The Inside Passage (Ted Higuera Series Book 1) (23 page)

“Be sure you put
our cell phone numbers in your message,” Chris said. “We want to give them a
way to call us back and get more information.”

“What if we’re
outside cell phone range?” Meagan asked. “For most of our trip, we couldn’t
pick up a signal.”

“We’re staying
right here until we hear back from them.”

As soon as Ted
finished filling out the Web form, they walked back to the harbor master’s
office to secure a slip for the night. They returned to the boat and moved her
over to the newly open slip.

“Look, it’s Jack.”
Meagan pointed at the worn old salmon troller moored at the head of the float.
“That’s the
Nessie
.”

Prince William Bay, William and
Mary Island, Canada

Returning from his
morning inspection of the
Valkyrie,
Kalil heard the hum of an engine. He
looked up and saw an old Bayliner entering the bay. The small cruiser slowed,
the wave of white water at its bow dissipating as it worked its way up the bay.

“Yasim,” Kalil
called. “There’s a boat entering the bay.”

“Keep out of
sight. Watch them and let me know what they are doing.”

As the boat
reached the head of the bay, Kalil watched one man drop the anchor as the other
readied the dinghy.

“They’re coming
ashore.”

“Mohammed, Hani,
grab your rifles.”

****

Josh pulled back
on the throttle lever.
What a waste
. They spent the entire morning at
his secret hole without a single bite. He steered the boat to the head of the
bay and Toby dropped the anchor.

“I wonder what
that box is on the afterdeck of that fishin’ boat.” Josh reached for his life
jacket. “It doesn’t look like any fishin’ equipment I’ve ever seen.”

“Do you think the
boat has anything to do with the scientists?” Toby fumbled with the straps on
his life jacket. “Maybe it’s some sort of scientific thing-a-ma-jig.”

“Don’t know. Let’s
get ashore and see what we can find.”

Toby climbed into
the rear seat of the fiberglass dinghy. Josh took the oars and rowed them
ashore. He saw fresh tire tracks on the small beach.

“Let’s walk up the
road and see what’s goin’ on.”

“Look, there’s a
camp.” Josh said as they neared the top of the hill. He could see the buildings
and tents from the road.

“Let’s drop in for
coffee and say ‘howdy.” Toby picked up his pace.

“Don’t move!” The
voice came from behind him. Josh turned to see a dark-skinned man dressed in
combat fatigues sporting a full beard and an assault rifle.

“Wait a minute.
We’re just explorin’.” Josh held his hands out in front of him in the universal
gesture of peace.

“Put your hands on
top of your heads.” The bearded man waved the tip of his rifle at them.
“Mohammed, check them for weapons.”

Mohammed? Are
these guys A-rabs?
Josh raised his hands in the air. “Take it easy, man.
We’re not hurtin’ nobody. Toby? . . .” He turned to his friend.

Toby didn’t know
what was going on either, but he looked scared.

Another Arab
stepped from behind the trees, rifle in hand. He quickly patted down Josh and
Toby.

“They are both
armed.” He removed the fishing knives from the scabbards on their belts.

“No. You don’t
understand.” Josh felt the sweat pouring down his brow. “We’ve been fishin’.
Those are our scalin’ knives.”

“Quiet!”

“Josh, tell ‘em.”
Toby’s voice cracked. “We just wanted to see what was goin’ on on the island.”

“They’re spies,”
the first Arab said. “The infidels are very clever to send such harmless
looking dolts.”

“We
are
harmless dolts.” Josh’s voice cracked. “Why don’t you just let me and Toby head
back on down to our boat? We can have the anchor up and be out of the bay in
ten minutes.”

“Follow Mohammed
into the camp.” The first Arab shoved Josh in the shoulder with the barrel of
his rifle.

He didn’t wait to
be told a second time.

****

Port McNeil, Canada

Robbie barked as
Ted leapt across the rail onto the
Nessie’s
deck. The old dog rose
slowly from its warm spot in front of the galley stove, stubby tail wagging
wildly, and licked Meagan’s hand. Jack, seated at the mess table, looked up
from his newspaper. 

“Robbie!” Meagan
knelt down to rub his ears.

Ted followed Chris
and Meagan into the cabin.

