The Double-Cross In Paradise; Episode 39, Sudden Change

This is episode thirty-nine in the sixth novel of The Troy Adventure Series. It is titled The Double-Cross in Paradise. Here are the links to  The Double-Cross In Paradise: paperback, Kindle. 

Sudden Change

Franks sat at the mess table. “That’s a wager I would not take,” Franks said, “because I’m busting to tell you.”

“I bet you haven’t been this happy since taking a lollipop from a baby and mocking it for crying,” Trace said.

“Come on, Trace,” Franks said sarcastically, “you ought to know me by now. I’m a man with very deep and sentimental feelings.”

“So I thought,” Trace said. “I have to hand it to you, ya had me fooled.”

“It’s one of my better schemes,” Franks said.

Trace quickly glanced at Paul and said, “Take a good look, my friend, that’s who you will become.”

“When Paul visited me in prison,” Franks said, “we had an instant connection. It is difficult to explain. We talked for long periods of time. He has something deep inside, busting to come out. Isn’t that what a father is supposed to do, bring the best out in their son?”

“Listen carefully, Paul,” Trace said. “This is the part where he wraps you emotionally around his greedy little finger and exploits you.” 

Then he turned to Franks. “Wait a minute, Paul spent two years in that cult of Flint Island under the tutelage of a master manipulator. Maybe you’re being played.” 

Franks heaved a hearty laugh. “You are so rich. Toss something out there and hope it has traction. That might work on cowpokes and auto mechanics, but don’t try that with sophisticated people. We know every trick in the book.”

“Yeah,” Trace said, “you two are far too swift for me. Of course, I did skin you for a few thousand and place you in jail.”

“I shall have the last laugh, my friend,” Franks said.

“Well, let’s hear the joke,” Trace said.

“Right about now, the boat you came in on is being packed with ten kilos of cocaine,” Franks said. “It looks like you and your buddy will be doing some time for drug trafficking.”

“Thanks,” Kelsey said, “you roped me into this one. Remind me to pay you back.”

“You see,” Franks said, “I got out on the promise, a promise I could deliver a drug runner. And here’s the beauty of the whole plan: we got you recorded on tape, setting it all up in a barroom in Suva—Sneaky Pete’s. What irony!”

“What happens next?” Trace said. 

“As soon as my men have the drugs planted, we call the police,” Franks said. “So everyone can relax. I have armed men at each door.”

“Why are you even here?” Trace asked.

“I want to see the look on your face,” Franks said. “You’re such an idealist. They’re all suckers. It’s sort of like watching a sucker lose at the casinos. They come in hoping to break the house. They win and think they are smarter than the house. An hour later, they are broke, and I’m wearing a smug smile. If you have the opportunity, I will afford it to you; you can watch me when you are arrested and when you are sentenced—I will have that smug smile on my face.”

Sage lifted his hand toward Paul. “Hey, Paul, I’m curious, what are you getting out of this?”

“Do you know how much money my dad makes?” Paul said. “I led an austere life for a while. And I was a sucker for doing it. My last year on the island, I schemed how to make money fast enough to enjoy it before I’m too old. My dad showed me the way. We’re a father and son team. My knowledge of computer science and his grasp of business, we will be rich beyond what I ever dreamed.”

“You sound like the losers who walk into the casinos,” Sage said. 

Franks smiled as he paced back and forth on the aisle between the mess and salon. 

“You’re smiling, but you seem nervous,” Trace said. 

Franks chuckled. “I can’t help it. It’s like holding a royal flush. You know how it is to hold a good hand, and you have to hold it all in. This way I get to show how I feel.”

“I wish I could share the exhilaration,” Trace said. 

“Someday,” Franks grinned, “the day you walk out of prison.”

Franks stopped pacing and looked out the porthole. “Police are never on time.”

Trace stood. “Do you mind if this ole cowboy takes a leak?”

“Squeeze it,” Franks said.

“That’s what I’ve been doing.”

