​

  Following an emotional visit with her parents in Ballard, she followed Santiago to San Diego to pursue an uncertain, probably exciting, possibly dangerous “new life”, wherever that led.  She had met Santiago Alvarez while on her way to a tryst at Priest Lake, Idaho with her former neighbor, Robert Morrison.  Though her initial impression of him was less than pleasant, subsequent events, including an intimate encounter, led to her current situation.

  Feeling a need to pee, she slid her feet off the bunk where she had spent the night, stood up and carefully made her way to the forward head on the 54-foot yacht that was registered in California as a fishing charter.  Her role on this vessel was to organize activities that only peripherally involved fishing.

  Her floating residence was currently docked at Kona Kai Marina on Shelter Island, in San Diego Bay.  In addition to being a place to park a boat, it also functioned as a luxury resort, which provided excellent cover for what was not a luxury amenity.  The fishing charters were real and produced a good income stream to maintain the operation, but there was more to the business than was publicly disclosed. 

  Desperate for coffee, and some positive imaging, she headed for the galley where she encountered Pete Foley, the captain of the “Eternal Bliss”, which was the name of the boat.  Amanda had bonded immediately with the concept implied by the name, given her recent adventures in Idaho.

  “Good morning, Ms. Whittaker. I hope you slept well.”

  “Come on, Pete. I’ve been on the boat long enough that you can drop the formality. Ms. Whittaker is appropriate in front of clients, but Amanda is who I am with my friends, and I hope that we have become friends.”

  “Well, Santiago is my friend, and he seems to like you well enough, so that works for me. He never did tell me how you two got together, and I got the feeling that I probably shouldn’t ask.”

“It’s a long story with some not so pretty chapters.  My presence here is part gratitude to Santiago for helping me make the best of a bad situation, and part therapy to mitigate guilt over some of my actions.  Of course, getting involved in Santo’s ‘import’ business is probably going to necessitate more therapy.  That is, if we can elude the authorities long enough to allow me to convince him to go straight.”

  “Yeah well, good luck with that.” Said Pete as he poured them both coffee. “I’ve got a fishing charter booked for this afternoon and a pickup scheduled for tomorrow morning. I assume you have made the necessary arrangements for the package once we are back in port.”

  “Transportation has been obtained to get ‘the package’ to central Washington, documents have been printed, and the recipient is ready for delivery.”

 

                                         ***

 

  The ‘Eternal Bliss’ had a chef that had been recruited from one of San Diego’s finer dining establishments, and he appeared with a tray of pastries, two crab and Swiss omelets, and a rasher of crisp bacon.

“Ah, eternal bliss it is.” Amanda exclaimed, “Thank you, Andre. If you ever leave your lovely wife, Yvonne, you know where to find me.”

“And so does she, which would not work out well for either of us, my dear. Bon appetit.” 

  Once the food had been served, Pete made a quick call down to his   crew chief to check on preparations for the day’s activities before sitting down.  Pete was 6 feet one inch with a well-toned body and shaggy blond hair.  He was 37 years old, and handsome enough that he triggered memories in Amanda of her former neighbor. Those memories stirred conflicting emotions, given that her initial attraction to Robert led to a bizarre series of events that ended with her having to shoot Robert to save her life and the lives of Santiago and two others. That incident also contributed to her periodic nightmares. Fortunately, in regard to Pete, her current relationship with Santiago precluded any further romantic pursuits.

  “Are you planning on fishing with us today, or do you have more details to attend to? I have been looking forward to helping you land one of our prime game fish.”

  “As it turns out,” she said, “my part of this transaction is completed. Santiago still has some contacts to make, but I would love to get out and see what all the excitement is about.  Where I grew up, fishing involved sitting for hours in a small boat, or standing on the shore for an equal amount of time waiting for some six-inch aquatic vertebrate to take an interest in whatever you had on the end of your line. If we were lucky, we would acquire enough protein for a meal. There were many times that did not happen.”

  “Well,” said Pete, with a smile on his face, “I can’t guarantee that you will hook ‘protein’, as you described it, but if you are lucky enough to have a Marlin or Bluefin on your line, it will make up for all those boring hours you remember from back home.”

  “Just as long as I don’t catch something that will eat me, rather than the other way around.”

  “There’s always the possibility of snagging a Barracuda, and they can be pretty fearsome looking, but we will do our best to keep you from becoming some predator’s dinner.”

  “I guess I will just have to put my life in your hands.” said Amanda as she finished her breakfast.

