Over the next half hour, Nick and Gus went over the information file sent by Ty Brody. Nick read with grim concentration facts connecting Shane’s death and Al Mady. He didn’t move on to Al Mady’s San Francisco excursion until he was convinced by the correspondence and data mining evidence it could have only been Al Mady who ordered Shane’s demise. Nick harbored no illusions about the Company’s ability to obfuscate the truth with myriad lies. On this, they had been thorough, and every lead could be crosschecked with his new access.
Nick moved on to the details concerning The Shalimar, including when it had docked, who owned it, and the original building plans. A high end craft with every feature imaginable, The Shalimar lacked nothing for conveniences. An eighty footer made in the OTAM Millennium line, the brand new yacht was on its maiden voyage. Noting it would be leaving the Marina East docking on Friday, Nick figured they would anchor Friday night only a short distance south of Pacific Grove.
“This looks real good, Gus. Are you familiar with the OTAM Millennium line?”
“Brother… I dream about that eighty footer Millennium line like the Shalimar. I love my sixty footer, and it’s a beauty with everything I could hope for, including the logistically nice feature of being able to port it anywhere. The owners of the Shalimar have to plan ahead for any port they intend to stop at because of the size. Forget my love affair with the boat. The fantail is as accessible as any dive boat with a very large platform beyond the hull. Another thing is once past the rear entry, it’s all enclosed.”
“Outstanding. My biggest problem to doing this without drawing suspicion is if the Captain of the boat decides to be cautious as any other Captain would. If there’s a crewman left on watch through the night, I have to take care of him somehow. I’m thinking of piping knockout gas into the interior before coming aboard. It would put the crewman to sleep, and allow me to come aboard unimpeded. After stripping off my gear, I could put on a breathing mask, and pipe some knockout juice into the ventilation system. The Al Mady extraction would be a cakewalk after that. You’d be able to come sail next to the Shalimar for an Al Mady boarding.”
“You do realize there are more possible holes in your plan than you can count, right?”
“There you go with those negative vibes again, Gus. Let’s take it one step at a time. We go to San Francisco and have a wonderful time. Then, you give me a hand at an out of sight water entry. I take care of the tagging, and you help me get my gear packed in time to meet with our lovely ladies for the trip home. I have just the limo and driver for this excursion too.”
“Don’t tell me. Another favor.”
“Very perceptive, Gus. As a matter of fact, I own a controlling interest as a silent partner in Fred Hannigan’s business. He works out of Monterey. I haven’t needed his services, but he’s always been in the wings just in case. Fred’s an ex-con I met with and liked. He had a dream when he got out of prison. I helped him see it through to reality… and yeah… he owes me.”
“You sure have a complex network built around here, Nick. I guess you had visions of something happening in your home life where you’d need some local ties. There’s no end to your psycho intuition, is there?”
“I don’t care much for your label, but yeah, that pretty much covers it. I’ve lived here for quite some time. I’ve also invested in a myriad bunch of businesses, because I needed to recruit men and women who could help me. They won’t question the project, because they trust me not to screw them, just like you.”
“I didn’t mean to make it seem like I was putting you down. You are one chillingly formidable evil genius. The plan you formed on the fly fits you like a glove, but it won’t be as easy as the Caribbean one you did at sea on the last voyage of the Lucky Lady I. You didn’t need survivors. This time, you have to leave everyone alive but unaware. You make it sound like a walk in the park.”
“It will be with the right concoction of knockout juice. We don’t need the people drugged near death. We need them quiet enough on top of their partying to let me get into Al Mady’s stateroom, where I can give him a shot of something more potent, so he doesn’t get loud during the transfer. Last, but not least, if everything goes well, I’ll wipe away any wet residue, and reposition their guy on watch like he fell asleep.”
“It all sounds great, Nick. What if things go wrong? What if… oh… yeah… then it will be exactly like our Caribbean adventure.”
“Yep. I’ll have to kill everyone on board, and question Al Mady before pulling the plug on that beautiful yacht.”
“I hate plan B, Nick. Hate it.”
Nick grinned. “You cold hearted bastard. You have no empathy for those poor folk on board. You can’t stand the thought of the lady Shalimar heading for Davey Jones Locker.”
“I care a little about the crew and guests, but I make it right in my head by imagining why they’re with a guy like Al Mady in the first place. Sure… they may be innocents, but sending the lady down deep is a travesty.”
“That is a scary good piece of self-justification, Gus. You should be very proud. I don’t want to send the Shalimar down either, so quit pissing all over my good vibes.”
“I’m going home to take a nap before we meet Danger after school.”