Sailors and Sirens Read online

  "Thanks for that," she said. "Did it work?"

  "So far, yes. I should tell you about the conference call. And before we get to the marina area, don't forget that Aaron has a surveillance team there. They're watching Anastasia and reporting back to him as things unfold. There are at least two people. A woman named Josie is in charge, and there's a man named Greg. I have no idea what they look like or where they are, and there may be more people I don't know about."

  "Did they say anything about what happened last night?"

  "No. Just about the marina manager finding the bodies this morning. I guess they didn't see anything remarkable during the night. They were watching the cops this morning. That seemed to be the first sign that something was wrong."

  She nodded. "Should we go somewhere else, then?"

  "Before we have any serious discussions, we should. I need to get a look at the situation there, though. Just be careful what you say, if anybody's in earshot. I don't know if the team will recognize me; they won't have a clue about you — not with your new look, that's for sure. Anyway, they're focused on the boat. They won't be watching the restaurants."

  "You like my down-and-out college girl look?"

  I wrinkled my nose and pinched it between my thumb and forefinger. "The look is only part of it."

  She smiled. "That's all part of the disguise. I stole the clothes from a coin laundry. Unfortunately, they were still unwashed. I can't imagine what that girl did to make these clothes smell this way."

  "Not sure I want to know," I said, as we climbed the steps to the door of the restaurant.

  I was right about the place not being crowded. There was no hostess behind the podium; a placard invited us to seat ourselves. We found a table by the windows overlooking the docks. While Mary studied the menu, I took in the activity around Anastasia.

  When the waitress appeared, Mary ordered a big breakfast; I settled for coffee. She excused herself to go to the ladies' room, and her food came as she slid back into the booth.

  "Perfect timing," she said, sprinkling her eggs with salt and pepper. She stifled a yawn as she picked up her coffee.

  "Sleepy?" I asked.

  "Yes. I had a stressful night; couldn't sleep."

  "I can imagine. I figured you got a room somewhere; I didn't expect you to stay out all night."

  "I was too busy to bother with a room. Besides, I didn't want to miss you this morning. I thought you'd head this way once you heard the news."

  "I didn't turn on the news. Did I miss something?"

  "No. I meant the news from your phone call. My guess was they would still be watching Anastasia. But there must be something on TV by now, with all those news vans in the parking lot."

  "Right," I said. "I haven't turned on the TV. When you've eaten, we should go back to the room and see what the story is."

  "Do you think we can do that before I call in? And should I use a burner phone, or borrow your special iPhone?"

  "That depends on how you plan to explain yourself, I guess. Think it over. If you use a burner, you can keep me out of it."

  "You nervous about this?" she asked.

  "No, not for my own sake. I don't have anything to hide; and I don't want you to tell me anything I can't share with Phorcys. But you need a coherent story about what you were up to while you and I were out of touch. There are some suspicious coincidences, from a timing standpoint. Just figure out how you want to play it and let me know."

  She nodded and focused on finishing her breakfast while I watched the crime scene down on the dock. Two men were rolling a gurney with a bagged corpse down the gangway when Mary broke the silence.

  "Okay. Here's the way I'd like to do this. You bought breakfast for a hungry girl who hustled you for spare change, if anybody asks. Maybe you figured she would be good cover in case anybody was watching for you. Don't mention meeting me, okay?"

  I nodded.

  "I'm going to leave you here," she said. "I'll use the women's showers at the marina to get cleaned up. By the time you see me again, I'll look like my normal self. While I'm doing that, you go back to the B&B.

  "I'll call in from a burner phone and make my peace with Phorcys before I join you. You'll probably get a call from them telling you I'm okay and making my way back to you. By the time I get back to the room, maybe we can call in together and begin trying to make sense out of where we go from here. You okay with that?"

  "Whatever you say; this one's all yours. I'm just along for the ride."

  "Thanks, sailor."

  "You're welcome, siren. Just don't lead me onto the rocks."

  Mary left, and I lingered over my coffee for a few minutes. When I finished the cup and waved off the waitress's offer of more, I picked up the check and took it to the cash register. Walking back to the B&B, I tried to imagine what kind of tale Mary would tell Phorcys.

  From experience, I knew how creative and convincing she could be. As she put it one time, lying was a survival skill for her. In our early days together, we went through a few rough patches as we struggled with what the shrinks call "trust issues." Given our backgrounds, neither of us was inclined to be open about our activities when we were apart.

  Mary and I worked as a team for the past few months, and we both thought our differences were behind us. Now, though, we were caught in a purely personal conflict. My attitudes and behavior were shaped by my career in the military; Mary didn't have that background. Our fundamental values and goals weren't in conflict. We resolved that question much earlier. We were at odds not over strategic direction now, but over tactics.

  Mary wasn't accustomed to sharing the responsibility for operational decisions; she worked alone and followed her instincts. I wasn't bothered by that, but Mike Killington and Bob Lawson might be. Both of them were retired Army officers; they expected people to follow orders and stick to plans.

  I crawled out of the same evolutionary swamp that they came from; I understood and trusted them. The same was true of Aaron Sanchez. I could no more lie to these men than I could jump over the moon; they knew me too well. They would see right through any deception on my part.

