This was the type of work Sam liked best—the surveillance, the stalking, catching the bad guys when they didn’t know they were being observed. And it was much better to be busy than on the boat with too much time to think. It would be at least four months before he saw Darcy again, and it stretched like an eternity. Did she feel these separations as strongly as he did? They’d never talked about the distant future after this war was over. They talked about the logistics of the here and now. Was she as afraid of trouble disrupting this relationship as he was?
“I’ve got movement on the water, grid 92C,” Wolf whispered.
Sam checked what Wolf saw. The speed of the movement was uncharacteristically fast for a boat sailing safely at night, and the most telling sign of something unusual was the lack of running lights. The boat was clearly visible with the thermal-vision sights, but only darkness was seen through normal binoculars. Sam touched his radio. “Bear, this is promising.” He gave the grid coordinates.
“Possibly a drug runner,” Wolf said.
“Affirmative.” They had seen several during their last several days watching movement around the islands.
As soon as it was clear the boat was angling toward the cargo ship, Bear signaled for them to move in closer to try to identify the boat. As the massive cargo ship slowed and the boat drew alongside, they shadowed the transfer. A night-vision long-lens camera captured the first silhouette of the vessel and the two men aboard. A netlike boom lowered a case over the side. Against the huge cargo ship the smaller boat looked like a dot.
Bear gave word for them to pull back from the area as it became clear the transfer over the side of the huge cargo ship was complete. “We track this boat to where it originated. We want the buyer, not just the couriers.”
The boat put on speed. It came between the two Zodiacs full of SEALs, its wake adding another layer of rocking to their rubber craft, the closeness giving them a bonanza of close-up photos. Water washed over the side of the Zodiac as they cut through the waves, trailing the boat. The distance between them grew with every minute, but the heat signature made the boat easy to track with the thermal scopes.
Land appeared on the horizon as a sliver and then it became bigger, a deeper blackness than the surrounding sky. “Razor Reef Island,” Wolf whispered. Only a number officially named the uninhabited island, but locals called it Razor Reef Island. The coves were unattractive to visiting boats due to the razor sharp volcanic rocks that circled the island, and there were only two short stretches of beach with clear sand attractive to visitors, the rest of the small island was overgrown vegetation or steep drops of rock to the sea.
“Not a place to stay,” Wolf remarked as they took bearing marks for how the boat had approached the island. It had managed to enter one of the coves that turned inland.
“A quiet place to hide something you wanted to stash,” Sam agreed.
“How much did that transfer just cost?”
“I’d think you could start in the millions and you’d probably be close.”
“Watching this stash is going to be an interesting challenge.”
“We won’t be doing it from the water during daylight hours,” Sam said. He changed rolls of film. “Air surveillance, satellites, a spotting team put on the island. It’s more a matter of intelligence now to identify the buyer. As long as we know where the stash is, we can get it whenever they decide the time is right.”
Bear passed word that it was time to fall back to the pickup point. It was a long ride in the Zodiacs, for they wanted a good distance from the island to mute the sound of the helicopter extraction. Sam hoped the information would lead to a decision to send in the SEALs soon. He didn’t want those explosives making it off the island.
JULY 31
Wednesday, 11:20 p.m.
Central Intelligence Agency
“What did Luther just buy that cost ten million? A cargo ship?” Darcy asked. The funds had transferred in a block precisely at 11:15 p.m., to an account that to all appearances looked legit. The cash had transferred to a shipping company with over eighty years of history moving cargo around the world in its huge fleet. A search of the CIA’s files on the company showed it had few safety problems and even fewer criminal problems.
“Even a decommissioned cargo ship would go for more than ten mil just for the resale value of the cut-up metal hull,” Gabriel replied. “My guess is Luther just facilitated his first deal since we shut him down in Morocco. Either arranging a shipment or a quiet passage for someone.”
“Five million is still in the account,” Darcy pointed out. “Luther created this pooled account and used it within hours. Why pool more money than he needed?”
“A second transfer or withdrawal is imminent,” Gabe guessed. “I still want us to travel south, Dar. We know the date the money transferred; we know the shipping company Luther paid. The DEA has good surveillance around this area of the world. Let’s go ask some questions and see what else can be learned.”
Darcy reached for the phone to finalize the travel arrangements. “I’m all for getting back into the field.”
Twenty-Four
* * *
AUGUST 1
Thursday, 10:14 p.m.
Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas
The vacationing CIA agents had taken two rooms on the ninth floor of the hotel directly across from the First Capital Bank, Nassau. Darcy stepped to the camera focused on the front entrance of the bank, pleased to see the surveillance they already had in place. “What time does the bank open in the morning?”
“Nine o’clock.”
She looked at the secure computer feed coming in by satellite. It was linked into the Web site back at Treasury headquarters, letting her see the latest data. “The five million is still sitting there.” She had expected the money to move by now.
“We’ll know the minute a withdrawal occurs. If anyone accesses that account in person, we’ll have photos of everyone entering and leaving the bank. Tracking devices and bugs are ready to go if we need to tag and follow someone so we don’t tip our hand too early.”
