by K D McNiven
Callie tucked the rifle tightly to her side and rounded the corner of the compressor. She could see a section of a man’s pant leg behind another crate opposite. She opened fire, the wooden box exploding around the man, and his body tumbled to the side in a pool of blood. She seized the moment and sprinted to the area where the side boat was lashed down. Shots came dangerously close. There was a sharp whistle of air as a bullet missed taking the side of her head. She dropped to the deck and crawled the remaining two yards for cover, then lay there for a second to recover.
“Decker!” Dax yelled and lifted the smoke grenade. When Decker nodded, Dax pulled the pin and flung it in the direction of the gunfire.
There was an immediate cloud of thick smoke barreling over the deck; a bout of coughing followed. Decker lunged forward, racing to where Dax and India were squatted. He looked around frantically for Callie.
Dax nudged him and motioned his head in Callie’s direction.
Callie was only feet from where they would descend. The smoke gave her enough cover, and she ran to the railing and waved her hand to Ottomar to start up the motor and be ready for departure. He waved back and rushed to the helm.
Callie grabbed the line and rolled over the edge using her belay to lower her into the guts. She prayed the rest of the team would be able to advance to the railing while the smoke boiled heavily over the deck.
As the three of them started for the railing, two men dove on top of Decker and Dax, knocking them to the floor. Another came from the side, grabbed a handful of India’s hair and flung her into the metal framing of the crane. Pain drove through her side and shoulder, but she was determined not to allow it to disable her. With one snap of her foot, she caught the man squarely in his stomach. He groaned and stumbled backwards.
India heard the clatter of her rifle drop, and she began to search desperately for it. In a flash the man was back on her, shoving her brutally to the wood deck, his hands going for her throat. India turned her head and tucked her chin tight so his hands could not fully shut off her air. She heaved her body to the side, flinging the man off, then scrambled to her feet. As he pushed himself halfway up, she lashed out with her foot, catching him squarely in the jaw. She heard a cracking sound and blood spurted from his mouth. He howled in pain and dropped to the deck, which gave India the time she needed to recover the rifle. With one quick blow, she caught the side of his head. He went limp.
India posted herself near the crane. The smoke was clearing out, but the deck lights had been shut down. She dug through her bag and pulled out the night goggles which would give her the upper-hand. Leveling her rifle, she searched the deck to see if she spotted anyone. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Decker, crouched and moving swiftly to the front of her. She let off a few rounds for cover, and when she saw him drop behind a barrel, she held off, waiting to see where the next gunfire would erupt from.
Together, Decker and Dax had managed to take down the other two men, but they could hear rustling and knew there were more men coming. They were not out of hot water yet. They determined to split, Decker to the right, Dax to the left to see how many more men they would have to take on.
Dax moved past India and made an attempt to come in from the backside of Decker, hoping to trap anyone opposite them. As he rushed toward a steel girder, someone fired off a round. Trails of muzzle flashes flared over the deck. Dax lunged forward and rolled behind the girder as he landed. He sent a spray of bullets in the direction where the shots had come from, metal and wood disintegrating. He saw the man beyond thrown backward by the blast into the railing and then overboard.
Decker lost sight of where Dax had gone. He continued forward. From behind, a man jumped from an upper deck onto his back. Decker’s chin drove into the hard floor. He could feel a trail of warm blood flowing out of it. He flung his arm backwards forcefully, wrenching the man free. With adrenalin pumping, he pushed himself off with his right foot to regain a solid fighting stance and pivoting, threw a haymaker, hoping his shot would knock the man out. The punch did connect, but the man only staggered and managed to recover. Unable to deflect the next punch, Decker was met with a sharp right to his jaw. For a moment, he saw stars. He swayed dizzily back into the railing, trying to shake it off.
Decker steadied himself as another punch was coming his way. He threw up his arm in front of his face, deflecting the punch, and swept his hand in an arcing movement grasping the man’s wrist. With his free arm, Decker came in with a driving fist into the man’s face. He heard the man’s nose break, followed by a loud cry, and blood sprayed over the front of Decker’s shirt.
