Deep Wild Blue

by Michael Maguire

  ‘Right, smash those doors down with one hit.’

  Joe revved the engine then lifted a metal lever on the dashboard. The vehicle squealed, jumped forward, and sent the huge scoop into the top of the wooden doors.

  The noise was deafening. Both doors splintered and crashed inwards, hitting the floor in a cloud of dust.

  As the grimy fog cleared the Riddles could see Kristo lying in the cradle. He hadn’t been turned for another mission so his tail faced towards the brothers and his head faced away from them.

  Len acted quickly. He pulled a dirty piece of cloth from his pocket and covered the dorsal fin camera.

  ‘Just a precaution,’ Len said. ‘I was in here when that Archie kid switched off the shark’s artificial intelligence, so I know what I’m doing.’

  Len Riddle used a screwdriver to open the front hatch which gleamed with glowing icons. He remembered the one which controlled the intelligence circuit and gave Joe a sickly grin as he pressed it.

  The dashboard went dark.

  ‘Kristo’s all ours,’ Len chuckled. ‘Reverse the truck in here and we can get him moved.’

  Len put pressure under the cradle clips and moved Kristo forward by hand, stopping just before he would drop to reach the rails. Joe had backed the truck into the boathouse, crunching over the broken doors. He switched on power to the scoop and turned a wheel in the cab to lower the crane arm until it dropped beside Kristo.

  ‘Whoa…whoa… Perfect!’ Len was getting excited. ‘Now take it easy, Joe. Wiggle she scoop under the middle of Kristo so you get the balance right, then slowly lift him into the middle of the truck.’

  Joe wiped the sweat from his forehead as the scoop scraped its way under the shark’s belly. He lifted the arm of the crane and could almost feel the weight of Kristo as he lay on the scoop – head hanging one side and huge tail the other.

  ‘Geez, he looks so big when close-up,’ Joe’s breath hissed through his teeth.

  ‘Careful… careful…’ Len said. ‘Now gently lower him onto the bed of the truck and slide the scoop out of the way.’

  Joe did as he was told.

  Kristo’s length caused them a problem as his tail fin still hung over the flap at the end of the truck.

  Len reached into the cab for a roll of black plastic sheeting. He heaved himself up and into the rear of the truck and covered Kristo in the best way he could.

  ‘Take it slow on the way back,’ he instructed Joe. ‘I don’t want the wind to catch the plastic stuff and blow it off.’

  There was a soft explosion carried on the breeze from the sea as Joe started the truck’s engine.

  Joe gave a sarcastic sniff as he looked at Len. ‘That’s the depth-charge exploding,’ he said. ‘So it weren’t no dud, brother’.

  ‘Okay, I got it wrong,’ Len grunted. ‘Now take a slow trip back to the scrap yard. All the sightseers will be leaving, including the Scott family.’

  ‘Do you still plan to drop Kristo in the crusher?’

  Len gave a definite nod. ‘All the trouble he’s given us? The crusher will be the most vicious way to kill him off.’

  As Joe pulled away he spotted the large shape of an impressive white vessel winding its way from the direction of Driftwood Cove and past the private beach of Gull Cottage.

  ‘That’s Lord Braxton’s super-yacht,’ he said, giving Len a nudge. ‘He’s having a brief holiday down here with his teenage daughter.’

  ‘I know. The boat’s called Cornish Destiny. I read about it in the paper. He’s filthy rich – a multi millionaire. I hate rich numb-nuts like him.’

  ‘Well it’s up to poor people like us to help him share out his money. There’s bound to be stacks of stuff in that yacht just beggin’ to be stolen.’

  Len nodded. ‘I like the way your mind’s workin’ Joe,’ he said.

  *

  ‘What the heck! Oh, no I don’t believe this.’

  Troy, Lucy, Archie and Uncle Jacob stood on the broken boathouse rear doors. They could see that the cradle had been opened and that Kristo was missing.

  ‘The Riddles!’ Archie scowled. ‘The fleabags guessed we would go to watch the Navy stuff and took their chance to bust in here and steal Kristo.’

  ‘We can’t be positive it was the Riddle brothers,’ Jacob murmured.

  ‘I think we can,’ Troy stated, bending down to the flattened doors and pointing to the muddy tyre tracks. Their lorry – the one with the crane and scoop has four rear wheels to cope with heavy loads. These marks show the prints of four rear tyres.’

