Monthly Archives: March 2020

As Buck was descending into the Philadelphia Airport through a light rain, Jack was staring through the mist, admitting to himself that he was an action junkie. Two days in an overly solicitous luxury environment tried his patience. The call he got from Captain Shorer cheered him up. When the authorities got their act together and a warrant, they raided the freighter and after a hard search a Coast Guard officer found a hidden compartment. When they broke in they found 23 young women in varying states of health and drug addiction. The ship was impounded and the entire crew under arrest without bail.

Kathy told Jack to stop pacing around like a tiger in a cage. Sally had needed the rest and eventually she snapped back to her previous outlook on life, but there were shadows. Not fear, but a looming question: What was she doing with her life? What she was doing before her kidnapping now seemed petty. She had long talks with Kelly who finally had to tell her that she was not at liberty to tell anyone what she was doing and to please stop asking. Kelly’s response shocked Sally. Kelly, seeing the shocked embarrassment, told her to talk to Kathy but warned her under that polite exterior, Kathy was a hard, tough warrior.

When the Lear touched down and taxied into the private plane section of the Philadelphia Airport, Jack told Kelly and Sally to either stay with the plane or wait in the clubroom. Buck or his co-pilot would show them. Jack told Buck he and Kathy would be no more than three hours and he wanted to leave for Pittsburgh when they returned with the new puppy.

Having a police badge certainly made traveling by air easier. Especially if you owned the plane. Their limousine was allowed to come up to the airplane. Jack suspected Buck’s longtime buddy chain of friends also helped. Shadow jumped in the back seat with Kathy and Jack. When the driver turned in shock to look at his canine backseat passenger, Shadow stared at him and yawned, showing off his massive jaws. The chauffeur asked Kathy if the dog was safe. Kathy said with her best impish smile, “The dog is safe and you will be too if you don’t upset him. He is very smart and knows if you like him. He prefers to ride up front. If he bothers you back here, I’ll tell him to jump up front.”

The chauffeur said, “No! He’s fine back there. Has he ever bitten anyone?”

Kathy was going to give the chauffeur another smart remark, but Jack stepped in and said, “Only on command unless he sees someone attacking us. Then he does his thing.”

Jack handed the chauffeur the address of the breeder’s kennel and said, “I want to be back here in no more than three hours. Can you meet that schedule?”

“Sure, unless you stay longer than an hour at the kennel.”

Jack had expected the address he was given was to a kennel. Instead the limo pulled into a driveway of a private house in an attractive suburban community. The chauffeur moved the limo around to the back of the house. A woman came out and introduced herself as Cynthia Morgan and invited them inside but suggested that Shadow stay in the car. Cynthia said, “Your puppy is in the house with his mother and she doesn’t like other dogs around her pup. She barely tolerates other people handling her pup. She is upstairs but would set up a tremendous brewhaha if she picked up your dog’s scent.”

Cynthia asked Jack and Kathy to wait in the living room and she would bring the pup down. Kathy nudged Jack and nodded at the sheets and covers over all the furniture. Jack shrugged. They both looked up as they heard sounds of a dog charging down the rug-covered stairs. Kathy was expecting a puppy still in the pick-me-up-and-hold-me size. Instead, a 40-pound bouncing bundle of brindle-coated Bouvier slid around the corner and leapt upon the couch while wagging his stubby tail. From couch to arm chair to floor and back again the streaking pup hit every piece of overstuffed furniture in the room before pausing and grinning at the two open-mouthed humans. Cynthia arrived and said, “He has show-dog manners but not much of any other training. I call him Tory, short for tornado, but you can give him a new name. His registered title is too long to remember. If you change his name put that on the form I’ll give you to send to the AKC. His shots are up to date. He is very healthy. I had the pick of the litter. He was the smallest but the heaviest. He has excellent conformation and loves the show ring. Unfortunately, the failure of the second testicle to drop disqualifies him for competing beyond the age of six months. Tory was on his way to be a great champion. Winning Best-in-Breed at the National Show for four- to six-month-old Bouviers when he was only four months, the youngest dog in the show, is no small thing. It breaks my heart to lose him, but my dogs have to pay their way.”

Cynthia was basically talking to Kathy. Jack was down on the floor bonding with Shadow’s son. Only Shadow didn’t know it yet. Jack stood up with Tory in one arm struggling to lick Jack’s ear. Kathy said, “Does he ever stop moving?”

“Only when he’s sleeping.”

Cynthia was very organized and had feeding instructions, health records, pedigree records, and her phone numbers. “If for some reason it doesn’t work out, I want him back. You come with very high recommendations so I doubt there will be any problems. Get him to a very good vet if you’re going to have him neutered. But not before he is a year old. The papers enclosed here explain all that.”

