|
|
|
On the evening of July third, Reymundo asked Nestor to relieve him early the following morning. According to the Satnav, Miss Jana would enter the Galveston jetties around eleven o’clock in the morning, Central Daylight Time. Getting from the jetties to the dock where they’d unload the girls would take another three and a half to four hours, depending on boat traffic.
Reymundo wanted to be fresh when he navigated the ship channel from Bolivar Roads to Kemah. Because of the holiday, he’d have to deal with a large number of small pleasure craft as well as large sea-going vessels. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of coming in on the Fourth. More boat traffic, yes, but the chances of anyone paying attention to a big trawler from Florida would be minimized.
Nestor agreed to relieve Reymundo at four-thirty a.m. That would give the captain plenty of time to rest before taking over the boat for the trip’s final leg. He assured Reymundo he would stay alert for small craft.
If Reymundo could get four or five hours of sleep, he’d be well-rested for the trip in and out of Galveston Bay. If all went well, he’d have the boat back in the gulf and headed to Florida in less than ten hours. Reymundo told Nestor he’d be back in a couple of hours to take over the helm. He left the main bridge and walked into the main salon. Several girls were lounging, watching DVDs on the flatscreen television.
“Anyone seen Gorgonio?” he asked in Spanish.
“I was on the bed in the room on that side of the boat,” one girl replied in Spanish and pointed to starboard. “He came in. He was creepy, rubbing my arm, telling me how cute I was. I said I needed to pee and came up here. I have not seen him since.”
“Gracias,” Reymundo said and walked down the steps. He found Gorgonio in the starboard guest stateroom, pulling various objects out of one of the black suitcases.
“What the hell?” Reymundo asked.
“I’m picking out the dresses I want the girls to wear. I’m not sure about the sizes, but it don’t matter much anyway as long as they look good. If they put the dress on and it don’t look good, they can try another. We got plenty. It’s good I’m keeping the tall girl. These would all be short on her. Damn, can you picture her in a short dress like this one?” He held up a little purple dress with skinny straps and an open back with scalloped trim. “Man, this would barely cover her ass. Imagine those long legs coming out from under this.”
Reymundo had to admit it was a beautiful dress – Jana would look stunning in it. “Where’d you get all the dresses?”
“Once in a while, Rafael takes a couple of the girls to the big thrift stores. They find all kinds of nice stuff for cheap. They’ll go to garage sales in South Beach too. I think the hired help gets nice dresses, which they can’t wear, so they resell them.”
“Any idea why they want the girls dressed so well?”
“I dunno. Maybe to make a good first impression. Maybe to see what they’re buying. I remember the captain on the other boat saying that he was to tell the cops he was a charter boat if they got boarded. He was hired to drive the girls around the bay or wherever we was.”
“That’s a good idea. I wish Rafael would have shared that tidbit of information with me.”
“Yeah, he probably should’ve. Well, now you know.”
“If they’re stopped while in the cars, they’d use the same line? They’re just drivers, hired to chauffer the girls around?” Reymundo asked.
Gorgonio shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know what happens after they leave the boat.” He held up a tiny string bikini. “What do you think of this one?”
“I don’t think it will fit you.”
“No, not me. For one of the girls. We want some in bikinis on the deck when we come in. I’m going to put my two, Barbara and Lily, on the deck while the others are getting ready.”
“Barbara?”
“Yeah. Ain’t that the shits? They said it’s a common name in Cuba. They can stay on deck till we get close, then go below and hide. We’ll put whoever is wearing the purple dress out on the deck. She’ll turn some heads.”
“Just don’t start any shit like you did last time.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sending Barbara down to shower when I send the other girls on deck. She’ll be clean and ready. As soon as we’re back in the bay, I’ll join her. Going to keep an eye on her too. I ain’t having any more girls jump overboard on me.”
“You can’t wait until we clear the jetties? I don’t want her screaming if other boats are anywhere around us.”
