by Katie Penryn
“Thought we were Spanish?” he asked with a sneer.
I shrugged. This wasn’t a conversation that was going anywhere, or was it?
“How did you get here?” I asked without thinking it through.
“I hid of course. In the rope locker. We’ve been following your antics for days. You all think you’re so clever but you don’t stand a chance against us.”
With me alone on the deck at his mercy and my three friends on the seabed unaware of what was going on above them, he had a point. But why had he stowed away? To attack the others when they surfaced? As I turned it over in my mind I didn’t see him winning in a fight single handedly against both Garth and Felix.
He pulled a set of metal handcuffs out of his pocket. He wrenched my arms behind me and locked the cuffs around my wrists.
“Move,” he said gesturing at me with a gun he drew from a holster behind his back.
“Where?”
“To the wheelhouse. I have business there.”
I took my time, walking as slowly as I dared. Anything to give me time to come up with a plan. If he wanted me dead, he would have killed me already. What did one man hope to do against the four of us, even with a gun? He had underestimated us badly. With a lighter heart I stepped into the wheelhouse with him close on my heels. I still had a chance to come up with something before the other three were due back at the boat. He closed the door behind us. The flickering of the radar screen caught my eye. The beam flipped over a blip at the edge of the circle. Round and round the beam went, each time the blip was closer. It was making a beeline for the Mermaid. My assailant wasn’t so stupid after all. It had to be the Eva. Now I knew why he was on board—to stop me from seeing the approach of the other vessel in time to do something about it.
He laughed when he saw I’d realized what was happening. “Thought you’d steal the gold from us?”
“If there is any gold, it’s already stolen—from the countries of Europe—and it’s not yours.”
“The gold’s there all right. And it does belong to us—to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei—the National Socialist German Worker's Party. The U-9999 left port in August 1944—”
“Chased out of Bordeaux by the Allies, I bet.”
He shrugged and continued. “It was on its way to Buenos Aires. Had surfaced to radio when a mighty explosion was heard and the call died.”
“So it’s in bits all over the seafloor surrounded by gold bars?” I scoffed.
“Not quite. It’s lost its conning tower and there’s a small hole in the port stern, but otherwise it sank whole.”
His story convinced me they’d found the sub, but had they really found the gold?
“Have you seen the gold with your own eyes?” I asked him.
He turned away and looked out over the ocean, ignoring my question.
“Well?”
He looked back at me. “For a young woman at the mercy of my strength and my gun you have a lot to say for yourself.”
“I don’t suppose I’ve anything to lose, have I? You have to kill us to keep your secret.”
He pointed out at the Eva. She’d be alongside in ten minutes, but still I had no idea what I could do against five men. His colleagues needed him to help tie the Eva to the Mermaid. Before leaving he broke the glass on the casing for the fire ax and smashed up all the instruments, the radio and radar included. I flinched as a shard of flying glass hit me in the temple. I managed to pull it out and was trying to stem the stream of blood on the hem of my T-shirt when he grabbed me from behind and unlocked my handcuffs. Was he going to give me first aid? Some hope.
He looped the cufflinks from my left hand round the metal leg of the chart table and locked them onto my right hand again.
“Don’t bother shouting,” he said as he shut the door on me, leaving me alone on the floor of the wheelhouse. “There’s no one to hear you except the gulls and they’ll be sizing you up for their next meal.”
At first, I couldn’t get my mind straight. My heart was racing, my breath coming in short gasps. With my tendency to faint, it was lucky I was sitting down. My thoughts whirled every which way, driving what little sense I had right out of my mind. I sat there for several minutes like a stranded jelly fish until the Eva bumped up against the Mermaid and jarred me back to rationality. I scrambled to my feet sliding the handcuffs up the leg of the table. Turning to look over my shoulder from my awkward semi-crouched position, I watched my captor greet his colleagues, only three of them. They had left the genuine Spaniard behind. He’d be too dangerous a witness I guessed for what they planned for us. One man stayed on the Eva and the other two newcomers climbed over the railings onto the Mermaid. That made three of them against us four. They must have decided the odds were still in their favor with me out of action and Garth, Felix and Izzy all unknowing thirty feet below us on the seafloor.
