“To get attention,” said Cisneros. “I had hoped word of my boat would make it to the owners of the ships I attacked, or even President Grant himself. That’s why I ordered my men not to kill the crews of the ships. I hoped someone would seek out the creator of the submarine to learn more about it.”
“You didn’t think they would hunt you down?”
Cisneros snorted. “Again, that’s why I left the crews alive. I thought people would be more curious than angry.”
The captain and Fatemeh ate in silence for a time. Finally, Fatemeh paused and pointed her fork at the captain. “Would you be able to use your submersible to repair ships?”
Cisneros sat back and wiped his lips with a napkin. “I suppose so, Estarrol imagined he could use the Ictíneo to rescue divers.”
“Scientists might also pay to use such a craft to explore the ocean.” Fatemeh leaned forward. “Is Ensenada a good port?”
“It could be, with some development.”
“You’ve raided two gold ships at this point. Have you made back your investment in the Legado?”
The captain nodded. “Very close.”
“I think you see piracy isn’t going to get you the attention you want. Maybe you should find a better way to make people aware of your submersible. Perhaps Ensenada could be developed into a port to rival Los Angeles or even San Francisco. The Legado could be used to make repairs more efficiently than they could be made at other ports.”
The captain placed his napkin on the table and stood. He walked to the windows at the back of the cabin and looked out toward the night sky. “The only problem is that I’m now a wanted man. I suspect the captain of the Stockton would like nothing more than to see me swinging from the yardarm of his ship.”
Fatemeh sighed. She didn’t approve of Captain Cisneros’s decision to pursue piracy, but he had avoided killing. He was a good engineer. “Perhaps we could speak to Captain Mercer and Mr. Burke aboard the Stockton. If they would drop the charges against you, would you give up piracy?”
“Do you think they would listen?” The captain’s eyes remained locked on the darkened ocean outside his window.
Fatemeh chewed her lower lip. “To be honest, I’m not sure.”
“Why would you suggest this?” The captain turned his head. “Even though I’ve only attacked three ships, I’m still a pirate and I have taken you hostage. Even if we succeed, how do you know I would not simply return to piracy?”
Fatemeh nodded. “Your actions speak louder than words, sir. You could have chosen to lock me in your brig, rape me, or even kill me. You could have used the Legado to sink the Stockton. Instead you merely disabled her and you’ve left the crews you’ve come across alive. You would rather get rich selling the plans for the Legado than stealing gold.”
Cisneros looked down at his feet but did not say a word. Turning, he went to the door and summoned one of the sailors. The sailor escorted Fatemeh back to the first mate’s cabin. She heard him turn the key in the lock. Sitting on the bunk, she wondered what the captain would decide.
<< >>
“Ship approaching!”
Ramon was lying in his hammock aboard the Stockton when he heard the call from on deck. The Stockton had been adrift for two days and he wondered how long it would be before they were rescued. He rolled out of the hammock and as soon as his feet hit the deck, his head began to throb anew. He closed his eyes until the pain subsided just a bit, then made his way outside.
In the distance, Ramon saw the smoke from a ship’s steam engine. He climbed the ladder to the afterdeck and stood next to Captain Mercer and Mr. Burke. The captain scanned the approaching ship with his telescope. After a moment, he snapped it shut. “I’ll be damned if it’s not the Tiburón.”
“Why would she come back?” asked Burke. “They already took everything we have of value.”
“There are a few things that fancy-pants pirate could still take and I’ll be damned if I let him have them.” The captain stormed off the afterdeck, leaving Ramon alone with Burke.
As the Tiburón approached, Ramon noticed that she flew a white flag from the stern. He hadn’t noticed if there had been a flag there before.
Burke watched the ship through his own telescope. “They’re launching a boat.”
Ramon picked up the captain’s abandoned telescope and looked toward the Tiburón. His heart skipped a beat when he realized one of the people in the boat was Fatemeh. The others were the dandy captain and two of his sailors. Before long, they were approaching the Stockton’s side.
