Maddy's Dolphin (10 page)

Barefoot
, Jorgos's speedboat, was very old and shabby now, but Jorgos would not get rid of it. When he liked something, like a car or the boat, he would never replace it. It would have to fall to pieces before he did. And the
Barefoot
had not fallen apart yet. In fact, just a few years ago he had replaced the engine and it went like a dream, even if it did look old and shabby.

‘No, CJ, there's a football match I have to see. You could watch it with me if you like.'

CJ remembered. Greece was playing a friendly. He'd like to watch it, but not on a hot sunny day, and definitely not today. Today they had to save Lucy. ‘It's too nice a day to watch football, Dad.'

‘Can Mum take us out on
Barefoot
, Dad?' said Maddy.

She knew that if there was a football match on TV that her dad wanted to watch, it didn't matter how much they pleaded with him, there was no way that he would relent: he would watch the football match. If she or CJ had been born on the day of a big football match, he would have probably come to see them after the game.

Jorgos said that their mum didn't like driving the boat. Well, he was right there. 'We can drive it, Dad. She just has to come along for the ride, 'cos she wouldn't let us go without either you or her.'

‘Well, I suppose you can, if your mum's OK with it.' With that, both his children kicked their chairs back and jumped on him, giving him a big hug. One down, one to go.

‘What's all this about?' said Ishbel as she came out on to the balcony from the kitchen.

‘Mum, Dad says we can go for a picnic in the
Barefoot
.'

‘Oh, I thought you were watching the football, Jorgos.'

‘I am. They want to take you out for a ride in the boat. I can get it into the water…' For Jorgos thought it was a great idea, now he had thought about it; it would mean he would have some peace and quiet for the football.

It took a bit more persuasion from the three of them, but Ishbel finally came around to their way of thinking and started to pack up a picnic. It would be nice to get away, and going off in the boat was great fun. They hadn't done it for ages and she was quite pleased that the children wanted her along.

It was a couple of hours before they managed to get everything organised. Jorgos had gone off to get the
Barefoot
eventually, but had been waylaid and they had been waiting for him on the beach for ages. They were off now, though. Maddy took the controls and she pushed the accelerator forward. They were heading to Cape Heraion, and then they would follow the coast on around from there.

The plan was to meet up with Indigo, who would point them out to a little beach area close to the entrance of the cave. Stone had said there was an ideal landing spot, so she just had to sit back and enjoy the ride until she spotted Indigo.

It must be somewhere near here
, thought Maddy. Ishbel was chatting away and she and CJ were saying yes and no at the appropriate times; they must have been, because Ishbel kept on talking. Maddy and CJ were too busy looking out for Indigo and any sign of the jet ski or anything else out of the ordinary to listen to what she was saying.

There he was. Indigo swam up to the boat and kept up alongside as they kept going. ‘Hi, see the little beach just beyond the jagged rock there?' Maddy looked and yes there was a jagged rock and near it were a couple of dolphins beside a small cove. ‘You can get the boat in there. There are no rocks under the water, it is safe. The cave is just past the next set of rocks.'

‘OK, we'll get out and then come in for a swim to sort out what we can do next.'

‘Is that Indigo?'

‘Yes, Mum,' said CJ.

‘I really don't know how he manages to know exactly where we are all the time. It's almost as if you tell him where you are going.'

CJ and Maddy looked at each other and smiled. ‘This looks good, Mum, shall we stop here?'

‘Yes, this looks great.'

Maddy turned the boat and slowed it down, heading forwards towards the beach. CJ jumped out as they got into the shallows and took hold of the rope as Maddy cut the engine. CJ tied the boat up to a rock and, for good measure, Maddy dropped the anchor into the water. CJ came back to the boat and helped carry the food out to the beach.

Ishbel started sorting the things out and put down a towel, as the children took off their clothes and ran out into the water to join Indigo and work out the next part of their plan.