  ‘No-one else in Milford has a truck that big,’ Lucy reasoned.

  ‘It looks like you’re right,’ Jacob admitted. ‘But what do you think they plan to do with Kristo?’

  ‘Who knows?’ Troy stood up. ‘But I plan to get him back.’

  ‘I bet they’ve taken him to the scrap yard.’

  ‘That’s my guess too… Okay everyone back in the van.’

  They all ran towards the vehicle, apart from Uncle Jacob who had to lean on Troy for a bit. Lucy and Archie hopped in the back while Troy settled behind the steering wheel, checking that Jacob was comfortable before revving hard and heading out.

  ‘If only we hadn’t waited on the cliffs at Driftwood Cove we might have caught them moving Kristo,’ Archie said.

  ‘Sorry, that was my fault,’ Lucy admitted. ‘I wanted to see the Navy scuba divers.’

  Unfortunately for Lucy the divers hadn’t been used. The depth-charge had exploded immediately it had been touched by the unmanned remote control vehicle on the sea bed.

  ‘We’re here,’ Troy said, as the van cruised through the outskirts of Milford. He made a few turns then steered under a rusty sign which announced, “Riddles’ Scrap Yard”.

  ‘The twins stay in the van,’ he instructed. ‘Leave this to Uncle and me.’

  ‘I see them!’ Archie immediately shouted, pressing his nose against the tiny rear window. ‘The truck with the scoop is parked by the crusher.’

  Troy slammed the van into reverse and backed up to the crusher. He could see Kristo hanging either side of the scoop and Joe Riddle was in the lorry’s cab fiddling with the controls in order to get Kristo positioned centrally and ready to drop.

  ‘Come to watch the end of Kristo?’ Len Riddle suddenly appeared behind Troy and Jacob.

  The back doors of the van burst open and Archie and Lucy joined the group. ‘Leave our shark alone!’ Archie managed a menacing voice, but inside he was shaking.

  ‘I told you two to stay in the van,’ Troy said. ‘Things could get dangerous.’

  ‘Your brother’s right,’ Len Riddle gave a throat-cackling laugh. ‘We might just decide to throw Blondie and you in the crusher.’

  ‘Don’t worry about Kristo,’ Uncle Jacob spoke up.

  ‘What?’ Troy said.

  ‘I said, don’t worry about Kristo,’ Jacob repeated.

  Frown lines ran up Troy’s forehead. ‘Sorry, Uncle, I don’t understand?’

  Len Riddle was standing by the red and green buttons that operated the crusher. He fingered them in a teasing manner.

  ‘Are you ready for the drop?’ Joe called out.

  ‘Ready when you are,’ Len replied, still grinning.

  The scoop tipped and Kristo rolled forward dropping heavily into the crusher’s jaws.

  Joe stabbed a finger at the green button. The crusher’s top and side panels hissed as the fluid which powered them pushed and crushed and tried to pack down hard on Kristo.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Uncle Jacob said again.

  Archie was biting his lip and Lucy had her fingers squeezed into her palms.

  There was a groaning, snapping, breaking, and scraping sound which made Joe jump from the scoop truck.

  ‘What the hell’s going on?’ Joe yelled at Len. ‘Something’s wrong
. Keep pressing the green button.’

  The crusher’s panels began to bend. It was as if they couldn’t take the pressure being placed upon them. The hissing noise increased as one by one the hoses burst from their mounts, leaking fluid everywhere.

  Uncle Jacob put his arm around Lucy. ‘I told you not to worry,’ he said softly. ‘Nothing can crush Kristo… He’s made of the strongest metal in the world.’

  ‘Of course!’ Troy snapped his fingers and looked at Jacob. ‘You built him out of titanium.’

  ‘Mostly titanium, but some parts are tungsten.’

  ‘That’s why you told us not to worry?’

  ‘Exactly, my boy. The crusher can only deal with old steel cars. Kristo is virtually indestructible.’

  Len Riddle walked around the crusher, bending here and there to inspect the damage. As all the panels buckled there was a loud “twang” and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

  Kristo rolled out of the base of the crusher towards where Troy was standing. He looked unmarked.

