The Alex Cave Series. Books 1, 2, & 3.: Box set

by James M. Corkill

  “How did you find this place?”

  “You are not the first man with, shall we say, a questionable reputation that I have worked with. This was a smuggler’s hideout, but he does not use it anymore. He had a small accident just after he showed this island to me. This is where I have hidden my plunder, but what is more important, is what I have found in the crater.”

  “The war isn’t over yet. If Hitler has one of those atomic bombs I’ve been hearing rumors about, things will change in his favor.”

  “Not to worry, Captain. It is only a theory. No one could build such a device. When we recover this cylinder, we will keep it secret until the allies win, and then we will show it to the new scientific community. They will throw money at me for research. You will see.”

  Burk turned away from the railing when one of his men walked up to him.

  “The tide is as high as it will get, Captain.”

  “All right, take us in.” He turned to face Dieter. “You had better make this fast. This extreme high tide will only last another hour. If we don’t get my ship out before then, we will be trapped inside that volcano for an eternity.”

  “You worry too much, Captain.”

  “This is my ship and it’s my job to worry. You have one hour to load that thing. If you’re not done, I’m leaving without you. Get my meaning?”

  Dieter turned to face Burk. “I do not take kindly to threats, Captain.”

  Burk stared at him, a venomous look in his eyes. “It’s not a threat. It’s a promise.”

  “You Americans are a bunch of cowboys.”

  Dieter turned and went down the steps to the main deck, and Burk concentrated on the narrow opening. The solid walls of the V-shaped gap in the side of the crater slowly slid past the sides of the ship with only two-feet of clearance on each side. He looked through the open doorway at the man minding the helm. “What’s our depth, Brad?”

  “Thirteen-feet, Captain.”

  “Damn, this is close.”

  “That it is, Captain. That only leaves three-feet of clearance under the hull.”

  “You’re doing good, son. Nice and slow.”

  Burk moved along the outside of the wheelhouse, to the rear railing. The stern slowly cleared the opening, and his ship was inside the crater. He walked back to the wheelhouse and looked inside. “How much water under us in here?”

  “We’ve got twenty-feet, Captain, so as long as we get out before. . . What is that?”

  Burk spun around and his mouth opened slightly. Directly in front of the ship, a massive sliver object was half buried in the lava rock wall on the far side of the crater. A short distance to the left was a large cave, a gray torpedo looking object was on the ground, with one end partway inside.

  Burk looked into the wheelhouse. “As soon as the skiff is in the water, get us turned around and ready to leave.”

  “Damn right, Captain.”

  Burk turned and glared at the German soldier. “Get that damn camera out of my face.”

  __* * *__

  The movie suddenly stopped, and Dieter looked around the room. Everyone turned and looked at him, and he looked at Cave. “We all know what that is, Professor. Your device. What do you know about it?”

  This might get complicated, Alex thought as everyone turned to look at him. From Norton’s description, the grey cylinder was one of the devices. “I’m not at liberty to say.” He stared at Dieter. “On which one of the Aleutian Islands is that device located?”

  Dieter stared back at Cave. “That is the problem, Professor. It is not in the chain of islands, but somewhere near them. Only those pirates know exactly where it is. When you came aboard, you ruined my careful planning. I was going to steal this ship and meet them in Prince Rupert to get the disk and a map. I managed to get this motion picture, but my contact would not give me the map until I took over this ship.”

  Mike jumped out of his chair and glared at Dieter. “Damn it, John! I trusted you. If you would have told me what you were doing, I would have helped you.”

  “I could not take that chance, Mike. You may not care about money, but I do, and it is hidden on that island.” He glanced around the room at the hostile expressions. “I was not going to kill you. I was going to wait until all of you went ashore, and then Sam, Leroy, and I were going to disappear with the Mystic.”

  “I would have told the authorities.” Mike told him.

  “You would not even know where to begin a search, Mike. You know how fast this ship is. You would never have found us.”

