“Get ready.” It sounded like he was moving back.
“For wha—”Alicia started to say and then it happened.
The thunder increased in volume and the ground shook. Alicia swept the rocks with her vision, saw nothing. Then, directly ahead, a spout of water erupted skyward—a perfect jet of seawater. Like a fountain it shot high and then came back down, drenching everything around.
Which included Alicia and Russo.
Crouch laughed and so did Healey and Caitlyn, the young solider more so than the rest. Alicia turned to Crouch, her entire body dripping. “What the fuck? Why didn’t you warn us?”
“No real reason. But I did think Healey might enjoy the spectacle.”
Russo spread his hands.
Crouch shrugged. “Collateral damage?”
“Oh, there’s gonna be.” Alicia wiped the water from her eyes and shook herself, grateful now for the blazing sun. “Right after this mission’s finished.”
Crouch timed the fountain. It erupted again a few minutes later. After the second time he crawled forward with a flashlight and studied the shaft. Too narrow and dangerous to climb or jump into, he fell back to his haunches, disappointment written across his face.
“It’s bloody useless.”
Healey joined him. “We can hardly use the same way in they did.”
“Of course, I realize that.”
Caitlyn squatted at their side, face turned downward, balancing hard on the uneven surface so as not to get her blue jeans wet.
Alicia turned to Russo and mouthed: “Twenty seconds.”
The big man grinned.
Crouch started to rise. Caitlyn took hold of his hand and pointed at an angle, right under the surface of the blowhole. “What’s that?”
Crouch drew them all away as the blowhole exploded, sent Alicia a crafty look and then returned. “What did you see?”
“A natural tunnel running away from the blowhole,” she said. “Doesn’t seem terribly steep but it is narrow.”
“And slippery,” Healey added.
Crouch got down on his stomach to view it properly. “Guys,” he said presently, happily. “I think we found our way in.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The passage was narrow at first. Alicia made her way down the blowhole, holding onto the sides to keep her balance and then angled her body into the offshoot of rock. She made her way down a few feet, careful of the water-drenched surfaces and then called the next person. This way, they could send in two people safely between each eruption of water and allow those two to get a firm hold to ward off the weak jet of water that fell into the new hole. The entrance was angled away from the blowhole spout, which was helpful, and warded off most of the powerful water. Alicia climbed steadily down, a foot at a time, grateful that the going was relatively easy. A rocky tunnel provided hundreds of hand and footholds. The way below was dark and unsure, though, and Alicia didn’t want to use her flashlight.
No telling where the enemy were.
Surrounded by hard, dripping rock and the smell of seawater, they made their way downward in some kind of muted shadow realm. They could hear the lap of water from below, the rumble of thunder shooting up the other shaft. They could feel the wash of seawater passing them by. The minutes they spent in there felt like hours.
Near the bottom of the shaft everything opened out, the rock falling away. Alicia hung suspended for a moment before letting herself drop into two feet of standing water. Ahead lay an arrow-straight tunnel, whilst behind stood a mountain of rock.
There was enough room for everyone so she waited for the team to join her.
“Onward and steady,” Crouch finally said.
Alicia led the way, stepping through the water and using one side of the tunnel for balance. It was a feat just walking in the dark; there was never a time when she knew the next step was safe.
“It’s getting lighter up there,” she said.
“Not sunlight though,” Crouch whispered. “That’s a flashlight.”
Even more carefully they crept forward, approaching the artificial light and the end of this particular tunnel. Alicia hugged the left hand side of the passage as much as she could, approaching the last few feet of rock.
She stopped, checked the preparedness of the crew.
“We good?”
The nodding was perceptible, just. Alicia then bent low and put her head around the corner, letting her eyes adjust. The scene was a surprise, even worse than she’d been suspecting.
Jensen stood in shallow water at the center of a sea cave. The roof vaulted high above and the walls were lost behind wedges of jagged rock. Largely inhospitable then, it did have a wide rocky shelf to the far side upon which men, even now, were piling several packs of explosives.
