Chapter 10 Woody Island

At the lab

"Boss, there's a call from the Coral Sea." One of his employees handed over the phone to him.

"What's up?"

"We see that the runner, from that South Pacific company, is arriving."

"Thanks for mentioning that. And where is it going to?" He got his answer and he hung up with a questionable glance on his face.

"What's up?" Mike asked who was also in the office looking at some sea maps.

"Our runner is here now. But we don't have cargo and they have nothing to deliver. It's not right. Maybe it's a Trojan Horse trick? And they are going to the small jetty. Normally they dock at the large one. Damnit!" He took the phone and called the breakroom of the guards. "Go to the small jetty and take heavy weapons, ASAP! It's probably the Feds."

Kate

Kate moored at the small jetty. They took their picnic and started their walk to the forest. But just when they entered the dirt road in the forest to the valley with the waterfall, they were interrupted by a couple of rough guys heavily armed with AK47 machine guns.

"And where do you think you're going ladies?"

Kate and Maxine turned their heads and looked at three armed men .

"Excuse me?" Maxine was the first to react using her commander look.

"Where are you going to?" One of them repeated the question. Maxine's look had no impact on them.

"We're going to the waterfall," Kate replied.

"Nope. You're coming with us." He waved with the barrel vaguely in the direction of where they had to go. "What's in that box?" Another of them asked, pointing with his gun to the cool box.

"Just food."

"Open it," he ordered.

Kate opened the box and showed it to the men. One of them poked in it with his gun to see if anything was hidden under it. Meanwhile Stephanie clung to her mother.

"Ok, move on. No, without the box! Move." The spokesman let them walk up a dirt road to the top of the hill.

"Mummy, the cake!" Stephanie was shaking Kate's hand.

"Honey, not now. We'll pick it up later."

The lab was created with residential containers next to the river before the waterfall. They entered a combined set of containers and they were locked in large room that was used as a break or meeting room. There was a table, some chairs, a cupboard and a white board. In the corner, there was a door to a toilet. On outside of the windows there were bars, but all these containers had a bar. Once they were inside the door was locked.

"Mummy, what's happening?"

"Honey everything will be okay," Kate tried to comfort her little girl. Kate looked at Maxine with a questioning glance and asked. "Max? Did you know about this?"

Maxine shrugged. "I don't know."

"Come on Max. First I find out you know something about Mike and drugs, then I discover the drug runner is at the island where I often deliver cargo. You made me sail to another jetty and now this. And you say you don't know! I thought we could tell each other everything?" Kate sounded irritated now.

"Sorry Kate. The thing with Mike and the Coral Sea, and the Feds, are the only things I really know. The Feds asked me for the cooperation of one of my patrol boats for an investigation. Coincidently it's the Hammersley. They sailed a few days ago. But I don't know where they went . Those damned Feds flatly refused to tell me where one of my boats was going and what they might have to do. It's only when I saw the Coral Sea here and I heard about a lab, I was tying all the loose ends together and made a conclusion that the drugs lab might be here. But I wasn't sure."

"Yeah, you're right now. It's here," Kate said nodding.

"You could have told me!" She said wronged.

Maxine shrugged while she took a seat on the table looking at one of the walls. "Probably. But, if it had been you, you probably would've done the same as me."

Kate took also a seat on the table and looked also to the walls. She shrugged also. "Probably. And you would have reproached me for the same."

Maxine shrugged again. "Probably."

Both were looking to all corners but not to each was the first to start again. "In fact, we are the same. We have the same ideas and principles." Now she was looking to Kate.

Kate looked back and nodded. "Yeah, that's true. But, you were telling such a wonderful story that all of a sudden turned out to be real, but how did they transport to drugs to the mainland?"

"The blue boxes with the clasps. Does that ring a bell?"

Kate got pale and widened her eyes. "No! Is it? Did we?"

"I can't prove it, but it's a very real possibility."

She popped off the table and started wandering through the room. "Damn!" Then she kicked the wall, but forgot she wasn't wearing her Navy combat boots anymore, but open toe flat sandals and she hurt her foot. "Ow! Damn!" She limped back to the table to sit down and rubbed her foot.

At that moment, the door opened and a man stepped inside with a gun in his hand and looked at them and the child.He pointed to Kate. "You're the skipper, but who are you?" And he pointed to Maxine.

Before Maxine could answer Kate replied quickly. "A friend of mine."

"Why are you here? I haven't ordered a voyage to the island now? That's for Tuesday. And why did you moor at the small jetty? Normally you do that at the large one."

"I wanted to show the waterfall to them," Kate said while pointing to Maxine and Stephanie.

"Bad mistake miss. You could have seen something and now you have to understand that I can't let you go . Give me the keys to the boat!"

"But you can't keep us here! We have done nothing wrong. And she's still a child," Kate replied firm to him.

"Shut up! You can't tell me what to do. You have given me an extra problem. Just sit and wait and give me those damn keys!"

Kate could do nothing other than dig in her pocket for the keys, and give them to him.

He left and locked the door again.

"Great! What now?" Kate said annoyed.

"They'll probably keep us for a while or they might drop us off on an island," Maxine suggested.