 

                             ***

 

  One of the crew cleared the table as Pete descended to the gear room to prepare the fishing equipment. Amanda sat for a moment and contemplated her current situation, and the choices she made to get here. Was she happy? The answer to that was complicated. She did not regret making the decision to leave Spokane, though she did miss the conversations with her 82-year-old neighbor, Evelyn Marbury. Evelyn always made her laugh and gave her a sense of hope. She decided that if she was fortunate enough to become a senior citizen, Evelyn would be a suitable role model. She was also sorry to have to leave Sheila and the other nurses at the emergency department. She kept open the possibility of returning, but since she had cancelled her lease and sold her car, the likelihood of that was remote.

And then there is Santiago. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2

 

  Santiago Alvarez had been born in the city of Yakima, in central Washington State. Humberto, his father, had left Mexico City when he was 18, and was able to enter the US on a temporary work visa to pick fruit in the orchards of the Yakima Valley, and it took him 15 years to get a full citizenship.  During that time, he married Elena Garcia who was born in Yakima, but her parents never did go through the process and were eventually deported back to Mexico.  She was a citizen based on her birth, and he acquired some legal status by marrying her.  But he was a stubborn man and wanted to be legal on his own merits.       While he was picking fruit, he developed an ability to fix some of the mechanical equipment and that led to a full-time job.     

  Elena had gone through three miscarriages before Santiago was born, and she had a tough time convincing Humberto that she was done with pregnancy.  Because Santiago was his only progeny, he had high expectations of his son.  Educational resources were limited in Yakima, so he wanted to move somewhere that offered a more diverse choice. That brought them to Spokane once his citizenship had been finalized. He was hired on at the Caterpillar distributorship in Airway Heights as a mechanic at an entry level pay grade. However, the job did include some basic benefits, which included minimal health insurance.

  Upon first arriving in Spokane the family had limited financial resources and no relatives or personal contacts to rely on for help or advice. The most affordable living accommodations were located in an area of the city called the West Central neighborhood where they found a small two bedroom house with a rent they could afford.

  Elena had earned her high school diploma and decided she would pursue a career in health care. Once Santiago had entered elementary school, she enrolled at Spokane Community College in the Medical Assistant program. She would have preferred to pursue nursing but that would take much longer, and she wanted to start working as soon as possible.

  Even though the West Central neighborhood was more diverse than the rest of the Spokane area, Santiago still ran into the established prejudices of the predominately white population. This led to many tearful returns from school after being taunted with slurs like “Beaner” and “Chico”. Humberto and Elena tried to encourage him to ignore the words and instead to respond with a smile and an attempt to make friends. Of course, that just resulted in the bullies calling him “chicken”. Then they started to push him around, and he came home with at least one bloody nose and several assorted bruises.

  His parents considered taking him out of school, but with Humberto working and Elena in classes there was no one to watch him, and home schooling was not an option. 

  Fortunately, as Santiago got older, he grew taller than most of his classmates, and had made the decision to get stronger. Before school each day, he would run a mile through the neighborhood and follow that with pushups, pullups and punching a couple of pillows that he had nailed to the one-car garage behind the house. Accompanied by a new attitude that he just was not going to take it anymore, he finally earned the respect of his tormentors. At least they didn’t push him around now.

 

                             ***

 

​

  Santiago was a mediocre student, and because of the crowd he hung with, was often in trouble. Most of his escapades were just pranks and didn’t involve damage to people or property, but when he tried to steal a car, at the urging and with the assistance of his buddies, he finally decided that he had had enough of the criminal lifestyle. He was fortunate that the attempt was aborted and did not attract the attention of the law. As a result, he promised his parents that he would no longer be an embarrassment to them and signed up for ROTC, with the goal of entering the Marines when he finished high school.

  Because of his routine of physical conditioning, he sailed through boot camp and was assigned to the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton in California. When he arrived, Marines from the Ground Combat Elements group were being deployed to Afghanistan. In 2010, he found himself stationed in what was called Camp Leatherneck in the Helmand Province. The large force there was responsible for protecting Highway 1, which was the major east/west corridor in the area. 

Rather than join a combat unit, Santiago chose to become an MP officer, which tasked the group management skills he had learned the hard way in high school. These skills came in handy because there were over 12,000 troops stationed at the camp, so he was never without something to do.

  While he was there, he made acquaintance with Master Sergeant Robert Morrison, from the Marine Expeditionary Force, and his immediate superior, Lieutenant Milo Walker. Through their individual experiences with the casualties of a conflict plagued by ill-defined battle lines and difficult to identify opponents, they developed a mutual concern for the welfare of their fellow soldiers, whose injuries were too often poorly evaluated and undertreated, especially in regard to pain management.

