“Just go along with this,” he whispered in her ear. He let go and stepped back. “My darling. are you okay?” He spun around and looked at Blacktooth. “I’ll give you what you want, so please don’t hurt my wife and my daughter.”
“You go in helicopter and get my money. If all goes well, your ship will be fine.” The corner of his mouth rose up, exposing half his black teeth. “If you not come back, there is market for your wife and daughter.”
“I’ll get your money. Just don’t do anything until I get back.”
Blacktooth looked over at Okana. “What you think, Jamison? Will he come back?”
Okana nodded. “Oh yeah, he’ll get our money. If he doesn’t, I might even bid on these women myself.”
Blacktooth gave a hearty laugh. “I like you, Jamison. Who fly helicopter?”
Bett brought her shotgun up over one shoulder and stepped forward, rapidly chewing on another piece of gum. “That would be me,” she answered and continue chewing.
Blacktooth was momentarily distracted by the rapid movement of her jaw, and then looked over at Mike. “My bad manners. I not know your name.”
Okana stepped forward. “This here is Mr. Allen, and this lovely lady is his wife, Betsy. That shy one over there is his daughter, Peggy. She’s my favorite.”
Blacktooth laughed and looked at Bett. “Okay. You fly Allen and one of my men to Seward and come back with money.”
Dieter had traded places with Joshua on the bridge and heard Blacktooth’s orders from the bottom of the stairs. “I should go, too.”
Blacktooth gave a devil’s grin and waved his finger in front of Dieter’s eyes. “Nooo. You first one I kill if they not come back.”
Okana looked over at Bett, and she smiled and winked at him, so he nodded at Blacktooth. “I guess it’s settled. My pilot will take Mister Allen to get our money.”
Blacktooth turned and looked up the stairway to the bridge when his man hollered down in Russian. He turned back to the group. “We have arrived at my ship.” He looked at Bett and put his hand on the shoulder of one of his men. “This is Ivan. He speaks good English. He will go with you to get money. You get helicopter ready.”
Bett turned around and looked at the dark-haired man with two parallel scars along his lower left jawline, sizing him up as an opponent. She turned around and grinned at Okana. “Not a problem.” She turned and walked out of the lounge, and continued out to the helicopter.
Blacktooth looked at Ivan and nodded his head to follow the woman, and then looked at Mike. “Go.”
Mike stepped around Blacktooth and left the lounge.
Okana studied the last man, and the look in his eyes and his stocky build indicated he could be very dangerous. The ship suddenly slowed down. Okana stepped past Blacktooth, up the steps to the bridge, and out onto the deck to check things out. The large black ship that had chased them through the islands was floating fifty-feet off the starboard bow, with four men standing at the railing. Blacktooth suddenly walked up beside him.
“When we get money, I upgrade to a fleet of boats, now that I have this ship.”
Okana did not like Blacktooth’s insinuation. “I thought about taking this ship myself, but I know eventually the authorities will find my location with satellites.”
Blacktooth grunted. “You right. I take and sell for parts. I know place no one can see.”
Okana let out a long, slow breath. It was worth a try, he thought. He turned and looked down when the whine from the helicopter’s turbine engine climbed in pitch, and Bett nodded up at him through the window. Mike was in the co-pilot seat, and Ivan was in the back, leaning forward between the seats. He turned to Blacktooth. “We better step inside or the down wash will blow us overboard.”
Blacktooth slapped his hand down on Okana’s shoulder, and then walked into the bridge.
Okana gritted his teeth against the urge to rip his hand off and shove it down his throat. He waited inside with Blacktooth until the helicopter had departed, and noticed Blacktooth’s strange expression as he stared out the rear window. “Is something wrong?”
“I am waiting for my boats to return with the rest of my men.”
Okana smiled, but it was not for Blacktooth’s benefit. He needed to make his move and retake the ship before the rest of his crew arrived. Right now, it was only Blacktooth and two men. He glanced up at Joshua.
Joshua had been listening, and gave Okana a slight nod. It was time.
Okana placed his hand on Blacktooth’s shoulder. “Let’s go down and have that beer I promised.”
