This is the thirty-first episode of the novel Two Tamas in Paradise. There are fifty episodes. This is the fourth novel in the Trace Troy South Pacific Adventure series.
It may now be purchased on Amazon. It is available in paperback or Kindle digital format.
The Plan
Trace, Adam, and Makani ate supper at a small open-air restaurant a few hundred yards from where The Tramp Islander was docked. Sage and Coyote found a restaurant a little further away.
Everyone except the passengers returned to The Tramp Islander by 7:30 PM. They sat on the deck, talked and talked.
After an hour, Sage said, “I wonder where our passengers are? Man, I hope they don’t come back sloshing drunk.”
“Maybe I'm just a chauvinist pig,” Coyote said, “but a woman drunk turns my stomach. A man is bad enough, but it’s expected.”
“I bet those two bimbos are a sight when they get hammered,” Sage said.
“Maxwell appears to be the type who thinks he can whip the house after a few,” Adam said.
“I think ole Calving is the type to start singing karaoke after his first drink,” Trace said.
“I glad you have them all figured out,” Makani said. “Now I stop thinking for myself.”
They continued talking with spurts of laughter.
At twilight, an island boy ran up to the railing. “Captain Troy!”
“That’s me,” Trace said, standing. He walked toward the boy.
“Your friends are in trouble,” he said.
Trace turned back and looked at the others sitting on the deck. The smiles melted from their faces.
“What happened?” Trace said.
“I saw what happened,” the boy said.
“A police car ran into a car your friends were driving,” the boy said. “The police arrested your friends, and said it was their fault. But it wasn’t. I told other policemen what I saw, and they told me not to tell anyone else or I’d get in trouble. They said your friends were drunk. They weren’t. It was the police who were drunk.”
“Where are they now?” Trace said.
“They are in a room at the police station,” the boy said.
“The policeman got hurt real bad,” the boy said. “Your friends are in big trouble.”
“Where’s the police station?” Trace said.
The boy pointed to the east. “Not far, half a mile.”
Trace reached into his pants’ pocket, grabbed some money, and handed it to the boy.
“Thanks,” the boy said. “Do you want to know how to break them out?”
“What!” Trace said, grinning in disbelief. “I talked to them when I delivered food to the police. They told me to come to you. They will be held until a trial is held. They said you know how important it is for them to not go to trial and to break out.”
“Break out!” Coyote said. “I kinda came here for something like that.” He rubbed his hands together. “Let’s get a plan together.”
“There’s a back way in,” the boy said. “I use it all the time when I deliver food. You walk in a side door, turn right, and two doors down is the room your friends are in. You can open from the outside but not the inside. Nobody watches.”
The boy continued to explain the layout of the first floor of the police station. He pointed out where the station was guarded.
Adam reached into his pocket and gave the boy more money.
“Now,” Trace said, “get lost. We never saw you. You were never here.”
The boy smiled, nodded, and ran away.
“Those are our passengers,” Trace said. “The boy says they’re innocent, and I believe him.”
Everyone agreed.
“These folks may be lowlife schemers,” Trace said, “but as far as we really know, they’ve hurt no one, and they are innocent and being framed.”
“Should we get them a lawyer?” Sage said.
“That seems to me like the long way around,” Trace said.
“Do we have enough to bribe the police?” Coyote said.
“The problem with that,” Adam said, “is if they don’t accept the bribe, we get accused of bribery and they jail us and confiscate The Tramp Islander. I think direct action is needed if we’re going to do anything.”
“Yeah,” Coyote said, “we get some rope and tie it around the bars to the window, hitch the rope to a horse, and pull out the bars. I’ve seen that done a time or two in the movies. Seems to work every time.”
Trace’s head moved from side to side. He quickly considered options. He looked around the harbor. He stroked his chin.
“Dad,” Trace said, “I have a suit that will fit you, a little tight, but it will fit. I want you to put it on. You’re going to go to the police station and claim you’re their lawyer. Make a fuss, make it so bad they have to kick you out. In fact, it would be nice if it took three cops to remove you.”
“That will take some skill,” Adam said. “There’s a fine line between getting thrown out and being thrown in jail.”
“I’m sure you can walk that line,” Trace said. “Go ahead and change.”
Adam went below to change.
“Coyote,” Trace said, “I want you to go with me. I’m going to need somebody with your skill set.”
“You mean busting jaws?” Coyote said.
“Only if they come after us,” Trace said. “I don’t want you running them down to do it.”
“I don’t run ‘em down anymore,” Coyote said. “Too old.”
“Sage,” Trace said.
“Go long,” Sage joked.
“Did you see the police boat docked about two hundred feet west of us?” Trace said.
“Let me guess,” Sage said. “It looks pretty fast, and you want me to make sure it doesn’t work.”
“That’s right,” Trace said. “I’ve noticed something strange about that boat’s security; nobody is watching it. You should be able to go on board. Go up to the bridge. Open up the panels under the instrument panel and yank as many wires as you can in two minutes. That should be enough to make it inoperable. To start with, be near the boat, and when you see me with the passengers walking toward our boat, go on the police boat and start yanking.”
“Aye aye,” Sage said.
“Makani,” Trace said, “have the lines ready to pull. We don’t want to waste any time trying to unknot them. And, Makani, have the engine running. Got it?”
“Got it,” Makani said.
They went over the plan several times.
Adam came from below. He was dressed in a beige suit.
“You look like a lawyer,” Sage said.
“That’s not a compliment,” Adam said.
“Dad,” Trace said, “as soon as you leave the police station, make it to the boat as fast as you can. Coyote, the passengers, and me, if everything goes right, should be no more than a minute behind you. Go to the pilothouse and as soon as we’re onboard, ease The Tramp Islander out of port. We’ll head north until we’re in International waters and then head east.”
No comments:
Post a Comment