Chapter Seventeen
Full Boat
Another term meaning a full house.
o
Norfolk Naval Shipyards
Portsmouth, Virginia
Mid-August 2002
The boxes containing everything—hopefully—about Project: Eroica were deposited in the same room where James' procured database had been set up. When Klaus looked through the door, he was taken aback by the sheer number of boxes on the conference table. It had not looked like so much in the bomb shelter vault. Then again, that had been a considerably larger space. He would not learn until later that the thieves had taken everything in the vault rather than waste time being selective.
Room was made in the sub's cramped space for the three men who had been sent ahead to lay the groundwork for the theft. Klaus was not going to call it a success until he was well away from Virginia. On the opposite side of the Panama Canal, which would not be for another two days at the least. Or possibly the opposite side of the globe, which would be another three weeks on top of that.
While the Major stood contemplating where to start on the mountain of information, the call came down that the clearance through Panama was in place. Since the repairs had also been completed, all supplies laid in, and everyone was onboard, he gave orders to set course south.
Once they were well on their way, he would contact Bali. He was currently looking at a twelve hour time difference, and would have to wait before seeing what progress was being made on his original project.
oOoOoOo
The Eroica gang's high spirits soon gave way to boredom after their successful theft. Several times volunteers came forward to assist in sifting through the stolen documents. While Klaus could not fault their enthusiasm, he was forced to refuse, since the men were not trained agents and would therefore not know what to look for. As if he knew what he was looking for himself, he reflected darkly.
Finally, he allowed some of the men to assist his agents in the cataloging. If nothing else, it would save time.
At some point, a large collection of video tapes was discovered. These, no doubt, were the tapes that Eroica had mentioned in the journal about his initial training with the real Earl of Gloria. When Klaus attempted to watch them, he discovered, to his annoyance, that they were the wrong format for the equipment onboard. The VCR was British, the video tapes American. They would have to stop and pick up a TV and VCR from the States before anything could be viewed. This was something that was done when the sub was passing off the coast of Florida.
Klaus had a message sent to Tomlinson as the sub approached Panama, to make doubly sure the clearances were in place. The last thing he wanted was another delay. Or worse, to get stuck while inside the canal itself.
oOoOoOo
Tomlinson sat staring at the message from the Aqua Zep on his computer, his mind going over the last few days. The last few weeks. If James was in Bali, why hadn't he contacted him yet? What was he doing there? Was he even there at all?
Some things did not add up, and a voice in the back of his head was starting to get louder. The illusive Major Eberbach, appearing and disappearing. The bizarre fist fight between Marshall and Steamroller. The man's general manner when they spoke. The voice was saying that he was not just being paranoid.
Tomlinson picked up the phone, checking the extension number before punching it in. After some brief chat, he said, "I need a favor. Who do you have in Bali you can spare?"
oOoOoOo
A short conversation with Agent A left Klaus even more pessimistic about his original operation. Weeks had gone by and they were no closer to achieving their goal. Even Eroica's underground connections were wary and asking for a face-to-face rather than deal over the phone.
The only positive note was that James had been able to get a considerable amount of cash put together and at his disposal when things finally did turn around. He wondered if he should alter his opinion of the little bug, but decided to reserve judgment until the operation ended.
Before signing off, Klaus once again gave orders for strict radio silence. He would not contact his men again until he was through the Panama Canal and well out into the Pacific.
oOoOoOo
"Shit!"
Every eye in the room turned when James let out his exclamation.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!"
"Did the price of pork bellies go down?" someone asked aridly.
James looked up, his expression a combination of anger and alarm. "No, Director Tomlinson is sending someone to check on the compound," he announced to the horror of all present.
"What? When?" Agent A cried as he jumped to his feet.
"Now!"
This announcement was enough to send a wave of panic through the assembled Alphabet. There would be no time to do a proper evacuation.
"What's the fuss?" Eroica asked as Agent B came scurrying into the kitchen where the Earl was in the process of making some tea. As soon as he heard the reply, he was on his way to locate Agent A.
"Lord Gloria—" A began, only to stop when the Earl held up a hand.
"No need to evacuate," Eroica said calmly. "I suggest a Hindu shuffle."