She looked over at the equipment and nodded. They could walk across the street and tag a car under the bumper with a transmitter before someone entering the bank could reasonably finish their business and come out again. It would be a bit more challenging to plant a small bug inside a car to pick up conversations or place it in someone’s bag or briefcase, but she had done it before, and these guys were both experienced field agents. They had options. “What if the money is transferred from here electronically?” Darcy glanced back at her partner, not sure what he intended.
Gabe opened a bottle of water. “Then it will be another quick plane trip to chase it. We stay with this money. Whenever Luther accesses it, whatever he tries to buy, wherever he tries to move it, we’re going to know real time. He can’t let it sit there for fear we’ll seize it. You want the late shift or the early one?”
They were taking no chances that an official had been bribed and this transaction like the prior one would be handled after hours. “I’m going to crash now. Come wake me at 5 a.m.”
Gabe handed her a room key. “Sergey often wintered in the British Virgin Islands with his family. It would be worth tracking down that information, see where he stayed and if he ever came through the Bahamas. If we tracked Luther to Nassau, chances are good Sergey has as well. He probably knows this area better than we do. I’ll see what I can find tonight.”
“Good idea, Gabe.”
Darcy took her bag with her and settled into the hotel room, not bothering to unpack beyond what she needed for some sleep. She’d only been able to leave a message on Sam’s machine to let him know she was traveling. She hoped he understood why the message had been so vague. She didn’t want to worry him again.
Jesus, I miss him. I have no idea where Sam is right now, but You do. Please encourage him and give him a reason to smile and laugh, lighten a moment of his day as a gift from me. Please give us a future togethe
r, despite all the logistics involved.
She had to trace this money to Luther, locate his island, and apprehend him. She closed her eyes. It’s time. Help us find Luther and end this.
It was getting easier to trust that this would work out.
AUGUST 1
Friday, 11:10 p.m.
USS HAILEY / Caribbean Sea
Sam brought over the latest weather report as Bear laid out the satellite map of Razor Reef Island on the table in the briefing room. SEAL Team Nine crowded around the table as the meeting began. “Surveillance shows no movement around the island in the last twenty-four hours,” Bear said. “The boat came into this cove, remained for shortly over an hour, and then left the island and went toward St. Croix. From that time track we can infer the cargo was stashed somewhere near the inlet. If we’re asked to go in and recover the shipment, how is the best way to do it?”
“Constraints?” Wolf asked.
“We have to go in, pick it up, and leave undetected.”
“What kind of detection resources do we think the other side has?” Sam asked.
“Assume the worse: Things like a sensitive microphone set up near the shipment that transmits everything it hears to someone on a boat or another nearby island; the ability for them to trigger a blast to take out the shipment if they think someone is trying to take it. Probably decent tracking of boats traveling near the island.”
“A helicopter approaching the island would be heard,” Wolf commented.
“Yes. We have to get in quietly, locate the shipment, get around any monitoring or trip wires, and then haul the shipment out of there either by air or sea without tipping off someone that we’ve snatched it,” Bear replied.
“Even the simple jamming of their signal will indicate we are there. Why not set up on the island and simply wait for someone to come and get it?” Wolf asked.
“My guess is the chain of command will decide to do an intercept at sea after someone recovers the shipment,” Joe agreed. “They’ll want the investigators to have as much time as possible to find out who arranged the shipment, not just who’s hoping to use it. For now their goal is to simply put together options.”
“Getting into that cove unseen is straightforward. We swim in at night and give ourselves the daylight hours to locate the shipment and figure out what type of monitoring we have to defeat,” Sam proposed. “If we need special gear, we bring it in after sundown. Sound monitoring can be defeated if we tape the night, slip a soundproof hood over the microphone and playback the tape, letting them hear only what we want them to hear. Cameras can be defeated with a view screen playing back what we want them to see. We wait until the early hours of the morning when anyone monitoring this site may miss any minor glitches.”
“And if we take the shipment out packed in underwater containers we can tow them out with us so there won’t be a surface vessel to see,” Wolf suggested.
“All good ideas,” Bear replied. “Let’s work up details and figure out how to minimize the risks.”
AUGUST 2
Friday, 9:07 a.m.
Nassau Hotel / Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas
Darcy counted nine customers in line by the bank front doors when it finally opened at 9:07 a.m. She studied faces, not sure who she was looking for but hoping Luther would try to take the money from the account rather than transfer it. The money was still sitting there for a reason. The odds increased with every passing hour that someone was coming for it.
“You’ve had too much coffee,” Gabe remarked.
She stopped drumming her fingers on the table. “Where is he?”
“Patience, Dar. We sit and watch.” He had moved a chair near the window and made himself comfortable for the day of surveillance. Gabriel snapped more pictures.
“Luther, Renee, Vladimir, or Jerry. Would he entrust someone else to act as a middle man when it involved this kind of money?”
