Gale Force

85

Through the window of his rented pickup truck, Daishin Sato stared across the pier at the salvage tug, trying to conjure a strategy.

Beyond the Gale Force, the freighter Pacific Lion sat peaceful and upright in the middle of Unalaska Bay, almost close enough to touch. And somewhere onboard, or somewhere nearby, fifty million dollars’ worth of Inagawa-kai bearer bonds waited to be claimed.

The sailor, Okura, claimed the bonds were in a briefcase in the infirmary. If they weren’t there, they were in the hands of the salvage crew already. Dutch Harbor was a small place. There were only so many ways to leave it. Sato was confident he and his colleagues could recover the briefcase. The more pressing concern was that of stealth: How to retrieve the bonds and escape this barren rock without being noticed?

Sato did not want to have to resort to violence. Violence would attract undue attention, but these situations invariably required a strong hand, and Sato was not averse. His job was to recover his employer’s stolen property. There would be no credit given for mercy.

The Lion sat alone in the middle of the bay, visible to all in the tiny town. For all Sato knew, there may still have been men aboard her, Coast Guard men, or salvage men, or shipping company men. But even if the ship were unoccupied, it would be foolish to attempt to gain access during daylight. No matter how stealthy, no one could cross a mile of open water in daytime without being seen.

But it would be dark soon enough. And there was work to be done. From his pocket, Sato produced a satellite phone, and used it to place a call to his colleagues at the Grand Aleutian Hotel.

“We move tonight,” he told the man who answered. “Send one man to the pier to keep watch over the salvage crew. Tell him to report immediately if he sees the stainless-steel briefcase.”

“I’ll send Masao,” his colleague replied. “And what of the rest of us?”

Sato started his engine. “You’ll meet me outside the hotel,” he said, shifting into reverse. “Five minutes. We’ll need to locate some adequate firepower.”