Crouch almost cried out. The loss to history, the mindless ransacking, was an abomination to his lifelong way of thinking.
Alicia drew her gun. “We’re gonna end this right now. Fuck letting ’em do all the work for us. Are you with me?”
Crouch was the first to follow. “All the way.”
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Alicia crept carefully through the gap, knowing the gung-ho offensive would really do them no good here. Without a sound she dropped into the new sea cave and waited for the rest of the team to join her. Only Caitlyn stayed on the other side, armed with a rifle and a laser sight. Healey eyed it dubiously but Crouch gave him a pat on the shoulder.
“Gotta let her get involved sometime.”
Alicia watched Caitlyn move. There was a quiet confidence now in the girl that she liked, a growing ease of movement and competency that she recognized.
“Hey Healey,” she whispered as they waited among rocks. “Maybe your training of Caitlyn is paying off after all.”
Healey frowned, unused to compliments from the blond warrior. “Umm, thanks.”
“And how’s the other part of the training going?” Alicia wiggled her brows.
“Oh, piss off.”
Crouch and Russo soon joined them and made ready. Alicia crept among the rocks until she could retain cover no more and then ran soundlessly toward her enemy. She counted twenty in number, plus Jensen, and then the first of them caught sight of her.
“Wha—” He raised a gun.
Alicia stopped him in his tracks, putting him down in a groaning heap. Others were turning, some reacting quicker than others. Alicia sprang among them, knowing it was of the highest importance to get close and stop them using their guns for fear of hitting a comrade. She chopped a pistol away, then sent the man into his neighbor, who slipped headlong on the slippery, rocky surface. She heard Russo fire twice and Crouch just once, dropping mercs. Healey grabbed a wrist a moment before its owner pulled a trigger, deflecting the bullet a few inches past his own skull. Alicia spun a man around and used another’s bobbing ponytail to slam them together.
Dropping low, she cast around.
A boot slammed her side. She ignored the pain and caught its occupant behind the knees, pulling hard. The body came down beside her and she struck at the neck and groin and other vital areas. She wrenched a knife out of the man’s belt before he could draw it, gave it back blade first and heard him grunt in agony.
On to the next. She saw Jensen still aboard the creaking shipwreck, now surrounded by three men. She remembered him mentioning three lieutenants—or rather shipmates—but couldn’t remember their names. She saw another man spinning and then helped Healey prize one away from his neck. Russo fought hard to their right, bringing his size and strength to bear as he pushed and pulled and threw man enemy against enemy. Twice, the pop of a rifle rang out and unseen enemies fell. Caitlyn was watching their backs and picking off the worse threats.
But Jensen was no fool. Ex-SAS, he took time to evaluate the situation, the possible outcomes, and then his next move. Alicia, also ex-SAS, thought she knew how his mind would work. This location, Morgan’s penultimate treasure site, again had yielded little of importance for the self-proclaimed pirate. With only one site remaining he would see only one real option.
The treasure had to be at the end of the trail, and Jensen could always hire more men.
The man was already moving his whip-thin, brawny frame in the direction of the underwater sea exit.
Alicia would try anything once, and often had. “You work for that guy? Look! He’s already leaving you.”
Several heads swiveled. Alicia already knew she’d never turn them to her side so she took advantage of the distraction and put them to sleep with measured blows. Russo helped and so did Healey, Crouch consistently moving to watch their backs. A couple of mercenaries took steps toward Jensen, their mouths moving.
Alicia chanced another look at the Englishman.
His lieutenants had already drawn guns.
“Shit!”
Shots rang out and men collapsed. Alicia dived for cover as Jensen’s lieutenants took out those that openly questioned their boss. It was a criminal law, a mercenary law, an old pirate law. Men scattered and then regrouped. The fight fell into disarray.
Jensen’s voice boomed over all.
“To the boats!” he cried.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Alicia sprang after the fleeing mercenaries, unwilling to allow them to leave.
