Hard Case VII - Red Waves (John Harding Series Book 7) (20 page)

“Hit the nest? What… never mind. I don’t want to know,” Janie replied. “What if Sam and I looked after your holding area for you?”

Sam brightened. That idea would get them a gang of terrorists we could help fortify their FBI positions with. Sam was instantly on board. “We could do it! Handing those scumbags in to the Bureau alive, even if they are to be shipped back overseas would be a real win for us.”

“You do understand watching that many prisoners is dangerous,” I reminded them. “We have three cartel enforcers who guard our holding cells. They kill without hesitation, zap the prisoners for entertainment, and would gas them in a heartbeat. I don’t want the Albanians getting out and killing you two after some small error in judgement on your part. Our guys don’t listen to pleas, crying, sobbing or complaints. They feed them, and supply personal hygiene articles. Each cell has a toilet and wash basin. That’s all they get… ever. When we’re not around they’re not allowed out of their cells. They either keep their cells clean and neat or they don’t get fed. This isn’t Gitmo where they treat the shitheads like kings with everything but on demand blow jobs. One more thing if you decide to take the assignment – if someone needs medical attention, too damn bad. We have pain killer pills. That’s all they get. Still want to do it?”

Sam and Janie exchanged questioning looks and nods.

“We’ll do it,” Janie said. “We’ll do it by the book too. That’s a long time to not get out of a cell. Can they throw stuff at us?”

“No,” Denny answered. “We have Plexiglass shields covering every cell. Another thing is the water cycles on for ten minutes each hour. They can’t flood anything because the drains are on the outside of the cells. My point is if you see them do anything hinky, we’ll show you the switches to shut everything down including their lighting. Do not go down there if something doesn’t seem right. Back away and let ‘em rot. Jafar will show you how to access our iPad network channel so you can check the cells remotely. I’m afraid I’d have to agree with John and Lynn if this isn’t agreeable. We have too much at stake to worry about Albanian gangster sensibilities.”

“We’re good to go,” Sam said. “It won’t be for long and this will be big for us. Did you find out the moles’ names on board the Starlight?”

“No,” Lynn answered. “The two guys at the Port of Chabahar know, but we won’t be getting to Ali Khan and Joram Mannan until after we intercept the pirates.”

“The crew boards thirty days before passengers for intense training. Once we’ve established the positions and duties for each crewmember on the list in the coming days, I’ll find out our candidates,” Clint said.

“Aren’t there over two thousand crew members aboard the ship,” Janie asked.

“Like when we hunted serial killers together, Janie, don’t get caught peeping into trivia. I’ll find the discrepancies. By the time we get on board I’ll have it narrowed down. It’s true any of them could be bought but there’s a definite reluctance to work with known killers no matter what the score is. Red Dragon security is working the cruise, unknown to the pirates. They’ll have the crew duties list to me in days. An average of ten percent are handpicked from other cruise liners. They have an average of four years experience aboard other ships. A number of them will be women – very unlikely candidates for the Sharia Law boys. They’re using their women slaves more often as their idiocy becomes apparent, but hard for them to recruit. There will be at least forty new positions on the Starlight. Many of those are entertainment slots.”

“Then you’ll be data mining the roster for important stations in communications, engineering and possibly the bridge?”

Clint smiled, pointing at Sam. “Now you’re thinkin’. I won’t rule out the boatswain or bosun’s mates for sure. They’re the highest ranking rating of non-officers on the ship, in charge of just about everything. Another factor is pay and work hours. The pay is minimal, the hours up to a hundred a week, and usually ten months with no vacation or days off. They are susceptible to being bought. Chuck and Sal at Red Dragon will be doing the heavy duty data mining with an app I created for narrowing the field. By the time I get the list, I’m betting it will be a short one.”

“Are you certain the pirates even need moles on board?”

“Think about it, Janie. They will need complete control over the passengers and crew totaling in the eighty-five hundred person range. They will have to recruit people willing, able, and trained to handle weapons.”

“What about the weapons, Clint,” Lucas asked. “My guys Chuck and Sal ain’t letting anyone aboard with weapons.”