With much shouting in Spanish and German they argued about who was to do what. Good. The less organized they were the better for us. Eventually, the least rugged of the three ducked through the cabin door and disappeared from sight, leaving the two stronger men on deck. They made themselves comfortable at our brunch table and helped themselves to a glass of wine each. It was clear they were waiting for my friends to surface from their dive.
I kept watch on the men until the trickle of blood from my temple collected on my eyelash. Each time this blurred my vision I bent double to rest my wound on the thigh of my jeans in an effort to staunch the flow. Meanwhile, I said a silent prayer of thanks my captor hadn’t chosen to use electrical ties. I bided my time, thinking it best to wait and use the element of surprise because at any moment I could have used the unlock spell to free my hands and open the door to the wheelhouse.
The bell at the top of the comm line tinkled. The two men rose from their seats and took up their battle ready stance close to the top of the ladder but far enough back not to be seen until Izzy’s head appeared level with the deck. They darted forward and one on either side of her manhandled her up onto the deck and threw her down. She fell heavily face first, the air cylinders on her back increasing the force of the fall. She lay still.
My moment had come. I cast the two spells I’d chosen to use. First, the unlock spell the easier of the two. Concern for Izzy’s treatment had raised my stress levels. I needed to calm myself down to remember the other more complicated spell. I closed my eyes and imagined Zig and Zag and my little brother Jimbo. I summoned a vision of Garth and his special service skills. Those images stilled my panic, but then my captor pulled his gun and stood over Izzy pointing it at her head. I looked sideways and saw why. Garth was at the top of the ladder. He swayed backwards as he took in the scene. He ducked back into the water for a moment. Was he going to swim away? He didn’t. Garth came on up the ladder and allowed the second man to haul him out the rest of the way and half-nelson him across the deck. The man handcuffed Garth to the wooden bench. With a gun pointed at Izzy’s head, Garth could do nothing.
Felix would be the next up the ladder and he had no idea what was waiting for him. Apart from the fact that I’d grown fond of him, I was in his debt for the times he’d rescued me. If the two men put Felix out of action as well, there would be no hope for any of us. The gang would shoot us and throw us overboard or lock us in the cabin, open the sea cocks and sink the Mermaid. I was the only one of the four of us who could do anything.
I had to get the spell right now—before Felix reached the top of the ladder. I had to save us all.
Drawing deep breaths down into my lungs to flush my brain with oxygen, I cast the invisible spell and picked up the discarded fire ax.
Chapter 34
Felix
I lowered myself down to a stalking position and padded forwards to the edge of the cabin roof and looked over. It was as I’d feared. Penzi was nowhere to be seen. I guessed they’d locked her up down below. I hoped that was all they’d done. Izzy lay unconscious on the deck with one of the Argentineans standing over he
r pointing his gun at her head. Garth they’d handcuffed to the deck bench. A second man was waiting near the top of the ladder for me to appear. Good luck with that. Counting the man I’d knocked out on the Eva that was three. Where were the other two? I didn’t know but I couldn’t afford to waste any time. I had to strike before they appeared, possibly from below decks.
The man waiting in ambush for me was beyond the reach of even my most athletic pounce. My target had to be the man holding the gun on Izzy. Yes, a bullet might hit her as I struck him, but I judged the risk lower than the certainty that the men planned to kill us all. I tensed my powerful hind leg muscles ready to launch myself at him when out of the corner of my eye, the door of the wheelhouse opened and a fire ax shot out at shoulder height. It didn’t tumble or spin. It tomahawked straight for the gun-wielding thug. It swung sideways. The butt struck the side of his head felling him with a knock-out blow. Penzi! It had to be.
