Dragon's Triangle (The Shipwreck Adventures Book 2)

by Christine Kling

  Riley checked the radar screen above the helm. Still no sign of any traffic, but that was hardly surprising. It was no time to be heading out fishing. Theo had hooked up the iPad to the single-sideband radio, and using a special app, he was receiving GRIB charts that showed the typhoon was continuing the curve. Before he went off watch, Cole told her that the death count in the southern Philippines was at five hundred and climbing. In the Philippines they had renamed the storm Pablo and they were calling it a super typhoon.

  All the motion was sloshing the contents of her bladder rather uncomfortably.

  “Irv, you’re in charge for a bit. I’m going to try to get into the head again. Somebody’s camped out in there.”

  Moving from handhold to handhold, she made her way slowly through the galley and down the steps to the head. When she turned the door handle, it was still locked.

  “Damn,” she said in a whisper. It was too difficult to return to the bridge, so she decided to wait. The boat was on autopilot, so Peewee would be fine.

  Riley knew that time moved slowly on night watches, but she kept checking her watch, and when it had been five minutes she rapped on the door. “Hey in there, somebody’s waiting out here.”

  A couple of minutes later, the door opened and Nils Skar staggered out. “Sorry,” he said with his head down. He was hunched over and he didn’t look her in the face. He was clutching his stomach and supporting himself with one arm along the bulkhead. She wondered how seasick he really was. He’d been fine at dinner the night before.

  When Riley returned to the bridge, she was surprised to see Greg there talking to Peewee. She overheard Greg say something about her grandmother.

  “Everything okay here?” Riley asked.

  “Sure,” Greg said. “That Nils Skar guy creeps me out. He came back into the crew quarters and woke me up. I wasn’t keen on being alone with him, so I thought I’d come keep you guys company.”

  “I know what you mean,” Riley said. “Sorry to send him your way, but he’d been parked in the only head on the boat.”

  Greg turned back to Peewee. “Like I was saying, my mom never got to know her mom, but she named me after her—my grandmother.”

  “What do you know about your grandma?” he asked.

  “Not a lot. I know during the war she was a member of the Katipunan.”

  “What’s that?” Riley asked.

  “It’s a Filipino secret society,” Greg said.

  Riley thought, Great. Conspiracy nuts in the Philippines, too.

  “The Katipunan Society was started during the first Philippine Revolution against Spain in the 1890s. Bonifacio and Rizal. Our country’s great heroes started it. Then the guerrillas resurrected the organization during the Second World War when the people revolted against the Japanese occupation.”

  “I heard something about that when I was with the guerrillas.”

  Greg’s face lit up. “You were there? You might have met my grandmother.”

  Peewee shrugged. Riley could tell he really liked Greg, and she wondered why he wasn’t launching into more of his stories.

  “My grandma died when Mom was little, so she was raised in orphanages. Because of her and my features, Mom always thought her father was probably an American GI. Later in life, Mom was told she couldn’t have kids of her own. I came as a surprise when she was in her late thirties. She never married my dad. It was just her and me. We were close, but she died when I was seventeen, and I’ve been on my own ever since.”

  “How long ago was that?” he asked.

  “Ten years ago now.”

  From the time she had spent on the boat with him, Riley could tell when the old man was zoning out, searching for something in his overflowing memory banks.

  Peewee turned away from her and looked out the front windscreen. “What did you say your mother’s name was?”

  “Honoria,” Greg said.

  Late the next afternoon, Riley was wedged into the dinette reading a guidebook about the city of Vigan when Cole came into the galley and slid onto the bench opposite her. He reported the good news that the typhoon was losing strength after turning around to head for Luzon.

  “We’re still going to have a hell of a ride getting through the mouth of this river,” he said.

  “Riding the swells coming in and meeting an outgoing current—that sounds like it could get ugly real fast.”

  “That’s one of many things I’m worrying about.”

  Riley reached across the table and took his hand in hers. “Tell me about the others.”

  “Well, first off, I can’t wait to get rid of that nosy Norwegian. Seems he’s always skulking around but he never contributes anything. I’m looking forward to spending another four-hour watch with him like I look forward to a root canal.”

  “When you were off watch last night, he was spending a lot of time in the head. Seasick, I assume. I mean, even the dog’s seasick. She hasn’t come out of Theo’s cabin all night.”

  “Nils didn’t act sick on watch. He ate all the snacks Theo and Greg had left for us. And the guy’s a thief. On our morning watch I caught him trying to steal my satellite phone. He had it under his shirt.”

  Riley pinched her nose. “He stinks, too. You can get rid of him as soon as we get to shore. Kick him off the boat.”

  “I intend to. My other worry is that map. It’s crude, to say the least. If we believe your friend Peewee, this Japanese colonel or prince or whatever found out that the maps had been stolen and the Teiyō Maru had sunk. He had to blow the sea entrance to the cave to hide the gold, but he wanted to leave behind some indication of where the entrance to the back door to this cave was. So he made this crude drawing in invisible ink.” Cole shook his head and squinted at her. “I don’t know, Riley. Doesn’t that sound far-fetched to you?”