  When Joshua stood up, Alex could see the rage in his eyes and his clenched fists, so he stood to stop him. “Just wait a minute, Josh. He’s not going anywhere.” He could tell Joshua did not even hear him.

  Bett suddenly jumped up in front of Joshua. “Anger management, Josh. Do you remember the therapy? Just calm down.” She turned her head and glared at Dieter. “You’d better get outside until my man calms down. The therapy doesn’t always work, and I wouldn’t mind watching him beat the crap out of you.”

  Dieter knew he had better leave, and kept his distance from Joshua as he quickly walked across the room and out of the lounge.

  Okana watched Joshua turn and glare at Harrison, then went over to help Bett and Alex.

  Harrison stood up and raised his hands. “Hey, I’m just the hired help. I would never have hurt anyone. Honest.” He saw the warning in Okana’s eyes, and walked out of the room.

  Alex looked around the room, and then focused on Mike. “That device could solve all our problems, if we can get it back to Nevada.”

  “I know, but how are we going to get it?”

  Alex broke into a wry smile. “We become pirates. I’ll talk to Dieter and set up a meeting.”

  *

  Dieter finished his negotiations with the pirates over the radio, clipped the microphone into the overhead bracket, and looked over at Alex and Mike. “See how you have complicated things, Professor? Now we are forced to deal with the pirates on their terms.”

  Alex grinned and looked over at Mike. “I think we have sufficient firepower to take care of ourselves. We can do this if we’re careful and have a contingency plan. Since we will arrive first, we have time to see what we are dealing with, and find an advantage of some kind.”

  Dieter turned and gave a nod to Bartram, who engaged the jet pumps and set a course for a GPS location he heard from the man on the radio. Dieter waited until Cave and Mike went down the stairs to the lounge. “I’ll tell Harrison what’s going on, and give you a break when we are close, so you can get your weapon. Cave will assign someone to stay on the ship when we go ashore, and I want you to stay, too. For now, we are allies, but that could change.”

  “What about the treasure?”

  “Mike does not care about the money, and Cave only wants to stop the freezing. There will be plenty for us. Use the intercom when we are close.” He turned and walked down the stairs.

  *

  An hour later, everyone gathered outside the bridge and shared the binoculars as the Mystic approached a small, barren brown island rising thirty-feet above the water. If it had not been for the V in the nearly vertical cliff, it would look like an ordinary large rock. They felt the ship suddenly lose speed and everything was quiet. They were still five-miles away.

  Bartram stepped out from the bridge. “Hey, everything shut down and the radar and radios aren’t working.”

  Joshua walked into the bridge and did a few checks, then stepped back out. “I’m getting interference on every frequency and it’s jamming the electronics. It must be coming from the island.” He looked at Bett. “That means your helicopter won’t work, either.”

  Mike handed his portable radio to Joshua. “I guess I won’t need this.”

  Joshua nodded. “The regular electrical system is still working, so Rita and I will try to create some type of bypass so we can control the turbines. We will have to bypass some of the safety features, and it’s going to take some time. We’ll still be able
to use the thrusters to continue to the island and maneuver once we get there.”

  *

  It took the Mystic another twenty minutes to reach the island using the thrusters. When they stepped out from the bridge, the wind coming from the north was around forty degrees, encouraging everyone to wear their winter coats.

  Up close, the island was larger than it had appeared from a distance. It was only thirty-feet from the water to the top of the crater, but it was over three-hundred-feet in diameter. If you did not know it was there, you would never see it from a boat or an airplane.

  The bottom of the V was seven-feet above the narrow strip of rocky beach and the top of the V was another twenty-three-feet higher.

  Alex turned to the group. “I’ll go with Mike and the Captain in the motorboat. The rest of you stay onboard in case the pirates try to board us. We don’t know how long until that ship arrives, so let’s get ready.”

  “I’ll sound the horn when we see the ship.” Okana told him.

  “Works for me. All right, let’s get moving.”

