Richard Johnson - Deadly Cargo - A Chilling Naval Terrorism Thriller

“Until we find the container, I’m not willing to assume that. I know this guy. He’s a fanatic, and I won’t rest until I know he’s caught or dead.” Josh replied. “In the meantime, is there anything you want me to do other than keep the Coast Guard company.”

“When you have a minute, you might stop by one of those little gift shops and buy a get-well card to send to Susan,” Curt suggested.

“I’ve been sending those every day since I heard the news.”

“Thought you might.”

“What’s the latest?” Josh asked.

“She’s going to keep her eye.”

Josh stroked his forehead. “Ahhh, that’s good,” he exhaled hard.

“They’re releasing her tomorrow morning. Chris Banes is on his way to take up where she left off. Whoever it was that shot Alicia Gomez and wounded Susan is still out there, and we want to find him.”

“You sure it’s a him?”

“Not sure at all. Who would have guessed this Gomez woman would have risen to the level she did? But Susan has some information for Chris that might help track down the shooter, or at least someone close to him.”

Josh nodded silently, unsure what else to say. Then it came. “Tell Chris to take good care of her.”

“He knows,” Curt ended the call.

San Luis Miguel Island

“Ruiz,” Dan spoke quietly through the thin door. “As a show of good faith, I’m going to tell you what’s in the container.”

From outside, the pirate answered in a hushed voice. “How do I know you will tell me the truth?”

“You don’t trust me?”

“Why should I trust you, senor? You are a prisoner, and soon you will be dead.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to be dead. I want to make a deal with you.”

“What kind of deal?”

“You get everything that’s in the container. You don’t have to split it with anybody.”

“What about the boss?”

“If you’ve got the guts to do this, you don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

Ruiz was quiet for a long moment before speaking again. This time, his mouth was very close to the door and he was speaking just above a whisper. “Before I will listen to your plan, I need to know you can be trusted.”

“All right. You know de la Vega was after the combination to the safe on our boat?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’m going to give you the combination. There’s $4,000 still in there. You go open the safe and keep the money for yourself. Then you’ll know you can trust me.”

“I can’t leave here,” Ruiz complained.

“Where the heck are we going to go?” Dan sounded frustrated. “You’ve got us and our kids locked up. Are you going to do this or not? If you don’t have the guts for it, forget it.”

“I got the guts,” Ruiz protested. “What’s the combination?”

“Okay, the safe is under the sink in the galley. Spin the dial twice to the right, then stop on twenty-two. Turn it back to the left all the way around once and then to thirty-two, then back to the right to fourteen. Go check it out. You’ll see that I can be trusted.”

The sound of footsteps walking away brought a sigh of relief to Dan, and he moved to the rear of the hut again. “Nicole, I need your help pushing this old plank out. We’ve got to hurry. He’ll be back in a few minutes.” Together, they shoved against the loose plank until it fell away from the side of the hut. He squirmed out through the opening and raced to the other hut, kneeling in the shadow at the rear corner. “Jacob, Cadee, it’s dad,” he whispered loudly.

“Dad,” both kids said in unison.

“Shhh,” he cautioned them. “You guys shove while I pull on this plank.” In a moment, they had it loose. He reached in and stroked Cadee’s hair, then grabbed Jacob’s hand in a wrist wrestler’s grip. “You two just stay put until I get my plan going. Watch for my signs. Then you know what to do.”

“Got it, dad,” Jacob said, referring to the sign language instructions received earlier.

Dan swung his eyes toward the dock. “I’ve got to get back. Wait for an opening, then do it.” He kept low and sneaked back to his own hut, crawled in through the opening and repositioned the plank. A few minutes later, footsteps sounded from the direction of the dock, and Ruiz took up his position again in front of the hut.

“You told me the truth, senor.”

“Well, that’s just the beginning,” Dan said through the door. “You can have everything that’s in the container for yourself, or you can split it up with your gang anyway you want. You’ll be the boss.”

Ruiz sounded more friendly this time. “What is in the container, senor?”

Dan’s mind flashed back to what he saw painted on the container as they first approached it with their boat. In his mind’s eye, he could read it perfectly, but he wanted to buy some time and give Jacob and Cadee a chance to make their move. Dan whispered through the door. “I’m going to talk quietly. We don’t want the rest of the men to hear what we’re talking about, okay?”

He heard Ruiz squat down next to the door. “Here’s what I want you to do, Ruiz,” Dan whispered. “Walk down to the container and look at the top corner. You’ll see some letters and numbers painted on it. It’s a code that tells what’s inside. And I know what it means.”

“How do you know these things?”

“I used to work in the shipping business. Container codes were part of my job.” He decided to test Ruiz, “Hey, I just gave you the combination to our safe. You trust me, don’t you?”

“Uhmm.” Ruiz sounded as if he were not completely sure.

“Look, what have you got to lose? Just go down there and read the serial number. You’ll be amazed when I tell you what it means.”

“If you know what it means, you tell me what it says. Then I’ll go check.”

“You’re a stubborn man, Ruiz,” Dan argued.

“If I am going to be the boss, I can be stubborn if I want to.”

“You’re right,” Dan agreed. “The boss is always right. Okay, the serial number you will see will say BA11M. Go see for yourself, then I’ll tell you what it means.”

Again, the footsteps faded away into the shadows. Dan thrust his hand out through the opening and caught Jacob’s eye. His fingers worked quickly, and Jacob returned a sign of understanding. In the moonlight, Dan watched as the children crawled out the rear of the hut and scrambled across the clearing and into the shadows of the jungle.

If all went as planned, this would be the first step in their escape. If not, there was no doubt in his mind that it would be the first step toward all of their deaths.

Nicole took Dan’s hand and whispered, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”

Dan breathed deeply. “I am sorry for all of this.”

“The kids…” she began, but at the sound of distant footsteps on the wooden dock he put a finger to her lips.

“You’ve got to get out of here. Jacob knows what to do. They’re waiting for you in the shadows beside the trail to the dock. When Ruiz comes back here, you all sneak aboard the catamaran and hide below. I’ll get there as soon as I can. Now go.”

She squeezed through the small opening at the back of the hut, crouched low as she sprinted across the clearing and disappeared into the shadows.

From way off, Dan heard the rhythmic rush of low waves breaking on the exposed shoreline. A mild breeze blew through the openings in the hut, and Dan felt suddenly more alone than he had ever felt before.

A few moments later, Ruiz rapped on the door and whispered, “There were letters and numbers. It said BA11M, just as you told me. So now you tell me what that means.”