“Remember though the crew has already been on board for two weeks with still two more to go. They’re stocking the ship with everything imaginable. I know how thorough Chuck and Sal are but they won’t and can’t be in position all over the ship during this stocking and readiness phase. Think in terms of even one case of mini-Uzis or Heckler and Koch MP7A1’s. We have to intercept these moles before they get the word and reach the weapons.”

“How many do you figure,” Sam asked.

“I’m thinking twenty to thirty in order to safely hold the ship after takeover during pirate boarding,” Clint answered.

That number shocked Janie but I thought it was a little low. “Jesus… how the hell can you stop that many?”

Clint glowered at her comically. “Did you just insult us?”

That lightened a rather serious moment when all of us contemplated the difficulties in dealing with so many on a luxury cruise liner with over eight thousand non-combatants.

“All the more reason though for me to own the Ship’s Captain,” Lynn said. “I’m hoping he’s a good guy we can trust to do what we say when the time comes. Otherwise, I’ll have to get mean and nasty. We don’t want to fight the entire amateur crew called out on an emergency drill they practice by a clueless Captain. He has to be in the know and willing to do anything to keep his ship safe.”

An undercurrent of complete agreement at Lynn’s words ended the meeting. I stood. “It’s time for the venerable Cheeseburger to go forth with my partner Tommy to see what juicy bond skip lawyer Harvey Cantor couldn’t recite on the phone. It may actually keep Crue from being bored for a couple hours if we take it.”

“Any chance of a quick score for your FBI partners by chance,” Sam asked.

“We’ll keep that thought in the mix,” Tommy said. “How minor a case would you be interested in? It would have to be an across state lines drug dealer, a kidnapper, or a killer, right?”

“Any of those would be sweet, but at this point, Sam and I would take even a stolen vehicle across state lines arrest,” Janie replied.

“I’ll call you if we can arrange it,” I promised.

Tommy jerked a thumb at Crue while standing to join me. “If we have to take psycho along there’s no telling what will be left of the bond skip afterwards. It’s a gamble.”

“Oh… aren’t you just the funniest comedy act ever, Snow White Sands,” Lynn retorted as muffled amusement threaded through the crew. Why don’t you stick with lining the jobs up so you don’t get your panties dirty? Cheese and I can get it done quickly if we don’t have to nursemaid you through the gig.”

Tommy smilingly absorbed that scathing response as we walked out with waves to our meeting cohorts. “We’ll be back in time for our date with Francois.”

* * *

Tommy suggested the Buttercup Pantry near Jack London Square Amtrak Station. It’s a plain, neat little place with good food and one of our favorite waitresses. Lawyer Cantor liked Tommy’s choice. He made an unusual comment Tommy explored with me in the car on the way over to meet him.

“Cantor mentioned he liked the Pantry idea. He said ‘out of the way but public’. I wonder what the hell that meant.”

“I like the way you notice nuances in clients’ speech patterns, T – very observant of you.”

“I get goosebumps when you use a word like nuances in a sentence.”

“Have you ever dealt with Cantor’s law firm or even heard of him?”

“He has a law office on Franklin. He didn’t state why he would want to meet him at the Pantry instead of his law office. I suggested meeting at our office with Lora there, but he insisted on something less formal, so I mentioned the Pantry. Jess, Dev, and I heard from Casey you ripped a guy’s heart out in holding. I’ve seen you practice that spear-hand under the ribcage strike. I guess the dummy had it coming but I’m surprised you nuked him like that. Is there anything going on in your cement head I should know about?”

Tommy’s a brother. I think of him, Jess, Dev, and Jafar as my ‘Snow White’ family. They’re all killers, but poking around in my head is not a viable pursuit for a ‘Snow White’. Tommy’s question did offer an opportunity for me to delve deeper into his volunteering for the Starlight gig. “I’m surprised Casey told you about that. You’ve seen action no one sees and you wisely choose your interactions with my more deadly crew carefully. When we hit the pirates and Port Chabahar you’ll see more bloody action than in your wildest nightmares. I know you watched our video hit on the Isis compound. Living something very much like it will be quite a bit different. We’re not the conventional military. We will kill without mercy. It may be Casey told you guys about it because he doesn’t want any of you on this trip with a false rules of engagement mentality.”

