The guys woke up early Friday morning, much earlier than Brittany and Karen in the adjoining hotel room. After showering and dressing for the day’s activities, they decided to go out for breakfast and maybe do a little shopping for the girls.
Returning to the hotel later in the morning, they found both women still sound asleep. Jake took the task of waking the girls up.
“You two gonna sleep all day?” He whispered in Brittany’s ear. “Don’t forget we need to get up to Lighthouse Beach before Wayne takes off without us.”
Both women showered and quickly dressed in the new clothes the men had purchased for them, choosing shorts and tank tops to wear over the skimpy thong bikinis. After grabbing a quick bite at the hotel’s breakfast buffet, the five team members along with Brad Langley boarded the Hatteras cruiser, setting course for the north end of the island. Once they joined Wayne with the other cruiser, the plan was to meet Evelyn Brooks at Kingston, Jamaica, eight hundred miles to the northwest.
Arriving at Lighthouse Beach, Trace spotted his brother sitting out on the rear deck of the Navigator cruiser. Wayne gawked as the huge cruiser pulled alongside.
“What the hell happened to the powerboat?” He shouted.
“It’s sitting at the bottom of the sea where your sorry-ass should be!” Brittany exclaimed, jumping on board the boat.
“We had to commandeer Sanchez’s boat so we could make our escape.” She added. “No thanks to you!”
“You’re off the team!” Brittany continued. “Once we get to Jamaica, your ass is history!”
Wayne didn’t argue the point, seeing Brittany was infuriated with him. She rushed passed him, climbing the ladder to the bridge. Firing up the twin diesel engines, she let them idle for several minutes before turning the boat towards Jamaica.
Brad Langley joined Brittany on the top deck as she steered the course towards Jamaica.
“I can’t wait till all this is over!” Brittany exclaimed.
“Maybe it already is?” Langley responded. “You just haven’t realized it yet.”
“Whatta you mean?” Brittany asked.
“It’s impossible to rescue the last two women.” Brad answered. “The odds are too great you’d even make it to where they are.”
“Bogotá?” Brittany inquired. “Is it Bogotá?”
“Yep.” Langley replied. “Might be more than two women now.”
“Why’s that?” Brittany questioned.
“Last Saturday night, two women vacationing with their husbands were kidnapped down in Rio.” Brad stated. “I feel there’s a connection to the same people who’ve got the other two in Bogotá.”
“So, now there could be four women instead of two.” Brittany commented.
“Two, four, maybe more.” Langley remarked. “Who knows how many.”
“What kind of information do you have?” Brittany asked.
“Not much, I’m afraid.” Langley replied. “I’ll go over it with you once we get to Jamaica.”
It was late Saturday night when the team entered the harbor at Kingston. Both boats were running low on fuel. The crew tied the luxury cruisers off at the far end of the marina away from all the hustle and bustle of the resort city.
“We’ll have to turn Sanchez’s boat over to the DEA.” Brittany said to Langley.
“Like hell you will!” Brad immediately responded. “You confiscated this boat, not the DEA. By rights it’s now yours.”
“What the hell would I do with it?” Brittany said.
“Sell it if you don’t want to keep it.” Langley replied. “I can get you a salvage title for it. Myself, I’d keep it.”
“I don’t have any use for it.” Brittany remarked. “Guess I could sell it and use the money to reimburse Evelyn.”
“You’d be giving up one helluva lot of money.” Langley spoke out. “Sanchez paid almost three million for her.”
“I’m not in this for the money.” Brittany responded.
“What are you in it for?” Langley inquired, lowering his voice.
“I’m not sure anymore.” Brittany muttered. “Maybe just for myself. Something I just want to accomplish.”
The team shared a few cold beers and a late dinner before turning in for the night. Brittany found falling asleep difficult. Thoughts of planning the last rescue in the interior region of Columbia were on her mind.
Waking late Sunday morning, Brittany slipped on a robe before joining the others on the rear deck. Karen was showing off her new thong bikini. The guys were definitely taking notice. Everyone seemed in a cheerful mood.
“How about some breakfast?” Richard offered.
“No thanks.” Brittany responded. “Just coffee.”
