by R. K.
“I’m sorry to say, Miss James, that your father is indeed dead. He betrayed me when he had the opportunity to return with you.” He said this without the least trace of emotion.
Tori broke down in tears. Her head was in her hands as she wept without restraint.
“What about my brother? And Alex?” Dee asked in unmasked anger.
“That, Miss Rylan, is the only reason the two of you are still with us. It appears, through some miraculous act, that they are still alive. At least they were a few days ago. Your brother has something I must have. It was discovered on the wreck as well. I am waiting to hear from him, or about him, as we speak. You will return to your room now and we can continue this discussion at a later time.”
The last remark he made, about him, made Dee uneasy. Hearing the entire account was disturbing enough. To see the ruthless unconcern from the man who had delivered it was even more unnerving. Dee had never witnessed such cold-blooded calculation before. She had thought about Sean since their virtual imprisonment, hoping he would somehow be able to help them. He had always come to her rescue in the past; at least that was how she viewed it, even in matters as trivial as running interference with their mother. Now she would have to think of anything she could possibly do to help him. But without even knowing where he was, or where they now were, she was at a loss. She held Tori close to her, who was still sobbing uncontrollably, as they were escorted back to their room.
The boys woke up late the next morning. A full meal, plenty of fluids, and the peace of mind consequent on being rescued from their lifeboat allowed their exhaustion to take over and command the necessary rest they required. The Carters did their best not to disturb them, which included remaining anchored where they were until they decided where they would eventually drop off their passengers.
The smell of freshly cooked bacon was persuasive enough to finally bring them out of their slumber. Rosie was finishing off the last of the scrambled eggs in the bacon drippings when they walked into the miniature kitchen.
“Glad to see you two are still alive. I was about to send Sam back to check on you.”
“I guess we are a bit worn out from our ordeal,” Alex said as if in apology.
Ignoring his reply she smiled and said, “I hope you two are hungry. I made enough for a small army.”
“Hey, there you two are. Glad to see you among the living,” Sam said as he walked in from the opposite end of the room.
“I probably would have slept all day if it wasn’t for the bacon,” Sean said with a grin.
“Well, have a seat,” she instructed the boys. “Can you pour the coffee, honey?” she asked her husband.
After they took their seats in the tight fitting quarters, they waited while Rosie served them plates full of eggs, bacon, and fried potatoes. Sam poured their coffee and set a bottle of orange juice on the small table. They waited until everyone was seated before eating. Sean looked at a clock hanging on the wall and saw that it was 10:45. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept so late, especially on the water.
Breakfast was a little awkward at first, being in the company of virtual strangers, but Mrs. Carter seemed to be happy that the boys enjoyed her cooking. They were practically done before her and her husband finished buttering their toast. Alex looked up in realization of this as he attempted to excuse their manners.
“I’m sorry. I guess our appetites are a little unbalanced from the last few days.”
“No need for an apology,” Sam said. “I can imagine what I would be like in your situation.”
“I can always make more if you are still hungry,” Mrs. Carter offered.
“No ma’am. It was great. I’m starting to feel normal again,” Sean said.
“I told you, it’s Rosie. Not ma’am.”
“Thank you Rosie,” Sean said with a smile.
“You boys spend time in the military?” Sam asked.
Alex nodded his head as his mouth was full from the final remnant of his meal while Sean said, “Yeah, Navy.”
“It shows. What did you do?”
“I was a diving officer and Alex mostly swept the decks.”
As the Carters looked on with interest, it took every bit of control Alex could muster to keep from spitting out the coffee he was trying to swallow. Accomplishing that, he next battled a fit of coughing while Rosie got up to get him a glass of water with a look of concern on her face.
Sean, taking advantage of the moment, said, “Maybe you can show them how much they taught you in the Navy. This boat isn’t as big as you are used to, but I’m sure it will come back to you.”
Rosie put the glass in front of him as he finally gained control of himself. He gave Sean a menacing look. Sam noticed the interaction between the two and felt as though he had an understanding of the situation.
“Something tells me that is not what your service involved,” he stated in an amused manner while looking at Alex.
When he was sure he could speak Alex said, “I mostly did electrical engineering, but I have almost as much experience with mechanics.”
“And they made you wash the decks too?” Rosie asked seriously.
Sean stifled a laugh while her husband explained what was going on.
“No honey, he was just making a joke.”
“Oh,” she said with a smile.
When they were finished with their meal, Alex volunteered to help Mrs. Carter clean up and Sean followed Mr. Carter outside. The boat was more of a cabin cruiser than a fishing vessel, though Sean saw evidence of trolling rigs laid out on deck.
“This is not your typical fishing boat,” he said as he pointed to the gear.
“What? Oh, yeah. I made some modifications to allow a four spread set-up. Rosie wouldn’t come out here if she didn’t have some comfort for the trip. And I wouldn’t be able to come out here if she couldn’t.”
Sean grinned signaling his understanding.
