleased by my act as well.
“Really?” Amanda replied as he looked back at Holm. “I don’t want to bother you if you’re busy or anything.”
“No, it’s fine,” Holm replied. “He’s right. We were pretty much done for the day, anyway. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to tell you more about what it’s like to be a federal agent.”
“That would be great.” She smiled up at him, her voice a little breathless. They were both looking at each other with dopey grins on their faces, and I suddenly felt like I was intruding.
“Well, I’ll catch you back at the hotel then,” I called to Holm before turning on my heel to leave. Somehow, I had a feeling that her invitation to “talk” had been more directed at Holm than to me, anyway.
I’d graciously duck out and let Holm have a nice time tonight, and maybe for once, I’d be the one making jokes at his expense afterward.
23
Ethan
Part of me was concerned when Holm still hadn’t returned to the hotel a few hours later. Of course, Holm was a grown man capable of taking care of himself, and I assumed that things had naturally progressed to the point that he might be too preoccupied with Amanda to notice the time. Still, we had an early morning tomorrow. Ruiz had told us that Maduro and the shipment were likely to arrive just before dawn when it was still dark, and there were fewer people around to witness anything they weren’t supposed to.
Eventually, I decided to trust in my partner and head to bed. No matter how eventfully his night was going, I knew that he wouldn’t jeopardize the mission over a fling. He’d be back in time to head out.
That being said, it wasn’t until the next morning, after I had already gotten up and dressed, that I heard the door to the next room open and close. I glanced at the time on my phone and saw that it was a little after four in the morning. As I’d thought, he’d made it back in time to prepare.
I put on a pot of coffee as I double-checked to make sure I had everything I would need for the mission: gun, knife, two sets of handcuffs, and a portable first aid kit that was small enough to clip onto my belt. That last item I’d only recently started carrying around after working with the agents from the Las Vegas branch. With how often we ended up being hurt while out in the field, it was actually a pretty smart idea to have some rudimentary first aid supplies on you. It definitely beats having to staunch a wound with a sweaty shirt or a dirty piece of cloth.
Once I was sure that I was ready to go, I quickly guzzled a small cup of coffee before heading out of my room. The sun was nowhere to be found at this hour, and I could see the stars shining clearly above me through the open breezeway. I turned and knocked on Holm’s door next to mine.
“One second,” he called from inside, his voice muffled through the door.
I took a few steps away and leaned against the opposite wall. Even at night, Aruba looked pretty. Bright, warm lights shone from the quietly sleeping city below. I turned back to Holm’s door as it opened with a creak. He was wearing a fresh set of clothes, but his hair was slightly rumpled.
; “How d'you sleep?” I asked as he ran a hand through his hair several times in an attempt to smooth it into shape. “Did you sleep?”
“Yes,” he replied as he stopped messing with his hair and pulled his arms above his head to stretch. “A little. Enough to feel rested for the mission today.”
“That’s good to hear,” I snorted as I led the way over to the elevators. “I was worried you might sleep in when you still weren’t back late last night.”
“You know I wouldn’t do that,” he scoffed as we stepped onto the elevator. He pushed the button for the main floor. “No way I’d miss this and let you have all the fun.”
I chuckled in response as the elevator made it to the ground floor with a ding and opened into the quiet, darkened lobby. At this hour, the only person still in here was the man receptionist sitting behind the disk, who appeared to be asleep at that moment. His feet were propped up on the desk in front of him, his hands folded in his lap. He was leaning pretty precariously in the chair he was sitting in, and he snored softly.
Holm and I walked past him quietly toward the front door of the building. The guy probably shouldn’t have been sleeping on the job, but I wasn’t about to take it upon myself to wake him up.
“You want to drive?” Holm asked as we walked toward the car. He slipped his phone out of his pocket as we went. “I’m pulling up the directions to the dock now.”
“Sure,” I replied as I climbed into the driver’s side.
Once Holm had the directions set up, I pulled the car out of the hotel parking lot and reversed back onto the road. The streets were completely still and quiet. We were the only car on the road, and normally I would have considered such a drive to be relaxing. At that moment, however, my heart was racing. The closer we got to the docks where Ruiz had told us Maduro would arrive, the harder my heart pounded.
There was nothing quite like the adrenaline that built up in the moments immediately leading up to a big mission. It was a feeling that couldn’t be matched, and it was something that I lived for.
I pulled the car into the convenience store parking lot, where we’d agreed to meet up with Linden and the other officers who were working with us this morning. The convenience store was right across the street from the docks, and if we parked our cars in the lot behind it, they wouldn’t be visible from the water. This way, anyone watching from the boat as they approached wouldn’t realize that we were lying in wait for them.
There were two police cars in the parking lot when we arrived. Linden was already waiting outside his car, talking to three other uniformed officers. All three of them turned to look at us as we pulled in behind them.
“You’re here,” Linden greeted us as we stepped out of the car. “Good. That’s everyone then.”
“It’s only going to be the six of us?”
“Yes,” Linden replied. “According to Ruiz, usually only two or three men come with the shipment. Even if we add another for Maduro, that still leaves us with one man on them. The captain thought it would be best to keep our group small. Easier to stay hidden that way, and honestly, everyone at the station is stretched a little thin at the moment with all the people we’ve arrested in the past two days.”