One fell face-first in the shallows beyond the rocky ground. Another whirled to strike at her but she pushed him hard, sending him tumbling against the side of Morgan’s old ship. Russo lifted another and introduced him more permanently to the rotting timbers, leaving him struggling above the water.
“New figurehead?” Alicia muttered.
“Well planted,” Healey said.
Russo kept quiet, concentrating on the running mercs and, no doubt, trying to keep ultimate control of his rage.
Alicia pushed on. She jumped up onto the side of the ship and picked her way across the perished wood. A timber in front of her collapsed under a man’s weight, trapping his ankle and making him fall. Alicia took that as a sign of righteousness and clubbed him into unconsciousness.
She looked up. A man approached.
“I’m Labadee,” he said.
One of Jensen’s lieutenant’s, he came at her with a knife to slow her down. The first thrust was measured, designed to force a mistake. She didn’t fall for it, but did have to stop her advance.
Labadee came again, a series of three quick slashes, and Alicia swerved around each of them, the last drawing a thin line of blood across the top of her right arm. The man’s eyes shone with bloodlust. Alicia shook her arm, spattering him with red.
“That’s all you’re getting.”
As he hesitated, looking like he might want to taste the droplets, Alicia waded in. A boot to the left knee, a punch to the ribs. Another strike of a leg and Labadee was twisting away, evading her blows but unable to bring the knife to bear. Alicia pressed it, but couldn’t turn her back on Jensen and his other men. Labadee pulled away.
Then Russo landed beside her, boots splintering timbers. A merc leapt at the big man, tripped over a jutting spar and went sprawling. Alicia wrestled a log free and hurled it at Labadee. The man didn’t move, allowing it to strike his face and then licking his lips with a grin.
Alicia wasn’t impressed. “Stay right there. I can probably fit the next one in yer gob.”
Labadee opened his mouth.
Alicia ripped a chunk of timber free and sprang at the man. He was ready, striking out with the flat of the blade and then the tip. Alicia caught it deftly with the wood and then twisted, tearing it right out of his hands and trying to break his wrist in the process. Labadee let go quickly, backing up. Alicia sidestepped, but then Russo lunged too and splintered a little more of the ship. A man fell through a gap ahead, crying out with shock as he vanished into the bowels. Another man stepped onto a rotten spar and saw the bottom half of his body plummet until he wedged against his belt, left dangling and unable to wrench himself free. Jensen headed for the stern of the ship.
Alicia trod more carefully. The entire ship was groaning now, and she sensed it beginning to shift. Crouch was trying to skirt the vessel by using the rocks along the side, but the process was dangerous and slow. Healey looked like he didn’t know where to put his feet. A merc turned to take a potshot at the lad, but Caitlyn took him out.
“Keep moving!” Alicia shouted.
The ship’s prow buckled and fell with a deep grinding sound and a great splash of water. Timbers collapsed upon each other and several planks heaved themselves upward like spears. Alicia saw the crack tearing its way down the length of the galleon.
“Oh fu—”
She sidestepped, leapt away from the tear. Several mercs saw it coming and, to their credit, only one stayed there staring in confusion. He didn’t hang around
for long, plummeting the moment the running crack passed him by. The ship split apart, spars grating and groaning in resistance and in protest. Alicia felt herself overbalancing, but managed to compensate. Russo was not so nimble, nor so lucky. As the lower portion rolled so did the big solider, slipping, scraping and splashing into the deeper water.
Alicia made sure he was okay before letting a riposte come to mind, but by then Labadee was back in her face, and he’d brought a friend.
“Forrester,” the man said. The second of Jensen’s lieutenants.
“I don’t give a shit,” she said. “You assholes come any closer, you’ll find out what it’s like to get keelhauled.”