“And cigarettes!” Trace exclaimed. “Don’t forget those damn cigarettes!”
“What’s on the agenda for today?” Jake inquired.
“Nothing really.” Brittany replied. “You guys can go ashore and enjoy the sights or whatever you wanna do.”
“Maybe we can rent a couple of those motor scooters and tool around the city.” Wayne suggested.
“You wanna go with us?” Richard asked.
“No.” Brittany answered. “Brad and I have got alot to talk about.”
“Suppose it’s about the next mission?” Trace said.
“Yeah, it is.” Brittany responded. “But you and Wayne won’t be involved. We won’t be needing the boats anymore.”
“I’m not going back to Tampa without you!” Trace exclaimed.
“I don’t care where you go.” Brittany retorted. “You’re just not going with us.”
Shortly after noon, the team went ashore to see the sights of Kingston, leaving Brittany and Langley alone on the cruiser. Sitting out on the rear deck, Langley reviewed with Brittany the information he had on the last two women who‘d been sold as sex slaves.
The women were twin sisters in their early twenties. They’d been kidnapped off their parent’s yacht six weeks earlier, less than a mile off the coast of Cat Island in the Bahamas. Langley’s speculation was that the two young girls had been sold to Carmen Alverez. Alverez had been the president of her own financial institution and investment firm back in the states. Suspected of murdering her philandering husband, she’d fled to her home country of Columbia a few years earlier to escape prosecution.
He showed Brittany photographs of the two girls taken at their college graduation and some taken during their ill-fated vacation.
“So, this Carmen Alverez is into sex with other women, I take it.” Brittany said.
“No. She’s into prostitution.” Langley responded. “She owns a high class brothel near the outskirts of Bogotá. Caters only to rich businessmen, government officials and people involved in the drug trade.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the sight of Evelyn Brooks approaching the boat. Brittany was happy to see her close friend and confidant. Stepping aboard the Hatteras cruiser, she gave Brittany a big hug. Sitting on the lounge with Brittany, she listened intently as Langley continued sharing his information.
Brad showed the two women several pictures of Carmen Alverez. She was in her late fifties but could have easily passed for someone much younger. Alverez was quite beautiful, tall and slender with long black hair that ran halfway down her back. Langley stated she always dressed in exquisite clothing and wore fine jewelry, something very noticeable in her photographs. Her make-up looked impeccable. Carmen Alverez was definitely a woman of class in a very lucrative business.
“What else have you got?” Brittany asked.
“I’ve got some aerial shots of the Alverez home and maps of the city.” Langley replied. “That’s about it.”
“You mentioned the kidnapping in Rio last weekend.” Brittany said. “What makes you think that’s tied in with Alverez?”
Langley produced several photographs of the women who’d been kidnapped. Both women were in their mid-twenties, both blondes with blue eyes. The two women who’d been kidnapped off their parent’s yacht were also blondes with blue eyes.
“You’ve got to be kidding!” Brittany exclaimed. “Your basing your assumption on hair and eye color!”
“Columbians are known for their love of American women with blonde hair and blue eyes.” Langley responded. “I’m betting you’ll find them with Alverez. That is, if you get that far.”
“You’ve got to get through miles of rough terrain inhabited by drug dealers, bandits and rebels.” He added. “This ain’t no amusement park you’re going into.”
Brittany sorted through the aerial photographs and maps. Along with the photographs of the four women, it didn’t amount to much information. She put all the information back into the folders for safekeeping. Brittany and her team would have to plan their mission around what little information they had.
Langley left late in the afternoon for his flight back to Dallas. Evelyn and Brittany decided to stretch out on the top deck and catch some sun. While sipping iced tea, they discussed the pros and cons of attempting the rescue mission. Evelyn expressed her concern for the team’s safety, especially Brittany’s.
Glancing up the dock, Brittany noticed two neatly dressed men and a woman approaching their boats.
“Let’s get down below.” She stated.
Brittany scurried down the interior stairway to the salon. Evelyn quickly followed behind her. Brittany hurried to her stateroom. When she returned, Evelyn noticed she was wearing a wrap over the bottom half of her bikini.