Just then, Captain Mercer appeared on deck wielding a Navy Colt revolver. Ramon realized he must have had it hidden in his cabin and the pirates missed it when they were cleaning out the ship’s store of weapons and ammunition. The captain took aim and fired at the boat. The shot went wide and there was a splash of water next to the boat. Seeing the danger to Fatemeh, Ramon launched himself down the ladder and tackled the captain.
“This is mutiny,” growled Mercer.
“They’re under a white flag and Fatemeh is aboard that boat,” countered Ramon.
The captain pushed Ramon off and made a grab for the revolver. Ramon kicked it further out of reach. “She was aboard under false pretenses,” said Mercer. “As far as I’m concerned she can hang with the damned pirates.”
As he spoke, Bryan Burke descended the ladder and picked up the captain’s revolver. “Just so, I would like to hear what they have to say. As Mr. Morales points out, they’re under a white flag.”
The captain sneered. “Very well.”
He motioned for two of the crewmembers to lower a rope ladder over the side. Once the boat from the Tiburón came alongside, the pirate captain and Fatemeh climbed aboard. The pirate bowed to Captain Mercer. “I have come to offer assistance to you and your vessel. Furthermore, if you agree not to pursue me, I will cease my raids on American vessels.”
“The only thing I’m interested in is your unconditional surrender!” shouted Captain Mercer.
Burke’s eyes narrowed. “Are you really willing to give up your raids on our ships? Why the change of heart?”
Fatemeh swallowed. “The captain realizes piracy isn’t as profitable as he once thought.”
Mercer turned toward Burke. “Don’t trust them. They’re pirates. She came aboard under false pretenses. She’s probably a spy for him.”
“She is no spy,” interjected Ramon. “I would trust her with my life.”
“All I want is to see these pirates hang!” Mercer’s face was beet red.
“You forget your place, Captain Mercer.” Burke’s voice was calm. “This is not a Navy ship. This ship is under contract to the Southern Pacific Railroad and I’ll decide what is in the best interests of the mission.”
“I am captain of this ship,” growled Mercer through gritted teeth.
“Not anymore.” Burke motioned for the first officer. “Mr. Reed. You’re in command. Please escort Captain Mercer below and then join us on deck.”
Reed saluted. “Yes, sir.” He called for two of the sailors to help him.
“I will not stand for this,” Mercer shouted as the men led him below decks. “I will be calling a maritime board of inquiry!”
Burke looked to Captain Cisneros once the door closed on the captain’s shouting. “What can you do to help us?”
The pirate captain smiled. “I would like to offer the services of my submersible, the Legado. I believe we can use it to repair the damage to the Stockton.”
Burke nodded approvingly. “I would like to see that. If it works out, would you be interested in licensing your patent to Southern Pacific Railroad?”
“We could certainly discuss that.” Cisneros smiled and looked to Fatemeh.
She winked at the pirate. “See, this is a far better way to get attention for your craft and a far better application than naval warfare.”
Burke and Cisneros shook hands. As Mr. Reed came out on deck again, Burke’s expression turned hard. “Although I am interest
ed in your submersible, I must warn you, if I agree to this and then find you’ve returned to your ways of piracy. I will not stop the next captain I send to hunt you down.” He cast a meaningful glance at Reed.
Cisneros nodded. “I understand.”
With that, Burke followed Reed up the ladder to the afterdeck.
Cisneros looked at Fatemeh. “You’ve given me new hope. What can I ever do to repay you?”
Fatemeh looked from Cisneros to Ramon, then she looked back to the Tiburón. “I do have something in mind.”
<< >>
Ramon sat in a small seat looking out through windows in the Legado’s side. He had never imagined there were so many varieties and colors of fish. The submersible dove deeper and they moved along the floor of the Pacific. The former sheriff of Socorro, New Mexico marveled at the sight of the corals and forests of undersea plants that swayed in the currents. He looked to the seat opposite him and smiled at Fatemeh, who was similarly enraptured by the sights visible through the windows. Captain Cisneros stood at the helm. His head disappeared into a small pillbox-shaped protrusion that rose above the submarine’s hull with a window facing forward.
