Read Online Barracuda by Mike Monahan - Free Book Online Page B

speaking in
foreign tongues, even among themselves. The local Bikinians were
grateful to have the jobs but despised working for the Japanese.
This hatred came from Japanese atrocities committed during the
occupation in Word War II. While the rest of the world had a short
memory, the Bikinians had not forgotten.
    Most of the locals preferred to work at the
Bikini resort, but since that hotel was so small, the overflow had
to work at the Majestic on Shark Alley Island. There was a band of
Bikini rebels responsible for organized vandalism at the Majestic
in an attempt to show their contempt for the Japanese, and Hiroshi
had flown in Russian enforcers to hunt down and deal with these
annoying vandals. But at the moment, he had other concerns.
    The maitre d’, Genichi Matsuzaki, gave his boss
the ledger and bowed politely.
    “Where did you find this?” Hiroshi
questioned.
    “Satoshi, the waiter, found it under a table and
thought it belonged to a scientist who carries a similar
diary.”
    “Did the scientist read it?”
    “I don’t know, but he had it in his possession
for several minutes before I retrieved it,” Genichi stammered.
    Hiroshi paced slowly, deep in thought, as a
frightened Genishi watched helplessly. “Send for Andrej. I wish to
see him immediately,” Hiroshi finally snapped.
    ***
    Andrej Mordvinov was the Russian manager of the
Majestic. He answered only to Hiroshi but supervised the Bikinian
and Russian work force. He and Hiroshi had an endurable working
relationship, but they were not friendly. The clash of cultures was
just too great. Both men belonged to strong organizations that
required this tolerable alliance to coexist. They both knew that
they were expendable in the eyes of their respective
organizations.
    Andrej surrounded himself with his accountant,
Alexander Basajev, a spy, and several enforcers who were the
bouncers for the bars and disco. They were large and mean, a
collective force not normally needed in this idyllic locale.
    Andrej was annoyed by Hiroshi’s verbal summons.
The resort was not fully open yet and the Jap already had an urgent
matter. Andrej did not like to be summoned this way, but he knew
that he must hold his tongue lest his superiors cut it out of his
mouth.
    “Alex, come with me. I’m ordered to appear
before his fish-eyed majesty,” Andrej said with a laugh.
    Alex was in the study while his boss was
watching television in the lounge. They had a huge suite that
served as Andrej’s office and Alex’s work chamber. He nervously
exited his office and stood before Andrej, who shook his head.
    “Alex, look at you. You look like you just saw a
ghost. Don’t let that Japanese bastard get you agitated. I’ll deal
with him.”
    “Boss, I misplaced the Bible,” Alex stammered.
“Bible” was their cryptic word for the ledger.
    “You what ?” Andrej bellowed. “This is
what it’s all about then. Shit! Fishface has me over a barrel.
Where did you last have it?”
    “I remember taking it with me when I had a late
snack last night in the restaurant. I was working late and had the
Bible with me until my food arrived. I think I placed the book on
the empty seat next to me so it wouldn’t get soiled. I must have
finished my meal and left without it. Hiroshi’s waiter or staff
must have found it.”
    Andrej could see that his friend was unstrung.
Despite being an extremely competent worker, Alex was a close
comrade. Fatigue was the culprit here, not poor Alex. The
organization was multiplying its level of money transfers in
anticipation of the grand opening of the Majestic, and Alex was
inundated with extra work; tardiness was unacceptable. If the
transfer of huge sums of cash didn’t flow smoothly and in a timely
fashion, red flags might pop up and bring unwarranted attention to
their operation. If this happened, Alex knew he would become shark
bait.
    “Relax, my loyal friend. I’ll handle it as I
always do, and then we can drink some Leningrad Gold vodka,”