by Matt Lincoln
“Hey, Lin,” I answered, waiting for her to set the tone as I scooped up my full whiskey glass and hobbled over to the sofa.
“Hey, Jake.” Her voice told me she wasn’t slowing down to make small talk. “I know I’m supposed to be ignoring this, but I can’t. The Hernandez got three drug busts during their patrol.”
“Well, that’s great!” I replied as I gingerly lowered myself down onto the sofa and propped my bad leg up. “... isn’t it?”
“They were all the same, Jake,” Linda snapped impatiently. “They all had the same logo. The stupid rabbit with the creepy eyes. Something is not right here, Jake. I need you to at least acknowledge that.”
“You’re right,” I conceded as I adjusted my pillows for maximum comfort. “Something isn’t right. This is way too much activity from a new group. Colombia has been pretty stable for a while as far as drug traffic is concerned. For a new group to step up and start throwing out this much cocaine is a red flag.”
“Yes, I know! It’s--” Linda stuttered. “Wait. I never told you it was coming from Colombia.”
“You got me,” I caved. “I was doing some of my own research.”
“Does that mean you’ll help me?” she squeaked.
I chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I will. But listen! I have some ground rules.”
“Lay ‘em out, Jakey,” she shouted.
I groaned and took a sip before elaborating. “First of all, I’m doing this. Me. Singular. Not you. Not us. Me. I need you to do your job just like you’ve been doing. Protect your career and trust that I’m handling it.”
“But--”
“No. No arguing. That’s how I feel.” I could at least put my foot down about this much. “You can’t risk your career for this. This won’t be the last cartel, and this won’t be the last time you get big ideas and enlist my help. If this goes well, maybe you and I can keep doing things like this. Maybe.” I took another large sip of whiskey and let the burn coat my throat.
“Alright,” Linda said hesitantly. “But I can still help from within the scope of my job. You can give me pointers to where the drugs are moving, and I can send my boat to intercept. It can make me look awesome with my command, and we can stem the flow of drugs while you’re killing it at the root.”
“That actually sounds like a solid plan,” I agreed. “We need to be careful, though. If you’re exposed, it could affect both your career and mine. Then this will be the first and last time we would be able to do this.”
“You’re right,” she said quietly. It was the most hesitancy I had heard from her since she’d first brought it up.
“Listen,” I said suddenly, “if this gets too real for you, you need to let me know. This might get nasty, and I don’t want to set you up for failure or put you in danger.”
“Okay,” she replied simply.
“I’m serious,” I insisted. “You have to tell me. Don’t hesitate.”
“Okay, okay,” she said more confidently. “I promise. I’ll let you know.”
“Alright, then.” I downed the rest of the brown liquid and placed my now-empty whiskey glass gingerly on the table next to the sofa. “What are you doing next weekend?”
“Nothing?” she asked, confusion apparent in her voice. “Why do you ask?”
“Come down to my side of the island.” I looked over at Rosa, who was giving me dirty looks. “I’ll give you the grand tour.”
“Perfect!” I could hear the sudden perkiness in her voice. “I can’t wait!”
“See ya, Lin,” I smirked.
“See ya, Jakey!” I heard her squeak before she disconnected.
Rosa was signing rapidly at me as I put my phone down.
“Well, I can’t just sit here for weeks on end!” I yelled a bit too harshly. “I might just lose my mind.”
There was more furious signing coming from her side of the room. I took a deep, calming breath.
“It’s in a week,” I replied much more calmly. “After an entire week of healing and pain meds, I’ll be alright to make a trip down to see a friend. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Rosa rolled her eyes. Usually, when I asked that question, it came back to bite me. The agreement I had made with Linda might, in fact, still come back to bite me, but this upcoming weekend trip was something I suddenly could not wait for.
