The Jones Files: Book Six: Rose

By A.C. Jones

If you have red any of my books before you will know that including people with various disabilities isn't unheard of. Hopefully you dear reader will understand that I believe in equality for everyone. Although I'm blind I don't think of it as a deterrent, rather a pain in the, oh well you know what I mean.

As many ch

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rushmore Press LLC
• Release date: Nov 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781953223692

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ISBN 978-1-953223-70-8 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-953223-69-2 (digital)

Copyright © 2020 by A. C. Jones

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Rushmore Press LLC

1 800 460 9188

www.rushmorepress.com

Printed in the United States of America

Chapter 1

The Cookie has traveled all over the world moving ships, and oil platforms. She is skippered by Harry Wilson who became Captain after Captain Murphy and their favorite cook were killed in a medivac helicopter crash. Captain Harry is very young for a captain. He is strong and leads his crew from the front. Captain doesn’t ask his crew to do anything that he won’t do himself. The ship he commands is called the Cookie, the Cookie used to be the Prince Albert and was changed to the Cookie after the accident that claimed Cookie’s life. The crew of the Prince Albert requested Rose Martin to change the name and she is now known as the Cookie.

Mostly the Cookie works around South America near Columbia, but has traveled to the North Sea as well. She is painted in Roses favorite new Colors Blue over blue. She sports two 15,000 horse powered engines built by Caterpillar corporation, they are two stroke Diesels. The crew are all men so far, the cook Fran couldn’t stay on her old feet when conditions were rough. She was transferred to Brazil working in a logging camp. The new cook is a fellow they call J. J. He is an excellent cook but has had a little trouble with the law. He changed the bar codes on merchandise making the prices much less than at first . He purchased the merchandise for a very low price and then returned the items to another store for a full refund. The Wal-Mart corporation didn’t appreciate his creativity and through the book at him. The court gave J. J. a choice, six months in the slammer or one year at sea on the Cookie. Rose the CEO and owner of Big Lift Shipping Salvage and Lumber tries to help people when she can. She offered the work for J J because he was a cousin of the late Nancy who was killed in the line of duty. Rose knows there’s some good in everyone and wants people to do their best. She moves amongst her people with humor and good cheer. She and Jones now have two children.

Little Nance is Nancy’s daughter and after Nancy was killed, Rose and Jones adopted her. Hechter is from Guatemala and is something else. The two children get along mostly, Jack gets the job of watching them and can entertain them for hours. Jack is Jones’s very large dog. He has unusual talents and some of those special qualities are needed to protect his people. Jones and Jack are close and can communicate most effectively. Jack loves to eat and everything is fair game. If a pizza happens to walk by and somehow it accidently falls on the floor than it’s a matter of seconds until its completely gone. Most folks who don’t know about Jack’s appetite are soon educated. Jack isn’t a bad boy just always hungry.

Chapter 2

Jolene is the company lawyer and is always busy writing new contracts, reviewing old ones, and heading off legal troubles on a weekly bases. She loves Harry Wilson and constantly is waiting for his next home visit. She knows he loves her dearly and always talks to her when he can on Skype. She really wants him to ask her to marry him but not so far. Harry is coming home in three more days and Jolene can hardly wait. Her friends tease her about how she feels about Captain Harry, but all in good fun. Jolene and Joe work together often concerning Chinese contracts and Joe and her talk about their sweethearts Joe is in love with Carmen and they live together most of the time in Carmen’s apartment in the Headquarters Building. Jolene isn’t so lucky; she doesn’t get to spend much time with Captain Harry. Jolene thinks she should learn to be a cook and simply go to work on the Cookie . That way she could be with Harry all the time..

Joe is going on and on about some silly Chinese problem and Jolene is day dreaming again. She is reminded gently by her friend Joe to pay attention and she apologizes for wandering in her mind. Joe is understanding and offers her a tiny hug that tells her they are ok. Joe and Jolene went to China once and became very close after the experience.

Carmen, Oh hay you guys, can you come up please?

Joe figures the diversion can’t do any harm, so why not They take the private elevator, its usually not as busy as the public one. That big mutt Jack is circulating around the building using the elevator like a real person. Jack makes patrols the way that he and Nancy used to before she was killed. Jack is a very unusual dog and is everywhere at once it seems.

