Barracuda by Mike Monahan

Author:Mike Monahan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, suspense, adventure, murder, action, south pacific, detective, mafia, sharks, scuba, radiation, atomic bomb, nypd, bikini atoll, shipwrecks, mutated fish
Publisher: Mike Monahan

8

Flacka was setting up the pool bar in anticipation of a busy day. The grand opening festivities had drawn a huge crowd, and she was checking her stock of liquors and looking at her favorite CDs, hoping they might keep the crowd cheerful. She held her Righteous Brothers CD and silently smiled. It was one of her favorites, and she knew that the New York cop would drop by again, so she placed it amongst the day’s picks.

Flacka had just made an inventory of bottles that needed replacing from the hotel when Tanya appeared, walking with a graceful yet determined stride. Flacka did not like or trust Tanya.

“Good morning, Flacka,” the Russian greeted her.

“Mornin’,” Flacka returned.

“How are things going?”

“Fine,” Flacka answered, uninterested.

“I hear you had an interesting customer yesterday. That detective seems pretty inquisitive. What did you two talk about?”

Flacka didn’t like the tone of Tanya’s voice. The question was more of a demand than a curiosity.

“We talked about music.”

Flacka’s short answers infuriated Tanya, but she put on her happy face and asked, “Do you like working here, Flacka?”

A shadow of fear crossed Flacka’s face as she carefully answered, “Yes.”

“Then you had better cooperate with me or I will have you fired, and the management here can cause many problems for you and your family.”

Flacka knew that Tanya’s threat was real. Many an islander had gone missing after crossing paths with the Russians and Japanese.

“Please, I don’t want any trouble,” she stammered.

“Then tell me everything that cop talked to you about and why he’s here,” Tanya growled.

Tanya spent the next hour learning Micko’s likes and dislikes in women, beer, music, etc. Bartenders were always great sources of information, and Tanya pumped Flacka for all she was worth. She was devising a scheme to find out why that cop was really there on Shark Alley Island.

***

Steve motioned to Micko that it was time to surface, but Micko shook his head and stuck up three fingers, indicating that he would hang for another three minutes. Steve nodded in acknowledgment and slowly ascended the final ten feet to the Lily II.

Micko hung suspended in the warm, clear waters of the idyllic paradise, wondering what mayhem lay ahead. He had spent just one day on the island and he was aware of the scientists’ kidnapping and possibly murder, dead divers, strong-arm tactics by the resort managers, rebel dissidents, and a group of dead sharks killed by unknown means. He silently thanked the Goldberg sisters for pushing him into this trip that helped him regain his lost confidence. He was sure that he would need it in the coming days.

Micko’s concentration was broken as he watched a huge manta ray swim by with its two young in tow. It seemed like the mother ray was teaching her offspring to feed and swim through the gentle current. The mother twisted her twin mandibles to form giant spoons to direct microscopic nutrients into her mouth. She swam in a graceful performance that resembled a well-choreographed ballet. The supple manta executed barrel rolls and backward flips in an attempt to forage the unseen nutrients.

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