Public Enemy Zero

40

Up until Rookman’s show, the thought had never entered Mitchell’s mind that he was a pawn in some kind of plot. The paranoid yet sane-sounding Doctor Lovestrange had him even more worried.

What if he was infected with some kind of secret government experimental virus, he wondered. The scenario Lovestrange laid out about using it to kill a dictator made a lot of sense to him. Was he really just some kind of guinea pig?

Mitchell thought about when he had been sick for the past two weeks. Was that an incubation period? Did someone sneak something into the food in his apartment? His mind kept racing with questions.

The idea of surrendering no longer sounded as appealing to him. Could he trust the people he surrendered to if they were the same people who did this to him? Who could he trust?

His best chance was to make himself look as innocent as possible. He needed to do whatever he could to make sure that in the public’s eye he was a victim and not someone who was part of a terrorist plot.

Mitchell decided that when he surrendered he needed to have an escape route. His surrender point would also be the most public place he would be. He needed to make sure that the things they were going to accuse him of wouldn’t hold up in the public’s eyes.

He made his way through the tangled brush in the darkness and out to his boat. He pulled off the palm leaves he’d covered it with and pushed the boat back into the water.

Mitch pulled the starter cord and drove the boat five miles back to a spot he’d seen earlier that morning.

It was a medium-sized marina catering mostly to luxury yachts. Several of them had “For Sale” signs on them, a sign of the Florida economy.

One of the things he’d learned when he worked in a marina was that when an owner tried to put a boat up for sale, after the first month they let go of any crew they had to save costs. Large vessels weren’t as much of a target for theft because it took too long to get them out to sea.

There was one noteworthy exception. Mitchell had heard of a man and a wife who managed to get a boat all the way to the Bahamas by taking the time to change the name of the boat on the stern and the registration to a similar boat. When Marine Patrol and the Coast Guard saw a vessel that matched the description of the stolen one, they’d run the name and registration and come back with a boat that wasn’t reported missing.

The biggest problem was fuel. Any boat he found wasn’t likely to have enough on board to get very far. That wasn’t going to be a problem for Mitchell. He didn’t need to go too far with the boat.

Mitch drove his little boat into the harbor and started looking at the different boats. He drove by one 200-foot yacht that still had its lights on. It was obviously occupied and not the ideal boat for Mitchell, but it gave him an idea.

He pulled out the iPod he’d stolen and turned it on. Sure enough, the yacht had an open Wi-Fi connection. Mitch pulled up a webpage showing a list of all the yachts and powerboats in the area that were up for sale along with all of their features.

Originally he thought about just stealing a luxury yacht and waiting for SWAT to storm the boat if the surrender didn’t go right. Then he had another idea. Why not just get a large powerboat instead? He’d never be able to outrun the full force of the federal government, but he could at least buy some time.

Mitch began looking up listings for fast boats. The kind Scarface would want to use. One in particular caught his eye. It was a model that wasn’t too obscure and would be easy to mark up as another vessel if he could get the tools to do it. What really stood out was a piece of equipment that it came with. Mitch had to have it.

Mitch put the iPod away and patrolled the marina until he found the vessel. The vessel had “Highlander” written across the stern. It was a 40-foot Donzi.

He climbed over the transom and lifted the covering that was buttoned over the cockpit area. He slid underneath. There was a row of seats in back and two chairs in front. The boat was intended for two things: scuba diving and going really fast. It was the kind of boat you’d take for an overnight diving trip to the Bahamas or the Keys to bring back lobster or a hundred kilos of cocaine.

The control console was covered with a metal sheet that was secured in place with a thick lock. The entrance to the main cabin had a similar lock. Mitchell could see there was no way he was going to be able to use his tire iron to pry the locks off. He was also certain he wasn’t going to find a spare key hidden on the deck.

If he could get past the lock on the cabin, he was sure he’d be able to get inside and get the lock for the console and the key for the ignition. He looked at the lock on the cabin again. Bolt cutters wouldn’t do it. He’d need a power tool.

Mitchell peeked out under the covering and looked at the dock in front of the boat. He could see a power outlet. He needed a metal grinder. He took out the iPod and opened up the Wi-Fi panel. He was still getting a signal from the large yacht. Mitch pulled up a list of nearby Super Centers and made a mental shopping list.