The Geneva Decision (13 page)

“Do they have a radio identifier, what do you call them, MMSI?”

“They’d have to respond for us to find out.” Whittier laughed and went back to his pilothouse.

The air was so still not even the smell of salt rose from the ocean. Sunlight glinted off the small choppy waves. It forced her eye to flick and twitch. Jacob read a book, Ezra paced the deck, and Tania stared at the map still laid out on the table. The Major joined her, keeping an eye on the trawler.

“Hey, Major,” Tania said lazily. “Ever wonder why Pia Sabel looks nothing like Alan Sabel? I mean what’s up with that? Is that ’cause rich people are always marrying their cousins? I mean you know they ain’t gonna pollute their precious gene pool with the likes of you and me.”

“Don’t try dragging me into your hate-the-rich problem. Alan Sabel created twelve thousand jobs, including yours. He earned his money. What are you looking for on the map?”

“I don’t like it,” Tania said. “The layout’s wrong. The more I look at it, the more it looks like a trap.”

The Major watched her.

“Look at this.” Tania pointed to the river’s path. “Boa is a lousy place for human traffickers. Supposedly, they bring girls out of the villages and hold them here. If that’s the case, then a couple of pissed-off natives could take care of the problem in a heartbeat. There’s only one way in or out overland. You stand anywhere along this path and ambush the slavers when they come along. If you don’t want to do it on land, you’ve got the same thing on water. Only one river.”

The Major waved Monique over to join them and had Tania repeat her observations. She said, “Monique, how much background did you get in this area?”

“Slavers have been a problem in Bamusso, Mbongo, Liwenga, places like that for years. This is nothing new. The authorities can do little because usually the slavers trick them or drug them and take them to Nigeria through Mundemba or across the Niger River. When I was making inquiries, Calixthe was in Idenao and contacted me. Her story is fairly common. And if the slavers bring them down the trail to Boa, they would enlist the men in Bamusso to help them. In the jungle, human life is a commodity like copper. Not like gold.”

Monique wandered away and sat down, fanning herself with a magazine.

“I still don’t like it,” Tania said.

“Lots of things not to like around here,” Ezra said. “Like that trawler. One man in the wheelhouse but they have four Zodiacs on deck.”

“Ready to launch?” Tania asked.

“Not exactly, but not stowed either.”

“You guys finally figure out there’s something terribly wrong with this little side trip?” Jacob said from his seat across the deck.

“OK, Jacob,” the Major said. “If you’re the self-appointed genius, what do you recommend we do now?”

“The recon team finishes up and we get the hell out of here.”

The Major nodded. “Not as dumb as you look. Of course, that was Pia’s plan all along.”

She pushed her earbud in a little farther and checked the sat-phone connection.

“Recon team, this is Major Jackson. We have too many anomalies out here for comfort. Give me a sit rep.”

“Marty here, Major. Pia and Calixthe are too close to the hostiles to report but they can hear you. What anomalies?”

“Deep sea trawler standing half a klick off to one side. And Tania has some problems with the layout. We’re concerned about exit strategy.”

“Understood.” Miguel’s voice reported in. “I’ve got another concern—large clearing just off the village. Tarp covering something big. I’m thinking a large supply depot.”

“Supply depot?” Ezra chimed in. “For human traffickers? Might be more of them than we thought.”

“Hang on,” Marty said, “just got a text from Pia. She heard something. The men on the ground are waiting on someone named Elgin Thomas. Sounded like they expected him any minute.”

“Decision time,” the Major said. “Have we found what we’re looking for?”

“No women in sight,” Miguel said. “None.”

After a long silence, the Major said, “Yeah, that’s not right.”

Pia spoke up. “I’m in a bamboo shelter and can talk for a few seconds. We’re going in now. Take these guys down with darts, check the huts for the women, turn them loose and get the hell out of here. They find their own way back home and the three of us grab the Zodiac and head for the boat. Everyone good?”

Another long silence followed as each of them thought through the consequences.

“If you put them to sleep and find no one in the huts, no harm done,” Ezra said. “I like it. Let’s do it.”

“Shut up, Ezra,” Tania said. “I’m not dying in some backwater for nothing. Let’s think this—”

“I told you getting off track would screw things up,” Jacob said. “We never should have—”

“Quiet!” Pia said. “Not a discussion. We’re going in. Follow me.”

