Clint Faraday Collection C: Murder in Motion Collector's Edition (8 page)

Clint could picture Orlando’s response to the
news that he was a few million dollars richer. His reaction the
first time was, “What the hell will I do with it?”

Clint caught the early bus to David in the
morning.

“
Clint?
What’s happening down there?” Judi demanded. She called just after
he got on the bus.

“
What
have you heard?”

“
That
some spies were doing something and some Spanish guy came in and
broke it up.”

“
Not
quite. I’ll tell you about it when I get back home.”

“
Nando is
back.”

“
Oh?
That’s news! It might work out pretty well, all-in-all.”

“
He and
Serg seem to have come to a Mexican standoff of some kind. I
wondered if maybe you engineered that.”

“
No. I
haven’t heard from Sergio. He might have figured I’d like for Nando
to be where I can see him.”

They chatted, then Clint called Manny, who
said he had some fairly complete reports about part of it, but not
so much what it was about. He knew a very important mine was closed
down.

“
The
missiles?”

“
Uh-huh.
It was a wild scheme that could have ended up with a lot of people
hurt, but in the old Soviet block.”

“
Clint!
Do NOT become involved with those people! They’re
crazy!”

“
So Ivan
said. I was involved, like it or not.”

“
I’m glad
to hear that you
were
involved.
No more?”

“
Not
really. They get in worse trouble if they come after me than they
do if they cut their loses. They’ll be ‘way too busy trying to
survive than to worry about me. I think, from what I learned, that
two weeks and it would have gotten really hairy for some
people.”

“
I see.
They would have been able to convert a missile in two more
weeks?”

“
If I’ve
figured the process right, about that.”

“
It’s
stopped?”

Clint thought, then answered, “I think
they’ll all be looking for a way out. Nando is back in Bocas Town.
I think I can defuse another piece of it through him. Those people
are crazy. They’re not stupid.”

They talked a little more. It broke up the
boredom of yet another three hour bus ride.

Clint decided not to stay in David. He got
off the bus and went to the Hotel Porto del Sol to become Clint
Faraday again, then caught the bus for Bocas. It was an uneventful
trip, though Clint got a bit of a feeling of deja vu when they
passed the Rambala Road. He talked with several people in Chiriqui
Grande, then went on to Almirante and home. Judi greeted him and
came over with coffee, but he said what he wanted was a couple of
Balboas, then a little rest, then a meeting with Nando – after
getting updated by Sergio.

Not a lot was on his comp. He cleaned up the
whole thing, then went to the police station to chat with Sergio.
Things were maintaining a sort of nervous peace. He asked about the
yacht that had been there for several days (That kind of stuff is
handled by the police, checking visas and so forth) and was told
they were a bunch of French and Belgium tourists who had left, then
gone to Chiriqui Grande for two days, then were sailing for
Europe.

That set off bells! “Stop that boat! Get
Interpol and the coast guard and anyone else you can in on it! I
have to call, a friend,” Clint cried.

“
What’s
on that boat?” Sergio asked, looking shocked.

“
Nuclear
fuel.”

“
Shit!
For real?” Sergio seldom used anything any stronger than
“Maldición!” (Literally, “Bad Word!”)

“
I think
so. We may be able to stop this before it gets out of
hand.”

He went into the front room and called a
friend who was an undercover agent for Interpol. He quickly
explained what he knew and what he suspected. Manolo said they
couldn’t do anything until the yacht came into a national area, but
he would have it watched every inch of the way to be sure they
didn’t transfer anything to anybody. It could be done through the
satellites.

Clint
went back in and talked a bit more with Sergio. He suggested that
he would talk with Nando, then might want him held for ID check or
something. Sergio said they could hold him on a very solid charge
of suspicion of homicide. Clint agreed that was fairly well set so
long as it wasn’t a direct charge. He
was
suspected.

He went into town and to the Laguna where
Nando was staying. Nando was sitting on the porch and called to
Clint as he approached. Clint went to sit across from him.

There was a short silence, then Nando said,
“How much do you know?”

“
All of
it, now, I think.”

Nando smiled. “I don’t think you have a hint
of what it’s about. It’s not what you think.”

“
Nuclears. Two factions who want control of an area. Bad
news if either gets the top hand for everyone in the
area.”

He looked surprised. “We were warned to keep
you out of it.”

“
The bit
with the rednecks. You or them?”

“
Them, if
it matters. They acted on the word of a person who was reporting to
both sides. He has disappeared. It was stupid beyond belief that
they involved the Indios.

“
Tell me,
would you have even cared if that wasn’t done?”

“
I
wouldn’t have asked anymore about it. If something else brought it
up I would’ve gone after it.”

“
I wonder
if they got enough of the product out to accomplish more than
threats.”

“
They
haven’t yet delivered it to the European connection. It won’t
arrive.”

That was even more of a shocker, it appeared.
Nando stared at him without speaking. He was suddenly sweating.

“
Your
silly dodge with the yacht was as stupid as the other distractions
meant to head me off.”

“
I
see.”

“
You’re,
as Frandrev said about his own case, a walking dead man, aren’t
you?”

He looked like he was about to cry. “I have
to get out!”

“
As
Gregor also said, it’s part of the trade. You knew that from the
start.”

“
You have
to help me! They’ll kill me!”

“
What?
You hire yourself out as a killer, then want to cry when it’s your
turn? It’s what you signed up for. There isn’t a way
out.”