Sam Carter was a large man, and one who seemed not only intelligent, but intuitive. He would have to be intelligent for his profession, but Sean noted that little seemed to escape his attention even if it was left unsaid. His forearms were thick and hairy, much like his legs. Sizing him up, Sean thought he was a formidable man. It was a stark contrast between him and his wife in more than one way. He started to help put away the gear in its protective coverings after he saw how Sam was doing it. He thanked him when they were finished.
“Sorry to disturb your fishing. Do you get out much?”
“No. About twice a year if I’m lucky. Work keeps me pretty busy,” he said as he stood with his hand against the frame of the cabin to steady himself while the boat rode the waves.
“I can imagine.”
“What about you? Ever fish?”
“Not really. Most of my time is spent under the water.”
“Yeah, you said you were treasure hunters. Isn’t the water around here a little deep for that? I can’t imagine your boat or the equipment you used was that large or specialized if it could be run by just the two of you.”
Sean looked at the man again in appreciation of his instinct and reasoning. He was putting things together in a rational way, even when he knew nothing about the facts. Sean thought it best not to lie to him, but he would limit what he said.
He looked up at him from his seat and said, “I had the equipment to dive up to four-hundred feet.”
“You must know what you are doing in spite of losing the boat.” He said this in both respect and in jest.
Sean smiled in appreciation with a grin that went from ear to ear.
“What did happen out there anyway?”
Sean’s smile left his face as he answered, “I’d really rather not say right now. I could make up a story, but you and your wife have been an answer to our prayers, and I like you. Would you settle for I’ll tell you some other time?”
Sam looked at him without expression and said, “Sure. I appreciate you not trying to lie to me.”
“Good. If you are w
orried about us, don’t be. We’re not bad guys,” Sean said, trying to reassure him that they had not made a bad decision in their efforts to help them.
“I already knew that. If I thought you were, you’d be back in the water,” Sam said with a grin of his own.
~ Twelve ~
When Dr. Carter finished making preparations to leave, he entered the cabin to talk to the boys.
“I’m guessing you want to be taken to Nassau or maybe Freeport?” Sam asked.
They looked at each other, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of being somewhere that could be watched by the men who were responsible for their situation in the first place.
“How much longer was your trip out here going to last?” Sean asked.
“Two days,” he answered.
“Could we trouble you to take us to the mainland? Anywhere on the mainland?”
It was evident on Sam’s face that he would have much preferred to be rid of them so that he could return to his favorite pastime. Before he could say anything, his wife spoke up. “Sure we can.”
Sam stared at Sean. He was less than satisfied with the explanation he had been given thus far, and his attitude was further eroded as he saw the last opportunity to fish fade away. He was willing to help, and the boys did seem really nice, but this was his time. There was an issue of being helpful and there was a point when it crossed the line of taking advantage. Before he was able to formulate an argument to salvage what he could of his vacation, his wife read the look on his face and said, “Honey, it’s only one day. We can make up for it next time.”
With the three of them against him, he gave in. It wasn’t really three against one, he thought. It was one against one: Rosie. He always had trouble saying no to her.
“Okay. We dock in Hilton Head. Is that okay for you boys?”
“Perfect,” Sean said as Alex nodded in agreement.
“Alright, but you owe me. I’ll figure out a price later.”
“Sam, that’s no way to behave. Think about what they’ve been through,” his wife said as if she were sticking up for her own children.
At that same time they all heard the approach of another boat. Sean looked out the small window and watched it steer directly for them. Sam stepped outside and waited until it had come close enough for them to throttle down their engine to hold a position next to them.
“Hello,” a dark haired man said to Sam.
Sean was looking from inside the cabin and quickly pulled the curtain shut as he recognized the figure of the man who was driving the boat. It was Marcel.
Sam could see into the cabin from where he was standing and noticed the boys hunker down in their seats. He didn’t know what this was about, but it possibly had something to do with them.
“What can I do for you?” Sam replied in a friendly manner.
“We are out looking for some friends of ours. We were all fishing together, but when we were to meet up again, they never showed. We were hoping someone may have seen them,” Marcel said.
“We’ve seen several boats in the last few days. Can you describe it?”
At the question, it was clear that the other man was uncomfortable. He mumbled out a generic description and waited for a reply. Sam knew something was wrong. If his story was true, he would have furnished a more detailed account.
“What about the name? What was the name of the boat? And how about your friends? What are their names? How many are there? What do they look like? And where are you all from?” Sam rattled off.
Marcel was made even more uncomfortable by the additional questions. It was clear he had not thought that far ahead.
“The . . . ah . . . boat is much like this one. Two guys, one with black hair, about my size, and the other one shorter with light brown hair.” He managed to get out. Before the situation was made any worse from additional questions, he ended their discussion. “If you see them, please call this number.” He rattled off a ten digit number while Sam took a pen from his pocket and wrote it on his hand.
“No boat name?” Sam asked once again knowing it made the other man uncomfortable.
