Chapter Seven
The two Seaview officers headed to Lee's office to plan what they could for their mission. They knew the probable route Kohler and the admiral had taken and studied maps of the region to familiarize themselves with the area they would be entering, including towns, villages, suspected rebel strongholds and any areas that would make good hiding spots.
By the next afternoon they were as ready as they felt they could be and, after a brief conference with Admiral Park, were ready to meet up with Locker and begin persuading Kohler on the merits of going along on their mission.
"Lee, there's a Jake Locker at the guard gate. He says he has a meeting with you. Should I let him through?" Angie asked when Crane and Morton came out of Admiral Nelson's office after their meeting with Park.
"Yes, Angie, let him up," Crane said. "Send him down to my office when he gets here."
A short time later, Jake Locker, beard still in place but looking decidedly more human and sober than the day before, strode through the door to Crane's office, a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder and a smaller bag in his hands.
"Well, we ready to get to this?" he asked with a grin.
"In a minute, Jake," Lee laughed. "You sure are a different person than the man we saw yesterday."
"I have a purpose now. No, three purposes. One is to find out what happened to Admiral Nelson, two is to clear my name and three is to expose Kohler for whatever it is that he is. And I can't wait to get started on all three," he said as he dropped his bags to the floor and sat in a chair by Crane's desk.
"Well, we thought we should have some kind of plan for doing all that," Lee said. "We made some with Admiral Starke but wanted to see if you had any ideas."
"Any idea how we get into the country and move about without drawing suspicion?" Chip asked.
"Yep. Already taken care of. I have a friend in San Castana at the San Castana Airport, north of Santiago. It's a little further away from where we're headed going through there than through Santiago but it's not as busy…easier to get in and out of without being noticed. My friend will be waiting for us and will guide us through to where we need to be."
"Reliable?" Lee asked.
"He's run more than a few missions with me throughout Latin America - Valbuenna, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and a few other spots. Saved my butt a few times so yes, he's reliable. Unofficial CIA operative."
"How do we get there? The Flying Sub is out of the question."
"I have a twin engine plane waiting at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. Fueled and checked out," Jake said with a grin.
"Well, you sure don't waste time do you?" Lee said laughing.
"Nope. If Admiral Nelson is still alive, we have to assume he's at the least hurt. No matter which story we believe of Kohler's, both versions had him injured. The sooner we find him, the sooner we can help him."
"We have medical supplies from the Med Bay here, courtesy of Seaview's doctor. You name it and it's probably in there. Bandages, antiseptic, antibiotics, IVs, even a stretcher to…to…carry…his…him home," Lee said, his voice breaking slightly as he gestured to a rather large bag by the door.
"And I have the arsenal," Jake said opening the duffel bag at his feet and pulling out three automatic M-16 rifles, three Beretta handguns complete with holsters, assorted knives, rounds of ammunition and a handful of grenades.
Chip whistled at the array of weapons. "You don't travel lightly do you?"
"Nope. I believe in being as well armed as possible. Hopefully, we won't need all this but it's best to be prepared. My friend in San Castana will see we get through customs with no problems and have a truck waiting."
"How do we get through customs unnoticed?" Lee asked with a raised eyebrow at Jake.
"Customs has been…taken care of," he said with a smirk.
"How?"
"My friend has many brothers," Jake said with a smirk. "Most of them work in the government in some capacity. They…look the other way for a fee."
"A fee we provide?" Lee asked.
"Actually, I've already taken care of it. A deposit has been made in my friend's bank account. I owe you for asking me along. And giving me a chance to prove I'm not what Kohler's told people I am."
"Well, you seem to have thought of everything. And you took care of all this in less than twenty-four hours?" Chip asked.
"What can I say? I was highly motivated. Now, when do we get to the persuading of one Eric Kohler?"
"I guess now is as good a time as any. According to an aide to Admiral Johnson who's been keeping tabs on Kohler, as of ten minutes ago, he was in his apartment in Los Angeles. We make a stop there and head back to Santa Barbara Municipal. Are we ready?" Lee asked.
"As ready as I think we can be," Chip said, rising from his seat and grabbing his backpack. "Let's do this."
"Right. Let's stop at the admiral's office and let Angie know we're leaving," Lee said as he grabbed the medical supplies and a backpack and headed down the hall to Admiral Nelson's office, hesitating slightly as doubt began to fill him. What if Admiral Nelson was dead? What if they found his body just as Eric said, bullet ridden and broken? What if…he shook himself when he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Chip's concerned look.
"You all right, Lee?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah, yeah I just…started thinking."
"About?"
"About the admiral. What if he is dead, Chip? What if Kohler was telling the truth? He just…he can't be dead."
"I know. But the sooner we get moving the sooner we know for sure," Chip said quietly.
Lee nodded, pushed open the door and entered, finding Angie at her desk staring off into space, her eyes red.
"Oh! Lee! Chip! Are you heading out now?" she asked as she rose from her chair.
"Yep. Just wanted to let you know. We'll be in touch if we can but don't expect any communications until we get back to civilization," Lee said as he walked to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You doing all right?"
Angie nodded briefly. "I just hope he's all right. I can't bear to think about him really being dead. It's too…too hard," she whispered.
"If he's alive, we'll find him," Jake said firmly.
"Oh, Angie this is Jake Locker. He's going to be going with us. Jake, this is the admiral's secretary and right hand, Angie Wood."
"It's a pleasure. I've heard glowing reports of you from Lee here. Admiral Nelson is a lucky man to have you on his side."
"I'm the lucky one. Admiral Nelson means a lot to me and if I could go with you all to find him, I would do so in a heartbeat," she said with fire in her eyes.
"I believe you would at that," Jake said with approval in his voice and eyes.
"Well, we should probably get moving. Angie, stay strong. Believe he's still alive. OK?" Lee said softly.
"I'll try, Lee. You all be safe."
Nodding the three headed out of the office and down to Chip's truck where they loaded their bags into the back and headed off to persuade EricKohler to go along.
