David Leadbeater: Caribbean Gold

“Sure. Where do you want the bullet?”

“Is Henry Morgan’s treasure worth such violence?”

Alicia considered Jensen’s actions of the night. He seemed to think so. A palpable air of tension hung over the scene, making the mercenaries itchy and sweat bleed into their eyes. It seemed there were only three people unaffected by it all: Alicia, Jensen and Crouch.

“The promise of wealth is such a great divider,” Crouch said then, “and brings out the true colors of men and women, both the bright and the dark. How much wealth do you think you can amass before you are satisfied?”

Jensen lowered his glass. “Truly? Does there have to be a limit?”

His men guffawed. Alicia took a deep breath and steadied her aim. The knife edge tension deepened.

“Did you know that in England, Henry Morgan was known as one of the country’s greatest naval tacticians? Whilst on the Spanish Main he was known as a bloodthirsty pillager and liar. How differently history and distance can judge a man. How influential the scribes and papers can be, retelling only what they need for sensationalism. For sales.” Jensen shrugged. “It’s all relative to an agenda.”

“Are you saying that you’re misunderstood?” Alicia asked.

“Just tell me what you know. Then we can get on.”

The night went silent; all breath was held. Jensen made no move but Alicia sensed the end was but a word away. She sent out a wish and then that wish was answered.

A bright red dot appeared on Jensen’s vest, just above his heart.

The military man saw it instantly, eyes narrowing. He appeared to evaluate them once more. “How odd,” he said. “I saw the appearance of a woman but missed the vanishing of a man.”

“Rum will do that to you,” Alicia said.

Jensen laughed shortly. “Not to me. I wrongly assumed he was behind a different container.”

“So hand over Crouch. And we go away to fight another day. Or…”

She shrugged, indicating the top of the containers where Russo lay cradling the rifle. Jensen didn’t hesitate, but turned to the leader of the Gold Team and bowed ever so slightly.

“Well done, Michael. This time. There will soon be another.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Crouch stepped warily past Jensen and headed for Alicia. The blonde sidestepped carefully as he came to make sure she never dropped her rifle, nor lost her aim. Jensen made a show of clicking fingers at his men.

“Back off now,” he said aloud.

Alicia followed suit slowly, with Healey and Caitlyn keeping their own sights up and Crouch leading the way. Carefully, they inched toward the deeper darkness.

“You have a car or something?” Healey whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

“Nope. Choppered in.”

“Even better,” Crouch said. “A safe, fast ride.”

“Not really,” Alicia said. “I sent the pilot back to Kingston.”

“Bollocks.”

“There’s always the cruise ship,” Caitlyn offered.

“Not if we want to stop this Jensen guy. That thing won’t dock for a week.”

“Hey, this is Montego Bay,” Crouch said quietly. “There will be someone willing to drop everything and take us to Kingston. All we need is a wad of dollars. Leno, are you all right?”

Their contact, the diver that had stolen the maps, nodded bleakly. “For now.”

“I’d take a long break, mate,” Healey said. “Maybe head over to the US.”

“Did you keep the maps?” Caitlyn asked Crouch as they continued to melt away, moving faster the further they went and presently joined by a panting Russo.

“Not a chance,” Crouch said. “Jensen never let them out of his sight.”

“What about—” Caitlyn tapped the side of her head.

“I saw all of them, remember most of them. But I need to get it all down on paper before it begins to fade.”

Alicia didn’t doubt that Crouch could remember much of what he’d seen. The man was one of the best trained military men on the planet, with one of the best Special Forces teams, and had been working at the highest level for most of his life. She’d trust his memory above almost all others.

At least, she’d always thought so until last week. Now wasn’t the time but she would have to challenge Crouch over Beau’s comments. And if the traitor was trying to cast a cloud over Crouch then the man needed to know. No telling how deep it went.

“I know a guy in Kingston,” Crouch said unsurprisingly. “Maybe he can suggest someone in Montego Bay.”

“Make it quick.” Alicia eyed the shadows that crawled between containers. As the team walked further toward the light, the blackness at their backs became only more ominous. “My guess is Jensen’s already pouring over those maps.”

“So what’s the plan?” Healey asked Crouch, already over his close ordeal.

“The plan?” Crouch smiled. “The plan never changes, my young friend. The plan will always be to locate the treasure before the other guy. So let’s get started.”

Crouch strode off in search of the nearest phone.

The journey back to Kingston was fast and silent, the team gathering themselves and getting over the peril they had just encountered. Alicia could have happily ribbed them all about it, but was conscious of the youth around her. Healey was a good soldier, getting better with experience, and Caitlyn was basically a researcher with skills, whom nobody had the time to properly train. Alicia herself was trying to change for the better, and that included causing less antagonism within the unit. Sometimes she struggled, but oft times she succeeded. Every victory felt that little bit better.

Kingston was a fast boat ride away, the motion and slam of the boat’s hull guaranteed to send more than one of them green. Alicia had never been a great seafarer and clung on tightly until the ride was over. The team thanked their driver, paid the man his cash, and made their way back to the hotel.

Alicia sighed upon seeing it for the second time in less than twenty four hours. “God help them if they don’t have any rooms.”

“Well, you ain’t bunking with me,” Russo grumbled.

“Aw, Rob. You scared I’ll steal all the bed covers, baby?”

“I’m scared you’ll steal my soul .”

“Ah, you missed your chance there. I snagged a guy already.”

“Poor bastard.”

Alicia inclined her head as they approached the hotel’s front steps. “Now you know you don’t mean that. I’m sure all the others don’t too.”

Russo shrugged as if not quite in agreement, but Alicia was already pushing ahead into the gleaming lobby. Lights shone from all directions and it occurred to her then that she should probably have gotten a wash before trying to rent a room.

“Let’s all head up to mine,” Crouch said. “We should be able to book another by phone.”

The elevator hummed its way up and still the team stayed quiet. Caitlyn was obviously itching to start the research, but Crouch and Alicia were just as eager to get back out into the field. Every lost minute put Jensen further ahead.

Crouch opened the door to his room and found bottles of water. Caitlyn managed a quick wash before heading over to the laptop. Healey studied his marked neck in the floor length mirror.

“Shit.”

Alicia wandered up to him. “You’re kidding, right? Looks more like a shaving cut.”

“Har har.”

“Oh, I see. No facial hair yet?”

“Alicia…”

She moved off after the warning, cooling her heels until Crouch finished writing down all he remembered of the maps, and Caitlyn found something useful on her computer. She found it hard to stop pacing, impossible to stop and sit. The training in her demanded action, not idleness, and the recent combat only raised her adrenalin.