“Do you want the Commander abroad?” Bill asked.

  “I think it would be best, because we’ll need his permission to do what I have in mind anyway.” I replied.

  “O.K! It’s set then. Meet me at my boat at noon and we’ll take it from there. By the way......the commander likes this sort of thing. Makes him feel like he’s back in action, which I guess, most of them like once in awhile.”

  We sat through two more races and finally decided that the ponies just aren’t our thing. The horses I chose, all came struggling up the home stretch at the rear of the pack. The race cost me two bucks, the horse I could have bought for ten.

  I still had five more days before going back to work. Braxton insisted that I take a little time off and enjoy myself. He didn’t know how well it fit in with my plans. Jerry had asked the Director to issue special orders to allow Bill to be on assignment with us for as long as we needed him. It was good to be working with him again, and he was delighted for the opportunity, to help in any way he could.

  The next day at noon, I was on time and Bill and Jerry were at the boat waiting. We made our way out of the inlet and started for open water. An hour later we were eight miles from land. I spotted the Cutter about another mile out and we headed straight for it. I didn’t notice any-other, boats around us and neither did Jerry or Bill. When we were about a half mile from them, Bill pointed to a green light from the bridge of the Cutter, indicating that there were no other vessels in the area and all was clear for us to go aboard. Pulling along side, Bill tied the boat to the platform that had been lowered for us. We walked up the steps and were met by the Executive Officer. I learned later that he was second in command, in the event something happened to the Captain. On the bridge, the Commander was standing behind the steering post overlooking the bow, with his hands folded behind him.

  “Good afternoon, Gentlemen,” he said in a stern voice.

  “Good afternoon to you, Commander,” we each replied.

  He gave some instructions to the crew on the bridge and asked that we step outside. We walked to the aft of the ship and then he began telling us some of his exploits while serving with the Guard. It was very impressive and told us of how the tracking was to take place. He mentioned that he had been tracking ships and smaller vessels for fifteen years. Jerry handed him an envelope containing a letter from the Naval Department in Washington. It said about the same thing as the orders to Bill, that he was to assist in any way possible until the mission was completed.

  “Bill told me that you needed our help in the surveillance of a yacht.” the Commander said.

  “Yes, we do and we have the information on each yacht owned by Mr. Mead.” Jerry said.

  “I’ll need some other details of course, so my men will have some idea where you expect the boats to go.”

  “I can give you all we know at the moment.” I said.

  The three of us filled him in on when and where the yacht would depart the next day and approximately how many aboard and the expected route it would take. But, really all we knew for sure, is that it would go north.

  I told him that we needed to know where the yacht went, how far North, where it stopped or if it stopped at any docks, and if possible any unusual activities on board, while they were underway. He assured us that all would be ready to go by tomorrow. He told us that he would have a special launch boat at a secluded cove that would take us to this Cutter. His men would make sure that the entrance to the cove would be clear of anyone except us so we wouldn’t be seen boarding.

  He gave us a tour of the ship and showed us how he planned the whole thing. The radar room was very well equipped with gadgets from out of story books. It gave us the feeling that our coast line was well protected from invaders. Seeing them in action following another ship would be an experience in itself, and all of us were looking forward to it.

  We thanked the Commander for showing us around and departed his ship. Starting back in Bill’s boat, we all thought of the confidence placed in the Guard and that we would probably find out more than we expected. Bill stopped the boat a little off shore, took out the fishing gear from a compartment, and we settled back in the chairs. Casting the lines in the water, we really didn’t care if a fish took the bait or not.

  The next morning, we were on our way in the small six man boat. We boarded the Cutter, and were taken to our quarters which were, to me, a little cramped. But, they were efficiently arranged for the space we had in each of our rooms. Several hours would pass before it would be time to start the surveillance.

  The commander invited us to the mess hall for breakfast, and it turned out pretty good for being aboard a ship. Not at all what I had expected. I thought they would be eating beans, freeze dried meats and instant mashed potatoes. But instead, everyone had fresh everything. The whole crew and officers alike, eat the same food, from the lowest ranked member to the Captain, except in different mess halls.

  Late in the afternoon, the Commander sent for us to come to the operations room. It was dimly lit, with a large plexiglas board covering one wall with latitude and longitude grids marked in gold color. Behind the board were two men drawing lines using special marker pencils, that were yellow and illuminated to a bright color from the lights, enclosed around the edges of the glass. In the center of the room was a large table with miniature ships, like the one back on shore. Four men operated radar scopes, and several other men were seated behind small desks that were on a platform. All the men in the operations room wore ear phones to talk to each other and relay information which was plotted on the plexiglas board for all to see.

  Standing behind one of the radar scopes, the Commander said, “That’s your yacht,” pointing to a small dot of illuminated light that projected on the screen. Each time the solid line of light would pass over a target within range of the radar, it would show up as a tiny dot. Then, as the radar turned, it would disappear until the next sweep. Range markers indicated the distance from other vessels and allowed tracking.