Alicia swallowed drily. “Oh crap, that can’t be good.”
“What?” Crouch came up behind her. “What’s going on?”
“It looks like they’re getting ready to blow the far wall. And if I’m being honest it’s not really a wall, just a pile of rocks.”
“Fucking Neanderthals,” Crouch growled. “There’ll be nothing left.”
Jensen watched impassively as half-a-dozen of his men scurried back and forth, laying small but full packs of dynamite, and unspooling wires. The men were rushing as if in answer to Jensen’s urgency. The wall in question was over nine feet high and just as wide, a latticework of boulders fitted together like a bad jigsaw puzzle, held by time and weight and a build-up of growth.
“If you’re gonna do something, make it quick,” Caitlyn breathed.
“I don’t think we have the time,” Crouch said. “Jensen’s already got his finger on the trigger.”
The man clutched a black box in his fist. Alicia beckoned the rest of the team forward to look, since every single mercenary was involved with Jensen’s new plan. She wondered why they had decided to blow this particular wall, though in truth it was the only one that appeared to be man-made.
“Is that his thinking?” Crouch wondered aloud and then softly intoned the script: “To the leeward I resolve to stash that which sorely plagues. This time the rocks will tell their story and the rising tides a tale. But rarely when they’re high, never again under sail. Never again. It is here, but fear you must. Peril awaits.”
“That which sorely plagues?” Alicia said. “Doesn’t sound at all like treasure to me.”
“As we said, maybe it’s the locals’ stash. He wants us to find that first.”
“Well, he’d better hurry up appeasing himself,” Caitlyn said. “Because this is the penultimate map. We’re almost out of time, folks.”
“Speaking of out of time . . .” Alicia watched as the mercs started scrambling away from the ledge, packs set in place. Jensen barely gave them enough time before shouting, “Fire in the hole!” and squeezing a button on the little black box.
An enormous explosion rocked the cave. Everything from huge chunks to small shards of boulder erupted from the wall. The shelf before it exploded too, spraying rock, and a curtain of water swelled around the cave. As the rock wall disintegrated, a huge wave of seawater poured in from the underwater sea cave next door. Alicia swore and moved backward in a hurry, tripping over Russo. The big man just wasn’t fast enough, stumbling as the wall of water smashed into them. The team flailed and fought to hold on. Alicia went down to one knee, fingers grappling desperately to the rock wall. Caitlyn started to be swept away, but Healey snagged her, lost his grip and then they both skidded away amidst the swirling waters. In a few moments the great wave began to subside as it found the exits, and only ankle deep eddies were left churning around their legs. Alicia pushed Russo aside and struggled back down the passage.
Healey was leaning over Caitlyn, holding her up, the two cut and bruised but otherwise unharmed. Alicia hurried over to them.
“Ya picked a right time for a shag, guys.”
Healey could barely speak, but handed Caitlyn over and collapsed onto his back. Crouch then waved down the
passageway and made a hurry-up gesture.
Alicia hefted Caitlyn to her feet. “You okay? Talk to me.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just give me a minute.”
“Sorry, no can do. We gotta go.”
Alicia helped Caitlyn back up the passage and Healey followed them to Crouch’s side. What they saw ahead widened their eyes more than any underground explosion ever could.
A ragged hole now existed where the wall once had. Even as they watched, several more rocks gave in and fell from the top of the pile, shattering below. Mercenaries waited in a row as Jensen pushed past them, approaching the new cave. From her vantage point Alicia could see it was about the same size as their own, but quite dark, the only illumination leaching from their own. Jensen held out a hand.
“Torch.”
To a man the mercs lit genuine, flickering torches; thick shafts of wood wrapped in flammable bandages. Alicia shook her head. “Bloody fruitloops really do believe they’re pirates.”
“They’re playing a part,” Crouch said. “Wouldn’t anyone that wants to get paid at the end of the week?”
“Depends on the part, boss. And the lead male.”
