Dragon's Triangle (The Shipwreck Adventures Book 2)

by Christine Kling

  Technically, Theo was the owner and skipper of the Bonhomme Richard. Cole was just a crewman. They had all agreed that their cover story was that they were an environmental group there to take samples of the sand on the bottom of the bay. Cole had heard on the news that the Chinese had recently sent a ship to Camiguin to do some mining of the mineral-rich black sand on the bottom. The Full Fathom Five Maritime Foundation, an organization Cole and Theo had once set up and could trot out when needed, was there to make sure the Chinese did not rob the Filipino people. Brian explained all this, but the mayor still demanded they come ashore and fill out the required paperwork.

  “Ask him if there’s a pub in the village,” Skar said.

  The others laughed, but when Greg spoke at length in Tagalog and the mayor answered, she told them there were actually two.

  Brian offered to take Greg as translator and Theo as captain into the village in the dinghy, but Peewee and Skar both wanted to go, too. In a matter of minutes, they had all piled into the Boston Whaler and pushed off for shore.

  Cole turned to Riley. “It looks like it’s just you and me left behind,” he said.

  Northern Luzon

  The Philippines

  June 26, 1945

  “So you’re in the OSS? We’ve been working with those guys for years. Funny we never crossed paths before.”

  “I was in Europe up until Germany surrendered. Worked as a frogman doing underwater demolitions. Then they sent me on this sub. Even though we got captured by the Japs, I still can’t tell you what my orders were. The skipper and I both hoped that if I could get out with Ben here, I’d be able to come back with reinforcements, and we could get our sub back. There are a hundred and eighty American prisoners in that cave. Are you and your men up for that?”

  “Okay, Ozzie. I’ve heard your story, and I need to convene a council to explain it to the others.”

  Peewee spoke in Tagalog to Danilo and the young Filipino poked Ozzie again with his rifle.

  “What did you say to him?”

  “Danilo’s going to take the two of you to the stream where you can wash up. After our council, we’ll eat.”

  The Filipino jabbed him again and Ozzie nearly fell.

  It was more than two hours later when the others arrived. The valley had fallen into deep shadow. Earlier, Danilo had escorted them to the small creek where they washed and drank their fill of water. Then he had taken them to this place on the hillside where a rock overhang made a sort of small cave. A hunchbacked old woman stood over an open fire stirring the contents of a pot and turning sticks with small birds strung on them. Under the rock ledge, the daylight was nearly gone and the faces of Ben and Danilo were tinged with the reddish-gold light from the fire.

  When Peewee and Gregoria arrived, Ozzie looked to their eyes to see if they could give him any clues as to what his fate might be. Peewee was running around acting all self-important, but he saw Gregoria was sneaking glances his way.

  He wasn’t too worried about it. His friend might have toughened up a lot while in the Philippines, but Ozzie was certain Irving Weinstein would not order his old friend shot as a collaborator.

  Meanwhile, Gregoria came over and sat on the ground next to Ozzie. Ferdinand, Rafi, and Manolo made themselves comfortable, too, and they all formed a semicircle around the fire as they sat staring at the glowing embers.

  Peewee said, “Who wants some chow?” and then he spoke in their language. His men spoke back to him with laughter and affection as he helped the old woman serve the food. They passed the plates around.

  Gregoria watched Peewee as he worked and talked with the other men. Then she said, “What was he like as a boy?”

  “Irv? I’d say he was bookish. He was always reading his adventure books, but he wasn’t very strong, so his mother never let him go out and have adventures. Only with me. I watched out for him. Irv and I used to build small boats in the woods behind our parents’ houses. He always liked building things.”

  She smiled. “Bookish. Yes, I can see that. He still tells me stories at night when I have trouble sleeping.”

  Ozzie watched the firelight on her face. She had opened a few buttons on her shirt and he could see the rising swell of her breasts.

  “Why do you have trouble sleeping?”

  “This war has brought many terrible things to my country.”

