Hunting the Dragon (17 page)

Salvador
raced on for the clipper—an old rusting wooden-hulled minesweeper challenging a solid modern ship—and the tension among the captain and crew mounted as they converged on
Lucky Dragon
.

Benny lifted the glasses and held his focus on the helicopter. He saw an armed man wearing a cartridge bandolier by the skids and another in the pilot’s seat. They’re going to strafe us, he realized with dread.

Benny yelled at the crew gathered along the bridge railing, “Everybody inside the wheelhouse and stay away from the windows!”

“Benny, what is it?” Sarah asked.

“They’re sending up their chopper to shoot the hell out of us!”

“Where’s Billy…?”

“Still in the water with his dolphin! Now get under cover or I’ll throw you overboard to join him!”

“I’m staying with you.”

Benny shrugged, lifted the glasses, and spotted the chase boat roaring away from the clipper. He immediately recognized the tall black-bearded man who was steering one-handed and holding an assault rifle with the other. There was nothing he could do now…unless…. Benny reached for the lanyard that activated the ship’s horn and pulled the cord.

The loud, piercing sound of
Salvador
’s klaxon reached Billy. Two miles off he saw the gray minesweeper racing for
Lucky Dragon
. She was throwing a wide wake, and his heart soared with the hope he’d live to see day’s end after all. Over the far-off blare of the klaxon he heard the high-pitched whine of an outboard and spun. Gandara was charging toward him. Panic came again as he tried to decide what to do. Climb in the seine skiff and attempt to escape? No. The boat was too slow, and he’d be a perfect target. Keep swimming for the net? Maybe. Would Gandara send the speedboat over the corkline and foul the propeller? Probably.
But it might slow him down.

Billy called for Chatter. The dolphin came alongside and he grabbed her fin. He pointed to the net and urged, “That way, Chatter. Go on!”

She began towing him toward the net, and Billy looked over his shoulder. Beyond the speedboat he saw the helicopter’s rotor blades spinning. He watched Santos step back from the copter’s skids and move cautiously around the front of the cabin to the passenger door.
Now it’s Arnold’s turn to come after me.

Arnold’s hand gripping the control stick was trembling more from fear than from the vibration of the engine. In a second he would have maximum takeoff power. In a second, Santos would be climbing into the cabin. Arnold couldn’t wait even that long. He twisted the control stick, changing the blade’s pitch, and the helicopter leaped off the bridge. He glanced down and saw Santos swing the rifle upward. Then the rotor blade’s downwash lashed the mate, knocking him backward. He sprawled on the helipad and dropped the rifle. As Santos came to his feet Arnold turned the helicopter back toward the bridge. He flew directly at Santos. With a look of terror, the mate flung himself aside and leaped to safety. As Arnold thundered by, he saw Santos falling. He hit the railing, then dropped into the water below. Arnold laughed, reached for a can of beer, and thought, That’s one for the good guys, but if I ever land on that ship again, it’s good-bye Junior Birdman. Now what? He glanced at the fuel gauges. The tanks were full. He had two hours’ flying time, enough to reach shore with twenty minutes to spare. He decided to stick around for a few minutes and see how the war ended.

The corkline was still thirty yards away, and Billy knew that the speedboat would be upon them before they reached the net. He looked back, saw Gandara lift the rifle and fire.

The slamming, bouncing boat spoiled Gandara’s aim and the bullets went wild. The rifle flew out of his hands and landed in the boat. Then Chatter dove, taking Billy down with her. They stayed underwater until the dolphin surfaced beside the corkline and Billy pulled himself over the rim. He began swimming into the wide enclosure, hoping that this time the net hadn’t trapped any sharks. He looked back and saw Gandara racing toward Chatter. She was outside the corkline and right in the boat’s path. Billy screamed at the confused dolphin, knowing that the sound of the snarling propeller was jumbling her senses. “Chatter, come on! Jump! Jump the net!”

The dolphin hesitated as if the low-floating corkline was too much for her. Billy sprinted to help her over the net and pleaded, “Chatter, jump!”