Franks flipped his hand toward the head. “Go ahead, but I’m watching.”

Trace walked into the head and relieved himself. He watched his hands and came out.

Franks stepped back into the mess and salon area. Trace stepped behind him. Trace’s eyes glanced to Sage and to Kelsey. They returned slight nods. Trace reached behind him and pulled the pistol from his pants. He held it behind Franks’ head, but pointed out the porthole. He squeezed the trigger. Bam!!!

Everyone jerked. 

Franks’ face contorted in uncontrolled fright. He screamed, “Ahhhhh!!!”

Sage and Kelsey pulled their pistols.

“Paul!” Trace shouted, “Tell your men to leave the boat right now.”

The forward companionway door opened. 

“Tell him everything is okay and to get lost,” Trace ordered.

“We’re okay,” Paul said to the man looking down the companionway. “Get off the boat.”

“Are you sure?” The man said.

Sage streaked down the forward hallway and stopped at the bottom of the companionway steps. Trace held the pistol to the man’s chest. “Reach slowly for your gun and drop it down here.”

The man complied.

“I’m coming up,” Sage said. “If you ain’t off this boat by the time I get on deck, my gun will be a blazin’.”

The man streaked to the gangplank, and he yelled to the man in the pilothouse to run for his life.

“Sit!” Trace said to Franks, “and the same goes for you, Paul.”

“My god,” Franks said, “my ears are ringing and my head is pounding.”

“Well,” Trace said, “that’s a good thing. They say you never hear the one that gets you.”

The Double-Cross In Paradise; Episode 38, Surprise

This is episode thirty-eight in the sixth novel of The Troy Adventure Series. It is titled The Double-Cross in Paradise. Here are the links to  The Double-Cross In Paradise: paperback, Kindle. 

Surprise

They docked The Tinytanic behind The Tramp Islander. They stepped ashore.

Kelsey nudged Trace. “I see at least two cars that don’t belong here. Two men in each car.”

“I suppose you’d like to try to find a phone real quick and call for help,” Trace said.

“Not really,” Kelsey said. “I don’t know who on this island I could trust, besides too many cops, too many bullets. I know you’re close to your crew. We don’t want needless bullets flying around.” Kelsey smiled and gestured. “Show me the way.”

They walked across the gangplank and onto the deck of The Tramp Islander. 

Sage climbed up from the forward companionway. He wore a forced smile. Behind him was Franks’ son, wearing a smile of deceit.

Trace smiled and wrapped his arms around Sage. He tucked the pistol given to him by Cooper into Sage’s pants’ back waist. 

“How ya, doin’ you ole sidewinder,” Trace said. “Let me introduce you to an Australian cowboy. The call ‘em drovers, ringers, or stockmen, but he’s a cowboy through and through.”

Sage reached out and shook his hands. “Hey, cowpoke, it’s been a while. Your hands have gone soft.”

Trace gestured toward Paul. “This is one of my crew, Paul.”

Paul reached, pulled up his shirt, and pulled out an automatic pistol. “Let’s all go below.”

“What’s going on?” Trace exclaimed.

“Just get below,” Paul said. “It will become abundantly clear to you when we get below.” 

Trace, Sage, and Kelsey climbed down the companionway steps with Paul holding the pistol behind them. They filed into the mess and salon area. Makani, Tom, and Patterson sat on a salon bench. A man with an automatic pistol stood in the hallway next to the galley.

“Sorry, no breakfast,” Makani said. 

“Can somebody explain what’s going on?” Trace asked.

Paul waved his pistol toward the salon bench. “Make yourself comfortable, and in due time it will be explained.”

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Tom said.

“Back home, we say the turd don’t fall far from the cow’s behind,” Sage said.

“How long has this been going on?” Trace asked Sage.

“Three days,” Sage said. “There were a couple more around here to make sure we stayed put. They left as soon as you called.”

“Where’s the third guy?” Paul demanded.

“You asking me?” Trace said.

“Where’s the third guy?” Paul pressed.

