You Got Buchi?

You Got Buchi?

by John Serving

Copyright 2014 John Serving

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

If you would like to contact me and leave a message please email at:

jserving@keywest-fl.com

Table Of Contents

Chapter 1- Warm Up

Chapter 2- The Plan

Chapter 3- Setting Up

Chapter 4- El Distribuidor

Chapter 5- Arrangements

Chapter 6- Life in Key West

Chapter 7- Island Party

Chapter 8- Organizing Key West

Chapter 9- Find A Boat

Chapter 10- Other Countries Other People

Chapter 11- Prepping

Chapter 12- Down South

Chapter 13- Final Connection

Chapter 14- Run from the Cubans

Chapter 15- Off the Coast

Chapter 16- At Home

Chapter 17- Closing the Deal

Chapter 18- The Brody Problem

Chapter 19- The Exchange

Chapter 20- Paying off John

Chapter 21- The Last Load

Chapter 22- Getting Home

Chapter 23- The End Party

Chapter 1

Warm Up

Jules pushes the throttle to about 3/4, the boat purrs as he heads home across the slick seas. No need to be in a rush now all he wants to do is travel through the backcountry, off load, and he will be done. The load is on board and he will be delivering it to the appointed location. The night is a smooth black as the moon sets in the west. It leaves enough of a glow, he can see the water in front of him with the seas calm and the ride is soft. He is going toward the Boca Chica Radar dome lights to guide him back in. Then he detects in the distance to his starboard, running lights heading right for him. He changes course and ups the rpms. The light changes and keeps coming for him. Jules takes evasive action, he actually slows down, to let this yahoo get closer to him. When his nemesis gets close enough he will let the chase begin. As the boat approaches Jules can tell the boat is a Marine Patrol boat, they are not supposed to be out at night, guess someone is moonlighting, trying for a big bust. This isn't going to happen tonight. Jules lets him close in until he gets to within a quarter of a mile off, far enough to be out of camera range. He will be a blur on the film at night. Then he notices this isn't anyone it is his pal, Officer McGinty. He can tell by the way the lights are on his boat. All of a sudden the blue lights start flashing, the signal the chase has begun. Jules knows these waters like the back of his hand and he heads for Smugglers Cut. This is a rather unique part of the bay. The channel leads from open water to Jewfish basin but it cuts across the flats. There is a slight depression that was made by the people who want this particular path for this particular reason. During the year when there is a high tide they will come out in their boats out and run a course that begins in deep water but soon becomes shallow. The deal is to cut a nicely laid rut through this mud bank to leave enough water to get through. But you can't very your course as much as two to three feet or your will be stuck fast. Jules knows the sweet spot and he knows which bearings to make to keep in the sweet spot. This isn't a common knowledge path and obviously Officer McGinty doesn't have common knowledge. As Jules approaches the cut he pushes the up button on his life plate and then trims his motor up, a roster tail sprays into the sky. Jules boat slows but he still makes speed at about 30 mph to the cut. He veers to starboard to align with the cut. He can see McGinty is off line. He slips into the rut and pushes a little harder on the throttle. McGinty closes in, he does not slow down or trim up. Jules guesses McGinty doesn't know what he has coming up for him. Jules slips through the flat into the deep water of the basin and he turns his head to see McGinty's boat slam to an abrupt violent stop. He hopes McGinty isn't hurt too bad. He trims his motor back down, pushes the lift plate back into the water, throttles down to about half and cruises on towards his destination.

Jules isn't actually going home now. He has to make the drop. He knows there will be people looking for him when he gets home. He proceeds to plan B. You always need plan B. He will drop the load where he planned but this means he can't take his boat home. He idles into Rockland Key and pulls up to a dock where two men are waiting for him.

How you doin Jules? comes a response from the dock.

Couldn't be better. But be aware that I got chased part of the way here. I lost them but I need to get going as fast as I can. And I suggest you do also.

Well in that case, Joe jump on Jules boat and throw the stuff off, the man on the dock said.

Joe jumps on the boat and starts pitching bales. The merchandise is gone in a matter of minutes.

Jules, here's a hose wash your boat down and then get out of here. Here's your cut, thanks for the load. Don't contact us and we won't contact you. Sound good.

Jules opens in the manila envelope and counts $10,000 in cash. This satisfies him.

