Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) (32 page)

“
You bastard. I
’
ll kill you for that.
”

“
Not today, unless you want your girl to meet the same fate. Now, give it here and don
’
t try anything foolish.
”
He held out his hand.

It was only by supreme force of will that Dane did not knock the man
’
s teeth down his throat. He looked again at the speedboat, and spotted an odd disturbance in the water by its stern. Good!

“
Fine. But I want Angel released now.
”
He slid the backpack he
’
d been wearing over one shoulder, and handed it to Locke.

“
Of course.
”
The lie was evident in his eyes. Locke opened it just enough to expose the dagger
’
s white hilt. He fished deeper into the backpack and withdrew a clear plastic bag that held the map.
“
Very good. Now...
”

He cut off in mid-sentence as two men, s
o pale they looked almost like a
lbinos, converged on him. Somewhere in the crowd of tourists, someone yelled,
“
Stop right there!
”

And then it all went to hell.

Bones hauled himself over the speedboat
’
s stern, careful not to make a sound. At his hip, the dagger gently vibrated, concealing him from sight. He wondered, absently if someone who looked in his direction would see water dripping from... nothing. He wasn
’
t about to waste time finding out.

There were two men in the boat: one at the helm and the other standing behind Angel. He wore a pistol at his hip, but his arms hung loosely at his side. Both were staring up at
Constellation
, where Maddock and Locke should be making the exchange right about now.

Bones crept up behind the guard and, fast as lightning, slipped the gun from its holster, clamped his free hand over the man
’
s mouth and nose, and pressed the gun to his temple.

“
Don
’
t move and don
’
t make a sound,
”
he whispered, quiet enough not to be heard by the man in the helm over the
sound of the
idling engine. The man froze. If the barrel of a gun against his temple wasn
’
t enough to guarantee his cooperation, the shock of being held by an invisible enemy did it.
“
Down on your knees.
”

The man complied instantly.
Bones clubbed him across the back of the head with the pistol and he crumpled to the ground.

Angel still sat slumped forward, and hadn
’
t seen him. Even though she was gagged, if he frightened her, she might cry out and alert the man at the helm, so he reached down and pressed the dagger, turning off the cloak.

“
Angel, it
’
s me.
”
He kept his voice soft.
“
I
’
m getting you out of here.
”

Angel sat up fast and jerked her head around.

It wasn
’
t Angel.

“
Who are you?
”
Bones whispered, forgetting for a moment the danger and that the girl couldn
’
t speak.
“
Never mind. Let
’
s go.
”
He helped her to her feet,
removed her
gag, and led her to the stern.

“
What
’
s happening?
”
she whispered, her voice trembling.

Just then, chaos erupted on the
Constellation.
An instant later, the boat lurched forward as the man at the helm made a beeline for the sailing ship
’
s stern.

The woman was thrown off balance and tumbled into the water. For a split second, Bones considered letting her swim for it. If he waited on the boat, maybe he could ambush Locke, but the woman had sank out of sight and showed no sign of surfacing.

His decision was made for him when a bullet zipped past his head. Someone on shore had spotted him. Cursing his luck, he dove into the dark water.

Avery hurried on, looking back on occasion, only to see the guy gaining on her. Every time she thought she
’
d lost him in a crowd, he turned up again
—
sometimes ahead of her, sometimes behind her, but always closer. She looked around for a police officer, security guard, anyone who might offer some help, but there was no one.

As desperate panic welled inside her, her eyes fell on an oblong, modern building of gray metal and glass. The National Aquarium. Surely they
’
d have a security staff there. She made a beeline for the front door. Let them bust her for gate crashing. She
’
d be safer in custody than out here pursued by Locke
’
s man. She circled around an arguing young couple and there he was again. He stood twenty feet away barring her way to the entrance, smiling.

“
No more of this foolish chase. Give it to me and you can be on your way.
”

She didn
’
t even think. She just ran. Behind her, she heard him call out, more in annoyance than surprise, and then she heard his feet pounding the concrete, hot on her tail.

She rounded the building and saw a man in a work uniform unlocking a side door.

“
Hold on!
”
she cried, adding a burst of speed she hadn
’
t thought she had at her disposal. The man gaped as she sprinted past him, crashed through a set of double doors, and clambered up a staircase to her left.

She had only a moment to consider where she might be. It definitely wasn
’
t any sort of public area. At the top of the stairs, she brushed past a girl in a polo shirt and khaki shorts, causing the girl to spill her bucket of chum or something equally stinky.