“Third guy, I don’t know what you mean,” Trace said.

“When you called, you said breakfast for three,” Paul waved his pistol.

“Don’t wave that around,” Trace said, “it might have a hair-trigger." 

“You asked for three breakfasts,” Paul waved the pistol.

“Promise not to wave the pistol,” Trace said. 

“Just tell me,” Paul said, not waving the pistol.

“Thank you,” Trace said. “Me and Kelsey were pretty hungry, so I ordered extra—enough for three men.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Paul said. “You would have just said make twice as much.”

“You’re overthinking it,” Trace said. “Makani already makes twice as much. So just a little more than usual. Does that clear it up in your analytical brain?”

The forward companionway’s door hinges squeaked as it opened. Footsteps creaked down the steps. Waldo Franks appeared.

“Waldo Franks, everybody,” Trace introduced.

“Thanks for the introduction,” Franks said.

“This certainly deserves explanation,” Trace said. “And I’d wager you can’t wait to tell me.”

The Double-Cross In Paradise; Episode 37, Goodbye To Cooper

This is episode thirty-six in the sixth novel of The Troy Adventure Series. It is titled The Double-Cross in Paradise. Here are the links to  The Double-Cross In Paradise: paperback, Kindle. 

Goodbye To Cooper

The sun rose and set its gaze on Efate Island. Mount Macdonald appeared like a green hump. 

Trace sat in the cockpit with his hand resting on the handle of the rudder. “It’s about time,” he murmured.

Moments later, Kelsey climbed from the cabin. He stretched and rubbed his eyes and heaved a heavy yawn. 

“Mornin’ mate,” Kelsey said.

“Turn around and you can see Vanuatu,” Trace said, nodding forward.

“It’s about time,” Kelsey said. 

“Can you give me a hint as to what you have in mind?” Kelsey asked. 

“We’ll go aboard The Tramp Islander. Hopefully, it’s just the way I left it. If it is, me and you and Patterson will sit down and hash things out. He can give me the name of a contact, and I can make a move to try to put together some sort of deal. I’m sure that word has reached them and it’s had time to marinate. They’ll probably be glad to see me, especially since Franks put in a good word for me.”

“You seem pretty confident in that,” Kelsey said, sitting on the bench.

“I’m depending on it,” Trace said. 

“So how is it you expect to get this Patterson kid cleared?” Kelsey asked.

“You are familiar with these types of organizations,” Trace said. “They keep their people and associates in line with fear. I think they’ll be glad to share how they deal with people who cross them. Those things serve as a warning for guys like me—keep me in line.”

“If I get this right,” Kelsey said, “you get them to brag about how they framed Patterson, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And it’s your word against theirs,” Kelsey added.

“Not if it’s recorded,” Trace said.

“That’s a dangerous move,” Kelsey said. “What if they check you for a recording device?”

“First things first,” Trace said. He stood and nodded toward the tiller. “Can you hold her steady for me?”

“Sure,” Kelsey said, “I’ll try not to crash into the island.”

Trace walked forward and grabbed the mic from the radio through the companionway. “Calling, Tramp Islander, come in. Calling Tramp Islander, come in.” Trace waited. “Calling, Tramp Islander, come in. Calling Tramp Islander, come in.”

“Tramp Islander, over.”

“Is that you, Sage? Over.”

“Yep, Trace, over.”

“Good to hear from you. Where are you? Over”

“A couple of miles away. We just entered Mele Bay. I’ll be there in forty-five minutes to an hour, over.”

“I’ll have the coffee on, over.”

“Breakfast for three, over.”

“A cowboy breakfast? Over,”

“Are you sure? Over.”

“Sure, over.”

“Comin’ right up, over.”

Trace hung up the mic. 

Cooper sat up in his bunk and rubbed his eyes. “Are we there yet?”

“Relax,” Trace said, “we have half an hour yet.”

Trace returned to Kelsey at the tiller.

“I assume you have a weapon in your gear?” Trace asked.

Kelsey said nothing.

