BLACK COBRA (Aaron Quinn thriller series, No. 2) (9 page)

---

Brandy was just finishing her salad. She stood up when Jason and Aaron came on board, anxious to tell Jason about her two visitors.

“We sail tonight,” Jason said gruffly, walking straight past her. He headed downstairs to the galley.

“Why tonight?” Brandy asked Aaron, but Aaron only shrugged.

They followed Jason below.

Jason opened the fridge and then slammed it closed in frustration. “Isn’t there any food on this tub?” he said. It was a ridiculous question, of course, considering they had just stocked the boat for a long trip.

“There were two men here, Jason,” Brandy insisted. “They were asking about you. They had a picture of you and they were packing heat.”

“Was one in his mid-fifties?” Jason asked sarcastically. “The other a handsome black man around six-five? Both dressed like tourists?”

“You
saw them?
” Brandy said, feeling foolish. “Why didn’t you say something?”

Jason opened the fridge again, grabbed a beer, and slammed the door. Then he went back up on deck.

Brandy looked at Aaron, but again he only shrugged.

Chapter 24

Sailing just before nightfall, Jason found the going easy. It felt good to be out on the open water again, a warm breeze in his face, away from whoever might be looking for him. Sailing was the only thing that brought peace to his soul.

He switched the
Cayman Jewel
to auto pilot and joined Aaron and Brandy on the aft deck.

“We should make good time tonight,” he said. “There’s no wind to speak of and the sea is as flat as a billiard table.”

Aaron had mapped out the trip to San Diego in his head. “I assume we’re taking the Panama Canal route,” he said. “Do they even
allow
private yachts through there, with all of the huge cargo ships and cruise ships going in and out?”

“I can’t say it will be easy,” Jason admitted. “We’ll be like a skateboard on a freeway. But private yachtsmen do it every day. We’ll hire an agent to help us with the paperwork and navigation, and we’ll be measured and fees calculated based on our theoretical cargo capacity. As we approach the Canal Zone we’ll be in contact with traffic control at Flemenco, keeping them informed regarding our location and speed. It's a one to three day trip through the canal, depending upon how good our agent is at schmoozing the authorities.”

“The authorities can cause problems for us?” Aaron asked.

“I’m not too concerned,” Jason said. “Canal agents have a reputation for getting things done.”

Brandy was shocked. She had figured that crossing the Panama Canal would take about an hour.

 “I’m especially looking forward to crossing Lake Gatun,” Jason said. “It makes up a large portion of the canal, and I should be able to relax for a while with no locks to worry about. Overall it should be a very interesting crossing.”

“How long will the whole trip take?” Brandy asked.

“Two to three weeks,” Jason said. “I’m figuring four or five days from the Caymans to Panama, another one to three days on the canal, maybe five days up to Cabo, followed by two or three days sailing to San Diego.”

“Do we have to worry about ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean’?” Aaron asked, only half kidding.

Brandy looked at him, surprised. That possibility had never occurred to her.

Jason smiled. “I’d be lying if I said we didn’t. But according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre, the two countries to be concerned about in this region are Brazil and Peru. We’re sailing to Panama by way of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, hugging the coastline, and Central America is not on the bureau's current list.”

Brandy sat back in her seat, dazed. This adventure was turning out to be a lot more than she had bargained for.

Chapter 25

Jason Souther had done an excellent job covering his tracks over the last two years, and for Harness and Holt, sniffing themselves all the way from their tiny East Coast precinct office to Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands had taken a considerable amount of skill, more than a little luck, and most of their strength and stamina; and although they had come up empty at the marina the first time around, the intrepid duo were confident that, at long last, they were hot on Jason’s trail.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, they decided to stop by the Cayman Union Bank, figuring that if Jason
were
living on Grand Cayman he would likely have an account there. But it was no use. The island’s legendary banking system was every bit as secretive as they’d heard it would be.

With their confidence still high, the men dropped back by the marina to pay another visit to the
Cayman Jewel
.

