The Heist

aft deck and had standing fins on either side that evoked a 1959 Cadillac.
    “It’s a trawler that’s going to lumber along like an elephant,” Kate said. “We’ll be lucky to get eighteen knots out of it.”
    “You’re approaching this like a military op,” Nick said. “You want a quick entry and exit. But that’s not what we’re doing.”
    “We’re kidnapping a guy and taking him out of the country,” Kate said. “We don’t want to linger around working on our tans. We need to get the heck out.”
    “That’s the wrong attitude. What we’re doing is more like a heist, only with a person instead of an object. A successful heist is one that nobody notices until it’s over and the thieves are long gone. But I understand your concerns. I have them, too, which is why I picked this particular yacht. The Phelan SevenSeas 550LR is no ordinary trawler. It can reach a top speed of twenty-two knots and cruise at sixteen. It can plane and plow,” Nick said. It was aphrase he stole from the brochure that he understood the gist of, if not the actual meaning.
    “We’ll see,” Kate said. “I’d still rather punch him in the face and spirit him away in a jetboat.”
    “And I’d rather be driving the jetboat, but I’ll settle for this,” Willie said, gathering together the literature on the yacht. “I’m going back to my room and study up on this boat so we don’t end up like the
Titanic
.”

Benoa Harbor had a seedy, industrial feel despite the presence of dozens of sleek yachts stuck in between all of the fishing trawlers, longboats, rusted tankers, thatch-roofed houseboats, ferries, motorboats, huge cruise ships, and the colorful two-masted Bugis schooners with their long, curved bows that resembled a leprechaun’s shoes. Fruit vendors in longboats puttered among the tightly packed boats, selling bananas and oranges to people who reached out of open portholes or leaned perilously over their boat decks to pay for their purchases.
    There were two Javanese men sitting on a wooden crate, about the size of a bag of golf clubs, on the dock beside the gleaming new Phelan SevenSeas 550LR when Kate, Nick, and Willie arrived. Kate approached the men, and looked down at the crate. As expected, it was the bon voyage gift from her dad.
    “You can put that in the master stateroom,” she said to the men, gesturing to the boat.
    Nick repeated her orders in rough Indonesian and the two men lugged the crate up the gangway onto the yacht. Willie followed them on board, tossed her bag into her cabin, and climbed up the stairs to the secondary helm atop the flybridge.
    “Play the role,” Nick whispered to Kate. “People are watching.”
    Kate’s only point of reference to Eunice Huffnagle was Goldie Hawn in the movie
Overboard
, so she channeled Goldie and did some improvising. She walked up and down the dock in her strappy gold high-heeled sandals, expensive little black halter top, and skinny white linen slacks that sat low on her hips. She walked and frowned and pouted as she examined the yacht, aware of the attention she was getting from the Indonesians aboard the nearby fishing boats and even some of the tourists lined up for the ferry.
    “It’s so tiny,” she said. “It doesn’t even have a helipad.”
    “I’m sorry, Ms. Huffnagle,” Nick said. “It’s the best we could do on short notice.”
    “I’d hate to see your worst.” She shook her head and got on board, Nick following after her.
    The two Javanese men emerged from the master cabin and stood waiting for payment.
    “Give them fifty thousand rupiah for their troubles,” Kate said to Nick, “and let’s get out of this dreary place.”
    Kate had seen
Overboard
a couple years ago and couldn’t totally remember it all, but she was pretty sure Goldie would be proud of her performance.
    “Yes, right away, ma’am,” Nick said.
    Kate marched past the men into the cabin. The floors were bleached oak, the leather settees were tan, and there was decape oak cabinetry throughout. The pinpoint halogen lighting, silver accents and hardware, and the curvy lines of every counter anddesign element gave the entire salon a smooth, contemporary style that evoked forward motion.
    Two steps up, and on the port side, was a chef’s galley with top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances, German fixtures, and granite countertops. On the starboard side was an impressive lower helm station that continued the curvy theme, presenting the array of screens,