13
Linda
As we pulled up to the pier at the end of our patrol, I admired the view of San Juan from the bridge. Seeing the forts with the Garitas jutting out over the gorgeous blue water, I felt at peace and at home. I was thrilled to have three weeks at home to really dive into all that this beautiful island had to offer. As I grabbed my canvas bag and headed up the ladderwell to go home, I ran into Slade.
“Hey!” she exclaimed as she stepped aside to let me up. “I’m glad I caught you before we left. I’m having a get together at my place tonight. I finally got the outside set up with the television and my new grill. Everyone is coming, including Driscoll and Sanchez. I’m still working on CO.” She grinned conspiratorially. If she hadn’t been able to talk him into going, I didn’t think I’d do much better.
“That sounds great!” I was happy to have plans for the evening. “What time, and what should I bring?”
“Bring whatever you’re drinking,” she urged. “And I told everyone to come by at some point around seven.”
“Perfect! Text me your address. I’ll be there.” I returned the smile and headed off the boat. While I was excited to go out tonight, I needed to go home and do a hard reset. A long shower, a good deep conditioning for my unruly hair, and a change of clothes would wash the lingering scent of the cutter off of me, and I could feel like myself again.
Driving the Jeep home over the cobblestone streets of San Juan, I thought back to my conversation with Jake. We had some serious things to discuss, but nevertheless, I could not wait to see him. It had been way too long since we had gotten together, and we always had a great time together. On top of that, I’d be experiencing a completely different part of the island, so I got to kill two birds with one stone.
I parked in my assigned spot in the garage beneath the apartment building and glanced over at my Harley. It was a blacked-out Low Rider, and I had poured a lot of love and money into her over the years. If I was going to go out tonight, I wanted to take her with me.
I did exactly what I had planned to do when I walked through my front door. I dropped my bag onto the floor in the entryway and turned on the news as I walked through the living room into my bedroom. I went into my closet to grab my favorite jeans, black tank top, and my flannel. The jeans had been with me forever, and they were worn-in perfectly. They also hung just right on my hips and would make for a very comfortable bike ride. I threw the flannel on the bed for easy access later on my way out the door. I only wanted to wear it for the bike ride, anyway.
My shower was incredible, and I felt like a million bucks by the time I was dressed and ready to go. It was only four in the afternoon, so I made myself some pasta and curled up on the couch to catch up on the news. It was always interesting being gone for a few weeks and then coming back to find out what had happened while we’d been gone. This patrol hadn’t been too bad this time, what with being able to come home during each port call, but with my last unit, we would be gone for a month or two, and it was wild watching the news after that long and realizing how much we’d missed while we were underway.
When six o’clock rolled around, I laced up my motorcycle boots, tossed my wallet and my phone in my pockets, and threw on my flannel. I grabbed my helmet, gloves, and keys on the way out the door and headed down to the garage. As I started my bike up, I listened to the distinctive sounds of the engine as it roared to life. I chuckled to myself as the sounds echoed through the garage. Once my gloves and helmet were on, I hopped on the bike, shifted it into first gear, and slowly eased my way out of the garage.
The tropical breeze ripped through my hair as I took off in the direction of the hig
hway. At this time, traffic would be starting to die down, so my biggest concern would be trying to avoid the potholes. I worked my way out of my neighborhood and merged onto the highway, shifting through the gears quickly and efficiently.
I wasn’t one to avoid riding in winter, but being down here in perpetual riding season was amazing. I vowed to ride as often as I could while I was down here. Leaning into the turns and weaving easily through traffic, I made it to Slade’s house in record time.
Slade lived in military housing, and her text had informed me that I would need to have my ID ready. Sure enough, a gate guard came up to greet me, and after checking my credentials, waved me through. I quickly navigated to her unit, slowing my bike to a stop out front.
Slade’s unit had a carport out front at the top of her driveway, and she had lights strung up under the roof and music blaring from a speaker in the corner. There was a crowd hovering in and around the driveway, some playing darts against the side wall, others sitting around the patio set having a round of drinks. I removed my helmet and gloves as I walked up the driveway.
