by Michael Cole
“Perhaps it just isn’t hungry, so you want my boys to dive in and send it a little invite to our party?” Red snarled.
“I have an explanation,” Napier said from inside the cabin. Both men stopped talking and looked at him. Red’s violent sadistic facial expression grew more intense as he made eye contact with the fisherman, whose back was facing them because of operating the boat.
“Listen, ‘Captain Morgan’! Speak one more time, I’ll stuff sweet Jane with tranquilizer and throw her over the bow for bait!”
“Knock it off, Red,” Wallack ordered. Red shot him a look of disdain, but quickly withdrew it. “Forgive the rudeness, Mr. Napier. What is your take on the situation?” Napier knew how he truly wanted to answer that:
Well, let's see. Four armed men, led by a crazy ass scientist, kidnap myself, my high school sweetheart, along with the Island Chief of Police and my daughter and her boyfriend. The take would be a felony abduction, with aggravated assault added to that jerk off Red. What I would like to see of this situation would be you assholes off my boat, stranded out here in that raft that was left here by that Rebecca person we saved.
His mind suddenly illuminated as if a switch had been flicked on. He stopped the vessel and turned to the deck. He needed to walk to the edge and look down to the main deck. It must still be there. Rebecca’s raft. It must! And Wallack had given him the perfect excuse to check.
“Why’d you stop the boat?” Red asked in his cold raspy voice.
“I don’t want to be distracted while driving,” he remarked while stepping out of the cabin. “That’s how accidents happen.”
“That’s fine,” Wallack said. “I want to hear the input from the oceanographer.”
“He dropped out,” Red complained.
“Didn’t I tell you to shut up?!” Wallack raised his voice. He exhaled sharply, cooling his nerves. “Again, I apologize. What’s your advice?”
“I think it may still be here, most likely in the cave,” Napier began. He walked to the edge of the deck, and casually looked down as if admiring everything going on down there. There were lights illuminating the whole deck area, allowing the mercenaries to be able to see what they were doing. Tools and equipment were scatted all over the place. Goliath stood in the middle of the deck, with a large duffle bag placed down near his left foot. That bag likely contained the scuba supplies. Morgan and Roketto tirelessly continued to throw bloody chum over the stern of the vessel. The stink of the fish guts radiated throughout the entire boat, including the upper deck. And in the back corner, starboard side, was the deflated raft, which Rebecca had conveniently brought along when she got rescued by Napier and Thompson. Beside it was the motor, which had been detached, but could easily be reinstalled once the raft got inflated. The raft would be too small for all of them. Hopefully he would be able to get Bondy and Thompson on it at least, and have them flee to the Coast Guard Cutter Ryback and get in touch with Commander Tracy.
“You have anything original to offer?” Wallack said. Napier’s mind refocused on the current task: BS-ing the mad scientist. However, he actually did have some reasonable thoughts for the scientist.
“I think the reason your baby isn’t taking the bait is because it has evolved instinctively regarding its diet. It used to carry the dietary patterns of a scavenger, particularly when your lab fed it on a regular basis. Since it came here, it had to track down prey. Kill food on its own to live. Now that it has a taste for blood, that’s the new instinctive memory.” Napier looked at Red. “I think it’s actually waiting for something to come down there. Or someone.” Red cracked a crooked smile.
“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you,” he growled.
“What he says makes sense,” Wallack said. “Now, tell your men to get suited up. They’re going into the cave.” Red looked the doctor in the eye. He hated being given instructions, at least by non-military individuals. However, he resisted the nearly irresistible urge to argue with the doctor.
“Fine! We’ll go test out your handyman harpoons for you. Hopefully your drugs will actually put Arthetu-Blah-blah to sleep.”
“Architeuthis Brachyura,” Dr. Wallack corrected him.
“Christ,” Red exclaimed. “Why can’t you just call the damn thing a crabsquid?! Instead, you lab-coats have to use these unpronounceable words.”
“I’d explain it to you, but it’s a moot point for somebody who cannot appreciate science,” Wallack said.
