Dead Asleep (23 page)
Authors: Jamie Freveletti
J
oseph stood dripping water on the marble floor in the massive entrance foyer of one of the largest villas on Terra Cay. He had landed on the mangrove side twenty minutes ago and proceeded straight to the sprawling compound. He wanted to deliver the bad news of the woman's escape to his employer before anyone else tried to twist the information. He watched as a large, pale, and bald man shuffled toward him from the back of the house. The man wore green work pants, a gray shirt, and a blank expression on his face. Joseph recognized the expression for what it was: a complete lack of original thought or force of personality. He had dealt with such men before. They killed with impunity and a careless ease, primarily because they lacked the imagination to see their victims' despair. He killed with impunity, too, but he liked to believe that he put some creativity and panache into his work. The man lumbering toward him showed no sign that he had enough intelligence to do anything except take orders.
“Come with me,” the man said. He turned and headed toward the second door on the left. Joseph followed, still dripping water, but not as much, and clutching his rifle. It was the only thing he'd been able to salvage from the boat. It was his prized gun. He would rather have gone down with the ship than leave it behind.
He followed the lumbering idiot to the door and walked through it into a large, imposing library. Books lined every wall from floor to ceiling. The remaining areas were paneled in a rich, dark wood. Long, elegant windows formed a bay area directly in front of Joseph, and a fire burned in a fireplace to his right despite the warmth. In front of the fireplace stood Joseph's employer. He only knew the man by reputation, that he was called the Vulture because he swooped in and picked the bones of struggling corporations dry. He waited until they had no more options to obtain funds, offered a loan at exorbitant rates, foreclosed when the companies could no longer pay, and then sold off the assets piece by piece. He wore a ten thousand dollar bespoke suit and his eyes were two hard marbles in a vicious, thin face. The man stared at him.
“Why are you here?” he asked. “I thought I made it clear that you were to complete your mission and then stay out of sight. Not show up here soaking my floors and stinking of seaweed.”
“I wanted to deliver my report in person.”
“So it's bad news that you bring me,” he said. Joseph felt a flicker of fear. The man spoke in a mild tone, but the menace was unmistakable.
“You didn't tell me the boat would capsize.”
The man raised an eyebrow and a smirk crossed his face. He'd known about the danger, Joseph thought, and he felt his own anger start. He'd been told that the stories of a monster in the area were merely sailors' tales, but now he realized they were true.
“I didn't know that it would. Did Kemmer use a faulty vessel? If he did then he deserved to die. I assume that you did kill him at least, did you not?”
Joseph nodded. “I threw him overboard. But the boat wasn't damaged. Something grabbed at it and started pulling it into the ocean. I had to empty my gun into it to make it release. When it finally did, the chemist was gone.”
“Did she have time to mine the holes?”
He nodded. “She was finished.” The thin man stalked to the windows and looked out. Joseph didn't like the silence and so he filled it. “I'll kill her here. I'm almost certain they came back to Terra Cay.” Joseph watched with dismay as the man's eyebrows slanted downward in displeasure.
“I need to confiscate what she mined first. Get that from her before you kill her. And get it done soon. The buyers are here and the auction will begin. I intend to offer the remaining raw materials to the highest bidder as well. What she has may be the last.” Joseph did his best to contain his relief. He would be spared. His mistake wouldn't cost him his life.
“Where's Kemmer's boat?” the thin man said. Joseph hesitated and the man turned to look at him. “Where's the boat?” he said again.
“It sank when it hit a shoal near the mangrove. Without Kemmer, I didn't know how to navigate through the rocks. It was lucky that I made it at all.”
“Lucky,” the man said, his voice filled with sarcasm.
Joseph fingered his gun and did his best to contain his anger. He felt a vessel in his temple begin to throb with the exertion. His rage bubbled below the surface, as it always did. Self-control was something he had never owned in abundance. He'd learned it only after being locked in a prison in Brazil and it was clear that the other inmates were as vicious as he was, but with the added benefit of knowing the ropes. But he'd adapted, and before he escaped had killed four inmates and two guards. The guards were the two that weren't bribed. They didn't look away as the inmates disappeared into the tunnel they had been digging for over three long years.
“You need me. I've heard that she has backup. A man named Sumner. Rumor is that someoneâI think youâpaid two different men to try to take him out and both failed. You should have paid me.”
The thin man snorted. “Pay you? I just did and you failed as well. You've got a lot of nerve.” The windows shook in response to a hard clap of thunder, as if the storm was trying to punctuate the thin man's words. Joseph twitched with the effort of containing his anger.
“No one can shoot better than me. I am the best and you know it.
Everyone
knows it.”
The man pointed a finger at him. “All I know is that she has managed to avoid getting killed on three separate occasions. Once against long odds. She's smart and she's wily. I want her dead, Sumner dead, and the minerals brought here. Do you understand?”