Tommy considered my input quietly while parking the car in the Amtrak parking garage across from the train station. “Now that I think about it, Casey did describe the guy’s wipeout with grinning enjoyment of our reactions. We thought he was joking until Achmed showed us the video. It was an eye-opener this morning before you came in. Casey’s purpose may have been exactly what you suspect. I know you didn’t do it as a video lesson for us. Is this your way of avoiding my question without simply telling me to fuck off?”

Tommy gets it. “Pretty much. I don’t want you worrying about my head. I want you to understand what you’ll be getting into overseas. Once we’re there, it’s kill or be killed, and brother, we’re not going over there to win ‘hearts and minds’. We don’t have anything to do with our government’s silly campaign of propaganda painting murals with ‘Peaceful Islam’. We deal with the reality of murderous Islam. If you have any conception these assholes we’re going after just need a hug and a few more jobs over there, you probably should rethink coming along.”

He turned off the engine in our parking spot. “I understand, John. I’ll talk to Jess and Dev. We’ll have specific things to do over there supporting the Monster Squad. We’re there to save thousands of lives. I know which ones deserve saving and which need to get their heads blown off. Did you think Casey believes we might interfere?”

“Probably a little.”

“One interrogation boat ride with Cruella Deville should have already set his mind at ease don’t you think?”

“That would have been my take on the matter. Casey has an edge like the rest of us do. Let’s think of his relating the event as a continued reminder we’re not the regular federal authorities.”

Tommy chuckled. “No doubt about that, you murderous bastard.”

“Hey… how many times do I have to tell you I knew my Dad? It’s my Mom I’m not sure about. I’m a momstard.”

We quietly enjoyed the short walk to the Pantry with the cool ocean breeze mellowing the August afternoon heat. When we entered the Pantry, we were attacked by Debbie, our favorite waitress besides Marla at The Warehouse. Debbie, a full figured, middle aged woman with skin as dark as Tommy’s, hugged us both while reprimanding us.”

She pushed away finally after the initial greetings. “You two exiles stopped in regularly. Got too big for your britches and bypassed the Pantry, huh? What brings such high and mighty celebrities to my humble café this afternoon? You in particular should be ashamed of yourself, T. I know white-bread here is a big time UFC fighter. What the hell’s your excuse for ducking me?”

“Business, Mrs. We didn’t mean to slight you, Deb,” Tommy replied. “Our clientele no longer wants to meet in a nice café for a great breakfast or brunch. All we get now are street thugs. This was the first time in a while we have a client without an aversion to daylight.”

“Good enough,” Debbie allowed, crossing arms over chest. “What about you, meat?”

“I thought I was white-bread.”

Debbie laughed, grabbed my arm, and guided me toward a table on the right side where we usually sat. “Rye toast and coffee for you, Cornpone. Eggs, bacon, hash-browns, and a couple of Tums for the Cholesterol King. What do you want to drink, Tommy?”

“I’ll have coffee too and a few less insults.”

“Oh honey, those are free. I’ll steer your guest over when he gets here. What’s his name?”

“Harvey Cantor. Thanks Deb.” I grinned at Tommy. “Have we been away from here that long? Deb hasn’t forgotten our orders.”

“Or the insults, Cornpone. It’s been at least a year I think. We’re close to where the docks are. We should stop in here after training. If Deb needs customers we’ll bring Jess and Dev with us. They’ll have to send out for emergency supplies when Jess sits down.”

I spotted Harvey at the same time Deb did. She greeted him like an old friend. Cantor appeared a little under six feet tall, carrying about thirty pounds too much. I guessed his age in the middle fifties with thinning gray hair and a glum look. He looked over at us appraisingly as Debbie pointed us out. Harvey thanked her and if my lip reading ability was accurate ordered ‘just coffee for me’. Tommy and I stood to greet him and shake hands. He sat down, and Deb brought us all coffee.