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Reymundo Cruz slept well. Gorgonio had behaved himself. He and Nestor alternated watches. Miss Jana was on course. The girls were making the best of their cramped quarters. They had worked out a routine so that only two were in a bed at any given time. All the girls managed to maintain a safe distance from Gorgonio. No small feat on a fifty-five-foot yacht.
The Gulf of Mexico was calm. Small rolling swells gently rocked the boat. Reymundo was happy that the motion had not affected anyone onboard in an adverse way. Twelve seasick girls would be very unpleasant.
Before taking over the watch for the evening, Reymundo completed the boat’s daily routine maintenance tasks. He checked the oil in the main engines and generators, adding oil as necessary. The temperature gauges were all normal. He also double-checked to ensure his Ruger EC9S 9MM semi-automatic pistol was still safely hidden away at the bottom of the toolbox.
It was dark when Reymundo entered the air-conditioned main bridge to relieve Gorgonio. He brought a sliced roast beef sandwich, chips, and a Dr Pepper with him. “I’ll take over,” he said. It was the most he’d spoken to Gorgonio in two days.
“Okay,” Gorgonio replied. “I think I’ll have a beer or two before turning in.”
“Take it easy. I don’t want any trouble.”
“I’m tryna be good. How long ‘till we get there?”
Reymundo glanced at the Satnav. “Looks like we should be in Galveston about noon the day after tomorrow. The weather looks good. I don’t foresee any delays.”
“Damn. Can’t we speed this boat up? It feels like it’s been a month since I got laid. Looking at them girls makes my balls hurt. I got mine all picked out.”
“You touch any of them, your balls won’t be the only thing that hurts. I guarantee it. Which ones have you picked out?”
Gorgonio ignored the threat. He didn’t want to provoke Reymundo. He had already learned the captain could hurt him. “The tiny one with blond streaks in her hair. Man, she’s sexy. I bet she’s tight. The tall one. She ain’t got much in the way of tits, but she’d make a good bookend to the tiny one.”
“You think Rafael is okay with that?”
“He don’t care. Said I could take my pick. He don’t know what they look like. They all just hoes to him.”
“I think you might want to leave the bridge now.” Reymundo was close to reaching the point where he would forget his teachings and serve the big slob to the sharks.
Gorgonio left without saying anything. Reymundo ate his sandwich in peace. The soft glow of the bridge’s electronics lit the room enough to cause a reflection on the windows. Nothing was visible in the evening darkness except the faint outline of the ship’s hull, dimly lit by the running lights.
His dinner, as it was, finished, Reymundo climbed up to the flybridge. Another reason he preferred the night shift. The night air had cooled slightly, but it was still warm and muggy compared to the air-conditioned boat. A slight headwind, in addition to the vessel’s forward movement, created a nice breeze.
The moon, nearly full, looked huge as it rose on the eastern horizon. It always intrigued Reymundo why the moon looked so big when it rose above the horizon. He knew the size of the moon didn’t change. It was a trick of the imagination, but it did look bigger. Beautiful too.
Reymundo checked the tide and moon phase charts. The full moon was two days away, July fourth. “Hmm,” he mumbled. “Didn’t realize we’d be hitting Texas on Independence Day. That might not be good. Boat traffic will be heavy.”
Reymundo was not worried about his seamanship. He could handle the big Cheoy Lee, all eighty-thousand pounds of her. It was the other idiots on the water that worried him. Many were weekend sailors without much experience. A good number of the skippers would be drinking – a lethal combination.
It wasn’t long before the captain’s thoughts returned to Jana. He wondered if Rafael was treating her well like he’d promised. He didn’t trust the little weasel. Jana was a beautiful, sexy woman. Reymundo was sure she was unlike any of the girls Rafael controlled – at least not like the four he’d met, the four who were the beginning of the mess he currently found himself in. If he could do it all over again, he’d never agree to the ‘frat boy’ charter.
Sitting alone with only the sea and stars, Reymundo found it challenging to not think of Jana and what she might be going through. He checked the radar and found only a few large blips. Probably big tankers or containerships making their way to Houston. He rechecked the Satnav. All clear. He checked the engine gauges. All registered normal. His mind went back to Jana.
The hours passed slowly. The next time Reymundo checked his watch it was 0230 hours, two-thirty in the morning. It was later than he’d expected.
