Caribbean Gold

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The passage was narrow at first. Alicia made her way down the blowhole, holding onto the sides to keep her balance and then angled her body into the offshoot of rock. She made her way down a few feet, careful of the water-drenched surfaces and then called the next person. This way, they could send in two people safely between each eruption of water and allow those two to get a firm hold to ward off the weak jet of water that fell into the new hole. The entrance was angled away from the blowhole spout, which was helpful, and warded off most of the powerful water. Alicia climbed steadily down, a foot at a time, grateful that the going was relatively easy. A rocky tunnel provided hundreds of hand and footholds. The way below was dark and unsure, though, and Alicia didn’t want to use her flashlight.

No telling where the enemy were.

Surrounded by hard, dripping rock and the smell of seawater, they made their way downward in some kind of muted shadow realm. They could hear the lap of water from below, the rumble of thunder shooting up the other shaft. They could feel the wash of seawater passing them by. The minutes they spent in there felt like hours.

Near the bottom of the shaft everything opened out, the rock falling away. Alicia hung suspended for a moment before letting herself drop into two feet of standing water. Ahead lay an arrow-straight tunnel, whilst behind stood a mountain of rock.

There was enough room for everyone so she waited for the team to join her.

“Onward and steady,” Crouch finally said.

Alicia led the way, stepping through the water and using one side of the tunnel for balance. It was a feat just walking in the dark; there was never a time when she knew the next step was safe.

“It’s getting lighter up there,” she said.

“Not sunlight though,” Crouch whispered. “That’s a flashlight.”

Even more carefully they crept forward, approaching the artificial light and the end of this particular tunnel. Alicia hugged the left hand side of the passage as much as she could, approaching the last few feet of rock.

She stopped, checked the preparedness of the crew.

“We good?”

The nodding was perceptible, just. Alicia then bent low and put her head around the corner, letting her eyes adjust. The scene was a surprise, even worse than she’d been suspecting.

Jensen stood in shallow water at the center of a sea cave. The roof vaulted high above and the walls were lost behind wedges of jagged rock. Largely inhospitable then, it did have a wide rocky shelf to the far side upon which men, even now, were piling several packs of explosives.

Alicia swallowed drily. “Oh crap, that can’t be good.”

“What?” Crouch came up behind her. “What’s going on?”

“It looks like they’re getting ready to blow the far wall. And if I’m being honest it’s not really a wall, just a pile of rocks.”

“Fucking Neanderthals,” Crouch growled. “There’ll be nothing left.”

Jensen watched impassively as half-a-dozen of his men scurried back and forth, laying small but full packs of dynamite, and unspooling wires. The men were rushing as if in answer to Jensen’s urgency. The wall in question was over nine feet high and just as wide, a latticework of boulders fitted together like a bad jigsaw puzzle, held by time and weight and a build-up of growth.

“If you’re gonna do something, make it quick,” Caitlyn breathed.

“I don’t think we have the time,” Crouch said. “Jensen’s already got his finger on the trigger.”

The man clutched a black box in his fist. Alicia beckoned the rest of the team forward to look, since every single mercenary was involved with Jensen’s new plan. She wondered why they had decided to blow this particular wall, though in truth it was the only one that appeared to be man-made.

“Is that his thinking?” Crouch wondered aloud and then softly intoned the script: “To the leeward I resolve to stash that which sorely plagues. This time the rocks will tell their story and the rising tides a tale. But rarely when they’re high, never again under sail. Never again. It is here, but fear you must. Peril awaits.”

“That which sorely plagues?” Alicia said. “Doesn’t sound at all like treasure to me.”

“As we said, maybe it’s the locals’ stash. He wants us to find that first.”

“Well, he’d better hurry up appeasing himself,” Caitlyn said. “Because this is the penultimate map. We’re almost out of time, folks.”

“Speaking of out of time…” Alicia watched as the mercs started scrambling away from the ledge, packs set in place. Jensen barely gave them enough time before shouting, “Fire in the hole!” and squeezing a button on the little black box.