“I doubt it. And given five million is more than just expense cash, I suspect he’s got something else to buy.”
“Any more leads on what he bought Wednesday night for ten million?”
“There may be something developing south of here in the British Virgin Islands. A very large shipment of explosives is being tracked. The CIA station chief called this morning and said he’d bring by what he had,” Gabe replied.
“That makes sense. It won’t be the first time we’ve had Luther trying to buy a large quantity of explosives to facilitate a terrorist act.”
“And it means the odds are at least better than even that Luther’s in the area,” Gabe agreed. “We’re going to get another chance to grab him. Now this is a surprise.”
Darcy focused her binoculars on what Gabriel had spotted. “He sent his wife, Renee.”
“So much for her being the little lady he marries, spoils, but keeps in the dark.”
“Where did she come from?” Darcy asked.
“She walked coming from the north.” Gabe queued his radio and alerted one of the CIA officers watching from the street to follow her into the bank. “With whom did she travel?”
Darcy searched every face on the street. She backtracked several times as she came up against several maybes for Luther, but none that held up to a longer scrutiny. “There! Vladimir. He’s at the end of the block sitting in the outdoor cafe. He’s wearing a hat, sunglasses, but you can’t disguise that build.”
She searched the area around him, turned, and searched the other end of the block to see if they had someone watching from both directions. “He looks to be alone. No sign of Luther, no sign of Jerry.” She picked up the backup camera and used the zoom lens to get several photographs of Vladimir.
“There goes four million of the money in the account,” Gabriel said, monitoring the U.S. Treasury real-time Web site.
“Four million is an expensive check to hand a lady who loves to shop. Renee is here. Is Luther also on this island? Did Renee fly in to pick up the money? Did they come in by boat?”
“Great questions. It’s clear she came with Vladimir to provide her security. How do you want to handle tailing the two of them?” Gabe asked.
“I want to tag her with a transmitter. I can get to her as she comes out of the bank and she’ll never think twice about getting bumped.”
“The odds are good she’s seen your picture.”
“I’ll wear that floppy straw hat and I’ll be passing her as she emerges. She’ll never see my face. If we’re going to avoid Vladimir’s attention, we need to be able to tail from a distance, and the only way to do that is with a transmitter,” Darcy said.
“If they split up?”
“Vladimir is your problem. With two agents and yourself, you might be able to keep a general sense of where he’s going—the docks, the airport, staying in the city. I’ll stay with Renee.”
“Get the hat.”
Darcy nodded and rushed back to her room. She had worried if Gabriel would hesitate to let her go back out in the field after having slipped away from the agreed upon plan for meeting with Sergey. She was going to earn his trust back with this one. She came back and took the transmitter Gabe had checked. She left the hotel and walked across the street toward the bank, just one of many tourists using the bank for her currency needs. She reached the glass doors as Renee emerged.
AUGUST 2
Friday, 11:07 a.m.
USS HAILEY/ Caribbean Sea
There was more room to bunk down aboard the USS Hailey than a submarine; the SEALs shared four staterooms. There was still an upper and lower bunk, and having lost the coin toss Sam had settled on the top bunk to get some sleep. Feet against the underside of his bunk pushed his mattress up. “Cougar, you awake?”
“I am now,” Sam assured Wolf, pushing aside the pillow over his face. They were going back on duty at sundown, and he had been looking forward to the rack time to get some sleep.
“Did you see my letter from Jill?”
“You showed everyone the letter from your wife. I saw her ment
ion that Darcy hadn’t returned her message. Dar’s probably in the field somewhere.” Darcy said she had a promising lead she was trailing. Maybe it had panned out.
“Is that good or bad?”
“I know she wasn’t enjoying being stuck in the office.” Sam wasn’t sure what to think about her being back on the front lines. He’d gotten involved with an intelligence officer. He had to trust her job skills just as she had to trust his. But it didn’t make it any less hard not to worry though.
A tap sounded at the cabin door and then it opened. The red light, used in the room letting some men sleep while others moved around in something better than the darkness, gave way to the brighter light from the hall. Bear leaned in.
“Chief, Wolf, DIA needs us in Nassau. Grab your gear; there’s a transport flight we can catch. They may have found the buyer for this shipment.”
“We’re on the way, boss,” Wolf assured.
The door closed.
Sam leaned over to look at the bunk below. “You volunteered us again?”
“It beats staying here doing maintenance checks on diving equipment.”
“I was looking forward to sleeping today,” Sam protested mildly. Several hours on a noisy plane was not what he’d had in mind.
“A minor problem.” Wolf laughed as Sam nearly stepped on him as he came down from the upper bunk.
AUGUST 2
Friday, 3:45 p.m.
Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas
The car they were using to navigate the Nassau streets was more than small; it was tiny. Darcy had to turn sideways to lean across the backseat to see around Gabriel. “Where is she going now?” The transponder Darcy had slipped in the side pocket of Renee’s purse was working beautifully. Since Vladimir was still with her, she and Gabe were only making occasional visual contact as they trailed her around Nassau.