They hesitated. Alicia caught a glimpse of Jensen leaping into the water and swimming hard for the small cave exit. Several mercs were at his side. The rest were pretty thinned out. Crouch struggled with a man close to the water’s edge and Russo was busy swimming for a rocky shore. Healey waited at Alicia’s side.
Labadee then saw the red dot hovering around his chest.
Most men’s reaction would be to turn and dive, but the Jamaican only stopped and searched out the source of the dot. He found Caitlyn hidden among the rocks and gave a crooked grin.
“You people, you’re cleverer than you look.”
Alicia coughed. “And you’re not only stupider, but uglier too.”
Labadee frowned a little at that before holding out both palms and backing up. Forrester went with him, the man’s blond curls tightly wrapped to his bronzed skull.
They jumped into the water just as Russo climbed out. Alicia gave the surprised soldier a shake of the head.
“I’ve seen faster seahorses, Rob. Really I have.”
“I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
Healey helped him out. “Alicia said it.”
“Ah, then fuck you too, bitch.”
Crouch was waving wildly at them. “What are you all waiting for? We have them on the run! Let’s bloody well end this.”
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Beneath the calm waves there lay a quiet, confused world of drifting bodies, shattered timbers and more than one glinting bauble. Visibility was average though and allowed Alicia to pinpoint the exit as she swam closer. There was the brief kicking of heels ahead, underwater splashes, and then the last of the escaping mercs was gone. She struck out faster, hating the below-sea-level environment, but more concerned about her safety than her wishes at that point. The rest of the team were close by, bruised but still ready to fight.
The exit was little more than a narrow cave entrance, barely wide enough to accommodate the small galleon that Alicia assumed must have been sailed in during one of the few times a year it was accessible. Moss hung across the entrance and slithered across her skin as she swam by. Her lungs burned steadily, needing to breathe. Once through she arrowed up toward the surface, embracing the light that brightened with every kick of her legs. Crouch got there first and then Healey, but finally Alicia breached the surface.
Letting the water drip from her face, clearing her eyes, she quickly evaluated the ever-shifting horizon. Jensen’s white seaplane was anchored offshore, just as they’d spotted it from the air. Many pairs or arms swam toward it now, cutting hard through the clear, blue waters. The sun beat down relentlessly, already starting to dry the droplets on her skin. Alicia took a deep, sweet breath.
Russo started a strong crawl in pursuit of the men. By chance the plane lay close to a rock promontory and it appeared most of the mercs were making for dry land first rather than the plane. Maybe they had stashed gear there, or had taken boats from the main island since there were surely too many bodies for the plane alone.
That said, it wouldn’t surprise Alicia if Jensen hadn’t strapped a few to pontoons, wing struts and any other surface he could think of.
The Gold crew struck out for the rocks, staying low but keeping their weapons as much out of the water as possible. Sometimes they had to be submerged and should still work fine, but there was no reason to tempt fate. Russo aimed for a point behind the mercs as they scrambled out of the water, finding it hard to gain purchase on the saturated rocks, some falling back and others cracking their heads and bruising bones.
Alicia gathered her breath. “Steady on, Robster. Looking at those guys, you’re about to experience a calamity.”
“Once.” Russo shook his head. “I misjudged once.”
“And you’ll pay for it forever,” Healey said.
“One more comment and I’ll have your ass, Myles.”
“Ooh, promises, promises. Just name the place and position.”
Russo choked on seawater, head momentarily going under. Crouch hit the rocks first, found purchase, and pulled himself up. Healey helped Caitlyn and then Russo approached the jagged pile.
Alicia swam at his back, waiting.
“Wanna hand? A well-placed finger will have you squealing to the top of that pile in half a second.”
“Just stay away.”
The soldier heaved himself out and then Jensen’s men spotted them. Guns were drawn and shots fired. Crouch and the others took cover behind the rocks and started to creep forward. Alicia trod water for a while, watching the scene with frustration.
Why the hell didn’t I just jump out? Now I’m stuck her whilst the guys face a firefight. You’re such an idiot, Myles.
