Read Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) Online
Authors: David Wood
“
What the hell?
”
He banged his fist on the desk, spilling his beer all over his keyboard and lap. Upending the keyboard over the wastebasket, he drained the remainder of the foamy liquid, then rubbed it on his shirt. It didn
’
t help. The keyboard was dead. Using the mouse, he refreshed his browser a few times, only to get the same error message. The website was down.
He shook his head. Just his luck. Maybe it would be up and running again in the morning. In any case, he wasn
’
t beaten. If web searches didn
’
t pan out, he
’
d simply have to try another tactic. As he settled into bed, he vowed he
’
d find a way to get to that treasure before Avery and her new friends did. And he didn
’
t care what he had to do to get it.
Chapter 5
“
One
more quick dive and we knock off for lunch.
”
Bones squinted up at the midday sun that hung high overhead.
“
Maybe for the day. I
’
m hungry and I
’
m bored. This whole thing is a wild goose chase.
”
Dane nodded. He
’
d called Avery this morning and gave her the news that there was no clue among his father
’
s papers. The disappointment in her voice was palpable, but she
’
d thanked him and asked him to contact her if he found anything. So far, nothing they
’
d seen today gave him any reason to believe he
’
d have any good news for her.
Every channel they
’
d explored had been natural. Not a hint of chisel marks or anything that would indicate human hands had altered it in any way. Each time they finished exploring a passage, Charlie set a crew to sealing it off. Dane thought this was a waste of money and effort. The island sat on what was very much like a giant sponge. The hope of eventually sealing off all the waterways beneath its surface seemed futile to him. But, Charlie had the resources to make it happen, and remained undaunted by the lack of discovery. He bounced around the island, inspecting the work sites and keeping up a steady stream of encouragement.
“
How long do you think Charlie will keep us at it?
”
Dane sat down on
Sea Foam
’
s
side rail next to Bones.
“
I know he can afford it, but I feel a little bit bad taking his money.
”
“
Don
’
t.
”
Bones grinned.
“
If he doesn
’
t give it to us, he
’
ll just spend it on his latest bimbo girlfriend. Anyway, he
’
ll keep us working until he can prove to the local authorities that the pit
’
s a hoax, or a natural formation.
”
“
What?
”
Matt stood nearby, making ready to dive.
“
You mean we
’
re not here to find a treasure?
”
He
looked affronted.
“
I mean Charlie always has a backup plan. If we find the treasure, great. If we prove there never was a treasure, he
’
s already laid the groundwork for building a pirate-themed casino on the island.
”
“
And by laying the groundwork, you mean greasing the palms of local politicians,
”
Dane said.
A knowing grin was all the answer Bones gave.
“
So, who
’
s got tunnel seventeen and who
’
s going to inspect the next stretch of shoreline?
”
Dane asked.
“
It
’
s you and Matt in the creepy, dark tunnel this time,
”
Bones said.
“
Me and Willis get the easy duty.
”
“
Are you sure about that?
”
Matt asked.
“
Yep. I checked the schedule and everything.
”
Bones exchanged evil grins with Willis, who had joined them at the rail.
“
Maddock, you never should have delegated that job to Bones,
”
Matt said.
“
Somehow, the Army guy keeps getting the crap duty.
”
“
Seems fitting,
”
Bones said, leaning away from Matt
’
s playful jab.
“
All right, y
’
all better get going,
”
Willis called.
“
Don
’
t be mad, now. Nothing but love for you.
”
Dane rolled his eyes, pulled his mask on, and flipped backward into the water.
The cool depths enveloped him and he swam through shafts of green light, headed in toward the channel they
’
d labeled number seventeen. The entrance was well hidden in the midst of large, jagged rocks where the surf
’
s ebb and f
low surged with relentless force. He led the way, swimming confidently through the perilous passage.
A few feet inside the tunnel the light melted away. Dane flipped on his dive light, setting the passageway aglow. Like all the others they had explored, the passage was wide enough for a man to swim through comfortably, the way irregular, and the rough ed
ges
worn smooth
over
time. This time, though, something immediately caught his eye.
A groove, two inches thick, had been carved up each side of the entrance and across the bottom. There was no way it was natural
—
the lines too sharp and straight, the groove almost perfectly square. His first thought was someone had slid planks into this groove to form a cofferdam.
“
Matt, do you see this?
”
he asked through the transmitter. The long-range communication devices were state-of-the-art, and came courtesy of Charlie
’
s generosity.