Blacktooth turned around and walked to the stairs going down to the lounge. Okana drove his foot between Blacktooth’s shoulder blades, driving him face first down the stairs.
Joshua spun around and drove his fist into the guard’s face, then grabbed the man’s jacket with one hand and drove his fist into the man’s stomach, over and over until the man crumpled to the floor.
Dieter started to climb the stairs to the bridge and suddenly found Blacktooth slamming against him like a sledgehammer, driving him to the floor. The stench of Blacktooth’s breath rushed across his face, and he felt like vomiting. He desperately tried to push Blacktooth’s stinking, thrashing body off his chest, but he was pinned like a wrestler.
Suddenly, a tremendous weight drove the air from his lungs as Blacktooth became limp. He glanced to one side and looked up at the rage in Rita’s eyes as she brought the rifle butt down against Blacktooth’s skull one last time.
Lisa felt frozen in place as everything became crazy in the lounge. When the guard stared at Blacktooth flopping down the stairs, she watched Rita drive her elbow into his nose. When he dropped the rifle, Rita kicked him in the gut and drove him back onto the floor. She grabbed the rifle from the floor and ran over to Dieter, and then slammed the rifle butt down on Blacktooth’s head.
Lisa flinched and stared at Blacktooth’s blood dribbling down his head. She flinched again and jumped back as the guard stood up, his face a mask of rage as he yanked a pistol from his belt.
Lisa backed against the wall, feeling the pistol in the small of her back, and then it was all a slow motion dream. When the guard aimed his gun at Rita, she reached back and grabbed her pistol. She swung it around to point at the guard, and the gun was still moving when she closed her eyes and pulled the trigger. A deafening roar tore the gun from her hand, she opened her eyes and watched the guard topple. She could not take her eyes off the jerking body and the blood pooling on the floor, felt the bile rising in her throat and she wanted to throw up.
Rita spun around when she heard a gunshot, and saw Lisa staring down at the guard. She rushed over, put her arm around Lisa’s shoulder, and turned her away from the bloody body.
Lisa slowly turned and looked up at Rita. “He was going to shoot you.”
“I know. It’s over now.”
Dieter looked around Blacktooth’s head and saw Okana. “Get this stinking bastard off of me!”
Okana reached down, grabbed Blacktooth’s belt, and rolled him off Dieter’s chest. When Dieter reached up for his hand, Okana ignored him and instead climbed back up the stairs to check on Joshua.
Joshua turned from the window as Okana reached the last step. “Everything okay down there?”
“Yes, we have the ship.”
“Then we better get out of here. Those rubber boats are coming up fast, and I don’t know if they heard the gunshot over on that ship.”
Okana turned to look at the three rubber boats racing across the water in their direction. “Yeah, go.” He looked down the stairs. “Hang on down there. We are leaving.”
Joshua shoved the throttle forward, twisted the joystick forward, and leaped away from the black ship. The Mystic nearly leapt out of the water as though sensing newfound freedom. The black ship and rubber boats quickly shrank away behind them, and he smiled at Okana. “Where are we going? Back for Alex?”
“Not yet. We’ll lose radio contact with Bett. Head away from the islands for n
ow and let them watch so they think we’re headed to the mainland.”
“What about Harrison and Bartram?”
Even though he detested Bartram, Okana felt bad about leaving Harrison behind. “Maybe they’ll take over Blacktooth’s crew. I’m going down to get rid of some deadweight.”
Joshua shook his head. “Let me take care of it. I’ll start with him.”
Okana gave him a nod, took over the controls, and watched Joshua grab the man by the feet and drag him out of the bridge. Joshua unceremoniously picked him up by the belt and collar, and hurled him over the railing. When Joshua came back inside, he was grinning as he walked down the stairs.
Joshua reached the bottom, stepped over Blacktooth’s body, and looked around the room. Dieter was sitting on the floor, and the two women stood near the table. The shocked expression in Lisa’s eyes only fueled his rage, as he yanked Blacktooth off the floor by the belt and collar, and tossed him into the walkway, not caring if he was alive or dead. He stomped across the lounge and picked the guard up around the waist with one arm, and carried him out of the room. He stopped, reached down to grab Blacktooth’s leg, and continued out to the stern, dragging Blacktooth’s limp body across the deck. He hurled the first body into the water, and then kicked Blacktooth over the edge.
