“Let’s go!” Vic shouted.
Danny and Helen followed the councilman and his bodyguards to the five speedboats waiting on the beach. Danny hopped on the green boat where five men with machine guns and M-14s in their hands and ammunition belts around their waist were already seated.
Careful to not damage the already fragile coral reef and to avoid puncturing the hull’s bottom, the drivers slowly pushed the boats out to the open sea with a long pole. As soon as the boats cleared the shallow water, the drivers simultaneously pulled their starter ropes. The sound of the engines’ pistons simultaneously rumbling roused everyone in the vicinity. Even the birds on the beach searching for fish scattered from the loud booming engines.
Reaching the open water, the drivers turned the boats away from Bongao on predetermined GPS waypoints and opened up the throttle. The ten-foot speedboats and their massive outboard engines roared like angry lions, vibrating the passengers. The boat pitched up as it glided across the turquoise sea. The shoreline quickly receded. They passed by small fishing boats lowering their nets into the water. Danny grasped the boat’s sides to keep from sliding. He puckered his lips as the salty sea splashed in his face. Helen squinted as the wind blew hard into her eyes. Steadily, the boat’s speed inched faster until reaching close to 35 knots. As they gained more distance, the sight of Bongao shrank on the horizon like a straw hat floating away.
* * *
Swells of rising waves appeared out of nowhere. The speedboat jumped off the crest of a two-foot wave and went airborne for a few seconds. Danny felt a sudden lightness at the bottom of his stomach from the abrupt weightlessness. He felt himself falling into an abyss. Suddenly, the boat slammed back onto the flat surface of the sea. The boat’s momentum shoved Danny and Helen forward. Danny quickly grabbed the railing to prevent from being thrown overboard. He checked to see how Helen was coping with the brain-jarring ride. He reached for her hand to comfort her. She responded with a tight squeeze and did not let go. As they navigated through the expansive Sulu Sea toward their mysterious destination, Danny wondered if he and Helen would ever find the meeting place in the middle of an unforgiving body of water.
After two and a half hours of hard driving, Popoy Arevalo raised his hand and the drivers throttled back. The speedboats began to slow down and finally stopped. Danny and Helen were relieved to not be slamming into the waves, but almost immediately the boat began rolling from side to side. The motion was nauseating.
The councilman turned the handheld VHF radio on, punched the push-to-talk button and transmitted a message on the predetermined frequency.
“Are we here?” Helen asked. Her voice sounded tired.
A choppy voice crackled. The councilman was speaking to the person on the other end in a regional dialect Danny could not understand except for the occasional Tagalog word.
“I think he was speaking to Commander Berto,” Danny said, trying to piece it all together.
* * *
From a distance, three speedboats appeared on the horizon approaching them in a zig-zagging pattern.
“They’re here! Commander Berto is the one with the red bandana around his head,” the councilman said.
The VHF handheld radios flooded with chatter. Commander Berto went around them and made a circling gesture with his hand in the air to follow him. The boats’ engines came back to life and for the next half-hour they followed Commander Berto and his ragtag band of fighters to lead them to yet another location.
Finally, the boats stopped. Commander Berto positioned his boats parallel to the councilman’s armada and ordered him to inch closer. Once they were at spitting distance, the councilman gave Berto an adversarial stare.
Commander Berto stood no taller than five feet five inches, sporting a goatee and a pair of dark sunglasses. For an animal who had beheaded several hostages in the past, he looked like an average, brown-skinned fisherman.
For the first time since Blake had left San Diego more than two months ago, Danny saw his best friend again. He was instantly filled with relief that his friend was still alive and well. Blake was wearing a white T-shirt that was torn on the sides and a pair of shorts that didn’t seem to fit. Danny checked Blake’s exposed arms and legs for any signs of bruising or trauma, but he was glad to see that his skin bore no marks of physical abuse.
“We’re gonna get you out of here soon, Blake,” Helen said.