  He pointed to the plexiglas board, as one of the men plotted the course of the yacht and our position. We were suddenly aware that a third boat was being plotted, off the starboard side of the Cutter. The Officer in charge of the operations room reported that it was the same size as the other boat being tracked. A report from the bridge revealed that it was a ninety foot Vessel and the identifying numbers disclosed that it belonged to Mead. The bridge further reported that it had large, rotating antennas, similar to those used for satellite communication. Using special recording devices, the men were to find out what type equipment it was. As it turned out, the yacht was transmitting messages to another vessel further out at sea. The crew of the Cutter, intercepted the message that read, “All going well, girls on cruise at present......after Washington trip......will arrive in Paris in four weeks as scheduled”. To anyone but us, the message didn’t mean a thing. Evidently Heinman was still not aware that we were on to his dealings, or he would have been using codes or not send a message at all. But then again, using codes would have caused someone to intercept them and decode it. This way, it was all out in the open. The yacht with the girls continued a normal course, and nothing unusual took place.

  I was disappointed that we didn’t learn more than we did, but at least the girls were safe for now and that was the important thing.

  The three of us were taken back to shore, while the Commander continued their tracking until the yacht returned.

  DESTINY TAKES A HAND

  The voyage seemed endless for the past three days and the thought of taking a fun cruise, just for a vacation, didn’t excite me at all. The jet age is my cup of tea for anything over a few hundred miles. The sea was calm while we were out there, but I could imagine what it would be like if a storm had come up or high winds making huge waves. The ship would be tossed around like the one in Gilligan’s Island. Viewing the movie, Titanic, didn’t help my outlook either.

  In Braxton’s office the next morning, he outlined the upcoming trip to France. Twelve of the models, another photographer, myself and to my surprise......Heinman attended the meeting. Jill and the other three girls were missing, but I knew they were going also. Heinman stood next to the desk glancing at some papers and flipping through them.

  He spoke in a low voice, “Good morning to all of you.” he said. “Mr. Mead wanted to convey his thanks to each of you personally but another business matter prevented him from doing so. He asked that I pass on his gratitude for the excellent way you girls worked on the last job. If the Paris trip goes as well as it did, he would see to it that each of you received a bonus. I hope it will be a successful trip and that each of you has a wonderful time while there. We’ll be leaving in two days......see you then.”

  Heinman left after his heart warming speech, and I couldn’t help but think what a bastard he was.

  Braxton took over the meeting again. He mentioned that there would be four other models joining the trip, but that they would be going on to Switzerland for a special presentation. Going over the usual things with the models, he then closed the meeting.

  I noticed Jill and the other three girls walking along the beach. Not wasting any time to get there, I separated her from the rest. “How about having lunch with me today.” I asked.

  “No, I can’t today.” she said, looking at me strangely.

  “Why, what’s up.”

  “Braxton is having a meeting for us four and besides, I don’t think I’ll have much time till we leave, to do anything.”

  I knew she wasn’t herself and didn’t push the issue agreeing with her and then left.

  Meeting Jerry, I told him the outline of what was to take place and when we were leaving. Once, again he assured me that he and his men would have everything under control and that he was giving orders to them, not to let anything get out of hand. If life threatening situations occurred, they were to get them out, no matter what. Jerry had a pronounced way of delivering the facts, that made you feel as though there were no doubts. While the element of danger was always present, his precise calculations of any situation were thought through carefully before any decisions were made. Especially, with peoples lives.

  Off we went on the jumbo jet, my confidence high and overwhelmingly decisive as to what I had to do. Like the others, nothing much had happened the first two days. They were busy going through their routines, and getting set for the show. Jill and the other three girls were separated from the rest as before, and on the third, were on their way to Switzerland. Since I was to be the back-up on this trip, I would only be called in if, for some reason they needed two of us.

  I took a chance and boarded a plane, along with Jerry to arrive in Switzerland before they did. I’d have to be in the background, but somehow, find out for myself what was taking place. Since Jerry had been there before, he took us straight to the same house. We were there long before Heinman was to arrive, and had plenty of time to plant listening devices on all the doors and windows on the first floor. Then went to a clump of trees, out of sight.

  It was Spring and the weather was good, so there, was no need to get things done in a hurry. Winter time is different, you want to get in and out as quickly as possible, so you don’t freeze your butt off. An hour later, a car pulled up to the door. Jerry recognized the occupants right off as the Russian Agents. The three of them walked in the front door as Jerry turned on the receivers to our headsets. Since he was the only one who could speak and understand the Russian language, he would have to tell me what they were saying. The chatter started coming through the phones from one of the rooms and Jerry proceeded to write down the meaning of each phrase they spoke. A long time ago, I had the same problem, and Bill and I had to depend on each other for interpretations. I spoke German and he Russian. It worked out pretty good, for both of us. The Agency tried to insist that I learn other languages, but......what the hell, as long as we accomplished the mission, all was O.K.