  At the time, Helmand province was the world’s largest producer of opiates, including heroin. As a primary driver of the local economy, it was almost easier to obtain quality drug than it was to get clean water. The three, along with a few select co-conspirators, put together an acquisition and distribution system that they were able to keep under the radar of the authorities. They managed to maintain the system once they finished their tours and returned home. At least for a while.

 

                                         ***

 

  Upon returning to the states, Santiago eased himself out of the drug business, but still maintained contact with Morrison and Walker. Reflecting on the experiences of his parents, he decided to assist other Mexicans to take advantage of work opportunities in the US. Knowing the hazards of using Coyotes to bring people across the border without discovery, or a worse fate, he developed a plan to bring them in by sea. He knew that Morrison had experience with document design and printing, which he had learned from his father, so he recruited him for producing “green cards”.

  Santiago had also made acquaintance with Pete Foley, who ran a sport fishing charter out of San Diego. At first Pete was resistant to the idea of running “polios” into the country, so additional planning work was necessary. He did have a friend, Pablo Aguado, who also ran fishing tours out of Puerto Salina, about 40 miles south of Tijuana and the two often found themselves in the same general area seeking Marlin and Bluefin. Following a meeting between the three, which involved ingesting aperitivos, listening to Mariachi and consuming a lot of tequila, an agreement was reached, and details were worked out.

​

Chapter 3

 

  Since she had risen early and had finished her breakfast, Amanda decided that she needed some physical activity in anticipation of her upcoming fishing adventure, which was scheduled to leave port at 10 AM. She retrieved a yoga mat from her quarters and headed for the foredeck. The crew of the Eternal Bliss, and the occupants of the nearby boats in the slip had become accustomed to seeing Amanda in her skimpy workout attire, but she still attracted attention when she shed her outer layers and began her routine. After thirty minutes of moderately strenuous activity, she headed for a shower and warmer clothes.

  Once she reached her cabin, her cell phone pinged with a text from Santiago. He had finished with arrangements in Yakima and was headed back to San Diego. He would meet the boat in the morning to go out for the pickup.

  May in southern California is pleasant enough, but it is definitely not hot, and the weather can be unpredictable. This morning began with sunshine and light winds, but the forecast was for overcast skies and increasing wind speed. 

  Up on deck, Pete was welcoming his fishing clients for the day. Two of them were return customers, an investment analyst with Arthur Anderson, and an orthopedic surgeon who flew down from Oakland for the day. The third member of the group was an elementary school teacher from San Diego who was notching items off her bucket list and hoped to snag some tuna for her freezer.

  While they were being familiarized with the fishing gear, Amanda joined them in her new Patagonia outdoor outfit that consisted of a light synthetic under layer, a navy-blue fleece top and utility pants. Included in the supplied gear were Helly Hansen rain ponchos, in the event of bad weather.

  The investment analyst was a man of medium stature whose body habitus confirmed that he sat at a desk all day in front of a computer screen. He was 43 years old, had a generic face and perfectly coiffed dark brown hair. His demeanor and conversation screamed “geek”, but he was very affable and had a good sense of humor. Stanley Frederick let everyone know that he was excited to be “back on board.”

  Doug Petersen was 62 and specialized in hip and knee replacements, which afforded him a substantial annual income. At 6’ 3” he was an imposing figure, and it was obvious that he attended to his physical conditioning. A square jaw and brown eyes, combined with an intentionally bald head, gave him an authoritative look that was augmented by his apparent need to dominate the conversation. He was here to “nail” a trophy fish to mount on his waiting room wall.

  Priscilla Evans was a tall thin 47-year-old redhead with pale skin that is typical of people with naturally red hair. She had a pronounced limp that resulted from an automobile accident eight years previously that took the life of her husband and their two-year-old daughter. After five years of therapy and the support of her sister Eileen, she had made the decision that she did not want to spend the rest of her life in mourning. Having been something of a basketball prodigy during high school and college, she knew that returning to full athletic activity was not in the cards, so she threw herself into conditioning and became a part time yoga instructor in addition to her teaching responsibilities.

  Once everyone had been introduced, Captain Pete explained the rules of the boat, the procedure for catching and reeling in large fish, safety measures that needed to be followed, and the day’s itinerary. The plan was to travel about 20 miles off the coast and then gradually move in as needed, depending on their success in finding fish. He asked if anyone wanted to take some Dramamine for potential sea sickness, and Stanley accepted, recounting his experience during his first tour. Doug, Priscilla, and Amanda declined.

