Cigarettes for Two: A Lee Thomas Novel (Spy Dreams Book 3) Page 14

  Robertson gave a small nod of his head and the driver in the van said something. A moment later the sliding side door opened and three men got out of the van each of them was holding the handles of a duffle bag. These were big strong men but the way they were carrying the bags they were over fifty pounds each and probably closer to a hundred pounds. They set the bags on the dock and made another trip to the van. Jacob stepped over to the gunwale and they handed the bags to him. He moved them toward the hatchway to the cabin.

  “The weight came out to close to 800 pounds in total. Is that a problem?” I shook my head.

  “Your man knows where to go?” I was looking at Vincent as I spoke. I saw him swallow hard.

  “Yes he does.” He handed me a box about a foot square and four inches high. “A present for the captain of the gunboat that will intercept you.” He took an envelope from the inside pocket of the tropical weight blazer he was wearing. “Consider this a peace offering. Inside the envelope is $50,000, a bonus on top of your fee. Consider it my thanks for not making my sister a widow.” Vincent swallowed hard again. One of the men who had set duffle bags down on the dock went back to the van and brought out a gym bag. “This is the entirety of your fee. You will find $500,000 in the bag.”

  “Pretty hefty fee. Are you expecting that I will have trouble?”

  “Money is something that is almost a curse in this business. Money is bulky. I would rather overpay you to get the rest of the money laundered than let it rot away somewhere. I often wish that I could take checks. Since I cannot I have to send money out of the country for laundry services. Do not cross me. Someone else was doing this for me before I found you.” He managed to sound very menacing as he finished speaking. I don’t think the other delivery man had retired. He had checked my alleged reputation and knew I was probably trustworthy but huge amounts of money can make people do funny things. If I were not an honest man this could be a very profitable trip.

  Vincent climbed down into the boat. The line on the bow was undone and the man who tossed the line back aboard gave the boat a push away from the dock with his foot. He waved to us and then started toward a Mercedes that was one of the parked cars. I fired the engines and put the props into gear. Vincent was not yet convinced that I was not going to drop him in the water somewhere between the Keys and Cuba. I let him hold that thought for a while.

  Chapter 24

  Over the Bounding Main

  We headed out being careful to keep within speed regulations while in the channels and close inshore areas. Once clear of those we opened the throttles and headed out to sea. A few miles offshore we turned south. Vincent showed us our destination on a marine chart that he had brought with him. After that Vincent went below. I think he was still convinced that I was going to throw him overboard. Sylvia stayed below most of the trip with a pistol grip pump shotgun on her lap. Shotguns are an under utilized form of birth control, except with some rural fathers. Vincent was a real gentleman for the trip.

  As we neared Cuban waters Jacob turned off our US Military IFF unit. A smuggler squawking military IFF was probably not what he seemed. No need to be found out on our first trip. Our radar picked up a blip of something coming toward us from the shore. The image was larger than our boat and moving much slower. We cut back our own speed. A short time later a craft that was officially a Cuban gunboat came into view. I say officially because it was so outdated and in such sad shape that it would have been a target in most navies. The small isolated areas of third world countries never get the good equipment. That equipment is reserved for where foreigners can see it. Unless the engine room looked better than the outer shell we could probably outrun that boat on one engine. There were Russian machine guns around the deck and one ancient looking 37MM gun mounted in the bow. Vincent came up from below when he heard the engines wind down. He was carrying the box intended for the gunboat captain. From the slightly green hue of his face I knew that he was not much of a sailor. The ride down had been calm. He might die from throwing up in rough seas.

  The gunboat also cut back their speed. On their starboard side they had boat fenders hanging over. Jacob went forward and tossed a line to one of the gunboat crew as we came alongside. We bumped gently into the fenders. A man in a slightly threadbare but otherwise squared away Cuban Navy uniform stepped out of the bridge of the gunboat. He came over to the rail which was a few feet higher than our side rail. He climbed a short boarding ladder and entered the cockpit area of the Turkey.

