The Layered World Pt. 09

Sybil and Emily, who were surprised and pleased to find vendors of provisions anxious for their business, hissed and told him to behave. The taxi van loaded everyone and drove away toward the airport, which was only four miles to the north. Sybil promised to report in on her cell as soon as they were airborne.

Fueled and provisioned, Artemis was backing down from the pier by 1630. Henry gave precise conning orders in the tight quarters and they were headed south out of the harbor area within minutes.

Jay and Allan were on binocular duty again, searching in wide arcs. They were shortly ten miles in open water without a sign of trouble. Henry plotted a course which would keep them well to the west of the northwest tip of the island, where Porto Torres was located, another tourist harbor with multiple ferry services.

"Jay, we need a tighter watch this evening, there will be vessels on the radar all night."

"As a radar blob, we will blend in?"

"Yes, unless someone is particularly inquisitive and has been tracking us since the harbor."

Quietly, Lisa was at his side. "Another message. Says we will meet tonight."

He pulled her tight. "A surface encounter?"

"This is unusual. Perhaps they are going to transfer someone to us?"

"You believe your channel is secure? It is not a trap?"

She kissed his cheek. "As secure as I am."

Jay raised his voice to alert Allan and Henry, "Lisa thinks our friends may surface nearby for a body transfer. No indication of when."

They decided to maintain a course of 300 degrees and speed of five knots. At 2100, in complete darkness and no nearby traffic, a shape materialized to port and a dim light flashed Morse code at them. Lisa translated, "They are sending a rubber boat with passenger for us."

Jay asked Allan to keep a sharp eye out and went to the fantail platform with Lisa to welcome their guest, who quickly drew up the raft behind him and turned for an introduction.

"Hello, I am Avi Thorin, sent to discuss our common foe. The sub will submerge and resurface in two hours." His light flashed an all clear across the water.

Gathered in the Navigation cabin, Avi removed his head cover and wet suit top. Lisa handed over a steaming cup of tea, which was accepted with a smile.

He plunged right in. "Our sources have detected ISIS activity in the harbor at Tunis. This is not new, but follows the disruption you have caused." He reached for Jay's hand, who shook it and pushed Jennifer to his front.

"These two women are the cause of their distress."

"We and others appreciate that, but it is possible they have localized the attacks to this yacht and are preparing to eliminate you."

Jennifer spoke up, "This is faster than we anticipated, but they have improved their technology."

There was a silent moment before Jay asked, "What do you recommend?"

"We considered taking you off and blowing up the yacht. However, that would destroy a lot of valuable electronics and other equipment, which can only be dealt with in port."

Lisa gave Jay a gentle poke and said, "I knew it. You are going to take them out."

Avi gave her a fierce frown and flexed muscles in his tee. "Jay, this one is known to us. Turned down our efforts at recruitment. Works for a sister agency and causes trouble."

Lisa leaned across the table with a quick kiss. "You do good work. Tell us the plan and what our part should be."

"We are assuming the worst without knowing what they know. The activity I am going to describe will attract attention to this part of the Med, so it would be wise for you to head back to Palma and whatever your previous plan was. Perhaps you should maintain this course but increase speed to fifteen knots. It will make it seem you are still headed to Nice. Tomorrow, when things get hot, you can alter course for Mallorca. It will appear that you are attempting to avoid danger."

"Avi, don't tease, tell us what you are going to do." Lisa's voice hissed at him. Jay's fingers pinched her waist in the darkened room.

"We have developed a way of destroying small ships that makes it appear that they struck a surface or submerged mine. There is little wreckage left, and we generally use their brand of explosive, so that the forensic work indicates an internal exploit." He smiled as much as a Mossad agent ever does.

Avi continued, "If this is agreeable, when I return to the sub, we will set course for Tunis and our intelligence people will provide surveillance of their watercraft. There is about two hundred miles of open water between your current position and Tunis. If our suspicions are correct, one of their boats will set out tomorrow, headed this way. The sub will intercept and destroy it. The explosion and radio traffic will attract military attention, which they don't want. The sub will head for the bottom and lay quiet."

Jennifer said, "While they are having a big fuss about whether to send another boat, we will divert a final round of funds."