“Thanks for your time,” Marcel said as he nodded once and powered up the engine and moved away. He noticed the boat was named Deep Blue and he wrote this down. He would find whatever information he could on the craft. So far he encountered six other boats and they all turned up no useful information. He would have liked to spend more time with this one, but the man was more challenging than surprised. It didn’t seem like a natural reaction to Marcel, but there was nothing more to be done about it now.
When they were out of the immediate area, Sam walked back into the cabin. He looked at the two boys as they watched the departure of the boat through the window.
“I gather you know him?”
“You could say that,” Alex supplied.
“Trouble?” Sam asked.
“You could say that too,” Sean said as he turned to look at him.
“What kind of trouble? What do you mean? Who was he?” Rosie asked in confusion.
Sam held his hand up toward his wife in an attempt to restrain her from getting worked up.
“As soon as they are out of sight we’ll move off. I doubt that they will follow us, but I don’t want it to seem we are high-tailing it out of here to give them any reason to think otherwise.”
“Smart,” Sean said.
“You think there might be anyone else interested in your whereabouts?”
“I’m certain of it,” Sean replied.
“Great,” Sam said in an irritable voice as he left the cabin to go topside to start the engines.
“Are you boys in some kind of trouble?” Rosie asked when her husband left.
“A little bit,” Sean replied honestly. “But nothing you have to worry about. Once we get back to the mainland, we can straighten everything out.”
Mrs. Carter was relieved and satisfied with his response. She went about putting things away when they heard and felt the engines start. Sean and Alex looked at one another realizing they were not out of danger yet. The last thing they wanted to do was to get these nice people involved. They just hoped they could avoid any further encounters with Silas Chandler’s henchmen before they made it back home.
Dee did her best to comfort Tori through the night. Neither one was able to sleep much as Tori sobbed off and on during sleep. When morning came, she fired question after question at Dee expecting to hear answers for the unexplainable. Dee was distraught too, but knew she would find no reciprocity in support from Tori. The loss of her father was too much for her to handle; at least for the present.
When the sound of the door being unlocked from the outside came, Tori walked deliberately to the door. When their guard stepped in Tori reached up with her hands and raked her long finger nails across his eyes. Recovering quickly, he grabbed one of her wrists with his left hand, and drew back his other in a fist which contacted soundly to her right temple. Before Dee could react, he closed the door leaving Tori lying in a heap on the floor. It happened so fast that Dee had no time to react.
Dee knelt by her side and saw that she was breathing normally. She noticed the beginning of a red colored welt forming at the side of her head. She went into the bathroom and soaked a washcloth with cold water. Satisfied, she returned and held the cold compress to her head. She understood her reaction, but thought it was foolish. They would only find themselves in a worse situation by doing such a thing. If they were to take any premeditated action it would have to be one where the reward was worth the risk.
The next time the door opened, Dee had Tori resting on the bed. Two men stepped in.
“Mr. Chandler wants to see you,” one of them said in a firm voice.
“Tell Mr. Chandler to go to hell!” Tori shouted.
When she saw that having Tori near any of them was counterproductive, she decided to go on her own. She leaned over Tori, acting as though she was examining her and said, “I’m going with them. We need all the information we
can get. I’ll be back soon.”
Tori looked at her when she got up. Fear, anger, and a touch of hope all registered on her face. Dee nodded once for reassurance.
“I’ll go with you, but I think it’s best she stays here.”
The men thought about it and decided she was probably right. They were told to bring them both, but it was clear that the James girl was going to be uncooperative. They stood aside as she preceded them out of the room.
Dee was led to the same room they were in the previous day. Silas Chandler was waiting for her this time, and she could see a grim look on his face. If that look is meant for us, he will just have to deal with it, she thought. She sat down without being asked.
“I would suggest you tell your friend to control herself in the future. Another attack on one of my men may lead to unpleasant consequences.”
“Oh really? I’m sorry but I guess we haven’t appreciated all of the pleasantness we’ve experienced so far. I mean, you only killed her father, kidnapped us, and did who knows what to my brother and Alex,” Dee shot back.
Not used to being talked to in this manner, Silas Chandler said in a cool voice, “Miss Rylan, the two of you are still alive because your brother has something that I need. If that proves to be more of an inconvenience to me than I feel it is worth, I will simply find another way to solve this dilemma.” Seeing that she still wore a look of defiance he added, “If either of you try any such thing again you will be disposed of. Do I make myself clear?”
As the first instance of shock passed through her, she continued to look into the malevolent eyes of the man before her. She knew he would do whatever he wanted to them, whenever he wanted to. Somehow that knowledge emboldened her. There was no reason to give him anymore power over them than he already had.
“You’ll probably end up killing us anyway. I only hope my brother does the same to you.”
Her retort caught him by surprise. His mood changed from one of malice to one of curiosity. Seldom did he witness such defiance from someone in a hopeless situation. He decided to move on to the subject he had brought her here to discuss in the first place.