Reymundo took another look at the radar. Ocean traffic was light. He stretched and did a visual scan of the ocean for any small vessels or a rig the radar may have missed. Only water and stars as far as he could see. He walked down the steps, through the main bridge into the salon. Three girls were sitting on the sofa. One girl was in the chair beside them.
“Hola,” he said as he walked past them. The girls all smiled, return the greeting, and went back to the hushed conversation he’d interrupted.
Reymundo went into his stateroom to use the head. It was a long overdue trip. It felt good to relieve himself of the Dr Pepper he’d drank earlier. As he washed his hands, staring into the small mirror above the sink, it dawned on him that he had another issue. He’d been so consumed with Jana, and how she was, he’d forgotten about the task at hand. He quickly dried his hands and hopped up the steps to the main salon.
The girls were still sitting where they had been when he walked through a few minutes earlier. Reymundo recognized one of the girls as the one Gorgonio had laid claim to. She was adorable. The streaks of blond in her hair against her tan-colored skin gave her an exotic look. The tall girl Gorgonio desired was not in the room. It was difficult to tell with them sitting, but the other three girls appeared to be of similar height and weight. One looked considerably younger than the others. All four were young and attractive.
“Hola,” he said again. In Spanish, he said, “Are you all friends? Did you know each other before you got on the boat?”
“No, we met on the boat,” one of the girls replied in Spanish. “We’ve become friends.”
“That’s nice,” Reymundo said, still speaking Spanish. “Do you know what you’re going to do in America? Do you have family or anyone to help you?”
“No. Alberto, the man who arranged the trip for us, said we’d be met by people, and they would take us to a place to live. They’d take care of us. Help us find work to make money.”
“Did Alberto tell you what kind of work?”
The girls looked at each other expressionless. “He did not. But we have a feeling. We think we know,” said the blond girl that Gorgonio wanted.
“What’s that?”
“You don’t know, sir?”
“Let’s say I have a feeling too, but I just drive the boat. I don’t know what happens for sure.”
“We all think our jobs will be having sex or taking our clothes off for money.”
The bluntness surprised Reymundo, although he was not shocked. “You’re okay with having sex for money?”
Again, the girls looked at each other. The youngest one teared up slightly and said, “No. I don’t want to be a prostitute. They told me they had a job for me and said I didn’t have to pay the fee to come to America if I worked for them. I asked what I would be doing, but they told me not to worry about it, I’d love it.” She nodded toward the other girls. “They just told me they think my job will be having sex with old men.”
The other three girls said they weren’t happy about it, but they would do it. They hoped they wouldn’t have to do it long. They’d heard in America jobs they could do were plentiful.
Reymundo looked at the younger one. “How old are you?”
“Fifteen,” she replied.
Reymundo was beside himself. He could not imagine handing that girl, any of the girls, over to people who would turn them into indentured sex workers. Realistically, he knew the young girl would be a hot commodity. Plenty of disgusting older men would pay big bucks to be with a fifteen-year-old.
“May I ask, have you had sex before?”
The girl blushed slightly and covered her face, “Yes. A few times. It hurt.”
The blond girl said, “Most of us lose our virginity when we are young. The boys in Cuba are always pushing girls to have sex with them. I was thirteen.”
“I was twelve,” another girl said. “It was one of my older brother’s cute friends. He said he loved me. He would come over and make love to me. When he finished, he’d go hang out with my brother. One time, I said, ‘No,’ and he stopped coming around as much. The next time he did, I made him pay me. I don’t do it much, but sometimes when I need money. It might not be so bad if I have to do it in America for a little while.”
Engrossed in the conversation with the girls, Reymundo realized he’d not seen Nestor or Gorgonio. “Have you seen my crew?”
“The bigger guy, I saw him a long time ago. He went outside. He had a bottle with him. The older guy, Nestor, was outside on the back deck with Barbara, the tall girl. She likes talking to him. We all do. He is funny.”
Reymundo tried to look out at the aft deck but could not see through the reflection in the tinted glass. “I think I better check on the other guy. I’ll be right back.”
Gorgonio was sleeping on a seat on the foredeck. The thick cushions made a comfortable bed. Satisfied Gorgonio was not in one of the staterooms molesting a girl, Reymundo went back inside with the girls.
“I’ll be honest with you all, but please don’t tell the other girls. I don’t want to scare them any more than they already are. Promise you won’t tell them?”