  “Ola Vincent. I have not seen you in a great while. I hope life goes well.” The boat captain’s English was excellent.

  “Hernando, you know how I dislike these sea trips. I would not have made this one except that I needed to personally introduce our new courier. His name is Lee Williams. Oh, this is for you. The usual gift for your assistance.” He handed the box to Hernando. Gift was a nice way of saying bribe. Bribery is rampant in Latin America and probably always will be. In communist Cuba it was often called something else. After all bribery would mean that the ‘perfect government’ of the revolution was flawed.

  Hernando nodded to Vincent, “Thank you. It is always a pleasure to assist you.” He turned to me and extended a hand, “The Russian told us that a delivery was due today but he did not say that the delivery vessel was such a magnificent boat. Who is this gentleman?” He said as he turned to face Jacob.

  “This is my associate Jacob Jones. He is much better with boats than I am and he is also useful for other things.” Hernando let go of my hand and extended his to Jacob.

  “A pleasure to meet you also,” he said as Jacob shook his hand. “I look forward to much business association with both of you. Gentlemen enjoy your visit to our little island.” He gave a very shallow bow and then turned, went back up the three step ladder and onto his own boat. He turned and gave us a jaunty salute as he reentered his wheelhouse.

  The crewman holding the bow line released it and Jacob pulled it in. We restarted the engines and headed shoreward. Vincent told us that there was a not so big reef but it was good to be careful as you headed inshore. A small inlet appeared as we got closer to the shore. The inlet opened up into some slightly protected water that was not really big enough to be a harbor. There were a few fishing boats moored there. Along the right side was a long dock that was right against an old building that was on land but hung slightly over the water. There was no one there until we were right alongside the dock, then two men with AK-47s stepped out of a door.

  The guns were never pointed at us. One of them moved to the bow and one to the stern. We threw mooring lines to them and they tied us to the dock. The older of the two nodded to Vincent who stepped to the side of the boat and across to the dock. The water level then had the gunwale of my boat just above the deck level. He started for the door.

  “Wait here,” he said. “I will be right back.” He pounded on the door and another man opened it. It sounded as if a metal bolt was holding the door shut. Vincent went through the door and it closed behind him. The door was metal, you could tell from the sound it made on closing.

  Jacob and I just waited and tried to decide how we would take these guys out if we needed to. They looked like tough guys but you could tell if it hit the fan they would rely first on the firearms. I looked at one of the guys and then at Jacob. I tilted my head at the one I had looked at. He rolled his eyes and moved his head. The motion said are you kidding me, no problem at all. We were watching these guys and deciding how to take them for two reasons; boredom and professional interest. There was a good chance we would have to come back here for the sole purpose of taking out Leonid. You scout your battleground before hand if at all possible.

  We were looking bored and gathering intelligence. We knew that the door would either have to be opened by ruse or explosives. The guards were not expecting trouble. That told us that the local government officials were involved. Since there was a Russian agent here that meant that the central government was at least aware of this enterprise and mor
e likely profiting from it. Had Yuri Andropov Leonid lied to the Cubans and told them this was a sanctioned KGB operation? That was a fact that did not matter either way. Now that we knew the location satellites could be tasked with getting images of the military units in the area. We were very certain of one thing even without hard intelligence. The Russian was probably not going to give us a chance to snatch him outside of Cuba. Plans began to form in my head.

  I heard the same bolt noises that had sounded when the door was first opened. Vincent walked back out and into the boat again. He went right past us and into the cabin. He tossed one of the duffle bags out and then another. Jacob dragged them to one side. I think Vincent was trying to look as if he was in charge. Maybe he just needed a workout. After four bags were in the cockpit I had moved to a vantage point where I could see into the cabin. Vincent quit trying to move bags. He was trying to motion for Sylvia to come up on deck without saying anything. The little bastard was up to something. I shook my head at Sylvia and she casually pointed the shotgun in Vincent’s general direction. He left the cabin in a hurry.