This part of the coast was all rocks and high cliffs, with a spattering of small coves with rocky or sandy beaches which were inaccessible from the land. There were no houses or buildings around. It was very remote, rugged and hostile in a way, but it was also very spectacular and beautiful. The water was a deep-blue colour with the ripples sparkling in the sun.

Maddy and CJ climbed the rocks towards where the cave entrance was. The climb was not difficult, but it was really hot work and they had to keep an eye on their footing. They had decided that if they called in James to help now, by the time they were able to show him the cave and they got in there, the men might have escaped with Lucy. Stone had said that the boat Lucy was tied up in was itself tied up to the rocks by a rope. That had led to Maddy's suggestion that they could untie the rope and let the boat and Lucy float out of the cave with a bit of help. With her safely out of the cave, they could call James. When he came with reinforcements, they would immediately see her and be able to get her to safety.

The question then had been: How could they untie the boat? Indigo could swim into the cave to the boat and once it was untied he could push it out of the cave, but how could he untie it? They had all thought hard about this until CJ suggested that Indigo could carry in a knife and get Lucy to cut the rope. Well, that was it. They had a plan and it sounded a good plan too. Maddy and CJ would watch from their vantage point on the cliffs and wait for the boat to flout out of the cave; then they would phone for James.

Maddy found a nice big rock overlooking the sea. She was high enough up and she settled down behind it with her mobile phone on the ground beside her. It was now about twenty minutes from when they had left Indigo, who was heading off into the cave with the knife they had given him from the boat. Maddy hoped that all would go well. CJ settled down beside her, but he got very restless when he had to stay still, so after about five minutes of him fidgeting beside her she suggested he go back to Ishbel and bring up some food and water. CJ thought it a good idea and so headed off.

Meanwhile, Indigo had swum into the cave as quietly and carefully as he could. It was quite dark in the cave, but that didn't matter to Indigo as he used his sonar to see with. There were voices coming from further back, but they didn't seem to be a threat. He saw the two boats and the jet ski still moored and headed carefully towards the rowing boat. Then he dropped his body vertically in the water, tail down, and raised his body up out of the water enough to raise his head above the side of the boat.

Lucy opened her eyes and saw him. She smiled as he nodded his head before lowering himself down in the water again. Lucy sat up as Indigo moved his fluke back and forwards, raising his body up again above the boat, and Lucy noticed the knife his mouth. Using her tied-up hands, she managed to take it from his mouth.

Lucy looked at the knife and wondered how she could cut the rope tying her hands. Then she realised that she should cut the rope tying the boat to the rock first. That would free the boat and also free her from the boat. She looked around. Two of the men had their backs to her, cooking something on a very small fire they had allowed themselves. They were talking quietly among themselves and were not bothered about her. She couldn't see the third man, though. She searched into the shadows of the cave but still couldn't see anyone, so she started cutting the rope with the knife, while keeping an eye on the two men and panning around the rest of the cave every now and again.

She was through the rope. She carefully looked over the edge of the boat, where she thought Indigo still was. He was there and, on seeing her head appear over the side, he put his nose (or rostrum, as he liked to call it) to the boat and gave it a push. The boat moved without a lot of effort and very carefully Indigo pushed the boat away from the side of the cave and along the passageway towards the entrance. As the cave twisted around, Lucy helped to guide the boat and keep it from knocking against the sides with her hands.

Maddy heard a noise from behind her.
Oh good, CJ's back
, she thought. She had been getting very thirsty and needed some water. She turned towards the noise just as a man grabbed her from behind. He wrapped one huge arm around her left arm and chest and the other around her waist. Maddy screamed and kicked out with her leg at his shins behind her. The man moved his right hand over her mouth to stop the scream. It cut off the scream immediately, but she bit his hand, making him release his grip slightly, and she got another scream out before he clamped his hand over her mouth once more. He squeezed his grip around her chest, which stopped her breathing momentarily, and with that she stopped kicking. He was too strong for her.

‘What are doing spying, little girl?' said the man in Greek.

‘Birdwatching. What are you doing attacking me?' replied Maddy as he released his grip on her mouth.

