THE BRIDGE TO CARACAS (Volume 1 of The King Trilogy)

CHAPTER 60

The shrill ring of an alarm awakened Mike and Karen from their restless sleep. It was 2 a.m. when Mike clamped his palm to the top of the clock. Although tired, his mind instantly focused. He turned to Karen and reached for her hand. "This is it, babe," he said.

Karen's eyes were opened wide. "Any doubts?" she asked as she squeezed Mike's hand.

"All kinds."

"You still want to do it?"

"With all my heart. You?"

Karen grinned. "There's no way I'm going to chicken out now."

The air was damp and cold, the sky clear and moonless, as Mike and Karen stepped out of the taxi at Pier Four. They carried bags over their shoulders, containing a change of clothing for each, toiletries, food, a flashlight, Karen's chrome-plated revolver, and two hundred and sixteen thousand dollars of Jim Servito's cash. They stared at the black expanse of water, barely able to discern the profile of Centre Island, even though it was less than a mile away. The water's surface was as smooth as glass.

Mike reached into his bag and removed the flashlight. He pointed it straight out at the water and turned it on and off twice. Within a few minutes, Dale Casey arrived in his eighteen foot Mercruiser, approaching without running lights to avoid being seen. He turned off the motor and allowed his boat to glide until it came to rest against the pier. "You people going to Caracas?" he asked.

Mike jumped down four feet into the boat, and then turned to help Karen.

"Welcome aboard," Casey said. "Dale Casey's my name. Discrete transportation's my game."

The darkness made it difficult to see Casey's face, but Mike and Karen could see he was tall, slightly over six feet. Mike extended his hand. "I'm Mike, and this is Karen."

"Do you have something for me?" Casey asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Your airfare. I don't want to get into this thing and find out you don't have the money."

Mike reached into his bag and withdrew five elasticized wads of bills, each containing exactly five thousand dollars of Servito's cash. He handed them to Casey. "This should do it," he said.

"Thank you," Casey said. "I'll count it before we take off. Meanwhile, I'll get you two to the plane." He turned the ignition key and the motor started with a muted gurgling idle. As he slowly eased the throttle forward, the bow rose slightly and the boat accelerated toward Blockhouse Bay, which lay between Muggs Island and Centre Island.

Within five minutes, the boat bumped gently against a wooden dock. Someone on the dock grabbed the bow rope and fastened down the line.

"Liz, meet Mike and Karen," Casey said.

"Good morning. I'm Liz Casey, Dale's wife. I'll be the co-pilot and your stewardess for this morning's flight. Can I help you with your bags?"

Mike and Karen handed their bags to Liz, and then climbed from the boat. "See you soon," Liz called to Casey as she pushed the boat away from the dock.

"I'll pick you up in forty-five," Casey replied. The boat disappeared into the night.

Liz turned to Mike and Karen. "Let's get to the plane. It's just beyond those trees." She pointed toward a large clump of leafless trees, no more than a hundred feet from the dock and partially obscuring the lights of Toronto Island Airport and the city. When they emerged from the trees, they found the end of one of the airport's runways. They walked the length of the runway, past numerous single and twin-engine airplanes parked near the well-lit terminal and adjacent hangar.

"Damn!" Mike said, stopping abruptly.

Liz stopped too. "What's wrong?"

"Can't you see the security guards?" he asked, pointing to two uniformed men standing in the gaping opening in front of the hangar.

Liz chuckled. "Don't worry about them. Part of your airfare was used to ensure they don't say a thing. We can walk right past them." When they reached the hangar, the two security guards waved and smiled before turning away from the intrusion. Liz led Mike and Karen straight to the airplane, which was an almost new, twin-engine Cessna 421B, painted light gray with two parallel gold stripes running the length of the sleek fuselage.

"It's beautiful, Liz," Mike said. He could hardly take his eyes from it.

Liz frowned. "It ought to be. It cost a fortune to buy, and another one to keep. One day I'm going to convince my husband to get rid of it and get a real job." She opened the cabin door and a set of steps were slowly lowered from inside. She turned and smiled at her passengers. "Climb aboard."

"No boarding passes?" Mike asked.

Liz grinned and shook her head. She followed Mike and Karen into the plane. "The tricky part of this trip is for you two to stay out of sight until we're in the air. Unfortunately, you're going to have to lie on the floor for about three hours until the airport opens. You might want to catch up on your sleep while you're waiting." She shrugged, and then opened a compartment above her head and removed blankets and small pillows. "These should help," she said, handing them to Karen. "Dale and I will be here about six. It takes about an hour to go through all the checkouts and get out to the runway. Hopefully, we'll be in the air shortly after seven...and we'll see you around then." She turned and left the plane, purposefully leaving the cabin door open.