​

Chapter 4

 

  Following the demise of Robert Morrison, Santiago was put in the position of having to find a new source for producing green cards for his polios. In getting out of the drug business, he was able to make peace with Sidney Cohen, the Mafia intermediary who had been threatening them for impinging on his “territory”. Since drugs were not the only business engaged in by the San Diego mob, Sidney was able to introduce Santiago to Antonio Chicatelli, their go-to forger. Antonio owned a legitimate printing and lithographic company, and only did side jobs for trusted clients. The Mob was diligent about vetting their referrals and was notorious for eliminating those who violated the rules.

  Antonio had produced similar documents, such as passports, driver’s licenses and even government passcards so he was quite familiar with the process. He had access to the special papers and inks used and was dedicated to detail. He chose not to do currency because it entailed too much time and effort, and the risks were too great for the potential reward. The downside for Santiago was that now he had a substantial increase in cost since Morrison had only charged him for the materials. His arrangements with the clients who were bringing in the migrants was that they would pay the upfront fees and be reimbursed through deductions from the wages paid to the workers. He insisted however that the laborers receive at least a small salary, along with food and housing. Most of the growers were more than happy with this arrangement because it gave them a reliable work force.

  Along with printing costs Santiago also had to pay Pete and Pablo. Transportation from San Diego to the final destination was provided by Conchita “Chi Chi” Menendez who had been a civilian clerk in the motor pool at Pendleton and coordinated the importation of the heroin from Helmand in vehicles being returned for armor hardening. Neither Chi Chi nor Santiago took any pay for their efforts and considered their actions as a moral imperative to repay their personal good fortune.

Chi Chi had been the personal assistant to the Mexican ambassador to the US, and because she spent a lot of her work time in DC, she applied for and got US citizenship. This was fortunate because a year after she became a citizen the government in Mexico changed hands and her boss was replaced. She had already decided that the nation’s capital would not be her first choice of residence once she was unemployed. She had a cousin who lived in San Diego and who offered to help her get settled on the west coast.

  Because of her experience with the federal bureaucracy, she jumped at the offering of a job as a coordinator for the motor pool at the Pendleton military base. It was there that she met Ramone Baker. They went on a few dates and became friends, but not lovers. A mutual trust developed, and Ramone saw an opportunity to unburden himself of some of the emotional pain he had been carrying since his near-death experience in Afghanistan. 

  She also learned of the heroin importation scheme and was conflicted as to whether she should report this activity to the authorities. Her empathy for Ramone’s story delayed any decision in that regard and made her determined to find out more about the operation. Once she learned about the plan to help injured soldiers, she agreed to do what she could to make it work. Her job would be to make sure that Ramone was the person who took charge of the appropriate incoming vehicles.     Since she didn’t have to know anything about the drug stuff to accomplish this, she would be able to maintain a defendable deniability should the operation be discovered. However, this required a change in their relationship which precluded any more dating.

  When Chi Chi learned of Ramone’s death, she decided to leave her position at Pendleton and began her career as an Uber driver. She enjoyed the flexibility of the job, and she made enough money to support her spartan lifestyle.

  Santiago had been aware of Chi Chi’s role in the drug business and had contacted her upon returning to San Diego. They shared a mutual interest in the welfare of the Mexicans who desperately wanted to enter the US to find work and make a better life for themselves and their families. It didn’t take long to find a role for her in the complicated process of getting the polios from their home country to the “promised land” of their dreams. Arrangements were made to provide her with a car that was different from her usual Uber rig. The upcoming transfer would be her second since taking on the role.

​

Chapter 5

 

After getting the guests settled into the main lounge, Pete turned them over to his first mate Tim Sanders, who at 6 feet 4 inches had been branded “Shorty” by his college roommates. He was 26 years old and was taking a year off from his pursuit of a degree in mechanical engineering. His academic interests were put to good use as he was recruited to look after the physical well-being of the boat. He was a little overweight, which made him an imposing presence. His full beard and his mullet haircut added to the image. Despite his intimidating appearance he had a soft voice that fell in the alto range, which is high for a man of his size.

   Tim introduced himself and explained that Andre, the chef, would have some food ready in a few minutes. Since people would be eating while the boat was in motion, he again asked if anyone would like some Dramamine. Stanley, who preferred to be called Stanley and not Stan, had already taken his and the others declined once again.

  As they pulled slowly away from the mooring, Tim said that it would take about an hour to reach the first location. There would be some choppy water, but he did not expect any major swells, though that could change as the day went on. There was a possibility of rain in the forecast, and he indicated again the location of the rain gear.

  The reports from other boats that had been out that morning confirmed that the Bluefin were running fairly strong, so chances were good for a successful day. Doug expressed surprise that the other companies would relay that information. Tim just smiled and said sport fishing was not a competition, and the Eternal Bliss would do the same when it returned. He continued with, “If you really want to compete, there is a fishing tournament coming up in June which welcomes professionals and amateurs. There is a fairly steep entry fee and I think the deadline is sometime next week.”

