It was a combat zone.
We took the opportunity to get the hell out of there.
I could have, and probably should have, taken these thugs out while they were distracted. But explaining to the sheriff why we were out here in the middle of the night, looking for drug money, wasn't something I wanted to get into at the moment.
Instead, we belly crawled across the ground, getting out of the crossfire. We made it to the tree line by the time the ringleader realized we were gone.
I think those guys were used to doing the shooting, not getting shot at.
We slipped away into the forest and hustled down the trail back to the canal, making sure to stick to the path that we had already taken. The news of the booby-traps made every step a cautious one.
The rattle of gunfire still filled the night as the two groups exchanged fire.
With hearts pounding and blood pumping, we hurried through the underbrush, back to the boat. I cast off the line, and JD weighed anchor. I pushed the boat from the muck, back into the water, then sloshed through the shallows and climbed over the gunwale.
Jack spun the boat around, then throttled up, hauling ass through the shallow channel, heading back out to sea.
Pops and crackles from gunfire still echoed across the night.
Once we cleared the channel, Jack brought the boat on plane. The engines howled, and we made the island a distant memory.
Flynn grinned. "Now that's what I'm talking about! That's exactly the kind of shit we need in the movie. Too bad we didn't have a cameraman following us around.”
I gave him a flat look.
By that time, it was late, and there was still no word from the kidnappers. The only thing we knew was that we needed to have $150 million in cash in less than 48 hours now. Even then, there was no guarantee they would let Kendra go.
I called dispatch and told them about the grow, the goons, and the booby traps, and had them send patrol units to the island. The thugs would probably be long gone by then. They might find a few bodies and would destroy the crop and equipment.
We made it back to the marina at Diver Down. Jack pulled into a slip, and I tied off. He cut the engines, and we loaded the gear off the Raptor and back aboard theAvventura.
Mickey looked defeated, and I didn’t blame him.
“Is there anywhere else the money could be?” I asked.
Mickey shrugged. “It could be anywhere. We need to find Pedro. We find him, we’ll find Kendra.”
“I’ve got my people on it,” I said. “We’ll figure something out. But we really don't know if he's responsible yet.”
"Who else could it be?”
“I promise, we’ll find out.”
We were all a little deflated after the events of the evening, but thankful to be alive.
Jack slid behind the bar and poured cocktails—a little something to soften the disappointment.
I hustled up to my stateroom, peeled out of my clothes, and took a shower. I washed the briny saltwater from my hair and contemplated our next move. The clock was ticking, and I felt like this thing was getting away from us.
I toweled off, got dressed, then joined the guys on the sky deck. Mickey had left. I think he needed a little time alone. Jack told him to stay frosty and call the minute he heard anything from the kidnappers.
We sat around on the sky deck with the stars glowing above, sipping the fine whiskey.
"I know where we can get some prop money," Flynn said. "Might buy some time. Just hear me out," he said. “All we have to do is go through with the exchange as if we had the real money. We’ll set Jack up with a sniper rifle somewhere, and he can pick those bastards off at the first sign of trouble.”
It wasn’t like we hadn’t done something similar before.
"That's not a bad plan, but there are a lot of variables,” I said. “And we’re talking a truckload of cash. That's only going to last a few seconds before they figure out it's fake. Then things will go downhill pretty quickly. We don’t even know when or where the drop is, who we’re really dealing with, and how many of them there are.”
