What's the plan? God only knows

Twenty Seven

The weather was getting worse. Tori held on to the edge of the door as she waited for the boat to steady, then continued on her path towards the couch. Jade was already sitting on it, her laptop in front of her and a stack of disorderly papers scattered over the table. Bob held several, his brow creased as he looked at them. "Anything?" Tori asked, taking the spot right next to Jade on the couch.

"A lot of crap." Jade sighed. She nudged the bit of wood Tori had brought up with her knee. They had scraped off enough sea life to reveal three letters of a name, but the possible permutations of "RTE" in the middle of a word were… "This list is endless." She handed it to Tori. "Even parsing it down to marine related companies and terms."

Tori took the page. "It could even be an abbreviation for route." She agreed mournfully. "This is worse than looking for a needle in a haystack."

Jade sat back and let her hands fall to her thighs. "We've got pieces, but we've got no idea what the puzzle looks like." She said. "We know one thing for sure. He wasn't here fishing."

"Okay, and if he had an assault rifle on board, he probably wasn't running a sightseeing charter." Tori added. "He had supplies on board for a long trip, which makes sense since he was pretty far from home port."

"Right." Jade got up and paced, her body automatically compensating for the roll of the boat. Suddenly she stopped. "Tor, did you take any pictures inside the hold when we were down the first time?"

Tori's brow creased in thought. "It was pretty dim in there. I don't think I would have." She told her partner apologetically. "Besides, we were too busy trying to get underneath those…those… what were those metal things we found the eel behind anyway, Jade?"

Upside down and tilted sideways, the wreckage hadn't been that intelligible to Jade either. Her mind drew a picture of the twisted metal, jumbled in a huge pile that she'd edged behind. She remembered reaching out to try and move it, and her hands had closed around something roundish, and relatively smooth….

"Cages." The word came out of Jade's mouth unexpectedly. "They were cages, with bars."

Bob and Tori both stared at her. "Cages?" Tori repeated thoughtfully. "Wait… yeah, they were. One of the doors was open and I was lying on top of it." She nodded. "The hinge was poking me in the ribs." Her voice rose in excitement. "You're right, Jade!"

"Cages?" Bob looked extremely puzzled. "For what? People?"

Jade slowly shook her head. "No. Too small." Her brow contracted. "Must have been for animals. They were spread out all over the hold, just in pieces everywhere."

Now Tori looked slightly confused. "I don't get it. Why would he be trying to get animals into the islands? Or.. "Her eyes widened. "No, he was trying to get them from here, wasn't he!"

Jade nodded slowly, feeling a sense of mixed elation and disgust. "They're a commodity." She told Tori bluntly. "In some places, the black market for them is huge."

"Like for zoos?" Bob asked. "I thought they could pretty much breed their own."

"No." The sandy haired woman exhaled. "Well, yes, there are some places who'll pay for exhibit animals, sure, but mostly the market is for.. ah…"

"Parts." Tori murmured. "Skin, fur.."

"Even more for traditional folk medicine." Jade confirmed quietly. "It's big money. Alastair did an analysis two years ago of emerging markets, and I think even he was shocked. One of our far eastern offices was contacted to provide database services and processing for a company that acts as a clearing house for the legal stuff."

Tori stared at Jade.

"He rejected the contract." Jade gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "He told me his mother would have spanked him raw if she'd ever heard he'd helped poachers and I would have fired him." She pulled the wood over and studied it. "Okay, now we've got something to go on. Tor, do a search on these letters, only hit veterinary databases instead of marine."

"Right you are, boss." Tori assumed the laptop, and commenced typing. "So glad we sprung for wifi on this thing."

Jade turned the wood over in her fingers, examining it carefully. It seemed likely it was from a supply crate. She could see the faint indentations where metal strapping might have held it in place.

"So I guess he really wasn't nuts, huh?" Bob said suddenly.

"Crazy like a fox." Jade murmured, tipping the wood to the light.

"Holy Jesus. That means we won. I gotta call Tanya." The man stood up and ran a hand through his hair. "We really did it."

"We?" Tori said under her breath. "Not so fast. We haven't proven anything. All we've got is a reasonable theory." She added in a louder tone. "Oh. Jade, look." Tori pointed at the screen, which showed a list of responses to her request.

"Carter International." Jade exhaled. "Zoological supplies. What's the odds?" She tapped the wood on her knee. "All right. It's a theory. We've got the M16, this bit of wood, our memories of the hold full of cages, and a fishing boat without any fishing gear on it."