Henry said, "We need a cover story for the high speed return to Palma. What about a sudden case of appendicitis onboard?"

Jay was pleased, "Yes, wonderful idea. Hugh will discern immediately what is happening and alert the Spanish coastal patrol."

Avi asked, "So we are agreed? A little help from an unknown source? A mystery explosion of a boat with no papers?"

Chapter 38 - Return to Palma

The next morning after a very restless night, bodies circulated on and off the bridge. Shortly after sunup, Henry sent a message to Nice, copied to Palma, that declared a medical emergency and said Artemis was headed to Mallorca with a patient. These were acknowledged, with a request for updates and ETA. Henry had set a course almost due west and a speed which he calculated would bring them to Palma harbor early tomorrow morning. All three diesels were operating at nearly full throttle, which shook the yacht but helped the crew's morale in that Tunis was falling rapidly to the rear off the port quarter. Allan and Mark were taking turns scanning the radar scope while Stan had the helm and Henry was listening to radio traffic.

Around noon, there was a burst of static on the radio, but nothing intelligible. A few minutes later, Lisa voiced a loud, "Damn," and dashed over to show Jay a decrypted image on her phone. It was obviously taken through a periscope and the field of view was full of smoke and fire.

Everyone on the bridge whooped and shouted at Lisa, "We love your friends!"

Jay asked Allan to send a coded message to Hugh, asking him to rendezvous with Artemis back in Palma the next morning. In a quiet voice, he said, "I think we are at a point of maximum danger. Hugh will bring us the latest from Anthony, and possibly from Tim."

The day passed with intense attention by the crew to possible attack from air or sea. At the same time, Jennifer and Lisa were active on multiple electronic fronts at once. In midafternoon, Jennifer reported to Jay, "Our work is going exceedingly well. What will happen next is anyone's guess but they are many billions poorer. The PA's and I are now making our public accounts disappear. Fina will come back with Hugh for a skull session. If you don't mind, it will be very important to get this gear offloaded and established onshore. I have already asked Sybil's agent if her premises are available for the office workers before they head home."

She looked up and gave him a quick kiss directly on the mouth. He grabbed her hand and kissed it. "You are a treasure."

"She responded, "Yes, but we are not home safely yet."

* * *

After miserable, restless sleep, everyone was up before dawn the next morning. It was another cloudless, warm day with no wind to speak of. Henry received permission to enter the harbor at 8am and they moored next to a Spanish coastal patrol craft. Hugh was standing on the pier next to an officer in military uniform, whom he escorted to the bridge.

"This is Colonel Rafael Cortiz, of the Spanish Security Force. He has instructions to inquire about our plans. The Western Med is on alert because of a mysterious explosion yesterday that destroyed a boat leaving Tunis harbor without papers or destination."

Henry suggested, "Terrorists? An intramural affair?"

"Senor, that is the obvious explanation. But we are aware that Mr. Manco recently was involved with the Ukrainian plane crash and has suffered insurance losses. Can you tell me why you are here, Sir, and where you were when the explosion occurred?"

It took more than a few minutes for Henry and Jay to answer these and other questions, in the middle of which the Colonel's phone rang with a coded chime that required his immediate attention. In a few moments, he looked up and said, "Headquarters extends its greetings to you and instructs me to offer my services."

In a very much warmer atmosphere, Jay responded, "Our provisions are low, but perhaps you would join us for cafe and pastry at the pierside location just there?"

The four of them disappeared to the umbrellas on the pier, which conveniently allowed the rest of ship's company to make short work of getting the precious electronics equipment loaded into a van and motored off to the same apartment destination it had occupied the previous week.

Several hours later, on the apartment's top floor veranda, Hugh was providing a debrief while sandwiches were consumed.

"First things first. The financial losses of the jihadis front organizations have gotten loose in the London and New York rumor mill. Most of the rumors point to one or another governments, but within the insurance industry, a few trial balloons have surfaced with Jay Manco's name on them. These are people who know of your losses, Jay, and figure you have a vengeance motive. Fortunately, no one has a clue as to how this has been accomplished.

"Second, Tim managed to save his skin by convincing Langley that Allan could be very useful as a Manco employee, and that he, Tim, should have delegated authority to work with Anthony."