He was sure Chatter would be rammed, and grabbed for her. At the last possible second, with the chase boat only yards away, she made a low, effortless leap over the corkline. As he seized her fin he saw Gandara wasn’t going to slow for the net. The bow slammed across the corkline and the heavy propeller shaft snagged on the cable, stopping the boat as if it had hit a wall. Gandara was catapulted out of the driver’s seat and flung through the air to land in the sea. He hit hard ten feet forward of the bow and Billy thought, I’ve got to get that rifle.

As Billy sprinted for the boat, Gandara shook off the impact. The distance between them was too great, and Billy knew he couldn’t get the weapon in time.

Gandara’s hands were already grasping the gunwale when Chatter attacked. Before he could muscle over the side, the dolphin rammed him, driving the captain into the water. He drew his knife and slashed at the dolphin, but she nimbly avoided the thrust and turned aside. Seizing the moment, Gandara scrambled into the boat and grabbed the rifle. Billy looked up and saw the captain aiming the muzzle at him. Then something more compelling than killing Billy diverted Gandara’s attention and he looked off. Billy followed the captain’s astonished glance and saw
Salvador
speeding for the clipper on a beam attack. He knew there was not a chance in hell that the minesweeper would fail to ram the clipper. Gandara also saw that his ship was doomed and turned to Billy. “You did this,
niño
!”

As Gandara lifted his rifle, the rattling
whomp-whomp
of the helicopter roared out of the sky. An instant later the diving, blue-gray cabin of the Hughes filled his vision. The chopper skimmed so low over Gandara that he had to dive aside or be decapitated by a landing skid. His abrupt, defensive reflex sent him tumbling over the boat’s side. He hit the water violently, dropping the rifle. He looked wildly about and saw Billy not more than five feet away. Gandara lunged at him, and his knife flashed in the late-afternoon sun. The bright reflection of light off the stainless-steel blade warned Billy, and he twisted away from Gandara’s explosive thrust. As Billy retreated, the captain slashed and stabbed at him again and again. His enormous exertion, and the weight of his sodden clothes, quickly exhausted the captain. Billy kept backing away, waiting for his chance. He knew the signs of impending drowning from his beach-lifeguarding days. Gandara was already winded. Seconds later his hips dropped, and he began struggling to keep his chin above water.

It happened quickly. His rage changed abruptly to the shocked look of a man facing death. Gandara faltered and turned back toward the boat. After a few ineffectual strokes he began sinking. Still holding the knife, Gandara slid underwater, his hands clawing ineffectually until they disappeared below the surface.

Billy’s mind raced. “It would be so easy to turn my back,” he thought. “But I’m a lifeguard, a waterman…I can’t let him go like that.”

He dove along the wavering wall of drifting net. Ten feet below, Billy saw the blurred outline of Gandara entangled in the slack nylon webbing. He would drown, like the thousands of dolphins he had slaughtered. Billy reached him and began pulling the mesh away from the drowning man. The captain sensed Billy by his side. He raised his knife, made a final weak thrust, and went limp.

Billy’s desperate need for oxygen was so great he came close to unconsciousness. He took Gandara’s knife, cut through the final strand that held the captain, and began slowly swimming him for the surface. Billy knew he wasn’t going to make it, and decided to let Gandara go. Before he relaxed his grip, Chatter appeared at his side, offering her fin. He took hold of the dolphin, and she began towing the two humans upward. Sunlight streamed down on them, and Billy looked up. The chase boat was there, still caught in the corkline.

They reached the surface, and Billy grabbed the side of the boat. He felt a faint motion from the man he held and looked into Gandara’s face. His eyelids quivered, and Billy knew he would survive. He worked him around to the boat’s stern. Holding the captain by the hair, he used the outboard’s propeller housing as a step and climbed aboard. With a one…two…three, Billy pulled the man over the transom and let him collapse on the deck.

Arnold made one more pass over Billy and Gandara. He gave the kid a mock salute and turned the helicopter toward the coast, hoping he had the fuel to make it back to land. With a wry smile he muttered, “Billy, if you survive the next few years, you’ll be one hell of a man. Good on you, son.”

