Brittany glanced nervously at her watch. She had five minutes to make it to the meeting on the top floor. Unsure of what the meeting was about, Brittany hoped it wouldn’t be bad news. Word around the offices was the agency had been reviewing employee records, possibly for cutbacks.
Although Brittany had been recruited by the agency just before her college graduation and her work record was spotless, she’d never been promoted to field operations like she’d hoped. Perhaps her superiors had doubts about her qualifications and capabilities. She might be a prime candidate for elimination.
Twenty-six year old Brittany was 5’8”, slender build with a fantastic figure. Her streaked, shoulder-length light brown hair highlighted her gorgeous face. An active jogger and exercise fanatic, she was very health conscious except for her addiction to cigarettes. It was the one little pleasure in life she wasn’t about to give up.
Leaving the cramped office she’d worked in for the past four years, Brittany made her way to the bank of elevators at the end of the hallway. Her high-heels clicked noisily on the granite floor with each step. Riding the elevator alone, she checked her purse, making sure she had her badge and handgun. Hopefully, she’d still have both when the meeting was over.
Approaching her manager’s office, his secretary, Margaret looked up at Brittany from her desk.
“Down the hall to the conference room on the right.” She said coldly, pointing in the conference room‘s direction.
Brittany walked slowly towards the conference room, apprehensive of what lie ahead. Nearing the conference room, she found the door slightly ajar. Entering the small room, she found herself being stared at by three other people, two men and another woman. Not recognizing any of them, she took a seat at the table without saying a word. All four remained silent for several minutes.
“Anybody got an idea what the hell this is all about?” One of the men asked, breaking the silence.
“I wasn’t given any information.” The other man stated, sounding exasperated. “I was just told to fly down here from Memphis for a meeting.”
“Memphis! Is that where you’re from?” The first man inquired.
“Yeah.” The second man answered. “I was transferred there from Jersey about a year ago.”
Before anyone else could say a word, the conference room door suddenly opened. Brad Langley, district manager for the agency, strode in. He took a seat at the end of the table, setting several folders down in front of him.
“Good morning.” He greeted with a serious look on his face.
Brad Langley was a stocky, slightly overweight man in his mid-fifties. He was somewhat balding with a deep receding hairline. He rarely smiled; his face always seemed frozen in a most serious look. Brad’s main concern was putting in enough time to make it to retirement.
“First of all, I know you’re probably wondering what the hell this is all about.” He started to speak. “None of you have much field experience, if any at all.”
His remark appeared to be directed at Brittany and the young man sitting beside her. There was a moment of eerie silence before Brad continued.
“You four have been picked to form a team.” He stated. “Don’t bother asking why you were picked. Believe me, you don’t want to know the real reason.”
Brad went on to state that the four of them were going to be set up as decoys to catch a group of men and women preying on tourists in the waters around the Bahamas.
“These modern day pirates as I prefer to call them, are preying on innocent tourists boating in the islands. They overtake their boats and rob them at gunpoint, most often during the late evenings or early mornings.” Brad informed them. “Several of the females have been kidnapped and taken captive. So far, only two men have been killed during the robberies.”
Brad sorted the folders and pushed them across the table. Opening the folder in front of her, Brittany was confronted with numerous artists’ sketches of the men and women purported to be committing the crimes. The sketches depicted persons appearing to be of South American descent. The women as well as the men looked quite dangerous.
Beneath the pages of sketches were crime reports filed by some of the victims. Glancing over the first report, she noticed the term “heavily armed with automatic weapons” mentioned several times. Brit continued to read while Brad rattled on about some of the attacks.
“The four of you need to meet up in Miami this Friday morning.” Brad stated. “The agency’s already taken care of your travel plans. There’ll be a boat waiting for you at the Seaspray Marina. You’ll take the boat and head out towards the Bahamas.”
“Brittany, according to your employment profile you’ve got experience at boating, so you’ll be responsible for the operation of the boat.” Brad added.
Brittany had grown up on a lake in Kentucky. Being out on the water had been the one thing she enjoyed more than anything ……. except for sex! The ocean was going to be much different than being on a lake. Having to deal with waves and tides would be something she’d have to learn on her own and learn quickly.
“Kent, I need you to take care of the weapons and ammo.” Brad said, looking at the handsome, young man sitting next to Brittany.
Brittany looked up from her dossier long enough to take a good look at Kent. A slight smile formed on her face as she returned to reading the file. Kent was twenty-eight, two years older than Brit. Clean-shaven with dark brown hair, his bright green eyes and pleasant smile highlighted his facial features. Kent’s athletic build was enhanced by his tan, tailored suit. He was definitely a person who prided himself in his looks and physical stature.
After assigning menial duties to the other two people, Dave and Cheryl, Brad rose from his chair and walked towards the door. He briefly turned back to the four people sitting at the table.
“For all our sake, none of you better fuck up.” Langley said threateningly. “It’ll mean all our asses if you do.”
Langley slammed the door behind him. The four people remained sitting at the table, looking at each other more than the folders in front of them.
“Well, what now?” Kent asked.
“I don’t know about the rest of you but I could go for some lunch.” Dave mused. “I missed breakfast.”
Dave was about the same age as Brittany, twenty-six. He appeared to be trying his best to attain the “Don Johnson” look but he wasn’t having much luck, looking more like an out of work bum. At least his clothing was clean and neat. Dave’s background with the agency had been escorting federal prisoners to and from court appearances.
Cheryl had more field experience than the other three. Doing crime scene investigations and interviewing witnesses were her specialty. She was the youngest of the group at twenty-five. Cheryl was 5’7” tall with shoulder-length brown hair. She was quite attractive with a body most of her coworkers would kill for, especially her breasts, which Brittany wondered about. Dave was fascinated with her but he was subtly keeping his attentions hidden.
“I’ve got work to get done before Friday.” Brittany said. “I’ll see you all at the Marina, Friday morning.”
Rising from her chair, Brit exited the office. Deciding to grab a quick smoke before returning to her cramped office, she exited the rear of the building near the employee parking lot. Shortly after lighting up her cigarette, Kent came out of the building.