  ‘You’ve killed our crusher machine!’ Joe said choking on the words as spittle ran down his chin.

  ‘Are they expensive?’ Archie queried, holding back a smirk.

  ‘Thousands, boy! Thousands!’

  ‘Claim off the insurance, then. They’ll sort it out.’

  Troy could barely resist a smile. He knew only too well that Archie had a smug side but had no idea he knew about such things as insurance.

  ‘Good idea, Mr Riddle,’ Jacob said. ‘Put in an insurance claim. Tell them you were trying to crush a Great White Shark.’

  ‘You’re trying to be funny, old man,’ Joe murmured thickly. ‘But don’t try it on with the Riddle brothers.’

  ‘It was a grotty old machine, anyway,’ Lucy said.

  ‘It did look as though it needed some maintenance,’ Jacob added.

  ‘Shut your blow-hole, Grandad,’ Len rasped.

  ‘Jacob is our Uncle, not our Grandad,’ Lucy said.

  ‘And you two are bullies,’ Archie told the Riddles.

  ‘This action with our crusher will be reported,’ Joe muttered.

  ‘Reported! Ha!’ Archie piped up. ‘You stole Kristo and smashed up our boathouse.’

  ‘We could call the police,’ Lucy said.

  ‘And probably will,’ Archie added.

  Joe hesitated. ‘I need a stiff drink,’ he said to Len. Both muttered a few swearwords then walked towards the caravan.

  ‘If you want your truck back it will be at Gull Cottage!’ Troy shouted after them.

  ‘Shall I take the twins home in the van?’ Jacob asked.

  ‘Yes please, Uncle. Kristo goes with me in the truck, and Archie and Lucy go with you.’

  Troy climbed into the cab of the truck. He had lowered the crane and was gently inching the scoop under Kristo. Lucy and Archie were easing the head and tail into a safe position for lifting.

  ‘Are we okay?’ Troy shouted out.

  ‘All clear, Boss,’ Archie offered the thumbs up.

  The crane gave a slight jolt and then lifted. Kristo hung high in the air for a moment then Troy turned the scoop and lowered him gently onto the bed of the truck.

  ‘Cool,’ Archie said.

  Troy climbed from the cab and heaved himself into the rear of the vehicle. He covered Kristo with the plastic sheet in case onlookers got curious.

  Within seconds he was back in the cab and exiting under the scrap yard sign and out onto the county road. Jacob followed with the twins in the van.

  They were all on their way back to Gull Cottage.

  Chapter Six

  ‘I’ve just seen a shark, Daddy,’ Scarlett Braxton told her father as she leaned over the brightly polished chrome rear rails of Cornish Destiny.

  Lord Braxton, a man in his fifties laughed as he climbed the steps to the sun-deck. He had iron grey hair and was superbly tanned. He was wearing blue shorts that reached to his knees and expensive deck shoes.

  ‘You’re being silly, darling. The water around Cornwall is far too cold for sharks.’

  Scarlett huffed. ‘I know what I saw.’

  Andrew Braxton pulled a walkie-talkie from the pocket in his shorts and asked a crew member to go to the library and bring a fish and mammal encyclopaedia to the yacht’s sun-deck.

  Scarlett flicked through the pages of photographs and paused at a picture of a Great White shark.

  ‘It was the same shape as this, Daddy.’

  Cornish Destiny was travelling slowly along the coastline and the yacht was almost level with Gull Cottage. Two days had passed since the incident with the depth-charge and the vessel was nearly at the end of its cruise to explore the Cornish sights.

  Scarlett spotted Troy at the beach edge and immediately began to wave. She was wearing a snake print and white cut-out bikini and instantly caught Troy’s eye. Troy had lifted his binoculars and was talking to Archie on the tiny transceiver. He recognised the yacht and as holiday visitors always waved, he waved back.

  ‘On the cliff above the boy is Gull Cottage,’ Lord Braxton said. ‘It’s been featured in a few glossy magazines. It will be purchased by the Council unless somebody buys it. The ground underneath the cliff is crumbling and needs a heck of a lot of work to make it safe.’

  Scarlett could see Jacob and Lucy lending a hand to a carpenter who was fitting new doors to the boathouse.

  ‘Looks like they’ve had trouble with the boathouse,’ Lord Braxton commented, squinting through binoculars. ‘I reckon the whole place needs money spent on it.’