Nando was staring at the table top when Clint
got up and walked out. Sergio was in front of the China. Clint
waved and shook his head. If Sergio arrested him now and held him
it would be his responsibility when he was killed. Clint had
finally learned to be pragmatic where these kinds of people were
concerned. If they were lucky Nando would leave and never arrive
somewhere else.

Now it was time to wait again. Clint didn’t
believe for one short second this was over. They would try the same
stunt somewhere else if they weren’t stopped here and now.

Just a
Distraction

“
Clint,
you’ve started a firestorm. It’s lucky it won’t be here to any
extent,” Manny reported. “Would you believe those cruds tried to
get my old organization to help them?

“
I mean,
Ruskies? We’d have anything to do with them – particularly when
what they wanted was for us to hit some others who were helping
them? Gimme a break!”

“
I think
we have a little more to go,” Clint warned. “Don’t let out the
least hint you know anything at all about it, other than I went all
over hell an...!”

“
What?”

“
I just
thought of something I said on the comarca fifty or a hundred years
ago, or so it seems, when I got drawn into this.

“
I’ll be
damned!”

“
What?”

“
I told
some people I’d see them in hell.”

“
The
rednecks?”

“
Uh-huh.
Some things just clicked.”

“
They’re
gone. I kept a very close eye on them. They’re what they appeared
to be.”

“
Exactly!
They’re what they appeared to be.”

There was a pause, then, “Don’t do that.”

“
Oh. They
appeared to be inordinately stupid gringo rednecks.”

“
And
that’s what they are.”

“
Another
something to stop me from finding the real source of the
problem.”

“
Two
factions from the old Soviet Union who were trying to grab control
over each other. That ain’t it?”

“
Oh, I
suppose it was, at least in their own minds.”

“
It’s
better if I don’t know what the hell you’re talking
about?”

“
It’s a
lot safer for your family. Those people are capable of
anything.”

He could picture Manny looking thoughtful and
nodding. They chatted a minute or two more, then Clint rang off. He
would wait until the yacht was stopped and the uranium seized
before making a phone call.

What to do in the meantime?

He got his boat and he, Ben, Earl and Judi
went fishing.

“
Hi,
Clint!” Fredrico, a friend from Almirante called from his boat as
he was passing. Clint had gone to the Lemon Grass with Judi, Ben
and Earl for dinner the night before. Clint met a girl from
Australia and they spent the night together. Clint was laying in
the hammock on his deck with coffee. Anita had gone with friends to
take a tour of the islands and to snorkel off the Crawl Key end of
Bastimentos. He returned the greeting.

Judi had finished watering her orchids and
had called that she was going into Bocas Town for a meeting of the
community watch group. Ben and Earl came by and knocked on the
door. Clint called to “Come in!” and they came out onto the dock.
Earl grinned at Clint and Ben said he should wear clothes when he
was around. He drove him crazy.

“
You and
Earl serious?” Clint asked.

“
Semi. It
could work. He’s wild and fantastic in bed, but he has to go back
to his job in Phoenix next week. We just stopped to say hi and to
tell Judi that Nando sneaked out last night.”

“
She’s at
the community center.”

“
We know.
We saw her when we were leaving. I just wanted to show Earl what I
have to put up with. You always dress – or don’t dress – like that
and keep turning me down.”

“
Not my
bag.”

“
Nobody
says that anymore.”

“
I
do!”

The computer dinged that he had a message. He
sighed and went in. He usually didn’t bother, but he was waiting
for a message.

Done. M. Rpt fndg ltr.

Manolo. They’d stopped the yacht. He’d let
Clint know what they found as soon as he knew.

Clint thought, then decided to wait. He
wanted all the facts when he made the phone call.

“
Important?” Ben asked when he went back out to his
deck.

“
Yes and
no. It’s what I expected.”

“
Want to
go out in your boat? I’d like to show Earl a few of the islands
close. Maybe I can convince him to move here and make me settle
down.”

“
I have
to wait for a couple more things. You can take the boat. It’s right
there. The keys are on the peg.”

“
I knew
you’d do that! I’ll fill it.”

Clint nodded. Ben went back to his place to
get their bathing suits and gear. Clint chatted with him. When Ben
was gone he said, “Is it serious with Ben or are you just to
distract me?”

“
It’s
gotten serious. I am gay and Ben is one hell of a nice guy as well
as as good a lover as I’ve ever known. I also love this place. The
people are the best.”

“
You
job’s terminated, you know.”

“
No, I
didn’t know. I received my last report late yesterday. I suspected
things had caved.”

“
They
stopped the yacht.”

He nodded. “I’m not in deep enough to be in
any real trouble. Let them think I’ve got you fooled?”

“
If
you’re honest with Ben about the emotional thing, no problem. Don’t
ever mess with my friends or involve them in this kind of
crap.”

“
I’ve
learned enough that I take that as a very strong and honest
warning. I think I like Ben too much, but it either will or won’t
happen. I swear he won’t be in any danger.”

Clint nodded. Ben came back in carrying the
stuff. Earl said Ben was right. He couldn’t seduce Clint either.
They were laughing as they got into the boat.

Clint dressed as much as he ever did in Bocas
Town and went to chat with people at the Golden Grill, then to go
to the Rosa Blanca for some farmacia needs, then to the China, then
back home about eleven thirty to deep fry some breaded shrimp and
French fries. Except the French fries were yuca. He hung around for
about two hours, fixing this and that around the place before the
comp dinged.

2/3 M CM. Done
.

They found the uranium. they had 2/3 enough
to make a bomb.

The comp
dinged again.
Turn on your phone.

Clint checked the cell phone. It was totally
discharged, so he plugged in the charger and called Manolo.