  “I’ll see how things go today before making any decision.” was Doug’s response.

  As they passed the harbor entrance, Andre and Yvonne arrived from the galley with a tray of baguettes, assorted cheeses and meats and a crab salad. Orders were taken for drinks and two bottles of wine were placed on the table, one red and one white. Since, so far, the ride had been fairly smooth, they all dug into the tempting buffet.

  Amanda excused herself and went up to the pilot house to talk with Pete about the plans for the next day’s pickup. This would be her second experience with this process, but she wanted to go over the details anyway. Pete was singing along to “Ramble On”, his favorite Led Zeppelin tune when she got there and as a long-time music fan she couldn’t help but start to sway to the beat.

  “Hey, that girl’s got rhythm,” was Pete’s reaction, “Are you a “led head” or is it my magic charm that moves you?”

  “I’m sorry to inform you that it’s neither. My former boyfriend played bass in a rock band, and I sang backup on some gigs.”

  “So, one of the original Marvelettes?”

  “That was way before my time, but they were definitely cool.”

  Being just a little OCD, Amanda couldn’t help but ask, “So what is the schedule for tomorrow? How early are we heading out? Will there be fishing clients like the last time?”

  “I thought we went over all that before Santiago left for Washington. But I understand you’re nervous and we should run through the process. But not now. Now is the time to relax and become one with the ocean. Allow the motion of the boat to set the rhythm of the day.” He said as he turned off the music. “We are here to catch fish, so start to think like a fish. You are gliding through the clear water with your pod, avoiding predators and searching for prey. And where there is prey, that is where you will be. And that is where we will be.”

  “You’re quite the fish philosopher. I would call you the Old Man of the Sea, but you’re not old enough.”

  “I’m old enough to have learned that I take my days one at a time. Spending time thinking about tomorrow’s adventures just ruins the enjoyment of today’s.

  “So, what do you think of our clientele?”

  “Stanley’s sweet, like a father figure. I hope he doesn’t get sick today and has the biggest catch of the group. Doug is typical of most of the surgeons I have met during my abbreviated career in the medical field. They certainly have a lot of responsibility and have worked hard for their particular area of expertise, but with that comes a bit of hutzpah and superiority that can sometimes be off-putting. We’ll see how he gets along with the rest of us peons.  Priscilla seems cool, and I’d like to get to know her better.” 

  “Yeah, I think it’s a good crew and we should be able to have some fun. Were you able to get some lunch?”

  “I had a great breakfast, and I don’t usually eat very much for lunch, so I might go down and see what Andre is serving for dessert. I still have too much of a sweet tooth for my own good.”

​

Chapter 6

 

Pablo Aguado woke up late due to a little too much Tequila the night before with his compadres. This morning it was not an issue because his only scheduled fishing charter was for the evening, and he planned to do some maintenance on his boat. His wife, Esmerelda, had made him a nice breakfast of huevos rancheros and chorizo, and a lot of strong black coffee. His two sons, Luis age 6 and Fredo age 10 had already left for school.

  He was also scheduled to make contact with Jaime Ramirez, the polio he was to transport tomorrow. Jaime was currently staying with his aunt Camila in Puerto Salina after having traveled from Mexico City the day before. Jaime was 32 years old and was leaving behind his wife of three years and a two-year-old daughter to earn enough money to support them in his absence. He was also hoping to acquire a legal visa, though that might be difficult since he would be working under a counterfeit green card. It would all depend on his relationship with his new employer.

  Pablo had scheduled to meet Jaime at noon at a local tapa bar near the harbor and did not expect any calls this morning. Instead, his breakfast was interrupted by the ringing of his burner cell phone and the caller ID was unknown.  It was obviously not one of his usual contacts and he was tempted to let the call go to voicemail. However, Pablo was inquisitive by nature, so he answered the ring with, “Buenos dias, como puedo ayudarle?.”

  There was a brief pause with what sounded like background shouting and then, “Pablo, this is Jaime. I need to meet you right away. They want to kill me, so you have to take me out of here today. I can meet you at the boat.” There was more shouting and then the line went dead.

All his previous transfers had been very routine and even though the local police had suspicions about what was going on, they preferred not to get involved and did not ask questions. The Federales were a different story, but so far Pablo had been able to stay under their radar. He did not like the tone of the phone call because it might trigger the interest of law enforcement, and that would mean big trouble for him.

