His inner circle all nodded in approval and then left the room, partially to get to work as quickly as possible, but mostly just to get away from the madman who was their boss. Fitzroy held his mouth and practically crawled from the room, and the Wharf Man just watched as he slunk away like the worm he was.
Once he was alone again, the Wharf Man picked up his desk. It was far from the first time that he had thrown it to the floor. It had a number of dents and scratches from its frequent meetings with the floor. He straightened it back up and tidied up the counter top. Slowly, he lowered himself back down into his chair, which almost collapsed under his weight like usual. He sat there at his desk, and once again thought about all of the business he had to deal with.
Delroy Campbell was a patient man, when he managed to be.
Delroy Campbell was a smart man, when he could think clearly.
Delroy Campbell was a powerful man, when he made sure the world remembered it.
Delroy Campbell was the Wharf Man—and he never let anyone take from him.
14
A NEW HEADING
Purdue gathered the crew on the shore, the ocean becoming his backdrop.
“There is something you should all know about,” Purdue said and held up the logbook of the late Admiral Ogden. “All of this treasure is incredible. Truly. But there was something left behind that might prove to be even more valuable than any amount of gold. Something else that Admiral Ogden left behind.”
The crew all waited with bated breath to hear what he had to say. Some looked at the logbook uneasily, like they couldn't believe there was a prize better than the vast amounts of wealth they had uncovered in the cave on the island. What could be better than enough wealth to change their lives forever?
“In one of Admiral Ogden's entries, he mentions a true treasure—something one of a kind—that he had found. He describes it as being something so powerful, that it would give the person who found it complete control of the sea. Ogden didn't want that. He didn't want that power. So he buried it somewhere so deep, that no one could ever find it.”
“He buried more treasure?” Aya asked. “Didn't he already bury enough?”
“Unlike his gold, he didn't bury this in the ground. No. He buried this treasure at sea.”
“How are we supposed to get that?” Aya asked. “I do not believe our boat can travel under the sea, can it? We could never reach it. Whatever it even is.”
“I'm not sure about the specifics yet,” Purdue said bluntly. “But it would be an expensive venture, I'm sure. Luckily, money is no longer an issue for us, is it?”
The crew all mumbled and nodded in agreement. They had just found so much gold, that nothing was really out of the realm of possibility. People had dived to the bottom of the ocean before. It was a possible journey, but they would need the proper vessel to get down there, and they must have had enough money to help make that possible now. With a fortune, there was no such thing as an impossibility; there were no limits to where you could reach.
“We will find a place to rest and recuperate from this journey,” Purdue explained. “We will get all of our new found fortunes situated ... and then soon enough, we will start a new journey for anyone who is brave enough to join me. We will find the treasure that Admiral Ogden discarded and dropped in the sea, and if he was right, it will give us more power than we can imagine. Something even better than money.”
It was hard to figure out an accurate estimate of the crew's response to the idea. Some seemed excited by the idea, while others looked at him with far more trepidation. He couldn't blame any who weren't interested. They barely survived this journey; who knew if they could survive a second. But then again, a trust had formed between him and the crew at this point. They no longer looked at him as the stranger from a foreign land who called the shots simply because the Wharf Man declared it. He had truly become their captain, and they respected him in that position now. Hell, they had even come to his aid against the twins, turning on people they once considered their superiors.
“It is entirely optional. I will respect any and all of your decisions, whatever those might be.”
There were more little conversations among the crew and Aya stepped forward first. “You know I will join you on this. There is nothing for me back home but the Wharf Man's anger, and you have not led us astray so far. I look forward to seeing what this lost treasure of the admiral's really is. I will make sure that I do.”
Purdue smiled and gave her an appreciative nod. Out of anyone else, she had proven herself to be the most trustworthy and loyal of the whole crew. She lived up to her title as his first mate in all respects, including inspiring the other members of the crew. Aya's words had struck a chord with the rest of them as well as they all, one-by-one, declared their intentions to join him on a trip to the bottom of the sea. Soon enough, the whole crew had pledged to join him on a second venture.
Purdue felt a wave of pride swoop over him.
Hopefully this new venture would go far better than their maiden voyage.
Epilogue
Purdue stared out at the sea from his penthouse. He never thought he'd have views from that high up ever again. He never thought he would be staying in such comfortable accommodations again either. He wouldn't take it for granted this time.
The ocean had given him a new lease on life. It had given him another chance, and with Admiral Ogden's log and the true treasure he talked about, then the seas might still be able to give him even more. This could be the final push he needed to move against the Order of the Black Sun. To not only take back what was rightfully his, but to save his friends and colleagues who had been abducted.
Maybe it was the comfortable bed, or maybe it was that he was finally able to shower, but David Purdue was feeling truly hopeful for the first time since losing everything.
“Look at you putting yourself back together,” a voice said.
Purdue turned around suddenly and instinctively reached for anything he could use as a weapon to defend himself. He settled on a pen sitting on the table beside him. He had come too far to be found and killed now.
