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Chapter 1 :: Chapter 2 :: Chapter 3 :: Chapter 4 :: Chapter 5 :: Chapter 6 :: Chapter 7
Carlos and Manuel were chatting back and forth in Spanish, occasionally breaking into English. Sonny caught a word here and there, but most of the conversation was beyond his understanding. He did catch enough though, to figure out that the DEA was on the look-out for the men and their boat. Somehow, the federal agency had found out about the smuggling trip and managed to get a description of the boat, and somehow these guys had found out that the DEA knew all about them. He could figure out the rest for himself. To sneak through the DEA net, they had ditched the speedboat and stolen the St. Vitus Dance to complete their delivery. José was probably keeping a close watch on the horizon to keep an eye out for DEA surveillance. The other thing he could figure out quite easily was that once they got to the drop off location in Miami, they would have no need for him anymore, and he could kiss his life good-bye. If he was going to get himself and Cait out this mess, his best bet would be to do it before they reached their destination.
Crockett had spent too many years working undercover to make any hasty or rash moves. Right now they had the upper hand and he wasn’t about to take any chances. He would wait and bide his time until an opportunity presented itself. Something would come up - it had to. He spun some plans around in his head, but nothing came out that had a good enough chance for his liking. In the meantime, maybe he could do some surveillance of his own. He had to find out where Cait and his gun were before he could make any serious moves.
"I have to go to the head," he said looking at Carlos. He hoped they would let him go on his own, give him a chance to check things out below - maybe get to the radio and call for help. But luck wasn’t with him this time.
"Manuel, take our friend below. Keep your eye on him."
Sonny locked off the wheel to maintain their course and headed down the gangway into the cabin, Manuel, with a gun trained on his back, following right behind him. He made his way to the small head at the front of the boat near the berth where their illegal party favours lay hidden. He was thinking that maybe Caitlin would be there, but it didn’t take him long to find out she wasn’t.
Damn - where was she?
"Hey Manuel," he called out. "It's gonna cool down soon. I need to get changed - put on a shirt and some long pants." His backup gun and leg holster were in the drawer with his T-shirts. If he could get to them it would give him a weapon, and the pants would hide the gun’s presence. All he would need was the opportunity to use it.
"Si gringo, but no tricks." The sound of laughter betrayed his confidence. Maybe that confidence could be used against him. "You bring your clothes out here so I can watch you."
Damn again. There was no way he could hide the gun. He'd have to leave it here for now.
He checked to make sure the gun was there - it was. At least he knew where that was. Now, if only he could find Caitlin. He pulled out a pair of pants and a T-shirt and headed back to the galley.
"Mind if I get a beer? I’m thirsty." Crockett used a louder than normal voice. Wherever Cait was, he wanted her to know he was here. "You want one?" Maybe if he fed them enough alcohol they would lose their edge. But he knew that was a risky game - it could make them meaner than they were already.
His watchdog just shrugged his shoulders indicating that it was okay. "Sure gringo, and get one for me and my amigos too. You sure you ain't got no tequilla?"
Sonny took 4 beers out of the fridge and laid them on the counter. Manuel was watching him, waving his gun around, certain of his power over his hostage. He shoved his free hand into Sonny’s chest, forcing him back against the counter.
"You got lots o’ money gringo?" The sneer on his face and animosity in his voice echoed the contempt he felt for those whom he considered to be greedy American capitalists. "You got the easy life eh? Lots paesanos to do your work so you can sail around in your fancy boat. Must be nice for you - eh rich man. But today you work for us, eh?" The sadistic laughter made Crockett’s skin crawl. It was going to feel really good when he took this creep down. But right now the creep had the upper hand.
Manuel picked up a can of beer from the counter and handed it to Crockett. "Open it, paesano."
Sonny took the can slowly, staring into the man’s mocking eyes all the while - yeah it was gonna be nice to take this creep down. All he had to do was think of a way. Manuel was still laughing as Sonny opened the can and handed it back to him. Crockett started looking around the cabin, anything to avoid looking into those callous shark-like eyes any more. Only his many years of experience kept him from reacting when he spotted what he thought was a slight movement coming from the back of the boat.
What the hell? Naw - it couldn’t be?
