“We’ll take it under consideration,” Nick replied. “It wouldn’t hurt to have Issac look into it for us. We’ll need a place to revamp and reregister the Tempest though right after we capture her. As to your personal ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ adventure, even John gets cover for pirate action from Denny Strobert. Keep track of current events. If anything forms there looking like a larger developing problem, and I could present the op to either Paul or Denny without making them look like fools, I’d do it.”
“You know, Muerto, this pirate plotting by the sneaky Payaso makes me suspicious.” Johnny peered into Gus’s face in comical fashion with Gus finally giving him a push away. “Just as I envisioned. The happily married to the T-Rex, Payaso, loved his time alone on the ‘Valkyrie’. He’s looking for a mission to get away from his honey-bun.”
“Shut-up, Kabong!” Gus kept his eyes on the sea ahead while his friends enjoyed the discomfiture Johnny’s suspicion provoked.
“It would mean time away,” Nick said. “I’m not allowed to go gallivanting around the globe, leaving Rachel on her own with Quinn and Jean. If we had an island sanctuary to operate out of while pursuing occasional pirate baiting excursions, I could talk Rach into a Caribbean Island stay, especially if we made it luxurious enough. Let’s concentrate on the Tempest for now.”
“How come Muerto gets a free pass when he admits to being under restraints by his wife?” Gus glanced accusingly over at Johnny, regretting it immediately as he could see his friend had been waiting for just that reaction to Nick’s words. “Don’t do it, Kabong!”
“Muerto never speaks as the great and all powerful alpha dog of marriage, complete with jewels of advice he never practices himself. Whipped dog is what you are, Payaso. You want pirate adventures so you can escape your collar for a while.”
Gus’s mouth trembled as he snorted lightly to keep from showing his amusement at Johnny’s accurate perception. “That’s… just mean. Get your range finders out. The Tempest should be in sight very soon. I’ll do a wide angle curve around it when we come in sight. Get your com units in. Stay with me, Cleaner. I’ll show you how to judge a curve at the farthest distance from a target we can get without looking as if we’re on a surveillance mission.”
“Great!” Cala kissed Johnny before he and Nick left the bridge. “I will be on the pirate mission with you, my love.”
“Yes, you will.”
Nick and Johnny left and Cala moved again into position. “They can see us too though, right, Gus?”
“Yep. Their radar can spot us on approach too. We’re dressed out on the surface like any other fishing boat or cruisers out for a day on the ocean. It’s not foolproof. If they get suspicious, I’m sure they have high tech range viewers the same as we do. There’s nothing they can do about it. My Lucky Lady is listed as a fishing trawler and rent-a-boat. The boat registry is solid to a dummy corporation we have professional credentials for. It’s not tied to either Nick or I. Fernando would have to find the Lady in port and stake us out to track her back to us.”
“They could get worried and decide to make us disappear,” Cala pointed out while tracking Gus’s movements in relation to the digital panel. “You and Muerto made an Iranian patrol boat disappear.”
“True, but if Fernando wants the Tempest to stay where it is, he wouldn’t make any wild decisions concerning unknown civilians. You’re right to worry though. Carone could do exactly that. Believe me when I say he wouldn’t stand a chance. Nick has enough firepower on the Lady to take on a combat ship.”
“Yes, but then we will lose the Tempest.”
Gus shrugged. “The Tempest would be nice, but if it meant losing any of you, I’d blow the ship to hell. There she is.”
Cala looked out on the left horizon. She grabbed the digital range finders Gus kept on the bridge, sighting in the Tempest. “Oh my… it’s beautiful. Uh oh… they have guys on the top deck watching us. You were right about the radar, Gus.”
“We’ll only be able to make one pass so we don’t tip them off. I’ll take the Lady further out as if we’re making a wide-”
“Gus! They’ve launched a boat out of the side hold. There are half a dozen men on board. What should we do?”
“I’ll turn away. They don’t know how fast the Lady is. I doubt if Nick wants company. It seems unusual for them to intercept us.” Gus began turning the Lucky Lady to a course gradually parallel and then in the opposite direction.
Automatic weapons fire from the ‘Panga’ boat smashed into the water alongside the Lady. A second afterward, Cala saw the gunman’s head explode. The man at the wheel tried to turn but his brain matter coated the inside of the small bridge in the next instant. The boat slowed into a circle with the dead man’s arm draped over the steering control. She smiled as two more died in the same way. The two survivors dived down into the boat’s interior. More rounds pierced the boat from bow to fantail, blowing pieces out of the hull until it began to tilt, bringing out the last two men alive diving for the ocean. They didn’t make it, their bloody corpses hitting the water instead.