The sound of
Salvador
’s klaxon boomed across the water, and Billy spun around to look for the ship. She was bearing down on the clipper, only moments away from colliding.

Braced for the impact, Benny steered the minesweeper toward
Lucky Dragon
. After all the years of being denied this battle, he let his frustration erupt in a wild roar that boomed over
Salvador
’s pounding engines.

He felt Sarah’s hand on his arm. She was gesturing frantically at a speedboat floating by the net. With a start, Benny saw Billy standing above Gandara, waving at them. He felt cheated and muttered, “Wouldn’t you know it. The kid got him first.”

He looked ahead to the clipper that loomed large and ominous in front of
Salvador
’s onrushing bow. The ship was so close now that Benny could see the crew dashing away from the railing in a frantic attempt to escape the point of impact. Like a flash of light illuminating his basic nature, Benny realized he was attacking more than the ship’s dark hull. There were men on her deck, and there was his crew, who might bleed and die in the tangle of ripped and crumpled steel. Benny realized his thrust for vengeance was wrong. He spun the wheel and yelled to the bridge, “Full reverse!”

In the chase boat, Billy grabbed Gandara and hauled the captain upright. Their eyes were drawn to the two ships: the larger barely under way, the smaller bounding in for the kill like an aged, starving wolf.

Billy looked down at the beaten man. He thought of Rocha and the bullets that had taken his life. Now Billy wanted justice.

“Stand up!” he ordered. “I want you to see this.”

B
illy stared at
Salvador
, waiting impatiently for the impending collision. Pumping his fist up and down in a wild gesture of victory, he cheered Benny onward. The gray ship was so close now that he could see Sarah standing beside Benny, half hidden behind a mattress, bracing herself for the impact. Though her full attention was focused forward, he waved at her and felt a surge of anxiety.

Suddenly, the minesweeper began to slow and veer away from
Lucky Dragon
. Billy couldn’t believe what was happening, and he felt a sense of outraged disappointment. Why would Benny back off now? He thought he knew. Benny had decided not to chance taking a life. Would Billy have done the same if his hands were on
Salvador
’s wheel? He glanced at Gandara. The captain was staring at
Salvador
, suddenly aware that his ship might survive. He met Billy’s unbelieving look with a faint contemptuous smile. Then his hopes faded, and defeat clouded his face.

Billy looked back at the gray minesweeper. Her battering-ram bow wasn’t changing heading fast enough, and collision was only seconds away.

Gandara gave a muted moan of anguish. An instant later,
Salvador
drove her prow deep into the clipper’s stern. A scream of ripping steel howled across the water followed by the grinding screech of the minesweeper’s armored bow climbing up the side of the clipper. Then she sank back, revealing a torn, gaping laceration in
Lucky Dragon
’s side. Water cascaded into the ragged breach, ton after ton of fatal weight.

Billy stared wide-eyed at the devastation, only half-aware that Chatter was rising out of the sea alongside the boat, clicking at him. When he heard the dolphin, he leaned over the side and lovingly stroked her head. She sank back into the water and he glanced at Gandara, who was slumped in defeat, staring at Chatter. The captain shook his head in bewilderment.

Billy had to acknowledge Chatter and leave the captain with a final wound that would never heal. He reached out for the dolphin again and harshly told Gandara, “She’s the one who saved me when you sailed off, and if she hadn’t, you’d still be killing them.”

The captain turned from Billy’s accusing stare to watch his ship slowly sinking. As seawater flooded
Lucky Dragon
’s hull, the crew began frantically launching chase boats and life rafts. Billy noticed that Santos was among them, directing the abandonment of the ship. He knew that that meant there was no chance the pumps would keep her afloat. Then he saw the gray seine skiff idling toward them. The shocked boatman held up the video camera and then tossed it to Billy. “What do I do with Rocha?”

“We’ll figure it out later. Go help your crew now.”

