Copyright Otto26
Thanks to my editor, snooper, who puts up with my eccentric punctuation. Thanks also to those of you who read these stories and send me constructive feedback. If you haven't read the first two installments of this you're going to more than a little lost. Take a look at them at my profile page. *
The catamaran raced across the blue waters of the Gulf, running before the steady wind with taut sails. The occasional gust would momentarily lift the starboard hull out of the water and cause Sonia, standing at the wheel, to whoop in unadulterated delight. Robert, the least nautically inclined of the group, sat back into the sling that let him lean out on the starboard hull to provide additional weight.
"She's going to dump this boat one of these days," he commented to Shin.
The young fisherman, sitting in the harness next to him, nodded in agreement. "But the trip will be fun," he replied in the thickly accented Creole English he spoke.
Shin was one of the two crew-members of the Dancing Girl. A member of the Chinese minority in Punta Gorda, Shin was the youngest son of a fairly prosperous businessman; his father owned a very small fleet of fishing boats. Faced with the prospect of inheriting next to nothing, and wanting a little adventure, Shin had found employment with Robert. More precisely, he had found employment with Sonia.
Dancing Girl had been a birthday present from Robert and Sara. Robert had decided to buy Sonia a sail-boat and put Sara on the task. She had found several prospects and they had purchased the Dancing Girl, victim of a cabin fire, for cheap and then had it refurbished. The new boat boasted the state of the art in civilian electronics and had a crew space. They used it occasionally to haul tourists from the village out to diving spots, and Robert considered it one of their escape routes, but mostly it was Sonia's toy.
The villagers had resented the boat and the two outsiders hired as crewmen at first, but the resentment had faded over time. Sonia was in the habit of having Shin and Wei help out with the fishing chores when they weren't occupied on the Dancing Girl. The two young men had a great deal of experience with fishing boats, having grown up working on the boats owned by Shin's father, and were experienced mechanics. They were also outgoing and hardworking. Then, too, there was the fact that Sonia had adopted a proprietary attitude when it came to the well-being of the village boats. If there was a problem getting something fixed, the fishermen had learned, go ask the Patron's dark-haired lady. She had also pushed hard for the aquaculture pens. The submersible pens moored out in the deep water of the Gulf had already produced a crop of Red Drum and another was growing rapidly.
Robert shook his head in amusement at the comment and looked back at the boat. Sonia had a hold of the wheel and was directing Wei and Sara. The slight woman, wearing a bikini so small that it didn't even fully cover her, was scampering about the boat like an excited puppy. Looking at the smiles on their faces Robert had to admit that he wouldn't regret a penny of the cost of repairing the boat when Sonia finally capsized it.
When they got closer to shore and the wind began to die down, Sonia ordered the sails furled and turned the wheel over to Wei. She and Sara joined Robert on the netting strung between the forward portions of the twin hulls.
"I never get tired of that!" she exclaimed, "Thank you both so very much!"
"Thank you, Sonia," Sara replied, "That's the second best ride in Belize."
"La kacego de Mastro being the best ride?" Sonia asked.
Sara grinned wickedly.
"Kompreneble," she replied.
"Of course," Sonia echoed.
"We have visitors," Robert announced.
Sonia swiveled her head to look at the flags flying from the top of the 'apartment'. Sara, still more experienced and inclined towards intrigue, kept her gaze on Robert.
"Danger flag?" she asked.
"Neutral," Robert replied.
"Sonia, tell Shin and Wei to have the boat ready for a fast exit," he ordered, "Probably unnecessary, but better safe than sorry."
"Jes, sinjoro," Sonia answered and then clambered back to pass the order on.
"What do you think sinjoro?" Sara asked quietly.
"I think my scars are itching," Robert told her after a moment of contemplation, "Things have been going very well, time for life to dump on us."
"You're being cynical again, sinjoro," she admonished him gently.
He nodded his head.
"That's because cynicism is a survival trait. Plan for the worst, hope for the best, survive each moment as best you can."
They rode the rest of the way into the harbor in silence.
Luke met them at the dock with the news that two men from the American Embassy were at the house; one in civilian attire, the other in a uniform. He also contrived to indicate that the Land Rover, another escape route, was down the street. Robert considered his options before deciding to be optimistic, to a degree; he could still run away if he didn't like the message the men were bringing him.
He wasn't sure his decision had been wise when he saw the men. One of them he recognized immediately, Colonel Gutierrez, the Military AttachΓ© from the US Embassy in Kinshasa. He walked over and offered his hand to the wiry, leather-skinned little man.
"Congratulations on your promotion, Colonel," he said, "I trust we're meeting under more favorable circumstances this time?"
"That depends entirely upon you, Mister Taliaferro," the other man replied, "I'm Mr. Smith. I'm with the Agency and we have a proposition for you."
Robert nodded thoughtfully and took a seat across from the men.
"Would either of you like a drink?"
"I hear the rum is good," the Colonel replied.
Mr. Smith shook his head.
"Two Panty-Rippers, Sara," Robert said.
"'Panty-Rippers'?" Gutierrez asked.
"Coconut rum and pineapple juice," Robert replied, "Guaranteed to lower the inhibitions of maidens and result in a crushing hangover if you drink too many. But one or two are nice, particularly on a hot day. What's the pitch, Mr. Smith?"
"Obviously we know where you are. We also know about your escape. All about your escape. In return for not starting extradition proceedings and indicting your two female friends we want you to help us with a project in Africa," Smith said.
Robert regarded him thoughtfully.