“He’s too far away,” Robert said. “You’ll be wasting bullets.”
Jack looked him in the eye. “You have more, don’t you?”
“Several boxes.”
“Then the twenty in here won’t matter. He got lucky. I might as well.”
“Be quick about it and get back in here.”
“You can count on that.”
Dana was on her knees. She let her fingers slide across his arm as he moved aft. A tender touch of concern that bolstered his resolve. He paused at the door, jacked a round into the chamber, and stepped onto the rear deck.
He had an idea where the shooter was but that was all. Giving the carbine plenty of elevation, he fired off all twenty rounds without stopping.
A broadside of sorts.
It felt good to be returning fire even if he had little to no chance of hitting the guy. He ducked back into the cabin and took several calming breaths. He’d know soon enough if his display of bravado did any good. At least the asshole knew they were armed and willing to fight back.
He’d not give up easily.
CHAPTER 52
Jack peeked between the blinds. They were beyond rifle range, except for the most skilled shooters. But they’d be reversing direction at any moment.
And run the gauntlet one more time.
“What do you want to do?” Robert asked. “We’re coming up on the spot where we hooked that poor sap’s body.”
He sighed and let the louvers fall back in place. “Don’t mind saying it makes me a little nervous knowing that guy’s up there waiting. Kind of makes me feel like one of those metal turkeys in a shooting gallery. The ones with a great big bullseye painted on their middle.”
“It’s not the waiting we have to worry about. He shot at us once. I’m sure he’ll do it again.”
“That goes without saying. I wonder why he waited until we were a ways past him to shoot at us the first time.”
“Maybe he was waiting for orders.”
“Or he was late getting into position. Either way it doesn’t change the fact we’ll be sitting ducks.”
“You want to quit?”
“Take more than that guy up there on the side of the mountain to make me toss my cards in. Swing the boat around and make another pass a little farther out, but as close to the one we just finished as you can. Maybe fifty or sixty feet of water. We might get lucky this time around.”
“Before he starts shooting?”
Jack nodded. “Before he starts shooting.”
Robert made the turn and used the previous course data stored in the Garmin to plot the next run. Now the sea came at them from a different angle. The bow plowed into the white-capped swells.
Jack felt the change in the bob and pitch of the deck under his feet. “Doesn’t feel like this storm is letting up any.”
“Wind’s picked up,” Robert said. “You can hear it.”
Jack nodded. “And smell it.”
He noticed Dana standing at the galley counter, swaying back and forth like a drunken sailor. Somehow, the coffee in the cup she was holding managed to not splash over the rim. Her experience in operating in water rougher than what tossed them around, was showing.
She handed him the steaming mug of Joe and glanced in Robert’s direction. “Can I get you one? Kazuko’s having tea.”
“Love one,” Robert said. “Staring at this screen is making me cross-eyed.”
She went back to work at the counter, and Jack faced the windshield expecting to see nothing but rough water ahead. Instead, he saw a large, white-hulled vessel that had slipped into the area unseen.
He took a second look.
“It’s not just the weather that’s making a turn for the worse,” he said, motioning his cup toward the glass. “Whatever luck we had working for us, just went to shit. We have company.”
Robert stood from his Kirkchair and narrowed his eyes at the glass. “Check the ship out through the binoculars. That doesn’t look like your run-of-the-mill fishing boat to me.”
“Hold this.” Jack handed him the cup of coffee. “Doesn’t look like one to me either.”
He grabbed the field glasses and raised them to his eyes, bringing the lenses into focus. He and Robert had both been right. It was no fishing boat. And to worsen matters, two anchor ropes set at an angle to each other off the bow pulled tight in the current. The vessel wasn’t going anywhere.
And it didn’t look like they planned to anytime soon.
“Let me have those,” Robert said, his hand extended. “It’s Takahashi’s men, isn’t it?”
“Relax. You’ll get your turn.” Jack went back to studying the boat. “The Ichiban, according to the name painted on her hull. Large, flat deck aft, a row of SCUBA tanks along the gunwale, winches, acetylene equipment, a couple of small cranes for raising plunder from Davy Jones’s Locker. I’d say she’s about eighty feet from stem to stern, not all that big when it comes to lifting a large motoryacht off the bottom, but more than enough to salvage a safe from inside of it.”
Robert took the glasses from his hand, gave him back his coffee, and raised the binoculars to his eyes. “It’s them all right. I assume you have a plan?”
“Puts a wrinkle in things, doesn’t it?” Jack sipped his coffee. “They weren’t out here running a grid search so they knew exactly where to look.”
“The locater beacon,” he said. “But Maiko said it stopped working.”
“Maybe it started working again, I don’t know. One thing is for certain, they’re not messing around. They mean to raise that safe, and fast.”
“Which leaves us with nothing but a boat ride.”
“I say we hold onto our cards a while longer.”
“And do what?”
“We can cruise by nice and close to get a fix on their position and then sit off a ways to see what they do.”
“Sitting back and watching is out of the question,” Robert said. “Either the guy up on that hill will sit back and take potshots at us or the current will smash us to pieces on the reef.”
