Molina smiled. The smile turned to a chuckle; then he laughed out loud. “Jake, you are one amazing son of a bitch. Okay. Okay.”
“I know a guy over at the Post. Jack Yocke. I’ll call him and send him this bill. He’ll be delighted to break the story.”
Molina laughed his approval. He tossed the C-note on Grafton’s desk, got out of his chair and retrieved his sport coat from the couch. Put it on.
“What happened to that million dollars in real money that you took with you?”
“I gave it to Ragnar. Maybe it’s still in Eyl. Consider it an investment.”
Molina walked over to a print on Grafton’s wall of a naval battle in the age of sail and stood scrutinizing it. “We’ll probably never know exactly what happened after the battles in Eyl,” he said soberly, all trace of mirth gone from his voice, “and perhaps that is best. Just so it stays that way.”
He turned around. “Merry Thanksgiving to you both,” he said and trooped out.
When the door closed, Grafton asked, “How was your French lady?”
I sighed. “Très bien. Very très bien.”
“Welcome back to the world.” He leaned forward in his chair and picked up a file, passed it to me. “I’ve got another assignment for you.”
I looked at the cover for the file. Didn’t open it. “I hope you intend to send me somewhere that has ceramic conveniences and toilet paper. I’m really tired of squatting over a hole and using leaves. Or pages from the Federal Employees Handbook.”
“Tommy, Tommy, Tommy.” His eyebrows danced, and a grin crossed that leathery face. “I’ve put you in for the Company camping award. If you win, you get a CIA coffee cup and an embossed compass at the Christmas party. Tough competition, though.”
“I feel so lucky! I’ll buy a lottery ticket on my way home tonight.”
He nodded at the file in front of me. “The IRS says an international ring of thieves is defrauding the government by submitting false income tax returns claiming refunds for people with Puerto Rican Social Security numbers. The real people don’t even know about the returns. Puerto Ricans don’t pay federal taxes. The FBI and IRS want our help. You are the help.”
“Not the revolution in Mali? I thought I was in line for a government-paid trip to Timbuktu. ‘Them being three and us being two…’ I have thought up an excellent list of reasons why I shouldn’t go. Want to hear them?”
“Some other time.”
We talked for a half hour about my new assignment. As I was leaving he came around the desk to shake my hand. “Thanksgiving dinner at my place, Tommy,” he said. “Anytime after noon.”
I grinned, then headed off to study up on IRS refunds—and write an ops report. A little fiction never hurt anyone. Hell, maybe fiction was my calling, the start of a new career.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For their kindness in reading portions of the manuscript and offering suggestions, the author wishes to thank Gilbert Pascal, Jerry A. Graham, Dr. Donna S. Johnson, and RADM Stanley W. Bryant, USN (Ret.). A special thank-you to Mike Rosen, 850 KOA Denver’s ace talk-show host, who graciously agreed to act in the author’s drama. Any errors are, of course, the author’s sole responsibility.
The author owes a special debt of gratitude to his editor, Charles Spicer of St. Martin’s Press, whose patience, wisdom, and enthusiasm are unsurpassed.
Also by Stephen Coonts
The Disciple
The Assassin
The Traitor
Saucer: The Conquest
Liars & Thieves
Liberty
America
Saucer
Hong Kong
Cuba
Fortunes of War
The Intruders
The Red Horsemen
Under Siege
The Minotaur
Final Flight
Flight of the Intruder
With William H. Keith:
Deep Black: Death Wave
Deep Black: Sea of Terror
Deep Black: Arctic Gold
With Jim DeFelice:
Deep Black: Conspiracy
Deep Black: Jihad
Deep Black: Payback
Deep Black: Dark Zone
Deep Black: Biowar
Deep Black
Nonfiction:
The Cannibal Queen
Anthologies:
The Sea Witch
On Glorious Wings
Victory
Combat
War in the Air
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
STEPHEN COONTS has written eighteen novels and collaborated on nine more. He has written one nonfiction work and published five anthologies. When younger and skinnier, he flew A-6s from the USS Enterprise during the Vietnam conflict, then went on to various adventures as a lawyer. He resides in Colorado. Visit him on Facebook and his Web site at www.coonts.com.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
PIRATE ALLEY. Copyright © 2013 by Stephen Coonts. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Ervin Serrano
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Coonts, Stephen, 1946–
Pirate Alley: a novel / Stephen Coonts.—First edition.
p. cm
ISBN 978-0-312-37284-2 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-02331-5 (e-book)
1. Maritime terrorism—Fiction. 2. Political fiction. I. Title.
PS3553.O5796P57 2013
813'.54—dc23
2012041268
e-ISBN 9781250023315
First Edition: May 2013