Page 40 of Degrees of Control
I settle into the corner sectional and pull the blanket that is lying on the back of the couch around me, attempting to ward off the chill that has suddenly overtaken my body. I am filled with dread at the thought Chase may be in danger and furious I’ve been kept in the dark about his entire plan. I am pulled from my contemplation when Dereck brings me what appears to be a two way radio. “Kate, I have Chase on the line. I’ll leave the radio with you and give you a little privacy while you talk,” he offers after showing me how to use it.
“Don’t bother, Dereck. He seems to ensure you know more than I do, so please feel free to stay,” I retort, immediately regretting my outburst as a look of embarrassment passes between the two men.
“Katarina, what the hell are you doing on the yacht?” Chase says, as I put the obnoxious looking thing to my ear.
“I came to be with you, but you’re obviously not where everyone thinks you are. What the hell is going on?” I ask.
“Katarina, we can talk about this later. Right now I need you to listen to me carefully. Jay and I are aboard the yacht that will be meeting the one you are on in about forty minutes. At that time, I need you to switch yachts without being recognized. There are people watching everything going on right now. Fortunately, your arrival did not raise suspicions. In fact, added a degree of credibility to the fact I am on that yacht and appeared to those watching that you were simply joining me. Dereck is going to give you an outfit to put on. Let’s just say it will disguise your feminine qualities and make it appear as though you are a working hand helping with the transfer of goods from yacht to yacht. I need you to wrap your hair up and keep it under the hat he will give you. Wipe any traces of makeup from your face and do whatever you can to keep your face down so satellite cameras are unable to pick you up,” he says.
“What the fuck! Satellite cameras?”
“Katarina, I’m pretty sure there is an appropriate punishment for such unladylike language, but right now, I just need you to follow instructions and stay off the cell phone. It’s not secure.”
“What about Mikael? He brought me here and wants to help,” I say.
“Mikael brought you to the yacht?” he asks.
“Yes, we used the Augusta since it could get us here faster and, well, Miguel thought you were in trouble so it seemed like the wisest choice,” I say.
“Katarina, you are supposed to be safe at the Ridalgo in the care of your parents and our security team, not in the middle of the ocean on a yacht that is to be ambushed,” he grinds out.
“How the hell was I supposed to know that? Need I remind you, that if you had trusted me enough to tell me what was going on none of this would have happened and I would be safe at the Ridalgo in the care of my parents?”
“Katarina, we will make arrangements for Mikael to come aboard, too. Now for the love of God, please, just do what I have asked and make sure you act like a work hand coming aboard. We can’t afford to raise suspicion right now,” he says, before disconnecting.
“Your gear is on its way up. We’ll want you disguised as deck hands as you switch ships. The crew knows what to do, stay with them, and keep your heads down until we pull aside the Temptress,” Dereck says.
“The Temptress?” I ask.
“Yes, Chase has told me to fill you in on the details so you understand the gravity of the situation. The Temptress is the yacht that will appear to be transporting the merchandise Alfreita is after. It needs to look like the hands are transferring the product from yacht to yacht. Your uncle’s crewwill see the transfer of product and follow, intending to take it over, but when they do they will find nothing here, or Chase. The problem is you will be on board unless we can get you off quickly,” he says.
“I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused, Dereck. I was just worried about Chase,” I say, more than a little embarrassed at my rash behavior and the situation I now find myself in.
A man I have not been introduced to comes down the stairs with two blue hoodies and bright yellow rain jackets. Dereck takes the clothing from the gentleman. “Here, put these on. Chase wants to make sure you have your hair tied up and covered so you aren’t recognizable,” he says to me.
“No problem, Dereck. He already told me,” I say.
“Mikael, we’ll want to make sure no one can identify you on satellite cam, either,” he says. I grimace at the large yellow water boots which are at least two sizes too big but resign myself to the disguise, slipping off my flats and pulling on the rubber boots that extend past my knees.
We slip our hoodies on and secure the ties as tightly around our faces as we can before donning the outer yellow raincoat covers. I head into the bathroom to wipe any traces of make-up from my face. My heart catches as I look around and see the loofah hanging in the shower and all the personal items that Chase purchased before he brought me aboard the first time.
“Kate, we need to move,” Dereck says, rapping at the door. I make quick work of washing my face before returning to the living room.
“Okay, we’re getting ready for show time,” Dereck says to us. “When I give you the word, I want you to head up the stairs. The crew will come in from the lower levels and keep you in the center of the group. They’ll be moving quickly and you’ll need to keep up so they can’t get a lock on exactly how many went aboard. Once you are on the yacht, the crew will head downstairs. Jay will have someone onboard assigned to pull you both aside after that. I want you to wear these,” he says, placing the familiar GPS band around my wrist and handing Mikael’s to him.
“Tracking device,” I say, in way of explanation as Mikael places it around his wrist.
“We need to go now,” Dereck says, urging us to the stairway. At the top we are engulfed by a throng of deckhands, and are moved swiftly across the lengthy deck and onto the makeshift bridge between the two yachts.
I keep my face down as we cross onto the ship and are led downstairs. At the first bend, a man leads us down a hall and into the yacht’s living space. As he takes off his raincoat I recognize Sheldon and grimace with embarrassment recalling how I eluded him at the resort. “I’m sorry about the trouble. I didn’t think you would go with me and I wanted to be with Chase,” I say.
“I’m over it now, although it’s not every day someone slips out of my watch and I need to catch a private ride to find the boss’s fiancée,” he says, grinning widely.
“Thanks, Sheldon,” I say grateful for his attempt to put me at ease. Where’s Chase?” I ask, pulling off my raincoat and hoodie.
“He had to leave before you arrived. You’ll be safe with me until all of this is over,” he says.
“Where did he have to go, Sheldon?” I ask.