  “The Americans are not here yet, so we can relax for a while,” one of them said.

  “They aren’t due for another hour. We may as well get comfortable and have a drink,” another said.

  “One more trip like this and we should have all the information we need to put the weapons together. We are only lacking a few of the components,” the conversation went on.

  “Yes, the film they are bringing with them this time will be enough to at least get started.”

  Another said, “You are right, but we will have to be careful with these people. I think they will try and be greedy. They may try to increase the price they want for the last documents. Everything is usually going smooth until they bring in the all important bit of information.”

  Another said, “We are supposed to have a set price for the entire thing, but if it is more, we’ll just have to pay it, as long as it isn’t too much over what we have planned.”

  “They don’t know how much money we received from our government and all the money that is left will be ours to divide among us. I’m sure they won’t be telling anyone how much they have received, so the officials at our headquarters won’t find out. We can live like kings with that much money and maybe go to South America, where no one will be able to find us.”

  All three of them started laughing in spontaneous, short, loud bursts, seemingly pleased with their upcoming triumph to swindle their own regime.

  Jerry looked at me shaking his head. “Honor among thieves. They’d sell their kids for a few bucks and then complain because they didn’t get a fair deal.”

  “The only thing wrong with doing that is......when they’ve spent all the money and are broke......it’ll come back to haunt them. I don’t mean selling their kids......that’s just a saying, but the “KGB” will make mince meat out of them, for stealing from the government.”

  “I sure wouldn’t want to be in their shoes, on either side of the fence.”

  I had taken my headset off, since it was of no use to me. There must have been a short period of silence and then Jerry motioned to me that they were talking again.

  One of them said, “We will have to kill all of them after the next delivery and then send the film into Moscow by messenger. That way, there will be no witnesses to the transaction.”

  They went on conversing, “Yes, but won’t they come looking for us if we don’t return with the documents ourselves?”

  “We will have to implement a plan to make sure it looks like we were the ones killed after giving the film to the messenger.”

  “But how?” he was asked.

  “I had to do things like this before, to cover up mistakes. It would work if we put three men in our car, with our identification. Then start it on fire and push it over a cliff. They will be burned beyond recognition and the “KGB” will think it is us. They’ll also think that the Americans did it. It would all end there, because they would have the information they wanted and our being killed wouldn’t be of concern to them.”

  Just then, Heinman, the Doctor, the nurse and all four girls pulled up in the driveway. Getting out of the car, I could see Jill and the others being helped into the house. I wanted to go and get her right then and Jerry knew it. The expression on his face let me know that he wanted to also, but we had to let things go as planned.

  This time the Russians talked in broken english as they greeted each other. Jerry motioned for me to put my headset back on because I could understand them now. They acted like they were old friends and were going to go out and have a good time afterward.

  “Nothing like shaking hands from the front while planning to put a blade in your back, is there,” I said. “Coining a phrase, those guys are so crooked they could sleep on a cork screw.”

  “We’re going to have to make sure this is the last trip for Heinman and his clan. I want that son-of-a-bitch alive, so he can stand trial for what he’s done,” Jerry interjected.

  “That goes double for me.”

  You see that window at the corner of the building above the ledge on the second floor?” he asked, pointing. That’s the room where the Doctor and nurse were doing something with the girls the last time.

  Watching the window, I saw the light being turned on and the Doctor had walked to the window, peering through the glass, and then closing the shades and drapes.

  “Looks like the same thing again,” I said.

  Jerry had left a transmitter on the corner of the window when he was there the other time. He told me that he didn’t want to play the second story game again, because he was getting to old to be standing on ledges. Making it clear that it was for the younger generation of agents to do that. He mentioned that in the future, he’d have at least one with him from now on.

  “Get the girls ready,” we could hear the Doctor say.

  “Shall I give them the usual dosage?” she asked.

  “Yes. We have to be careful not to put them under too far.”

  “When they are under the anesthesia, check all their vital signs carefully.”

  There was a pause and then the doctor spoke, “Everything ready?”

  “Everything is ready.”

  “Let’s get started, then.”

  Again there was silence, except for the commands of the Doctor asking for an array of instruments and the sound of metal against metal, like something being dropped in a container. This time the silence lasted close to three hours.

  “That does it,” he said to the nurse. “That’s all four. Get them cleaned up and make sure they stay in those beds until we are ready to leave. We want them to look healthy for the return trip back to Los Angeles.”

  “What the hell are they doing to those girls, besides giving them shots?” I asked Jerry. It sounded like they were being operated on or something.”

  “Don’t really know. The last time I could only see shots being given. Whatever they are doing, I missed it the other time.”

  He flicked the switch again to the lower floor to hear what Heinman was saying.