“I appreciate it just fine,” Red said. “I just appreciate the English language a lot more.” He stepped over the rim of the deck and climbed down the ladder to speak to his men.
Napier ignored their conversation. Instead, his attention had gone to the rumbling to the south, which had been growing steadily louder. Streaks of light began briefly illuminating the starless night sky, providing view of the massive storm clouds that resembled huge mountains tumbling toward them.
“Looks like we’re gonna get a little wet,” the doctor said. “Now get us to the south side of the island. We’re gonna give our friend some company.” He tapped his hand to Napier’s shoulder. After tightening his fists and playing out his mental fantasy of punching out the doctor and his mercenary accomplices, he complied with his command by going back into the cabin to steer the boat. In the cabin was Thompson, whose concern for him was growing by the minute. She looked at him, wanting to say something. Anything. Particularly one thing: that she cared for him, and she wanted to be there for him. Napier put his hands on the wheel and begun steering the Catcher to the right. He looked over to Lisa, and held his gaze. It was affectionate. He opened his mouth, trying to find the words to convey his message. Thompson waited patiently, her heart skipping a few beats.
“I have a plan,” he said in a whisper. Thompson didn’t say a word. It wasn’t what she expected, although she herself wasn’t sure what she expected him to say. After a moment she nodded along.
“Okay.”
“I need you to listen very carefully.”
CHAPTER
16
Thunder rumbled high in the black moonless sky above, while lightning flashed from one horizon to the other. The ocean surrounding Mako’s Edge sizzled as a torrential downpour spilled down to earth. Water vapor that developed from the bombardment of warm water was scattered in the air by the wind before it could thicken into fog. The water splashed between the numerous rocky structures and the Catcher, which was stationed as close to the cave as possible.
Rick Napier had no choice but to anchor the large vessel, which naturally tended to drift with the current. He had put the vessel in the most open area possible in order to avoid crashing on any rock formations. And he felt tense. This was no area for any fishing vessel to be, especially one as large as the Catcher. He stood on the main deck with Thompson, who shared his concern. His thoughts were also on the creature, and what it would do to his vessel. It wasn’t his property that he was worried for, rather it was his friends and his child.
Rain pummeled down on them from above, soaking Napier’s jeans and t-shirt. He had given Thompson his one raincoat from the cabin, which she reluctantly accepted after briefly debating that he be the one to wear it. The temperature around them had dropped a few degrees, yet there was a heaviness in the air in the form of humidity. On the wet deck were the three mercenaries, Goliath, Roketto, and Morgan, all geared up in their black wetsuits. Each of them had a tactical belt around their waists, which held all sorts of gear, including a side-arm, flares, and large canister-shaped objects. They each wore headsets along with their goggles and mouth pieces, in order to hear instructions from Red by radio. Goliath’s goggles also contained a small tube-shaped camera that protruded from the frame like a straw. The camera would transmit images to a computer Red had stored in the cabin, which Wallack would monitor as the team infiltrated the cave. The doctor was still up at the upper deck, waiting for the team to make their jump so he could begin monitoring the screen. Red stood at the portside stern, holding a large loaded har
poon gun pointed down like a soldier on guard duty. He would provide any cover fire if the team needed to get out of the water in a hurry. And considering what they were dealing with, that was a large possibility. He also had a small video monitor, which he had screwed into the rim, under the guardrail. Most of the spotlights had been turned off per Wallack’s instructions, believing that the intense light could be playing a factor in keeping the creature away. The only lights were a few lanterns on the deck, which allowed the men to be able to see what they were doing.
Napier watched the men collect their harpoons. The canisters attached near the drill tips were filled with a yellow-green liquid. Rain continued to beat down on them, and the thunder rolled as if an avalanche was taking place up in the clouds. Thompson was growing anxious watching them gear up. She recalled what she had experienced, trying to locate Steve Hogan’s sunken fishing vessel. Even with a light, it was very difficult to see down there. And she had even had a little bit of daylight remaining. She noticed that the mercenaries’ goggles appeared completely dark, like sunglasses.