Jack asked Cynthia if he could take Tory out to meet Shadow. He had brought a collar and leash for him. Cynthia said, “My place is fenced in when the driveway gate is closed. But Tory can’t even spell ‘recall.’ So he will come back to you when he is done running as fast as he can for as long as he can.”

“I’d like them to meet off lead. I’ll close the driveway gate.”

Jack came back to get Tory after the gate was closed and Shadow was loose, checking the local scents. Jack put Tory down and he charged Shadow, who turned his shoulder and took the charge. Tory bounced back and Shadow, using the Bouvier hip maneuver, knocked Tory down and put his huge front paw on the wiggling pup. After a few seconds, Shadow backed off and let Tory come over and lick his face and then run off as fast as he could. Shadow ran after him and the two Bouviers played the age-old game. By the time Kathy came out, they were lying down side-by-side watching their human pack members. Cynthia came out and stood still in shock as Shadow and Tory walked up together to meet them. Cynthia said, “Your Bouvier is huge with show-dog qualities even with his graying muzzle. I’ve never seen Tory so calm with another dog. Shadow looks to be seven or eight years old.”

Jack said, while rubbing both dogs’ heads, “Shadow is close to eight. He’s serious about manners. He’ll help me train Tory. Before we go I’d like to see the bitch. I’ll put Tory and Shadow in the car.”

“Okay. But be careful with her. She’s very protective.”

The bitch was as standoffish as Tory was in your face. Kathy hoped the “puppy” would be somewhere in the middle. Tory’s father was a champion many times over.

Jack sat up front on the trip back to the airport. Kathy wanted to sit in the back with the sleeping dogs. Tory had his head in her lap and was sound asleep. She thought, I’ve only known this dog for 40 minutes and he’s already stolen my heart.

Jack said, “If we are going to change his name, the sooner, the better. Do you have one you like?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. My parents had a wonderful German shepard that I grew up with. His name was Gideon, it means warrior. Is that okay with you?”

Jack put his hand on Tory’s head and in his deepest voice said, “Henceforth, your name will be Gideon. Carry it well.”

“That sounded more like a baptism than a name change. But thank you.”

Jack estimated they would cover the approximate 40 miles to the marina in less than four hours. He used one of the cell phones he took from the Night Lady and called Captain Shorer. He was put right through. The captain said, “Jack, where in the hell have you been?”

“How about I tell you later. Now I have some intelligence for you. There is a freighter, Twisted Moon, tied up at the wharf in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island bound for the Middle and Far East. I am certain there are captives on board. When I hang up, I’ll fax you the contact instructions in our possession. With this information I don’t believe it will be hard to convince whomever that the vessel needs to be boarded and thoroughly searched. I suspect the women will be found in a hidden compartment. If these people think they’re in danger, they’ll dispose of all the captives. I have no evidence that will hold up in court. When you find the women you will have all the evidence you need.”

When Jack hung up, he knew the captain wasn’t happy. The world of criminal protection at the expense of victims had taken over effective law enforcement. Sally McGovern and at least a dozen other women would be on their way to a short life of sexual slavery if they had to count on conventional law enforcement to rescue them. Maybe his way was too hard, but the victims they had saved over the years never complained. Jack felt they could beat the odds only so long. Then someone might have to pay.

Sally had a bout with heroin withdrawal soon after the Surveyor was under way in the open ocean running at 25 knots. Kelly sat with her. She refused small amounts of morphine to help her down, telling Kelly that she wasn’t ever going to let anyone feed her heroin again. By the time Jack reached marker 675 and slowed to enter St. Simons Sound and the Fredericka River, Sally had made some improvement. Jack had called Buck, the pilot, earlier and told him to move the plane to St. Simons on Sea Island, Georgia, and to make reservations for himself, the co-pilot, and four others at the Lodge. They needed three bedrooms and Shadow had to be permitted in Jack’s room. He instructed Buck to remember that cost was not a problem and to reserve a year’s dry storage at the nearest marina in the company’s name for a 50-foot motor launch. Lastly, he asked Buck to please have a limo waiting at the marina in three hours.

******************************************

Two nights at the resort were wearing on Jack. Kathy knew it was time to leave when even she started getting bored. The downtime was needed and the sex was wonderful. She rolled off Jack and said, “Lover, it is time to be on our way. I don’t want to lose our edge. The rescue of Sally was better than textbook. We are on a roll so let’s go. I want to pick up our Bouvier pup. So crank up your toy plane and let’s get out of this plush trap. I’m ready.”

“What, you’re tired of sex and good food?”

“Food yes. Sex no. We Carolina girls like our sex quick, hard, and often. But we don’t want to kill our men, especially when they are over thirty.”

“Listen lady, have I ever left you high and dry?”

“No. But there is always a first time. So call Buck. I’ll get our poor girls without mates on departure alert for tomorrow.”