But her slip was empty.

They scanned the rest of the marina, figuring they’d somehow been confused as to the yacht’s actual location, but to no avail.

They went to the marina office and questioned the manager, and he confirmed that the yacht was indeed gone — out to sea for an indeterminate amount of time, destination unknown.

 Harness had lost Jason Souther
again
.

---

Tired and frustrated, Harness sat on a bench, trying to come to grips with the fact that he had failed, and that Jason’s trail and most of Holt’s savings had dried up.

He and his loyal partner would have no choice but to fly home to the States with their tails between their legs and try their best to mend their broken careers.

---

But before they did, Harness wanted to make one more stop.

Chapter 26

Two years had passed since Harness helped save a young boy’s life back at Sally’s Diner, and since then, hardly a day had gone by when he hadn’t thought of him.

He had heard that after being released from the hospital, the boy had left the country, leaving a trail when he applied for a work visa in the Cayman Islands. Harness knew that this, too, was an extreme long shot, but after questioning a few Cayman locals he was told that there was a young man that fit the description living up on Cayman Brac, working at a dive shop called Earl’s Reef.

He and Holt drove straight to the airport and boarded the next plane to Cayman Brac, betting on a chance to say hello to Aaron Quinn.

---

“You just missed him,” the salty man behind the counter at Earl’s Reef Dive Shop told them. “Won’t be back for a month ... that is if he ever
does
come back. Said something about sailing a motor-yacht through the Panama Canal, and in my experience, those folks, the ones that sail that far, never return. He’ll be sorely missed around here.”

Harness couldn’t believe his luck. They had actually tracked Aaron down. It was a shame that they had missed him.

“Did he say where they were headed?” he asked, figuring he might run into Aaron sometime in the future.

“I can’t recall,” the man said. “But he did mention a flaming redhead who has the hots for him.” He paused, scratching his whiskers. “There was something else ... Oh, yeah, I’m pretty sure he said the boat’s captain was some guy named ... Jason.”

Harness looked at Holt, unable to believe what he’d just heard. Holt couldn’t believe it either.

“Did he mention the captain’s last name?” Harness asked the man. “Or the name of the yacht?”

“Nope, only Jason.”

Harness had to take a moment. There was no way that the guy Aaron was sailing with was Jason
Souther
... or that the motor-yacht he and Aaron were on was the
Cayman Jewel.
That would be
way
too strange a coincidence. An impossible turn of fate.

He jotted down his number on a scrap of paper and handed it to the man. “If by some chance Aaron should happen to return, would you tell him I stopped by?”

“Yep,” the man said. He dropped the note into a jar full of business cards.

Harness thanked the man, and then he and Holt left Earl’s Reef and boarded a plane bound for Panama City.

Friday

Vladivostok, Russia

Chapter 27

Ekatarina Vtorakevna Pankova lived with her father in their modest home overlooking Vladivostok Harbor, along Russia’s northern coast. She was in her bedroom, seated lightly on a small chair, smiling at her reflection in the vanity mirror, brushing her long black hair with enthusiasm.

She was going to see her boyfriend tonight. They had been dating for two years now, and she had a strong feeling that tonight would be the night he would ask for her hand in marriage.

 She set the brush aside and lifted her breasts a little before letting them bounce, thinking,
Thank you my twin friends. You’ve served me well
.

There was a knock on her door, which she answered after quickly donning her robe.

“Yes, Father?” she said.

“There is something I need to discuss with you,” Vtorak Pankov said.

Ekatarina glanced at the clock on her bedside table. “But I was just getting ready to go see Boris.”

“Please, sit down,” Pankov insisted.

Ekatarina hesitated and then took a seat on the edge of the bed.

Pankov pulled up a chair. “Ekatarina, my dear,” he said. “Now that you are out of high school, you need to see the world.”

She looked at her father.
I know that,
she thought. She was hoping to be married soon, and seeing the world was her plan.