“Jack, we’re so
glad to see you.” Meagan rose and took a step to the mess table.

 “Well, children,
what brings you to old Jack’s door again?”

“We need help.”
Meagan plopped down besides Jack on the bench and spat out the words like a
machine gun. “We know something sketch’s going to happen and no one’ll listen
to us.”

“And what would
that be, Lassie?”

“Terrorists!”
Chris said “Arab terrorists. They have an anti-ship missile. We think they’re
planning on blowing up a cruise ship.”

Jack paused to
breath. He deliberately poured three cups of coffee, then reached into the
locker behind him and produced his bottle of Scotch.

Meagan started to
talk, then checked herself.

Ted took a deep
breath.
How do you explain what we saw?

Jack poured a
dollop of Scotch into his cup then looked quizzically at his young visitors.
Without a word, he splashed a liberal dose in each of their cups.

“Tell old Jackie
what’s goin’ on.”

Their voices
tumbled over each other as they described their adventures.

“Slow down,
children. One at a time. Ol’ Jack canna understand what yer sayin’.”

To Ted’s chagrin,
Chris laid out their problem.
How could he be so analytical at a time like
this?
Ted was anything but analytical.

“Well, now. That’s
quite a story yer tellin’.” Jack’s brogue was as strong as ever. “And what do
y’ think y’ should do now?”

“We have to make
someone listen to us,” Meagan stomped her foot. “It’s for real. We’ve seen the
missiles. They shot at us. They tried to kill us.”

“P’Jesus!. . .  Well,
I still have a few contacts left. Maybe I can do somethin’ ta help.”

“Contacts?” Chris
raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve been around
a few years, y’ know. I know some people. Let me make some phone calls.
Meanwhile, we need to get yez out of Port McNeil. It’s not safe for yez here.”

“Not safe?” Meagan
asked.

“No. There’s too
many comin’s and goin’s, Lass. People don’t notice strangers. If someone wanted
to silence yez’, they could slip in, do their work and be gone without anyone
noticin’.”

Meagan shot a
worried look at Chris and Ted.

“We need to get
yez to a safe place while I figure out what to do next.” Jack tapped the ashes
out of his pipe into a tuna can on the mess table. “I want yez to sail to Double Bay. It’s at the head of the Johnstone Strait. If yer cruise ship is coming up the
passage, it has to go by there.”

Ted and his
friends started out of the cabin without another word. Jack followed.

“Yez go to Double Bay and wait.” Jack took Meagan’s hand and patted it. “I’ll call y’ there. Yer cell
phones should still have reception.”

****

William and Mary Island, Canada

“Put them in
supply shed.” Yasim ordered. “Tie them up.”

“What are we going
to do with ‘em?” Ahmad hadn’t counted on personal contact with the enemy. “We
can’t keep ‘em here.”

“I do not know
yet, but we are too close to mission to allow to go free.”

Ahmad studied the
two captives, who listened to the conversation dumbfounded.
These idiots
don’t pose any threat to us.

“What about their
boat?” Mohammed asked. “If someone flies over, they’ll see it.”

“We have to get
rid of boat,” Yasim answered. “Mohammed, you and Kalil take out to deep water
and sink.”

“Wait a minute.”
One of the fishermen stepped forward. “You can’t do that. That’s my boat.” He
struggled free from Mohammed’s grip and rushed towards Yasim.

With a quick burst
of speed, Kalil intercepted him and struck him in the stomach with the butt of
his rifle. The intruder staggered, folded over, looked at Kalil with fear in
his eyes. Kalil smashed the rifle into the back of his head.

My God!
Ahmad thought.
This is getting out of hand.

The second
intruder, stunned for an instant, kneeled down besides his friend “Josh?”

“Drag your friend
in there.” Kalil pointed with his rifle. “Dogs,” he spat.

The second
fisherman looked at the shed, then at Kalil. Ahmad saw the fear in his eyes.
Ahmad had never expected to come into close contact with the enemy.

Without a word,
the younger man put his hands under his friend’s arms and dragged him towards
the shed.

“Tie them up. That
will take care for now,” Yasim said. “It time to make our videos. Let us
prepare.”

