Severed Threads (31 page)

"I don’t get it,” she said doubtfully.

“
From internet research, I was able to determine that the item you’re looking at is a Chinese dowry box. Now if you look inside, you’ll notice it was stamped with the same Imperial seal as the lid your father found. Handcrafted boxes like this were very rare. They were created solely to hold items of substantial value. As it turns out, the heart of the dragon might be a porcelain teapot, jewel-embedded relic or some type of religious rendering. Anyway, I’m convinced that if we go back and search Sector Ten again, we just might find – ”

Rachel jumped to her feet. “Stay here,” she said excitedly. She bounded down two flights and ran through the passageway to retrieve the snake she’d been in the midst of researching. As she lifted it from her desk, she was instantly reminded of its warmth – of the indescribable sensation she’d attributed to its molecular composition rather than whatever celestial power it might possess.

With the box positioned nearby, she took her time carefully inserting the snake inside. To her amazement, it fit perfectly, turning a fantastic legend into an undeniable truth. The heart of the dragon wasn’t a dragon at all. It was an eight - inch bronze coiled cobra poised for attack. Rachel chuckled and shook her head. Although the sought-after treasure might bring an end to the Ying’s family curse, its pre-conceived value rested primarily in its romantic allure.

She opened her desk drawer and removed the lid, square spring lock and attached silver key she’d kept hidden away. She tucked the lid’s wooden edges into the box’s grooves and slid it back in place, encasing the cobra. She flipped the lid’s silver hinge, aligning the center metal eyelet between the two matching eyelets on the box. Then she took the heavily etched square lock and shoved the key forward, releasing its hidden catch. Matching the notched opening in the lock, she placed it over the eyelets and used her index finger to shove the square catch back in place. The small tubular key elongated once more, but no matter how she tried, she couldn’t pull the key free. It was simply a clever tool designed to open the sliding lock.

“
That’s
the heart of the dragon?” Blaine quizzed. He stood in the open doorway with a quirked expression on his face.

“
Yeah…sorry to disappoint you, champ, but the Emperor’s jewels must’ve been on loan.”

“
And here A.J. was convinced we were looking for something grander than the almighty grail. What an idiot.”

Rachel smiled. “It’s nice to know two of us agree.”

“
Hey, I’ve got an idea. Let’s hide the snake in his bed and see what happens. It’ll be just like the Godfather.” They both laughed. Although highly unlikely, the sight of A.J. screaming at the top of his lungs would be worth the admission ticket.

The sudden change in
Stargazer’s
rhythmic motion stilled Rachel’s humor. Instinctively, she peered through the neighboring porthole and was stunned by the alarming sight.

“
What’s wrong?” Blaine asked.

“
We’re not alone anymore.”

He stepped past her, following her line of vision. Ten degrees off their starboard, a white boat bobbed from its tethered anchor. In the midst of their merry-making, a foreign invader had arrived.

With no time to secure the boxed cobra below, Rachel knelt down and jammed it under the bed. She came to her feet quickly. “Topside!” she yelled. “Now!”

She ran ahead of Blaine, scrambling up the ladder. She kept her eyes peeled on the surrounding water and arrived breathlessly back in the helm station. Blaine was trailing closely behind. At first, she couldn’t tell if it was a pleasure craft or simply a local fishing vessel. All she could see was the high white prow and pitched roof. She snatched the binoculars from the console and adjusted the lenses. Immediately, a grizzly old man came into focus. He was standing at the bow, a rope looped in his hands. An additional line vanished below the surface. The air compressor in the aft was running full throttle and gear was strewed across the deck. She looked up and realized the man’s attention was fixed on their northeast buoy. Just a short distance from where Wade and Ian would soon be surfacing.

They must have seen the Zodiac leave. Or intercepted Chase’s radio transmission.
Either way, they had to have known their captain was gone. She looked away, her mind reeling. She lifted the field glasses again, this time tracing the distant horizon.

“
You’ve got to be kidding.” She couldn’t believe her eyes.
Legend.
The enormous scavenger loomed like a black vulture waiting to devour its prey. Somehow the appearance of both vessels was related.

She was sure of it.

Rachel turned back to Blaine. “We’ve got divers off our starboard bow. You have to get a message to Chase and notify the Coast Guard right away. With Wade and Ian still down, we might be in a fight for our lives.”

A heavy thud drew their attention to the lower deck. Rachel ventured a look through the wheelhouse’s rear window. She spotted an air tank and fins on the dive platform. A modern day pirate soon followed. She remembered the guns Chase had stowed in the locked cabinet on the lower level. If they could reach the galley without being spotted, they just might stand a chance against the invading marauder.

“Blaine,” she half-whispered over her shoulder. “Where’s the key for the gun cabinet?”

When he didn’t answer, she turned. He wasn’t on the radio as she’d asked or assuming his usual role of mild-mannered nerd. Instead, he stared back at her with knit brows and a four-inch fillet knife clutched in his hand.

“
What…what are you doing?” she asked.

“
Taking care of business.”