Then the door was unlocked again and one of the guards pushed three mattresses inside. He left and another man stepped inside.

"Mike!" Kate exclaimed.

"Kate? Maxine?" Mike replied even more surprised than the others. "How did you get here?"

"By boat," Maxine answered plainly.

"Smart! I know that , but who brought you here?" He threw an angry glance at Maxine.

Me," Kate said.

"Uh, are you the skipper of that motor boat?" He looked surprised at Kate.

"Yes, and I'm the owner."

"What? Are you the owner of the two boats? Of the South Pacific Discovery Cruises?" He asked clearly surprised.

"Yes !"

"How did you do that? Those boats cost a fortune! And we didn't earn that much in the Navy to buy those kind of boats." He looked at her scornfully.

"Oh yes, I understand. Did you sleep around again, to get the boats? That's it, isn't it?

"You bastard!" Kate yelled at Mike, and she slapped him in his face.

Immediately, he slapped her back so that her head swung to the right by the force of the slap. "You have no right to do that. You are certainly the last one to do that! Remember, you're the cause I'm here now."

"Mike, stop!" Maxine yelled at him.

"Maxine stay out of this! This is not your quarrel." HeeHe pointed his finger at her.

Kate was comforting her cheek that became slightly red from the slap. She became pale with anger and tears of anger, humiliation and pain shone in her eyes.

"How dare you say that! You were so stubborn you stayed on board. It was you who invited me for diner that night remember? And now, suddenly, it's again my fault. Oh no mister, you can't get away with that! Are you really going crazy? You're involved in drug trafficking, you idiot!" She shouted.

"You can't get away with it either," he said softly. "Your company brings the stuff to the mainland. As innocent as can be, a few women who travel with boats."

"Bastard!" Kate's hand made the move to slap him again, but he saw it coming and grabbed her hand, pulling it down.

"No, no, not a second time. You don't get that privilege again."

Then he felt a swat on his thigh. It was Stephanie who slapped him. "You may not hit my mummy. You are mean."

"Mummy?" He said and looked at Kate. "Is she yours?" Kate nodded. "How old is she?"

"Six."

"Hmm, that was shortly after the captain's table. You must have been in a hurry! You wanted your boats that badly, did you? Guess your precautions weren't that perfect though, huh?"

Kate's eyes shot fire and she wanted to raise her hand again to slap him, but he took it firmly."No no. That's becoming a really bad habit of yours ."

Kate stared at him fiercely and sizzled with anger. "You're right for once. He was the biggest idiot I've ever met in my life! Remember that!"

Mike released her hand and turned to leave, but Kate shouted at him again. "Mike, she's six! Remember? Six years!"

He threw a glance at Kate, left and locked the door again.

Maxine approached Kate to give her some comfort, but she raised her hand."No Max! No! Not now!"

Kate grabbed a chair and sat down with her arms crossed. She stared furiously at the wall.

Maxine pulled Stephanie on her lap to comfort the little girl because she was upset about everything that had happened . Meanwhile she looked at Kate.

Stay away from her now. She's boiling mad.

How's it possible? They were lovers and now they want to kill each other.

I'll keep an eye on that idiot sailor who brought their affair to light six years ago. He's a dangerous person to add to a crew. He will spill the beans and no one will trust him. Certainly not a team player.

She caressed Stephanie's hair.

In fact, I do feel sorry for the poor devil. He has two children that he doesn't know about. And I know he will be proud if he knew about them. He has a daughter with Kate and he doesn't know it. He didn't see that she loved him and he destroyed that for ever. Fool!

And what about me? What would he do if he knew he had a son as well? I still don't know for sure if Ryan is his son or Stuart's. I make myself believe he's Stuart's, but deep in my heart I know he's Mike's. It's weird, there must be something stopping us, because we don't dare tell him that he has a daughter and a son. Poor bastard.

Somewhat later Kate calmed down and started to talk again."Max, can you believe that? Now, you've seen it with your own eyes. I still cannot. Once we loved each other," she said softly, wiping a few tears away.

Maxine walked to her and rubbed her back. Stephanie climbed on her lap to look for comfort. "Sad?"

"No, frustrated and furious."

"Max, you do believe me, do you? I never slept with anyone to get a better position. That's not my style. I hate such methods. I always worked hard to achieve my goals," she said when she turned her head upwards to look at Maxine.

"Sure Kate. Sure. I never doubted you. It's just he can't process his disappointment."

"Oh great, so I am his victim. That's nice to know," Kate answered dull.

"Listen Kate, forget about him. You told me you had other prospects. Go for them."

A few hours later the door was unlocked again and a couple of bottles water and some food were placed at the table.

"At least we're not gonna die from hunger," said Maxine. "And it doesn't look that bad either. Come on, we will make the best of it."

Kate looked at her watch. "It will be just a matter of a couple of hours."

"Why?"

"Becca and I have a habit of telling each other everything, especially where we are sailing to, and we leave a message or call when we are back in the port . So, by now, she will freak out a bit because the boat isn't there yet."

"And?"

"And she'll come after us; alone or with someone. I know her."

"Splendid. Meanwhile we can eat something."