He watched the bodies churn in the wake and disappear, then walked back to the lounge and gave Rita a nod. He stepped aside for a moment to allow Rita and Lisa to pass on their way to the stern, and then searched for a blanket to cover the pool of blood on the carpet.
Okana looked down at the women through the rear window of the bridge. He was intrigued that Rita had reacted so fast. The grizzly scene did not seem to bother her. Joshua did say she could shoot, too. There was more to Rita than he imagined. He turned when Joshua came up the stairs. “How bad is the mess?”
“I cleaned up what I could and covered a bloody section of carpet with a blanket.”
“Thanks. I think I’ll check on Lisa. It’s a shame she had to be part of all that ugliness.”
“I know. I wonder how Bett is doing with Ivan.”
“She let me know she could handle him.”
“Yeah, that’s my gal.”
“See you in a few minutes.” Okana turned and walked out the door to the stairs going down to the deck.
*
SEWARD, ALASKA:
Bett received clearance from the Seward airport control tower and set down a short distance from the small air terminal. She pushed the radio frequency selection button and the stench of Ivan’s breath blew past her face.
“What you doing?” he demanded.
“I’m just letting your boss know we landed safely.” When he leaned back, she pressed the activation button on her headset. “Mystic, this is Bett. Come in, please?”
“Hi, babe. Josh here.”
“Just letting you know we made it to Seward.”
“I’m glad you called. Our guests are being well taken care of, and I’ll wait for you to call when you’re heading back.”
Bett smiled over at Mike. “I’ll take care of it, sweetie. I’m out.” She turned to look at Ivan. “Let’s get out and go get our money.” She looked over at Mike and winked. “Time to take care of business, money man.”
They all climbed out of the helicopter, and Bett stopped in front of Ivan, furiously chewing her gum. “You can’t take that pistola into the bank.”
“I know. You stay with me and wait for him to come back.”
Bett grinned at him. “Whatever works, sweet cheeks.” She turned her head and looked for any bystanders, then spit out her gum. When Ivan’s eyes followed the gum to the asphalt, she drove the heel of her hand into his nose and watched him stagger back and collapse on the ground. She turned to Mike. “Help me get him back into the helicopter. We’ll dump the body later.”
Mike grabbed Ivan under the shoulders, while Bett grabbed his legs, and they hoisted him back inside and he closed the door. “Now what?”
“We go back to the ship.”
“What about Blacktooth and his men?”
“I imagine he’s sinking to the bottom of the ocean by now. The mystic is ours again. Get in.”
Bett climbed into the pilot’s seat and put on her headset. “Still there, sweetie?”
“I am. How’d it go?”
“Mike and I are on our way. Which direction?” She listened to the GPS coordinates. “All right. We need to dump some extra cargo on the way, so see you in about thirty minutes.”
*
MYSTIC:
A frigid breeze from the north blew across the stern. Rita wrapped her arms around Lisa. She could feel her shaking, but it was not from the cold. “It’s over now.”
Okana walked over to the women. “You can go back inside.” When Lisa looked up, he saw the tears on her cheeks and was heartbroken that she had been forced to kill that man. “It was not your fault, Lisa. You saved Rita’s life. The rest of us, too.”
Lisa slowly nodded. “I’ve never seen a dead person before.” A humorless smile formed on her trembling lips. “That was the first time I’ve fired a gun, too. I guess it was a lucky shot. I had my eyes closed when I pulled the trigger.”
Joshua stepped out of the bridge and looked down over the railing. “Bett’s on her way back. Should be here in half an hour. She says they’re missing one passenger.”
Okana looked at the women. “Let’s go back inside, where it’s warm.”
Rita and Lisa followed him into the ship, they found Dieter sitting at the table with a bottle of vodka.
Dieter picked up the bottle and held it out to the group. “Here’s to you, Okana. Our savior.”