Kathy followed Jack out some miles beyond the three-mile limit until Jack slowed the Night Lady and put it on auto pilot just fast enough to maintain steerage. Kathy moved up to within 30 feet of the Lady and matched the speed and course. Jack hauled up the body below deck and laid him beside the three that fell in the initial attack. Using the tools and wire he found in the small engine room compartment, he wired a guesstimated 20 pounds to each body and pushed them over the side into 300 feet of water. Waving to Kathy he took over control and moved the Night Lady out a few more miles. When the radar showed no vessels were nearby, Jack disconnected the automatic bilge pumps and, using a one-inch drill bit, made a hole large enough to use the saber saw to cut through the double hull. He managed to weaken a foot square area that was beginning to spurt seawater. The spurting turned to a square foot fountain when he used a fire axe to knock the hole through. The Lady was beginning to settle when Jack motioned Kathy to come along side. It was an easy jump to the deck of the Surveyor.

“Goodbye to a beautiful boat and good riddance to the worst period of my life,” Sally said under her breath.

“Well, former cop,” Kathy said, turning to Jack. “Do you think anyone will be able to put this story together from the bodies and deliberately sunk boat?”

“No. They will probably never be found. Water is too deep over the sunken boat for amateur wreck divers to find. Not much metal on the boat and a 70-foot boat is not much of a wreck to dive on. In a few years ocean life will begin claiming the wreck.”

Kathy and Kelly were waiting for Jack’s signal to begin firing. As soon as Jack saw two men emerging on the deck, he called Shadow and leapt aboard the higher-riding Night Lady. He landed, rolled, and came up shooting. The three men on deck went down. Kathy had hit one of the men when Jack boarded the boat. All three of them were armed with .22 silenced weapons. Kathy took over the control of the Surveyor and Kelly boarded to finish the killing. Jack sent Shadow charging down the hatchway, following closely behind. He heard screaming as Shadow found one of the kidnappers wrestling with Sally. Her light robe was nearly torn to shreds. Her attacker had a screwdriver handle sticking out of his chest. Sally was doing the screaming and it wasn’t for help. Shadow knocked the man down and fastened his huge jaws on the back of the attacker’s neck. Jack called Shadow off and shot the kidnapper twice in the back of the head.

Jack saw Sally moving toward him and said, “Sally, Kelly is here with us. There’s little time. Come on deck now, we have to get out of here.”

“Kelly’s here?”

“Just up on deck making sure the kidnappers are all dead,” Jack said, motioning her to follow him.

“I knew she would come. She doesn’t know how to give up or quit. What is that wonderful dog doing here? I was too weak to finish that bastard and thought this is it. Then I saw this huge dog coming down the stairs like a streak. He never paused or growled. Just hit that creep like a linebacker and took him down.”

“That linebacker is my Bouvier, Shadow. He always knows what to do and is totally fearless. He hates terrorists and criminals. Don’t ask me how he knows. He has never threatened the wrong person. Come on, let’s get moving. Don’t worry about clothes. We have enough for you and I’m the only male and there’s not much of you I haven’t seen already.”

Jack helped an exhausted Sally up the ladder to the deck where Kelly ran over and hugged her. Both women were crying. Sally said, “Kelly, the only reason I could hang on is that I knew you would be trying to find me. How many people have a friend like that? I’ll love that big black dog forever. The thug was trying to put me in a body bag. Even sticking a screwdriver in his chest didn’t stop him. I stuck him too high. Then like a black flash the most powerful dog I’ve ever seen put the kidnapper down hard and would have killed him in seconds! Your friend called him off then shot the bastard. I was almost crazy and this man who came from nowhere, looked at me and, as cool as can be, said, ‘I’m with Kelly!’ I thought ‘I’m dreaming.’ Can this be true? My God, we are in the middle of the ocean. I love that man. Is he spoken for?”

Kelly laughed and said, “Yes and Kathy is almost as lethal as he is. So don’t even think about it. Come on board our boat and we’ll get you some clothes. Get dressed as fast as you can. We have to move. We’re not the cops or Coast Guard. Nobody knows we’re here. If we get caught, everyone but you would go in the slammer.”

Jack and Shadow made a three-minute search below deck and found nothing but two cell phones and some weapons. Nothing was found in any of the cabins. In a locked drawer in the cockpit Jack found instructions for meeting the Japanese freighter moored at the Fernandina Beach wharf. Stuffing the papers in this windbreaker, Jack called Shadow and jumped down onto the Surveyor’s open deck. Running up to the cockpit, he said, “Kathy, good job of tying us up. Kelly and Sally will be right over. I think she is okay. We’ll have to watch the drug thing. I’ve no idea how much she was given or even if she is addicted. There were vials of heroin in one of the heads.