“Hey, it’s XO!” Murphy slurred from his seat around the table.
“Please!” I begged him. “We’re off-duty. Call me Linda.”
“Linda!” he corrected. “Want a drink?”
“I can’t drink tonight, I’m on my bike,” I informed him. “I’ll take a water, though!”
“Come on in.” Slade had just stepped outside. “I’ll hook you up.”
“Thanks!” I followed her through the front door, and she pulled a bottle of water out of her fridge and tossed it to me. I took a look around her place. The kitchen was just off the front entryway to the left, and to the right, I noticed a guest bathroom. Straight ahead was an impressively-sized living room.
“How is it here?” I said, looking around.
“It’s nice!” she replied enthusiastically as she grabbed a beer for herself. “There isn’t a lot of storage space, you know, closets and whatnot. It made unpacking go a bit slower, but it worked out. I purged a lot of stuff. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”
I chuckled. Moving around as often as we did, it was often tough to find a way to make our belongings fit well in the different spaces we had to call home. On the plus side, I was always going through everything I owned and getting rid of things that I no longer needed. It prevented the clutter from building up and made packing to move a lot easier at the end.
“It looks spacious,” I replied as I opened the bottle and took a sip. “I like it.”
Slade shrugged. “The nice part is that a lot of us are here. So there’s usually someone having a party or something every weekend. There’s always something to do.” She waved her arm, gesturing for me to follow her back outside. When I got there, BMC Sanchez had arrived with a few people that I didn’t recognize.
“Hey, Sanchez!” I shouted as I walked underneath the carport.
“Hey!” he replied cheerfully. “Glad to see you here! These are my friends from back home, Josh, Chris, Dan, and Dan’s girlfriend, Amy.”
All four of them waved and grinned in my direction.
“Alright!” Rogers’ crop of red hair popped up as he pushed himself out of his seat. “I think we need to play a round of beer pong. Who’s in?”
Chris shot his hand up. “I’m in!”
“Same here,” I chimed in.
Sanchez nodded toward Rogers. “I’m in with Rogers.”
“Alright, so Linda, you’re with Chris.” Rogers looked at me and jutted his chin in Chris’s direction before diving into the beer cooler to pull out a few bottles. Slade pulled out her folding table, and in a seamless dance, everyone helped set the table up. In no time, the red cups were set up on each side of the table, and they were being filled with beers.
I walked over to the far side and found Chris. He was a bit over six feet tall, with a sloppy mop of silky black hair that jutted up at odd angles as if he’d been running his fingers through it all night. He had light blue eyes that reminded me of the Caribbean waters that I had been becoming increasingly familiar with, and a tank top that exposed his well-defined shoulders and arms. His jeans hugged his hips nicely, and I couldn’t help appreciating the view.
“Hey, I’m Linda,” I introduced as casually as I could. “I’m not drinking, since I rode my bike here, so you’ll have to pull the weight there.”
“Chris,” he replied by way of introduction. “And no problem, I can definitely handle it. That’s your bike up front?”
“Yeah,” I replied with a mischievous grin. “I got her in college. She was my first car.”
Chris snickered. “Yeah, same here,” he replied. “Mine’s a Fat Boy. This seems like the perfect place to ride, too.”
“Yeah, except for the potholes,” I retorted. “But otherwise, it’s pretty great.”
“Alright, guys, you ready?” Rogers had a couple of ping pong balls in his hand and a playful grin on his face.
Chris and I exchanged a conspiratorial look before turning to nod at Rogers. Before long, the four of us were engaged in an intense game of beer pong. It was very active, as the ping pong balls bounced haphazardly over the uneven concrete of the driveway. I dove in awkward directions multiple times, and Chris and I kept tripping over each other, trying to make big saves and protect our cups. The game was close the entire time, but in the end, Rogers and Sanchez claimed the win.
“Yeah!” Sanchez cheered. “Score one for the little guy!”