“Something’s wrong on The Tramp Islander,” Trace said. 

“How do you know that?” 

“Sage and I go back to before we could talk,” Trace said. “Cowboy in front, in back, or in the middle of anything means something is up.”

“I have a weapon,” Kelsey said.

“Conceal it on you,” Trace said, “It just so happens I have one also.”

“What’s going on?” Kelsey said.

“I’m not sure,” Trace said, “but let’s just play it as if we know nothing.”

Trace and Kelsey continued to talk for a few minutes. And then Cooper popped out of the cabin. 

“Did I hear that breakfast was ready?” Cooper asked.

“Yeah,” Trace said. “But there has been a change in plans.”

“Like?” Cooper asked. 

“When we dock, I want you to take my duffel bag. Get to the airport and fly back to Suva,” Trace said.

Cooper twisted his face. “Why?”

“In the duffle bag is a large sum of money,” Trace said. “It’s enough to compensate you for The Tineytanic, the flight home, and a nice vacation. There’s a key in the duffel bag. It’s to a safe deposit box. All the contents are yours. There’s a piece of paper in it also. It has an address. It’s my dad’s ranch in Texas. Go there and tell him what’s happened as far as you know.”

“But I don’t know much.”

“There’s an envelope with my dad’s name on it. Just give it to him.”

“Texas?” Cooper shook his head slightly, and his face strained.

“I’m sorry beyond what you can imagine that I got you mixed up in this. I didn’t think things would turn out this way. But I’m preparing for the worst. Texas is good, good people. You can live out your life there. You, my dad, grandpa, and Coyote will make great friends. You see, I’m afraid men may eventually come for you.”

Trace turned to Kelsey and smiled. “I have nothing for you.”

“Don’t expect anything, mate. It’s my job,” Kelsey grinned. 

“Anyway,” Trace said, “when we dock, you can take off too. You’re a man of resources. You’ll be fine.”

“Not a chance, mate,” Kelsey said. “Like I told ya, it’s my job.”

“Okay, then,” Trace said, “Cooper take the rudder, and I’ll drop the sails. We’ll motor the rest of the way.”

Kelsey followed Trace forward. They dropped the sails and secured them.

Returning to the cockpit, Trace pressed his lip and pondered as he looked at Cooper. 

“You want me to pick up the speed?” Cooper asked.

“No,” Trace said. “I want you to grab your gear and my duffel bag. I’ll get a little closer to shore. Let’s toss the rubber raft over, and you paddle to shore. It looks like only a couple of hundred yards.”

“Why?” Cooper asked.

“Somebody might be meeting us, and you won’t have that chance to get back to Suva.”

Cooper cut the engine. “I’ll not argue with you. If I were a younger man, I’d refuse, but I’d be in the way. Hope you don’t mind, but this is my boat, and I went through your gear and saw the weapons. I know you’re expecting trouble.”

“Sorry, Cooper,” Trace said. “Let’s get you off the boat.”

The raft was tossed overboard. Cooper tossed his gear in the raft.

“Kelsey,” Cooper said, “we had a good time together, and despite being an Aussie, you’ve been the best of mates.”

“You Brits,” Kelsey said, “it’s a strain to compliment.” 

They shook hands.

Trace hugged Cooper and said, “You bony old fart, I’ll see you in Texas.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Cooper said and eased over the side and into the raft. He sat down and reached behind himself and beneath his shirt. He pulled out a revolver. He handed it to Trace. “It’s a bit of an antique, but it does go bang and makes a hole. I thought it might come in handy.” 

Cooper pushed away with the paddle.

Trace and Kelsey waited until Cooper paddled to shore. He jumped from the raft and waded to shore, pulling the raft.

“After this is over,” Trace said, “you should take a vacation. Visit Texas, too.”

“Planning for the future is a good way of easing a man,” Kelsey said. “I appreciate your hospitality and sentiments.”

Trace started the engine and steered toward the gap between the mainland and a small island that led to where The Tramp Islander was docked.