"And the cigar box." Tori reminded her. "Not that it's relevant, or even able to be opened." She pushed the laptop aside and got up, heading for the gear room. The boat rolled and she put her hand on the wall for balance, then continued on.

"Hey, Jade?" Charlie's voice crackled through the radio.

Jade set the wood down and headed over to the console. "Yeah?" She keyed the mic and answered. "What's up? I think we've got something here, Charlie."

"Wall, I think we've got something here. You might want to come up a minute." Charlie said. "We might have company."

Crap. Jade leaned her head against the door jamb. "Okay. I'll be right up." She answered, tossing the mic down in a mild fit of frustration. "Damn it, can't anything ever go like it's supposed to?"

"What's that?" Tori returned, carrying her box. "What's going on?"

Jade turned and faced her. "Charlie thinks someone is following us. I'm gonna go check it out." She waited while Tori continued walking towards her, tilting her head as her partner ended up at her side. "Maybe it's just someone out late doing some night fishing."

"Maybe cats put on jackets and do the tango." Tori set the box down on the console and dusted her hands off. "I'll go with you."

"Me too." Bob agreed.

Jade sighed. She picked up the box and examined it. "This'll take time to pry open, Tor. It's completely encrusted." She glanced at Bob, who was peering curiously over her shoulder.

"It's just an old cigar box." He said, sounding disappointed.

Jade put the box down. "Yeah." She opened the door, jerking a little as a gust of fitful wind puffed against her, blowing her hair back off her forehead. "Time for that later." She edged outside, shading her eyes against the boat's running lights and spotting the whitecaps riffling around them. "Damn."

"Got nasty fast." Tori observed. "Is it that storm system?"

Jade pulled herself along the cabinet over to the ladder. "I don't think it was moving that fast. Maybe this is just a thunderstorm." She reached up and caught an upper rung, starting her climb upward. The pitching of the boat threw her from side to side slightly, but she got to the top and caught her balance. "Charlie."

The big ex sailor turned from his seat at the controls. "Weather's up." He said. "Looks like a squall."

"No kidding. Climate change isn't real my ass…" Jade grabbed the edge of the bridge railing and got behind the wheel. She felt Tori thump against the back of the seat she was in, and the pressure of a hand on the back of her neck. "Where's the signal?"

"Here." Charlie pointed to the radar. Amidst the clutter of the storm, a small, pulsing green blip emerged some distance away from them. "Could just be a false. Not getting much closer in the last bit."

"Not with our luck." Jade studied the dot. It didn't seem to be moving quickly, just meandering after them keeping about an even distance from the Dixie. "You think it's DeSalliers?"

"Too little." Charlie shook his head.

"Pirates?" Tori suggested

"Not in this weather. They ain't that stupid."

Tori leaned in next to Jade. "Maybe they changed their minds about helping you out."

Charlie snorted. "Anyhoo, we got three more hours of this before we get to the meet point. Weather's getting worse. You want to pull in somewhere till it clears a little?"

Jade lifted her eyes and peered off into the darkness. The wind whipped her hair back, and a crack of far off lightning illuminated a bank of heavy clouds ahead of them. "You think it'll clear?"

The big man shrugged. "Depends. Might just be a squall." He said.

"Or an outer band." Jade replied dryly. "How far are we from the spot?"

"Hour." Charlie said. "Got a small atoll five, ten minutes from here we could anchor by. Give our snoopy friend a chance to get out of our hair."

"All right." Jade said. "You can take a look at what we found out. See if it makes any sense to you."

Charlie nodded, and turned the boat into the wind, nudging the throttles forward as the waves rocked them from side to side.

Tori wasn't a happy person. She leaned her elbows on the counter and studied her hands, regarding the tiny lines on the back of her thumbs as she tried not to chuck her guts up. It wasn't fair, she moaned silently. What was it about the Caribbean that brought on seasickness in her? She'd sailed in the Great Lakes in waves higher than this and it hadn't bothered her a bit.

"You okay?"

Tori turned her head to find Jade standing next to her. "Um." She held her breath as the boat rolled in the surf. "Sorta."

"Sweetheart." Jade affectionately ran her fingers through Tori's hair. "You're super green. Want something for that?"

"Do you have something?" Tori asked hopefully. "It wasn't so bad when we were moving." They'd been at anchor for twenty minutes. Charlie was studying the clues they'd found, and Bob had retreated to the chair near the door.

"No, it wouldn't be." Jade fished up in the cabinet over the refrigerator. She retrieved a small box, leaning against the wall for balance as she ripped it open. "It's the wallowing."

