Healing the Wild – Chapter 9
At Diaz's estate…
Diaz looked pleased with himself as he walked over to Kristin and held her chin as she tried looking away.
"Well, dear Kristin. It appears you may not have much time left. All the more reason to take good care tonight. You realize that with or without your little gift…you are going to deliver for me tonight. Or else." He smiled as he let her chin go. He motioned to one of the guards, who then removed her gag. She coughed a few times to get rid of the taste and get a good breath of air in.
"Please, Diaz. Leave him alone. I'll do what you ask. But he is only a boy. Don't put him through this."
"Kristin, as much as I enjoy it, begging doesn't really suit you. You will do as I ask…but so will he. Won't you, Jeremy?"
Jeremy kept quiet and nodded.
"Good, my dear boy."
"Please, don't hurt her, Mr. Diaz. Not like my mom."
In an instant, Kristin's heart sank. The boy lost his mother in a drug deal.
Diaz seemed to visibly stiffen at the mention of Jeremy's mother.
"Jeremy, your father hasn't told you everything about what happened to your mother. Did he tell you how she died?"
Jeremy looked down at the floor, shaking his head in a silent answer.
"Well, let me enlighten you. You see, your father has probably never mentioned how he used to work for me…has he?"
Jeremy looked confused and Kristin listened as some of the missing pieces started falling into place.
Back on the SeaQuest…
"What did you get, Lucas?" Bridger felt a glimmer of hope as he replayed the last few minutes in his head trying to figure out a plan.
"Cap, I wasn't able to trace the call cause he had the signal jammed, but I was able to hack into his communications and install a bug that will let us know if and when he makes a call and will transmit a recording of that call to us. I know it's not ideal, but it's the best I could do."
Bridger smiled and gave the young man a hug. "That's the best chance we've got. Good work, Lucas!" Lucas hugged back, giving and receiving comfort from the man he cared for like a father.
Nathan looked over at Dr. Reese and knew he was trying to avoid the obvious question. "Dr. Reese, would you care to explain what Diaz was referring to in there?"
Reese let out a sigh, accepting the current situation for what it was and allowing himself to admit the full story.
"Captain, I suppose I must let you know the truth. I…used to work for Diaz."
He knew the confused and judging looks that would accompany that statement, but continued, trying to explain as much as he could.
"You see, when Jeremy was born, I didn't have much in the way of financial stability. I was desperate. I guess you could say something…fate, perhaps…led me to a local bar where I ran into a seemingly generous man. Alfredo Diaz. He knew I had a science background and knew a lot about plant biology. He said I would be able to make large sums of money if I helped him start up a business venture. It was all so tempting at the time…it seemed like a solution to all my problems." He paused for a moment. "I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I helped him get his start dealing in cannabis, alcohol and tobacco, sometimes participating in the deals themselves. It seemed harmless at first….mostly teenagers wanting to get high or wasted without their parents knowing. I told my wife I was working at a research laboratory at night. She'd met Diaz a couple of times. He told her he was my laboratory boss and that were starting up a pharmaceutical company. She didn't exactly trust him, but I had a steady and generous paycheck…in cash, mind you…so she didn't really protest. And he told her to keep to herself because we were doing top secret research. She didn't understand what we were doing but he told her not to underestimate him and his ability to grow a business. But then things escalated. The demand for cocaine, heroin, amphetamines…it all became clear where this was going. I was coming home tired, sometimes bruised and bloodied and I would hide it from her. I think she knew anyway. I worried for my life and for my family. My wife worried for our family."
He took a deep breath, the memory of his wife clearly striking a somber mood.
"During one of our deals, my wife followed me. So many nights I had lied to her about where I was…she figured out that something was wrong. Unfortunately, she confronted me at the wrong time and botched a huge deal. She never saw the bullet hit her." At this point, he was tearing up, unable to hold back his emotions. "My wife died in my arms, Captain. It was almost instant. I barely had a chance to apologize to her for those restless nights wondering if and when I would come home. We had a child…and I lost him his mother because I let my greed take precedence over my family." Reese sat down on the chair, unable continue for a moment. Bridger and Lucas looked at each other, finally understanding what this man went through and why Diaz was so heavily involved in his life.