Using his momentum, Decker leapt into the air, catching the man’s throat with his feet and making a corkscrew twisting motion with his body, he flipped the man midair. They slammed into the deck with a grunt. Pain rippled through Decker’s shoulder, but he was glad to see the other man was not going to be getting up any time soon. He hustled to his feet, briefly scanning the area and seeing no one, grabbed his gun from the floor and hurried back toward the railing. He was relieved to find India and Dax preparing to slide down the rope to the Zodiac. He backpedaled, gun-ready, looking in both directions to make sure they were clear, and exhaled sharply when he saw there was no more resistance.
Decker clipped onto the rope and zipped down the line into the boat’s casing. “Move!” he yelled as his foot touched down, and Ottomar gunned the engine. The front of the Zodiac lifted, and salty spray flew back on them as it blasted out of there.
“Thank God you’re all okay,” Callie said, her heart still thumping wildly in her chest.
Decker wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “We have to call in
the authorities soon as we’re back on board the Shark Eater.”
“We’ve got some proof, but it won’t be admissible because we didn’t have a warrant to go on board. However, if we tip off the police, we can hope they’ll raid the ship and confiscate the drugs. Somehow, we need to find a way to connect all this to Chronis Industries.”
“Maybe the police can coerce the captain of the Rosy Anne to spill his guts,” Decker stated, wiping the blood off his neck where it had trickled from his chin.
“Where the heck did you learn a move like that?” Dax asked. “You flipped the man with your feet—while in the air!”
“A little trick I learned in the Orient.”
“Well, I was in the Orient too. All I learned was how to use chopsticks!”
They all laughed despite their scrapes and bruises.
Once they had made it back to the Shark Eater, they scrambled from the boat and rushed immediately to the pilot house to tell Captain Manny what had transpired.
“We need to leave this area now,” Captain Manny said, “Chronis is not going to take this lying down. You can bet they’ll be after us within hours. In the meantime, I’ll place a call in to the authorities and see how it shapes up.”
As Captain Manny’s hand went to grab the satellite phone, Dax’s cell phone chimed. His brows lifted in surprise, wondering who would be contacting him. His friends and colleagues all knew he was salvaging the sunken ship, but curiosity drove him to answer.
“Dax Drake here.”
“Dax,” the voice was deep and drawn out. “I thought perhaps it was time we had a tête-à-tête.”
“Who is this?”
“Let’s say we have a common interest. I’ll fill you in on that soon enough, but first, what I’d like for you to understand is that you keep interfering in my business. That kind of persistence is not healthy for you if you get my meaning. In fact, you’re ticking me off.”
Dax released a short snort when he realized who was on the other end of the line. “I suppose I can take that as a veiled threat?”
“On the contrary, Mr. Drake. I don’t make false threats. I follow them through if you grasp my meaning?”
At this point in the conversation, Dax flipped on the speakerphone so everyone could hear the conversation. “I assume I’m
speaking with the main man, Chronis himself?”
“You might make that assumption,” the gravelly voice replied.
“So you know,” Dax said. “You’re going down, Chronis. You might think you have the upper hand, but I assure you, you are short for this world.”
“Do you think you’re playing ball in the Little Leagues? I have many resources at my hand. If you think a ragamuffin team like yours has the power to take me down, you are sorely mistaken. I hope you listen up. If you tip the authorities, you will pay dearly.”
“Shaking in my boxers,” Dax said, though he was convinced Chronis would do exactly what he said. He would come after them in a blazing firestorm.
“I was hoping you’d be a bit more cooperative, Mr. Drake,” Chronis said. “However, since you insist on being flippant and short-sighted, I guess I need to pull out my arsenal.”
“We have plenty of firing power and resources ourselves, Chronis.”