He looked across the veranda at Allan, in whose lap sat Jennifer, giggling. "I am afraid, junior agent, that you are stuck with two jobs and divided loyalties."

Tickling Jennifer, Allan ducked his head on her shoulder. "Oh no! How could this happen? I am doomed."

With his loved one held tight, the rest of the group smiled and doubted that doom was in prospect.

"There is one big problem. The Spaniards have got wind of the yacht demolition and told Anthony it is a non-starter. 'Bad for tourism. Bad for our security reputation. You understand, Senor?'

"Anthony does not want to offend Spain, so one reason I am here is to come up with Plan B."

Chapter 39 - A Change in Plans

There was an extended silence as heads turned to look at Jay. He pretended indifference, munching on his sandwich and gazing out at the harbor.

Finally, "We need a report from the Twins. Is your equipment working yet?"

Leaping up, Jennifer shouted, "It is not just Fina and me, there are two others. We are The Four!" She pulled Allan and Lisa to their feet. She asked for someone else to speak, but they poked her to continue.

"This is very scary, because it appears they have decided we are their attackers, although possibly they are striking out in multiple directions. If Manco assets are publicly destroyed, that will give us away. The yacht plan assumed we had been uncovered, which may not be the case. Not yet at least."

Silence descended. The Four milled about, butting and poking each other. Allan faced Jay and declared, "Something should be done today. The ISIS world is on alert. I suggest that the black yacht should refuel and depart, with papers saying it is being recalled to Nice for refurbishment. Henry, Lisa and I will board as crew. The arms cache will go with us. The speed of advance will be ten knots, which will get us there in a day and a half if there are no interruptions."

"A decoy," said someone.

Allan nodded, "Yes. Here in Palma, Stan and Mark will rent two vans with stated destination for the Manco group in Barcelona. The previously airlifted electronics will go along in their crates."

Jay looked at Hugh, who nodded. This approach further divided his forces, which were already spread over multiple continents. But the yacht, tracked by satellite, offered a convenient target.

He returned his attention to Allan. "You propose to confuse our opponents by dividing the Mallorca group in two parts. On the surface, the Manco group is proceeding toward home base in London by van, while the mystery yacht is returning to its home base. In the meantime, everything has gone quiet on the financial front. Billions of assets, both Manco and Jihadi, have disappeared with no apparent cause..."

Into the silence, Hugh ventured, "The question of the moment is whether our moves paralyze our foes, or lead them to incautious moves that will attract government countermeasures?"

Jay stood, his posture signaling action. "Yes, precisely. We need you at Anthony's side in coming days, so please collect your loving wife and make your way to London in record time." They smiled at each other.

Next, he spoke to Henry, "My friend, sailing the yacht to Nice is a hazardous undertaking. I could not order you to do it, but perhaps your background suggests a love of adventure?"

Henry moved fast and embraced Jay, "You honor me with the assignment. With these two well trained and obnoxious agents, we will do it!"

The twins cried fake tears, "This is terrible, we are now Two again, and stuck in a stuffy van!"

Jay pointed to his knee and they cried out and raced away to check on their Internet world.

Only Kelly and Mark and Stan remained. Jay helped himself to something non-alcoholic and pointed to a shady corner.

"The three of you have my greatest appreciation for helping the project succeed thus far. But everything is tense and very dangerous. If we can take the early ferry to Barcelona tomorrow morning, I doubt that gives them time to prepare an assault or bombing. Why don't you two drivers see if two vans can be rented for a drop in Barcelona? We probably will do something else, but these people don't need to know that. Their problems can be solved with money. I need to discuss something privately with Kelly, so you may be off to find vans."

Kelly eyed him, "I would so like to crawl into your arms, but this is probably not the best place?"

"I was thinking of chasing you naked downstairs past the Twins, but that is probably not the best idea?"

She fell into his lap for kiss and a snuggle anyway. Her muscled body felt like a coiled spring. She said in a small voice, "Jay, Orange has destroyed a big chunk of their assets. Will we get out of this alive?"

He leaned back, holding tight. "Other than the fact they are so willing to die for their cause, I think we are ahead. And we are smarter, if I am not mistaken."