“I didn’t mean actually sitting in one place. We’ll hang off the coast a ways and make it look like we’re searching elsewhere. That shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Unless the men on that boat start shooting.”
“A chance we’ll have to take.”
Robert made a slight course adjustment, and said, “Prepare to repel boarders.”
“I’ll man the cannons,” Jack said.
CHAPTER 53
Jack grabbed the mini-14 and peered through the windshield at the salvage boat rocking dangerously in the storm-driven swells. Buffeted by wind gusts, spray kicked up by the pounding waves was swept over the bow and onto the forecastle.
The ship would be hell to work off of.
Robert throttled up, increasing their speed by another five knots. “I’m going to steer straight at them and veer off to starboard at the last second.”
Despite the bravado and confidence in his friend’s voice, Jack noticed a hint of glassy fear in his eyes. He was a damned good captain, more than capable of handling his forty-foot sportfisher. But steering straight at the workboat in the middle of a storm, and with a quartering sea, nothing was predictable.
Jack placed a calming hand on his friend’s shoulder. “No need to rush this.”
Robert grinned, and said. “Who’s rushing?”
Fast Times plowed in the whitecaps, curling the waves back like Moses parting the Red Sea. The fiberglass hull taking all the punishment the enraged ocean dished out. No shots reverberated from the cliffs. Either the shooter knew he was out of range or the game was now in the hands of the men aboard the salvage boat.
Jack kept his attention directed forward.
There was nothing to do now but wait.
Twenty-five yards separated the two vessels when they started past directly astern of the Ichiban. They were taking a chance getting this close to the enemy, but Jack felt it was worth the risk. He wanted a clear look at w
ho he was dealing with and as precise a fix on the location of the shipwreck as possible.
“Stay low,” he said to the women. “This might get dicey.”
“Might?” Dana gave him a look that told him he was nuts, they all were.
And she was right.
She muttered, “I’m going out on a limb here, but I get the feeling this is not one of your better ideas.”
Jack smiled, trying to grin his way out of it.
Her expression suggested she wasn’t buying it.
“Unless it turns to shit,” he said, “it’s a stellar idea.”
Taking a firm grip on the mini-14 carbine, he crouched at the side window and opened the blinds with his left hand just enough so he could clearly see the crew and what they were doing on deck. Tethered to two heavy anchors, the salvage boat jerked and bobbed like a brahma bull in a rodeo chute. Four sets of dark eyes cast cold stares back at him. He guessed there was another pair or two watching from the wheelhouse. The crew was Asian, most likely Japanese. He’d be surprised if they weren’t.
Robert held the shotgun across his lap and steered the boat with his free hand. “See anything?”
“Four guys on deck. Looks like two tanks are missing from the rack. There must be divers in the water.”
“Idiots,” Dana said.
“Without question,” Jack said. “But not so bad for them down below.”
Kazuko stood next to Robert and clutched hard onto the backrest of his chair, studying the depth finder. “If they have divers on the bottom, it means they’re sitting directly on top of the Orochimaru. The yacht should show up on the screen at any moment.”
Jack glanced at the monitor, then redirected his attention to the crew of the Ichiban. They all stared, frozen in the midst of work. “And like we figured, they knew right where to look.”
Robert said, “Apparently so because I’m looking at the yacht right now. Seems Maiko had more information than she gave us.”
“I’m betting that was all she knew.” Jack continued to study the salvage boat on the way past. “The problem now is they beat us to her. Which means they’ll soon have the necklace.”
Careful to keep her head below the window frame, Dana scooted next to Jack and whispered, “That means you’re heading in, right?”
“Not yet.” He watched the crew go back to work. Two divers surfaced and two different divers dropped into the water. Whatever they were doing forty feet below was taking time.
A lot of time.
He knew there were still eyes on them even though they continued on by. But other than the crew on deck, no one had shown themselves. Which struck him as odd. Takahashi would have someone aboard she trusted to bring the diamond back to her. And he had an idea who it was.
He sure wanted a peek inside that wheelhouse.
Dana put her hand on his shoulder. “But there’s nothing we can do.”
“Sure there is.” He ducked below the window and looked at her. “I want to see if they bring that safe up.”
“And if they do?”
“We go to plan B.”
“Which is?”
“We’ll figure that out when the time comes.”
CHAPTER 54
Jack removed his cap and combed his fingers through his hair. The salvage boat was a hundred feet behind them and Crewcut still hadn’t shown himself. He would have sworn the big man was aboard, and that he would’ve jumped at the chance to take a shot at them. After all, it was his friends who had climbed aboard Fast Times in the middle of the night to kill them.
And failed.
He raised up, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Or was it a sense of self-preservation?
A second later, Crewcut appeared. Jack watched him step from the wheelhouse with a semi-automatic pistol in his hand.
The fucker.
Jack tightened his grip on the mini-14. “It’s him.”
“Who?” Robert asked from the helm.
“Takeo. The big sonofabitch that slapped me around. The friend of those two assholes last night.”
Jack did not wait for a response.
Or a lucky shot to find its target.