Tori closed her eyes. "Don't say that word again."

Jade popped open the foil on two of the tablets and set the box down, turning to retrieve a cup and fill it with water. "Here." She handed Tori the pills. "Dramamine."

Tori took the pills and the water and made quick work of swallowing them. She set the cup down and sighed. "Got anything else? Any old folk remedies you want to try?"

Jade cocked her head to one side, then with a tiny smirk, she leaned over and captured Tori's earlobe between her teeth, nibbling at it gently.

"Orf.. bu.. .Jade!" Tori squeaked very softly, her eyes widening and lurching up towards their guests. The attention was causing tiny, interesting jolts to travel down her body, however, warring effectively against the panic.

"Yeees?" Jade murmured.

Tori wondered if it was the Dramamine working that fast. Her nausea eased, and she felt her shoulders relax, despite the continued roll of the boat. "Wow. That works." She whispered.

"Mmhm." Jade agreed. "A little tough to do to yourself, though." She put her arms around Tori and pulled her back to lean against her body. Tori clasped her hands around Jade's and exhaled, seemingly very content.

As the meeting time got closer, Jade was getting more and more worried about it. The knowledge that Bud's safety was resting on her shoulders weighed on her, and she knew they only had the slimmest number of facts on their side.

"Jade?"

Jade rested her chin against Tori's hair. "Hm?"

"I'm going in there with you, to meet with DeSalliers." Tori stated. "Just in case you were thinking about asking me not to."

Was she thinking that? Jade could feel Tori's breathing under her hands, a slow and steady motion. "To be honest, I hadn't really thought about it, Tor. Does it make sense to risk both of us, though?"

Tori didn't answer for a few minutes. Her hands stroked Jade's, though, a gently comforting sensation. "I just want to be with you." She finally said. "I want to be there."

It seemed right, somehow, if not logical. "Okay." Jade said. "I'm gonna need all the help I can get and you're the best help I could hope for."

She couldn't see the grin on Tori's face, but she knew it was there from the change in her voice.

"Thanks." Tori rested her head against Jade's collarbone. "So, what's the plan?"

Very good question. "I figure we'll meet with him." Jade said. "Try to set some ground rules. I want to get the money straight first, because if he doesn't go for that, we've got a real problem." She kept her voice down out of Charlie's hearing range.

"Mm."

"Get him to show us Bud, to make sure he's on the boat." Jade went on. "Then… I guess, we let out what we know a bit at a time. See what happens."

"We don't know much."

"I know." Jade said. "Hey, let's see if we can get that box open."

They walked across to the console and leaned over the box. Bob watched them curiously. Jade picked up a pocketknife and opened it, starting to pry gently at the barnacles covering the box as Tori held it.

"You think anything's in there?" Bob asked.

"Probably not." Tori admitted. "I think Jade and I are just antsy and bored, and we want the time to pass faster."

Jade glanced at her, a trifle startled at having her inner thoughts expressed with such clarity. "Hey." She pried off a bit of sea life. "That's pretty good, Madame Fifi."

Tori smiled, and fiddled with a bit of the discarded shells.

"How's your stomach?" Jade asked.

"Fine." Tori answered absently. "See if you can get that part off, Jade."

Bob got up and wandered over to them, peering over their shoulder. Charlie remained poring over the pages of data on the table.

Jade paused to listen to the radio as a weather bulletin crackled to life.

"This is the National Weather Service special advisory number six, for the Eastern Caribbean islands and surrounding waters. A tropical depression has formed just south of the island of St. Croix. Minimum central pressure has been detected at 1008 millibars, and there is some indication of a developing circulation."

"Son of a bitch." Jade cursed with feeling.

"Marine interests in the area are advised to take precautions. Highest detected winds are 30 knots, with gusts to 35 knots. The storm is moving west northwest at approximately ten knots."

Charlie had gotten up and limped over to them, his brow creasing in concern as he heard the radio. "Damn." He looked worried. "We left everything open at home."

"Tell you what. We'll get Bud, and just head over there." Jade told him with quiet confidence. "You'll both be home tonight to take care of things."

Charlie gave her a speculative look, and sighed.

A soft crack made them all jump, then everyone looked at Jade. She blinked at her own hands, which had of their own volition continued to work on the box. The coral around the lid had broken off under her knife and fallen to the counter.

She put the knife down and fit her fingers around the edge of the box, lifting it up and easing it past the last obstructing coral.

Everyone clustered around and peered inside.