by R. K.
When she saw him, she ran over and wrapped her arms around her older brother. He returned it and watched over her shoulder as Alex walked over.
Alex shook his hand. “I was willing to stay behind at the hotel for you, but you didn’t mention anything about going out of the country,” he said in a tone of mild resentment.
“Nothing I could do about it. Dee should have told you what happened.”
The look on Alex’s face indicated he had been told, but still he wasn’t happy about it. He shrugged his shoulders as if accepting what had happened, and at having the satisfaction of letting him know how he felt about it. They smiled at each other as only friends who were this close did, indicating that all was forgiven.
They rode west on Interstate 80 until they came to the Danville, Pennsylvania, exit. Sean was bombarded with questions about what had happened as soon as they got in the car. He did his best to answer them even when they seemed to doubt his commentary regarding some of the more extraordinary parts of the story. Dee even asked him to show her his upper arm where he had been shot. After she saw the repaired flesh, she believed him. She recalled the holes in his shirt on the day he had come into Silas Chandler’s house. She would look at his chest the next time he had his shirt off to see if he had similar marks there.
Alex drove them to the edge of town before they turned east on a side road. It led them past a large hospital and through a residential area where the houses themselves nearly came down to the roadside. He slowed the car and turned onto what Sean thought was a paved alley before coming to a sign that hung across the top of it that read ‘Odd Fellows Cemetery.’
“What a name,” he said out loud. No one answered.
Alex pulled near to where the burial plot was located. They had little trouble finding it because of the freshly moved earth. The three of them stood there while Sean moved a little closer to the headstone. It was the first time he had ever been to a cemetery as an adult. The only indication of the person buried below was a name and the dates indicating her lifespan. Such an unworthy testament to the person who made their mark in life. In the end I guess we are all just names engraved on a stone, he thought. He stared at the stone marker for a few more minutes before Dee walked to his side and placed her hand in his.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. Nothing really to see here, I guess.”
He looked at the stone next to hers. It was for her father. There was only a birth date on it signifying it was yet to be occupied. He turned to look at Alex.
“We didn’t say anything about him.”
Sean took a moment to consider that and thought it was for the best. If anything was to be done about it, they could do it later. Any added attention they drew to themselves about this whole affair may find them in the unpleasant company of Cody Daniels. Alex told him on the way there that Cody would be in touch with them. Sean doubted it. He figured he had enough to keep him entertained when he finally made it to Chandler’s house.
They walked back to the car as Sean had what little resolution he could expect to find from the effort. When Alex was retracing their route Sean said, “Tori mentioned a hoagie shop in the middle of town. Said they were the best she ever had.”
Alex looked up in the mirror and smiled. “Her uncle took us there. Told us he gets them every time he comes to town. You won’t be disappointed.”
Sean decided that a stop at his parents’ house, on their way home, was both unnecessary and undesirable. Dee didn’t fight him on this as she was ready to get back to her job. She managed to come up with a family emergency excuse which satisfied her boss. She assured him she would be back as soon as possible.
The guys both agreed on a short visit with the Carters. Dee voiced her dissent but it fell on deaf ears. They made it to their house in the middle of the afternoon on the following day. Rosie greeted them all with hugs and informed them that Sam would be home shortly.
Dee and Rosie hit it off right away. The affinity she had with the boys, along with the fact that she had no daughter of her own, made it a natural attraction. They were inseparable the entire night. Sam was true to his word and did a fine job at charring the outside of some expensive steaks, while leaving the insides almost edible. They all made up for it with Rosie’s side dishes and plenty of beer.
When it was time to provide the details about their misfortune, Sean did his best to avoid any of the more peculiar details. All in all he thought he did rather well. Rosie was surprised by a few of the things he had explained, but was more interested in talking with Dee. Sam’s face indicated that he knew there was a lot they were not disclosing, but he seemed to be willing to dismiss it as unimportant. Sean was happy about that. He really liked these folks and didn’t want to lie to them. But, he also knew there was no way he could tell them the ‘whole’ truth.
They stayed the night as it was too late to leave and because they had too much to drink. If it wouldn’t have been for that, Rosie would have simply insisted. Since there were only two spare bedrooms, and Sean had been acting like his normal self, Alex got the room he used before and Dee was given the other. Sean would have to make do with the couch. Things were returning to normal.
After eating breakfast, they said their goodbyes with promises to keep in touch. Rosie exchanged phone numbers with Dee and Sean believed they, in fact, would.
Several hours later they dropped Dee off at her apartment. She hugged her brother, and Alex, and reminded them they had a meeting with the bank—a.k.a. Mr. Zybinski—in two days. They waited until she made it inside the door and then found their way back to the highway.
Sean said little as they drove along. He pulled up to their rental home and ran to the front door. When Alex made it inside he saw him throwing clothing and some other articles into a small bag. Alex asked him what he was doing.
“I’ve got a plane to catch. You can come if you’d like.”
“Where?”
“Nassau.”