A woman stepped out of the darkness of the room and Purdue recognized her uptight expression immediately. It was Sasha, the agent of the Black Sun who had rescued him from that burning fire. He still didn't know why exactly. Just that she seemed to want Julian Corvus removed just as much as he did. He owed her his life, but he also owed her for helping those bastards burn down his home and take everything from him.
“Sasha...”
“You don't look happy to see me,” Sasha said, not looking too happy herself.
“Surprised is the word I would use. Last time I saw you, you were pulling my ass from a fire and telling me to be dead. Well ... I've been dead. David Purdue is still supposed to be ash, with nothing but an empty grave and some tabloid rumors to leave behind.”
“You have done well to stay hidden, I have to admit.”
“Obviously, I haven't done a good enough job. You found me easily enough.”
“That's because I'm the only one looking. The only one of the Black Sun who knows the truth. You're welcome by the way. Clever how you robbed that bank. Was that something from that spell book you found?”
Purdue nodded, but felt a little annoyed that she had been able to tell that was him. Hopefully no one else had been able to identify him.
“And it was smart of you to spend most of your time at sea, away from the public eye. I see you were successful in your attempts to get some money back. Very successful, by the looks of it.”
“Yeah, it's been the time of my life,” Purdue said with a roll of his eyes. “What the hell do you want? Come to check up on me?”
“Something like that,” Sasha said. “I don't like you, Purdue. You know that. But I hate Julian, and he's only gotten worse since he got rid of you.”
“Attempted to get rid of me,” Purdue added quietly.
“He's worn your defeat like a badge. The leader of the Black
Sun who finally got rid of their greatest enemy. It's been nauseating honestly. Hopefully it'll be worth it when I see his face, when he finds out you're still kicking.”
“He can't,” Purdue said. “Not yet. I'm not ready.”
“I know,” Sasha said. “I just came to tell you that your friends, Dr. Gould and Jean-Luc Gerard are still alive. They haven't given up yet either. Their guards managed to stop an escape attempt concocted by Dr. Gould. They almost got out themselves. But now ... now they've been put somewhere they definitely won't. It's all up to you.”
“Isn't it always?” Purdue asked, feeling relieved to hear that his friends were at least still breathing. “Anything else you'd like to say to me while you're here.”
“Just to hurry,” Sasha said. “Julian is beginning preparations for the final phase of his plan.”
“Final phase? The hell does that mean?”
“No one knows for certain,” Sasha said, looking dour. “Scary isn't it? But whatever it is ... and knowing Julian ... it won't be anything good. You need to hurry so you can stop it.”
“Why don't you do it then, aye? You can get closer to him than I could. Take him out and take over that damn order for yourself. Since that's obviously what you really want, isn't it?”
Sasha ignored his accusation, which probably meant it was true. “Despite what you would think, Julian has a lot of support from the others. He's almost beloved as a leader. Mostly, I think people just wanted to see things change. They mistake any change for being progress ... but Julian is destroying the Black Sun. If more people could see that, maybe then I would move against him. Maybe. As it stands now, I would be practically committing suicide if I tried anything.”
“So you'd rather I die trying instead,” Purdue said with a laugh.
“You're already dead, remember? That's why. But, I do have something that might be able to help you.”
“And what's that?”
Sasha smiled and poked her head out the door. She said something and when she returned back into the room, a man was following her. Purdue recognized him immediately and couldn't believe his own eyes.
It was Sam Cleave.
Sam entered the penthouse behind Sasha and when he saw Purdue, his mouth fell open and his eyes grew wide with disbelief. He tried to speak but fumbled his own words, taking a step back and pointing at Purdue.
“You...” Sam tried to catch his own breath, still not believing what he was seeing. “She said you were alive, but honestly, I didn't believe a damn thing she said. You're supposed to be dead. Like dead-dead.”
“Aye,” Purdue said. “I still am, really, if you believe it.”
“I ... I don't...” Sam grew flustered and even a little angry. “I honestly still don't believe I had two Black Sun operatives tell me all about how you died. It was all over the news. The house fire. Sasha said she dragged you out.”
“The bastards did burn it to the ground, aye,” Purdue said. “But yes, apparently ... well, I had a sociopathic guardian angel looking out for me. Sasha must secretly be in love with me. She stepped in and gave me a second chance at life.”
“You don't make a lot of sense, you know that?” Sam said, turning to Sasha. “First you try to kill all of us for the Spear of Destiny. Then you save Purdue from a fire that your boss started. And you even got me away from your friends. The hell is your story?”
“I know how much you love a story, Sam, but as you saw on the way here, I'm not in the mood to share,” Sasha said. “And that's all you need to know. My actions have already spoken for me.”
“So you've been alive this whole damn time...” Sam turned his confused ire on Purdue. “The whole world thinks you died. Hell, I thought you died until sixty seconds ago, and you can't even bother giving me a phone call? Son of a bitch, do you have any idea how alone I was out there? Running all over the place trying to keep away from the Black Sun? You couldn't even give me the peace of mind to know that you were still out there somewhere?!”
