Free Utopian Day by C.L. Wells Page A

Darby
replied, slightly disappointed that he hadn’t been able to finish
his monologue on the technical aspects of the process.
    “ O.k., yeah, it looks like he was
headed for the Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman to be
exact.”
    “ Thanks a million, Darby, I owe
you.”
    “ No problem, that’s why we’re
here, to serve and protect,” Darby replied.
    “ Seriously, next time I see you at
the bar, drinks are on me.”
    Silas disconnected the call. Everything was falling
into place. Whatever the end-game was, it was going to happen soon
and in the Cayman Islands. He was willing to bet his pension that
it would be at the bank he had been researching and that J.T.
Thornbacker was involved. He reviewed in his mind what he knew so
far:
     
    There was a bank account in the Cayman Islands with
a large sum of money in it.
    According to the documents he had obtained for Nick
Bartonovich, only J.T. Thornbacker could withdraw or otherwise
transfer funds from that account if the amount was more than twenty
thousand dollars in a month.
    J.T. Thornbacker had escaped from prison.
    Nick Bartonovich’s private jet had left from Newark
International Airport bound for the Cayman Islands the night
before.
     
    Silas had a decision to make. He had used his
position and resources as a police officer to perform work for
Bartonovich, which was illegal. By doing that illegal work, he had
likely (albeit unwittingly) contributed to the escape from prison
of one J.T. Thornbacker. If he didn’t do something to stop this
train wreck, then he was likely helping a convicted felon withdraw
enough money from a foreign bank to disappear forever. That was
aiding and abetting a known criminal, which could get him jail time
in addition to getting him fired.
    The knot in his stomach, which had disappeared with
all the activity of the past few hours, was returning with a
vengeance. He couldn’t tip off the FBI, even anonymously, without
risking his own role being discovered. Should he do nothing and
hope J.T. Thornbacker and Nick Bartonovich got away with it, and
his role was never revealed? Should he intervene and try to bring
J.T. Thornbacker back to prison, developing a cover story that
would obscure his own involvement in the affair? He cursed under
his breath as he considered his options – none of which were
appealing. He had the distinct feeling that this was not going to
end well for one Silas McGruder.

Chapter Sixteen
     
    The leader of the commandos came in through the
cabin door. The guard, who had been listening to his music, got up
out of the chair he had been sitting in and pulled one earplug out
so that he could hear any instructions that might be given.
    “ Listen up,” said the man as he
looked at his three captives. James, Laura, and J.T. all stared in
his direction, each wondering what was going to happen
next.
    “ We’re going to move you to the
top deck, where you will be transferred to a smaller boat and moved
to another location. We’re going to cut your foot restraints off so
you can move about. Don’t get any ideas about jumping ship and
swimming anywhere. We’re in the middle of the ocean and there’s
nowhere for you to go. If you do decide to try anything, you’ll get
a nasty shock from one of these.” He pulled a Taser from a side
holster that was strapped to his leg, adding emphasis to his
threat. “This little beauty will light you up with 50,000 volts of
electricity, after which you will still be going where I want you
to go. So don’t try anything.”
    After the leader’s speech was concluded, both he and
the guard came around and cut the foot restraints of all three
unwilling passengers. They were led out of the cabin and up on
deck, where they were greeted with a bright, sunny day, crystal
blue water, and not a speck of land for as far as the eye could see
in any direction.
    James squinted at a small dot off in the distance
and thought he could just make out another boat. The two commandos
who had brought them up