“I understand that you didn't give me fair warning about the risk at the blue holes. Perhaps you hoped that I'd kill her and then the creature in the holes would do the dirty work of eliminating me as well?” Joseph took a step toward the man. His anger boiled. If he didn't want the money so much he would have killed the man. But the amount offered far exceeded his usual fee and he wanted it. The skinny man sent him a look filled with derision.
“Quit talking nonsense. There is no creature in the blue holes. The area is subject to unusual natural phenomena. It doesn't happen every time someone passes over the area. There's no way for me to predict when it will occur. Besides, I wanted you to kill her, climb on board her boat, take the minerals and bring them to me. How would you have done that if you were dead?”
“Something grabbed onto the boat. It nearly pulled the entire thing underwater. If not a creature then what was it?”
The thin man shrugged. “I have no idea. But you knew the fables before you took the job, so don't act as though this is the first time you've heard of it and don't accuse me of duplicity.”
“Why don't you just have your stupid giant kill her? If she's here, she sleeps less than a mile away.”
Even as Joseph suggested the solution he knew why the Vulture hadn't simply killed her. Men like him wanted to pretend that they were as well educated as the others in the corporate world. He moved in the same circles and cultivated the image that he knew how to create the wealth and services that the others did, but in reality all he could do was earn money trading on the black market and troll for those businesses that were floundering. The Vulture sold the assets because he didn't have the true intelligence or skill to make a company thrive. And he knew it. And Joseph knew it too. Joseph knew that the man was another version of himself in a tailored suit, nothing more. The difference was that he didn't care if others branded him a killer. This man, though, wanted to appear an upstanding citizen of the world. He wanted to kill and remain anonymous while he did it. To obtain that result required hiring someone else with the ability to plan a killing with surgical skill and the willingness to wallow in the mud. Joseph knew he had both character attributes, and he didn't care how deep the muck got as long as he was compensated.
“I paid you well to do the job and leave no tracks back to me,” the Vulture said. “That's what your reputation says that you do. I didn't expect you to not only fail, but to come here. What if someone had seen you?”
Joseph pointed at the window. “The storm covers all and the island is quarantined. No one will learn that you're the one who arranged their death.”
“Get the minerals and kill Caldridge and Sumner.”
“And the others on the island?”
The man shrugged. “I don't care if they all die. The plague will do a large part of it for me, but kill them all if you think it's necessary. Just make sure no suspicion flows my way.”
“It doesn't work that way. The more you kill the more clues you leave.”
The Vulture nodded. “Then you'd better choose your victims wisely, hadn't you?”
“You don't get it. I'll kill them all. I'm not the one who cares if they figure out that I did it. You are.”
“Do what you must. The blame comes my way and you won't get paid. It's that simple. Now get out.”
T
he villa's phone rang and Emma reached to the end table. She heard Stromeyer's voice.
“I have some bad news,” she said. Emma sighed.
“You too? Sumner just told me about the quarantine.”
“Not that. Different bad news. We have reason to believe that a major arms sale is going to proceed on Terra Cay within the next twenty-four hours. If we're correct, the weapon will be transferred there into the hands of someone very dangerous. Sumner knows the details of the weapon. We'd like you and Sumner to check it out.”
“You think they're here despite the lockdown?”
“I do. And I've done some research on the various owners on the island. Most of the residents are well-known businessmen and celebrities. Lots of information on the Web about them all and nothing that would indicate someone as dirty as this sale implies. However, I did find three possibles among the land records. All three villas were purchased by nominees in various blind trusts.” She gave the locations of the three properties. The last was one that Emma recognized.
“You can scratch the West Hill property off the list,” she said. “That one is owned by Richard Carrow, the singer.”
“Ah, I see. I presume that he had the property purchased by a nominee to ensure privacy. Do you recognize the other two?”
“I know where they are. One is the largest villa on the island by far. It's owned by some Russian billionaire. Very reclusive guy who's obsessed with security.”
“Ivan Shanaropov.”
“Yep, that's him. You know of him?”
“He's our main person of interest right now. His mistress was found hanging from a tree in St. Martin.”
“Found? By the police?”
“By Sumner. Let him tell you the story, but he should know that she's been identified. So maybe you look to the Shanaropov estate first. Carefully, of course. And we're paying standard Darkview rates.”
Emma rang off and glanced at Sumner. His head had fallen back against the sofa and his eyes were closed.
“Sumner!” Emma cracked out the word and his head snapped up. Relief washed over her. “Sorry, I got worried. I thought you were asleep.”
“Just resting.” He took a sip from the glass.
“It was Stromeyer on the phone. She said there's a weapons sale that is going to occur on the island and she wants us to check out two villas.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And if we find it?”
“Then we're supposed to stop it from going forward.”
Emma felt a mixture of concern and exhilaration. The entire project on Terra Cay had seemed doomed from the start, but now she had a chance to salvage the week and put some money in the coffers. Darkview occasionally used her as a consultant, and paid her well. She was happy about the payday but concerned about the danger. “She said you knew about the weapon. Why don't you run it down for me?” She listened as Sumner told her about the bullet and its properties.