Ramon turned and peered out at the ocean again. Although the submarine was smaller than the Stockton, Ramon no longer felt claustrophobic. Instead he felt like he was seeing the future, and he could see no limits to the possibilities.
Chapter Nine
Oil and the Future
Ramon Morales was in something of a daze as he walked hand-in-hand with Fatemeh Karimi to the pay office at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. His mind was still filled with visions of the wonders they had seen while under the ocean aboard Onofre Cisneros’s submersible, the Legado. After dealing with Randolph Dalton in Socorro and being turned away from a hotel room in San Francisco, Ramon had worried about a grim future. Now he began to see a glimmer of hope and he wondered what else would be in store for his life with the amazing woman whose hand he held.
They arrived at the pay office and Ramon handed the clerk a note written out by Bryan Burke just before they had left the USS Stockton. The clerk went to the safe and brought out a stack of twenty-dollar bills. He counted out two hundred dollars and passed the stack over to Ramon. Fatemeh handed the clerk her pay voucher while Ramon counted the money himself. His brow furrowed. “This can’t be right,” he said.
The clerk looked up and blinked at Ramon. “I’m sorry?”
“Mr. Burke promised me four hundred dollars for this expedition.”
“That’s not what it says here.” The clerk handed the pay slip back to Ramon.
Ramon gritted his teeth as he read the voucher carefully for the first time. He had been in such a daze since riding on the submarine boat that he really hadn’t paid attention when the railroad man wrote out the voucher. Indeed, it was only written for two hundred dollars. “There must be some mistake.” He turned to Fatemeh, who only received fifty dollars.
She shrugged. “I was only promised fifty dollars as an able seaman.”
“And pretty good wages, too, I might add,” said the clerk, who didn’t bat an eye that he’d just paid able seaman’s wages to a woman.
“Hang on,” said Ramon. “I’ll be right back.” He shoved the money in his pocket and stormed out of the pay office. A few minutes later, he was knocking on the door of the shack the railroad man used for an office.
Bryan Burke fumbled at the door for a moment before opening it. “Ah, Mr. Morales. What can I do for you?” One of Burke’s arms was already in a sleeve of his coat, the other side hung loose. He reached around and slipped the coat fully on.
Ramon held up the pay slip. “There must be some mistake. You promised me four hundred dollars if we stopped the pirate raids. I only received two hundred.”
Burke inclined his head and looked down toward his feet. “No mistake, I’m afraid.” He took two steps back toward his desk. “You see, the contract specified that we had to be certain the pirate raids were stopped for good. To my mind that means we would have had to bring Captain Cisneros to trial. Since that didn’t happen and since he still has his ship, we really have no guarantee he won’t raid us again.”
Ramon blinked at Burke. “But, he agreed to sell you his submarine design…”
“Yes,” said Burke slowly, “and that’s extra money we’ll have to pay out.” The railroad man put his hands behind his back and looked up at Ramon. “Thing is, I’m not really sure your skills as a marksman even contributed to stopping Onofre Cisneros and his pirate crew.” He shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the risk you took coming along on the mission. However, I think we were very generous paying you two hundred dollars under the circumstances. I just don’t think full payment is justified, either.”
Ramon’s shoulders slumped forward and he let out a sigh that sounded like air escaping from a balloon.
Burke put his hand on Ramon’s shoulder. “You see, I have to justify to my employers what I paid out based on what actually happened.”
Ramon nodded slowly. “I see your point, Mr. Burke.” He grinned wistfully. “It’s still a lot of money and I do appreciate it.”
The railroad man’s smile was genuinely charming. “I’m glad to hear it, my boy.” He turned Ramon toward the door. “Listen, if you need a reference for another job, I’ll be happy to provide one. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Morales, I need to check a few things and get home myself. I haven’t seen my wife for several days and she’ll be worried.”