It all reminded her that she was in the crux of a big change, but some things were destined to remain exactly the same.
As if she’d ever stop taking the piss!
The rock cover was good, and the ways between them slippery but safe. The mercenaries were more concentrated on escape than confrontation, and soon began diverting their attentions to the plane and inflatables that lay tethered to the rocks. Alicia used the distractions to climb quickly out and shrug off a waterfall.
“Bloody Alsatian in more ways than one,” Russo muttered.
Alicia eyeballed the man. “You’ll pay hard for that.”
“Already am, Myles. Already am.”
The staggered, haphazard firefight continued steadily, the Gold Team creeping ever nearer. The mercs began to thin out and Alicia saw Jensen and his nearest cronies board the seaplane. She saw he had a further half dozen mercs with him who started to tether themselves to the plane. She lined up a shot, but at this distance with a handgun it was a useless effort. Better to keep the bullets.
The seaplane started up at the same time as several of the outboard motors belonging to the inflatables. Alicia took out another merc but the rest were already aboard and waiting for the escape.
She saw it all coming down to the last map.
Jensen took off and veered around in the air, coming above them and holding both hands out of the window. The rest of the doors stayed shut and then Jensen’s face popped out into the open.
Alicia had him dead to rights, but knew she couldn’t fire. Only criminals did that. The good guys had to wait to be fired upon first.
“You murdered more than half my crew! For no reason! You won’t leave me be! I’ll come for you all, believe me. After Morgan’s treasure I’ll be concentrating all my efforts on you and yours! I’ll wipe all of you out!”
The face pulled back and the plane went on its way. Some of what Jensen said was torn away by the winds but Alicia got the general gist.
“What a knob.”
Russo took a rock pew, wiping his face. “So what next, guys?”
“Panama City.” Crouch grimaced. “It was the last place Morgan sacked before returning to England where he thought he’d die. It’s the last map.”
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Panama City—arguably one of the most important cities throughout history. It was from here that the Spanish launched their expeditions to conquer the Inca empires of Peru. A transit point for untold wealth headed back to Spain. Beyond that, the canal, and the time that Captain Henry Morgan put fire to and destroyed the entire city. Alicia knew a little of the histories, the embellished ones and the much stark
er realities. What concerned her was the absolute size of the place, and the fact that Morgan practically razed it to the ground.
Their chartered jet bore them steadily through the clear skies.
“Now Michael,” she said. “Without meaning to be a bitch I do have to point out the vagueness and shoddy skills inherent in your mapmaking. They’re shit, and Panama City’s a pretty big place.”
Russo stared at her. “That’s not being bitchy?”
“Not even a little bit.”
Alicia watched Crouch’s face. The cave battle had interrupted their eye-opening conversation about Beau, and she was still processing the details. But she hadn’t liked what she heard. It showed a different side to Crouch—and the possibility that she’d read yet one more person incorrectly.
“Mapmaking skills aside,” Crouch said. “There is also the script, little though I remember of the final map, and the fact most of the city is comparatively new.”
“Morgan destroyed it,” Alicia said bluntly.
“Panama is where it all finally went wrong for Morgan,” Caitlyn spoke up. “He ended up having to divide his forces and march through forest and village to attack the fort, arriving starving and hounded by the Spanish. Forewarned, almost all of the potential treasure hoard had been loaded onto a galleon prior to his arrival and sailed out to sea. The pirates then decided to drink and carouse in Panama rather than use their superior nautical skill to chase down the ship. The city was put to flame.” Caitlyn shook her head sadly.
“A bad night for the pirates,” Russo said unnecessarily.
“It got worse,” Caitlyn said. “The sack of Panama broke the peace treaty between England and Spain, although it could be argued Morgan had no knowledge of the treaty at the time. In any case, his arrest was called for and Morgan had to return to his home and then the capital city to answer for his crimes.”
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