The hatch to the aft storage room opened a bit more, and he knew for sure. It was Caitlin - he could see her face now. "Stay there darlin'," he wanted to scream at her, but he knew he couldn’t say a thing. "Don't come out!" he pleaded in his mind. Damn! What was she up to? She could get herself killed ….. or worse. He was between a rock and a hard place. If he signalled to her, Manuel might turn around and see her. He might turn around and see her anyway. Sonny had to do something to keep the man’s attention focussed on him.
"You’re nothing but a piece of Colombian shit, asshole. It you didn’t have that gun, you’d be rolling in the gutter like any other piece of spic slime." He knocked the can of beer out of the man’s hand.
The insults hit the mark and did exactly what he wanted them too. Manuel’s attention was now centred squarely on him. Swearing at Crockett in Spanish, the thug spit in Sonny’s face and slugged him hard across the chin with a force that knocked his hostage off balance.
"Muerto gringo. You die now pig." His voice was low and forceful, and full of hate. He aimed the gun at the Crockett’s head and cocked the hammer.
Above her, she could feel the movement of people in the cockpit, but she couldn’t make out any of the words that were spoken. In the confines of the little room, the sounds from outside were muffled at best, and anything she might have been able to discern was easily drowned out by the noise of engine. She knew that Sonny was right above her, steering the sailboat, but she had no way of letting him know she was here, not without letting the strangers know at the same time. She remembered one time talking to Sonny about what he did when things went wrong on a bust.
"Ya just wait it out darlin'," he had said. "Don't let them know you're scared, and take the first opportunity that comes along." She imagined that's what he was doing now, and that's just what she would do too.
Gradually her eyes began to adjust to the darkness, and slowly she started to make out shapes here and there. On such a short trip there wasn’t much in here, certainly nothing big enough to hide behind should the hijackers decide to look inside. Across from her she could make out the shape of the small cupboard where she had stored Sonny’s gun that morning. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Her heart momentarily skipped a beat. He didn't know she had put it there. What if Sonny needed it and he couldn't find it?
She crawled over to the cupboard, opened the door and pulled out the stainless steel side arm and the magazine, and laid them on the floor beside her. She hated even touching the thing.
"It gives me the willies," she had told Sonny the day they went to the shooting range. But he had insisted that she learn how to handle the thing - just in case, he had said. She never had any intention of using it or any other gun for that matter, but she had gone with him to keep him happy. Now she was glad she had listened to him - the ‘just in case’ was no longer hypothetical.
Staying near the front of the compartment, she sat down and snuggled herself into the corner, leaning her back against the bulkheads. She took the gun in her hands and loaded it, and then placed it within easy reach. She took a deep breath and resigned herself to waiting for an opportunity - what and when that would be, was anybody’s guess.
How long later it was, she had no idea, but suddenly the monotonous steady rhythm of the engine was broken by the sounds of someone coming down the gangway into the cabin. She leaned her ear to the door, trying to determine who was there, but she couldn’t hear a thing. She decided to risk opening the door the tiniest crack. Her hands were sweating, her heart racing. When she did, the light momentarily stung her eyes. After recovering from the initial reaction, she could make out the back of one of the hijackers standing in the galley. He was looking down the short alleyway that lead to the head at the bow.
Hey Manuel. It's gonna cool down soon. I need to get changed - put on a shirt and some long pants.
That was Sonny’s voice. He must be down here too. She knew he kept his backup gun in the drawer with his T-shirts. Did he really need to change, or did he have something up his sleeve? Whatever the case, relief flooded through her - he was obviously still okay. She closed the door again, but somehow she would have to find a way to let him know where she was and that she had his gun.
Si gringo, but no tricks. You bring your clothes out here so I can watch you.
Damn. She knew an opportunity had just gone up in smoke. But at least she knew now that whatever they wanted, it would seem that it must include Sonny somehow. Otherwise, why would they let him change into warmer clothes.
