by K D McNiven
Back on the Shark Eater, Captain Manny had spotted Dax trying to outrun the motor boat. His heart had nearly stopped when he saw them flip in the air and crash into the waves. Immediately he ordered the anchor drawn, and he set course toward the wreck. He said a silent prayer that Decker and Dax had been able to surface underneath the boat and that he would be able to reach them in time.
He sounded the horn from the pilot house as they split back the waves. When the two attackers saw the Shark Eater was heading in their direction, they dropped off, swung around, and redirected their boat back toward the Gabriel.
Shark Eater arrived, and safety flotations smacked the blue swells next to the capsized boat. Manny called out to Dax and Decker and waited with bated breath for the men to surface, releasing a long sigh of relief when they did. Reeled back to the port ladder, the two climbed up and tumbled over the side, slumping to the floor exhausted.
The rest of the crew had rushed onto the deck to meet them, wanting to find out if they were all right. Callie hurried to Decker, her eyes wide with concern.
“What the devil happened?” Captain Manny asked, his voice flanked with unease.
Dax shrugged. “Got me, Captain. Apparently, they are up to no good. They weren’t too happy to have company this morning.”
Yet unaware of his injury, Captain Manning slapped Dax’s arm. Dax yelped with pain. The sharp plastic had driven deep into his flesh. It appeared that the salt water had cleaned it and stopped the flow of blood, but the injury, now swollen and red-rimmed, needed attention.
“What happened?” inquired Karina, leaning in her slight body to examine the wound.
“A plastic projectile,” he explained.
Decker stepped up beside Dax. “Let me take a look. I can stitch you up in a flat minute.”
“You know how?” Dax gulped.
Decker laughed. “Yeah. Ask my wife. I had to sew her up on our last venture in Honduras after she took on the rapids in the Río Plátano River. When I served in the United States Army medical corps, I sewed up much worse than what you have, believe me.”
“He’s very good at it, Dax,” Callie assured him. “And, he has an amazing bedside manner.” She smiled and winked.
Dax rolled his eyes. “That should prove interesting.”
“Go to the infirmary and have Decker take care of the wound,” Captain Manny said. “Then meet me in the pilot house. We’ll go over the situation with the Gabriel.”
Decker cleaned out the wound, gave Dax a local anesthetic to deaden the area, and then began stitching up the flap of loose flesh.
While Decker carefully sewed up the wound, Dax thought about how much he owed the man. Even though they didn’t know him, Decker and Callie had shoveled out a great sum of money to help finance this venture. He would never fully be able to repay them and having gotten to know them he knew they would never expect him to. It had been a gift to him. No strings attached.
Much better.” Dax said.
“I aim to please.” Decker grinned.
A bit later they met up with Captain Manny in the pilot house. He smiled and rubbed his hand over his bristled chin. “Good as new?”
“Yup. Decker is a whiz with that needle—I’m not so sure about that bedside manner though.”
The inflection on Manny’s face was amusement, but it quickly changed to a more serious one. “Found out that the Gabriel usually brings cargo from other countries into Haiti, and to a few other surrounding islands. Why it was anchored out here is a mystery. It wasn’t impaired because it was hell-bent to get out of here when we decided to check it out. Plus, they refused to respond to our dispatch.”
“What should we do about the attack?” Decker asked.
“I can report it. But whether anything will come of it, is another story. You know how lax the system of justice can be in other countries.”
Decker knew all too well that trying to bring in the authorities was as difficult as commanding a mountain to move. The first priority was to go back to Florida and see if the boat was repairable. It didn’t look promising. They’d hauled the side boat back to the Shark Eater, unfortunately, peppered with holes. He knew Dax had sunk a lot of money into the last repairs from the pirate attack, and he could detect a bit of discouragement on Dax’s face.
“Don’t worry, Dax. We’ll be back at it before I rip those stitches out of you.”
Karina entered the room, her brows knit into a frown. “Can you guys come to the lab with me? I have something to show you.”
They followed Karina to the lab workroom where she motioned for them to take a look at the glass slides she’d been working on. Dax turned to Karina with a puzzled expression. Decker and Callie also looked at the samples and turned back to Karina mystified.
“All the samples are saturated with Persistent Organic Pollutants called POPs. When we were diving, I wondered why the area had so little of the diverse marine life that one would expect to find here. Even the coral is beginning to die.”
“The pollutants are either coming from the chain of islands in this vicinity,” Decker speculated, distressed by Karina’s findings. “Or they’re being dumped. That goes beyond wickedness, considering all the people and marine life affected by it.”
Dax sharply exhaled. “What if that’s what the Gabriel was up to? Why else would they have reacted so violently toward us and trying to kill us?”
“No wonder I didn’t see schools of fish,” continued Karina. “These toxins are creating changes in the reef and in the aquatic life.”
“I’d say we’ve discovered the beginnings of a hot spot. We’ll have to report these findings to the ESOP and involve them,” Dax said, knowing that the Environmental Study of Oceanic Preservation would move on it quickly and collaborate with the Caribbean Environmental Agency.