Rita noticed the flames in Okana’s eyes and grabbed his arm, but he jerked it away.
Okana stomped across the room, stood over Dieter, and glared down at him. When Dieter looked up and grinned, it was all he could stand. He grabbed Dieter’s jacket and slammed him back against the wall. “None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for you, you greedy bastard. I should toss you over the side.”
Dieter stared up at the glaring eyes. “You are not a murderer, Okana. Do not start now.”
If only you knew, he thought. He shoved him back one last time and let go. “Don’t push it, Dieter. I’ve always enjoyed trying something new.”
He turned, walked across the room, and up to the bridge.
*
THE ISLAND:
Alex used his foot to roll the Russian’s body into the ocean. He looked up at the V, remembering the odd-looking hatch covers on the ship. He walked over to the V and climbed the steps, then down the other side and across the rusted deck to the gangway.
He looked over the side. The hatch covers were farther forward, he studied the deck and remnants of the hand rails. Five-feet below the doors, water filled the six-foot gap between the ship and the beach, and without a ladder, there was no way to look inside.
He climbed down the gangway, and then hiked up the beach to the cave. It was only sixty-feet deep. Ten-feet inside the opening he saw the skeleton Dieter had mentioned. Dieter didn’t mention that the skeleton was wearing a German Officer’s uniform.
He froze and listened to the tinkling of running water from inside. He moved past the bones to the back of the cave and the light was very dim. He kept still and listened, and the sound was slightly to the right. His eyes slowly adjusted and he saw water trickling from a crack in the rock. The water clung to the sides, just below the crack, and ran down into a manmade bowl carved into the solid rock on the ground. He reached out and let the water trickle through his fingers, and then brought some up to his tongue and smiled. Fresh water from deep underground had made it to the surface. That explains the blackberry vines, he thought.
He knelt down and scooped two handfuls into his mouth, then saw the light from the entrance reflected in a silver surface on the side of the cave. A section of the volcanic rock lay on the ground beneath it.
He reached over and pulled on the ragged edge of ro
ck around the silver surface, and the rock turned to dust in his hand. He used both hands to pull away the surrounding rock in larger pieces, continued until it began to get hard, and stopped before he tore up his fingers. The remaining rock around the exposed silver surface was semi oval, five-foot-high, two-feet across, and a foot above the ground.
It gave him an idea, and he walked out of the cave and grabbed the longest piece of the busted 4x4, roughly five-feet from squared end to splintered point. He carried it over to where the berry bushes met the side of the rock and used it to pry the bushes away from where the spaceship protruded from the side of the crater. He suffered through pokes and scratches until he could see most of the ship, and then went back into the cave to drink and wash away the blood on his hands and face. His white coat was ripped and stained, but it had protected his arms.
He walked back outside, and now he could see that the spaceship was tilted at a sixty-degree angle, down toward the beach. Only eleven-feet of the silver surface was exposed above the ground, the other sixteen-feet were buried in the solid rock he was standing on. For this ship to have survived the temperature of molten rock was a testament to the genius of that long ago race of humans, he thought.
He felt the frigid air swirling down from the top of the crater and his breath left wispy white clouds in the air. Even if he had matches, the only wood was the splintered 4x4’s, and they would only last a short time. If the Mystic did not return, he would freeze to death on this chunk of rock.
He flipped the hood over his head and shoved his hands deep into the pockets, thinking about what to do next regarding the spaceship. With Heinz on the Discovery, he would need Norton to take over this operation, but convincing Norton to leave AREA 51 would be difficult. Suddenly he remembered Wesley and the kids, and wondered what was going on with Mount Baker.
For the moment, he was helpless to do anything for anyone, and the frustration of his situation could no longer be contained. “Damn you, Dieter!” he yelled.
He reached down and grabbed a piece of wood. “AAAAAAAH!” he roared, as he threw it across the beach at the rusted ship. It bounced off the side with a hollow thud, and splashed into the water. He sighed deeply and sat on the device. “Don’t let me down, Okana.”
The Alex Cave Series. Books 1, 2, & 3.: Box set Page 52