She heard Sonny’s voice again, louder this time, asking for a beer. He must be in the galley. She opened the door again to hear better and to try to catch a glimpse of what was going on. For the first time since she had fallen asleep that afternoon, she saw her husband. He was in the galley facing her way, but not looking in her direction. His protagonist was there too, luckily with his back to her. She could see Sonny taking the cans out of the fridge, and then she heard the insults. He just stood there and took it. She knew he was playing for time, waiting for an opportunity, just like she was. She wished she could call out to him and tell him where she was, that she had his gun, but right now, that would only make things worse for him. Maybe, given a chance, she’d be able to sneak out and surprise his watchdog. If only she could get Sonny to look her way.
Open it paesano.
She heard the man order Sonny to open the beer and saw Sonny’s eyes start to wander around the cabin. And then finally, their eyes met. He pretended not to notice her, but she knew they had connected. She decided to make her move. Slowly, quietly, she opened the door just enough to crawl through. She knew that Sonny could see her. When she heard him pick a fight with the man, she knew it was to draw his attention away from her. He couldn’t have read her mind better if she had been able to tell him herself what she wanted him to do. As soon as the man’s attention was totally focussed on Sonny, she stood up and hurried silently over to where he was standing, making sure she stayed away from the gangway so she couldn’t be seen from above. She was committed now - no backing down. When she saw Sonny’s head turned by the blow to his chin, her anger flared.
Muerto gringo. You die now pig.
When she heard those words and saw the gun pointed at the man she loved, her primeval protective instincts took over. Without blinking an eye, she stuck the stainless steel barrel against the back of the man’s head and whispered softly into his ear, "Drop it or you’re a dead man."
Totally taken by surprise, his jaw dropped and he lowered the gun immediately. Sonny took the weapon from his hand and turned it back on the still bewildered man. Before he could recover, Caitlin whispered into his ear again. "One sound and I blow your head off, you bastard."
There was no time to think about what had just happened. There would be time to think about that later. Right now they had to finish what Caitlin had started. First order of business was to silence Manuel and take him out of the play for good. Stunned into senselessness by a blow from the handle of Crockett’s gun to the side of his head, the thug collapsed to the floor. Working together they found some rope and bound his arms and legs so he couldn’t move. Then they gagged him with a piece of cloth to keep him quiet just in case he came to before they had the other two under control.
When they finished, they stood facing each other. The tension they had both held bottled inside erupted into a fervent embrace. Sonny wanted to hold her in his arms forever, never let her go, protect her from anything like this again, but he knew he had to strike while the iron was hot, before Carlos became suspicious. He pulled back.
"You stay here," he ordered.
Together they had immobilised one of the hijackers, and Caitlin was not about to let Sonny tackle the other two hoodlums alone.
"No way Crockett," she argued in a low voice. "We do this together."
He was just about to argue back when he heard José call out to his boss. "Hey Carlos, come see this. There’s a very nice speedboat out there, just coasting along. Maybe we make better time in that."
They heard Carlos make his way to the prow where José was stationed with his binoculars. Carefully and silently, Sonny inched his way up the gangway. Carlos and José were talking in Spanish again, obviously weighing the pros and cons of switching boats. Carlos set his gun down on the deck and took the binoculars from his colleague. Now was the time to strike. Crockett burst up onto deck and aiming his weapon on the two hoodlums, he shouted out,
"Freeze, police."
José’s hand went for the weapon under his arm, but before he could reach it, Crockett’s gun rang out, the bullet catching the man in the shoulder and knocking him overboard. At the same time, Carlos bent down to grab his gun, but before he could get to it, the deck hatch by his feet flung open, and Caitlin’s arm reached out and grabbed it. His arms went into the air in surrender.
"You a cop?" he asked in wonder staring at Crockett.
"Vice, Miami," Crockett answered. He was in his element again. "You’re under arrest."
Calling to Caitlin, he told her to turn the boat around to pick up José. Then he ordered Carlos to come aft, keeping his gun trained on him the whole time. After Caitlin had finished altering course, she secured Carlos’ hands behind his back around the main mast, and bound his feet. When they got back to where José was struggling in the water, they fished him out and bound him as well, leaving him hog tied on the galley floor beside Manuel, who was just coming around to consciousness again. Caitlin bandaged José’s shoulder wound. It was pretty much superficial, but it needed dressing all the same.