She would have laughed if the situation weren’t so dire. A skinny kid with a saltwater bait knife, thinking he was Indiana Jones. “Where’s the key?” she asked again.

“
On the captain’s neck.”

“
Great.” A lot of good that was going to do them. “What about the Coast Guard?”

“
No time.” Blaine stepped past her with one finger pressed to his lips. He made his way vigilantly down the ladder with her trailing close behind. Reaching the main level, they continued to mimic one another – plastering themselves against the ship’s wall, scoping the grim interloper from a safe distance. By now, the diver had removed his hood and scuba mask, revealing a bald-headed man with a beak-like nose and two beady eyes.

Viktor?
What was
he
doing here? She leaned in close to whisper in Blaine’s ear. “Believe me, you don’t want to tangle with this guy.”

Blaine remained silent for another minute as if contemplating her warning. Then he sprang into action, charging from his hiding place – the tiny serrated sword outstretched before him. “Who are you and what do you want?” he yelled.

Rachel stepped out of the shadows, anticipating Viktor’s answers. But the brazen gangster kept his tongue. He seemed to be regarding the pair of them with a stare lacking care or curiosity.

She looked toward Blaine and realized the futility in keeping her secret any longer. “He’s one of Gabe Pollero’s men,” she told him. “One of the creeps that’s been keeping my brother hostage. I don’t know what’s going on or how he found me, but I have a feeling something’s gone terribly wrong or he wouldn’t be here.”

“Hostage? Why didn’t you say something? Why didn’t you notify the police?”

“It’s a long story,” she said, shaking her head. “You don’t want to be involved, believe me.”

“
Enough!” Viktor snapped. “I know you have it.”

She stared back, hating him more than ever. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He leered at her, threatening. “This not game. Give to me or go to hell with Polleros.”

Polleros?
“What are you saying? Are Gabe and Serena are– ”

The ferret ran his hand over his smooth scalp and hitched a shoulder. “Dead, broken neck. Bullet through heart... thanks to brother.”

“
My
brother? I don’t believe you. Devon wouldn’t kill anyone. Especially Selena.”

“
Really?” Viktor freed his arms and left his wetsuit dangling from his waist. When his hand slid into his waistband, Blaine crouched into a fullback position, brandishing his weapon before him.

“
Drop whatever you’ve got!” he ordered.

Instead of a weapon, the villain pulled out a rose gold Saint Christopher metal on a fine gold chain. Blaine snatched it from his fingers and motioned Rachel over. With one glance, she knew right away. The necklace belonged to Gabe Pollero.

Viktor waited until she looked up. “Now you know truth. Polleros no more.”

“
What about my brother?” she said, a note rising in her voice. “Is he all right?” A half dozen more questions immediately came to mind, but the insolent man looked away. He obviously had no intention of cooperating.

“
Answer her!” Blaine demanded.

“
Maybe.” He glanced around then smiled at Rachel. “Only two of you on big boat, eh? Tell me where treasure is and you live too.”

Blaine angled his head. “Hey,
I’m
the one with the knife, pal.” He faced Rachel, appearing more assured than the situation allowed. “Hand me the rope from the locker and call the police,” he demanded. “We’ll let them handle this maggot.”

She was about to step away when another set of fins slapped the afterdeck.

Ian, please tell me that’s you.
She held her breath waiting for his dripping white-blond head to appear above the rail. Instead, cropped black hair and a broad tawny face appeared.
Marcos.
He dropped his gear before joining his partner in crime.

“
What do we have here, Vik?” he asked. “A little gringo and our favorite senorita?”

A ghost of a smile formed on his lips, evil and snide. He pulled a six-inch knife from the strap around his leg. Like a character straight out of
West Side Story
, he tossed it back and forth, from one hand to the other. Blaine was clearly out of his league. The hoodlum beckoned him forward. Perhaps thinking better of it, Boy Wonder relinquished his weapon, dropping it to the floor with a clank.

Marcos immediately scooped it up. He grabbed Blaine’s shoulder, spinning him around so that he now faced Rachel. He pressed the knife’s jagged edge against his throat, threatening to slash it with one deadly draw.

His black eyes narrowed into slits. Flecks of spit collected at the corners of his mouth as he spoke. “So, Miss Lyons, you tell me where to find the dragon heart you promised Pollero or your friend will die…now,” he threatened.

“
It…it doesn’t exist.”

“
Neither do you, if you don’t tell us where it is.”

“
Listen to me. The shipwreck’s been searched from top to bottom. The treasure I told Pollero about isn’t there.”

“
You
lie
!”

“
I’m telling you the truth!”

She watched a fine line of blood suddenly appear beneath the knife’s sharp edge. Her breath caught. She swallowed hard. She couldn’t be responsible for anything happening to Blaine. He had no part in any of this. But she also knew if she surrendered the cobra, there would be no reason to keep them alive.

“
I’ll get it,” she promised.

Marcos stared at her, impatience evident in his narrow eyes. “So, now it’s real?”

Rachel remained silent.

“
Where is it?” he demanded.

“
Inside the crater, eighty feet down. I know exactly where to find it.”