“Yeah.” Russo laughed. “If they’re not called Chris, Johnny or Matt she’s stone cold.”
“Well, I might be able to handle a Rob if you fancy it.”
“Woman, you ain’t never handling me.”
“We’ll see.” They watched the mercs in silence for a while as they followed their boss to the hole in the wall and tried to figure out a way to climb through. In the end Jensen threw a leg over the new gap and hauled himself over, unmindful of the risks. The flickering torches shed a smoky light and smelled of tar. The swathe of bright light admitted by the large entrance to the original sea cave dimmed and shimmered as it reached in vain for its new neighbor. Alicia breathed deep as she waited.
“Not liking this.”
“Not much choice,” Crouch said.
“Always a choice. We could take ’em all out right now.”
“Not in cold blood, Alicia. We’re the good guys, remember?”
Alicia said nothing, wondering how it was that an evident enemy always had to be given the benefit of the doubt. It seemed to her that they could end Jensen’s threat right here and now, maybe even make the last map and treasure hunt less of a stressful proposition.
“Wait,” Crouch said as the mercs made their way over the wall. “What the hell is that?”
Now Alicia saw it too, saw why Jensen risked his life, saw why the mercs all appeared so excited and up for it. In the second sea cave there lay a shipwreck, broken mast positioned at an odd angle, the curve of a timber hull just visible. Alicia saw the evidence and still barely believed her eyes.
“It’s been there all this time?”
“Rotting through the centuries,” Crouch said. “No telling what’s left now. But if Morgan took the time to sink an entire ship in that cave you can rest assured it’s an important find.”
“So now can we kill Jensen?”
“Let’s wait and let them do all the work.”
“Ah.” Alicia finally gave in. “Nice idea.”
The last merc jumped beyond the wall, leaving the way clear for the Gold Team to follow. Ahead, the centuries-old pirate ship lay in wait, ready at last to give up its final secrets.
CHAPTER TWENTY
A pirate galleon, of smaller size than the norm, lay on its side, broken and rotting and wallowing sadly in about three feet of water. The sea cave filled up several times a year but for now, during this season, the water sat stagnantly at its lowest level. The timbers were warped or shattered, sticking out like broken ribs. The masts drooped and what little tatters of sail were still affixed to the spars were barely recognizable. But the fact that Captain Morgan had actually left this ship here filled the mercenaries with excitement. Alicia watched them clambering excitedly and recklessly onto the ship, one at a time. Even from here she could hear the timbers groaning.
Crouch grated his teeth together. “Assholes. Don’t they know the ship itself is a bloody treasure? One of Morgan’s vessels, still here above water? Damn.”
“How can you tell it’s one of Morgan’s vessels?” Russo squinted. “The colors? Size? Memory?”
“I guess we’ll find out,” Crouch answered without even a hint of sarcasm.
Jensen walked the planks carefully, waving his men back before they did any more damage. It took a while and a fair amount of careful prizing apart of already damaged timbers, but the mercs managed to board the vessel and search its innards. Several items were brought out and deposited on the rocks, but nothing of any major import.
Alicia and Crouch kept careful watch, hidden by the jutting array of rocks and brighter light behind them. In the end over a dozen mercs worked the ship and Jensen wandered from point to point, always questioning, always searching. In one hand he held a new torch, in the other a tankard full of neat rum. Swilling it down liberally, he soon grew more vociferous, though appeared none the worse for wear.
Time stretched and Alicia became conscious that afternoon at least must be here. They still had their packs, so took the time to drink and eat. Not once did any of the mercs approach the wall, but stayed focused on the new shipwreck and Jensen’s orders.
Alicia beckoned Crouch aside. “Let Russo and Healey watch for a while.”
“I really need to watch Jensen.”
“They’ll call us if anything happens. And, Michael, you really need to come with me.”
She saw his eyes sharpen as he detected a note in her voice. Alicia led the way across the sea cave and toward the entrance. Careful at first, she found a rock to perch on where she could stare out the overhung entrance and across the startling blue seas.