  Ozzie liked listening to her voice. Her English was very good and her accent only made her seem more exotic. “What happened to you?”

  “Three years ago, the Japanese came to my village. I was only seventeen.”

  “I have heard terrible stories of the things the Japanese have done to the Filipino people.”

  “Yes. They came to our house and took my mother and me for the officers. When my father protested, they shot him.”

  “I’m so sorry,” he said.

  “It was not you. I am very thankful to the Americans. When my mother tried to stop them from touching me, they raped her—over and over until she hemorrhaged and died. After one week, I wanted to die, too. Ozzie, Rafi, and Manolo came to our village. It was three against twenty or more. They killed all the Japanese and freed us. The other villagers ran and hid in the jungle. They feared more Japanese would come. My family was gone, so I asked to go fight with the guerrillas. They laughed at me at first, but then they have found I am very useful, as I can walk into any Japanese camp and pass as a comfort woman.”

  Peewee sat down with his plate of food on the other side of her. “And she’s become a hell of a fighter. She might be small, but I’d wager she’s killed more enemy than you have, Ozzie.”

  Ozzie hadn’t been with a woman since he was back in Pearl—maybe four months back. With her long, soft hair and flashing dark eyes, Gregoria fascinated him.

  “This is quite a camp you all have set up here. Those tree houses—what made you take to the trees?”

  “Mostly poisonous snakes, spiders, and scorpions,” Peewee said.

  “Ah. Those sound like good reasons to me.”

  “So, my friend,” Peewee said, “the council has met and this is what we’ve decided. Lieutenant Marcos over there”—when he heard his name, Ferdinand gave a jaunty salute over his dinner plate—“he’s going to escort Ben to his home in Tuguegarao. He’s still regular army. He joined us for a while when things got too hot up in Bessang Pass, but he’s decided to go back to his unit. They’re going to scram on out of here soon as they’ve finished eating.”

  Ozzie was pleased at the news. That was one problem solved.

  “And the rest of us are going to do as you asked. We are going to free that submarine.”

  “Excellent.”

  “Rafi over there says he can get us a fishing boat. We’ll go in by sea.”

  “Have you got the weapons and the ammo to take on the Japs?”

  “Hell yeah.”

  As Peewee went through the logistical details, laying out the plan first in English and then repeating it in Tagalog, Ozzie couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying. He kept sneaking glances at the woman next to him and he convinced himself that half the time, she too was watching him.

  When the men got up and walked to the edge of the rock overhang to smoke, Ozzie stayed next to Gregoria.

  “You don’t smoke?” he asked.

  “No,” she said. “My parents disapproved.”

  “I see,” he said.

  “I really should go help Rosa with washing up.”

  She stood and went to the wood bench where the old woman was washing dishes in a big metal basin. Gregoria took the bucket and headed off into the jungle in the direction of the stream where Ozzie and Ben had washed up earlier.

  Ozzie stood. Seeing that Peewee was still deep in conversation with his men, he followed her. No longer hobbled by having his hands tied, Ozzie was able to move through the bush almost soundlessly. When the noise ahead of him went silent, he slowed.

  Gregoria knelt at the side of a little pool and cupped her hands in the water. She
drank and washed the clean water over her face. The droplets on her skin shone like silver in the moonlight.

  Ozzie stepped out of the bushes. “Can I help you with that bucket?”

  “Oh,” she said. “You startled me. I didn’t hear you coming.”

  “Sorry,” he said. He moved close to her. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I can’t help but notice how beautiful you look in the moonlight.” He touched her wet cheek. Her eyes met his and she didn’t look away.

  He admired her wet lips, partly open as her breath quickened and her chest rose and fell. He started to reach for her, but she turned her back to him.

  “Please,” she said. “Stop.”

  Ozzie had seen the way she looked at him. He placed his hand lightly on the curve where her neck met her shoulder. Her skin was so soft.

  “Hey, buddy, what’s going on here?” Peewee came charging through the bushes and Ozzie stepped back from the woman.