“The good news is that it's very valuable and so it's doubtful they'll use it to shoot at us. If they do, the other good news is that it has an extremely high failure rate, so our odds of getting hit are lower than with regular bullets.”
“And the bad news?” she asked.
He inhaled. “Well, they
are
arms dealers.”
“And will be well provisioned with conventional weapons that will work just fine.”
“Exactly,” he said.
“Stromeyer didn't know how many people we're dealing with, but my guess is that Joseph the Assassin is among them.” Emma started pacing the length of the room. “I don't think you can just march up to the villa and take a look around. They'll pick us off as we do. And there's just two of us and God knows how many of them.”
She paced back and forth, planning. The rain hammered into the windows and thunder cracked all around them. Sumner kept silent, watching her as she paced. “We'll need to infiltrate the villa. Maybe lure them outside. Distract them. While they're running around, we slip inside and take stock. We're in luck that most of the island staff has left. Fewer people to see us.”
“The rain's going to be troublesome.”
Emma went to the kitchen and retrieved an island map from a drawer. She brought it back and spread it out on the cocktail table in front of Sumner.
“Here are the two villas that she mentioned. The first is at the base of the West Hill by the beach. It's a huge estate and there's a path cut into the mountain that goes right past it. I know because I've run it. The second villa is here.” She pointed at the map. “As far from the first as you can imagine. The owner of the first has a reputation on the island of being a recluse.” She looked at Sumner. “And it was his mistress that you found hanging from the tree in St. Martin. I think that's where we'll start,” Emma said.
Sumner moved the map toward him and studied it.
“Explain the topography to me. You say there's a beach, but is there anything else?”
“The first estate has its own private dock. It's one of the few houses on the island that does, because most are built up the side of the mountain in order to maximize the view of the ocean.”
“Any hazards?”
“Plenty. The witch woman has a garden of earthly poisons situated on the trail and halfway up the mountain. That makes me think she must live nearby. I wouldn't want to stumble upon her if I could help it. She's never threatened me with a gun, so I hope she won't be a factor here, but one can never tell. Other than that, the only other hazard I can think of is the beach itself. The path at the bottom runs along a large stand of manchineel trees that separates the beach from the property. They have acid sap that pours off of them in the rain. They form an effective natural barrier between the beach and the house itself.”
“Acid sap,” Sumner said. “Lovely. So avoid running under them.”
“Exactly. The path is close, and if the rain continues to blow as hard as it is,” Emma waved a hand at the windows, “it's not impossible that some will spray you. However, I think that this side of the house probably represents the best chance we have to approach, because it's likely that the owner is relying on the trees to fend off any trespassers. Warning signs mark the area and no one would pass under the trees if they could help it.”
“Would the raincoats and hats be enough to protect us?”
Emma shrugged. “For the most part, but the blowing rain and wind would mean that we'd have to be completely covered. Even a small drop can raise a blister. Maybe we wrap scarves over our faces and use sunglasses to protect our eyes.”
“What if a drop gets in our eyes?”
“That can cause blindness. Probably temporary, but in large amounts it could be permanent.”
“Sounds too risky. What about the rest? Security system?”
“Closed circuit cameras and guard dogs. We can carry meat to hold off the dogs, but the cameras present a problem.”
“You said Oz is here. Can he help with the cameras?”
“Perhaps. But if this storm continues, it may be our best ally. It's likely that if his guards perform patrols, they'd be suspended and the rain will cut down on the cameras' visibility. We couldn't ask for better cover. Of course if the electricity goes off, then we have an even easier time of it.”
“He probably has a generator, though. Houses of that size usually do.”
“Much easier to disable a generator. But whatever we do requires that we get onto the grounds.”
“What about the dock?”
“I never saw it so I can't be of much help.”
“How bad were the waves when you docked? Can they be navigated?”
“The storm was just starting out when we docked so it's hard to say, but I would guess that
Siren's Song
is capable of riding out the waves. However, I have no idea how deep the water is on approach. There's a chance of shoaling at several island locations, and the situation may be the same here.” She thought for a moment and then shook her head. “On second thought, Marwell told me that Carrow's boat was actually one of the smallest on the island. It follows that a Russian billionaire likely has a large yacht. If he docks his own then it's probably safe to assume the area leading up to the dock is safe enough for a boat the size of the
Siren's Song
.”
“But there's still the problem of the cameras.”
“And the guard dogs.”
“And the guards themselves.”
“And the other arms dealer guests.”
Sumner frowned. “This one requires a SEAL team, not two contract security personnel.”
Emma took a sip of her drink. “No chance of that happening. It would take too long to assemble one and get it here. By the time they do, the sale will have been completed.”
Sumner rubbed his face and stared at the map. “Can we do it?”
Emma looked at the map, too, and again ran all the obstacles through her mind.
“I think we can. Worse comes to worse we look in the windows, see if we're outnumbered, and hightail it out of there before they come for us. Make a calculated retreat.”
He touched his glass to hers. “To thoughtful retreats. May they not be necessary.”
“Amen,” she said.