“If only it were that simple,” he said. “What I’ve discovered, Mr. Drake is that you have a beautiful sister.”
Dax felt an icy chill of dread race along his spine, and his hands balled into fists. For a brief time, he stood in stunned silence trying to grasp what Chronis had said. “You leave her out of this, you son…”
“Now, now, calm down. All you have to do is forget you ever met me. Go back to Miami and leave well enough alone.”
Dax looked helplessly at Decker, his lips pursed together. He felt deflated and did not know how he should proceed. The last thing he would have imagined was that Chronis would go after his sister.
“You know I can’t let this go,” Dax sputtered, his mouth dry. “You’re dealing in drugs. Destroying lives—”
“Wrong answer, Mr. Drake,” Chronis growled. In the back-ground Dax heard a scream and knew it was his sister, Lara. He already had her!
“Lara!” Dax yelled. Let me speak to her!”
“You’re not in the position to bargain right now, Dax. You informed me that you’re unwilling to let the matter drop,” Chronis said. “However, I’m not all business. Here…”
“Dax?” came Lara’s weak, desperate voice from the other end. “Dax, help me!” she began to sob.
“Are you all right, Lara? Have they hurt you?”
“No. But they told me that if you didn’t back off, they were going to kill me and send me back to you in pieces.” Her voice was full of fear.
Dax rubbed his hand through his black hair while he paced, not knowing what to do. Lara was all he had left. And what if he did back off? Would Chronis kill her anyhow? Nausea rose in his throat, and he swayed unsteadily on his feet.
“Tell you what, Mr. Drake,” Lito said. “I’m going to give you twenty-four hours to make a decision. But if I even smell the scent of a police officer poking around, or boarding the Rosy Anne, I’ll do exactly what I said I would do.”
“Wait...” Dax argued but heard the connection being broken. Silence followed.
Decker dropped his hand on his shoulder, not knowing what to say. He never dreamed it would go this far. Then again, they did not know Chronis was dealing drugs, and no doubt had drug lords backing him. It was no wonder he had such an arsenal at his fingertips.
CHAPTER 30
Kealakekua Bay
Holly’s foot was swollen and black. Garrett had packed it in ice and had hoped she would recover enough to go with them back to the cave. He saw disappointment etched on her face. She had made mention of how much she enjoyed discovering the artifacts, as well as exploring with him and the team.
“Don’t fret about it, Holly,” he assured her. “There will be other days. I’m glad you had the chance to go yesterday.”
She smiled. “Me too.”
Polly strolled around the corner, finding Garrett and Holly on deck, Holly’s leg propped up. He pursed his lips together. “Sorry, Holly,” he said. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Thank you, Polly. We’re good,” she told him, thankful to have such caring people around her. “Garrett’s going to leave me with a couple of good books, some ice tea, and a plate of fruit, while you guys follow up on the cave and see what other treasures lie beneath the lava.”
“If you need anything your dutiful husband didn’t think of, please let me know,” Polly said with amusement.
She laughed. “I think he has it covered.”
“I’ll have the dinghy ready for launch,” Polly told Garrett. Meet you in a few minutes. Carson will be out shortly. Sam and Ted had me take them to shore earlier. Apparently, Sam has a bug of some sort and was heaving over the side. Ted offered to take him to the doctor, so it will only be the three of us going.”
“Sorry to hear about Sam. I’ll check on him later,” Garrett said, wrapping Holly’s ankle again and packing fresh ice around it.
The dinghy sliced through the crystal waves toward shore. The three of them were excited about what else they might stumble onto. Finding the skull and bones fueled their adventuresome spirits.
The climb would be less formidable today as they had already laid out the groundwork. They had left markers in areas that were possible cave in sites.
Arriving at the entrance point, they lowered themselves into the dark cavity, fitted their head lamps and headed down the tube toward where they had discovered the skull and bones. They would take more photos and measurements but would be careful not to disturb anything.