  “I came to the stream,” Ozzie said, “to wash up after eating, and I was just offering to carry the bucket for the lady here.”

  “I’ll get the water.” Peewee picked up the wooden bucket and dipped it in the stream. “Gregoria, I’ll see you back in my quarters.”

  The woman slipped into the trees without a look back.

  Peewee left the bucket on the ground and stood. He walked up to Ozzie and put his face bare inches away. “You haven’t changed a bit, like I said. You always were a selfish son of a bitch—thought you were better than me. Back home, if there was a girl I liked, you’d set your eyes on her and take her away just for the sport of it. This isn’t high school, asshole, and I’m not that scared little shit who let you walk all over him. You get near her again, and I’ll break your neck.”

  Peewee turned, picked up the bucket, and walked slowly into the trees.

  Camiguin Island

  The Philippines

  December 4, 2012

  “In that case, we’d better get to work,” Riley said. She didn’t want Cole thinking she had anything else on her mind. She turned away from him—it was too dangerous to look at him right now—and she started across the deck. “I’ll show you what I’ve figured out with the map.”

  “Riley,” he said. “Wait a minute.”

  She stopped and turned around. Her heart rate had jumped into the danger zone when she heard the change in his voice.

  He didn’t say anything for several long seconds. It looked like he was struggling to find the right words. Then he said, “Before we do that, can I show off the changes I made to the old Shadow Chaser to turn her into this state-of-the-art salvage vessel?”

  “Sure,” she said, and it took every ounce of determination in her not to sound disappointed.

  “When we hauled out down in Guatemala, we cut away all the old cabin aft of the wheelhouse, which included the entrance to the old hold.” He showed her how they had made more interior room for three sleeping cabins and turned the old fishing hold into a divers’ paradise.

  “We got rid of the old shrimper outriggers and placed this crane on the aft end of the trunk cabin.” He bent over and pulled back a large hatch cover on the aft deck to reveal the diving gear area.

  He was wearing khaki cargo shorts with a tropical print shirt, which she guessed he had even ironed for the occasion. She felt the corners of her mouth turn up when she thought how much more she appreciated the view of the muscles rippling in his legs as he lifted the hatch cover than any creases on his sleeves.

  “That’s the compressor for filling the tanks,” he said, pointing into the hold, “and the helium tank for heliox deep dives. We’ve got built-in tank racks and lockers for all our other gear. And that monster on the cradle there is the latest version of Theo’s ROV, still named the Enigma. She’s got hi-def video now, and we’ve got a couple of these GoPro little video cameras that divers can wear as headgear. Over there we’ve got a couple of DPVs.”

  “I remember ROV is remote operating vehicle, but what’s a DPV?”

  “Diver propulsion vehicle. It’s like an underwater scooter with a little propeller. That’s Theo’s design, too. There are commercially designed ones, but Theo’s uses some new nickel-metal hydride batteries, and it goes faster and longer on a charge than any of the others.”

  “Looks like you’ve got all the toys.”

  “Come on, I’ll show you the changes inside the main cabin.” He led her to the port-side watertight door into the galley.

  “By removing the outriggers,” Riley said as she ran her hand over the outside of the door frame, “you’ve transformed her from old fishing boat to modern salvage yacht.”

  “That was the idea. Not much is original anymore except the hull and the classic old wood wheel and pilothouse.” He motioned for her to go on into the galley. “Here we found we could enlarge the seating area without losing counter space due to more modern appliances. The stove is now propane and the fridge is a more efficient twelve-volt holding-plate system. The entire roof area of the wheelhouse is now covered with solar panels, and with the new lithium-ion house batteries Theo can use all the electronics he wants.”

  “This galley looks like a cook’s dream,” she said, running her hand over the new Corian countertops.

  “And down in the engine room, there’s a washer/dryer combo and a thirty-gallon-per-hour reverse-osmosis water maker so we don’t have to take short showers, either.”