“I couldn't,” Purdue said, and honestly he did feel quite guilty about the whole thing. “I'm sorry, Sam, but it was too dangerous. I had to let everyone think I was dead. I had to essentially even be dead. Even now, David Purdue as he was is just ashes back in a burned house. I couldn't afford the order finding out that they failed. It's the only way I'll be able to hit them back, when they think I'm no longer a threat to them at all. It was the only way, I swear. It was the only choice that I could make.”
“So you got play dead man while they hunted me day and night. Hardly seems fair, does it?”
“I know, Sam,” Purdue said sympathetically. “But here we are. You made it. You know the truth now. I had nothing after they came after me, Sam. Nothing. They took all of my money. They took all of the artifacts. They took my home. They took Charles. They took Nina. They had everything. I just got back from a venture that has replenished some of my funds. Not all of it, obviously, but enough to start planning how we're going to get back at the order for this.”
Sam didn't look enthusiastic about the prospect. If he wasn't exaggerating, then the fight with the Black Sun had already been raging for him, and he hadn't been faring too well in the battle. He probably wasn't looking forward to having to throw himself back at them anytime soon.
“They have Nina,” Purdue reiterated. “We can't leave her behind. We have to get her back. We have to take it all back from them. Get rid of the Order of the Black Sun for good.”
Slowly, Sam nodded. He walked up to Purdue and the two embraced in a rare hug between them. As much uncertainty and friction as there was, it felt good to be with a friend again; to know that there was someone reliable on your team.
“We'll get her back,” Sam said. “We're going to get her back.”
Sasha moved toward the door. “Now that you're both reacquainted, I have to get back. Just remember what I said, Purdue. You need to hurry before it's too late.”
“See you around then?”
Sasha stopped at the door. “No. No, I expect you won't see me again for some time. Probably not until you are hopefully standing over Julian's corpse.”
Purdue folded his arms. “Looking forward to it.”
The door of the penthouse closed and Purdue stood in mutual silence with Sam. Both men had gone through so much just to stay alive in the past few days. There was a whole war raging ahead of them, and both of them weren't fully prepared for it.
He turned back toward the ocean, with now even more stress on his mind. Whatever Julian and the Order of the Black Sun were concocting, it was coming, and there was now a doomsday clock looming over him. He already wanted to get his life back soon. Now he had to even sooner than that.
The power he needed to do that apparently rested at the bottom of the sea—so that was where they would go.
The End
The Book of Shadows
1
TOTAL ECLIPSE
The Order of the Black Sun's members all gathered in a large audience chamber. It was a long-awaited meeting to discuss the problems that had been plaguing their organization. Operatives stood in the audience while the leadership of the secret society, the council, sat in large chairs at the center of it all. There had been many people over the years who had been the supposed leaders of the order. People like Renata, but even she hadn't been the queen that many acted like she was.
In the end, the “leaders” like Renata and the others were mostly just figureheads, or at best, puppets for the group that were the true leaders of the Black Sun. No matter who was seen as the leader, everyone knew that it was the inner circle, a group of old and withered men with decades of experience searching for the world's greatest treasures, who were the real decision makers in the Order of the Black Sun. No one knew much about them outside of their first names. They kept their age-old aspirations to themselves and only ever told the order as much as they needed to know to bend to their will.
Some were frustrated by their methods, especially in recent days.
; And meetings like this were the times when people could voice their views, though most didn't do so aloud. In the past, the ones who openly criticized the old men had a habit of disappearing not long after, erased from life itself.
The inner circle addressed everyone in attendance.
“We have had obstacles in our path.”
Galen Fitzgerald stood in the crowd and gripped his cane tightly. He hadn't been a member of the Order of the Black Sun for long, but he knew all about the topic of discussion. He knew the obstacle that was getting in the way of their plans on a personal level.
That obstacle was the billionaire adventurer, David Purdue.
Galen had considered him to be a friend once, but he knew that wasn't the case now. Purdue had looked down on him; always saw him as being so inferior to him. Galen hated him for it. That arrogant bastard needed to be put in his place. Joining the Black Sun—Purdue's enemies—was Galen's best chance of seeing that Purdue got exactly what he deserved.
The Black Sun may have crippled Galen's leg before he joined, but they'd given him an incredible opportunity. The woman who impaired his walking stood beside him. She'd recruited him and caught him up on the inner workings of their secret society. She was a particularly tough woman named Sasha. He didn't know her last name, and he didn't bother to ask. She wasn't a friendly or chatty kind of person, but he did owe her for bringing him into the fold.
Although, her influence within the order wasn't ideal. She was part of a group within the Black Sun known as the Eclipsed. They were frowned upon for their methods; like their preference for brutality. They would probably all be serial killers if they didn't have the sense of purpose that the order had given them. The rest of the Black Sun were too afraid to try to get rid of them. They would probably all be murdered in the attempt. Better to have the Eclipsed on a long leash than to have them as an enemy.
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