“You and I are going to America for a while,” Pankov said.

“
What?
” Ekatarina cried, incredulous. “Where?”

“California,” he said. “San Diego to be precise.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“We leave in three weeks.”

Ekatarina couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You’re just doing this because you don’t like Boris!” she cried. “You know we plan to marry soon, and now you want to break us apart!”

“When my business there is finished we will return,” Pankov said. “If Boris loves you as much as you think he does, he will wait for you.”

Ekatarina grabbed her hair as if to tear it out in frustration. “How long?” she asked quickly. “How long will we be in America?”

Pankov knew he would not be coming back. But as for his daughter, it depended, of course, upon how the U.S. responded to the assassination.

“A few days, maybe a few weeks,” he said. “If things go as planned.”

“You’re lying,” Ekatarina said. “No one from Russia ever just
visits
the United States. You plan to
immigrate
and
keep me there forever!
” She rolled over onto the bed and buried her face in her pillow, sobbing.

“I don’t expect you to understand,” Pankov said calmly. “But this matter is of the utmost importance to our country. Some day you will realize that, and perhaps then you will forgive me. I will give you an exact departure date when I have one.”

Then he went out.

Tuesday

Four Days Later ...

10 Miles off the Coast of

Costa Rica

Chapter 28

For Jason and his crew, the first few days of the voyage had run like fine clockwork. Refueling and resupply were easy, and the towns, restaurants, and bars they visited along the way were fantastic. Even Brandy had begun to relax, thinking maybe the trip wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

At around 4:00 a.m., Tuesday, just before sunrise, 10 miles off the coast of Costa Rica, Aaron awoke to a strange, low buzz coming from somewhere on the water. He grabbed a pair of high-powered binoculars out of a cabinet and went to the window.

In the predawn light he could just make out what appeared to be four men in a small outboard approaching the
Cayman Jewel
at high speed, and as they drew nearer it was clear that they were carrying rifles. Jason had told Aaron what to watch out for, and there was little doubt that he was about to encounter his first pirates.

He jumped into some clothes and ran to the master cabin to alert Jason.

“How far out?” Jason said, pulling on his pants.

“About a mile,” Aaron said.

“Go to the midships cabin and get my sniper rifle. There’s an assault rifle as well … in the large drawer under the bed. Hurry!”

Aaron ran to the cabin and retrieved the rifles, along with a box of ammo for each.

He returned with the guns, and Jason took the AWSM. Aaron slid a magazine into the well of the assault rifle and clicked it home. Then he slapped it hard and gave it a tug to make sure it was seated.

“Looks like you know how to handle a rifle,” Jason said, surprised.

“Actually, I do,” Aaron said.

Jason finished assembling his rifle, listening for the approaching boat. “Time to rock, my friend,” he said.

---

From up on deck they could clearly see the four men speeding toward them in their small outboard, and Aaron had been correct: they had guns.

“They’re the real thing, all right,” Jason said. “Friendlies would have signaled their intentions by now. These guys would as soon slit your throat as look at you.”

Sweat moistened Aaron’s palms.

---

The two positioned themselves and readied their rifles.

“I’ll take out the one on the tiller,” Jason said. “Hopefully that will discourage them. If they keep coming, I may need your help.”

 Aaron had sworn to himself that as long as he lived he would never touch a rifle in anger again. “Do we really have to shoot them?” he asked.

Suddenly they saw muzzle flashes and several bullets zinged by followed by the sound of gunfire.

“Holy
shit
,” Aaron said, ducking. “I guess that answers my question.”
Better them than us
, he thought miserably.

Jason put his eye to the scope and tracked his target. The boat bounded on the water making it a difficult shot. He controlled his breathing and slowly squeezed the trigger.

POP!

The man flipped backward over the outboard and the boat veered hard left. One of the remaining three quickly took the tiller, but instead of turning about and running, he cranked the throttle and keep right on coming. The other two men continued to fire off round after round.