We all laughed together at that, and Rogers and Sanchez toasted to their victory.
“So, who wants to be our next challengers?” Rogers boasted, strutting around with his chest puffed out dramatically. Sanchez followed suit, and they waltzed around the patio set, trying to tempt the crowd to step up and play.
“Alright, big shots,” Slade announced. “I’ll put you both in your place.”
“I’ll help.” Amy looked over at her boyfriend and grinned widely, before hopping out of her seat and joining Slade at our end of the table.
Chris bowed out of the way, and he and I walked back over to the abandoned dartboard as Rogers and Sanchez took on their new challengers.
“Darts?” he asked me as he pulled the darts out of the dartboard and separated the two colors.
“I am pretty much the worst at darts,” I giggled.
He handed me the red set and rolled the black set between his palms. “Let me grab a beer, and we’ll do this together.”
I stood there hesitantly as he dug through the cooler and pulled a bottle out by the neck. He twisted the top off and came back to me, a determined look on his face.
“You ready?” he pressed.
“No,” I shrugged. “But let’s do it anyway.”
“Okay, first things first.” Chris moved over to the line in the concrete that signified where we were supposed to stand. He tucked two darts between the fingers of the hand that was holding his beer and aimed at the board. I continued to stand there awkwardly, unsure of what I had just gotten myself into.
Chris threw the dart, and it landed firmly in the wall next to the board. I looked at him with one eyebrow raised.
He shrugged. “I never said I was good,” he said with a smirk. He winked at me and turned back to the dartboard, lobbing two more darts at the board. Only one actually hit its target.
“Oh, man,” I jested. “I needn’t have worried.” I laughed heartily as I strolled up to the line. Chris stepped back to give me space, and I adjusted my stance and readied my first dart.
It hit the board, which was a great start, but the next two just barely missed. I turned to see him grinning at me.
“Looks like we’re evenly matched,” he joked.
We went back and forth for a while, laughing and enjoying the breeze that flowed through the carport. When his beer was empty, he went back over to the beer cooler, and I took a look around.
“Hey, Linda!” Murphy shouted from the patio table. “Come join us!” He waved me over and pulled
out the vacant chair beside him. I glanced over at Chris, who gestured toward the table in agreement, and we headed over to the table together.
“So, we were talking about the drug busts this past patrol,” Murphy informed me, “and Slade was giving us some more information.”
“Yeah,” Slade continued, “It seems like the Hernandez got three back-to-back, all with the same stamp. It sounds like they’re amping up production. We are going to be plenty busy this next patrol, I think.”
“Hell, yes, I’m ready for it,” Rogers declared with a punch in the air.
“Same here, let’s do this!” Murphy agreed.
“Cheers to that.” Slade lifted her drink in the air, and they toasted with enthusiasm.
I hesitated. This was the opposite of how I felt. Don’t get me wrong, tearing through the water with my team to intercept a go-fast was fun as hell, but now that I was concerned with the big picture, I couldn’t get as excited as the rest of my team.
“It doesn’t bother you that all of this activity is coming from one place?” I asked. “I know we can’t possibly be catching it all. Do you ever wonder if we’re making that much of a difference?”
I got a table full of shrugs as a response.
“We are stopping that one shipment, so that’s something,” Rogers said.
“Yeah, plus that’s what we get paid to do,” Slade added nonchalantly. “It is what it is, we’re doing our job.”
“The fact that we get paid to go out and do awesome things like this is fine by me,” Murphy chimed in.
“Yeah, exactly!” Slade agreed, and they clinked bottles again.
I shrugged nonchalantly and joined in the toast, but I already knew I wanted more than that. The rest of the evening was spent making small talk and enjoying the breeze. When my water bottle was empty, I stood up and adjusted my shirt.
“Thanks for having me, guys,” I grinned. “I’m going to head out.”
“Alright, ride safe!” Slade called out, and a chorus of agreements rose up from the rest of the table. Chris caught my eye as I walked around the table.