Sonny altered course once again and headed for Miami. Some way to spend a romantic getaway, he thought. Caitlin joined him on deck and gave him an ice pack to soothe the bruise that was welling on his chin where Manuel had slugged him. He left her at the helm while he went below to use the radio. He tuned in the DEA frequency. They were supposed to be out here on surveillance. Maybe, just maybe, if they were close by AND if things happened just right, maybe they’d be able to salvage some of what was left of their time together.
"Hello, DEA, this is the St. Vitus Dance sailing vessel. Do you copy?"
"Sonny, is that you?" The voice on the other end seemed familiar and sounded as unbelieving as he felt himself. Couldn’t be, could it?
"Rico?" he answered back.
"Sonny?" the voice came back. "Where the hell are you? What are you doing on this frequency man? You’re supposed to be on vacation with Cait."
It was Rico. What was he doing on the DEA frequency? Well he could find that out later. He gave him their location.
"That’s just next door partner. That you we see off the distance? You riding with no sails?"
"Yeah. You in a speedboat?"
"Just north of your location. We’re on surveillance. What are you doing out here?"
Sonny looked at Caitlin and smiled. Maybe, just maybe, they would be able to salvage the rest of this vacation after all.
"It’s a long story man. Let’s just say you don’t need to surveil any longer. We’ve got a package you might be interested in, all wrapped up neat and tidy. And we’d be more than happy if you’d take it off our hands."
"We got you in our sites man. We’ll be right there." Rico fired up the engines and headed off in their direction, while Stan radioed Castillo and the other DEA units. They had heard the conversation and were already speeding to the co ordinates Sonny had given.
Rico and Stan were the first to arrive.
"Hey, what are you doing in my boat?" Sonny called out jokingly as they pulled up alongside.
"It’s not your boat Crockett - it’s the department’s," Rico laughed. "Stan and I thought we’d take it out for a spin while you were gone." They tied up and came on board. "Looks like you’ve been busy," Rico said eyeing the bruise welling on his partner’s chin and Carlos tied to the mast. "Cait all right?" he asked, remembering that Sonny was not alone on this little junket.
"Yeah, she’s fine. She’s the one you can thank for the presents. There’s some more down below."
Rico’s eyebrows raised when he heard Crockett’s words. This was going to be an interesting tale he could tell. He and Stan went below with Sonny to inspect the cargo. Cait was in the galley, keeping an eye on their prisoners, and finishing the tidy-up from their adventure.
"You’ve been busy my friends," Rico said impressed.
Sonny grabbed a long-awaited beer and poured one for Cait. Rico and Stan stuck with soda, They were still on duty. The four of them headed back up on deck and sat down. Finally, some breathing space and time to relax.
While they were waiting for the other vessels to arrive, Rico and Stan explained what they were doing out here, and Sonny and Caitlin told them their story. The pride and love he had for his wife was evident in Sonny’s face and voice when he told how Cait had crept out of the storage room and taken Manuel down. But his last comment made them all chuckle.
"Caitie may darlin’, just one thing. Next time you’re aiming a gun a drug dealer’s head, you should remember to take the safety off first."
A short while later the Castillo arrived with Gina and Trudy. A third DEA craft would meet them on the way back to Miami. The prisoners and contraband were transferred to the cabin cruiser by the detectives, while Crockett briefed Castillo on what had happened.
"I don’t want to know any more about it right now Crockett," Castillo said when he had finished the summary. "You can file a report when you get back to the office after your furlough," he said as he turned to re-board the cabin cruiser. Sonny couldn’t believe his ears - Castillo letting him off from following through on this right away? The lieutenant added one condition before he left though.
"But I want your report by noon the day you’re back. Is that clear?"
"Aye, aye, sir," Sonny responded, saluting him behind his back.
Rico and Stan saluted in copy-cat fashion from the Scarab. "Hey Sonny," Rico called out from the speedboat. "Next time you wanna take some time off, maybe you should go by car." His laugh was infectious. "See ya day after tomorrow." He started then engines and sped off to join the cabin cruiser on its way back to Miami.
After they left, Sonny and Caitlin unfurled the sails on the St. Vitus Dance, and once again steered her southbward. They were heading back to the Keys, but he was planning to moor in a different spot this time - the last one had a little bit too much excitement for his liking.