  Mary's venture last night was the second time in a couple of weeks she had gone "off the reservation," as Aaron had put it several days ago. The first time, she had prevailed upon Bob Lawson to smooth things over. Bob brought Mary into Phorcys. He was not only her sponsor; he was her long-lost uncle. While that might bias a normal person, I didn't think for a minute that Bob would let a blood relationship influence his judgment.

  From what I knew of their relationship, Bob tried to protect Mary as far back as her early childhood, but with little success. Still, Bob was a soldier's soldier. I had doubts about whether Mary could recover from this second transgression.

  That worried me. I was committed to Phorcys and what it stood for; our country was in serious trouble. Phorcys was committed to our survival as a nation of laws.

  I was also committed to Mary. Our mutual bond was stronger than anything I had ever known. Was it stronger than my commitment to the country I was sworn to serve?

  I didn't know, and that was troubling. I wouldn't be surprised if Mary spun a yarn that convinced Bob Lawson and his partners that she acted in their best interests last night. I knew how persuasive she could be. But from my perspective, she indulged in a fit of pique when she took out Lavrov's crew on Anastasia. She was making her own rules, and I was afraid she might have blown our opportunity to learn more about Lavrov's operation.

  Still lost in thought, I was surprised to find I was approaching the B&B. I went to my room, resolved to suspend making any judgments until I heard more from Mary and Phorcys.

  24

  I was stretched out on the bed, my fingers laced behind my head, staring at the ceiling. Despite my determination not to make judgments without more information, I was getting worried. I kept glancing at the clock, wondering what was going on between Mary and Phorcys. Over an hour passed before my encrypted phone rang. I snatched it off the
nightstand and hit the button to accept the call.

  "Aaron?"

  "No, it's Mike. Are you where you can talk for a few minutes?"

  I rolled to a sitting position on the side of the bed, on full alert.

  "Yes, sir."

  Mike chuckled. "I know old habits die hard, but ease up on the 'sir' stuff. I haven't worn a uniform in a long time, and neither have you."

  "Sorry, Mike." I fought to keep the anxiety from my voice.

  "That's all right. Now, are you in a place where we can talk for a few minutes?"

  "Sure. I'm alone in my room. What's the matter?"

  "Everything's okay, Finn. Things are falling into place. We've heard from Mary; she's all right. That's the first thing."

  "That's good. I've been worried about her."

  "I imagine so. Now take a deep breath and relax. She's fine, and she's worried about how you will react to what she did."

  "What she did?"

  "Come on, Finn. I know Aaron told you about Anastasia. It doesn't take a genius to pin that on Mary. Not after what she did to O'Hanlon's bunch down in Martinique."

  "Was she acting on your orders? For Phorcys, I mean? Was that sanctioned?"

  "We'll get to all that. The answers to those questions aren't as cut and dried as you and I might like."

  "I don't understand, Mike."

  "Bear with me. You and I, we see things the same way. Good, bad, black, white. Salute and do your duty. It's the way we were raised; the way we were taught. Bob Lawson, too. It's ingrained in us. You with me?"

  "So far, yes."

  "Good. Bob and I and the others put Phorcys together because our way of protecting what we believe in wasn't working so well. There are a lot of reasons that's so. I won't go into all of them; there's one that's relevant to our current situation."

  "What's that?"

  "It's tough to articulate, so feel free to ask questions. The simple version is that we were playing by a set of rules that were out of date. The changes in our society have been increasing at an exponential rate for quite a while. The checks and balances we've depended on were put in place a long time ago. The opportunity for the corruption that plagues our government today didn't exist when our nation was founded. That's in part because of the pace of technological change, and in part because of the dramatic increase in population. Things happen faster than we can analyze them and react, nowadays. Are you still with me?"

  "I think so, yes."

  "Good. As we were developing the concepts that led to Phorcys, several people made the point that we needed new blood; all of us were cut from the same cloth."

  "You're saying you needed people who didn't play by the same rules we all grew up with in the military?"

  "Yes, exactly. We've all heard the clichés. 'It takes one to know one,' or, 'It takes a thief to catch a thief,' right?"

  "Right. There's a lot of truth in those."

  "Yes, there is. Clichés and stereotypes exist because at some level, they're dead accurate. We're dealing with a new kind of corruption, a different class of crooks, if you will. We struggled with how to staff an organization to deal with today's problems. Finally, we realized we needed people who grew up in the world that spawned the bad actors."

  "That makes sense."

  "Yes, it does. I thought you would agree, and I'm glad you do. Now I will move in a little closer to home, if you're still with me."

  "Okay, I think I am. Give it a try."

  "You know that we sent Mary to connect with you in Puerto Real when you were about to tackle Willi Dimitrovsky, don't you?"

  I said nothing, letting the silence hang.

  "It's okay, Finn. We know she told you, eventually. That was with our blessing."

  "Okay. Yes, she told me. But only after I became part of Phorcys."

  Mike chuckled. "Right. Buckle your seat belt; we're going for a wild ride. You ready?"

  "I guess."

  "Stop me anytime you have a question, okay?"

  "Okay."