“What is it?” Crouch asked quickly.
Alicia sighed softly. “I came here to help you, but that’s not the only reason I came.”
“I imagine it had to be a pretty compelling reason to leave Drake behind.”
“Oh, it was. The trouble is—I believe I know you, Michael. You are one of only a handful of people on this planet that I fully trust. And I find it hard to . . . put something dark between us out there.”
“Ah, well you’ve done it now. Might as well continue.”
Alicia met the man’s eyes and hers were bleak. “Beau said something before he died.” Her mind’s eye switched instantly back to that final struggle between them, when her old boyfriend had tried to kill the entire team. Crouch had initially recruited Beau for himself and helped ease his way into Alicia’s primary team, but the Frenchman had always been a treble agent, working for a crazy enemy. In his last moments he had suggested that Crouch either knew, or forced it to happen that way.
Alicia said as much, watching the man she had always happily called boss.
“Is that what Beau said? I’m surprised.”
“I mean, the man’s clearly a liar, but . . .”
“He wanted out,” Crouch said. “After he infiltrated the Pythian shadow organization and got close to the boss, then betrayed him, Beau wanted out. I forced him to stay with you guys, with team SPEAR, because I knew he would be useful.”
Alicia weighed his words. “You forced him? How’s that? Beau was nobody’s doormat.”
“Before he was an assassin, Beau was a mercenary. Before that a solider. Before that an interrogator. There are an awful lot of closets, entire dark rooms, in the head of a man who was once an interrogator. That job, that past, does not sit well.” Crouch looked downcast, pained even. “I was privy to some of his secrets. And I knew some of the men, now powerful, that once sat in his chair.”
Alicia blinked hard. “Jesus. You blackmailed him?”
“And eventually broke him,” Crouch said. “It’s my fault he turned back to the Pythian organization in the end and put you all at risk.”
“At risk?” Alicia yelled. “That’s some fucking understatement!”
Heads turned. Russo frowned over at her to stay quiet. Alicia gave
him the finger.
Crouch nodded his head slowly. “We’re all a consequence of our actions, I guess. I am sorry, Alicia, but not every choice we make is the best one.”
She knew that, knew it better than most. What stung her was the new knowledge that Crouch had coerced Beau and he might have done the same thing to others. An unquestionable trust, when broken, was a fragile bond to mend, as delicate as a bird’s wing. One thing was certain though, it would take time.
“Do you want to know more?” Crouch asked.
“No.” Alicia turned away and drank in the uplifting sight of the shimmering waves. “You’re best leaving it right where it is.”
And then she caught sight of Healey waving them back.
Quickly she rose and, without a word or a glance in Crouch’s direction, re-joined the team. At the new hole in the rock wall she peered carefully through and picked out Jensen.
“What’s happening, boys?”
“Reality just broke this pirate party up big time. Jensen’s now spitting bloody fire instead of rum. Come watch.”
Alicia took it all in.
“He’s a bastard! He’s led us a merry dance! If he were alive right now I’d string him up myself!”
“They found nothing?” Alicia asked wonderingly.
“Another strongbox full of trinkets.” Caitlyn smiled. “Morgan’s ‘that which sorely plagues’ I believe.”
“Local loot.”
Jensen raved himself out and then drank more rum. His men stood around looking despondent, their torches still flickering but now drooping. Alicia shook her head at Caitlyn. “Why sink an entire bloody ship?”
“A symbolic gesture would be my guess. Learned pirate captains were full of them back in the day. Granted, most were bloody and violent, but perhaps this helped ease Morgan’s guilt.”
“A proper search of that ship under restricted conditions would have revealed the truth.” Crouch came up at that point. “Something we’ll never now get.”
Jensen wavered, now ranting about the drawbacks and consequences of following the last of the maps to its final destination. The end of the search for Captain Morgan’s treasure hoard. The strongbox he held in his hand went up in the air and was then dashed against the nearest array of rocks. It contents scattered everywhere as the sides burst.
Caribbean Gold Page 9