He thought he could see the sunken submarine. That vessel was supposed to be enough to kill Purdue. They had the superior firepower. They had the element of surprise. It should have been easy, so like many of his victims beforehand. It had all gone so wrong, but could they have known that the sea was going to turn on them? How could he have known Purdue would ever have that kind of weapon to bring to bear?
It was all Mr. Yesterday. He had destroyed him today.
No. No, Purdue wasn't where this descent began. He had been sinking for much longer than that. Memories flooded into his hazy thoughts. He remembered when he was just barely a young man, holding his father's co-worker's head in the water. All of that splashing and thrashing as the man tried to just stay alive. The Wharf Man—or at least, the boy he used to be—didn't let that man find air. Now he knew what that pain was like, being held down where you couldn't find breathe.
That was where it really began. From that point on, he was diving deep into pools of blood, with nothing but the power he attained from that violence keeping him barely alive. Now all of that power he had accumulated was worthless. It wasn't keeping him afloat anymore.
Everything was growing dark and cold and still. The Wharf Man was nothing down here. None of his wealth mattered. None of his vast connections he had made mattered. None of his weapon caches mattered. None of his dozens of stolen ships mattered. There was nothing that could reach him down below.
The Wharf Man—the terror and scourge of the Jamaican coasts—didn't exist under the sea. That persona was meant for the docks, the ships, and the back rooms of the world. The Wharf Man needed air and sunlight. The Wharf Man's massive size made no difference down where everything felt so weightless.
He couldn't hold his breath any longer. His jaw fell open and bubbles burst from his mouth, rising in front of his eyes. Those bubbles contained the last bit of life he had left and he watched them leave him. They were the last things he ever saw as the dark, the cold, and the pressure of the ocean depths embraced him from every direction.
His father was waiting for him on that anchor. He knew he was, and he felt like a scared, pudgy boy again. That was probably what he had been the whole time, hidden behind all of his violence and hatred; buried beneath all of his subordinates and stolen sea vessels. He had never stopped being that boy who wanted to make friends and protect his family. He could see that now, only now, while the sea was making him look straight at it. The water was showing him everything, he was wrapped in a whole silent void of truth.
The Wharf Man was eroded away by the currents and Delroy Campbell was buried at sea.
13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – BREATHING AIR AGAIN
The Wharf Man was finally gone—he'd been washed away, never to return. There wouldn't be any more surprise appearances from him. There wouldn't be any more tracking or interrogations or shifty deals. Purdue would really never have to worry about him again. He could move on to more pressing matters at last—to the threats and enemies that he was really after.
Purdue controlled the water to carry him back over to the Deepsea Challenger, and it did as it was told, sweeping him across its surface back to his submersible. He could see Oniel treading water nearby, looking stone-faced at watching his boss be pulled underwater. Purdue locked eyes with him, and unlike usual, refused to look away from those hollow orbs of hate. Oniel was arguably far worse than the Wharf Man. He could just have the water take him too but he'd done enough killing today. Then again, he spared Oniel and left him alive once before only for him to come back after him. It might happen again.
His thoughts were interrupted as the ship with all of his allies came up beside him.
“Hey!” Sam yelled down from the deck. “Can you get out of the water already before something else tries to kill you?!”
“Thanks for all of the help, you bastards.” Purdue called back. “I really appreciate all of the assistance.”
They used a huge crane machine on board to load the Challenger back on to the ship and Purdue was glad to be in a more secure vessel. Once he was all loaded back in, he shook hands with all of the scientists who were part of Dr. Volpe's team. Volpe herself shook her head at him in disbelief. “I'm honestly surprised you brought it back in one piece.”
“Well if we're being honest ... I am too.” Volpe frowned, realizing that he was being completely serious. He laughed. “What? I thought for sure I was about to be blown to bits by a torpedo. That would have been rather messy, aye?”
“It would have, yes,” Volpe said with some relief that it wasn't the case. “What was all that about? That submarine?”
“Oh,” Purdue rubbed his head, embarrassed. “He was the head of a crime ring based out of Jamaica. I sort of ... I got on his bad side ... and his bad side was very, very bad ... as you could probably tell. He had been trying to kill me for a little while now. I don't think he's going to be a problem anymore ... at least, I really hope not.”
“How?” The doctor asked, looking down at his hands. “How did you do that? The water was ... I've never seen anything like that before.”
“Remember how I told you about Admiral Ogden's logbook and about the treasure at the bottom of the ocean...?”
“Yes,” she said, her disbelief returning to her face. “That treasure that could control the—” She stopped and gaped, realizing that the story about that pirate's treasure had to be real. It was the only explanation for all of the miraculous things she'd just witnessed. “You ... that was...”
Purdue opened his palm and displayed the pearl. “Sam did say that what we were looking for was going to change everything we knew about the ocean. As you can see ... he wasn't being dramatic.”
Dr. Volpe stood there, opened mouthed and slightly nodding her head. Nothing she had ever studied—her years of research—had never accounted for anything like that before. It went against everything she believed and everything her trustworthy science deemed possible.