“Good timing, Ms. Sabel,” Marty said. “The lookout, Delany, is moving toward your position. Maybe he’s just on patrol, maybe he knows where you are. Looks intentional to me, though. He’s two hundred meters northwest of you and headed straight to you. You head back to the big hut, Miguel and I will intercept him. We’ll link up near your last position and go in together.”

“Let’s move,” Pia said.

The conference line went quiet. The Major looked at three anxious faces around her and put her phone on mute. She said, “Anyone know how we ended up with the most dangerous position being taken by the least experienced member of the team?”

“You mean,” Ezra said, “how the hell did we let the boss take point?”

Jacob turned back to his book, his eyes scanned the mangroves not the pages. Ezra walked to the bow and scanned the horizon with binoculars. Tania stared blankly at the map.

“What’s the big deal?” Tania asked. “She wanted her pampered little white ass out in the jungle. Guess where it is?”

Chapter 20

Boa, Cameroon

26-May, 11AM

P
ia’s panic level reached a new high. Why did Big-gut mention a pirate by full name? Why did Delany change course? There was only one answer. She cursed and led the way through the undergrowth. After a few meters, she motioned for Calixthe to go ahead. As soon as the older woman slipped past, Pia pulled her Glock. She pressed the muzzle between the guide’s shoulder blades.

Calixthe froze. Pia leaned forward, her lips nearly touching Calixthe’s ear. “Hand me your gun, slowly.”

Calixthe gave it to her, hand trembling, face full of pain and shock.

“How did they get to you?” Pia asked.

Calixthe relaxed a little and shook her head.

“I’m really pissed off right now,” Pia hissed. “Tell me or I dart you here. If they win, they’ll find you and do whatever they want. If I win, I’ll come back for you and make you cough up some answers.” She paused. “And I’m going to win, Calixthe. I always win. So talk to me. You’ve got four… three…”

“They know me,” she said. “I have been coming around, threatening, begging them, anything. Two days ago they caught me drawing the layout. I wanted to offer the authorities an advantage. But the slavers came to
Bekumu
and took our girls.”

“How many are there?”

“Just the four.”

“Can I believe that?”

“Yes,” Calixthe said.

“Who is Elgin Thomas?”

“Chief, boss, captain. They expect him today.”

Marty’s voice came through Pia’s earbud. He said, “Thanks for keeping your comlink open.”

“You take down Delany,” Pia said. “I’ll wait for you twenty meters short of the bamboo. I’m guessing that’s where they planned to ambush us.”

“Agreed. Great place for a crossfire.”

Pia turned to Calixthe. “Walk in front of me, that way. This time don’t trip.”

They headed back toward the bamboo circle and looked at it with different eyes. She pulled Calixthe behind a bush and shoved her Glock into the woman’s ribs. From her new vantage point, she could see half the circle. She waited until she saw Big-gut and Tall-guy sneaking between trees from opposite sides of the growth. The two men peered into the bushes, eyes and guns trained on the bamboo.

Through her earbud Pia heard two darts. Marty and Miguel had finished off Delany.

Big-gut had probably been drinking a lot, so Tall-guy was her biggest threat. She moved Calixthe to a better position, keeping twenty meters from the bad guys. Too far, considering her inaccurate darts and her lack of live-fire experience.

Nerves turned to fear. And fear began taking charge. Pia’s hands shook. Sweat dripped from her forehead. She left Calixthe where she could keep her eye on her and crept through the shadows until she was ten meters behind Tall-guy. A missed shot would cost her the element of surprise and put her in a gunfight with an experienced soldier.

She took another five silent steps. Too far away and she’d miss for sure. Too close, and he’d hear her coming.

She fired three shots. First one missed. Second hit his shoulder. Third hit his neck. Tall-guy dropped face first.

“Hey, Günter, what you doing, mate?” Big-gut shouted from the bamboo’s far side.

Either the man was a moron or he was baiting her. More likely the latter. Even drunk he wouldn’t give up his position. She tiptoed back and knelt next to a fallen mahogany tree. Her eyes scanned the shifting shadows. One down, but she’d lost track of Calixthe and Big-gut in the process. A shiver of fear crawled across her skin. A few steps away, something caught her eye. She looked at it, leading with her gun. Nothing. She moved forward a few steps, hopefully away from the ambush.

Big-gut rolled out from behind a tree, his Sig Sauer directly in Pia’s face.