“You guys sure you’ll be able to see down there?!” She shouted over the intense rainfall. The Thai mercenary with braided quarterback hair looked at her with lustful eyes.
“We’ve been to darker caves,” he remarked, spawning laughter from the other men, prompting Thompson to realize it was a sick perverted remark.
“They have night vision goggles,” Red spoke up. “They’ll be able to see just fine.” He turned to look at Napier. “While we have a few minutes, I suppose you’ll want to say ‘hi’ to your kid and your cop buddy.” Napier was somewhat shocked. This was probably the first time the mercenary leader had spoken to him without directly insulting him and without threats. He figured he’d take advantage of that.
“I would appreciate that,” he said. Red nodded his head to the lever door near the front of the deck on the starboard side and clicked his tongue, basically telling him to go ahead without supervision. The weapons had already been moved out of the storage area, so there was nothing Napier could do that had Red concerned at this point. Rick and Thompson opened the hatch and climbed the small five foot ladder into the storage area below. The light was on down there, giving a clear view of the room. It was actually quite spacious down below. The ceiling was high enough to allow an average height person to stand up straight. The room was about fifteen feet long and twelve feet wide. There was a door on the starboard side leading to a small bathroom, with a pump system that allowed the user to flush the waste into the ocean. On both sides of the room were two long seating benches, where the hostages were seated. Bondy was on the portside, while the kids were on the opposite bench.
“Nice to see you, Captain,” Bondy remarked. His hands were still bound behind his back.
“You guys alright?” Napier asked. He rushed to his daughter, while Thompson worked on the duct tape binding Bondy’s wrists.
“Well, I suppose under the circumstances they aren’t treating us too bad,” he remarked. He glanced over his shoulders at Thompson, who was working to free his hands. “You sure you want to do that? Might piss off the sheep herders up there.”
“At this point, I’m not concerned at whatever they may do,” she said. “They’re gearing up to dive in the water and harpoon the creature.”
“Well, shit then,” Bondy remarked. “Wish they let you come down five minutes ago. I tell ya, it’s not easy using the bathroom with your hands tied behind your back.” Thompson chuckled along with him. Across the room, Napier successfully freed the wrists of Greg and his daughter. First things first; he embraced Jane with a tight hug.
“You alright, baby?” he questioned.
“Yeah, I’m doing good Dad,” she said. She flexed her fingers, working blood back into her hands.
“You sure? Did they hit you? Anything like that?” he asked insistently.
“No, no,” Jane answered. “They threatened to, but they didn’t. We were on Greg’s boat when they came across us earlier. The police told us to go ashore because of the attacks, so we found the nearest place to beach, which happened to be near his place. And that’s when they found us.” She paused for a minute and looked to her boyfriend, and back to her father. “Dad, I was going to tell you about me seeing Greg. I was just afraid of how you’d react.”
“Honey, don’t worry,” Napier said. He turned his attention to Greg. “Hey bud. You doing alright?” The young man appeared almost as terrified as his girlfriend.
“Y-yes. Yes sir,” he spoke up. Napier put his right hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“Listen,” he spoke very carefully, “I’m going to need your help. You need to help me protect my daughter. We’re gonna get out of here, but in the meantime, your mission is to keep Jane safe. Can you do that for me?”
“Absolutely, sir,” the former disobedient student answered.
“If you can do that, then you don’t have to worry about my approval,” Napier said.
“What’s the plan?” Bondy asked, massaging his wrists. Napier took a seat next to Jane, putting his right arm around her shoulder.
“When we responded to the attacks earlier during the day, we rescued some survivors on a ripcord inflatable raft. The good news is that we still have the raft. The cool thing about this is that it’s a custom brand that comes with a small motor. All you have to do is pull on the ripcord and the thing just sucks in air, inflating it automatically, and then you hook up the motor afterwards. When we have the chance, I’m hoping to get you and Lisa on that raft, and have you guys high-tail it over to the Ryback and get the Coast Guard over here.
“You don’t want us to take the kids?” Bondy asked, sounding surprised.