  She laughed. “Cole, you of all people? Talking about far-fetched?”

  “Well, I admit it’s a bit out of character for me to be a doubter. But it’s not like they had GPS back then. That’s a lot of jungle to search. And I’ve got a problem with your friend Irv. His stories seem to change as the situation changes.”

  “I know.”

  “We’re going to be counting on his memories of what a jungle valley looked like sixty years ago. Hell, I don’t even know if he can make the hike to get up there.”

  “I’m remembering a guy who made a speech not too long ago about how important it would be to find this hoard of war loot and return the national treasures to the countries from which they were stolen. Does that not matter just because these treasures are going to be hard to find? And what if there really is uranium? You ready to take a chance on that going to the Saudis?”

  “They can buy a bomb if they want to.”

  “That’s true. But exposing this plan of theirs will make that much more difficult. Look what happened after you exposed what the Patriarchs had done.”

  Theo appeared in the doorway that led to the bridge. “We’re getting close. We’re about four miles out. If you want to prepare the boat, the time is now.”

  “Thanks, buddy,” Cole said. “I’m calling a crew meeting in the galley here now. Spread the word.” Then he stood up, leaned across the table, and kissed Riley on the forehead. “And thank you—for being so amazing.”

  He slid out of the dinette and made his way aft, calling out to the crew to join them in the galley.

  Irv and Nils Skar slid onto the seat Cole had vacated. Greg stayed at the helm on watch and Theo braced himself in the doorway. Cole anchored himself by leaning one denim-clad hip against the galley counter.

  “Okay, listen up. It’s probably going to get very ugly going across the bar at the mouth of this river. The swells we’ve been seeing all day are nothing compared to what we’re likely to see. The current coming out and the waves going in create an effect like the rapids in a river. There’s a very real possibility that we’ll start surfing and lose steerage. We may broach or get rolled over by one of these waves. Of course, that’s th
e last thing we want to have happen. I sure as hell don’t want to lose my boat, but everyone is to put on life jackets right now. Theo?”

  “I’ll bring them.”

  He disappeared for a minute and returned with an armful of bright orange life jackets.

  Cole said, “Put them on and be sure to use the crotch straps. I don’t care how uncomfortable it is. We’ll need to make sure all watertight doors and windows are shut tight and nobody, and I mean nobody, is to go out on deck. Find a spot where you can hold on tight and make sure there is nothing that can fly if we take a roll. Theo and I will be on the bridge. The rest of you, go make yourselves secure for the ride of your life.”

  Riley helped the others get their life jackets on. Greg and Riley decided to stay in the galley while Nils and Peewee headed for their cabin. They double-checked all the doors and made sure no pots and pans or knives could come loose.

  “Greg, have you ever entered the Abra River by boat?”

  “No. I think it’s usually an easy entrance, but with these conditions, Cole is right to be careful. It’s been raining for a while and the river will be running.”

  Riley tugged at the life jacket. “Geez. I hate wearing these things.”

  “And I hate being back here where we can’t see what’s happening.”

  “Shall we go join the guys?”

  “Absolutely.”

  When Riley came through into the wheelhouse, the view outside the windows was terrifying. The water was no longer the gray-green of the deep sea under gray skies. The sea around them was mud-brown. The mountains were visible in the mist just beyond the coast, but between their boat and the coastline were row after row of breaking waves. Then they were plunged into a trough and Riley couldn’t see anything but the white foam as the breaking wave rushed past the hull. Then the boat climbed up the back of another wave and rode the breaking sea down into the trough.

  The muscles in Cole’s arms stood taut beneath his skin as he wrestled with the wheel, determined to keep the boat straight and not let her turn sideways to the swells. “What are you doing up here?”

  “I have to watch. I can’t just sit back there.”

  The boat climbed up an extra-large wave and then tipped teeter-totter-like at the top and started to slide down. “Well, hold on tight. We’ve got a ways more to go before we’re through this.”

  When they reached the top of the next wave, it looked like the rows of waves stretched on forever, but the banks of the river mouth were not far. The opening looked narrower than it was. Still, it shallowed rapidly on either side. Cole didn’t have much margin for error. Riley shivered and braced herself for the next downward slide.

  From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of movement behind her. When she turned her head to look, she thought she saw a crack of light around the door to the captain’s cabin. Then it was gone. Had the door come open? Maybe the latch wasn’t holding and it was banging as the boat twisted and rolled in the waves.

  “Looks like something came loose aft. I’m going to go check on it.” She had to yell to be heard above the noise from the wind and the waves.

  “Okay,” Cole yelled back. “Be careful.”

  She nodded and started back through the galley. She descended the steps and passed the door to the head. When she got to the cabin door, she pushed on it and it held. She tried the handle and it unlatched the door right when the boat rolled. The door swung inward and Riley did, too. She lost her balance and stumbled into the room. As she was falling, her mind took a quick snapshot of the scene.

  Nils Skar was leaning over the desk. He had Cole’s GoPro camera in his hands and he was holding it over the desk. On the surface of the desk, the piece of silk was spread out flat so the map was visible.