Once each girl promised, Reymundo continued. “I think you’re probably right. Personally, I don’t like it. The reason I’m here is a long story. Fact is, I’d rather not be here, but if I weren’t, someone else would be. Since I’m here, I want to help you.”
The girls leaned forward, hanging onto Reymundo’s every word.
“I’m not sure exactly how, but I plan to come back and get you all. I live in Miami. Many Cubans live in Miami, and they have shelters you can go to for help.”
“We don’t want to go back to Cuba,” one girl said.
“You won’t be sent back.” He hoped he hadn’t lied to the girls. “But I need your help. A big car is going to pick you up at the dock and take you someplace. I have no idea where they’re going to take you. I don’t think you will have a way to contact me. I don’t think the people picking you up will give you a phone.”
“What can we do? How can we help?” Gorgonio’s girl asked.
“I have two small GPS trackers. I need two of the girls to hide it on them. It will send a signal telling me your location. It will send for about two weeks before the batteries die. I have the chargers, but I don’t know if you can hide the chargers.”
“We have a purse. They said we could bring a purse,” one of the girls said.
“They may search those. They may search you too.” Reymundo did remember the girls leaving the boat with their purses and the small tote each were given to carry ashore. “They, the guys here on the boat, will probably make you change clothes too. They brought cute party dresses for you to wear when you get off the boat. Last time, Gorgonio made the girls change in front of him. I think he was checking to make sure they weren’t trying to hide anything.”
In reality, Gorgonio made the girls change clothes in front of him because he wanted to see them naked. Reymundo’s story sounded plausible. He got his point across that they would not be able to hide the tracker on their body and, hopefully, didn’t scare them too badly.
“So, where do we hide it?” the young girl asked naively.
One of the other girls suggested a likely hiding location for the GPS. It saved Reymundo the trouble, not to mention the embarrassment. “How big is it? The thing you want us to hide?” she added.
“It’s not too big,” Reymundo made a circle with his thumb and index finger about the size of a quarter. “It’s about that big around and maybe so thick.” He displayed a distance of a couple of inches with his fingers.
“We could hide it,” the blond said.
“You probably won’t be getting off in Houston.”
“I won’t? Why?”
“The people who hired me want me to bring two girls back to Miami. They didn’t say why.” He refused to tell her that Rafael had promised Gorgonio two girls to do with as he pleased. “But don’t worry. You will be better off staying on the boat. I promise.”
“May I go back to Miami with you?” the young girl asked.
“Maybe. I’m working a deal to bring a couple more back. Right now, it’s only you,” he pointed to the blond, “and one other, the taller girl. I’ll try my best to take you. Who else should I try to take? I think four is all I’ll be able to take back with me.”
The girls talked among themselves. Reymundo strained to look out to the aft deck to see what Nestor was doing. It was quiet.
Gorgonio’s girl spoke up. “I think you should take Eva. She’s nice. She’s the one with the necklace with a cross on it. Earlier, before we ate, she prayed. I know we should all be praying right now, but she does it every time before she eats. She also looked super scared when some of the other girls said we might have to have sex for money when we got to America. She might be a virgin.”
“I will try to take her.” Reymundo looked at the two girls who would not be going back to Miami with him, “Would you two be willing to hide the transmitters?”
“Sure,” one of the girls said.
“Yes, of course,” said the other. “But what do we do if they want to have sex with us?”
“You will need to hide it. Hopefully, you will have some warning. If not, tell them you have to go to the bathroom first. Hide the transmitter in the bathroom. Just remember to get it afterward. You must keep the transmitter with you as much as possible. If they move you, and you don’t have it, I won’t be able to find you.”
“You will come for us?”
“Yes, I promise. I’ll come for you. It might be a few weeks or even longer, but I will come for you.”
“Thank you, sir. You are kind. That is what we heard about Americans.”
“Unfortunately, America has its share of bad people too. I’m afraid you’re going to meet some of them.” He looked at his watch. “I need to get back to the bridge. We’ll be in Texas the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow evening, I’ll give you the trackers. I’m sorry you have to do this.”
“That is okay. We are glad you are going to help us.”
Reymundo went back to the flybridge. The radar looked clear. The boat was still on course and schedule. All the gauges looked normal. He leaned back on the seat and sighed. Those girls were about to be delivered to some of the worst people in America. He had to save them. Reymundo Cruz had made a promise, and he would keep it.