“
Yeah. Looks like someon
e tried to block this channel
. Pirates?
”
He said the last in a comic, throaty growl.
“
Or treasure hunters. Charlie isn
’
t the first to try to dam up the channels under the island.
”
“
You, my friend, are no fun.
”
Grinning behind his mask, Dane led the way into the passageway, which ran back only about forty feet before it made a sharp bend to the left and came to a dead end.
“
That was easy,
”
Matt said.
“
We
’
ll check this one off the list and be back on deck, drinking a cold one, before Bones and Willis drag their soggy carcasses back.
”
“
Hold on.
”
Dane played his light slowly up and down the wall that blocked their way. He saw immediately that it wasn
’
t like the sides of the passage. Instead of a smooth, regular surface, a pile of rubble blocked their way. A thorough inspection revealed an opening at the top, and darkness beyond.
“
Think we can make it through?
”
Matt moved alongside him, reached out, and gave the topmost rock a shove. It gave an inch.
“
I think we can move it.
”
Dane nodded and together they worked the stone, which was the size of a small microwave oven, free, and let it fall. Matt vanished from sight as a cloud of silt roiled in the water.
“
There
’
s no current carrying it away,
”
Dane observed.
“
I don
’
t think this tunnel goes much farther.
”
“
Then there
’
s no point in wasting time waiting for things to clear up. Let
’
s keep working.
”
Three large stones later, they had cleared a space large enough for one man to swim through. After securing one end of a strong cord to a length of branch that jutted up from the pile of rubble, Dane went in first. He held on to the rope in case he lost his way and moved slowly due to the limited visibility, not wanting to injure himself or damage his equipment on an unseen snag. As he cleared the pile of debris, he felt a tug on the cord and knew Matt was behind him.
As he had predicted, the passage did not extend much farther, perhaps
another
forty feet, before it came to another dead end. This time, it wasn
’
t a pile of stones blocking their way.
“
Holy crap!
”
Matt
’
s voice was dull with disbelief.
The twin beams of their dive lights shone against a wall of stone,
and a carving of a Templar cross
.
Morgan plucked the phone from its receiver on the first blink. Her sisters never answered immediately, thinking it a subtle way of showing they had more important things to do than to take a telephone call. She brooked no such nonsense. She was a firm believer in immediate, positive action in all things, even the smallest.
“
Yes?
”
“
Locke is here, Ma
’
am. He wishes to speak with you if you will consent.
”
“
Of course.
”
She hung up the phone, closed the file folder she had been reviewing, and stared expectantly at the door, which opened a moment later. Jacob knew her philosophy on wasting time, and made a point not to do so.
He
appeared in the doorway, his shaved, black head gleaming in the artificial light, and his broad shoulders filling the
door frame
. He gave her a respectful nod and stood aside for Locke.
The two could not have been more different. Where Jacob, formerly of the Elite Royal Marines, was built like a bull, the tawny-haired Locke was lean like a puma and moved with the deadly grace of one of the big cats. Formerly of MI
-
6, his whiskey-colored eyes shone with intelligence. Every member of her personal staff was an asset, mentally and physically, and he was her top man.
“
Ma
’
am,
”
he said without preamble, as was always her expectation,
“
we have a po
tential
lead on the Kidd chests.
”
She felt her entire body tense. Locke often surprised her with information, but nothing of this magnitude.
“
How strong a lead?
”
“
We can
’
t be certain yet. Someone in Canada posted a query on a message board. He claims to have been tipped off by a researcher who gave him the location of one of the chests. An agent in the area is following up on it as we speak.
”
“
A message board? I assume the post is gone?
”
“
We actually took down the entire site. We
’
ll restore it, the post in question deleted, of course, after we
’
ve investigate the claim. Could be a crackpot.
”
He sounded doubtful.
“
For three centuries we have suppressed every mention we could find of these chests. It is not something one would accidentally stumble upon.
”
She turned in her chair and gazed out the window. Truro lacked the size and bustle of London, and she liked it that way, but the modern world intruded here too. There was too little appreciation for the old ways, and old powers.
“
I want you there. Depart as soon as possible.
”
“
As you wish. Should I wait until after your training session?
”
“
Jacob can train with me today.
”
Morgan turned around just in time to see the ghost of a smile play across Locke
’
s face. Jacob hated their training sessions. He was averse to striking a woman, which was a fatal weakness Morgan exploited to its full extend. Locke had no such compunction, but this task was more important.