Dead and Gone

weak, ineffectual man. He told himself his child was going to some sort of military school. But he knew.

“In any event, the child was sold, for a considerable sum, I may add, to what I call a ‘fusion’ group—one that merges its pedophilia with whatever ideology seems to permit or promote it. Nazis seem to make ideal candidates. Although I assume that pedophiles without the correct racial credentials find some other ways to band together,” he said, contempt heavy in his voice.

“In this case, the buyer was an assembly of warrior pedophiles who desire to emulate the Spartans in all ways important to them. The child was ‘kidnapped,’ as you know. By the time he was a teenager, his indoctrination was complete. And, I was told, his skills were excellent. That plan should have worked.”

“It did. He put a few rounds in me. They just didn’t do the job.”

“I see. In any event, it was I who arranged the sale. And, in so doing, discovered this ‘fusion’ principle. I investigated further, and learned that there are many such groups. That, in turn, eventually gave birth to Darcadia. And,” he said calmly, “to the reason to have you taken out.”

I let the silence sit there, building. Then I said, “You don’t need me dead anymore,” so still inside myself I wouldn’t have bounced a polygraph needle.

“Because …?”

“Because more fucking power to you, pal. This whole Darcadia thing is nothing but a whale-scale scam, right?”

“What else would it be?”

“I get it. I get it now, anyway. Besides, you want to hear something funny? I wasn’t ever after you. I didn’t know where you were, and I didn’t care. I thought you were doing a long jolt, and that you’d get protection from the Israelis again once you got out. I’d done all I wanted to do when I Pearl Harbored you with that immunity thing. I wasn’t going to risk Mossad on my ass just for the fun of blowing you away.”

“So we were both mistaken, it seems.”

“Yeah. I did think you were a baby-raper. But if I went around killing every one of those …”

“Point taken. But I assumed you had some personal stake, after going to all that trouble just to get me into a brief prison sentence.”

“Personal? I hate them all. And that’s no secret, right? Look, what’s the point? It looks like we both have to gamble here. You’ve got a crew of halfass Nazis who think you’re the next Fuhrer waiting on you in that boat. They’re ready to blow us all into dust if you don’t come back. Sure. But I still get to decide if you come back. You go back there and give the order to total us, they’ll do it. So, if I think that’s what you are going to do, we might as well just sit here and wait for it … together. No way I’m going to let you snuff us all and live to laugh about it.”

“And if I give you my word—?”

“You know what?” I said, leaning forward. “I’d take it. What’s in it for me to blow the whistle on you? The freaks aren’t going to pay me—even if they believed me, and fat fucking chance of that. Besides, if the feds knew what you were really up to, they’d probably pay you to keep tabs on your own suckers.

“And the way you play things, I know you’ve got your back covered. I’m sure you’ve got a few of them in on it with you. I mean, even some of the Nazis themselves know it’s a scam, too, right?”

“Obviously. In fact, two of them are on my ship right now. They have been very helpful,” he said, voice heavy with contempt for his stooges. “There were three of them originally, but one didn’t survive that little encounter with you. The dog was a surprise.”

“So there’s nothing I could do to screw up your play,” I told him, my voice calm even as my mind screamed to Pansy that I’d finally found the puppets who killed her. “And I couldn’t find you again even if I wanted to. You go back to stealing from them your way, and I’ll go back to mine. Besides, even with those machine guns, you can’t kill us so easy as you think.”

“I don’t understand that last part.”

“You can’t board us from that Zodiac—you’d be mowed down like wheat. And if you get back to your ship and tell your storm troopers to blast away at long range, it’s going to take a while. You’re not packing anything that could make a whole boat just go boom! But we are …” I said softly, letting the bluff float gently in the air between us.

“There’s going to be wreckage in the water,” I promised him. “Maybe even survivors. And the second anyone starts shooting, a full description of your boat goes out to the Coast Guard, together with our GPS. The message’ll say that we were attacked by terrorists on a ‘training mission.’ How many fucking Zhuks are floating around out here? Sure, I know, we’re out past the twelve-mile limit. You trust the feds enough to think they’re going to turn back at the border? Especially with no one watching …?”

His face was all the answer I needed.

“You know what?” I told him. “It might make you feel good to kill me, but it wouldn’t do a thing for anyone else on your boat. All it could do is get them Life-Without or a needle in the arm. And no matter what you say about them, they can’t be that fucking stupid. Go out on deck. Signal them to pick you up, get in your boat, and go your own way. I promise you, we’ll never see each other again.”

I didn’t offer to shake hands—that would’ve been too much. He sat back in his chair. I could see him thinking it over. And I let him see I was doing the same math.

“I don’t trust you,” he finally said. “Not personally. But I do trust you to be a lot smarter than the dimwits I’ve been using. Exposing Darcadia wouldn’t do a thing for you. In fact, I expect you’ll make some little forays of your own, trying to poach on my territory.”

“The flock’s big enough for us both to fleece.”

“Oh, the flock is enormous, no question. But if you’re proposing any sort of partnership …”

I held up both hands in a “No way!” gesture, but he went right on talking: “…  forget it. I believe I have convinced you that I’m no more a pedophile than you are. But I maintain my belief