  Okana and Harrison followed Alex down onto the stern, and used the hoist to set the motorboat into the water. A moment later, Dieter and Mike arrived and climbed in, and Dieter started the engine. Alex stepped down into the boat, gave Okana a nod, and pushed the boat away from the ship.

  * * *

  Chapter 35

  MOUNT BAKER:

  Wesley was forced to stop the Hummer at a small river rushing across a low section of the dirt road. He put it into four-wheel drive and eased into the water, and Jamie leaned out the window, watching the water rise on the side of the door. She began to worry when it continued up until nearly reaching the bottom of the window, and closed it just as the water lapped at the bottom edge of the glass. She looked forward, at the water rippling over the hood. “Wesley? Are you sure about this? Won’t it drown the engine?”

  “That black tube behind my seat is called a snorkel and lets the air go into the carburetor. We’re almost through.”

  Jamie grabbed the dash when the Hummer started to float and drift sideways with the current, and then she felt the tires thump the ground and the Hummer slowly climbed out of the water. Wesley stopped when they drove over the newly formed bank of the river and looked at Jamie. “Nearly as good as Disneyland.”

  Jamie shook her head adamantly. “Oh no, Wesley. That was real life or death.”

  Ten minutes later, the road dropped down into the backside of the campground and Jamie scanned through the trees for the green pickup as they drove around the campsites. The place was deserted and she relaxed, knowing the woman had left. “That woman must have got out okay.”

  Wesley looked over at her. “Let’s see how bad the road is from this side.”

  When he looked forward, he slammed on the brakes when a woman ran out of the restroom, waving her arms in front of the Hummer. Jamie recognized her and threw open the door to get out.

  The woman ran back into the building and brought out her children, and then ran up to Jamie and wrapped her arms around her neck, sobbing against her shoulder.

  “I was so scared no one would come. We tried to leave, and the truck slid into the mud and we couldn’t get out, and I was all alone, and then I heard your car, and then I just ran out and . . .”

  “It’s all right. You’re safe now. It’s okay.”

  Wesley climbed out and looked around the area, then gritted his teeth against the pain as he knelt in front of the two kids and smiled. “I’m Wesley, and I’m going to take you and your mom out of here, okay?”

  The woman let go and stepped back, and Jamie looked down at the kids hugging Wesley.

  Wesley slowly stood back up. “Stay here while I check out the road.”

  Jamie nodded and stepped out of the way as he climbed into the Hummer and drove out of the campground, then she looked at the woman. “I didn’t get your name?”

  The woman turned. “Oh. I’m Serra Billingsly. This is Gail and William.”

  “Wesley has four-wheel drive, so he can get us out of here.”

  Jamie turned when the Hummer pulled into the campground and stopped in front of the building. Wesley waved her over to his window, and she walked over.

  “We won’t be able to get out that way. We’ll have to go back across that river.

  “I don’t know, Wesley. We started floating away the last time.”

  “We’ll have more weight to hold us down this time. Tell them to get in and we’ll get out of here.”

  Serra heard what they were saying and moved up to the window. “I need to get my purse. It’s still in the truck.”

  Wesley shook his head. “It’s not going anywhere. We need to leave before things get worse.”

  “I’ll be right back.” Serra ran down the road before they could stop her.

  Jamie looked through the window at Wesley. “I’d better go with her.” She turned and ran after Serra.

  The young boy was suddenly standing on his toes, looking at him through the open window. He looked at him and smiled. “What is it with women and their purses?”

  “Can I get in?” the boy asked.

  “You bet. Stand back now.”

  Wesley slowly opened the door and climbed out. He bent over to lift the small boy onto the seat, and felt a sharp stab in his side. The boy must have noticed and climbed up onto the front seat, and then flopped over the backrest, onto the rear seat. The other door opened and he saw the little girl struggling to climb in. He started to walk around to help her, but she suddenly crawled onto the floor and then up onto the seat. Brave little girl, he thought, and climbed back in and closed the door.