He immediately placed a call to Estefan, his boatman at the pier to warn him that he may have a very upset visitor arriving soon. He explained, “If he shows up alone, and does not appear to be followed, put him down below and out of sight. If there are others with him or following him, then act as if you don’t know who he is and threaten to call the police.” Pablo and his crew were well known and respected in the community, whereas Jaime is an outsider whose story would not stand up to scrutiny. 

  Pablo continued, “I will get down there as soon as I can, but I have to try to contact our pickup to let him know what’s going on.” 

He then entered the number of Pete’s burner phone, even though they had previously agreed to use this connection only in an emergency. Pete answered on the second ring.

  “Ah, mi buen amigo. I do hope you are not ill, or is there another problem?”

  “I’m not sure if there will be a problem, but I just got a call from our client who said that someone was trying to kill him, and he needed to leave today. He said he was headed to the boat and then the line went dead. I alerted my boatman and I’m leaving right now to go to the pier. I will get back to you after I find out what’s going on.”

 “Doing the pickup today is not a problem for me, but that may not be the case for the others. I won’t do anything or say anything to our contacts. Call me when you have more information. Be careful my friend.”

  “Si, lo hare”

  Pablo explained to his wife that he had to go to the boat right away but did not go into the details. He then got into his SUV and drove to the pier.

​

Chapter 7

 

Pete Foley was not a man who was easily rattled by unexpected events, but he, like Pablo, had no interest in jeopardizing his very comfortable business of running fishing charters. He only agreed to do the pickups because he trusted his friend Santiago, and he sympathized with the goal of providing needy people the opportunity for bettering their lives. He was well aware of the confusing, complicated, and often discriminatory process of going through the legal immigration channels, and the fact that it often took years to get any kind of a visa, even temporary.

  In the event of complications, his agreement with Santiago was that he had the discretion to abort a pickup. That would definitely create problems for Santo and Amanda but that was their problem. He decided not to worry about things until he heard back from Pablo. Besides he had three paying customers and a very attractive guest to satisfy with some big fish.

  About that time, Shorty came up to the bridge and told Pete that everyone had enjoyed lunch, and so far, no one had lost what they had eaten. Pete laughed and told Shorty to bring the fishing gear to the back deck.

  The boat was now out on open water and the chop had increased so that there was a moderate amount of movement, both up and down and side to side. This was fairly routine for Pete, but he was concerned about the effect on his clients. The previously clear skies had taken on a somewhat more ominous look, so he checked his weather radio and was informed of an incoming system that did not appear to be severe or long lasting. He determined that he had already prepared his charges for the possibility of weather, and if things got hairy, he could always head for port.

  Down below, the guests were noticing the increased turbulence but only Stanley expressed concern. His facial color had definitely paled, but so far, no response from his stomach. Amanda was enjoying hearing about Doug’s previous fishing experiences. He vividly described the thrill  and  effort of reeling in his catch. He tended to exaggerate that effort, probably to impress Amanda with his manly prowess. However, she was quite familiar with that tendency, and ignored the implication.

  The sound of rain hitting the cabin roof halted the conversation, and the temperature dropped enough that everyone went looking for another layer of clothing. There was still about thirty minutes before they would reach the first fishing location, so the hope was that the weather would improve in the meantime.

Tim entered the cabin and when asked about the prospects of improved weather was non-committal. “It will be what it will be,” was his response. “The fish don’t care about the weather, so it will be up to you to decide what you want to do. The cabin will always be available, and I will fire up the heater to make it a little more comfortable.” 

  He then explained how the fishing process was going to work. His job was to prepare the lures, attach them to the fishing lines and string them out at various distances from the boat. There would be six lines with corresponding poles and reels. The boat would then troll at about 8 knots until there was a hit on one of the lines. At that time, the extra lines would be reeled in, the hook would be set and then the job of bringing the fish to the boat would be the job of the designated client. To determine the designee, four pieces of paper, numbered one to four were placed in a hat and passed around. Priscilla drew number 1, Stanley was number 2, Doug number 3 and Amanda number 4.

  On the bridge, Pete was a little concerned that he had not heard back from Pablo but decided not to call him. If things got resolved on land, then his day would continue as planned. If things went south in Puerto Salina, there was nothing he could do to help anyway so he did his best to stay calm and wait for the call.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 8

 

When Pablo arrived at the pier, he saw Estefan and Jaime on the rear deck of his boat, and they appeared to be arguing about something. He scanned the area and was reassured that there were no obvious pursuers visible. However, he knew that the cartels used clandestine observers to keep track of their operations, so he exited his car and proceeded to the boat in the casual manner that was typical for him.

As he approached the boat, he could hear Jaime screaming, “I’m telling you that they are after me and will be here soon. We have to leave now, or we could both be dead.”