In a flash I changed my target, leaping off the roof to bounce on the deck and then launch myself at my would-be ambusher waiting at the top of the ladder, catching him as he turned to identify the disturbance behind him. I knocked him clear off his feet with my head and he flew over the side into the sea. So, one locked up on the Eva, plus one down to Penzi, one down to me. Where were the other two?
I spun round and whispered, “Penzi?”
Even as I did so, Izzy’s air tanks were unfastened. I padded up to where Penzi had to be and asked where the other two men were.
“They didn’t bring the Spaniard. The small one went below—”
Garth called out to us in a shaky voice, “He’s gone to open the sea cocks. I bet they planned to sink the Mermaid with our four corpses on board.” He took a deep breath and asked, “What are you people, anyway? Are you even human?”
Penzi cut in. “We don’t have time for explanations. Trust us. We’re on the side of right.”
“I didn’t doubt that for a moment but….”
Penzi interrupted again. “Felix, put Izzy in the recovery position while I free Garth. We have to disable the fourth pirate before he gets us or sinks the Mermaid.”
I shifted from leopard to man and crouched down to help Izzy. Behind me Penzi cast the unlock spell. Garth unclasped the handcuffs and jumped up putting them in his pocket. He made for the cabin door.
“I’ll handle this one. Boats are my specialty.”
“Shout if you need help,” Felix said before turning to me and saying, “If I could see you I’d give you a big hug. I was afraid they’d killed you.”
I snuck up behind him and put my arms around his waist. “I’m here. I’m safe. I’ll stay invisible until we’ve got them all.”
Felix covered my hands with his and gave them a squeeze. “What next, boss?”
“Keep an eye out for the man who fell overboard. If he’s still alive, he’ll try to get back on board one of the boats. When Garth returns, ask him to help Izzy. He’ll have done basic first aid as part of his survival training.”
“We need to get help for her.”
“That’s my job. I’m going over to the Eva to call everyone I can think of.”
“Do you know what to do?” Felix asked me as he disengaged my hands.
“Garth showed me how to use the panic button to call the Coast Guard, the Gendarmerie Maritime. I can ask them to contact Dubois and Monsieur Bonhomie.”
“Go then, but don’t forget to make yourself visible before help arrives.”
Chapter 35
Felix accompanied me to the railings between the two boats and gave me a hoist up and over onto the deck of the Eva. A few minutes later I was giving our details to the Gendarmerie Maritime, France’s military Coast Guard, and asking for a medical helicopter evacuation for Izzy. A scuffle on board the Mermaid caught my attention. Garth was hauling the fourth pirate out onto the deck.
He took his prisoner round the corner of the cabin and out of my sight. Felix called out to ask me what was happening.
“The Gendarmerie Maritime is in charge. A medevac ’copter will be here within minutes for Izzy,” I called back.
Garth disappeared round the cabin. I returned to the wheelhouse of the Eva in time to catch a call coming through to check on our GPS reading. As I confirmed the address, the sound of a helicopter drowned out the conversation and the helicopter appeared overhead. They radioed down that the decks were too small for a landing. They would have to winch Izzy up.
I climbed back over the railings to give Felix and Garth the message, but they’d already seen the winch man descending and were standing ready to help with Izzy’s evacuation. Only two of the three pirates sat fastened to the wooden bench. I guessed that the third man hadn’t made it back to the boat when he fell overboard.
The winch man told us they’d flown over the Gendarmerie Maritime patrol boat on its way to us at the mouth of the Gironde. It would be alongside within the hour. The medical helicopter disappeared towards the coast with Izzy safely on board, only to be replaced by a naval helicopter which circled over us continually until the Gendarmerie vessel appeared off to our stern. Whereupon it flew to meet the ship and alighted on its helipad.
A Zodiac brought the colonel, the officer in charge, and two of his men across to the Mermaid to talk to us. He wanted all the details and asked what proof we had that we’d found the wreck of a U-boat. His attitude was one of skepticism until Garth introduced himself as ex-Special Boat Service whereupon he thawed out and became quite genial.
