down, Miguel took the fall. He's still in prison at Parchman. It'll be interesting to see what happens when he's paroled. Word is, he wants to have a talk with his brother.
'So Ignacio moved to the Bahamas and went into the Snowpowder business, and the Dixie Mafia took over the coast until the big boys moved in with the legal 'Dockside' gambling.'
'Exactly. But Sanchez is a lot smarter, meaner, and extremely deadly. We will take no chances with this scumbag. There's no way to know how many people he's killed. You came close, my friend. Your luck must be running good.'
'Yeah, I've really got fine luck.'
'They've moved everyone off Johnston's Harbor. All business will be conducted aboard the Sun Dog from now on. So, I think we're safe with your death and the dinghy being discovered.'
'How deep is Will in with these people?'
'More than he needs to be. He's a good kid at heart. Saw a way for some quick money selling to rich tourists. Didn't seem wrong to him. Once Sanchez gets his hooks into you, there is no way out but dead.'
'They never think beyond the money.'
'Will wanted out when they pushed him to sell at the school. They threatened his family. That's when I got called in.'
'How big is Sanchez's operation?'
'He's got six men working for him on Abaco, alone. Moving about seven kilos a week. There's a lot of heat around Nassau at the moment. That's why they've been working out of Johnston's Harbor. He's dealing all over the Bahamas. I haven't been inside long enough to know his distribution network, or where he's getting his supply.'
'How did you get inside with Sanchez?'
'Will introduced me. My cover is that of a dealer from Memphis. I made an offer for fifty kilos at ten grand a pop. I've gotten forty kilos so far, and the rest is due tonight. Sanchez thinks I'm stashing it on a sailboat anchored in American Harbor up at Man-O-War Cay. I rented one of BYS's Endeavours and staying aboard.'
'That's half a million dollars’ worth of blow.'
'I paid in cash and that impressed Sanchez.'
'You are using the counterfeit money from the Williams case, aren't you?'
Dave laughed. 'Good guess. It would take an expert to tell the difference.' He paused, rubbed both hands around the steering wheel of the cigarette. 'There is something else you should know. I got word Sanchez plans to take back the Snowpowder he sold me. I would have been disappointed if he hadn't. He'll probably try tonight, after delivering the last ten kilos.'
'I'm here to help.'
'Nice of you.'
'You want to tell me the plan?'
'There is only one way to end this.' There was neither cruelty nor animosity in his face, only justice.
'Yes.'
He meant taking out Sanchez and his crew. Suddenly we were about to become judge, jury, and executioner. This is a dangerous world. Sometimes one has to do desperate things to survive desperate situations.
'We can take it down there, on the Sun Dog, or we can do it on board my sailboat when they come to take back the cocaine. The problem with my boat is that Sanchez might not show up. Someone will come; it's too easy a target. I vote for the Sun Dog. What do you think?'
He watched my eyes, looking for some sign of disapproval, some weakness in his plan. He knew I would stay with him in the fight. We had been in some rough places together. We trusted each other.
'It's your show. I'll go along with whatever you decide. The Sun Dog is a good choice. Everybody's in one place and we know the layout of the boat.'
'It's settled, then.'
'What's our firepower?'
'Two full auto Israel machine pistols and two forty-four magnum revolvers with six inch barrels, like the one I killed you with. There's plenty of ammo.'
'So how do we go about this war? We will be outnumbered and out gunned.'
He explained what he had in mind. It seemed workable, but dangerous. We sat in the small boat fanning mosquitoes, sweat running down my back, waiting for the time to approach the Sun Dog.
'Tell me about Kathy? She seems like a nice person.'
'I did her a favor about six years ago. We met on a flight to Chicago, ended up going out to dinner. Strictly platonic. You know I don't fool around on Sally.'
It was true, he didn't.
'She asked for advice on divorcing her flyboy. We've kept in touch.'
'How did you connect her to Abaco?'
'She mentioned going to an island in the Bahamas to get away. Turned out it was here and, of course, I knew B.J., so that was that. She'd call every time she started down, see if we might be headed this way. That's how I knew she was going to be here this morning.'
'Makes sense, but don't you think leaving a written message for her was dangerous?'
'You remember Mike Albury, the man who runs the ferry? Gave it to him and asked that he make sure no one but Kathy got it. That's as safe as you can get. Didn't want her to show up at the house and find you there.'
'It was a good find.'
He looked at the luminous dial on his watch. 'It's time.'
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Dave was so sure Sanchez was going to attempt to steal back the cocaine that the whole plan depended on it. He always had a sixth sense about things like this, so I decided to rely on his instincts. He'd been wrong before, but not often.
We planned to pick up the ten kilos of Snowpowder from Sanchez, and take it back to the sailboat anchored in American Harbor at Man-O-War Cay. After stowing it aboard, we'd run back down to where we could watch the Sun Dog. Traveling under cover of darkness was extremely dangerous as the boats running to Treasure Cay would be without lights and the closure rate is almost a hundred miles an hour.
If Dave was right, someone from the Sun Dog would leave around two or three a.m. and head for his sailboat. Rip-offs like this occur all too often. A lot of good undercover cops are killed as a result of this each year.
Undercover narcotics agents have my utmost respect. It takes a brave and dedicated person to do what they do for the money they are paid.
Our plan was to stay hidden behind Bridges Cay until we saw a boat leave the Sun Dog, then we would follow them to see if they were heading to Dave's sailboat. If they boarded the boat, we'd take them down. After that, we'd return and do what had to be done with Sanchez and his crew.
There was no way to know how many people would be aboard the Sun Dog on this night. If two or three went to steal the cocaine, and we took them out, then it would improve our odds.
The reality of the world is that there are evil people living in it. Tonight we planned to battle some of that evil.
When it was time for us to pick up the ten kilos from the Sun Dog, Dave asked me if I was ready. I nodded, not knowing if it was the truth. Sweat poured down my face, and the mosquitoes were driving me insane.
We eased down toward the Sun Dog. As we drew up to the stern, two men emerged armed with AR-15s. One I recognized as Barrel-chest. Keeping my head bowed, I stayed seated in the cigarette.
Barrel-chest pointed his rifle at me. 'Who's he?'
'He works for me.'
'The boss didn't say anything about another person coming with you. Wait until I check.'
Sweat ran down my forearms. We were unprepared for a confrontation, and would be at a great
