Dagger Quest by Edward Hochsmann

Author:Edward Hochsmann
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sea Adventure Fiction, Military Thriller, Technothriller, Coast Guard Fiction, Clean Military Humor, Florida Keys
Publisher: Edward M. Hochsmann
Published: 2022-06-07T05:00:00+00:00

8

Reconnaissance—Sea

Coast Guard Cutter Kauai, Gulf of Mexico, Off Resolution Key, Florida

07:56 EST, 17 January

Ben

Kauai idled a quarter-mile off the northern tip of Resolution Key, with Lee putting in a turn as the OOD. This morning, the driving was dull, occasionally goosing the idling engines to hold position and heading in the calm air and slow current. A small shack and a beat-up old pickup truck were visible on their arrival. An older man in a straw hat had emerged carrying fishing gear when the Puma completed its circuit and assumed overwatch. The man waved on seeing the cutter, then began fishing on the chair. Satisfied there was no apparent hazard, Sam had green-lighted the launch of the RHIB to put Ben, Simmons, and Lopez ashore for an investigation.

Bondurant was the coxswain of record this morning, but Jenkins was breaking in for landing operations. Landing operations could be tricky, and Bondurant would never pass up an opportunity to give his junior boatswain hands-on training. Ben, Simmons, and Lopez were sitting forward, ready to jump off when it nudged the shore. They were landing one hundred yards from the shack to avoid disrupting its resident’s fishing and get a look at the ground. Bondurant whispered coaching instructions as Jenkins steered into a soft bump when the prow touched bottom. The three passengers turned and, getting a thumbs up from Jenkins, jumped into the shallow water. The boat floated free, and Jenkins backed it off the beach.

As they waded ashore, Simmons said, “Your man is settling down nicely. That was only the second most thorough safety brief I’ve ever had.”

As both the coastguardsmen smiled, Ben replied, “Yes, we’re riding the asymptote down to the ‘Yeah, blah-blah, don’t get hurt’ version.”

Simmons chuckled and then stopped, scanning the sand inland of the high tide ridge. “Hang on a minute, guys. Check out these impressions.” He crouched down and peered hard, tilting his head back and forth. “What do you think?”

Ben shrugged silently, but Lopez spoke, “The track is too wide for that Toyota.” He nodded toward the pickup truck. “More like a big SUV or Hummer. They dismounted there and walked to the tide line. From the tracks, I’d say two, maybe three guys.”

“Yes, indeed!” Simmons responded with Ben looking at Lopez in surprise. “Notice the vehicle tracks move inland instead of toward the shack. Let’s file that one away.” He turned and continued toward the shack, Ben and Lopez following.

“Lope, I never considered you the Sherlock Holmes type,” Ben said.

“You should update yourself, XO. Doyle’s great, but Deaver and Cornwell are the thing for modern detecting. Back in LA, a police detective and his wife took me on in the foster program. He turned me on to the books and took me on some ride-alongs. It stuck.”

“Steer me to some good ones when we get back to Miami.” Ben looked over at the shack as they started toward it. The old gentleman was seated in a beach chair under a canopy extending from the front.

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