“We should also follow up on the Gabriel,” Decker said. “They are more than likely the Culprits. We need to find out the source of the toxic waste they’re dumping as well,” concluded Decker, looking for support.
“You’re right, mate,” Dax agreed, then turned to Kat. “Keep up your testing and generate a report for us to issue to ESOP. We’re going to head back to Miami for a short reprieve to see about the side boat. You might even have an opportunity to be a surfie.”
Karina shook her head and smiled.
CHAPTER 15
Cap-Haitien, Haiti
Lito paced restlessly over the carpeted study. He had received a call earlier from the captain of the Gabriel to inform him that they had been spotted anchored in the Caribbean and that there had been an encounter. Unfortunately, whoever they had chased had escaped. Lito did not like cleaning up messes, but he was no fool and knew with certainty that there would be a backlash to this debacle.
The door cracked, and Maela stepped inside. As usual, her dark hair was drawn back severely and secured in a bun. She wore black-rimmed glasses that did not veil the penetrating green eyes and long sweeping black lashes. In her red stilettos heels, she stood an inch taller than Lito. And she was dressed fashionably in a fitted red jacket and skirt. She was a pleasant picture to gaze at.
“Bart called. He’s on his way,” she announced, squaring her shoulders. “It should only be a few minutes. He was caught in traffic.”
A scowl creased Lito’s face. He had never been a patient man, and today would be no different. He needed to find out who had seen the Gabriel. Whoever it was would be eliminated. He could not afford for the authorities to come poking around.
Lito waved a hand, motioning for her to leave. He was not in the mood to discuss Bart’s tardiness. Strutting to the wet bar, he poured a snifter of bourbon and inhaled deeply to fight back his rage. He needed Bart yesterday. That he was late merely served to infuriate him; it didn’t matter that it wasn’t Bart’s fault.
When Bart rushed into the room, he could immediately see Lito was shooting fiery darts from his eyes. His jaw twitched with tension, and Bart knew something had gone terribly wrong.
“Sorr
y boss.”
“Sorry my…,” with a lightning quick movement, he threw the snifter against the stone fireplace. The snifter erupted like Mount Tambora, fragments of glass fanning out over the tiled floor. The amber-colored liquid dribbled down the rock façade. He inhaled deeply once again to hold back his fury. He moved behind his desk and took a seat, and then motioned for Bart to do the same.
“We have a situation,” Lito said, strangely calm, his eyes leveled on Bart. “While the Gabriel was dumping our waste into the ocean, they were confronted by a salvage ship.”
“Why was there a salvage ship anchored so far out?”
“Who cares why Bart?” Lito barked, cutting him off. “No doubt they are doing some exploration. They sent out a boat with two men in it, and there was an exchange of gunfire which ended with the boat flipping. I don’t know what happened to the two men and don’t care. However, they may start investigating the Gabriel. What do you want done?”
Bart sat in silence for a short moment rubbing his stubbled chin while turning the details over in his head. “My first call will be to Captain Avery Bishop. Have him paint and rename his ship. The Gabriel must die. Secondly, I’ll make inquiries. Find out who owns the salvage ship. We will take care of them.”
“I trust this will be done ASAP?”
“I have it covered, boss.”
Surveying Bart with piercing eyes, Lito replied, “Then we’re good.”
“Absolutely.”
“I knew I could count on you, Bart,” Lito sighed, recovering from his rant. “You have to understand. If these people investigate the reason that the Gabriel was there, we will be utterly ruined. I cannot allow that.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t expect you to sit back and let that happen.”
“About the captain,” Lito said. “Will he keep his mouth shut?”
“He has thus far, and he does a lot of dirty work for us. However, I will make it abundantly clear that he has no choice. He has a beautiful young daughter I hear. I’m sure he would go to any lengths to protect her.”
A cold smile touched Lito’s thin lips. “A man after my own heart. A drink, my friend?”
“Don’t mind if I do.”
It took a couple of days, but Bart was able to run down the name of who owned the salvage ship, Shark Eater, by using AIS, an automatic identification system. Searching the database, he saw how long they had anchored there. The record revealed they had since drawn anchor and were heading back in the direction of Miami. It stood to reason that if they had discovered pollution in that area, they would return to do more research. And surely, they would do some snooping to find out whom the Gabriel belonged to, especially after they had been attacked.
Bart knew he would have to act quickly and put a team together. If he could discourage them from returning while they were in Miami, it would make his job much easier. But, in the back of his mind, he had the suspicion that they would not easily shaken off.
***
Bart thought about his call to Captain Avery Bishop. It had been intense. Bart impressed upon the captain how important it was to move the ship to Brazil and have it transformed—fresh paint job, new name, and new credentials. At first, Bishop balked at having to do all that, but Bart was correct in his assumption that the captain would be more than cooperative if he believed his daughter’s life was in peril. A point Bart made very clear. Once that was established, everything went smooth as butter. Bart was sure that the captain was already speeding to Brazil.
Next step was making a phone call to his Miami friend, Gator Ballestia. Gator had been a bouncer for several years and had also worked as a security guard. He was six-foot-seven inches and weighed two hundred and sixty pounds. It was all hard muscle.
