Money Knows No Bounds

Chapter Six

January 1st, 2020
1634 hours central
Pueblo Viejo, Mexico
The drive was all but stimulating. For the past 6 hours, no cops passed. There were only a few cars going down this highway, which was understandable due to the time of day. Everyone was either at work, or caught up behind them on the traffic jam and road blockades to quarantine the two battlefields these few men created in less than an hour.
Luke and George are passed out against Bill's shoulders in the back seat. John's driving cautiously while Steve looks out the window, gazing at the beautiful scenery around him. Life's a lot more simple when guns aren't being fired. When war isn't waging around you. These small moments in time, really put things into perspective for people like him. People like John.
"You know, in all my years in the service, freelance with you and, before you, Jacob's, I never actually made my way down here." Steve says. "I used to live in Louisiana, yet never thought about going even farther south. Shame, really. This place is actually nice."
John chuckles softly, "yeah. Except for, you know, the heat, the explosions, the dust. Oh and the getting shot at."
Steve smiles, still looking out the window. His reflection shines slightly against the tinted glass. "Yeah, except for that."
John parks the car near a dock harboring a small grey and rusting motor boat. The entire dock is empty. In fact, that entire area was empty. As John moves out of the car he notices the eerie silence that dwells around the men.
"I don't like this. Maybe I should have driven up to the town past the bridge."
"Look," Steve replies as he slams close the passenger door. "Let's just get out of here while we can. I'll go scout the boat and make sure it's operable."
John nods while the rest of the men leave the car and stretch their limbs. Something was off to him. He is still beating himself up because he has screwed up this operation too much already. Maybe he should listen to his gut this time. But what else could go wrong?
Steve whistles as he motions the others with a small wave. The men quickly hop onto the vessel and the journey towards home resumes, hopefully with no more troubles.

John sighs a relief when they enter the Gulf. Home free, he thinks to himself, I hope. In his mind, he already made the decision that this would be the first and last job they were going to take out of the states. Stateside jobs were much easier to plan, to analyze, to do in general. But this job paid more than any other they had done before. Money runs this career field, and the guys wanted to try something new. They had been offered cushy private security jobs all the time, but the men wanted the constant action as well as the freedom to make their own choices. If they wanted to follow orders from a voice on the radio they would never meet in person, they would have stayed in the military.
Luke starts sifting through the duffel bags to gather what weapons and ammo they had left but, more importantly, take another glance at all the cash they had in their grasp. Nobody knew an exact amount. It was supposed to be 1 million in used bills from all ends of the earth. Completely untraceable and safe.
"So what do we do when we get back to town?" Asks Bill, cleaning out his rifle near Luke. He was taught in the Marines that cleaning out your weapon was a good stress reliever as well as a time consumer.
George chuckled softly, "first thing I'm gonna do is get three bottles of Jack and relax."
"I meant in terms of post op. Debrief? R and R? Any time we need to check in?"
John smiles softly as he turns towards the rookie. He's reminded of his first years in the Army. It was all he had in his life, all he wanted. He dedicated himself fully to the service of protecting his country. And that's what got him discharged dishonorably only six years into his contract. But he wasn't thinking about what got him kicked out, he is thinking about the thrill he got while in. The pride, the fulfillment in his heart. The same feelings Bill has right now.
"You relax rook," he says. "We all take time off after an operation. Usually we relax and decompress for a month or so. We can't take too many jobs at one time. It'll screw with your brain. We aren't doing this for anything more than the fun, the freedom of a self-employed job, and a better payday than working a nine to five civilian mind numbing lifestyle."
Bill smiles when he looks up to John. He admires him as a mentor, a leader, and maybe even an older brother. Bill only just got out of the Navy a few months ago. He did a four year contract and got out with a few medals and distinctions in his record. He was a good soldier, but he didn't want to put more time in a profession that still left him feel a little empty inside. He wanted action. So did a lot of soldiers at the time. But with the Middle East crisis all under the safe control of the NATO forces and coalitions in Europe, stability was a common thing right now in the world. After he got out, he wanted to move to a new city. With that, after a few visits in the various bars around Philadelphia, he found John.
John, even before they so much as said ten words to each other, could see the itchy trigger finger in Bill. If he was going to take the virgin killer, he needed to teach him more discipline. Going into the field like that WILL get you killed. John saw that only a handful of times during his years, but it only takes once for it to forever be branded in your head.
13 hours and 600 dollars worth of diesel later, the boat was nearing the United States border.
John sits in the captain's seat looking outward as land consistently passes to the left of the speeding boat. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. The ocean air was calming to him. Made him relax more than his body had in a long time. Time, that's what he has always needed. He has always felt rushed in life. Never getting the small moments that Steve often experiences. He desired them just as much as anybody else, but desire means very little in the way the world works.
His eyelids suddenly shine bright as his head turns right towards the open sea. He blinks his eyes slowly to notice an incoming ship's large spotlight.
"ATTENTION UNKNOWN VESSEL," blared a mounted megaphone attached to the ship, "THIS THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD CUTTER AMBERJACK. YOU ARE ABOUT TO ENTER UNAUTHORIZED TERRITORY. TURN BACK NOW OR YOU WILL BE BOARDED AND PROSECUTED TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE UNITED STATES JUSTICE SYSTEM."
"Shit," muttered John. He sprints to where the rest of the men sleep on the floor of the boat. He kicks Steve roughly, which successfully jerks him awake.