“
Hey! You can
’
t go that way! That
’
s...
”

Whatever it was, Avery didn
’
t know because her pursuer chose that moment to take a shot at her. Avery and the girl both screamed as the roar of the gunshot filled the stairwell and the bullet tore through the ceiling. The door in front of her was propped open and Avery dashed through.

Big mistake.

She had only a split second to realize her mistake and then she was flying through the air. She flailed her arms and legs as if she could take wing, and then she splashed down into deep water. As momentum and the weight of her sodden clothes dragged her down, she kicked and paddled, trying to arrest her descent. When she finally got herself headed back up to the surface, she opened her eyes. Another mistake.

The cold salt water stung but that wasn
’
t the worst part. A dark gray shape swam into view, bearing down on her. A shark! She had run right into one of the tanks. She opened her mouth to scream as the creature came closer, and choked on a mouthful of salt water. If the shark didn
’
t get her, she
’
d likely drown.

She watched in horror as distance between her and the fierce aquatic predator shrank. Ten feet. Five feet.

And then the shark veered to the side at the last instant, its rough hide brushing her bare arm. And then it was gone. For a moment she hung there, shocked into immobility by her close call. Looking down, she saw the ghostlike shapes of aquarium visitors watching her through the glass. She wondered if they thought they were seeing a performance, or if they realized what was really happening.

And then she looked directly beneath her. There wasn
’
t one shark in the tank, there were a half dozen, and they were circling. All thoughts fell away except the need to get the hell out of that tank and fast. The map, the man with the gun, Maddock and Bones
’
attempt to save Angel, all forgotten. She fought for the surface with everything she had, but no matter how hard she swam, it seemed to come no closer. She felt as if an invisible hand were holding her underwater, inches from precious air and a chance at safety.

Suddenly, she broke the surface,
gasping for air. Half blinded by
the salt water, she swam for the edge, wondering when the feeding frenzy would begin. Her vision cleared as she reached the side and found herself staring at a pair of shiny, black shoes. She looked up into the barrel of a gun.

“
Dead end,
”
the man said.
“
Now, give me the map.
”

The map! What had she done with it? She remembered tucking it into her bra when Corey first hurried her away from their pursuer.

“
It
’
s right here.
”
She reached her numb fingers into her shirt and pulled out a sodden wad of brown paper.
“
It got a little wet.
”
She held it up to the man, wondering if she might be able to pull him down into the water when he reached for the map, but he stood stock-still.

“
You carried it into the water?
”
He trembled, either from shock or rage, and his finger twitched on the trigger.

“
I didn
’
t exactly plan to jump into a shark tank. It might not be ruined. Take it.
”

“
You
’
ve bloody well ruined it, I
’
m sure.
”
He chewed on his lip, thinking for a moment, and then his eyes lit up.
“
But you got a look at it.
”

“
No,
”
Avery said immediately.
“
I didn
’
t have a chance before you came after us.
”

“
We
’
ll soon find out. We have people who are very good a
t getting answers. Now come on
.
”

She heard a sick thud, and the man
’
s eyes rolled back in his head. His knees buckled and he tumbled into the tank. Jimmy stood there, smiling, holding the lid of a toilet tank.

“
I passed a bathroom on the way up. It was the only heavy thing I could grab.
”

“
I
’
m glad you did. Here, pull me up.
”
She was surprised at the strength with which he hoisted her up. He
’
d never seemed very physical.
“
Thank you.
”
She gave him a quick hug.
“
Now, let
’
s get out of here.
”

“
I
’
m afraid you
will
be leaving,
”
said a voice behind Jimmy. Two police officers stood, weapons drawn.
“
But it
’
s going to be with us.
”

As the two men converged on him, Locke whirled about and made a dash for the stern rail. Surprised by the sudden
chaos
, Dane was an instant late with his attempt at tackling the fleeing man. Three strides and Locke vanished over the edge. Dane regained his feet in time to see Locke swimming for the speedboat, which was on its way to pick him up. Angel was no longer aboard, and he soon spotted Bones helping her swim to shore.

Relieved, he turned around just as shots rang out. One of
the
attackers was firing wildly into the crowd, which broke apart as everyone fled for safety. His partner had gone over the rail after Locke, but he wasn
’
t a strong swimmer and was losing ground with every stroke.

Dane didn
’
t know who these guys were, and what he really wanted was to get the hell out of there, but he couldn
’
t let this madman kill an innocent person. He sprang onto the gunman, pinning the man
’
s arm to his side as he wrestled him to the ground. He wound up on top of the man, one hand pinning his gun hand to the ground, the other at his throat.