Works for me.

They hand Jules a high pressure wash hose and he sprays the boat down bow to stern. Jules then cranks the motor up and putters away trying not to make any noise while going out the canal.

When he clears the canal he guns the motor and cuts around Shark Key, zips under the bridge, and heads for Saddlebunch Harbor. From there he heads out to the Atlantic and then turns back into Geiger Key. He is off to see his friend Robert whom he can always count on and told him he might show up someday like this. He approaches Robert's seawall and ties off. Evidently he makes too much noise because the dogs are barking and lights come on. Robert appears at his sliding glass door with a rifle in his hands.

He yells, You better come out and have a good reason for messing with my property or your going to be missing a few pieces of yourself.

Jules jumps up on the dock and said, Robert ole buddy, ole friend, lets not shoot me today, OK.

When Robert recognizes the intruder to be Jules he laughs and says, You know how to make an entrance.

Robert, I need to leave my boat here. The boat's clean but it might be hot. I'm saying I loaned the boat to you for a day. Do you have an alibi for yesterday and tonight?

No problem, I was partying with a bunch of people until the wee hours of this morning. My friends will vouch for me.

That's great, I owe you one. Also can I barrow your moped? I need to get home.

Why not, let me get you the keys.

Robert returns into the house and then comes back with the keys to the Vespa. Jules thanks him and drives down the Keys to Stock Island.

Jules has no doubt the DEA people will be waiting for him when he gets to his place. He knows they can't come on his property without probable cause and besides the dogs will see to it they don't. None the less he needs to get back and make an entrance. When he gets to his street he can see the DEA vehicles parked near his house. He stops a block away from his house at Conner's place. Conner is a friend who will help him out. Now begins the tricky part. Conner lives on the water like him and has a small row boat. Jules will use the row boat to get to his dock, enter the house and go out the front door to greet the Boys. Conner is kind of a homely man but he likes Jules and has no problem helping him out and asks no questions. They quietly leave out the back, get in the boat, and row toward Jules' dock. When they get there Jules jumps off the boat onto the dock and waits for Conner to row his way back home. No need to involve him in any slightly questionable actions. The dogs hear him come up to the dock, unlike the officers who are there to protect his rights. They know he has arrived and come over to lick their scent on him. He brushes them aside and goes up to the back sliding door. He gives the secret knock, two short knocks, pause, two short knocks, pause and then three rapid knocks. Maria opens the door and wraps her arms around Jules.

Then she exclaims, Jules these assholes have been camped out for the last couple of hours and threatening with all sort of things.

Don't worry, let me take care of these thugs.

He burst out the front door and shouts, Well Officers, are you here to threaten my rights again?

When they notice him, two of the finest SWAT dressed officers jump his fence and rush at Jules. The problem with that approach is the dogs don't like strangers, particularly ones in uniform. They each rush an officer. One gets an officer by the pant leg, the other gets one by the arm.

Call em off, call em off, you son of a bitch

Get out of my yard and I'll call em off. Wolf, Missy, down, down.

Both officers jump back over the fence minus some clothing.

I believe you need a search warrant if you want to come on my property. would you like to show me the papers?

Another officer who approaches from the neighbors back yard said, There's no boat back there.

We've been out here for hours asking for you to come out, what's your problem, you got something to hide?

Listen you dumb shits just because you wear a uniform it doesn't give you the right to come trouncing on to my property and demanding I do whatever you want. If you have some probable cause or some shred of evidence I have done anything illegal feel free to arrest me otherwise get the fuck out of my face. Do I need to call my lawyer now?

Hey you do whatever you got to do. You remember we have our eyes on you and we will get you. OK guys lets pack up and get out of here.

This is all in the line of business. Jules has spent many years learning the business and now he is ready to move on.