“I need to see the money and the compound,” Commander Berto shouted in a mocking tone.
Helen opened the knapsack and pulled out the clear plastic bag containing a hundred thousand dollars. Commander Berto cracked a menacing grin.
“Toss it over here,” he shouted.
Helen complied.
“Here’s the Cube,” Danny said as he opened the luggage.
“I want everyone off the boat except you two,” Commander Berto said, pointing to Danny and Helen.
“You heard him,” Arevalo barked. His armed bodyguards quickly complied and transferred to the other boats while Danny and Helen remained.
“Take this and get Blake in here,” Danny said, pointing to the open rollaway exposing the Rx-18 compound.
“We need to test what you’ve got and you better hope they work or your friend is finished,” Commander Berto stated.
“Blake, we’ve never tested this in a warmer body of water. The mix is not for these parts of the world,” Danny said.
“It’s OK. We’ll do it like we have done before,” Blake replied. “We’ll just use the sonar to detect the fish. I’ll tell you when to drop the Cube in the water. Did you bring a sonar?”
Danny handed the handheld fish-finder to Blake, along with the sensor attached to the 25-foot wire.
“Move away from us,” Commander Berto ordered the councilman and his men.
Blake placed the portable sonar’s sensor in the water and checked the screen. He moved the sensor left and then right looking for some fish activity. Spotting a school of fish circling below the boats, he signaled Commander Berto to move closer. Commander Berto followed Blake’s directions and slowly, at almost an idle speed, he carefully moved the boat so as to not disturb the unidentified sea life below them. Danny gently pushed the throttle forward and followed Blake’s lead.
Blake saw an increase of dots on the screen, indicating that the scanner had picked up a school of fish in the area. Realizing that he was right above a school of fish, he shouted, “Drop the cube now!”
Danny tore open the sealed plastic bag and threw a book-sized portion of the Rx-18 compound in the water.
No one knew what Danny and Blake were trying to achieve. Even Helen looked confused. After so many years of research and so many failed tests, Danny wondered if the compound would actually work, not just to attract the fish but also to finally end Blake’s nightmare.
Danny waited, barely able to contain his emotions. Twenty minutes passed. It felt like a lifetime as everyone exchanged glances and held their breath. As they searched below, it became clear that not only were the large groups of fish not attracted by the Cube’s properties, they actually seemed propelled to scatter away. It was the same disheartening result Danny and Blake had seen in so many of their previous experiments. The situation grew even tenser as Commander Berto began stroking the AK-47 resting on his lap. Danny knew that if Commander Berto wasn’t convinced that his invention would work, it would mean Blake’s demise.
“Looks like you two are just stalling for time,” Commander Berto said. “If I don’t see some results—and quickly—I hate to think what I’ll have to do. I promise none of you will like it.”
Desperate for a solution, Danny called to Blake, “Give me the fish finder and I’ll search for the fish. Be ready to drop another cube on my signal.” Danny threw a pack of Rx-18 compound in Blake’s boat.
Helen took the helm and slowly steered the boat while Danny gave her directions. After another tension-filled five minutes, Danny finally saw a school of fish gathering near the front of the boat. He rais
ed his hand and made a cutting gesture across his throat, instructing everyone to turn their engines off so that the fish wouldn’t get spooked and swim away.
Blake threw the Cube several feet away from the boat into the sea. Immediately, fish started swimming toward it with another group approaching in the periphery. Estimating the next school’s distance, Danny asked Blake to throw several more of the Rx-18 compound around them.
Suddenly, fish after fish came up to the surface. Danny looked at Blake who had a look of pained relief painted on his face. In the middle where the boats formed a circle, different varieties of fish began to appear. Danny watched the backs of the fish just below the surface of the metallic blue water. Ten, twenty, fifty, and then hundreds of fish began jumping and crowding in circle between the boats. Danny felt a twinge of joy and a bit of pride at the sight of so many different varieties of fish attracted to the Rx-18 compound. He almost began to relax knowing that he was closer to bringing Blake home.