“Gator, I have a job for you.”
“Yeah,” he grunted. “How much?”
Bart laughed. “Right to the point. A bundle, if you pull it off. Half now, half when you complete it.”
“What’s the job?”
“A salvage ship named Shark Eater is due to dock there tomorrow. The owner is Dax Drake. They are causing us some problems, and I need you to take care of them.”
“Doesn’t sound too difficult.”
“Don’t think this is a piece of cake,” Bart warned him. “We have information that Decker Hayden is working with him. The two of them make a formidable force to reckon with. I’ve done some homework on them.”
Gator laughed. “They’ve never tangled with me before!”
“Like your confidence, Gator. But seriously. Don’t underestimate them. Five thousand now, the rest when you take care of them.”
“No problem.”
“I’ll shoot you off an email with photos and a dossier so you can read up on them. They have been quite proficient at taking down…” he stopped briefly, searching for the right word, “thugs.”
“As I said, they’ve never tangoed with me before. And I can tango like no one else. When I’m asked to do a job, I finish it. Don’t care about reputation.”
“That’s why I always call you in a pinch, Gator. I never have to worry about it getting done quickly and professionally.”
CHAPTER 16
Shark Eater
The phone rang twice before it was picked up. Decker was thinking of how to tell his dad about the attack without causing him undue concern.
“Hi Dad, good to hear your voice,” Decker greeted, clicking on speaker phone so Callie could listen in. This was a habit they had formed earlier on in their marriage because it was so much easier than trying to remember details to share later. “How is everyone on the Jade doing?”
“Couldn’t be better. I have some exciting news!” Garrett said.
“What?” Decker asked. What he called to say could wait.
“We were diving in the Kealakekua Bay close to the vicinity that Captain Cook was believed to have set anchor. We’re were checking out the coral reef when something caught my eye. Whisking it up off the bottom, I discovered it was a gold piece.”
“Wow. Fantastic!”
“Not just one,” he continued. “We found several more of the coins, and an adze, one of those cutting tools with the long blade; like the one you found a few years ago and a seaman’s quadrant.”
“That’s incredible, Dad!”
“Carson and I took the coins to the museum and had the cultural resource specialist, Mr. Akumu, inspect them.”
“What was the final analysis?”
“We believe the coins are from the HMS Resolution, as the coins turned out to be from the 1700’s. They are British half Guineas. He was able to make out the crown on the back side and the Laureate Bust on the front. We could see the G, once he had cleaned it, for George III.”
Decker and Callie were flabbergasted. They understood the significance of a find like that. “You going to look for more artifacts?”
“You have to ask?” Garrett laughed. “Carson is getting the permits as we speak. We intend to do some more diving to see what we turn up.”
“Happy for you, Dad. Wish I was there with you.”
“How about your new venture?” Garrett asked.
“Challenging so far. We’re heading back to Miami because of a mishap with the side boat.”
“Mishap?” Garrett questioned. “With you, mishap means something formidable happened. Am I right?”
Decker chuckled. “Can’t get one by you, can I? And yes. There was a ship anchored a distance from us. We thought it a bit strange since it was a cargo ship and we were outside of loading zones. Anyhow, we went to investigate. So happens, they weren’t too happy to have uninvited guests and came after us in a blaze of gunfire.”
“You okay?”
“Well as can be expected,” Decker assured him. “Though I had to stitch up a laceration in Dax’s upper arm.”
“Glad you have the skills to do that.”
“Also, the boat we were in flipped over and our attackers riddled it with bullets, so now Dax is going to have to see if its repairable
or if he needs to invest in a new one. Then come to find out, someone’s been dumping toxic waste where we’re diving and it created a hypoxic zone. I haven’t seen much in the way of marine life or sea vegetation one would expect to find on a coral reef.”
“Not exactly what you signed up for, is it?”
“Hardly, but what can you do? Karina says there are low oxygen levels in the water and she discovered POPs. I have to say my heart sank when I heard that.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“First off, report the toxic waste. Then find out who’s responsible. On a lighter note, the sunken ship is incredible. I can’t wait to dive it again and investigate the wreckage.”
“One bright spot, to be sure,” Garrett concluded. “Well, keep in touch. I’ll let you know where we stand with salvaging the coins and whatever else might be down there. If we don’t get the go ahead, we’ll be heading back to Malibu in a few days. As for your end, I sure hope they find whoever’s responsible for such debauchery.”
“Give our best to the crew,” Decker replied.
“Will do,” he replied.
“Back at you,” she said. When Decker hung up, Callie shook her head in wonder. “That is amazing. Who but your dad would find such a treasure trove on his honeymoon?”
“Carson must be busting at the seams,” Decker laughed shortly, knowing how Carson liked a good challenge.
“I’d venture to say you are right on the money.”
Dax walked out of the pilot house and over to where Decker and Callie were leaning against the deck railing, coffee still in hand. They smiled as Dax sidled up next to them, his usual wide smile greeting them.
“You want to ride along with me to my apartment?” he asked. “After that, I’m going for an estimate on a new side boat. Then I’ll decide which way to go.”
“I’d be happy to go along,” Decker said.