****

Port McNeil, Canada

A slight breeze
rippled his shaggy hair as Ted and his friends made their way down towards the
marina
.
The morning sun danced on the water.
How could anything be
wrong on a day like this?

 “We could call
the cruise line,” Meagan said as they walked down the dock. “Let them know
about the threat. I’ll bet they’d turn their ship around. If it doesn’t come up
the Straits, the terrorists can’t blow it up.”

“Sweet,” Chris
agreed. “They have a vested interest in listening to us. They don’t want to
lose a ship or all of its passengers.”

They climbed
aboard the
Defiant
and descended into her cabin. Chris put his
Blackberry on speaker phone and dialed 4-1-1. Ted and Meagan sat on either side
of him on the settee. Directory assistance put him in touch with the cruise
line.

“You have reached
the offices of Scandinavian Cruise lines. Your call is important to us. For
schedule information press one . . .”

“God,” Chris said.
“I hate these automated phone systems. There isn’t an option for security.”

“Press zero for an
operator.” Ted reached into the little hammock above his head and grabbed an
apple.

“They don’t give
you that option.”

“Try it anyway,”
Ted mumbled around a mouthful of apple.

“I’m sorry. You
have pressed a number that is not in the system. For schedule information press
one . . .”

“Damn. That didn’t
work.”

“Choose the number
for buying tickets.” Meagan picked Oscar up and rolled him onto his back.
“There’s bound to be a human being there.”

 “You have
selected purchase tickets. Please wait while I transfer your call . . .”

“C’mon. This is
taking forever.”

“Scandinavian
Cruise Lines ticket line.” A perky young voice came on the line. “Let me tell
you about our Summer Fun promotion . . .”

“No. Wait. Listen.
We need to get a hold of your security department. There’s a group of
terrorists that are planning on blowing up one of your ships. Can you give us a
number or transfer us?”

“I see sir.” There
was a slight pause, then Ted heard the rustling of papers. “May I get your name
and location?”

“Chris Hardwick.
I’m calling from Port McNeil, B.C. We need to talk to someone in security.”

“What kind of bomb
are you planning on using, sir?”

It was obvious
that he was reading off of some sort of script. They must have a procedure for
handling bomb threats.

“No, you don’t
understand. This isn’t a bomb threat. There’s this group of Arab terrorists.
They have a missile. Give me the number for your security department.”

“I’m sorry sir. I
don’t have that information. This is the ticket purchase line.”

“Do you have a
phone number for your main office?”

After several
minutes of sparring with the ticket agent, Chris finally scored a phone number.

“You have reached
the offices of Scandinavian Cruise Lines. If you are receiving this message our
offices are closed. Our regular office hours are . . . “

“Shit. They’re
closed.”

“Can’t you leave a
message?” Meagan rubbed Oscar’s tummy.

“Wait, listen to
the options.”

“If you know the
extension of your party, you may enter it at any time. To look up your party in
our company directory, please press one. . . “

“God, this is
painful.”

“. . . or just
remain on the line to leave a message.”

“I’m gonna leave a
message.”

Chris left an
explicit, urgent message. “God damn it. You know they’re never gonna call back.
They’re going to think that this is just another bomb threat.”

“They have to do
something, dude.” Ted rubbed his forehead. “Even if they think it’s a
bomb-threat they can’t ignore it. The liability is too great. If they were
warned and didn’t do anything, then a bomb really exploded, the passengers
would sue them ‘til their balls turned blue.”

“Jesus, Ted. We
can’t just sit around here and wait for them to come back into their office on
Monday. We need to do something now.”

“Chris, I think we
better head up to that bay Jack told us about.” Meagan set Oscar down on the
settee. “It sounded like he had some sort of plan. Let’s go up there and wait
for him to call us.”

 “If we’re gonna
head out, we need to pick up a few supplies.” Ted tossed his apple core in the
trash. “We’re almost out of coffee and we need more ice.”

They left the boat
and headed up the dock towards town.

“Look.” Chris
pointed at a huge white yacht tied to the last float. 

Chapter
48

Port McNeil, Canada

Ted didn’t
remember noticing the
Pegasus
when they arrived.

“He must have come
in last night,” Chris said

“I’m gonna kill
the bastard.” Ted took a step toward the mega-yacht.