“So, proof? Did any of you have an underwater camera with you on your dive by any chance?”
Felix tore off his T-shirt and sweater saying, “Hell, I left my camera attached to the anchor chain. I’ll go fetch it.”
Stripped down to his boxers, he dived into the uninviting water of the Atlantic Ocean.
“Yikes, it’s cold without my suit,” he shouted as he resurfaced.
Ten icy minutes later he was back on board rubbing himself down with the towel I’d fetched for him. The colonel waited until Felix was dressed again before asking him to email the photos to him. Felix showed the colonel the vandalized wheelhouse. The two of them climbed over the railings to use the Eva’s computer.
Back on board the Mermaid, the colonel said he would keep us posted and ordered his two officers to take charge of the three prisoners. He’d lock them in the brig for the time being, he said. We expected them to sail back to port immediately, but the colonel told us he’d been instructed to stand guard until the Louis XIV arrived from the naval base at Brest.
“The Louis XIV?” I asked in astonishment, “but that’s an aircraft carrier.”
The colonel nodded and went on, “The Government is taking the discovery of this wreck and the possibility of gold very seriously. They’ve ordered the Louis down here on spec. Your photos will lend credibility to the order. At the very least, the wreck is a war grave and needs protecting. At best, it houses a fortune.”
With a sudden burst of sound, a couple of fighters flew overhead, disappeared into the distance and came roaring past again.
“See,” the colonel said pointing to the planes fast vanishing over the coast. “They’re the advance guard from the Louis. I understand she’ll stay on duty close to this spot until the wreck has been explored and the gold, if any, is recovered. And she is, of course, fitted with the derricks that will be needed. We’re lucky that she’s been on exercises in the Atlantic and is not in her home port of Toulon in the Mediterranean.”
Felix and Garth said, “Wow!”
It made sense to me. If the U-boat had been carrying a full load of gold, its cargo would be worth billions. Once word got out, everyone would be after it.
As if he’d read my thoughts, the colonel added, “We’ve a complete news blackout on all this. So, no calls home to family or friends about the U-boat you’ve found.”
We were to stay on board the Mermaid for the time being while arrangements were finalized. The colonel sent us over a hot meal and a couple of bottles of wine. The
three of us relaxed at last.
Garth spoke first. “Don’t think that in all this excitement I’ve forgotten that Felix here appeared as a leopard and that you, Penzi, didn’t appear at all. You were invisible. I’m a hardheaded ex-Special Boat Serviceman, and I’m struggling to get my head around all this.”
Felix nodded at me to speak.
“It’s been difficult for me to come to terms with, too. You see, I’m a white witch and as such I have special magic powers. I’m only a novice but I’m expanding my repertoire of spells. The unlock and the invisible spells I learned a few weeks ago.”
Garth raised his eyebrows at me. “Pull the other one,” he said.
I shrugged his remark off and turned to Felix, “You go next.”
“Forget reason, Garth. Accept Penzi and me as supernatural beings. You’ll find that easier.”
“So, you’re a witch, too?”
“No, not me. My supernatural ability is limited to shifting my shape from cat to man to leopard in any order. For example, I can’t see Penzi when she’s invisible.”
Garth gave a disbelieving snort and poured himself another glass of wine. “Good thing Izzy didn’t see any of this. It would have blown her mind.”
“It’s a secret. No one knows except Penzi’s family. We have to keep it that way if Penzi is to carry on her fight against evil as a white witch.”
Garth put down his glass and laid his hand on my knee. “Don’t worry, Penzi. If there’s one thing I can do, it’s keep secrets. Don’t forget I had to sign the Official Secrets Act.”
With that the conversation passed on to the events of the day.
My main concern was the Merchants. “How are we going to break the news to them about the damage done by the pirates to their wheelhouse and their brand new navigation equipment?” I asked.
“They’ll be covered by insurance,” said Garth. “Felix should take some photos to give them an idea of the vandalism.”