Alex looked at him for a minute before he said anything. When it finally dawned on him he asked, “You really think we can find it again?”
“Absolutely!”
“I think we’ll just end up wasting our time and a lot of gas.”
“Got anything better to do?”
He didn’t, so he decided ‘what the hell.’ When they pulled into Key West International, Alex said, “You know we have to be at the bank in two days, right?”
Sean shrugged his shoulders in indifference, “Dee can take care of it.”
“I’ll let you tell her that.”
After eight days they found the underwater island. They only searched during the afternoon hours when they estimated the tides were favorable. It took more doing than Sean initially thought it would, but it didn’t matter now.
The first thing they did was to retrieve what was left of the professor and place it in a body bag. Once that was finished, they used their underwater re-breathers to explore the limited space in the grotto. In a few hours they had every piece of gold, silver, and precious stones that they believed existed in the hidden cavern. They didn’t bother counting it all until they were back on board.
“How much do you think it’s worth?” Alex asked in a tired voice.
“Probably more than we’ll ever spend.”
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind taking up that challenge. We haven’t exactly been living the ‘high life.’”
They placed the treasure in several bags. Once it was secure, Sean took out a couple of beers and walked to the rear of the boat. Alex followed and sat in the other swivel chair next to his friend. Sean handed him a beer and they looked off into the distance. The sun was setting and the sky was clear. It had been a beautiful day and that was going to continue into the night. They sat in silence while enjoying the scenery. It was all they could do to control the excitement from their find. By the time he was on his second bottle, Sean decided it was time to call Dee. He took out the satellite phone he had taken from Chandler’s shi
p—after they had finished with what they had gone there to do—from his luggage and dialed the number. She answered on the third ring.
“Hello?”
“Hey there, sis. How are you?”
“Sean, where in the hell are you? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days. I even drove down to your place. Your neighbors can’t remember the last time they saw you,” she said in an agitated voice. “The bank needs to see you right away.”
“I’m glad to hear you are doing well,” he said as he looked over at Alex and winked. Alex rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Where are you, Sean?” she said with more curiosity than anger.
Ignoring her question he asked, “How did Zybinski take the loss of his boat?”
Deciding she wasn’t going to get any answers until he was ready to give them she played along. “Actually, it went really well. It seems they had the boat insured for more than it was worth. After I signed the affidavit, I think I could have gotten a lunch out of him as well. But you two need to go in and sign too.”
“I kind of figured it would go that way. Guys like that never lose.”
The line was quiet for a moment before either one spoke again.
“Are you going to tell me where you are at, or at least when I will see you again?”
Sean looked at his friend and smiled before answering. “Right now, Alex and I are watching the most beautiful sunset we’ve ever seen. I expect we’ll be home in a few days. You might as well prepare a resignation letter to your current employer though. I think we’ll be needing your services full-time when we start-up our new business.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Just tell the bank we’ll get there when we get there. Prepare that letter. I’ll tell you all about it in a few days. Goodbye.”
“Sean . . . Sean!” he heard before disconnecting the line.
“You shouldn’t stay on the line very long with these things. It can really run up your bill,” he said to his friend.
“Yeah, but you aren’t the one paying it,” Alex reminded him.
“You know something, you’re right.”
“And you wonder why people are always upset with you . . .”
“Me?” he asked in a manner of feigned surprise.
Alex decided to let the issue drop. When Sean was in one of his moods there was just no talking to him, not without considerable frustration anyway.
They sat back and quietly enjoyed the onset of evening, filled with their individual recollections of the events of the past several weeks. They finally discovered a treasure worthy of world-wide attention, but not in any way they would have believed possible. It was enough to ensure their financial well-being for the rest of their lives. Alex wasn’t sure where he wanted to go from here. He didn’t think diving wrecks off the Florida Keys would be the same. It wouldn’t be enough. Not after this. He didn’t know how to tell Sean though. It turned out he didn’t have to say it at all.
“I’ve been thinking,” Sean started by saying, “we’re gonna have to broaden our horizons now. We’ll not just be the run of the mill treasure hunters anymore. I think we should consider expanding. Dee has the background to do all the research, and we have the skills to do the groundwork. I think we should take on any job, anywhere, that offers challenge and reward, land or sea.”
They looked at each other.
“I was thinking of calling our new business: ‘Rylan Expeditions,’” he said with a self-satisfying grin.
Alex didn’t say anything at first. The idea was taking root in his mind. It was intriguing. It was something they could do at their leisure rather than out of necessity. It was also something that piqued his interest. If for no other reason than to deflate his friend’s ego, he said, “I kind of like the sound of: ‘Tate Expeditions.’”
The grin on Sean’s face grew wider at the announcement. He wasn’t sure how Alex would react or even if he would be interested.
Sean sat back again and said, “R & T Expeditions Unlimited.”
“I like it,” Alex replied.
Sean reached out with beer in hand and touched the top of his bottle to Alex’s to seal the agreement.
