All at once Jim Oliver felt his career slipping away. He’d hung everything on his promise of pulling Walt Jenkins out of retirement and delivering Garth Montgomery. The operation had gone better than predicted, and was a greater triumph than what he’d sold to his superiors. Claire Montgomery had, in the end, provided the critical information needed on her father’s whereabouts, and was the reason a warrant had been secured so quickly. But now, here he stood in an empty cabin in the mountains—either completely incorrect about what he thought was inside, or just a moment too late. He tried not to allow the other possibility into his thoughts—that he’d been played. He didn’t dwell on it, because whichever situation was unfolding, it spelled the end to his career.

“Bathroom!” one of the agents yelled.

Jim Oliver blinked his eyes and came back to the present. He raised his Glock and moved through the front room, past his agents who were poised and ready for action, muzzles pointed at the closed bathroom door. Audible now in the hushed interior of the cabin was the sound of pressurized water whining through the pipes. Jim Oliver took his position outside the bathroom, his back flat against the wall. He nodded and the battering ram agents appeared. In the silence just prior to the sound of splintering wood, a showerhead could be heard spitting water.

CHAPTER 70 - New Orleans, LA Sunday, July 11, 2021

CHAPTER 70

New Orleans, LA Sunday, July 11, 2021

THE MAJESTY OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST CRUISE SHIPS WAS the draw, and the brochures laid out magnificent photos of the spacious deck, massive swimming pool, and grand ballrooms. The tiny living quarters, where passengers slept after a full day out and about, didn’t get much attention in the RICL brochure. Cabin 3318 was small and cramped. After an hour of bumping into each other, Meghan Cobb laid down some ground rules. A line of pillows separated the bed into two halves. Their suitcases were stored underneath. He sat in a chair crammed in the corner. Meghan took a spot on her side of the bed.

“Thanks for doing this,” he said. “However it is you got roped into it.”

“I owed someone a favor,” Meghan said.

They ran through the plan and what they hoped to accomplish during the next couple of days.

“So, you’re not allowed to leave this cabin?” Meghan asked.

“It would be best for me not to. I’ll walk the halls each day when housekeeping comes to clean, but I’ll stay out of sight as much as possible. You, on the other hand, should get out and about. Make yourself seen.”

Meghan nodded. “I plan to at least get a hell of a tan out of this deal.”

“I’ll be out of your hair in two days. Then, you’ll have the cabin to yourself.”

“Do you think this will work?”