‘You will do nicely as a decoy when we move the other girl. You are coming with me.' And he clamped his hand around her mouth once more, shifted her up on his left hip and carried her away.

CJ, who was returning with the water, noticed the rowing boat come into view on the sea just as he heard Maddy's first scream. He stopped in shock for a second, then started running hard up the hill. He reached a point where he could see Maddy being held by a very large man; he stopped still and listened to their conversation. He had two choices: run at them and try to fight the man, or stay back. Maddy's phone, he noticed, was on the ground where she had left it, so once they went he could use it and call for help. From what the man had said, he was one of the kidnappers, so he would be taking Maddy to the cave.

It wasn't that CJ wasn't brave. For once, he was thinking before he acted, and it made sense to wait and call for help. He hated to watch as Maddy was carried off, but he knew it was what Maddy would have done and it was probably the best chance they had of saving her.

As they vanished out of sight, he raced to the mobile phone and scrolled through the names to James. He rang it.

‘Ok, CJ, thanks. We will be with you in about ten minutes. Try to keep an eye on them. If anything changes, phone back. I will leave the line clear.' James quickly spoke into his radio, snapping orders to prepare the two helicopters and a handful of soldiers as he raced off to the Presidential suite in the hotel, throwing the door open without knocking. The President turned in shock towards the door. No one came in without knocking.

The President was looking really haggard and tired. In fact he looked very old, thought James, as he spurted out, ‘We have had a sighting of Lucy, sir, and she is in a boat just along the coast. We are going to get her now.' He was already turning on his heels to head off to the roof and the waiting helicopters.

‘Wait for me, I'm coming,' said the President. James turned to say that it was probably better if he didn't, but seeing the determined look of hope in the President's eyes just said, ‘Come on, sir' as he raced off.

Maddy had been carried and dragged down a path into a cave by the big man, who, on entering the depths of the cave, was met by two other men. They quickly helped him tie a gag around her mouth to stop her from shouting out and tied her hands together in front of her.

The men spoke hurriedly in a mixture of languages, but Maddy understood that her presence had spooked them and they were going to move to a second hiding place. They were going to take her separately from Lucy, in case they needed to use a decoy. They would lead rescuers away from Lucy, to chase Maddy, by keeping her in view on the jet ski and hiding Lucy on the speedboat. She looked around the cave desperately, wondering and hoping that Indigo had managed to push Lucy out of the cave by now.

As they dragged her forward again, there was a cry of disbelief from one of the men. ‘The boat!' They all raced over to where a speedboat and a jet ski were tied up to the rocks. There was no rowing boat in sight. Indigo had done it!

As the men all started shouting among themselves again, Maddy tried to talk to Indigo. ‘Indigo, Indigo, the men have captured me. I am in the cave, are you OK?' She heard nothing at first and tried again; then she heard something very faint, but it was Indigo.

‘Maddy, Lucy and I are heading out to sea. I will come back for you.'

Maddy told him not to; the men were loading her onto the jet ski now, with the big man who had caught her getting on behind and the other two climbing into the boat. It looked like they were headed out.

‘Let's find the girl now,' said the big one and they headed out of the cave as quickly as they could. Maddy tried to tell Indigo that they were coming out and to hide Lucy somehow, but as she tried the man grabbed her chin in one huge hand and pulled her face around to his. He said, ‘You behave and do what you are told or I will feed you to the fish.'

They were out of the cave. In front of them, about 300 yards away, was the rowing boat. They pointed to it and sped off towards it. Indigo saw them coming and called for help into the water, asking for the dolphins and for Lunar to come and help. But within seconds the men were there at the rowing boat. One of the men in the boat reached out and grabbed hold of Lucy and threw her into the back of the boat.

That's when they heard it: a throbbing sound in the sky. They all looked up to their right and saw two helicopters coming straight towards them. ‘Split; if you get away, meet at number two hideaway,' shouted the big man beside Lucy as he pulled the throttle of the jet ski towards him and headed off as fast as he could. The speedboat did the same, going in the opposite direction.