Ramon felt the whoosh of air as the door closed quickly behind him. He trudged back to the pay office, where he found Fatemeh waiting for him.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Fine.” The word came out like a heavy sigh. “I just misunderstood the terms of the contract.” He brightened a little. “But hey, it’s still two hundred dollars. That will last us until I can find regular work.”
“I’m happy, Ramon.” Fatemeh wrapped her arms around the former sheriff and kissed him. “Let’s find some dinner and then hire a buggy home.”
Despite his smile and forced optimism, Ramon didn’t have much appetite and found himself worried a little more about the future. True, he had nearly six month’s pay in his pocket, but he was still disappointed that it was less than he had hoped for. He hoped he could find work before the money ran out again and worried that despite Mr. Burke’s smile, his promise of a reference might not be as helpful as it would have been if he had brought the pirates to justice.
They found a restaurant a short distance from the dockyard and ordered dinner. When it arrived, Ramon picked at his meal while Fatemeh talked about what they had seen in their short undersea voyage. Finally she stopped and looked at him. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
He forced another smile. “Yeah, just a little tired, I guess.”
Fatemeh nodded. “We should call it an early night.”
He saw the concern apparent in her eyes. Reaching across the table, he took her hand and felt a strength he really hadn’t noticed before. Perhaps it came from climbing the ropes on the Stockton, but somehow he knew there was more to it—there was an inner strength to Fatemeh Karimi that he valued more than anything. His breath caught and his appetite returned. They finished the meal in silence, then found a horse and buggy that would take them to the hotel room they shared.
Half an hour later, they stepped across the threshold. Ramon lit a match on the striker by the door and touched it to an oil lamp’s wick. Fatemeh closed the door and moved close. He turned around and took her in his arms. They kissed deeply. As they did, his hands on her back inched their way lower. She didn’t stop him. In fact, her own hands removed his vest, then she reached down and unbuckled his belt.
A moment later, they were sitting next to each other, on the bed. He suckled her earlobe then kissed her neck while she unbuttoned his shirt. He looked up, breathless. “Fatemeh, I love you, but…”
She put her finger to his lips. “We have been on the run for so long. Even i
n Mesilla as we were getting to know each other, we were on the run from poverty. Maybe we only have eight months’ wages between the two of us, but we’re not running anymore and we’re together. I love you, Ramon. I want you.”
Ramon took off his glasses, then kissed her again. He reached around and unfastened the clasps on the back of Fatemeh’s dress.
<< >>
An hour later, Ramon and Fatemeh lay in bed naked, wrapped in each other’s arms. “The time has come,” said Fatemeh, “to ask what we are together.”
Ramon smiled. “What we are, is amazing. Look at all the things we’ve done—stopped pirates, saved Luther Duncan and Mercedes Rodriguez, kept Alberto Mendez from blowing up Fort McRae…”
Fatemeh placed her finger lightly on Ramon’s lips. “I know, but what I mean is, what are we during the quiet times? What are we together when we aren’t dealing with a crisis? We lived in Mesilla for six months. I built a reputation as a curandera while you went off to work at the ranch and we only saw each other occasionally.”
Ramon sat up in bed and frowned. “Are you asking whether I’ve decided to convert to your Bahá’í faith?” He retrieved his glasses from the nightstand and slipped them on.
“I would be delighted if you were willing to do that.” Fatemeh sat up, pulling the sheet around herself. Ramon found himself thinking the modesty was at once strange given their newfound intimacy, yet very much in keeping with Fatemeh’s personality. “Actually, I’m asking something more fundamental. What are your plans with your life, Ramon Morales? What are your goals?”
Ramon reached out and took Fatemeh’s hand. “Now more than ever, I want to marry you, corazón. I will do whatever it takes…”
“I think you need to find yourself, Ramon.”
He laughed and put his hand on his chest. “I’m right here, Fatemeh!”
She smiled in spite of herself. “I don’t mean that. I mean how do you envision the world in twenty years? What will your place in it be?”
Ramon took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I guess I really haven’t thought about that.” He blinked twice, then looked into Fatemeh’s vivid, green eyes. “How do you see the world in twenty years?”
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