Purdue was used to seeing science be proven wrong. The world contained all sorts of unbelievable sights that no amount of research or examination could explain. It was one of the things Purdue liked most about his expeditions—moments like this, when someone realized that there weren't always logical answers for everything.
Dr. Volpe pointed at the pearl. “That pearl ... did all of that?”
“Aye,” Purdue said. “I let it know what I wanted to happen to the water and it made it happen. Just like that. Thank god for that too, otherwise the Wharf Man's submarine would have sunk us all. We'd all be exploring the ocean together, I suppose.”
“I suppose...” Dr. Volpe still looked stunned by the whole thing and just watched Purdue go without another word.
Purdue walked past Sam and smiled, flashing the pearl between his fingers. “Still think that there's nothing down there?”
“Well, I mean ... now there's not ... except for the Wharf Man I guess.” Sam tried to shrug it all off but finally gave in to defeat. “Fine. If you're really going to make me say it, fine. You were right. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Yes it was,” Purdue said. “It's always nice to out-investigate an investigator like yourself.”
“Cherish that feeling because it so rarely happens,” Sam huffed. “Truth be told, I'm actually happy to be wrong this time. So that little pearl could do all of that...”
Purdue looked down at it and let it rest in his palm. It was incredible that something so small could have such a large influence on something as vast and enormous as the sea.
Sam shrugged his shoulders. “So what do we do now that we have it?”
Purdue pondered that question in his head. He'd been so focused on just getting to this next step, to this treasure that might not even have been down there, that he had barely considered what their next move would be. All of this was such an enormous trial on its own, but thankfully it hadn't been fruitless. They now had a weapon—and he saw just how powerful it was—that they could use against Julian Corvus and his
secret society of megalomaniacs.
“Throw a tidal wave or two at the Order of the Black Sun would be a start, aye? We just need to find those bastards. Get Nina, Charles, and Jean out of there.”
Sam nodded in agreement. It was nice to fully have his support again, despite how embarrassed Sam probably felt for being wrong about the pearl's existence. “Well, I just hope that the order's hideout is by the coast ... otherwise that pearl's power is not going to be of much help.”
14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN – HEISTS IN THE NIGHT
It was late in the night—Nina wasn't sure what time exactly—that a guard would come to the cells to ensure that all of the Black Sun's prisoners were asleep and not planning anything suspicious. Every night, like clockwork, the guard would pace past her holding, look around with his flashlight, and then be on his way.
Her best chance was to take advantage of this pattern of his. She lay in a heap, with her eyes staring open, doing her best to look like a corpse. It probably wasn't common that prisoners of the Black Sun sometimes offed themselves. Hopefully she looked convincing enough for the guard to take a closer look.
She could hear his footsteps coming down the corridor and she saw the glow from his flashlight moving along the wall. Any minute now, he would come by her cell and she would be ready for him. He drew closer and closer. She blinked as much as she could to get it out of the way since she might have to avoid doing it for the next few minutes. She lay on her back, keeping her body still and her eyes as wide open as she could. It wasn't easy, but hopefully it would be worth the struggle.
When the guard came across her cell, she saw his light move to her and then heard him let out an audible gasp. He fumbled for his jangling keys and she continued to keep herself from blinking, which wasn't very easy with his light shining straight into her eye sockets. They would start watering soon if this guy didn't hurry up.
“Hey!” He hissed at a loud whisper. “You in there! Are you okay!? Are you—” The guard let out a series of expletives, finally getting the cell door open and rushing in to her side. “Move, woman! Wake the hell up!” He crouched down beside her and check for a pulse.
This was it—her only chance. It was now or never and she probably wouldn't get a second shot at this plan if she failed. The guard examined her closely, maybe even a little too closely, and she used his proximity to execute the thoughts she had been planning in her head to make them real.
To him, she probably looked like a corpse that had sprung to life as a zombie. In reality, she grabbed hold of him and pounced on him, knocking his head against the floor a few times until it knocked him out. He went limp and his eyes rolled back in his head. Now he was the one laying in a messy heap in the cell. She felt a little guilty since he would be blamed for her escape. It wasn't exactly his fault that she was smarter than him but Julian wouldn't care to make that distinction. He would probably be happy to have an excuse to kill someone.
Still, she pulled the guard's pistol from a holster strapped to his leg. She wasn't particularly skilled with firearms but she'd had enough experience to know how to use it if need be. It might come in handy during the next phases of their great escape. She tucked it behind her, against the small of her back.
Nina grabbed the ring of keys from his hand and hurried out of her cell, closing and locking it behind her as she left. The unconscious man was the only night guard that check the cells each night. The swap most likely wouldn't be discovered until the morning and hopefully she would be long gone by then, with Charles and Jean-Luc in tow.
She walked briskly through the corridor, checking each and every cell she passed by. There were many filled with faces she didn't recognize. The amount of prisoners the Black Sun had was staggering and she wondered what they all were captured for. What could Julian want with all of these people? More people to test his relics on, maybe?
She didn't have time to think about it or to ask them. She needed to find Charles and Jean-Luc and then get out of there as quickly as possible.