  Aft of the galley a welded steel staircase descended about four feet to a companionway with two doors on each side. The first on the port side led to a head with a real stand-alone shower. On the opposite side of the hall was a sleeping cabin with a nice full-sized berth and warm wood cabinetry. Riley noticed the dog bed on the floor and the massive array of computer gear, so it was no surprise when Cole told her it was Theo’s cabin. Aft of Theo’s was a cabin with nothing much more than four bunk beds. Cole told her it was for when they needed extra crew.

  The last cabin opposite the crew’s quarters was the master stateroom. When Cole opened the door he kept his hand on the latch, and Riley had to brush against him to squeeze through the doorway. She kept her eyes lowered, but her stomach felt like a popcorn popper on high heat. The cabin featured a walk-around queen-sized berth covered with a navy-blue spread. To one side of the door was a desk with a laptop computer and beyond it were several wood cabinets for clothes. Reading lights were mounted on the bulkhead at the head of the berth, and above them a bookcase stretched across the full width of the cabin.

  “Home sweet home,” Cole said.

  She walked around, keeping her back to him, admiring the fine woodworking and cabinetry. “Very nice work, Cole. It’s not just a yacht. It’s a home.”

  “The original captain’s cabin on the old shrimper was meant for one man. I redesigned this as a double. See? Two hanging lockers, two sets of drawers for clothes.”

  “Yes,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”

  Though it was the largest cabin on the boat, it was starting to feel exceptionally small and far too warm. She tried to get to the door to get out, but he stood there blocking the way. “Aft of this I saw two sets of stairs—one going up on deck, the other down into the engine room, I guess.”

  “Right.”

  “Shall we go take a look?” She attempted to slip past him, but instead she bumped her tailbone on the chair at his desk. She winced.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing.”

  “Riley, you’re hurting. I saw that look.”

  “It’s just that back in Manila, you said you were going to text me where to meet the plane. So, when I got a text, Irv and I assumed it was you. Only when we got to Intramuros, I found Benny there instead. He got a few licks in before we got away.”

  “But I sent Greg and I told her to text you.”

  “Thankfully she saw us leaving the yacht club and followed us or I’m not sure how we would have ditched Benny. She was great. Anyway, I took a fall, and I’m still a little sore on my backside.”
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  He made a fist and started to strike the surface of the desk, but then he slowed and just pounded his fist like a gavel on the surface. “I’d like to take that guy and beat his face to a pulp.”

  “Cole, stuff happens to people you love, and it’s not your job to protect them twenty-four/seven. What happened to Theo—that wasn’t your fault. You’re not his keeper. This business with Irv and Benny would have happened whether you were around or not. Irv did know my grandfather, I’m sure of it. You can’t protect me from my own family. Now let’s get out of here and go look at the rest of your boat.”

  He didn’t move. Instead, he reached up and ran a finger down her cheek. His touch was so light she wondered if she was imagining it, as she had so many other times.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  She turned her head aside. “For what?”

  “For being an idiot. I wanted to protect you. My heart was in the right place, but I really mangled it, didn’t I?”

  She nodded, her throat too tight to speak.

  “I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you, so instead I put you through the very thing I feared. And now they’re after you anyway.”

  He reached up and stroked her hair. When his palm slid down to her cheek again, she closed her eyes and tilted her face into his palm. Then she stepped back.

  “I can’t,” she said. She took another step back and her backside bumped into the chair at his desk.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’ve had to compartmentalize my feelings just to keep moving. To get to this place. Now you want me to open that box. I don’t know if I can.”

  He stepped closer. “Riley.” He reached out and touched her arms just above the elbows.

  “How do I know you won’t disappear?”

  “I don’t blame you for not wanting to go through that again. But there is nothing that will ever make me leave you now.”

  She wanted to tell him then—the truth about Lima. To find out if what he was saying was true. But when his arms slid around her and he pulled her body to his, she tilted her head back and met his kisses with hungry lips.