“You’re going to want to see this.”
The serious tone of Michael’s voice was enough for Deke to reply in a single word: “Where?”
“Conference room C,” Michael said.
“Five minutes.”
One of the AV specialists had helped Michael set up the DVR in the conference room. Michael now knew the reason for Vicky’s going to the marina on such an inclement day. Unbeknownst to anyone else, there was a secret compartment on the Seacreto that housed surveillance equipment. When she’d ventured out on that blustery, rainy day, she had gone to gather insurance.
I should have known, Michael thought. In all her businesses, Vicky had kept tabs on her employees. He wondered if the Seacreto’s crew had known about the existence of her spy room. I doubt it, he thought. The two crew members hadn’t been seen since the Seacreto had been scuttled. Michael believed it was highly unlikely that they were still alive.
There was no sound with the tape, but that didn’t diminish the brutality of what was on it. Michael was glad he was spared seeing Karina’s struggles in the sea. There was only the wide-angle view that did not encompass the water, but seeing the laughter of Stone and his men was sickening enough. Even some of the women aboard had seemed to take pleasure in Karina’s drowning. Or perhaps they had been too afraid to not go along. Maybe the alcohol and drugs, combined with the shock of what they had witnessed, had caused them to react as they did.
“I’ve seen enough,” Deke said.
Michael stopped the recording. Both men sat for a minute in stunned silence. Finally, Michael got to his feet.
“I’ve got business to attend to. I’ll trust you to put the DVR in lockup when you’re finished with it.”
“Wait a second,” Deke said.
“What?”
“This isn’t a time for another special forces rogue operation.”
Michael seemed at a loss as to how to respond, prompting Deke to speak with that much more forcefulness.
“You’re lucky that what happened in Vegas hasn’t come back to bite you in the ass. You can’t count on that luck a second time. We need to do this the right way. We need to involve law enforcement.”
Michael opened his mouth, but Deke still didn’t let him speak. “No vigilante crap. No frontier-style justice. You hear me? This isn’t some PJ mission.”
“I know that,” Michael said, finally getting an opportunity to talk.
“Then why are you running off? And what are you up to?”
“I’m going to my office, where I’m planning on doing my job.”
“And what job is that?”
“The one you hired me for. I’m a lawyer.”
The words were said with pride. Michael was still a rescue ranger and always would be, even though he now wore a very different uniform.
“And as a lawyer, I need to prepare for what I imagine will be the biggest wrongful death suit this firm has ever filed,” he continued.
Deke had the reputation of being unflappable; Michael’s announcement revealed Deke was flappable.
Stumbling to find the words, Deke managed to say, “That’s— that’s—really good thinking.”
“One thing. I need to be there when Stone’s arrested. I’m going to be the one serving him papers right before he’s handcuffed. I’ll want him to have some good reading material for his send-off to prison.”
“In that case, don’t let me detain you,” Deke said.
* * *
When Michael reached his office, he decided to make a call before beginning his work.
“I’m afraid I won’t be home until late tonight.”
“Are you once again saving the world, husband?”
“Something like that,” he said.
“Then do as you must, and when you get home, we will greet you with open arms.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear,” Michael said.