Ch 104
Three hours later, the Hammersley picked up Dave Williams and Steve Turner from their dingy and at the same time, Bomber and Spider went down on their boat to make themselves something to eat.
"Bomber," Spider said when he saw the body bag move.
"What?"
"Dead people don't move, right?"
"Huh? Why?" she turned around.
"I saw the bag move," he said. Bomber frowned just as Buffer walked down the steps.
"What wrong?"
"Spider says he saw that the bag move."
With a sigh, Buffer crouched down and unzipped the bag and waved his hand by the body's face.
"Still dead," Buffer affirmed closing the bag again.
"Buffer, I swear it moved," Spider affirmed.
"Did you see it, Bomber?"
"No, I was too busy getting us something to eat."
"Right." Buffer shook his head before getting back on top.
"Bomber, whatever you do, don't turn around," Spider said in a shaky voice a few moments later.
"Oh please, don't tell me the bag moved."
"Nope, it's worse," he said, and Bomber turned freezing on the spot.
"Buffer!" Spider yelled until Buffer came downstairs.
"What!"
"Stop where you are," Bomber said pointing to a place.
"Is that poisonous?" Buffer asked
"Yes, it is." Bomber answered.
"I guess now we know the cause of death. Stay there," Buffer said and tried to contact the Hammersley.
"This is the Hammersley go ahead, Buffer," Mike said just as RO gave him a sheet of paper.
"Sir, we've got a situation on board. Bomber and Spider are trapped below deck with a poisonous snake."
"Is there any way for them to move from where they are?"
"No, sir. They are cornered, one wrong move and it will attack them. I think that's what happened to the guy, sir."
"Copy that, Buffer. Stay close to the radio; we are on our way. ETA is three hours."
Once he managed to contact the Hammersley, Buffer returned to his team.
"Buffer, I have an idea that will get Spider out," Bomber said.
"What about you, Bomber?" Spider asked
"I'll be right behind you."
"You better make it quick, Bomber," Spider said pointing to a partially opened the door to see three snakes coming in.
"Ok," Bomber twisted her body and picked some items from the bench before she turned again. "When I say go, take two large steps past me and towards Buffer, got it?"
"Yes," Bomber threw a tea towel over the snake as she said "Go," Spider moved two steps closer to the stairs before the snakehead appeared from under the towel. Bomber threw a sandwich to one side, so the snake turned to check what was it.
"Go!" She shouted, and Spider managed to get close enough to allow Buffer to pull him up. She grabbed more things and threw them as she made her way out to the stairs. The moment she was safe the door opened widely, and more snakes invaded the floor.
"That was close," Buffer whistled.
"Thank you for saving my life, Bomber," Spider said
"Yeah, clever work, Bomber."
"Thanks, Buffer!" The radio went off just then, and Buffer spoke to Mike.
"Buffer, you must be careful. There are more snakes on the boat." Mike said, and Buffer, Bomber, and Spider rolled their eyes.
"We've sort of found them, sir. Bomber and Spider are safe now."
"Good. We have the owner of the boat and his mate on board with us; they were smuggling the snakes out of the country. Their theory is that one of the containers tipped over and lost its lid. But they don't know how many escaped."
"We counted eight."
"Copy that. The federal police with a snake handler will meet up with us on your coordinates. ETA is two hours and a half, so sit tight. Hammersley out."
"So now we wait."
"I hope they don't crawl up here," Spider said making them all look around just to be sure.
Two hours and a half later the police reached the boat, and the Hammersley stopped close.
"Hi, I'm Steve Woods." A man introduced himself to Buffer as he joined them on the boat. "I've heard you got a snake problem."
"Yup, that's us. At least eight of them on the loose," Buffer grinned.
"Where are they?"
"Down there." Steve opened the door slowly and looked inside then closed it.
"Oh, yeah! You've got a snake problem, alright."
He opened his backpack and got his things out. He opened the door and used long thongs to pick one and place it on the sack.
"Buffer," Mike called.
"Sir?" Buffer turn around to see Mike next to him.
"How many so far?"
"Twenty-three, so far. How many snakes were there sir?"