Commander Berto waved his hand and signaled for Danny’s boat to come forward. Helen nudged the throttle and moved closer to Commander Berto.
“Now that you have proof that the Rx-18 compound works, can I have my friend back?”
“Not so fast, cowboy,” Commander Berto said. “Not until I have confirmation that the rest of my money has been transferred.”
Helen took out the digital pad to scan her fingers and confirm her identity.
“Looks like today is going to be a good day for me,” Commander Berto said with a self-satisfied look.
“Who paid you to get the compound from us?” Danny asked.
Commander Berto contemplated the question for a moment, mulling over if he wanted Danny to know the truth to his query.
“Since I don’t really care, let’s just say that a certain fishing company is very interested in your invention. I’m going to make a fortune off of your hard work—two million euros to be exact, plus the million dollar bonus you brought me. And if you see Dr. Klein, that Yankee Doodle Dandy, action-hero wannabe, tell him that I got the big payday today and not to bother contacting me. Our business relationship is over.”
Commander Berto retrieved the satellite phone from his bag. He was about to turn it on when the rumbling of an approaching boat caught their attention. Danny looked to his left and saw a grey-colored Navy patrol boat approaching at a very high speed. Danny felt his knees weakening, distraught from the patrol boat’s horrendous timing.
“What the fuck is this?” Commander Berto shouted, thrusting the throttle all the way forward causing the engines to howl in thunderous anger as he steered his craft toward the sun with Blake still on board.
As Commander Berto’s boat lurched forward, Blake lost his balance and fell to his knees. In the split second before the speedboat disappeared from sight, Blake looked back. He looked terrified as he lost sight of his friends, an expression of crushing disappointment cascading down his face. This was to be a day of celebration and reunion, as Blake was going to be finally freed from his captors. As the expanse of water grew between their boats, hope of ever seeing Blake freed from his captivity seemed lost.
Commander Berto’s men in the two Kulog ng Timog speedboats began spraying bullets towards the councilman’s party and the approaching Navy patrol boat. The councilman and his men seemed unable to react to the quickly changing situation. Most of his men’s rifles weren’t cocked and ready for action. They couldn’t react fast enough to return fire. One of the councilman’s speedboat hulls was pierced by several rounds of bullets and almost immediately tumbled to one side. Fearing that his men would drown, he maneuvered his boat to rescue his men. Finding an opportunity to escape, one of the Kulog ng Timog’s boats sprinted away. The approaching patrol boat made a quick turn and pursued the fleeing speedboats driven by Commander Berto and his men. The other speedboat floored it and headed into the open sea. Arevalo ordered one of his speedboats to chase after Kulog ng Timog while he pulled out his men from the paralyzed speedboat, taking in more and more water with each passing second.
* * *
Stunned by the sudden turn of events and not wanting to lose Blake, Danny quickly got behind the wheel and chased after him. He gripped the steering wheel hard, holding on for dear life. Danny’s boat zoomed across the ocean with incredible speed, but it was still too slow to catch up with Blake’s boat. Danny squinted his eyes but all he could see was the outline of Blake’s body getting smaller and smaller until it was just a dot between the sea and sky.
“Is there anyone behind us?” Danny shouted over the deafening engine and wind noise.
Helen turned and scanned the horizon. “I don’t see anyone.”
Danny desperately searched the sapphire surface of the sea for any sign of where Blake might be. Their situation looked bleak. His only option was to follow the trail of aluminum lather that Commander Berto’s boat left behind, hoping it would lead him to where Blake was being taken.
Danny maintained the same course, but after an hour into the chase, the trail they were following was swallowed by the waves. It became impossible to know which direction Commander Berto went.
“See anything?” Danny asked.
Helen shielded her eyes with her hand from the harsh sun, desperately looking for anything that was moving on the skin of the grey water.
“I don’t see anything.”