  Estefan did his best to remain calm and tried to lead Jaime into the main cabin. He noticed Pablo walking down the pier and said, “The captain is here and then we can have a reasonable discussion about our options.”

  Jaime responded with, “There are no options. I’m telling you again that these people are serious, and they don’t care about collateral damage.” He then yelled at Pablo, “Hey boat man, get your ass over here. We need to get out of here now!”

  Pablo had some experience as a bouncer in a bar and was very familiar with this type of behavior. He had no tolerance for verbal abuse, so when he boarded the boat, he immediately went up to Jaime, grabbed him by the collar and said directly into his face, “Listen here, asshole, I don’t have to do anything. I agreed to help get you out of the country, and I am still willing to do that, but I will do it on my terms and if that is not satisfactory to you then you can get the fuck off my boat and take your chances with the bad guys. Is that understood?”

Jaime was surprised by Pablo’s reaction and almost started to cry. “You don’t understand. They really want to kill me. Please help me,” he pleaded.

  “If you want my help then you will do exactly what I tell you to do. Now get down in the cabin, stay out of sight and shut the fuck up. If I want any information from you, I will ask you. We have some preparations to do with the boat and it will take a little while. In the meantime, if anyone shows up looking for you, I will tell them that I have no idea who you are, that you came onto my boat and started a fight with Estefan, so we locked you in the cabin until the authorities showed up. This is not my fight and I have to continue to live here. I want no trouble from the cartels or anyone else.”

  Jaime nodded and hung his head as Estefan led him into the interior of the boat, put him in the forward sleeping area and then closed and locked the door. He then returned to the rear deck and said, “Is this really worth it? I know you have an agreement and I suppose you get paid reasonably well, but this guy could put an end to everything you have worked so hard to build. I have enough credibility with the local mobsters that it is unlikely that we will be in danger, unless they get the sense that we are doing something behind their backs. Then all bets are off.”

  Pablo shook his head and stretched his neck. “This certainly creates a dilemma. I would like to get rid of this guy but if we change our routine, it is likely to get noticed and I don’t want to raise any red flags. Maybe we could lock him in the equipment shed, get him some food and something to sleep on and do the exchange tomorrow as planned. I could call Alejandro and see if he could keep an eye on the place while we are out with the charter this evening. If someone shows up looking for our friend, he will give the same story that he is an intruder, and we are guarding him until the police show up.”

  Pablo then called Alejandro, who was a mechanic that sometimes worked on Pablo’s boat. He agreed to pick up some take-out and bring a portable cot once he got off work that afternoon.

Pablo thanked him and then called Pete to let him know the plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 9

 

Pete was relieved to hear that he didn’t have to change plans for today. He still had an uneasy feeling about this transfer and decided he needed to discuss things with Amanda and Santiago before proceeding out tomorrow, but he did have faith in Pablo to handle things at his end.

By 11AM they had reached the first fishing location. The rain had intensified somewhat so Tim gave Priscilla her rain gear and confirmed that they all wanted to participate, 

  Except for Tim, everyone was inside the cabin and because of the slower speed there was noticeably more boat movement. In her experience this type of movement only bothered Amanda if her peripheral vision was impaired. As long as she could orient to a horizon line, she was OK. Stanley, on the other hand, acknowledged that even with the Dramamine, he was uncomfortable. 

The anticipation was palpable with Doug yelling, “Come on fish!” and Stanley quietly humming to himself, though that might have been more to distract him from his stomach issues than anything to do with fishing. It was fifteen minutes from the setting of the lines when Tim yelled that they had a hit.

  Priscilla went out onto the back deck and strapped herself into the fighting chair while Tim set the hook and handed her the rod. He said, “Just hang on to the rod and allow the line to pay out. You want to give him a little space to get used to the hook. OK, now lock the reel and pull back on the rod. When you get the rod upright, reel in the line as you let the rod drop. Just repeat this maneuver until we see what you have out there.” He then reeled in the other lines to avoid them getting tangled.

  The others could see her rod bent forward and her struggle to maintain control of the reel, while also trying to keep her balance in the seat. Tim calmly went to her side and offered advice and support.

She was obviously straining to pull on the rod, and it took several minutes before she was able to make any progress. After her third pull, the water parted about 50 yards out and what appeared was a pointed snout, followed by a large body with a rigid dorsal fin. The fish breached the surface and then dove for the depths.

  “Jesus H Christ,” yelled Doug. “You’ve got yourself a Marlin. You can’t eat him, but he’ll look great on your living room wall.”

“Not so fast, my friend,” said Tim. “She still has to get him to the boat, and then we have to get him on board. This will take a while and depends on the hook staying in place.” He then turned to Priscilla and asked, “How are you doing? Are you ready for some physical challenge?”

