Page 21 of Hostile Extraction

“While we all enjoy your little trips down memory lane, Stan, can we focus here?” Grady sighed.

“Just sayin’, I’m familiar with the island.”

“Good to know.” Chris nodded. “Then you and Dusty will be point on this.”

Stan slapped Dusty’s shoulder. “I got your back, Jack.”

“Great.” Dusty's words came out sounding less than enthused.

Grady folded his arms. “For what it's worth, Tinsley and I honeymooned there. Her parents have a place. It may be available if we need it. I can check on that.”

Chris nodded, then turned to Mark. “Do you have any information on this yacht?”

“I do.” He took out his phone and pulled up an image, passing it around to the team members. “It’s a seventy-foot Ocean Alexander. It has a master and three guest staterooms. There’s a swim platform at the waterline aft leading to a watertight door with access to crew quarters just outside of the engine room.”

“What kind of power’s this thing run?”

“Nine-hundred horsepower twin Volvo engines. Top speed is twenty-six knots.”

Grady whistled.

“There’s a main helm and an upper helm with flybridge access stairs on the port side between the two.”

The men studied the picture, and Chris passed the phone back. “Should be simple enough to gain access at night. Two divers board and subdue the crew, and we come up with a fast boat and take her off.”

“If she’s there. We haven’t confirmed that yet,” Dusty said.

“By the time you fly into St. Thomas, we should be able to confirm.”

“St. Thomas? I thought you said the estate was on St. John?” Grady asked.

“There’s no airfield or landing strip on St. John. The only access on and off is by boat or private helicopter. You fly in on a bird, Nico’s men are going to know something’s up. Better you fly into St. Thomas and access St. John by boat.”

“Good to know,” Grady said.

“I coulda told you that,” Stan said.

“Then why didn’t you?” Dusty snapped.

“He beat me to it.” Stan gestured to their FBI contact.

Dusty rolled his eyes. “Shoulda, coulda, woulda.”

Stan slugged him in the arm. “Shut up, douchebag.”

The contact held a card out to Chris. “It’s about a three-hour flight. St. Thomas is in the same time zone as Miami. Once you get down there, this guy should be able to hook you up with a boat and whatever else you may need.”

“Thanks.” Chris checked his watch. “It’s almost eight am. We shower and catch an hour nap and head back out. We should be on the ground by one. That’ll give us time to get operational for tonight.”

“If he doesn’t move that yacht,” Dusty muttered.

Chris slapped a hand on his shoulder. “He does, then we’ll follow it. We’ll find her, Dusty. I promise you.”

CHAPTER NINE

Asia eased down the hall, using a cane Nico had given her to help with her tender ankle. The hall looked just like her dream, making her wonder if it had been a dream. When she reached the end, there was a large potted palm in the corner near the door, just like her dream. Only maybe it wasn’t a dream.

She didn’t hear any screams this time, but as she crept closer and pressed her ear to the door, she heard Nico’s man Rocco talking. It sounded like he was on a phone call.

---