“I think it’ll be fine,” I replied. Heck, Holm and I had gone up against groups of men that outnumbered us several times over when it was just the two of us. “We’ve got the element of surprise on our side.”
“That’s true.” Linden nodded before turning to the two other officers. “This is Officer Sanchez, by the way, and his partner, Officer Florence.” He gestured toward the two officers standing side by side against one of the patrol cars before turning to the last man. “And this is my partner, Officer Jansen.”
“Nice to meet you.” Jansen smiled at us as he reached forward to shake Holm’s and my hand. “I’ve had to fly solo for the past few days since you two stole my partner. It’s nice to actually be of help now.”
“We’re glad to have help,” I agreed. “We’re going to need it if we want this to go as smoothly as possible.”
“Right,” Linden replied as he pointed out toward the water. “Ruiz said that they usually pull the boat in here, where that big stack of shipping containers is. They’re not supposed to because this part of the dock is owned and exclusively to be used by a specific company, but they do it anyway. It works out perfectly for us, though, because we can use the shipping containers to hide behind until we’re ready to strike.”
“And when exactly do we strike?” one of the other officers, Sanchez, asked.
“We should wait until they’re all off the boat,” I suggested. “It’ll be easier for us to apprehend them if they’re all within sight. Once we’re sure that they’re all off, we’ll move in, strike all at once, and surround them.”
“How will we know if they’re all off?” Sanchez asked. “How can we be sure one isn’t hanging back?”
“We’ll observe them for a while,” I replied, as I thought through my plan meticulously. “It’s going to take them a minute to get all the cargo off the boat, anyway. We’ll watch them, keep track of who comes off and on. Once we’ve got a good idea of how many men there are, we can time our strike to occur when they’re all off the boat.”
“That sounds good to me,” Linden replied as he turned to look at the other officers. They all nodded in agreement.
“Let’s move then,” I declared.
We moved as a group across the street and down to the edge of the dock, only stopping when we got to the stack of shipping containers that were closest to the water.
“I wonder what’s in these,” Holm mused as he sat down on the ground with his back to the wall of containers.
“Who knows?” I replied as I sat down next to him to wait. Linden was sitting in the shadows, just far enough to the left of the containers to be able to watch the water for any approaching vessels. As soon as he saw something, he’d give us the signal.
“Why are they just sitting here?” Holm continued as he looked up at the towering stack.
I did the same and was struck suddenly by how big they were. A single container was easily twice as tall as I was, and the pile rose up to three containers tall in some spots.
“Maybe they’re empty,” I replied vaguely as I turned to peer around the corner of the stack for myself. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Linden to give us the heads up. I just didn’t like sitting around, waiting for something without actively doing anything. There was nothing but calm ocean, though.
I began to get impatient when, twenty minutes later, there was still no sign of a boat. Ruiz had said that they tended to arrive before dawn, which meant we still had a little bit of time, but I couldn’t help but feel anxious with every minute that slipped by.
Impatience turned into worry when, a full hour after we’d arrived, the sun had started to come up, and there was still no sign of a boat.
“Maybe that little snake lied,” Jansen grumbled with frustration as he stood up and stretched his back. “Led us down here, knowing we wouldn’t find anything. Or just made up a story to try to get a better deal.”
“Maybe,” I replied as I looked out over the water. “I think something’s wrong, though.”
I had pretty good instincts when it came to determining whether someone was dishonest. Trusting your gut and knowing how to spot deception were key components to being a good federal agent. Ruiz hadn’t seemed like he was lying to me. Desperate, yes, but not to the point of making something up just to buy himself time. What good would that do? Sure he would have known that things would only be worse for him once the truth about his fib got out.
No, something else was going on here.
“I see something,” Linden suddenly exclaimed as he pressed himself as flat as he could against the side of the shipping container. Dawn was already beginning to break, and there was enough light now that he hardly had any shade to hide in. He fumbled with something on his belt for a second before lifting a pair of binoculars to his eyes. “It
’s a boat. It’s coming straight this way. It looks like--”
Before he could finish, an ear-splitting bang rang out from behind us. Another, tinnier pop followed the first one quickly as a bullet ricocheted off the metal shipping container just over our heads.
“Crap,” I gritted out as I yanked my gun from my holster and dove to the ground just seconds before a barrage of bullets came soaring overhead.
We’d made a fatal mistake. We’d all been so focused on the water in those final moments, as the sun came up and a boat finally appeared on the horizon, that we’d completely neglected to watch our six.
We were being ambushed.
“Move for cover!” I yelled as I lifted my head as far as I dared. I could see two figures up on the hill ahead of us. They had the advantage of higher ground, and unless we moved quickly, the two of them were going to pick us off one by one.
I jumped to my feet and raced toward the other side of the shipping container, keeping my eyes on Holm and the other officers as I did. Sanchez was the first to make it to the opposite side, followed by Jansen. Florence and Holm had just turned the corner, and I was about to when Linden suddenly cried out from behind me.
I snapped around to see what was wrong and found him doubled over, his left hand clutching his right arm. It was bleeding heavily, the dark blood staining his white police shirt a shocking red. I tackled him to the side just as another hail of bullets rained down on the spot where he’d just been standing. He stumbled and would have fallen over entirely if I hadn’t caught him and physically dragged him back behind the safety of the shipping container.
“Linden!” Jansen yelled as he rushed toward his partner. “Are you okay?”