He hurried onto the rear deck and made eye contact with Crewcut. There was that same smile. Smug. Confident. The one he wore when he calmly took the butterfly knife out of his pocket and flicked it open.
Jack gave him the finger an instant before the thug raised his pistol and fired. Three pops, wild shots that splashed harmlessly into the water.
There was no way for either of them to steady their aim with the decks pitching wildly under their feet.
Even so, Jack raised the carbine to his shoulder. He wanted to put lead in this man for Maiko . . . for wanting to murder them in their sleep. He’d shoot to kill if he had to, but he didn’t want to risk being the one going to prison for murder. Not with so many witnesses to testify against him.
Surely, the entire salvage crew would swear he gunned the big man down for no reason.
Still, he had to do something.
He fired a half-dozen rounds, peppering the water ten yards in front of the workboat. Enough to make Crewcut duck for cover.
He kept the carbine up. Ready to return fire if necessary.
“Fuck that guy,” Robert said as he emerged from the salon.
Jack turned to see his friend with the shotgun in his hands. The Mossberg came up, already in play. But before he could say anything, three booms reverberated across the water the instant he turned his focus back on Crewcut. Three splashes erupted next to the hull at the waterline.
“Not exactly a volley of cannon fire,” Robert said, “but it’ll do.”
Jack heard the engines’ RPMs increase and felt the sportfisher pick up speed. “You made your point. Now who’s at the helm?”
“Dana, of course. I told her to goose this thing and get us out of here.”
“Good call.” Jack looked up at the clouds and closed his eyes to the drops hitting him in the face. “It’s starting to rain. Let’s get inside.”
“The winds picked up, too. We’d better batten down the hatches.”
“It’s starting to rain,” Dana said from her seat at the wheel. “And that wind has to be blowing thirty knots.”
“We noticed,” Jack said, his disappointment obvious in his tone.
“Sorry. I should have figured as much.” She sounded just as frustrated. “But those clouds are really black. My advice is head in, now.”
Kazuko fought the pitch and roll of the deck and made it to Robert without falling. She held onto his arm, and said, “She’s right. Let’s go before the weather gets worse than it already is.”
“You’re sure?” he asked.
“Very,” she said.
He looked at Jack. “You heard Dana. Kazuko also wants to head in. I’m thinking it’s a good idea. A small craft warning went out forty-five minutes ago, and as you can see the storm shows no sign of letting up. It’s not worth staying out here any longer. We made our point. And if the Ichiban wants to stay and fight this sea, they can. But it’s doubtful they will.”
Jack realized they were talking sense. “You’ll get no argument from me. I suggest we head back to Manele Bay. It’s closer and safer than crossing the channel. We can drop anchor and ride the storm out there.”
“Excellent idea,” Robert said as he retook his place in the Kirkseat. “Kazuko and I will get a room at the Four Seasons Resort and relax in comfort. In the morning we can decide what we’re going to do. We’ll have clear heads after a hot shower, a gourmet meal, and a good night’s sleep.”
Jack looked at Dana. “If you’d like, I’ll set you up in a room, too. Me, I’m going to remain onboard. I don’t trust our friend up there on the mountain. Given the crappy weather, he’s bound to have abandoned his post by now and I don’t want him or anyone else showing up with another bomb.”
Dana smiled in spite of the unrest showing in her eyes. “If you stay. I’ll stay. Might be fun just the tw
o of us.”
He held her in his gaze. He knew she’d rather be curled up in a sudsy bath inside a thousand-dollar room. But she chose to stay onboard with him and face whatever danger came their direction. Not the better choice.
“You’ll likely get bounced around.”
She winked. “I’m counting on it.”
He turned his attention back to Robert and Kazuko. “Guess we have a plan.”
“Well let’s get to it,” Robert said.
Jack checked the dial on his dive watch. “You should be there by check-in time.”
“Suits me fine,” Kazuko said. “I recommend you reconsider.”
“Believe me, it’s tempting.”
He stood peering out the glass door to the cabin, flexing and un-flexing his knees the way everyone on their feet had been doing most of the day. In the wake behind them, the Ichiban shrank in size as the distance between the two boats widened. Robert had found the best cruising speed and settled into it. Even so, the storm continued to deliver a punishing ride. And a deluge of rain pounded the deck.
He couldn’t help drawing satisfaction from knowing the severe beating the flat-bottomed salvage boat was taking. And then he noticed the Ichiban had weighed anchor and was on the move.
“Looks like our friends are headed back to Lahaina.”
“Impossible to dive in this crap,” Robert said, looking back at him. “I can’t believe they didn’t head in sooner.”
“They had a reason, I’m sure,” Jack said. “And it doesn’t look good for us.”
He pictured the divers working frantically in the punishing current below while their boat was tossed around like a cork on the surface above them. They had to have sucked a lot of air. And went through several teams of divers. That type of work wasn’t easy under the best of conditions.
“By that, you mean they raised the safe?”
“Only way to know is to dive down there and look.”
“Which is exactly what we’ll do just as soon as this storm passes. I’ve had enough of being bounced around like a rubber duck in a child’s bath.”
“Shouldn’t take long once the wind stops.”
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