Carmen is General Manager of Big Lift Shipping Salvage and Lumber Company now and is still working harder than everyone else. The knowledge that woman has in her head could fill several data banks with gigabytes of information. She trained new women to work with her and her standards are extremely high. She comes over to them as soon as they come in the main office and stops them by the circle of chairs. She doesn’t even offer the usual refreshments, no coffee, no goodies, just straight to business.

Carmen, I got some troubling news again, the Cookie is missing, we haven’t heard from her for 4 days now. She was sailing back home after working in the North Sea. Captain Harry radio’s us telling of some bad weather but not that bad.

Jolene, Oh my God, not my Harry?

Carmen, Now let’s not worry until we have to, after all communication isn’t always clear, maybe they’re just out of range or something.

Joe, Ok Carmen, I will get right on it, she has to be out there somewhere, she’s a rugged ship and been through lots of bad weather.

Jolene, Oh please find him for me Joe, he is supposed to be home in two days, I need him so much.

Carmen moves closer to Jolene and wraps her slim arm around her dear friend. Joe is moving over to Carmen’s desk and does a satellite search for the missing ship. Joe understands these birds in the sky and can grab views that are used by the military. He doesn’t find the Cookie in any recent views but three days ago the Cookie is off the coast of Scotland. Joe pulls the view in for a closer look, he is trying to see if there’s anything the doesn’t seem right. The ship is moving along at her usual 12 Knots and seems ok. The view doesn’t allow him to see details on the ship, just a general view. The ship is moving he can see a wake following after the Cookie

Chapter 3

On the Cookie Captain Harry is trying to understand what has happened to his ship and crew. They are being held by some crazies who want to make his ship into a giant bomb. The intruders are a mix of peoples mostly middle Eastern he thinks. They have killed 3 of his men and have placed hundreds of pounds of high explosives mostly in the bow of the ship. Harry believes they plan to simply ram some target blowing everything in to dust. The ship is tied off in a small inlet. The inlet does show up on their maps as being uninhabited. The ship is not likely to be visible by satellite cameras because the land mass will hide the ship from sight. The ship is there alright but will look like part of the surrounding terrain to a satellite view. The bad guys have a camp that has been well established and most of the time they are hiding in caves. The caves have been fixed up nice for caves, there are rugs on the stone floors and because there’s only one entrance a few guards can keep watch on everyone. The entire crew that are still alive are held in a big part of the cave. They are not tide up and can move around some but not much. The bad guys are violent, who shoot first and then ask questions. The first man to be killed was J. J. there cook. Harry knew that J. J. didn’t really want to be on the Cookie, and he was due to depart when they arrived back in Seattle. The other 2 men were from the engine room and were responsible for maintaining the huge Diesel engines. Captain Harry knows something about the engines and probably could manage if nothing serious happens to the power plants. The bad guys are young and can’t seem to stand the very sight of his crew and him. The often spit at them in passing and call them infidels. Harry morns the loss of his men, most have been with him ever since he signed on when the ship was still the Prince Albert. Harry isn’t a fighter; he has no training with weapons of any kind. Harry has a Captain’s hat with a GPS tracker sown into the top of the hat. Sad to say, the satellite probably won’t be able to track him under ground. The caves are near the surface and so if the satellite is in a low earth orbit it may pick up a random signal. Captain Harry wonders why Roses company is always getting into trouble just trying to do some shipping and salvage. These guys who have them captive wouldn’t even know Rose or her company so why were they the ones to be captured?

The bad guys bring over food from the Cookie and it’s not even cooked for them. What are they supposed to do with ten pounds of frozen hamburger? The bad guys don’t care and just expect them to eat the meat raw apparently. The best of the worse of the bad guys smells really bad, he hasn’t ever had a bath, not for the last hundred years or so. Of course his name is Muhammad and speaks passible English.

Captain Harry, Excuse me sir, but do you think we could try and cook this meat?

Muhammad, "Oh of course, come please.

The man leads Harry to another part of the cave where there is a cooking pit. The pit is directly below an opening in the cave roof and Harry can see that there’s a bit of fire going but, mostly coals. They can cook their meat in the Coles and Captain Harry asks Muhammad if that would be alright?

Mohamod just shrugs and walks away. Harry goes back to the other part of the cave and invites his men to come with him. The hamburger is still frozen, and one guy holds the roll under his arm. They will need to slice the roll somehow, and try and cook it in the hot Coles. The men are really hungry and can’t hardly stand the wait. Harry sees a short sword hanging on a cave wall and reaches for it. To his surprise no one cares if he lifts it down. The blade is incredibly sharp and slices through the frozen meat with ease. Harry doesn’t think about other products this blade has cut through. He supposes there could be remnants of human blood on this sword but what does it matter if the meat gets cook well.