To her left, she found Charles sleeping in his cell. She unlocked the door, stirring him awake, and the older man looked at her with drowsy confusion.
“Dr. Gould? What are you...?”
“Getting us out of here, Charles,” she said as the propped the barred door open. “And I may have even found a way to get Purdue back.” When she saw hope cross his face, she added, “Maybe.”
She figured he probably knew what she meant, given that he had just been brought back from death by the Spear of Destiny himself. Charles followed her out of the cell uneasily, glancing around like members of the Black Sun were about to drop down from the ceiling or step out of the shadows to apprehend them. Nina really hoped that wasn't the case but she didn't really know for sure. She hadn't thought too much past getting out of their cells.
“How did you get past the guard?” Charles asked.
“I played dead,” Nina said, realizing how awkward it was to tell that to a guy who had just been dead briefly. “He was a bit gullible, that one.”
Their next stop was a little further down the wing and they found Jean-Luc Gerard. Nina didn't know him very well but knew he was a friend of Purdue's. He and Purdue had worked together chasing after some witch's spell book. Hopefully, Purdue was good at picking friends and Jean would be a helpful ally for Nina to have. She unlocked the door and found Jean sitting there, giving a smirk.
“What's this?” Jean said, noticing the old former butler behind her. “You two my ticket out of here? Works for me. I'm more than ready to go home.”
“That's us,” Nina said happily. “Your get out of jail free cards. Please pass go. Please collect two hundred dollars. Let's get moving before anymore guards decide to check on us.”
Jean jumped to his feet. He cracked his knuckles and looked ready for a fight. That was fine with Nina. Between her and Charles, they wouldn't do too well in a fight. Jean looked fit and prepared to have to start throwing punches, at least. Nina had the guard's gun but wasn't overly willing to fire it unless it was absolutely necessary. Popping off a gun would certainly destroy any chance of having a stealthy escape.
“So lead the way out of here,” Jean said.
“I can't,” Nina said bluntly. Not yet, at least. There's something I need to get from the vault before we leave this place.”
“The vault?” Jean asked, suddenly looking nervous about all of this. “What do you want in there?”
“The Spear of Destiny,” Nina said. “It might be able to bring Purdue back.”
“Not you too,” Jean said, running his hand through his hair. “Between you and that man, Corvus ... why is it you all want to disturb the dead? Everything I've ever read about it ... it usually doesn't end well for anyone.”
“Ended alright for me so far,” Charles interjected with a raise of his hand. True enough, his own experience resurrection kept him from being, well, dead. “I am far too young to die.”
Jean still looked uncomfortable with that part of the plan but there wasn't any time to debate the morality of raising the dead. They needed to get into that vault as soon as they could, and then get far away from their captors.
Jean shook his head. “It's not going to be easy to get through all of that security. That vault door was locked down nice and tight from what I remember. It would take a tank to get that thing open without authorization. You wouldn't happen to have the access codes or the right fingerprints, would you?”
“No,” Nina admitted. “But I know someone who might.”
Nina wasn't completely behind her own plan. It had sounded so reasonable and easy in her head, and that was the problem. When it came to facing the Order of the Black Sun, nothing was ever as easy as it initially seemed like it was going to be. She'd learned that a long time ago and it had only been reinforced in recent times since Julian Corvus had entered the fray. She also didn't have Purdue and Sam having her back. The three of them had outsmarted and outmaneuvered the Black Sun plenty of times. Instea
d, she had Jean-Luc Gerard—a man she barely knew—and Charles—an old man who she loved but wasn't exactly going to be an asset if things got heated and broke into any sort of fight.
She remembered the way to Elijah's chambers. It wasn't far from their real destination—the vault—but they needed him to get that vault open. It was an important pit stop and could very easily shut their whole plan down before it even began.
Jean was shaking his hands in preparation to maybe have to use them. He looked fired up—probably more than ready to fight his way out of their prison. From what Nina knew about him, he was supposed to have some kind of magic. She hoped that was true. Maybe he could throw fireballs or turn any guards into frogs. Then again, if he was some kind of warlock, why was he still a prisoner? Surely he could have used some kind of spell to get them all out of there. Whatever the case, he seemed ready for whatever was ahead and she needed that kind of energy on her side right now, to burn away any trepidation she had.
Charles still looked rattled from this whole time being locked away. She couldn't blame him. Being shot in the head, killed, and then revived by a spear couldn't be easy to come to grips with. He'd been dead. It might have been briefly but that must have been all he could think about now. His short-lasting death was just a reminder of how unpredictable of a captor Julian Corvus was. Any one of them could be killed in an instant if Julian was in the mood.
All three of them needed to get free—and this was their chance.
The door to Elijah's chamber was in sight and they crept up to it. She tried the handle but it was predictably locked. They couldn't just knock the thing down since it would make way too much noise and risk waking up more of the Black Sun. Luckily, they had a contingency plan. It wasn't a great plan, but they were running out of options.
Jean nodded to Nina, knowing that they had to go straight to plan B.
Order of the Black Sun Box Set 10 Page 14