“Got you, you fucking berk.” He looked her up and down. “Say, you’re a big strapping lass, aren’t ya?”

Fear overtook her like a giant wave, all at once and unstoppable. She shook.

His eyes were clear, his nasty breath had no trace of alcohol. Pia looked for an opportunity to strike but saw none. She stepped closer, holding her hands up.

“Stop right there.” He tossed his nose up. “Now let the gun swing by the trigger guard and hand it over, nice and slow.”

She did. He took the gun, slipped it in his belt.

“Keep your left hand out while I relieve you of this M4. Make me nervous and I’ll put a hole in your head.”

He slipped the strap off her and dropped the machine gun on the ground.

“Some shoulders you got there. You one of them transgender fellas?” He laughed and pressed his pistol into her ribs. “Now put your hands on top of your head, nice and slow.”

She did.

He motioned for her to turn around.

She did.

He yanked the Bluetooth earbud out of her ear and tucked it into his own. He pushed her forward, pressing his gun barrel into her back. They marched toward the huts.

Pia scanned the jungle for any sign of Calixthe. Nothing. She could only hope the older woman was looking for a weapon or waiting for Marty and Miguel.

Inside the courtyard, Big-gut edged her toward the larger structure. She pushed through the rug-covered doorway into a stench of mold and rotting meat. Her eyes adjusted slowly to the gloom. Eight bound and gagged women, ranging from six or seven to seventy or older, squatted in the center. Sixteen eyes rounded with fear. To the left a trap door stood open, waiting to swallow them up at any moment. Her muscles tensed and her nostrils flared.

Furious, Pia spun around. Big-gut smacked her face with the gun. Her eyes focused on the barrel.

“Don’t get cheeky,” he said. “Yes, the safety is off and I’ve chambered the first round. One squeeze, my little darling, and your miserable life is over.”

“Why didn’t you shoot me back there?”

“Shut up! Speak without permission again and I’ll put a bullet in your bloody knee.”

Pia felt oddly calm. More angry than scared. Her mind ran through scenarios: if she spoke and he lowered the gun to shoot at her knee, would she have time to knock him out before he pulled the trigger? Maybe. Maybe not.

A young guy of mixed race, maybe sixteen, ran in the room and stopped an arm’s length from her. Shirtless and shoeless, he wore True Religion blue jeans and looked vaguely familiar. Angular chin, wedge-shaped face, sharp darting eyes. The women cowered at the sight of him. He looked Pia up and down and smiled.

Big-gut turned his back and peered outside. He said, “Where’s your bloody captain then?”

Pia watched the young guy. He pulled twine out of a bag hanging on the wall. A bottle of pills fell to the floor. Big-gut barked a stream of obscenities at him. Young-guy scrambled to put the pills back, then approached her with the twine. She brought her hands off her head, bringing them to shoulder level while keeping her eyes on Big-gut. She sensed a nervousness underneath the man’s bravado. She guessed he was waiting for reinforcements.

“I’m not gonna shoot you if you answer my bloody question, you stupid git. But I’ll blow your toes off if you don’t. Where and how many?”

Young-guy motioned with his hands, wrists together, holding them out to mimic handcuffing. She shook her head as if she didn’t understand. He repeated the motion. She leaned in a little closer, cocked her head, and slid her left foot forward. She dropped her left hand to her waist. Her hands remained too far apart to tie up. The boy looked displeased. She bent her knees slightly, coiling and tensing every muscle in her body. Slowly, she drew her left hand back and made a fist. He repeated his motion indicating how he wanted her hands.

“Where are they and how many?” Big-gut bellowed.

“Two others. They were five minutes behind me.”

“Yeah? You’re just a scout, eh? And where’s Calixthe then?”

Young-guy stuck his hands out again, exasperated.

Pia exploded off her back foot with an uppercut that raised him off the ground and pushed the air out of his lungs. Before he could recover, she threw a right cross that shoved him backwards into Big-gut’s arm, forcing the gun outward as he fired. The women yelped and cried in their gags. Pia landed two lightning-fast body blows into Young-guy, pinning him to Big-gut and both to the door jamb. Big-gut swung the gun toward her, his eyes red with rage. Another uppercut banged the boy’s head backward into Big-gut hard enough to hurt them both. She twisted her body core to the left and landed her elbow in Young-guy’s face. He fell. She spun herself out the door at the same moment he fell, tripping her.