“No. We should
just ignore him.” Meagan grabbed Ted’s arm. “Remember what Jack said. We need
to get out of Port McNeil. It’s too easy to hurt us here.”    

Reluctantly, Ted
turned away. They climbed the steep ramp from the float to shore, then trudged
up the hill through the gravel parking lot, past the dockside cafes and machine
shops to the local supermarket.

****

The harbor spread
below them in a stunning vista as they came down the hill. Boats of all sizes
and colors clung to the floats, with yachts to the north and workboats to the
south. Beyond the rock break water, a dozen or so yachts rode at anchor in the
mile-wide sound between Port McNeil and Malcolm Island. A small ferry boat
nudged against the landing on the island across the water.

Gulls wheeled and
spun in the pale blue sky. Sunlight danced on the water. A slight breeze out of
the northwest sent wavelets dashing across the sound. How could anybody be
planning a terror attack on such a perfect day?

Ted looked up the
float and was stunned.

“Ah, my friends.
We meet again.” Yves stood on the dock, dressed in white slacks and a blue
blazer.

“You bastard. .
.”  Ted dropped his canvas shopping bag on the float and shoved Yves in the
chest.

“What is this?
What did I do?” Yves staggered back a couple of steps.

“You tried to kill
us, you son of a bitch.” Ted shoved Yves again.

Yves staggered
back, narrowly avoiding falling into the water. 

“Your God damned
big boat pushed us into the whirlpool.”

“When? Where?”
Yves opened his hands in a gesture of inquiry. “I have not seen you since the
last time I was in Port McNeil.”

“Up by Nelson Inlet.” Chris grabbed Ted’s elbows to restrain him. “You saw us. You blew your horn
at us.”

“My friends, you
have my apologies.” Yves spread his hands wide. “I was not on the boat. I have
been in Vancouver attending to a little business. My captain, he must not have
seen you.”

“He saw us all
right.” Ted pulled against Chris’ iron grip. “He blew his damn horn at us, then
pushed us into a whirlpool.”

“Once again, you
have my apologies.” Yves slowly nodded his head. “I will speak to the man,
discipline him. Let me make it up to you. Please. I was coming to invite you to
be my guests for dinner tonight. Will you come? Say eight o’clock?”

“I’m not eatin’
with you.” Ted yanked away from Chris’ grip.

“No, I think it
would be fun.” Meagan stepped forward. “Eight o’clock.”

Ted stared at her
in disbelief.

“Eight o’clock.”
Meagan repeated.

Chris reluctantly
nodded his head.

“Eight o’clock
then.” Yves smiled and walked back up the float.

****

“What in the Hell
are you doin’?” Ted couldn’t believe what Meagan had just done.

 “Use your head.”
Meagan tapped her forehead with a finger. “He knew exactly what his ship did,
whether he was there or not. Nothing happens in his world that he doesn’t know
about. He’s up to something. Maybe we can find out what.”

“And just how do
you plan to find out, Nancy Drew?” Ted’s face felt like it was on fire.

“By using my
feminine wiles, stupid.” Meagan stepped nonchalantly aboard the
Defiant
.

“Do you really
think he’s involved with the terrorists?” Chris put down his canvas bag and
spun the combination lock on the companionway hatch.

“I wouldn’t put it
past him,” Meagan replied as Chris slid the hatch open. “I saw him sitting with
two Arab men in the McCarthy’s Tavern the day we met him.”

“What was he doing
with a couple of A-rabs?” Ted still frozen on the dock, watched the Frenchman
walk away.

“I don’t know, but
I can’t shake the feeling that something’s not right.”

 “What was he
doing in Nelson Inlet anyway?” Chris asked. “After he tried to talk us out of
going up there? Was he protecting them?”

Ted couldn’t
believe that Meagan and Chris were discussing it so calmly. “I just wanna bust
his head.” He stooped to pick up his canvas bags and turned back to his
friends.

“I don’t think
you’ll have much chance to do that.” Chris descended the companionway ladder.
“He’s gonna to have a professional crew on a yacht that size.”

“You boys better
let little Meaggie handle this one. Brute strength isn’t going to get you
anywhere.”