  “Are you up to something stupid? Are you trying to sell us out? Vincent my friend you will not be the first to die. The people you are trying to sell us out to will die first. You I will take back to Robertson alive. You might be missing some parts but you will be alive.” He was stupid and tried to bluster his way out of a bad situation.

  “Nothing is going on. I just needed the exercise.” As stupid as that excuse sounds now it sounded even worse then.

  “Get the Russian, por favor,” not good Spanish but I think the older man with the assault rifle got my point. He nodded and pounded on the door. When the door opened he spoke something in rapid Spanish to the inside guard and the door closed again.

  When the door opened again a blond man who could have been from anywhere in northern Europe stepped outside. He looked Russian. There was just something about him that screamed Russian. To this day I have no idea what it was, it had to be something very subtle.

  “How may I be of assistance?” He said in a perfect Midwest accent.

  “Was the previous courier skimming? I looked him right in the eyes as I spoke.

  “Yes, the totals were off a great deal on the last two or three trips.” He looked interested in what I had to say.

  “I think that Vincent here has told you a tale of how his boss wants me and my people taken out. He probably told you that he is to take the boat back to Florida and you are to process these four duffle bags. I guess he forgot to mention the other four still below deck.” Vincent’s mouth was now hanging open. “What happened to the last courier?”

  “Nothing bad. He simply no longer works with us. I did not believe that he was doing anything and told Robertson that. We paid the man off and found you.”

  “Well Vincent is very stupid. I would have let us make several runs before trying to lie about us. I think the fact that he has never been alone with the bags made him even more stupid than usual. He could not skim out anything so he decided to try and get away with half of the delivery and disappear. Or maybe something like this has been his plan all along.”

  “Would you like me to take care of him for you?” Saying yes did cross my mind.

  “No, I owe him. Besides I promised not to throw him overboard. I believe we will take him back. Jacob, get out the wire ties and duct tape. Time to truss the turkey.” Yuri grinned as we bound up our new captive and stowed him in the cabin. We also retrieved the other four bags of money. We handed the duffle bags to the men on the dock.

  Yuri smiled, “Please come inside I wish to talk for a moment.” He extended a hand to help me out of the boat. I took it and stepped onto the dock. He motioned to Jacob also.

  “I’ll stay here and get the boat ready to head back out,” Jacob said as he waved Yuri’s offer of a helping hand off. Yuri nodded.

  “Come with me Mr. Williams. Let me show you the operation. I followed him through the door. We walked down the hall to another door that seemed as substantial as the one we had just come through.

  Inside that door was an office that was dominated by a large old fashioned safe. Men followed us into the room with duffle bags. There was another door, this one also metal and substantial. Yuri opened this door and we went inside. It was a sweat shop but the people were not making clothes. Emaciated people were sitting at tables in the large open area and breaking large bales of a white powder, probably cocaine, into Kilogram packages. On closer inspection I could see that some of the workers were actually chained to their tables.

  “Yes, they are prisoners but of the government and not me. I merely use these political and criminal prisoners as cheap labor.” His tone was in no way remorseful. He did not mind in the least using slave labor to line his own packet. He saw the disgusted look on my face. “Come let us go back to the office and have a drink to a fruitful business arrangement.

  Back in his office he got out a bottle of vodka and poured two large shots. He handed one of the glasses to me. Then he held his glass out in front of himself and raised it in a toast. “Nostrovya.”

  “Departed friends,” I replied and tossed the shot back a moment after he did. The vodka was strong, but I used to have an uncle who made moonshine. I had been around the high test stuff before.

  “You drink like a Russian,” he said as he saw me toss the liquor down.

  “Nope, I drink like a redneck from a family of moonshiners.” Not totally true but not totally false either. “Did you know Vincent was the one skimming?”