The boatman motored off for the sinking vessel, leaving Billy with Gandara. Billy held back his feelings of sadness and anger. The whole crazy ordeal would soon be over. Then what? He glanced at the Sony. It was ruined, but he suspected that the tape would be usable. He stared at the minesweeper now drifting alongside the clipper. Her bow was crushed and shoved inward some three feet, but the ship seemed to be floating on an even keel. At
Salvador
’s stern the boat crews and camera people were launching the Zodiacs. He saw Sarah climb aboard one and step to the bow. The outboards roared and the high-speed inflatable raced toward him. He felt a glow of warmth and love, and a tremendous release of tension that left him light-headed and wanting to hold her.

The Zodiac raced up, turned broadside to him, and the engine stopped. Billy and Sarah looked at each other. Their smiles drew them together. Billy stepped aboard the inflatable and put his arms around Sarah. He hugged her gently and all the tension and sadness of Rocha’s death started his tears flowing. Sarah said softly, “It’s over, Billy.”

“Not yet. Not until we hand Gandara over to Benny and release the dolphins.”

“And then…?”

He gestured for the captain to board the Zodiac, then turned to Sarah.

“There’s Rocha. And after that, I just don’t know….”

* * *

The Zodiac scraped against
Salvador
’s boarding ladder, and Billy tied the boat fast. Above them, Benny stared down at Gandara. His face still showed tension, but there was no other expression to reveal his thoughts. The chase was over. Gandara glanced at
Lucky Dragon
. Her stern was underwater now and the crew were aboard life rafts, chase boats, and the net skiff. Benny gave a cold, emotionless order: “Get that man aboard. I want his crew to see who’s in command now.”

Billy followed Gandara up the steep, slippery ladder. The exhausted captain, shivering from shock and chill, forced himself upward rung by rung. No one reached out to help him onto the deck. Then Gandara was standing face to face with Benny Seeger. Both men were oblivious to the camera crew taping their meeting. Gandara forced himself to stand taller, attempting a show of dignity. “My crew needs assistance. As one captain to another…”

“I’ll see that they have food and water and get safely to land, but you no longer have a command.”

“I protest—”

“Your protest will be recorded in my report, but I tell you this, you murdered in cold blood a young man who was attempting to save one of my crew.”

With a glance at Billy, he added, “And there are a number of witnesses. It would be within my rights to put you on trial for murder on the high seas, and if you are convicted, I could legally order you hanged. But you’ll hang one way or another. And finally, you’ll never kill another dolphin.”

Benny turned to stare at the sinking tuna clipper. Gandara followed his gaze.

At that moment
Lucky Dragon
’s stern went fully under. Five minutes later the rest of the hull quickly sank, and the graceful clipper went to her watery grave off the Refugio Shoals.

Seeger ordered Gandara below to be locked in a cabin, then turned to Billy. “There are a few things that need to be done. First cut the net and let the dolphins out. You know how to do that.”

He didn’t like Seeger giving him orders. “Yeah, Benny, I know how to do that.”

“And then bring that young man’s body back here.”

Billy was bone-weary and wanted to protest he’d done enough today, but he had to say good-bye to Rocha, see that he was buried with respect, and close that chapter of his life. Billy started for the boarding ladder and saw Sarah watching Benny with admiration. The captain put an arm around her shoulder and Billy heard him say, “If that tape Billy shot survived, we’ve got a fund-raising gold mine. And we’ll need footage of that dead kid’s body….”

Billy went down the ladder thinking, Right, Benny, business as usual.

Chatter joined Billy as he steered the Zodiac for the drifting net. “That net’s going to keep killing if it’s not secured. Benny can handle that. Okay, Chatter, let’s free your friends.”

The dolphin surged ahead, leaped over the corkline, and dove into the net. Surprised by Chatter’s unexpected behavior, Billy looked over the rim and saw her swimming amid the trapped dolphins. Then she shot to the surface and easily leaped out of the net. A moment later, several dolphins followed Chatter’s example and jumped over the corkline. Within minutes the whole pod had escaped and were racing off. He could only guess that they were following Chatter’s example. Or had she taught them? And if she could teach them, could she teach others? Then maybe Chatter could help them learn to stay the hell away from tuna clippers.