  ‘It looks a lovely cottage. I can’t bear the thought of it falling into the sea.’

  ‘It would be very expensive to put everything right.’

  ‘You could do it,’ Scarlett reasoned. ‘You love sorting out difficult problems.’

  Lord Braxton gave Scarlett a knowing look. ‘Would this have anything to do with my daughter’s 18th birthday next month?’

  ‘Well you did promise to buy me a flat.’

  ‘Yes, a flat or an apartment – Not a cottage that’s just waiting to slide down the cliff edge.’

  Scarlett pouted and fluttered her big blue eyes. ‘You could moor Cornish Destiny at the Marina and visit me all the time…’

  Lord Braxton put a finger to her lips. ‘You certainly know how to twist my arm,’ he said. ‘I’m surprised you haven’t mentioned my hobby.’

  ‘Oh, did I forget to remind you that this stretch of coast is the absolute best for rod fishing?’

  ‘You’re very good at getting your own way, Scarlett.’

  ‘You mean I’m spoilt?’

  ‘Yes, I do.’

  ‘Maybe a little bit.’

  ‘Maybe a lot.’

  ‘Can we?’

  ‘Can we what?’

  ‘Have a visit to Gull Cottage… Just to look over it.’

  Lord Braxton gave a heavy sigh. ‘Okay, you’ve won again – as you always do.’

  Troy was getting anxious on the beach. He’d sent Archie and Kristo for a test run to check if any minor damage had been done to the shark while trapped in the Riddle crusher.

  He paced up and down and silently prayed that Cornish Destiny would move out to sea and well away from the Gull Cottage beach.

  ‘Is it safe to come in, Boss?’ Archie’s voice echoed from the transceiver. ‘I’ve tested all the equipment and everything’s working well apart from the camera in the dorsal fin. The picture’s a bit wonky. That’s how I missed getting too close to the yacht.’

  ‘I’ll fix it when you get back,’ Troy told him and gave a sigh of relief as he watched the carpenter demonstrate how easily the new rear boathouse doors closed. The man collected his tools and shook hands with Jacob before moving off in his van.

  ‘Just waiting for the yacht to leave, and then you’ll be clear to
return.’ Troy spoke to Archie.

  A few minutes passed then Troy spotted a belch of white smoke from Cornish Destiny’s stern.

  ‘Looks like they’re leaving now,’ Archie told Troy. ‘I can hear the engines.’

  ‘Dive down deeper and keep out of sight. You were too near the surface when they passed you awhile ago. It’s possible they’ve already seen Kristo.’

  Archie hit the rudder pedals and tapped the icon to increase speed. Kristo whooshed forward and nosed down. The camera on the dorsal fin transmitted a few shaky pictures of the shark diving deep under Cornish Destiny’s hull as Archie headed for the shoreline.

  Troy was waiting by the transporting rails at the sea edge. He watched the yacht disappear from view before signalling to Jacob and Lucy to send the cradle out of the boathouse.

  Kristo was visible now and as the cradle reached Troy he backed away from the sea edge. He watched as the shark’s guidance system locked onto the rails and Kristo slid into the cradle.

  Moments later they were inside the boathouse and Troy was helping Archie out of the front hatch.

  ‘No real problems to report, Boss,’ Archie said. ‘Everything working as it should, apart from the jerky signal from the dorsal fin camera.’

  Jacob was already examining Kristo. ‘A connection inside the fin could have shaken loose,’ he told Troy. ‘I’ll strip it down and check it. Kristo took a lot of banging about at the scrap yard and then in the truck… but he should be easy to fix.’

  Troy’s mobile phone began to ring. It was a call from the Milford Estate Agency. Lord Andrew Braxton had phoned from the yacht requesting a viewing of Gull Cottage.

  ‘Would tomorrow be okay?’ Troy asked his Uncle, explaining the enquiry.

  ‘I suppose so,’ Jacob nodded limply and began fiddling with wires that led to the dorsal fin camera. ‘The Estate Agency has advertised the Cottage in one of these high-class magazines – so I expect we’ll get more and more of these visits.’

  Archie and Lucy exchanged worried glances. Troy began to cover the head of Kristo with plastic sheeting and tried to block out any thoughts of Gull Cottage being sold.