  He checked the rear view mirror, but there was no sign of the women.

  The loud crackling of a falling tree echoed from far away, and Wesley knew the water was tearing up the vegetation around the campground. He looked over at the girl. “I wish they would hurry.”

  The girl smiled and slid closer. “You look like a bear.”

  The boy leaned over the seat. “A big grizzly bear.”

  Wesley growled and they laughed, then he heard the women running up the road, and looked into the mirror. Serra was trying to keep control of the very large green canvas bag bouncing behind her shoulder. He looked over the backrest at the boy. “Women.”

  He climbed out as they ran up to the Hummer. “Things are getting worse, so get in.”

  Serra ran down back down the road. “I have more stuff in the truck.”

  Wesley stared at Jamie. “Can you talk some sense into that woman?”

  “She’s running away from her ex-husband, Wesley. Give her a break.”

  Wesley released a long sigh. “All right, get in and we’ll drive down to her truck.”

  Wesley climbed in and they drove down the road, and he tried to be patience while Jamie and Serra filled the back part of his Hummer with Serra’s belongings. The woods echoed with the crackling of another falling tree, and his patience was wearing thin.

  They slammed the rear hatch closed and climbed inside. Wesley drove to the back of the campground and onto the logging road. When they drove over the small rise down to the river, he was forced to stop. A large fir tree lay at an angle across the river, blocking their way.

  He shut off the engine and climbed out, Jamie did the same. They walked down to the rushing water to assess the situation.

  Wesley looked down river at the base of the tree, its roots tangled in a ball of dirt pulled from the bank, and then looked back to the top. “I’ll drag a cable across and attach it to the top and you can pull it out of the way with my winch.”

  Jamie stared up at him. “You want me to drive?”

  “I won’t be able to get back because of my ribs. You have to do it.”

  Jamie glanced back at the kids in the Hummer and then looked at Wesley. “You’ll be lucky just to make it across. How about I go across and you drive?”

  “You’ll be fine. I’ll show you how to use the winch.”

  Jamie
watched him plug in the cable and unlock the reel, then waited while he walked along the bank to the trunk, dragging the cable behind him. “Be careful, Wesley.”

  Wesley gave her a nod and waded out to the tree. He held on to the branches while working his way forward, checking the depth. The water was much deeper than he thought. The mud underneath was slick and the current dragged against his legs, threatening to pull him under the tree

  The sound of clattering rocks made him turn around. The ball of tree roots suddenly rolled down the bank and he could not hang on, the water dragged him under the tree. With nothing to grab, the water tumbled him over and over down the river, water rushing down his throat as he gasped for air, with no control over where the water was taking him.

  “WESLEYYYYY!” Jamie screamed, watching him tumble away in the river until he was swept around the corner and out of sight.

  Jamie stared down the river, but Wesley was gone. She threw her arms up across her head and stared at the ground as she walked in a circle. She stopped and lowered her arms, then stared down the river. Tears blurred her vision and she wiped them clear. “Wesley?” she whispered.

  She jumped back when the roots tore loose from the bank, dragging the rest of the tree downriver. She wiped her eyes, went back to the Hummer, and then leaned back against the front and crossed her arms, not really seeing anything in particular.

  Serra stared through the windshield, watching the events. When Jamie leaned against the Hummer. Serra opened the door and climbed out. She went around and stood in front of Jamie, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Jamie?”

  Jamie looked up and wiped her eyes. “I’m not sure if we can make it across without Wesley.”

  “I heard what he said. He thought you could do it.”

  Jamie straightened up from the Hummer. “You’re right. I can do this.”

  She walked around to get in and noticed the cord for the winch and the loose cable. “I can do this.”

  She followed Wesley’s instructions and reeled in the cable, then unplugged the power cable and climbed into the Hummer. She tossed it onto the floor and started the engine, and when Serra climbed in front and closed the door, she looked over at her. “Here we go.”