An enormous explosion rocked the cave. Everything from huge chunks to small shards of boulder erupted from the wall. The shelf before it exploded too, spraying rock, and a curtain of water swelled around the cave. As the rock wall disintegrated, a huge wave of seawater poured in from the underwater sea cave next door. Alicia swore and moved backward in a hurry, tripping over Russo. The big man just wasn’t fast enough, stumbling as the wall of water smashed into them. The team flailed and fought to hold on. Alicia went down to one knee, fingers grappling desperately to the rock wall. Caitlyn started to be swept away, but Healey snagged her, lost his grip and then they both skidded away amidst the swirling waters. In a few moments the great wave began to subside as it found the exits, and only ankle deep eddies were left churning around their legs. Alicia pushed Russo aside and struggled back down the passage.

Healey was leaning over Caitlyn, holding her up, the two cut and bruised but otherwise unharmed. Alicia hurried over to them.

“Ya picked a right time for a shag, guys.”

Healey could barely speak, but handed Caitlyn over and collapsed onto his back. Crouch then waved down the passageway and made a hurry-up gesture.

Alicia hefted Caitlyn to her feet. “You okay? Talk to me.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just give me a minute.”

“Sorry, no can do. We gotta go.”

Alicia helped Caitlyn back up the passage and Healey followed them to Crouch’s side. What they saw ahead widened their eyes more than any underground explosion ever could.

A ragged hole now existed where the wall once had. Even as they watched, several more rocks gave in and fell from the top of the pile, shattering below. Mercenaries waited in a row as Jensen pushed past them, approaching the new cave. From her vantage point Alicia could see it was about the same size as their own, but quite dark, the only illumination leaching from their own. Jensen held out a hand.

“Torch.”

To a man the mercs lit genuine, flickering torches; thick shafts of wood wrapped in flammable bandages. Alicia shook her head. “Bloody fruitloops really do believe they’re pirates.”

“They’re playing a part,” Crouch said. “Wouldn’t anyone that wants to get paid at the end of the week?”

“Depends on the part, boss. And the lead male.”

“Yeah.” Russo laughed. “If they’re not called Chris, Johnny or Matt she’s stone cold.”

“Well, I might be able to handle a Rob if you fancy it.”

“Woman, you ain’t never handling me.”

“We’ll see.” They watched the mercs in silence for a while as they followed their boss to the hole in the wall and tried to figure out a way to climb through. In the end Jensen threw a leg over the new gap and hauled himself over, unmindful of the risks. The flickering torches shed a smoky light and smelled of tar. The swathe of bright light admitted by the large entrance to the original sea cave dimmed and shimmered as it reached in vain for its new neighbor. Alicia breathed deep as she waited.

“Not liking this.”

“Not much choice,” Crouch said.

“Always a choice. We could take ’em all out right now.”

“Not in cold blood, Alicia. We’re the good guys, remember?”

Alicia said nothing, wondering how it was that an evident enemy always had to be given the benefit of the doubt. It seemed to her that they could end Jensen’s threat right here and now, maybe even make the last map and treasure hunt less of a stressful proposition.

“Wait,” Crouch said as the mercs made their way over the wall. “What the hell is that?”

Now Alicia saw it too, saw why Jensen risked his life, saw why the mercs all appeared so excited and up for it. In the second sea cave there lay a shipwreck, broken mast positioned at an odd angle, the curve of a timber hull just visible. Alicia saw the evidence and still barely believed her eyes.

“It’s been there all this time?”

“Rotting through the centuries,” Crouch said. “No telling what’s left now. But if Morgan took the time to sink an entire ship in that cave you can rest assured it’s an important find.”

“So now can we kill Jensen?”

“Let’s wait and let them do all the work.”

“Ah.” Alicia finally gave in. “Nice idea.”

The last merc jumped beyond the wall, leaving the way clear for the Gold Team to follow. Ahead, the centuries-old pirate ship lay in wait, ready at last to give up its final secrets.