The crazies are helping themselves to food off the Cookie and aren’t interested in the meat. They are a rough bunch very young, and they probably haven’t ever had a proper bath. These are folks from the deserts and don’t have water to waste. Even though there’s plenty of water in the cave and in this cave they still wouldn’t be bothered by extra washing. The leader is older with a beard and not much hair on top of his head. He wears robes some of the time and at others loose fitting pants that look like they could fit most anyone. Harry is always looking for an opportunity to jump these guys but he’s not a fighter. It wouldn’t do anyone any good to get killed for nothing. The bad guys just killed 3 of his crew and without hesitation shot them with some sort of automatic weapon, and then when they were down the leader shot them each in the head. He carries a hand gun in a holster on his hip. He doesn’t even flinch at the killings; he’s done this kind of thing before. He gives his men directions by pointing or waving. The followers practically worship him and can’t move fast enough to please this very determined man.

Harry is able to slice the frozen burger quite thin, and Herman places the round slices on the grate over the hot coals. Soon the smell of roasting beef goes wafting around the empty spaces of the cave. The burger thaws, and then starts to cook, and the fat drips down into the fire. The smells further excites their appetites causing some to drool. The men are disciplined however and are polite to each other. Harry admires his men, after all he has known these men for most of his career on the Cookie.

In Seattle, Joe and Carmen are searching through little blips on computer screens, Joe thinks he heard a hat-blip at least once. The searches are recorded and software can search throughout the files listening for one specific notification. Each signal is on its own frequency and is identified by that individual characteristics. The signal was brief only lasting for a few seconds, but Joe is sure that was the correct signal for Captain Harry. Joe finds the signal again and freezes the placement of the sound. He can’t find any ships close to the signal but doesn’t stop looking. He finds the GPS coordinates and calls up a bigger view. He thinks there are small islands on the spot but can’t be sure. There are hundreds of islands that haven’t been properly documented.

Joe calls down to Jones’s office asking for the man himself. There shared secretary is grumpy and snaps at Joe. Joe is mostly used to her bad temper and after he continues she is not so nasty.

Joe asks Jones to come up to the upper office and help him hunt. Jones comes up with Jack on the private elevator, Jack is ready for a brake. Jones just looks at his big mutt and shakes his head in wonder. This dog has taken over managing the security of the building practically like the way he and Nancy use to. Kelly has moved up to the upper office and presides behind the desk that Rose use to occupy. She is typing away and listening with both ears on different phone calls. She has a set of ear phones like Carmen uses and will be as accomplished as Carmen one day soon. Carmen is working hard as ever and Joe invites her over to the circle of chairs they use for talking while trying to relax some. No one wants any coffee now, it’s too late in the day for more coffee. Joe plays the blips for them explaining that the sound is from Captain Harry’s hat, he has placed a chip in the material of the hat. The little chip unit has a long-lasting battery and is obviously still working. The hat blip is in the Atlantic but the GPS coordinates aren’t showing yet. Jones wants to know what’s there? Carmen tells them that it’s not clear now. She believes the sea is open there aren’t any islands in that part of the Atlantic. Jones wants to know how far is the GPS location? Carmen can’t say yet, and reminds him that she already told him.

Chapter 4

Jolene is working in her office daydreaming some. She is reliving the last time she and Captain Harry were together, and sheds a tear at the thought of losing this very special man. She hasn’t had a lot of romance in her life, mostly working so very hard and for so very long. She needs this man and wants him desperately. She can hear him in her mind. If she closes her eyes and concentrates only a little. She is still living in the headquarters building, this time with Kelly. Kelly is an easy person to live with, her needs are few, and she never makes a mess. Kelly has been on several dates with Steve and the two are getting along famously. Kelly is much younger than Jolene but it doesn’t seem to make any difference with Kelly. Jolene gets a good solid hold of herself and gets back to working. She needs to resolve yet another law suit attempt. Boy where do these nuts come from; they are everywhere. This law suit is almost legitimate At least it appears to be so, and in these cases that actually could be real she is to not fight them. As long as she thinks they are properly done and could have happened Rose is ok with paying. Jolene doesn’t agree with Rose on that one, she thinks any law suit is worth winning and wants to in the worse way. She is loyal and does what Rose wants her to do. Jolene has A great deal of respect for Rose not only as her boss but as a human being. That little boy she brought back from Guatemala is so delightful that Jolene wants one for herself She would like it better if Captain Harry would help her of course, after all the first part is usually fun. She goes back to remembering Harry and gets teary all over again.