  “We suspected which is why the previous courier is still alive. We did not think the little cockroach would try something as bold as what he has tried today. If you drop him overboard I can smooth things over with Melvin.” I think Yuri took a perverse pleasure in calling Robertson by his first name. The word was that he hated that.

  “No, I think delivering him back to his brother-in-law will manage the situation. I should be going.

  “First I have a gift.” He opened a desk drawer and took out a cigar box and then opened another drawer and took out an unopened bottle of vodka. “A token to help start us on a long and profitable path.”

  “Thank you. You know my name but no one has told me yours.”

  “I am Yuri Andropov Leonid. Please call me Yuri.” I was pretty sure the smile was not genuine; the man was a trained agent.

  “Call me Lee. I look forward to seeing you again.” He poured two more shot of the vodka and we tossed them back. We shook hands and I went back to the boat. I was already planning what was going to happen to this facility when the time came.

  Chapter 25

  I got back to the boat with my gifts. We untied the boat and backed away from the dock. Once we had enough clearance we swung the bow of the boat toward the sea and began to make our way out to open water. Sylvia came up on deck. We had to discuss what to do with our now unwilling passenger. If we turned him over to his boss he was probably dead. Even though I was very pissed off at him that seemed to be a waste. The man was stupid but even stupid people might be in possession of useful information. The problem was how to get him into the hands of people who would wring that information out of him and not give ourselves away. I thought about this as we headed slightly east of north. We wanted to come back into Florida more from the Bahamas than from Cuba. After about an hour I decided that Vincent needed to be arrested.

  I let Sylvia drive the boat under the tutelage of Jacob and went below to use a well concealed radio. This radio was not standard equipment on civilian boats. The standard radio was not hidden. This radio was on some military frequencies and had scramble capabilities. This was a satellite radio unit. When I turned on the power a small satellite dish came up out of a concealed port in the foredeck. The dish auto rotated until it found a suitable satellite and locked on. This port was one of the things that the Navy guys working the boat over had discovered. General Fleming had said since we were set up for satellite comms we should have satellite comms, so we did.r />
  I dialed in the frequency of the unit in our operations center and made the call. When they got John to the radio we went encrypted. The situation took a few minutes to explain. I could not just turn Vincent over to my people. I needed a verifiable way of explaining his arrest.

  “John, are there any warrants out on Vincent? Anything which would be an excuse to arrest him? Well, make that anything that we can put out as the story for his being arrested. He can’t just go on this trip and disappear. By now the Russian has probably gotten a message to Robertson. If he knows what the idiot did then he will probably kill him and that seems a waste. I am sure he knows much more than he thinks.”

  “Lee, do you think your prisoner has a way to contact his boss?”

  “I would not be at all surprised. In fact if I was his boss it would be written down somewhere. Let me check that and get back to you.” I left Jacob alone and went below. Vincent was sure that Sylvia was going to shoot him. She wasn’t.

  I walked up to Vincent and looked him in the eyes before I spoke. “The next question I ask you may decide whether you live or die. Think carefully. Do you have a way to contact Robertson?” He did nothing for a long moment and then realization dawned on him and he nodded his head wildly. I pulled the tape off of his mouth and not too gently.

  “Oh shit that hurt,” these were the first words out of his mouth the next words were, “In my billfold there is a slip of paper he gave me. It is for emergency contact.”

  “Well, for you this is an emergency.” I rolled him over and got out his wallet. Sure enough there was a folded half sheet of typing paper in one of the picture sleeves.

  Typed on the paper when I unfolded it was a list of radio frequencies. They were all for the marine VHF band. As good planning would have it I had just such a radio. By now we had made the turn west toward Florida. I should be able to contact someone in Miami on the ship to shore radio. I turned it on and started with the first frequency listed. I was on the fourth listing before I connected with someone. After I told them who I was I asked that Robertson come to the radio.