The first thing Jules does after entering through the door is to kiss Maria, Jules' girl. Maria is of Latin descent, hair a silken black, olive skin, and a gorgeous figure. She is his girl. He loves this woman and she takes good care of him. She runs a dress shop in Key West and caters to the high class, well dressed people and to people getting married. He foots the bill hoping this business will get him into the Legit part of life. The dress shop isn't working out so far but these things take time. Now that he has returned, Maria is all over him. He pauses briefly to greet the dogs and then continues to pursue his woman. One thing he likes about Maria is she is always exciting to be with. She can make love in many ways. She likes to make love in many ways. They proceed down the hallway to the bedroom in each others arms tripping over objects on the way. Maria drops her pants and her panties, all the while he kisses her and massages her body. She then works on his clothes to expose his hard chiseled body. She loves his body. She loves everything connected to that body. His dick has grown hard and begins probing between her legs. He rubs back and forth which turns her on more and more. They are still standing and then she collapses backwards on to the bed. He follows suite and then pushes into the strike zone to impart some friction. Maria gasp in ecstasy, she roils in pleasure, Jules is the man. She raises her legs up, now he can penetrate further and begs him to stroke harder. She arrives at the climax and come with joy and exhilaration. He enjoys the whole process. He is glad to be back home.

Chapter 2

The Plan

These things are almost always well planned, they don't always work out as planned, but sometimes they do. There is a lot preparation into getting the job done right. These deals take months to line things up and sometimes weeks to run the whole deal. This is one of those projects. The end result can make everyone a lot happier and richer or you might end up with everyone going away for a long time. These are the risks of the game. The details need to be worked out but the goal is set. Financing will be the first step to get things rolling. There is always the need for lots of money to set this up right and the biggest problem will be the source of the money. Appears none of the small people in the business ever have enough cash to spread around and get the job done. This is why they are small people. Then there is the inner circle of people in the business who know what the risk is and are willing to take the risk. You can go outside but then you will owe and owing usually gets you into trouble if things don't work out. If you lost your own money, there will be no one to blame but yourself. Jules is not hard up for cash. He has been in the business long enough to know all the angles and he has put aside enough to make a good run. He is building a plan. He is going to try and make the big score, be the person in control of the angles. Jules has played this game for some time. He played all the positions and knows the risk. One thing will be different this time. He will be in charge, he isn't going for the ride. There wouldn't be any middle men screwing up the works. He will be in control of his own fate. Success or failure will depend on him.

The plan appears simple enough. You take some money, you buy the goods, you pick up the goods, you deliver the goods, and you get paid. It is simple and yet complicated. Some of the things are taken care of, like getting the money or at least most of the cash. Time has come and gone since he started on his plan for a dream run. Jules has been saving for this one big score. He lives a bit lavish but has always put some aside to make the run. This is the moment in time to take a chance. The timing is right, he needs to work hard for a few months and then make the run. Of course you need to relax and kick back once in a while, you know, all work and no play makes Jules a dull boy. He has thought about this run for quite a while. He knows the various jobs which are involved in the scheme. He's drove boats, been a loader, an off loader, a driver, a pickup man, a drop off guy, spotter, back country guide, dealer, a long haul runner, and other nefarious jobs. He knows the parts needed to put the job together. He has never been in total command.

The run will have several critical spots, arranging the score, logistics of travel, the pick-up form the far end, the off loading on the short end, the delivery and the collection. You never run the load directly to shore. This will be a one point failure. This makes it too easy for someone to track you and get caught. The best way to do this is to off load to multiple boats offshore and land the loads in different areas. Then you show up at the dock empty and clean. There will be a good chance you will be tracked from overhead by down looking radar located in the mid Keys. This is a blimp raised up on a cable, supposedly for broadcasting propaganda to Cuba. Lets face it this is the ultimate radar tracker. Yeah, they may have been contemplating the invasion from Cuba and telling the Cubans how to live but stopping smuggling is high on the list of things for the blimps' purpose. There have been occasions when someone will try shooting the blimp out by hitting the cables with a shot, but that isn't a very likely event. Although someone got lucky once and sent the thing up toward Miami. There is also the southern sweeping radar located in Maine. There is not much you can do about this other than make your boat as stealthy as possible to radar. The radar is long range, it is difficult for it to locate small craft. You need to keep your radar footprint small. That is the ultimate challenge. There are other issues which can help. Boats traveling south are never checked. Boats headed north, that are spotted and most are, these are usually boarded and checked. You can avoid this so long as you stay in Cuban waters. The U.S. Coast Guard will not enter those waters. The problem with this is you will then have to deal with the Cubans. There are two solutions for this problem. You can pay off for safe passage, this requires having connections and only works for certain areas, although when done correctly this turns out to be very effective. The second solution will be to out run the Cuban shore patrol boats. This isn't particularly hard to do except when they have more than one boat from different directions. This makes you play a cat and mouse game not to mention the Cubans are not adverse to shooting at anything that moves. Another problem will be once you get the Cubans riled up their radio chatter will alert the US Coast Guard to what is up. They will then have an easier time of getting in position to intercept. This is still a big ocean and if you can get your timing right you might slip by if you have enough skill or luck. Especially luck. There are lots of other tricks such as getting shadowed by a larger boat, like a shrimp boat, along the coast. This will give the radar image of one boat and when you make the break to the north, the Coast Guard will have to decide which boat to go after. This increases your odds to 50-50. Lets face it, the Coast Guard lives within a budget also and can't follow everyone. Another problem you are going to deal with the aircraft sent to track you. These guys use cameras. These will take pictures of you and will be sent back to some analyst ashore. These people make decisions about your purpose. These images often will show up in a trial if you got caught. They can fairly well identify a boat but usually can't prove who the occupants are. Eventually you turn north. This will be the most critical time in the trip. Going north represents a red flag to any of the authorities who might detect you. This is when you need skill and lots of luck.