“The end of the jetties? That’s four or five hours. Hell, I’ll be on my second go-round with both of them by then. Don’t worry, they won’t be doing any screaming. Well, maybe a little as I get ‘em off.” Gorgonio laughed.
Once again, it took every ounce of self-control for Reymundo not to toss Gorgonio into the gulf. He turned and left without a word. Before going back up to the main deck, he checked the other staterooms. Two girls were asleep on the forward cabin. One girl was sleeping in the upper bunk of the port stateroom. None of the girls were the ones he was looking for.
As he rounded the top step onto the main deck, Reymundo saw the girls in the galley. A pot was simmering on the stove.
“Hola,” he said to them.
“Hola,” Tasha replied. She then said in Spanish, “We found this can of beans. I hope it is okay.”
“Of course. Help yourself.”
“Thank you. This stove. It is nice. So big.”
Reymundo raised his eyebrows and looked at the stove. “It is, isn’t it?” It was hard for him to imagine living someplace where they’d think the small four-burner stove on a boat was big. “Are you two still going to help me?” he whispered. “We should be in port tomorrow.”
“Yes. We talked. We want to help since you are doing it for us.”
“Good. I’ll be on the flybridge,” Reymundo pointed, “up those steps. Tonight, after most of the girls have gone to sleep, come see me.”
“What if one of the other men stops us?”
“Tell him I asked you to come up. Then giggle, like you’re coming up for more than just talk.”
“I get it. Yes, that is what we will tell him,” the other girl, Yenifer said.
“Remember, you can’t tell the other girls or the crew about this.”
The two girls nodded. “We won’t tell anyone.”
“I’ll see you tonight. Enjoy your beans.”
Reymundo left the girls and went to his stateroom. The daily maintenance on the boat was finished. He had a couple of hours before he needed to relieve Nestor. He lay on his bed, rehashing what he’d said to the girls, what he might have forgotten to tell them, wondering what could go wrong.
The knock on the cabin door woke Reymundo from a deep sleep. He wondered if the knocking was real or part of a dream. There was another light knock on the door.
“Señor Captain? Señor Captain? Estas despierto?”
Reymundo shook the cobwebs from his brain. Am I awake?
“Sí,” he shouted toward the door. “What is it?” He had a horrible feeling that Gorgonio had molested one of the girls.
“Señor Nestor,” someone on the other side of the door said. “He needs you.”
“Coming,” he yelled. “Viniendo.”
Reymundo ran up the stairs to the main bridge and found Nestor standing at the wheel, staring at the radar screen.
“What is it?” Reymundo asked.
“I’m sorry to wake you, sir, but I’ve been watching this dot on the radar for a while. It’s coming straight for us. Kinda fast too. Thought you should know.”
Reymundo looked at the screen. It took a few minutes, but he figured out how to replay the history. “It does seem to be coming fast. It’s not a big vessel either. We’re still in international waters, it can’t be the Coast Guard or anyone from Texas. It’s still fourteen miles away. Let me get a cup of coffee, and I’ll relieve you. I won’t be long. When I get back, it should be closer if it stays on course.”
“Yes, sir.”
Reymundo went into the galley and made coffee. He microwaved a six-day-old kolache from the fridge and returned to the main bridge. He checked his watch. Nine-thirty p.m. Miami time. “Sorry I’m late, Nestor. I was going to take a short nap and must’ve passed out.”
“No problem, sir. I hope you don’t mind, but I had Barbara in here. She pretends to like my stories, laughs at them anyway.”
“Isn’t she one of the girls Gorgonio picked out?”
“I think so, yes. It pisses me off too.”
“He catches you with her, he’ll be more than pissed off. Watch your back.”
“I will. Thank you, sir.”
“While I’m thinking about it, we should be in Bolivar Roads around eleven tomorrow. I’ll be up by then. I want you to call Rafael as soon as you get cell service. We’ll be pretty close to Galveston. Can you remember the details of the business I told you?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Make sure to tell him I want to bring back at least four girls. He’ll need to tell Gorgonio he can’t have any, not even one. Make sure Gorgonio can’t hear you when you call. If Rafael has any questions, bring the phone to me, I’ll talk to him.”