Jolene and Harry went to the little Italian café down the block and down stairs, it’s their favorite like many people who work here. They also went to the beach and when Harry put his strong arms around her with the sea crashing and the breeze softly blowing, she nearly fainted with the thrill of it all. She hasn’t had a lot of practice in the kissing department but it worked out just fine. Jolene melted into his arms and wanted to stay there forever. Harry is a gentleman and didn’t press the advantage. Jolene was willing to do anything with her lover and wanted more. Harry got excited alright and stepped back in embarrassment she thinks. She didn’t mind, after all she was wanting him to go on. Well there she goes day dreaming again, these work problems won’t go away on their own that’s for sure.

In the upper office Jones, Joe, Carmen and now Rose are exploring the problem of the missing Cookie The company is so large that events can happen and no one knows much about them until whatever happens becomes a crisis. The Cookie is a multimillion-dollar ship and brings in a good profit for Roses company. More than that however are the people who work for her. She knows her people and thinks about the safety and their lives. She cannot understand why her company continues to be a target for bad guys. Even when her company hasn’t been in a country before there’s trouble. She thinks of the simplicity of managing a small company, oh say a tug boat. She thinks it could be nice to have to worry only about one ship and not hundreds like now. The Cookie has had its troubles over the years that’s for sure but still the problems just shouldn’t be. Rose follows along with Jones and Joe but doesn’t understand the technical details of what they are discussing. Apparently Carmen does, and she fills Rose in. This young woman is a wonder. She is intelligent witty and extremely kind. Rose loves this Carmen like she was her own. The company would not be doing as well as it is without good oh Carmen. She has a way of touching people when she is talking to them, and Rose can feel Carmen’s small hand on her arm. As she speaks she emphasizes each phrase with a little pulse of touching. Rose supposes that Carmen uses touch to make up for lack of sight. Although Rose can’t remember what Carmen was like before losing her sight from Uncle George’s craziness. Rose finds herself just wanting to be near her children and watch them play and grow. That Hechter is fitting right in like he belonged from the very beginning.

Joe is telling them that those little hat chips he has placed into most captain’s hats are showing signals from where ever the guys may be. At least where ever the hats are. Captain Harry’s hat blip is intermittent showing up once in a brief while. Someone is moving in and out of cover that blocks the satellite’s view. The power of the chip is very low and needs a clear view of the satellite to work at all. The technology isn’t as good as Joe would like yet. Joe is always researching new and better technology and so is Carmen. When they talk however, it isn’t about technology, they talk about themselves. They are understanding of each other’s needs and share nearly everything they are. Carmen is loving and often sits on Joe’s lap or lays across his lap when they sit upon her silly wicker furniture.

In the cave Harry and the remaining seven crew are eating hamburger cooked over the open fire in the cave below the air vent. The meat is really good, kind of like a cook out. The men are hungry and wolf down the beef. Harry wishes for some vegetables to go with the meat but supposes they should be grateful for what they have. The ship is covered over with camouflage material probably stole from some ones military no doubt. The ship is maintaining the cold storage units so one of the engines are running. The fuel tanks are large intended for crossing the Atlantic and will last for months. The bad guys are around but rarely in contact with them. They point and move their weapons in the direction they want Harry and his men to move in. The leader speaks good English and the others haven’t said enough to know. When the leader gives directions he mostly waves or points at his own men too. The leader speaks in a quiet voice hardly seeming like a bad guy.

Harry and his crew are talking softly amongst themselves and believe that the bad guys want to use their ship like a giant torpedo. There are explosives on board already but they want more. Brownie thinks they want to steal a giant bomb, one that weighs 20 tons or something like that and place it on the bow of the Cookie than simply ram into some populated port in a big city. The language barrier is significant and they can’t understand the few words they speak anyway. The idea is more from the bad guys measuring spaces in the front of the Cookie. If they can get this big mother of a bomb on board, the ship could become a formable weapon that’s for sure. If this is what happens than probably Harry and his crew will be eliminated. Harry isn’t a fighter but doesn’t want to simply give up either. The men are anxious to try something but Harry holds them back. If they are going to be killed