The plan needs to be exact and the execution of the plan must be precise. There are many calculations to make to get all of the logistics right. The calculation of fuel weighs heavy on the success or failure of the plan. You carry too little and you don't make the trip back. You carry too much you add too much weight, you can't carry as much product, and slow yourself down. The seas can totally wreck the plan. You can't do anything about the weather other than give yourself a margin of error and hope for good luck. Pick a nice spot in the weather for whatever that is worth. The seasons have their patterns. If you want to go in the winter the seas are likely going to be rough and the going slow, but it will be slow for everyone. You go in the summer the weather will likely be calmer but summer storms had to be contended with and the blazing sun. The fall and spring are in between the other two. No matter how well you plan uncertainties arise that you can not plan for, missed connections, late connections, no connections, loss of contact, contacts you didn't want to make, running from trouble, breakdowns, and the list is long. You hope for good luck and good planning to make up for the luck you don't have. The game has many tricks and the game is exciting. Some play only for the game and the money doesn't matter much. Jules likes the money.

The Players

Lots of characters will need to be managed to get this job done. There needs to be one leader and this is the one person who is hard to come by. Many want to be in charge. A lot of independent thinking happens and not by the smartest people. Logistics is probably the hardest problem to solve. Everyone will need to be in the right place at the right time. Some people can be trusted, others can not. You always have a back-up plan B and someone to make it happen. Everyone wants to be well paid but in this business payment comes at the end and how much you get depends on how well the job succeeded. You have to pay the cover cost and you don't get your fair share until the job is done. This is one way to keep people honest but this doesn't always work. Some of the cost is completely up front and the money isn't always well spent. Over time you build up a certain amount of trust in different people and still you can't always count on those people. Things change, like getting busted, this makes people think a little different. The most important person is the captain of the delivery boat. He needs to know where to go, how to get there and when to show up or not. Jules is the master of this position. The next person is a back up, someone to cover him in case of trouble and he also needs to be able to manage the boat.

Jules has dealt with Brody before and it worked out fairly well. Brody is the one who suggested the plan in the first place, he didn't have everything together to get the job done. When he decided to go with the plan he pulled in Brody. He did not completely trust him but with his connections and money the plan could be solidified. Brody has a hard time keeping straight. He will not be a partner but an associate. Brody isn't much of a businessman but he does have the skill to cover your ass in a pinch. This is what he is counting on.

You need contacts to make the connections necessary to pull this job together. These are people who will arrange things like how much, when, who meets who and the likes. Then comes the others, the workers, people driving cars, loading goods, keeping an eye out. A select few who man the small boats, they will off load the cargo at sea. These people need a boat they can trust and knowledge on how to travel on the water. Your biggest problem with these people is trying to keep them in line. They have a tendency to get braggish about their job and talk on the street. They all want to tell great tales of exciting adventures and mostly bullshit. These sort of rumors will get you in trouble. The most important thing in this business is being discrete. The fewer people who know what is going on the better. Having too many people who know too much is always a tricky situation because of a lot of jealousy between the players. Some people will try to get in the middle of a deal and steal the load or hold it ransom. Snitches, who had been snagged by the police and are hoping for a way out. You can never be sure who is what or who to trust. Trust became a very small circle. Once you