He looked for Chatter. She was nowhere in sight. He felt a deep anxiety.
Did she go with them?

When Rocha’s body was aboard
Salvador
, Billy helped place him in the ship’s cold storage locker. In the chilly confined refrigerator, he remembered the day the Fijian boatman slid off the stretcher and landed on the Suva dock. He wanted Rocha treated better and insisted he be wrapped in a blanket. As a final gesture of respect, Billy laid a clean galley towel over his face and wished him well on his next voyage.

Billy returned to the deck and leaned on the railing staring at the little sloop he and Sarah had sailed such a long difficult way. She was weather-beaten, but still seaworthy, and there on the cabin roof was his surfboard. It had been a while since he’d caught a wave. Maybe he’d earned a few days of surfing. His musing was interrupted by Sarah’s voice: “Billy, we need you.”

He turned and saw her leading the camera and sound person toward him. “I know this will be hard for you, but we need your story in detail, for the media, and the court.”

Sarah did not push, and she gave Billy time to relax. When he was at ease, she directed him and shaped her questions so he would respond with a complete sentence. Billy soon forgot the camera and just talked, leaving nothing out. He noticed Sarah’s discomfort as he described falling in love with her. An hour later, fed up with her probing questions, he waved the camera away. She protested, “Billy, we’re not through.”

“I am. Too much has happened today. You’re scrambling my brain. Come on, Sarah. Get off this TV reporter stuff.”

She stiffened and pleaded, “Just a few minutes more.”

Benny, who had watched the interview, stepped between Billy and the camera. “It’s okay, Sarah. He’s beat. We’re all beat. We can pick up tomorrow.”

“I won’t be here tomorrow,” Billy said softly.

He glanced at the Westsail and then faced Sarah. “I’ll be aboard the sloop. Want to sail with me again?”

She thought a long moment and shook her head. “My life’s not about sailing with you. And I don’t need a perfect wave or a dolphin for a friend. Benny needs me, and I need to be a part of what he’s about. And you’ve got Chatter.”

Billy nodded, reached into a pocket, and turned to Benny. In his open hand Billy held the tiny digital videotape from the Sony camcorder. “It will play, Benny. Not a drop of water inside the case.”

Billy juggled the cassette from one hand to another as if he might throw it overboard. Benny caught his meaning. “Tell me what you want, Billy.”

Billy took a deep breath, “You owe me big-time.”

“I grant you that.”

“I want the Westsail, free and clear, with no strings attached.”

“She’s yours.”

Saying anything more would only prolong the pain. He handed Benny the tape, turned to Sarah, and placed his fingertips on her cheeks. She was crying. An overpowering longing to be with her swelled within him. The love was there, but that was not enough. He knew if he stayed he’d become a face-the-cameras media darling to be trotted out at fund-raisers.
Hell with that. I’ve my own life to follow. And if I can do any good for this world I’ll do it my way.

He studied Sarah’s face and murmured, “Have a good life.”

Turning impulsively, Billy vaulted over
Salvador
’s railing. He dropped cleanly into the water and began swimming for the Westsail. He was free of them and on his own again. His mind raced ahead. He would follow Chatter, if she came back, and help her teach other dolphins to escape the nets. No. That wasn’t enough. He’d do something to help stop fishing tuna swimming with dolphins.

As he swam for the sloop his mind clouded. He asked himself,
Was all this worth Rocha’s life? Or anyone’s life? I guess I’ll never figure that one out.

He muscled aboard the sloop and ran his hands along the rails of the sleek, graceful surfboard. Where was the last place he had ridden the Becker? Bombora Reef, Fiji. With a faint smile he remembered that last awesome ride. He still felt guilty about his surf taxi and thought, Maybe what happened since then was a wake-up call, a turning point.

Billy untied the towline, freeing himself from
Salvador
, and raised the mainsail. As the sloop slowly eased away from the battered minesweeper, Chatter surfaced beside the cockpit. Billy sensed that his world would find some sort of order now, and he reached to caress the dolphin’s head. She quivered under his touch and then leaped forward to take up her usual position off the bow.