  Riley hit the floor on her bad shoulder. Pain shot up into her neck. Nils jumped over her and she reached out to grab his foot but he pulled free and slipped out the door.

  She was on her feet in seconds. When she emerged into the hall, she saw Nils at the top of the aft steps opening the watertight door that led to the deck.

  “Nils, stop!” she yelled.

  He got the door and the overhead hatch open as they headed down into a trough. Through the opening she saw only sky. She pulled her way back and up the steps. When she pushed the door open, water as high as her ankles poured in from the deck. She saw Nils standing at the bulwark in his bright orange life jacket. He was looking at the riverbank.

  Riley pulled the hatch closed and secured the door behind her. As the boat rose up again, she held on to the handle to keep from sliding toward the stern. Nils held on to the bulwark with both hands. The swell was not as high as the one before it. The boat leveled out.

  When she stepped away from the hatch and started toward him, he turned and saw her. He swung one leg up over the bulwark.

  Riley tried to run, but the tilting, slippery deck slowed her down and she reached the rail just in time to see his head disappear into their wake. She watched to see if he was going to get sucked under the boat, but his orange life jacket brought him right back up to the surface. He began stroking toward the riverbank.

  She fought her way forward, hugging the bulwark, and pounded on the door to the wheelhouse. When the door swung open, Greg’s mouth opened in shock.

  She heard Cole shout from inside. “What are you doing out there?”

  “Binoculars.” She pointed aft. “Nils went overboard.”

  “What? How?”

  Riley shouted, “He jumped!”

  Greg turned around and Theo was handing her the glasses.

  Cole called back to them, “There’s no way I can turn around. It’s calmed down a little, but if I turn sideways to these swells, I still might roll.”

  “I know,” Riley said as she braced her hip and tried to steady the glasses. She saw the orange life jacket in the water. Then he stood up. The water came only to his thighs. He began walking toward shore.

  Riley motioned for Greg to go back inside and she followed. She closed the door behind her. “He made it ashore,” she said. “And he stole one of your underwater cameras.”

  “Shit,” Cole said as he wrestled the wheel.

  “You can say that again. Because he took a picture of the map just before he jumped overboard.”

  Vigan City

  The Philippines

  December 6, 2012

  Elijah directed Benny to the Hotel Salcedo de Vigan in the downtown section of the old Spanish colonial city. The Salcedo was the only decent hotel as near as he could tell, and while he didn’t care to be in the touristy center of the city, he found himself enjoying the horse buggies, the cobblestone streets, and the Western feel of the place as they drove in. Vigan reminded him of Virginia City, except for the fact that it was raining. He wondered if he would ever go back there to his ranch. Certainly not if he found the uranium and made this deal with the Saudi. He would miss Tess.

  When Benny pulled the truck up to the front of the hotel, Elijah directed him to get their luggage out of the truck. Elijah carried his own laptop bag inside when he went to the front desk. He was able to secure a suite for himself and space in a dormitory for Benny. Elijah used a different passport than the one he had used in Baguio. That one he’d tossed into a river as they’d driven the winding roads down off the mountain. He didn’t have an unlimited number of IDs, but last night had been worth it.

  He told Benny to follow him to the suite. Elijah went straight to the desk in his room, unloaded his laptop, plugged it in, and pressed the start key. He told Benny to put his suitcase on the bed. He opened the desk drawer and found a hotel pad and pen. He handed them to Benny.

  “I’m going to send you out to get us some gear.”

  “What kind?”

  “I’m about to tell you. Sit down and write what I tell you to write.”

  Benny made himself comfortable in a big leather chair and balanced the pad on his knee.

  “Like I told you in the truck, we’re going to be looking for
an entrance to a cave. See if you can find one of those folding spades. Do you know what I’m talking about?”

  Benny nodded.

  “We’ll need about one hundred feet of rope. And a handheld GPS. If you can’t find one in a store here, see if you can find a phone store and buy a smartphone that has maps and GPS.”

  Benny wrote it all down on the paper.

  “Food and water. We may end up in the mountains for at least one night. Flashlights. A couple of rain ponchos and some insect repellent. We’ll each need a backpack to carry our gear, too.”

  When Benny had the list complete, Elijah gave him money. “Don’t take the truck. Give me the keys. I want you to ask downstairs for someone to find you a cabdriver who really knows his way around the area. It will be much more efficient than driving around trying to find this yourself.”

  When Benny was gone, Elijah called downstairs and asked them to bring a full bottle of scotch to his room. He poured himself a drink and set to work at the computer trying to learn as much as he could about caves in Luzon and the local geology. Just south of Vigan was the broad alluvial plain formed by the mouth of the Abra River. For several miles south of that, the mountains came right to the coast. Given that Luzon had hundreds of caves and there was another underground river upstream as a tributary to the Abra, it was not inconceivable that a river had passed underground and found its way to the sea by going through the mountains there and forming a cave accessible from the ocean side.

  It was late. Benny had been gone for a couple of hours. Elijah was considering going down to find a meal when his phone rang. He looked at the readout. He didn’t recognize the number.