He had no choice but to face the fact that Commander Berto had vanished into the vast expanse of the Sulu Sea with Blake. He turned his attention back to the boat, realizing they would soon run out of gas. If that happened, they would be dead on the water.
“Where are we?” Helen asked.
Danny checked the GPS. “We’re about one hundred and fifty miles from Bongao.”
Danny lifted a five-gallon plastic jug from the back of the boat. He shook it but didn’t hear any gas sloshing inside.
“Fuck,” Danny said, seeing a bullet hole at the bottom of the gas can.
He unscrewed the gas cap on the motor’s tank, but it was hard to tell how much was still left. He searched around the floor and found a stick. He dipped it in the gas tank praying that there was plenty left. As he lifted it out, he saw the tip of the stick was only an inch wet.
“I don’t think we could make it back. Looks like we have just over a gallon of gas left,” Danny said, securing the cap back on.
Helen lifted the seat covers and searched through the compartments underneath anticipating extra gas cans. Instead, she found a handheld VHF radio. She turned it on and static crackled.
“Councilman Arevalo…can you hear us? This is Danny and Helen.”
“Stop it, Helen!” Danny yelled.
“I have to do something or the sharks will have us for dinner.”
“All you’re doing is transmitting our location. Dr. Klein could be listening and triangulating our exact spot. You’re going to get us killed.”
“Shit,” she said, dropping the radio on the floor. “Those damn bandits are going to kill him!”
Devastated at missing the opportunity to get Blake back, she sat on the bench and buried her head in her lap. They faced the possibility of floating in the middle of the Sulu Sea for days, if not weeks, without food or water. Danny moved near her and held her close to his chest, trying to comfort her in their dire situation.
“He won’t do that. He’s a greedy bastard and he wants the big payday.”
Danny checked the sun’s direction and saw that it was already a quarter way down the sky. With each passing minute, the daylight’s strength was subsided. It would be extremely dangerous to float in the water at night. Danny racked his brain for a way to escape their sticky situation. There was nothing but the swells of the unforgiving sea. He surveyed the vast expanse of water and wondered if he could get to a small island for safety. Checking the time, he saw it was 2:00 p.m. He rotated the dial on his wristwatch, pointing the arrow toward the sun’s direction.
“We need to get to an island,” he said.
“I see not
hing but water,” Helen remarked with exasperation.
He showed her a map of the Philippines on his phone. Sliding his thumb and the tip of his forefinger, he expanded the area only covered by the Sulu Sea. Unfortunately, only the larger islands showed and the distances were too far for them to reach.
“We’re somewhere between Tawi-Tawi and Palawan. Our best bet is to get to Mapun Island, but I don’t think we have enough gas to get there.”
“What do we do next?”
“I don’t know how far the remaining gas would take us. I think it would be better if we just drift with the current until we see a small island. As soon as we spot one, we’ll use the remaining gas to take us there.”
Exhausted and disheartened by the series of nonstop disasters, Danny pressed his back to the side of the boat and remained quiet as they waited for the sea to take them to safety.
* * *
After drifting for hours, Helen couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw a clump of coconut trees blooming on a mound of white sand. At first, she thought she was hallucinating from thirst and from the nearly two-hour sun exposure.
“Island! Over there,” Helen shouted, pointing to the atoll directly in front of them.
Danny was elated by the thought of finally setting foot on terra firma. Danny and Helen hugged each other, joyous, if only briefly, knowing they’d be safe from the sharks lurking near their boat.
Danny rushed to the outboard motor and yanked the starter rope with one hard pull. The engine woke up from its slumber, growling in excitement. He pointed the boat towards the tiny atoll. Slowly, the tiny speck of land grew larger and larger into view.
* * *
Just as they were about to reach the atoll, the engine began to sputter like it was on its dying breath. Danny shot a glance at Helen. The fear in her eyes was palpable.
Somewhere in the Shallow Sea: A Novel of Suspense Page 8