Free Chief Distraction by Stella Kelly Page A

the
communications guy on the knee, making him wince.
    Roland sneered, his blatant hatred for Sanders
seething. “The contact has already met the barge to load the shipment. They
should be here by powerboat in a couple of hours – if all goes well that
it.”
    “Geez, Roland, always the optimist. Keep your
damn cynicism to yourself,” Sanders snapped.  
    “Why’d you have to go and complicate things?”
Roland nodded up the embankment toward the large lifeless body. “You too stupid
to think things through, is that it?”
    “Had to be done. You sure as hell couldn’t do
what’s necessary. And if you don’t watch it, you’ll be next.”
    Blunt tisked the men. “Easy, Sanders, lets all
be friends. Focus on why we’re here. This’ll all be over soon enough and we’ll
be richer than we were yesterday.” Blunt smiled the crooked smile of a man on a
high-stakes mission. There was just a hint of desperate crazy lingering in his
expression and he embraced it. It was his leverage. “If we can stay calm and
avoid careless mistakes, you’ll all be paid. Anything goes wrong and I may
reconsider.”
    Blunt turned to Roland. “Any more details?”
    “Contact says the shipment was one box short.
I’m thinking a payoff, maybe someone on the barge threatened to squeal unless
they got a small cut.”
    “Even so, things like that can’t happen without
my permission. I’ll only pay for what I receive,” Blunt looked at his
fingernails, inspecting them nonchalantly.
    “Sounds about right to me.” Pax cocked his
semi-automatic and shoved it into his belt. He liked the feel of its power near
his manhood. Made him feel taller.
    “Sanders, Roland, make yourselves busy by
rolling that body into the bushes,” Blunt instructed as he brought the dead
guy’s camera up to his eye. He flicked on the power and pressed the rewind
button. “Well look what we have here.”
    “What?” Pax asked, stepping closer.
    “Seems that big guy wasn’t alone. We’ve got two
more people on this island and I bet they’re close by.” Blunt brought the
camera down again. He looked toward the long meandering path that led to the
other side of the island. “On second thought, leave the body there. You can
move it later. We’ll need to find those two. A man and a woman.” He turned his
attention to Sanders and Roland. “Bring them back alive.”
    “Wait,” Roland piped up. “Lets wait for the
shipment and then leave. Those two haven’t even seen us.”
    The tension emanating off Blunt was dense.
    “Move it, Roland. Do what you’re told,” Sanders
instructed as he pushed the much tinier man forward with a forceful shove.
    Blunt begged for patience. He found the uncivilized
dynamic between Sanders and Roland continuously amusing and didn’t dare
intervene. If anything, he spurred it on by throwing them together
continuously. He found joy in Sanders’ bullying, hoping it would eventually
toughen Roland up a bit. So far, the man was softer than ever, not to mention a
liability.
    “Don’t be too complacent, Roland, or Sanders
will give you something to really whine about. I know the money’s the only
reason you’re here. So keep yourself together and maybe I’ll pay you in the end
of all this.”
    “Sure thing, I’ll keep him in line,” Sanders
said as he hiked the steep incline. Like a good guard dog, he followed orders
without question. He sidestepped the body, not giving it a second glance.
    Roland dawdled, finding the task demeaning.
    “Move it!” Sanders barked over his shoulder.
Roland fought back the temptation to go commando on Sanders ass. Only in his
dreams, which were fulfilling enough. He knew they needed Sanders expertise and
muscle power, despite his wisecracking fat mouth.

 
 
 
 
    Chapter
Ten
    Moving at a steady pace,
Mak tried to ignore the heavy heat as it wrapped them like a stifling blanket.
Periodically looking back to check on Blythe, he noticed the sweat trickling
down her temples, her neck,