A blinked. "A what?"
"Don't you play cards?"
"Erm…yes."
"Well, that's when you take a deck of cards in one hand and flip them into the other."
A's gave the Earl baffled look. "You want us to change hands?"
"Yes!" Eroica gave him a wry smile. "There are some things about my estate that even the CIA doesn't know about," he said mildly. He looked across the room. "James, we shall need your cooperation."
"Me?"
Eroica nodded. "The Major said he told the CIA that you were here. They're probably coming to check on that."
James gave a snort. "They don't trust you."
"Good. I don't trust them either." Eroica threw his hair over his shoulder. "Now, we need to get everyone to the vault."
James gave the man across the room a knowing look. "The large one or the small?"
oOoOoOo
"Never mind the details. I'm asking when this report was filed!" Tomlinson demanded of the unfortunate person on the other end of the phone. In front of him was a report from Bali stating that someone fitting Agent Marshall's description had been hospitalized with a serious respiratory infection just prior to the appearance of the "Earl of Gloria" in Virginia. If it was Marshall, there was no way in hell that he would have been able to travel. So who the hell did he meet with? Who's the man currently on the sub in the Panama—?
Tomlinson cut off the explanation being given to him over the phone. "Forget all that! I need someone to get aboard a sub passing through the Panama Canal. Now!"
oOoOoOo
Agent A looked around the enormous subterranean vault and gave a low whistle. The Alphabet had been on the premises for several weeks, and had even searched the grounds extensively upon arrival. No one even suspected there was an elevator hidden within the shed in the back garden, let alone discovered it.
Eroica grinned as the elevator brought down another group of agents. "I had this installed because…well, I needed somewhere to store all my loot." He waved a hand to indicate several tall crates leaning against one wall. Further on was a smaller room that was packed with smaller crates and boxes. "One of these days I'll have everything unpacked and put up properly."
"When was it added?" Agent Z asked.
An odd look passed over the Earl's face and he gave way to a small shudder. "It wasn't. It went in when construction of the compound started in 1989. It was part of my…therapy."
"Therapy?"
"After my breakdown." Eroica turned to look across the room. "I was put on a leave of absence of sorts. Told to take time off. So…I came here." He waved a hand to take in the vast room. "It was a rather fun project to oversee, actually. We added the vaults to construction just as they were clearing the area." He grinned devilishly. "Didn't bother to tell the CIA. After all, I was supposed to be inactive."
"Inactive as an agent or as a thief?" Agent B asked as he peeked into a smaller vault that was lined with shelves.
"Oh, an agent, naturally," Eroica replied as he crossed to the boxes and gave them a loving pat. "I had to have something to decorate the place with."
oOoOoOo
"That's everyone," G announced as he returned to the computer room.
"I'm not really cut out for this stuff," James said in a panicked voice. He waved a hand at a computer screen. "And now they're trying to stop the sub."
G blinked. "Who is?"
"The CIA! Someone is supposed to be stopping the sub in Panama. Apparently, there was a report about the Earl being in hospital here."
"Fuck," G replied.
"You have to warn the Major," Jams stated flatly.
G shook his head. "We can't. He's traveling under radio silence." He looked at the clock. "He must be in the canal by now, anyway." At that moment, they heard sound of a car pulling up the long driveway. He exchanged a nervous look with James and crossed his fingers.
Two CIA men got out of a black sedan and cautiously looked around before going to the front entrance and ringing the buzzer. James was already at the intercom and waited until the buzzer rang again. Then he drew a deep breath to steady himself and pushed the button to reply.
"Go away! I'm busy."
There was a long pause. "Excuse me, is that Mr. James?"
"What do you want?" James demanded.
"CIA. We were sent to check on you."
By this time, James was getting into his part. He yanked open the door, giving the men a cool look. "Check on me for what?" He did not wait for an answer. He turned on his heel, storming down the hall to the computer room. "I'm busy, can't you see that?"
The CIA men stood at the threshold of the open door, staring after the little man in blank astonishment before entering the house. They followed in James' wake, finding him flitting from one computer screen to another. There seemed to be more than a dozen computers in the room, all scrolling through various search programs.
