Operation Adrift

 A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story BY James Moushon

Operation Adrift

A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story

Author: James Moushon





An empty cargo ship suddenly appears in the LA Harbor. Problem: apparently there are no passengers or crew. Jonathon Stone finds out that the ship was abandoned at sea and the CIA had been tracking the vessel from the Far East. The op seems to be stalled until Jonathon gets information from an unexpected source. Drugs, guns and money all come into play.

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Excerpt from Operation Adrift

I had gotten an alert from our office in San Francisco. A cargo ship named the Tiki Sun, with no crew was floating outside the LA Harbor. Our Far-East CIA group had been trying to track this vessel for the last two weeks but had lost it about a hundred miles out. It had left the Philippines two weeks ago headed toward San Diego.

As I drove across the Vincent Thomas Bridge toward Terminal Island, I could see the swarm of Coast Guard boats surrounding the ship in the distance. As I had been briefed, they were not going to let it into the harbor until it was cleared by me.

I made my way to the dock and headed to the Coast Guard offices. I had been here several times before. Most of the time, I was in a supporting role. This time was different. I was in the lead role until the boat was released and allowed to enter the harbor.

“I need to talk to Agent Jennifer Shoemaker. I believe she is in charge of the abandon ship in the Harbor?”

“May I tell her your name?”

“I’m Agent Jonathon Stone, CIA.”

I displayed my credentials.

“She has been expecting you, Agent Stone. She is right through that door over there,” he said, pointing to an office on the other side of the room.

I hadn’t worked with Shoemaker before but I was familiar with this Coast Guard unit.

I introduced myself as she stood and shook my hand. “Call me Jenny.”

“I’m Jon.”

“Thanks for coming. At this point, we really don’t know what we have. All I can say is this is a large cargo ship with no crew and no cargo. We are handling it like it’s a crime scene because of the strange circumstances. We have a unit that just went aboard. Also, the FBI and the Long Beach Port Police are on alert. The CIA was the first agency that had any information on the ship so you get the lead.”

“So here I am. I need to get to the boat and check it out.”

“No problem.”

She turned to an officer standing on the other side of the room.

“Take Agent Stone to the ship. Use the emergency speed boat. We need him there as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, Agent Shoemaker,” I said.

“Jenny, remember?”

I nodded.

“I will join you after I can get through this paperwork. The DOD is all over this for some reason.”

We hustled down to the dock and boarded the speed boat. This was one of the newer models the Coast Guard had available. They had procured them recently to try to stop drug trafficking from Mexico. It seemed like we were flying across the small waves of the bay. I could feel the spray in my face every time the boat hit the water with a thud.

We moved quickly under the bridge and headed to open sea. In the distance, I could see what appeared to be a group of ships, in a circle, dead ahead. As we swerved by a Coast Guard patrol boat, I saw a large cargo ship sitting in the middle of a group of smaller boats.

Our captain maneuvered around one of the boats, to a temporary ladder hung over the side of the cargo ship. There were two officers that I could see with automatic rifles, standing guard at the top of the ladder.

A Note from Jonathon

My name is Jonathon Stone. Like a lot of single, All-American men I enjoy gambling, drinking, and the ladies.

I am a writer for Real Sportsman Magazine.

Being a writer is a realistic, workable cover but, in reality, I am a Special Agent for the CIA. I am assigned to the West Coast-based – Far East Operation Center located in San Francisco.

At one time our offices were in downtown Long Beach, CA. On the main floor was a complete magazine group with secretaries and a writing staff that produced a monthly hunting magazine.

In the basement of that office building was a full-blown CIA operation with security set up and computer center.

Eventually, our cover was blown, and the staff was scattered to the wind. My boss, Russ Evans, changed my status to At-Large and kept me in the Long Beach area. I live in Belmont Shore, if you want to be more specific.

I am what my fellow agents call an Asset-On-Call. I may just show up anywhere in the world.

As a footnote, we also handle the Domestic Operation - Terrorism (DOT) division. It was formed to handle terrorist threats inside the U.S. after DHS took control of intelligence.

This group is not on the Company’s organization chart.

Jonathon Stone

Author: James Moushon

Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Satire

Website: James Moushon - Mystery Writer / Author Advocate
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Author Description: 

James Moushon is a Mystery writer and an Author Advocate.

Starting over 15 years ago, he helped lead the startup of the electronic forms industry in the creation, conversion and usage of electronic forms by supplying that industry with a continuing source of published literature, software products and training seminars.

In 2003, Moushon changed his focus to ebooks and their development.

James is currently wearing two Hats. He is a Mystery Writer and a Book Publishing Blogger. You can find his blogs at:

HBS Author’s Spotlight
The blog's purpose is to help authors get exposure in the book publishing industry. He has interviewed and showcased over 600 authors to date.

Indie Author's Corner
The Corner is a collection of Author advice and studies including Marketing, Social Media and other major topics created to help writers in today's ever changing world of book publishing.

He has spent the majority of his adult life developing computer systems and thinking about writing mysteries.

His website is: JAMES MOUSHON - MYSTERY WRITER / BOOK INDUSTRY BLOGGER

To contact him, e-mail: james.moushon@gmail.com

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