“Will do, Skipper.”
“Cool. Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”
When Nestor left the bridge Reymundo climbed up to the flybridge. He checked the radar again. The echo had veered off to the south and would pass about a mile or so from them. He decided it was a sportfisher on a forty-eight-hour charter or a supply boat on its way to a rig.
Reymundo leaned back in his chair and watched the stars. He’d make a wish on the occasional shooting star. So far, he’d made five wishes in the past hour. It was the same wish each time.
A soft voice came out of the darkness. “Hola.”
“Hi. Uh, Hola.”
Tasha and Yenifer, the girls he’d asked to come up, stepped onto the flybridge.
“Nestor took a bunk in one of the rooms,” Yenifer said. “He asked first. That was nice. Barbara was in the bottom bunk. We aren’t sure if she still is.” She looked at Tasha and both of them giggled.
“Those two have something going on?” Reymundo asked. If they did, it could cause trouble.
“He is much older, but she said she thinks he’s sweet. He treats her well too. She probably hopes he’ll help her. Protect her. We all wish someone would help us. This is so scary for us. We don’t know what to expect.”
“It took me a while to decide, but I think Nestor is okay. If he can, he’ll help Barbara. I hope I can do the same for the rest of you.”
“Thank you, sir. We know you will try.”
“Here are the transmitters.” Reymundo showed the girls the small GPS trackers. “Like I said, or tried to say last night, you’re going to have to put them inside you. Here are some condoms. When it’s time, turn it on, put it in the condom, tie a knot in the end, and put it, uh, you know.”
“Ponlo en nuestra vagina.” Tasha said.
They giggled like schoolgirls. It dawned on Reymundo that they were schoolgirls – schoolgirls who were about to be sold into a life of prostitution.
“Yes,” he said. “Ponlo en tu vagina.” He continued in English, “So maybe, just maybe, I can figure out where you are and I can come find you. I have no idea when, or how, or even if, but go ahead. A strange man hands you a hunk of plastic and tells you to put it in your vagina, and you’re so frightened you do it. No questions asked. You just stick it inside you and hope for the best. You don’t know how bad I want to kill every son-of-a-bitch involved with this.”
Reymundo could not miss the fear on the faces of the young Cuban girls after his rant. “I am sorry,” he said in Spanish. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m mad. You girls should not be put through this. No girl should be put through this.”
Both young Cuban girls kissed Reymundo on the cheek.
“Thank you, señor Captain,” Tasha said. “We kind of know what is going to happen. We hope it is better than living in Cuba.”
“Espero que lo sea,” he replied. “For all your sakes, I hope it is.”
Reymundo calmed down enough to explain to the girls how and when to turn on the tracking devices. He said he was sure Gorgonio would tell them to shower right before they were to put on the party dresses. He told them that they should turn the devices on and insert them after the shower and they should only remove them when absolutely necessary. He could not bring himself to tell them that he meant when they were about to be forced into having sex. Just as he’d done with Jana, he gave each girl extra condoms.
Each time he mentioned or referred to putting the tracker inside themselves, Reymundo would tremble with anger. He was relieved he was not telling the fifteen-year-old or the virgin where to put the tracking device.
“Remember, leave it on you or close to you whenever you can, but don’t get caught with it. Be careful.”
“We will. Just come for us. Please, come for us.”
“I will.” Reymundo’s stomach tightened.
The girls each took a tracker and the condoms and put them in their panties. They inspected each other to make sure an outline wasn’t visible, then kissed Reymundo on the cheek again, and left.
Reymundo went through the motions of checking the radar, Satnav, and gauges. His mind was on the girls and what likely awaited them. The USS George H.W. Bush, a Nimitz-class supercarrier nearly 1,100 feet long, could have been coming straight at him and he wouldn’t have noticed.