  "Before we sent Mary to watch over you, we already expected that you would join us, eventually. We saw what was happening with your old group. Bob and I both kept a close watch on that. After all, it was our baby, all those years ago. We didn't doubt for a minute that you were going to join us; it was only a question of timing."

  "Timing?"

  "Yes. Once you figured out what they had become, we knew you'd part ways with them. We didn't foresee the details, but the end point was never in question — not for us."

  "Okay. So why did you send Mary to look out for me?"

  Mike laughed again. "I told you why on that first phone call with Aaron and Mary — the one where you figured out who I was, remember?"

  "I remember the call, but I don't remember your telling me why you sent Mary."

  "Oh, I didn't come right out and say it. But I did tell you that Bob Lawson said you were the most outstanding junior officer who ever served under him."

  "I remember that; it gave me a serious ego boost."

  "And it should have. Well, I just told you we both kept up with the goings-on in your old organization. We saw that you lived up to the promise that Bob saw 20-odd years ago. You're the best at what you do."

  "Thanks, but I still don't see why you sent Mary to cover my ass."

  "We had to tell her something to explain why we wanted her to shadow you. You know how she is; we needed a story that wouldn't set her off."

  "I'm confused."

  "It'll come clear soon. Stay with me, okay?"

  "Sure."

  "Mary figured out who Bob was about the time we told you about Phorcys. Until then, she didn't know he was with us. She shared their connection with you, didn't she?"

  "You mean about his being her uncle?"

  "Yes. He watched over her from a distance for years, after she rejected his offer of help. She didn't know that, of course. But he saw what she was becoming, and he saw the chance to help her grow in the right direction. At the same time, he thought she would bring an insider's grasp of contemporary criminality to our group. She's the first one of us who didn't come from a military background. We eased her into the operation. Started out contracting with her through her broker, until we got comfortable with her, and she with us."

  Mike paused, and I said, "After you opened up with us on that phone call, she put all that together, more or less. And eventually shared it with me. But I still don't see why you sent her to cover me on the Dimitrovsky hit."

  "Right. Now that you've got the background, I'll tell you. But I'll leave it to your judgment whether you should share it with her."

  "Okay," I said, scratching my head.

  "Her assignment was a combination of a training mission and a final exam, if you will."

  "For which of us?"

  "Come on, Finn. Now you're playing with me. For Mary, of course. We wanted her to see how an old pro did the job. And to see if she could keep up with you."

  "I guess we both passed."

  "With flying colors. And before I forget, I have a message for you from Bob."

  "What's that?"

  "You have his blessing. He's pleased with the way things have worked out between you and Mary on a personal level. And he said to tell you there's no pressure there. He knows how those things go. But he hopes it works out right for both of you, long term."

  "Thank him for me."

  "I'll do that. Questions?"

  "Yes," I said. "About what Mary was up to last night?"

  "That's what I've been leading up to. Mary doesn't see things the same way the rest of us do; that's why we brought her on board. She also thrived as a loner in her field; she's accustomed to making her own decisions. You may know that better than I do."

  "Well, I won't argue with you about that. She's a poster child for 'Don't ask for permission, and don't even beg forgiveness unless they catch you.'"

  That got a chuckle from Mike. "That's her, all right. She was badly shaken by being snatched off the street yester
day, and she was embarrassed that you rescued her. Right or wrong, she thinks she could have handled those two men without your help."

  "Sensitive person that I am, I picked up on that."

  "I'll bet you did." Mike laughed. "And she felt a strong need to kick ass. She was out to get even. Plus she was the one who was still exposed. 'For those old bastards behind the lines, it was all like an academic exercise,' she said to Bob a little while ago. 'I was the one with the target on my back.' What's your reaction to that, Finn?"

  "I'm hurt that she lumped me in with the old bastards."

  Mike laughed again. "I like you, Finn. I've admired and respected you for your accomplishments, but I didn't have a feel for what you were like, personally. That sense of humor is as much an asset to us as your skills. Now, what do you think of Mary's fear?"

  "She's not wrong. She was the one with her ass in the line of fire."

  "Yes. And by her reckoning, she has an absolute right to defend herself, even if we old bastards might prefer that she hunker down for a while. She was feeling threatened, and she acted to reduce the threat. Her only regret is that she missed Lavrov and his bodyguard."

  "How do you and Bob feel about what she did?"

  "We're coping with it. It's something we will have to deal with, if we want people with different perspectives to work with us. We're trying to keep our focus on the goal, not on the path. There are different ways to get from here to there. That's why we brought her in. It was inevitable that this sort of conflict would happen."

  "What's your take on Mary?" I asked. "Do you and Bob think her independence is a threat to Phorcys?"

  "No. Bob and Mary talked about that, and he and I discussed it before we decided to bring her on board. She's not confused about right and wrong — not one of those 'end-justifies-the-means' hotshots. He talked it over with her again, just now.

  "We expected problems like this to happen, eventually. That strong independent streak coupled with her initiative made it inevitable. She's a keeper. The rest of us need to learn to deal with her and keep an open mind. There's a lot we can learn from somebody like that. She knows how the bad guys think; she's been there."