After a comfortable moment, he continued, "Your residency in Spain needs to be on hold for the moment. You and Mark and Stan make a great support group for me and the Twins and their gear. With two vans and six people, our movements cannot be disguised. I am depending on Hugh to provide feedback from Anthony about what the intelligence agencies are seeing and doing. Why don't you put on your estate agent hat and see if you can find a secluded pensione or something like that with modern electrification and a perimeter that can be patrolled?"

"Boss, with your money and reputation, we could rent a floor of a downtown hotel?"

"Yes, and be scared that every contact with a staffer was with a jihadi."

She stood and kissed his forehead. "As usual, you are asking the impossible, but I will find a laptop and go to work."

Chapter 40 - Barcelona

Kelly and the Twins stood next to Jay on the forward upper deck of the ferry to Barcelona. Palma was disappearing astern in early morning light. The vans, stored below, were too sensitive to leave unguarded, but they would take turns spelling Stan and Mark.

"Let's get coffee and find a quiet corner." In a few minutes, they were seated in a sunny patch out of the wind. The women wanted contact, so cushions went on the deck and Jay's arms gathered them in.

Kelly had done the impossible and found them an available corporate retreat on the edge of downtown, with high walls and generous grounds. "I'm sorry," she said, "but it is ten thousand U.S. a day."

He held her head and applied a gentle kiss. "Perfect."

Then added, "When we arrive, ask the Colonel if there are any bad vibes and also ask that local officials not be alerted to our presence."

After a pause, he suggested, "Perhaps Mark and Stan should find a six passenger SUV with a lot of go and local plates. Will cost a mint when they see a California driver's license, but may come in handy in a pinch."

* * *

Late afternoon sun was in Jay's eyes as he relaxed on the smallish deck of the second story of their new temporary residence. Kelly was beside him, sipping a glass of nicely chilled white wine. The Twins came through from the stairwell with a report. Before they could begin, he pointed to additional glasses and asked a question as they filled them.

"Where does a person familiar with the insurance industry think you are currently located?"

They looked at each other. "Well, first, we are not known at all to most companies. Sybil has not advertised us. Second, the meeting in Tarragona was fairly public, and perhaps noted in a newsletter or two. Third, there was public gossip in Palma about our holiday group, but that was almost exclusively local."

Leaning back with eyes closed, he sipped his wine and asked, "If our opponents make a knowledgeable and determined effort to find you, is it safer here or in London?"

After a long silence, Jennifer said, "If there is a physical attack and a security force response, we are equally likely to be killed here and in London. What happens to us while bullets are flying is anyone's guess."

He opened his eyes and his arms and gestured to join him. They folded in tightly. "No one is putting bullets in you while I am around..."

Kisses and squeezes went on for several minutes. Kelly reached with a pinch and asked for the report they had come to deliver.

"We have a coded message from the black yacht that they cruising per orders. Would you believe the devils included a picture of naked Lisa sunning on the after deck!"

Jay stood and stretched. "I'll bet her weapons were not far away."

"No, they are in the image. Jay, if you ever want to really annoy our Muslim opponents, do a poster of her in Terminator armor and weapons, but boobs and bare sex showing."

He looked at Kelly, "She'd do it, wouldn't she?"

"In a minute, especially if there was a fearsome helmet to conceal her identity."

"There could be an echelon of Terminator-ettes, equally fearsome?"

"Without a doubt, along with Allan and Avi carrying lances with pennants flying!"

"The males do not have to have their parts flying loose?"

"No, no, no!" They pushed him down on the wicker sofa, giggling helplessly.

Leaving them lying atop him, he asked, "What news from Hugh?"

Sitting up and trying to act adult, Fina said, "The agencies are puzzled by the wild burst of activity and now nothing. Anthony guesses a combination of licking wounds and intramural consulting about retribution."

"Their hot nature will demand a response. If a culpable target is not identified, they will bomb something anyway."

"That is exactly what Hugh thinks. He has advised Sybil and Sam to close the two offices with signs indicating remodeling."

"Manco will appear to be out of business?"

"Yes. Sybil and Tricia are composing an announcement, but wish to discuss the contents with you."

There was quiet until he asked if there was ever going to be any food. Kelly rose and pointed to the vehicle entering the courtyard at that very moment. "Ask and ye shall be rewarded. Behold."