Reese continued. "I told Diaz after that night that I could no longer be involved in his deals. Of course, he refused to let me just walk away. He told me it was my wife's own fault for underestimating him. He said he warned her not to get involved. I tried escaping by moving with Jeremy to Terra Guardi. We had a little over a year before I heard from Diaz again. And then I was stuck helping him all these years. That was the deal. And he contributed generous amounts of money to the lab. So you see…I am not as innocent as I wish I was. I started this whole mess. It's my fault my wife is dead and my child is involved with a drug lord. It's my fault there is this horrible drug cartel in Colombia that is ruining the lives of so many people." He sounded defeated.
Nathan spoke up, trying to alleviate this man's guilt and give some sense of hope. "It isn't your fault. If Diaz hadn't found you he would have found someone else to start up his venture. As for your wife, I can't tell you how sorry I am for your loss. I, too, know the pain of losing a loved one. But the past is just that…the past. You've got to think about that boy's future. And right now, we are going to do everything we can to help bring him and my Chief Medical Officer back to the SeaQuest. Now hang in there…if Lucas' bug works as planned, we may have a lead."
Reese smiled, somewhat reassured that the Captain was not as harsh on him as he had feared.
Back at Diaz's estate…
Diaz had briefly told Jeremy and Kristin of Sean Reese's involvement in his cartel. Suddenly, the pieces fell together and Kristin understood why Reese always looked so guilt-ridden…and why the boy's mother seemed amiss throughout this whole experience. The poor dear, she thought as she looked at Jeremy, a few tears escaping as she heard the story. Diaz continued his conversation.
"So…now that you know your father's history, you will see that he is not as innocent as you may have thought. I think, in some way, he meant for you to be involved in my business. This will be good for you, dear boy. He was a natural at it…and I assume you will be as well. And you have a very talented partner tonight." He smiled at Kristin, who looked away. "Now, why don't you two go get ready for tonight?"
He nodded at his men, who escorted Kristin and Jeremy back out to their respective rooms. He then turned back to his vidphone and dialed a number.
Back at SeaQuest…
The three people on SeaDeck were slightly startled as they heard Lucas' program make a loud ding noise.
"Captain, it's working right now." Lucas smiled and tapped a few keys to pull up a video screen.
An image of Diaz appeared on the left, with his recipient on the right hand side of the screen. They were unaware of the three pairs of eyes listening intently to their conversation.
Back at Diaz's estate…
"Armando…I trust my men spoke with you. Is everything ready for tonight? Do you have the money?"
"Diaz, I have the money, don't you worry. What I want to know is that you and your men will be there with my merchandise."
"Oh, I assure you my men will be there." Diaz responded with a knowing smile.
"Excelente. Then we will see you at ten o'clock."
"Hostel Mamallena. We'll be there. Just be sure your men deliver. Don't try to short change me, amigo. I don't respond well to people who don't follow through with their deals. I'm sure you've heard of what happened to Feliciano's men yesterday. He tried to give me fake bills last time. That was a message. I can be your friend or I can be your enemy. You choose." He smiled, making his threat transparent to this new prospect.
Armando cleared his throat, clearly receiving the message. "I understand, Diaz. I look forward to a mutual relationship." He smiled nervously.
"Very well. Ten o'clock."
He hung up the vidphone.
Back on the SeaQuest…
The vidlink closed and Bridger was the first to comment. "We got him. Lucas, I think you may have just saved Kristin's life." He patted the boy on the back in a grateful manner.
Lucas looked entirely please with himself, feeling for the first time in a while that he had actually contributed something meaningful on his own. And it gave him a new sense of hope for saving the doc.
"Let's go kick some drug dealer butt."
Bridger let out a small giggle, feeling both relieved that they had a potential light at the end of their tunnel, and amused at the teenager's sense of humor.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Lucas. We need to go let Chief Rodriguez know of this information. We're going to need his help. Dr. Reese, you come with me."
Reese nodded in agreement and the two men walked off to the bridge to regroup and contact the Colombian chief of police.