  She nodded and said, “I’m glad that I have been doing a lot of upper body work. This is going to be fun.”

  “You want some help?” offered Doug.

  “No,” she said, “I kind of like this guy. He lets me win for a while, and then it’s his turn. I think he will get tired before I do.”

  “Well, if I come up dry today, I’ll buy him from you. I promised my patients they’d have something to look at when I got back to town.”

  “Oh,” replied Priscilla, “I don’t plan to keep him. I’m hoping we can remove the hook and let him go.”

  “What!” cried Doug. “You’re going to release what could be a prize Marlin. That makes no sense. Are you some kind of earth mother who wants to save the planet? Why are you out here if you’re not gonna keep what you catch?”

  Priscilla laughed and said, “I’m no earth mother, and releasing this fish is not going to save the planet. I came out here for the experience, not for a trophy. Besides, Walter and I have been enjoying each other’s company for the past thirty minutes and it will be time for us to return to our own natural environments.”

  “Walter! You named your fish Walter? Unbelievable.”

  “Walter was my husband’s name and I feel his spirit in this marvelous creature.”

  Amanda chimed in, “You go girl. This is their home, and we are the intruders. If you can’t eat what you catch, then let them live.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 10

 

Pablo decided he needed more information about his guest, so he instructed Estefan to do the prep work on the boat while he went to the forward cabin for a conversation. Jaime was sitting on the bunk rubbing his hands and rapidly tapping his left foot. As soon as Pablo entered, he stood up and again started pleading about leaving right away. Pablo sat down and said, “For the time being, you are safe, so you need to calm down and tell me what this is all about.”

  “I can’t,” he cried, “If I do then you will be in danger too.”

  “Listen, I am not a part of whatever you’ve gotten yourself into, and if your friends show up, I am going to throw you to the wolves. I just need to know what’s going on so I can handle the situation if it should arrive.”

  “All right.” Jaime said as he sat down on the opposite bunk. “It’s a long story, but I will try to give you the main points. My brother and I got into selling meth in Mexico City about two years ago. First it was just to our friends, but then they brought in their friends and pretty soon we were supplying about a hundred people. My brother had a buddy who was making the stuff for us, but he was also selling to one of the local gangs. When they found out about us, they showed up at my brother’s house, knocked him around and gave him a choice to either stop selling or join up with them. We had made obligations to our customers so quitting would have been very bad for our health. We had no choice, so we made a deal with the gang that they would get a percentage of our take and they would leave us alone.

  “That worked for about six months until they demanded a bigger percentage. We agreed, but two months later, the demand increased again. My brother got pissed off and started siphoning off money before we reported to the gang. I told him that was a really bad idea, but he didn’t care, and he got away with it for another month. When the goons showed up and demanded the money, he was high and told them to fuck off. Of course, they roughed him up pretty bad and told him he had 24 hours to deliver the money. Instead, he put all the money in a travel bag and took off out of town.

  “The bastard didn’t tell me what he had done, or where he had gone, so naturally the gang showed up at my door. That’s when I took off. I had some friends out of town who hid me and contacted Santiago, who had helped some of their people get to the States. I made up a story about wanting to make a good life for my family and he set up the thing with you. I got to Puerto Salinas and while I was at my aunt’s house, she got a call from one of the people I was selling meth to looking for me. That’s why I know they will be here to get me.”

  “So, you don’t have a wife and kids back in the city?”

  “No, just a girlfriend, and she left me when we got tied up with the gang.”

  “Does your aunt know where you are or where you’re going?”

  “No. I told her I was meeting some friends, and we were going down the coast for a few days.”

  Pablo leaned back and stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes. “Well, your story puts a bit of a damper on my enthusiasm for seeing this through. I also think that I need to let Santiago know that you’re running from the cartels rather than caring for a loving family. It’s possible that he will see you as an asylum case and do his best to get you out of here. It’s also possible that he will think you are too much trouble and cancel the whole deal.

  “Anyway, I have a fishing charter scheduled for this evening and I intend to make it happen. I have contacted a friend who will bring you something to eat and a cot to sleep on. You will be spending the night in our equipment shed and Alejandro will take care of you until I get back. If nobody shows up for you by morning, I will contact Santiago and if says “go”, we will head out. Are we clear?”

  “We still have daylight. Can’t you at least get me away from here and pick me up in the morning. I know they’re gonna find me.”

  “I told you we were going to play this my way. You’re free to leave anytime you want, but if you decide to stay, that’s the plan. I am going to lock this door, but if you want to leave, just knock and I’ll let you out.”

With that, Pablo stood up, walked out of the cabin, and closed the door.