Unlawful Chase by C.J. Schnier (new books to read .TXT) 📗

throat. Bardales, however, stood his ground and unleashed a massive backhand blow, catching Jaye in the side of the head. The blow sent her crashing into the cabin wall of the patrol boat. She slid down the wall, collapsing in a heap on the deck where she laid stunned and unmoving.

Two men rushed out of the cabin with their weapons drawn. One aimed at me, the other keeping his gun trained on the groaning woman crumpled on the deck. I threw my hands up in the air, the universal gesture of surrender. "I'm not with her," I blurted out.

Bardales regarded me for a moment before motioning toward Jaye and barking some commands at his men. One of the men slung his rifle around behind him and stooped to grab Jaye by the arm. He wrestled her aft to the open area on the stern before shoving her back down to the deck and tying her hands behind her.

"Now, Mr. Hawkins, I take it we aren't going to have any such heroics from you now, are we?" Bardales asked.

"Nah," I replied. "Heroics aren't my style."

"That's good to hear. Now, where is the idol?"

"If I tell you, will you let me go?"

"Hey! What about me, Chase?" Jaye croaked through her pain from the stern of the patrol boat.

"How about this? If you don't tell me, I will kill you both now and take it, anyway."

I flicked my head sideways towards the cabin. "Down there. Wrapped in a towel."

The general issued another command, and the man who had been manning the machine gun left his post. He unslung his rifle from his back and crossed from the patrol boat to Paramour, never taking his eyes off me. He made his way down below and a few moments later returned topside, cradling the idol in his arms like a baby. The man offered it to Bardales, who took it, holding it with both hands.

"Ahh, here it is," the general said with hushed reverence. He spat out another set of orders in Spanish and the soldier turned, grabbed me, and shoved me to the deck. Within seconds he had my hands tied behind my back.

"What the hell, Bardales? You've got what you want. You won. Let us go."

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Hawkins. I can't let grave robbers such as yourselves go unpunished. It sets a bad example for my men. Besides, I need to send a message to you and your girlfriend's employer, Adrian Pruitt."

"Wait! You've got it all wrong," I said, my voice sounding strange as it bounced off the deck. "We're not working together. We're not even friends. Hell, she threw me off a cliff."

Bardales snorted. "She threw you off a cliff? That is most amusing. It must be quite the story to hear how you two ended up as two sides to the same coin."

"You've got it all wrong, man," I replied.

"You really don't know? Well, a little birdie told me Adrian Pruitt hired both of you. But, I was under the impression you two were working together," he said, pacing around the deck of the patrol boat. I couldn't help but follow the stub of his unlit cigar as he waved his arms about with exaggerated gestures as he spoke. "Pruitt has been a pain in my side for years. A major part of my job is stopping his plundering of my cultural heritage. I knew he would send someone after the idol, but I never expected two completely separate agents. It appears he is now hedging his bets."

Bardales stopped pacing as if he had an epiphany.

"This explains the plane. I wondered why it was disabled. If you had taken it, at least one of you two would be getting paid by now. Instead, you opted to try and escape by the slowest means possible."

"Faster than a makeshift raft which seems to get past your military often enough. I figured that with such an incompetent navy, a sailboat would get us out of the country just fine," I said, glaring at the general.

He snapped his head in my direction. A wave of anger passed over his face, replaced by cold malice. He spat out something in Spanish and the soldier guarding me jerked me to my feet and spun me to look Bardales in the eyes. He was stiff and still, waiting with obvious loathing until I was focused on his face. "Our military is far from incompetent, Mr. Hawkins. I was planning to kill you two. Instead, I will extend the hospitality of a Cuban prison. After I'm done torturing you, of course."

"Of course," I echoed. "Are you sure you don't want to go ahead and just kill us?"

"Shut the fuck up, Chase!" Jaye shouted.

Ignoring her, I continued, addressing General Bardales, "I mean putting us in prison seems like an awful lot of paperwork. Or you could take the idol and let us go? I mean, you've already won. You even got an airplane in the deal too. And what would be better, having Pruitt assume we're dead, or having us coming back empty-handed with our tails tucked between our legs like beaten dogs?"

Bardales raised his eyebrows at the suggestion, but did not reply right away. Behind his gold-rimmed sunglasses, I could see his eyes twitching as he worked through all the possible scenarios. I hoped humility would be enough of an enticement to let us go.

The seconds ticked by like hours until he finally spoke. "Mr. Hawkins, you are correct. To put you in prison would entail much paperwork. And killing you could prove difficult. We don't want your government snooping around anymore than they already do. But I cannot let two grave robbers, and... What is the term you Americans like so much? Oh yes, I remember now, illegal aliens. I cannot allow two illegal aliens, trespassers in my country, to go unpunished."

"Actually, the term we use now is 'undocumented immigrants,' 'illegal aliens' being too offensive or something. I don't know. I'm not sure why they changed it.