“I’ve a couple of variations on our plan. I found the instructions for meeting the freighter. I don’t believe that ship is there to pick up one woman. There must be others on board. A freighter that size probably carries a crew of no more than five or six. It’s risky but we should be able to take it over and release the captives.”

“I agree we should rescue them,” Kathy said slowly. “But, then what? Where do we take them? I doubt they’re in as good shape as Sally. Do we kill the entire crew? If not, what is our escape plan? I can see success with everything but our getting back home safely. Sally will be okay. I doubt anyone but us knows she was gone. Kelly will explain to her why she must keep quiet.”

“Good questions. The same ones I couldn’t answer. The second variation. I call Captain Shorer tell him about the freighter and fax him the contact plans. Tell him time is critical. The freighter will be under way as early as tomorrow. Tell him nothing about Sally or the Night Lady. You follow me out a few miles into the ocean. I’ll dump the bodies and sink the Lady. You pick me up and we take the Surveyor to Brunswick. Put it in storage and have the plane pick us up at Sea Island. A day or so in a luxurious resort would be good for us. Do you like that plan better?”

“Yes! Let’s get started.”

6 AM Saturday, June 7th

At first light, the Surveyor moved eastward from the Cumberland Sound to a position five miles north of the northern jetty. Cruising slowly in the two-foot seas, Kathy and Kelly, in their bikinis, took turns at the telescope scanning the ocean to the west and north for vessels with the size and configuration of the Night Lady. Shadow was curled up on the floor of the cockpit, keeping Jack company.

They were ready for battle. Kelly was nurturing a cold anger for the men who kidnapped her friend. She had killed before and would have no qualms shooting the kidnappers. Jack was right, she thought, no prisoners. People profiting in human trafficking deserved no quarter. No rights being read. They had no constitutional rights. Like terrorists they preyed on the innocent and unsuspecting. They gave no mercy as they sold their captives into sexual slavery.

Jack was struggling to keep his focus. Cruising like this was mind-numbing. There were very few boats and fewer that even remotely resembled the Night Lady.

At 10:30 AM Kathy called out. “I have them. Behind us at our four o’clock about two miles off shore.”

Jack said over the intercom, “Okay, uniforms and weapons, and run up the big stars and bars. I’m going to bring us inshore of the Lady and about a half-mile back. If there are no fishermen at the south jetty, we’ll take them there. It may get rough so make sure you can hang on. Put on your life jackets.”

Shadow got up and started to go out the door. Jack said, “No, big guy, stay with me. Your time will come.”

Jack turned out into the ocean and made a sweeping turn to the north and east to bring the Surveyor into a southern heading behind and inside the line the Night Lady was holding. No other boats were within a few miles of their course. Jack gradually increased speed to 25 knots. The distance between the boats was steadily diminishing. The radar showed 300 yards and closing. They were within a mile of the entrance to Cumberland Sound. Jack said over the intercom, “Brace yourselves. Here we go.” Jack increased the speed to 40 knots. On board the Night Lady, the captain announced, “There is Coast Guard or some patrol boat behind us coming up fast. What do you want me to do?”

“Can you out run the boat?” Asad said as he hurried into the cockpit.

“No. They are much faster and it looks like they have a deck gun that is manned. If we try to run they will radio for help and maybe start shooting. We are in drug-running waters.”

Asad thought for a moment and said, “Let them come. We have all the right papers. It’s probably only a check for a fishing or traffic violation. If they ask you to stop, do it. The only danger is if they board and search the boat. They will find our prisoner. Get her into the weighted body bag and get prepared to dump her. There will be time. All American officials are so afraid of doing something wrong, it takes them a long time to do anything. If we are seen dumping a bag, it is nothing but a garbage violation. They will have no divers on board and the water is near 30 fathoms under us. What a waste of a fortune. Our people will not be happy. So don’t throw her over until I say so. I’ll get our papers ready.”

Below deck, Sally had been faking sleep for the last two hours. She knew she was due for another sedative soon. The faked sleep had delayed the drugs. Her head cleared and she had a good understanding of what was happening. Yesterday during her toilet time, she found and concealed a five-inch long screwdriver. At the first opening she was going to fight.

The captain of the Night Lady saw the patrol boat closing very fast. Jack used the siren to get their attention and switched on the loud hailer. He reversed the props and came alongside the slowing kidnapper’s boat. Over the loud hailer, Jack said, “Please bring the Night Lady to a stop. Bring all your crew and passengers on deck. I want to see them and don’t want to have to board you.”

The captain asked Asad for orders.

“Stop as they said. That .50 caliber machine gun is manned and so is the sailor standing near the cockpit. The huge dog must be one of those drug-sniffing dogs. For now do as they say. I’ll bring up one of the guards.”