“I want that more than anything right now,” Napier said. “However, the raft can only hold a couple people, and I think the people who’ll convince them the most of this situation are the two of you. So, right now, the mercenaries are about to make their dive to harpoon the creature.”
“Okay,” Bondy said. “So that’s when we’ll make our move.”
“No,” Napier corrected him. “I don’t want you guys out there until we’re sure that thing is put under. At that point, the mercenaries will be busy trying to hook up the net. That’s when we get you off this boat.”
“You think all four of them will be distracted?” Thompson asked. Napier shook his head.
“That guy Red will undoubtedly still be on deck,” he said. “I’ll have to distract him while you guys make a run for it.”
“Distract him? How?” Bondy asked. His eyes were wide open. He wasn’t very comfortable with what he believed Napier had in mind. Red was a trained killer, and only God knew how much vicious action he had partaken in over his years. The idea of going toe-to-toe with him was not sitting well in the chief’s gut. Granted, he had actually been punched in the gut by the merc, and it wasn’t pleasant.
“Let me worry about that,” Napier crossed his arms. The conversation was interrupted by the clunking noises from above, indicating footsteps. Quickly after, Red’s raspy voice called down from the hatch.
“Hope I’m not interrupting the lovely reunion! It’s time for you two to come up!” Napier gave Jane one more hug before standing up.
“We’re coming!” he called out. He let Thompson climb the small ladder ahead of him, following her closely. The thunder was still rolling, and the rain was still coming down, though not as hard. The other three henchmen were all geared up and ready to dive. In addition to the tactical belts and swimming gear, each of them wore a simple harness over their suits with a metal ring in the center of the torso.
“Napier, we’ll need you at the winch,” Red said.
“What’s the plan?” Napier asked while following his capture’s instructions.
“There should be enough cable to extend to the mouth of the cave. We’ve attached three simple clips to the end of the cable, themselves attached to three foot long lines, which also have a clip. If we need to get those guys out in a hurry, they�
�ll swim to the cable, hook the clips to their harnesses, and we pull them in at full power.”
“And hope they don’t smack into a rock during their ride back,” Napier said.
“It’s that or be eaten,” Red said. “First we’ll need you to put slack in the cable.” He looked up at Wallack. “You ready, Dr. Frankenstein?”
“Whenever you are,” the scientist called back down. Thompson and Napier’s eyes met once more. She was about to climb up to the cabin.
“Please be careful,” she said to him.
“You too,” he said.
“Oh for crying out loud,” Red barked. “It’s not like you guys are going swimming with it.” Thompson ignored him and began climbing the ladder, and Napier stood on standby with the winch lever.
CHAPTER
17
The three mercenaries took a simultaneous splash into the dark water. Goliath swam around the portside of the vessel, taking a hold of the heavy cable. His harpoon gun was strapped to his back, allowing him to use much of his strength to tug the long cable to the cave. Napier pulled the lever for the air winch, releasing slack at a slow steady rate. He didn’t want to release too much too fast, or the weight of the overall cable would sink to the bottom, likely becoming too much even for the Olympian sized gun-for-hire to drag it along. Morgan and Roketto led the way, aiming their harpoons in every direction they turned. With night vision goggles, they did not require flashlights to see where they were going.
Red stood at his post at the portside stern, keeping a grasp on the harpoon gun he wielded. He kept it pointed at the sky, while watching his small video monitor. He continuously had to wipe the rainwater off the screen, which caused him to curse the weather. Dr. Wallack took a seat in the cabin as he observed his own monitor, which had a larger screen and had a better signal receiver than Red’s. Thompson watched beside him, forced to stand due to the fact that Wallack was occupying the only folding chair. The screen showed everything lit in green night vision. The detail was incredibly clear. Thompson could see Morgan and Roketto swimming in front of the camera that was installed on Goliath’s headset. Other underwater details were very well defined in the night vision, such as the underwater view of the huge rocky structures which appeared to form a deserted underwater city. Shredded seaweed floated across the screen, with every loose strand rippling like a flag in wind.