They spent at least two hours in the one area, using brushes to see what else might lie beneath the sediment. They found more spear heads and more bones. Every place they uncovered a relic, they flagged it and journaled it, then moved farther down the tube. The floor was wet with condensation, and they could smell the salty air wafting through the passage from the ocean.
“Hey,” yelled Carson. “Look what I found!”
Garrett and Polly rushed over to where he was kneeling. There, settled into the mud and fallen rocks, sat a wooden chest. A large rock had split the wood on one end, but for the most part, it was intact.
“I think we can dig it out of there, but we need to take every precaution not to damage it further,” Garrett said.
They removed trowels from their packs and began digging around the sides, one layer at a time, hoping to expose the entire chest. Bit by bit the muddy sediment was swept aside. Suddenly, Carson dropped his trowel.
“A coin,” he said. “Like the ones we found earlier. It appears to have come from this crack made by the rock.”
“This may be the chest that held the coins,” Garrett said. “Let’s see if we can open it and see what’s inside.”
The iron hinges were rusted badly, but with care, they managed to crack the lid several inches to inspect the contents.
“Whoa!” Polly gasped.
The chest was filled to the rim with gold coins. All they could do was stare in disbelief. There had to be millions of dollars piled up before their eyes. They could hardly breathe. There would be a tidy reward for the discovery. That was certainly not the reason for pursuing artifacts, but it helped in financing some of their expeditions.
“Can you believe this?” Garrett said. “I have to wonder if all of this is part of some native burial ground. My guess is the gold must have been removed from the HMS Resolution. The bones perhaps belong to one of the native’s children. I’m only guessing, of course, but with the bones, the spear heads and such, that seems the most logical conclusion.”
“Look here,” Polly said reaching into a recess in the rock wall behind the chest. He pulled out what looked like a headdress or cloak. It still had feathers attached to the leather. “This makes your evaluation even more plausible.”
“The permits should be ready any time,” Garrett said. Still a bit dazed by what they were observing. “We’ll be able to put a team together and excavate. What a wonderful gift to give over to the Hawaiian people.”
“I know someone who is going to be very proud of you,” Carson said, patting Garrett’s back.
“You mean all of u
s,” Garrett corrected. “This was a team venture.”
“Let’s record all of this and head back,” said Carson. “I would like to find out how Sam is doing. He looked mighty ill.”
Garrett nodded and began to gather their tools and equipment. He glanced at his cell phone to see if Ted had phoned in, but he didn’t see any new calls. “Nothing a good shot of antibiotics can’t cure I hope.”
The day felt even hotter coming out of the cool cave. They went single file back down the rope and made their way to the dinghy. As Garrett stepped inside, there was an ear-splitting explosion. The water ruptured beneath him, throwing him out of the boat, the pressure driving him to the sandy bottom. When his head shot back through the surface, he gasped. The Jade was blown into billions of pieces.
“No, no…God, no!” he screamed. Without a thought, he raced through the water, his arms pounding at the surf as he made his way toward the jetsam. His mind was an odd combination of confusion and numbness, as though he could not trust what he knew his eyes had seen. Mechanically he swam, one stroke after another. It was too overwhelming, too painful to think beyond the moment.
Carson and Polly flipped the boat back over and climbed inside. Yanking the pull cord, the engine roared, and they sped toward the wreckage. They were too shocked to speak. All they could do was stare, feeling as though their hearts had been ripped out of their bodies.
“Holly,” Garrett whimpered, tears streaming down his face. “Shane… how can this be?” he grabbed hold of a seat cushion that was floating near him and searched the area with his eyes.
“Holly!” he bellowed, a part of him expecting to hear her voice, but all he could hear was the lapping of the waves and the oncoming boat.
Carson stretched out his hand to Garrett. At first, he stared blankly, then he took Carson’s hand and allowed himself to be pulled into the boat. He knew no-one could survive a blast of such intensity, but he didn’t want to believe it.
In the distance, they could hear sirens. The explosion had been heard for miles.