"The guys we picked up didn't know. The feds have them."
"That's it from this room," Steve called.
"Sir? Have you checked the body bag?" Spider asked
"No, why?"
"I think there might be one in there."
"Spider saw the bag move," Bomber said
"I'll check," he moved to the bag and unzipped it slowly. "Oh, yeah! Two of them in here," he grinned picking them. He checked the corpse to be sure there wasn't anymore under the clothes.
"Sir? Behind you," Bomber called. Steve turned around and picked a snake that came through from the other room and placed it with the rest.
"Is that where they were coming from?" He asked pointing to the door
"Yes, sir." Bomber nodded.
"Christ!" He said when he open the door and look in.
"What's wrong?" Mike asked. Steve locked the door before returning back to the exit door where Mike is..
"There are at lest one hundred snakes lose in there. That's at least one hundred too many for me. It will take hours to get them all. They will have to wait until we are back in port and have the right confinements."
"Alright, then let's head top side."
Steve picked the bag and walked towards a white container with a clear lid. He opened it and lowered the bag on it. He pulled the cord, and the snakes moved to the container. The Federal policemen where surprised by the number of snakes that came out.
"Is that all of them Dr. Woods?"
"Nope. There are at least over a hundred on the loose in a closed room. But they won't fit in this container. And there were several closed containers in there."
"How many do you think there are?" Mike asked
"Well, I'll go with four or five hundred snakes. That would mean over hundred-thousand-dollars' worth on the black market."
"That's a lot of money," Spider said.
"It is." After that, everyone returned to their ships, and the police towed the boat to the port.
After the fun of the day, Mike decided to stop by on a private island owned by Ray Walsmen.
"Kate, I want you to stay on board," Mike said.
"Mike, you'll need another pair of eyes. I can use my phone to pretend I'm looking for a signal while I'll take photos of the men that are with him."
"Alright, but be careful."
"I will."
Minutes later, Mike, Kate, Buffer, Bomber, and Spider were on the island. Kate got her phone out to take pictures.
"X? What are you doing?" Buffer whispered when he noticed what she was doing.
"Taking photos of the men."
"Why?"
"Think about it; there was a boat loaded with snacks that were coming here. Why would Ray Walsmen want all those snakes?"
"You think he was buying them?"
"I don't know," they reached the house, and Ray Walsmen greeted them.
"What are you doing, Lieutenant?" He asked when he saw Kate take pictures.
"Taking photos of these shrubs, I've never seen them before. Do you know the name of it?"
"No, I don't. It grows around the island."
"Really? Any chance of me having one?"
"I would have no issues but, I tried to making them grow in the mainland, but they just die."
"Such a shame, my mother in law would love to have one of these for her gardens," she looked up and smiled when she saw the Hammersley. "Lovely view."
"Yes, it is." Then he turned to talk to Mike.
Kate took the chance to look at the picture she took before she walked around. When she found a signal, she sent them to RO. She deleted them as soon as they were received. And then, everyone turned to her when she got a text message.
"Oh, so you do have reception here," she grinned.
"In some parts, but the signal is not strong," Ray said
She turned around to see Buffer taking a picture of Bomber, and with it, he caught the guy behind her. They remained until they were called back to the Hammersley for an FFV.
"How did it go with the photos?" Kate asked entering the com-room.
"I've got four matches," he grinned passing her the info.
"Russian special ops. Discharged for selling weapons in the black market." Three of the files were similar, and the fourth was from an insurgent group from Samaru island.
"X, there's another match."
"Can you print it out and put it with these?" She asked giving him the file again.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Thanks, I'll be on the bridge."
"How's RO doing?" Mike asked as she walked over to him.
"There are five matches so far. Four of them are from Russian special ops discharged for selling weapons on the black-market weapons, and one match for the insurgent group from Samaru Island."
"And they are working for Ray Walsmen."
"Yes, sir. But what makes it even more interesting is that same insurgent group is the one that attacked the aid workers a few weeks back."
"The question is, why is Ray Walsmen hiring them?"
"More pieces of the puzzle."
"Yeah, I'll call Steve later."