"Um, sir, if we could have a minute of your time…"
James looked up, waving a hand. "Time is money," he replied automatically. Then his eyes narrowed. "Hey, how do I know you're really CIA?"
The men at the door were wondering if he would think to ask this. They pulled out their ID and waited patiently as James scrutinized it at length. Finally, he thrust it back at them. "Okay, you're CIA. Now clear off, I'm trying to find Iron Klaus."
"Yees," the first man said calmly. "If…you don't mind, we'd like to have a look around…"
"Yes, I do mind," James said sharply.
"Hiding something?"
"I don't know what you mean," came the defensive reply.
The CIA men exchanged a knowing look. Before they could go on, there was a sharp gasp from out in the hall. They turned as one, reaching for their weapons at the same time. They stopped when they saw what they thought was a blond woman in a print sundress standing with her hands to her mouth.
"Oh! I knew it," G moaned. "My husband hired you, didn't he?"
The CIA agents exchanged an incredulous look.
James peeked out the doorway. "It's alright," he said calmly. "They're not private detectives. They're just CIA."
G gave a very convincing shriek, covered his face, and ran off, apparently in tears.
It seemed all too clear to the agents what was going on. Obviously this man had stayed behind to carry on an affair, using his search for Iron Klaus as a cover. They gave the first floor of the main house a cursory sweep, glanced out into the garden, and then thanked James for his time.
As soon as the black sedan was out of sight, James promptly fainted.
oOoOoOo
Klaus and all aboard the Aqua Zep were blissfully unaware of the fact that their journey through the canal was in peril. Craig advised more mugging for the cameras, since this would be completely in character for the Earl's over-the-top persona.
"It was bad enough you had me out there while you lot were waving like idiots in Virginia," Klaus growled.
"It doesn't have to be the Major, does it?" Bonham injected mildly.
"Well, no, I suppose not…" Craig said mildly. "We were all mugging to the camera before."
Bonham shook his head. "No, I mean, it doesn't have to be the Major dressed as the Earl," he pointed out. "It's not like he's gonna be up close to anyone."
This was a point. "No, but if someone has a telephoto lens," Klaus replied thoughtfully. He heaved a heavy sigh and turned to Craig. "Let's have that wig on again."
oOoOoOo
While the CIA men were being stymied by James and G in Bali, Klaus, dressed as the Earl, along with the Eroica gang were out in force on the Aqua Zep, waving to the bystanders alongside the canal. There were cheers from an appreciative crowd above.
"I'm not doing this for more than nine bloody hours," Klaus grumbled through clenched teeth as he stood at the top of the conning tower.
"No need," Craig replied through the open hatch below. "It'll be dark in about an hour."
"Fuck, I'm not doing this for an hour, either."
Craig grinned. "Major, no one would question the Earl being out there. They'd only question him not."
Bloody fucking marvelous. I may kill the idiot just on principle.
oOoOoOo
Somewhere on land up above, a CIA man argued with one official after another before finally getting to the one who could give him the status of the Aqua Zep's passage. He had planned to panic the man by saying that the sub contained terrorists, but this was completely derailed when the first thing out of the man's mouth was, "Would that be the sub your government cleared?"
Shit. Now what?
Hours—and miles—later, the agent was being led to the final lock in the canal and introduced to the operator.
"Never mind the formalities," the CIA man snapped impatiently. "I need to get aboard the submarine Aqua Zep before it clears the canal."
"Oh," the operator gave the man a startled look and turned to the canal. "You're too late." He waved a hand.
The horrified CIA agent turned to see the gates wide open. In the distance, he just caught sight of the sub, the crew on the deck waving good-bye as it vanished into the darkness.
Dammit!
oOoOoOo
A few hours later, when it was morning in Bali, Klaus contacted Agent A to say that the sub had cleared the Panama Canal without incident, only to be overwhelmed by the information that came pouring back. The CIA men coming to the compound and the apparent near miss at the canal.
Just what the hell is in those stolen records? Klaus found himself wondering. Hopefully, in the time it took to cross the Pacific, he would find out.
oOoOoOo
NEXT: Chapter Eighteen - Split