فصل 43

Chapter 43: Shell Game

“Look,” Ostin said. “The fishing boat is unmooring.”

“Can you see anyone on board the fishing boat?” I asked Ian.

“I see five guards.” He looked at me and smiled. “And three Glows.”

“I told you,” Ostin said.

“We’ve got them,” I said. “Hatch wouldn’t send his Glows out fishing at three in the morning.”

I lifted the radio. “This is Michael, can you hear me?”

“This is Zeus.”

“Jade Dragon isn’t on any of the speedboats. She’s on the fishing boat.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. And there are Glows on board. Tell Nichelle to be ready. And be careful, the speedboats are armed. As soon as they know you’re not the coast guard, they’ll attack.”

“Got it.”

“There she goes,” Ian said. “The fishing boat is pushing out.”

“On our way,” Zeus said.

“I have an idea,” Ostin said. “I’m going to send the Volta a message.”

“How?”

“With McKenna,” he said. He turned to her. “I need you to flash your hand. If I say ‘dash,’ hold the light for about one second; when I say ‘dot,’ just flash quickly. Ready?”

McKenna nodded. “Yes.”

“First letter. Dot, dot, dash.”

“Just one letter?” I asked.

“U is an abbreviation for danger,” Ostin said, his gaze fixed on the boat. There was a sudden flash back. “They got the message. Okay, here we go.” Ostin began rattling off a series of dots and dashes staggered with occasional pauses.

After he finished I asked, “What did you say?”

“I said they’re under attack and to defend themselves against the three boats.”

Suddenly the sound of the Volta’s machine guns filled the air. The first speedboat burst into flames. People began jumping overboard.

“Freaking genius,” I said.

“They’ve hit the second speedboat,” Ian said.

“I’m totally going to kiss you on the lips when this is over,” McKenna said to Ostin.

Ostin pumped his fist.

“And there goes the third,” Ian said.

“And there we are,” Ostin said, looking through his binoculars.

Our coast guard boat appeared through the haze about a hundred yards north of the Volta, headed straight for the fishing boat.

We heard the sound of Ben speaking over the boat’s PA system, and the fishing boat slowed as the coast guard boat pulled up to its side. There were at least a half dozen flashes of electricity.

“Zeus just took out the guards,” Ian said. Then a large smile crossed his face. “Jack has Jade Dragon. They’re back on board.”

The nose of the coast guard boat rose as it sped north up the coast

“They’re going in the wrong direction,” McKenna said.

Ostin lowered his binoculars. “They’re putting distance between them and the Volta’s guns. They’ll head out to sea, then turn south and head to our dock.”

“Let’s go get them,” I said.

McKenna drove the van as close to the dock as she could, climbing the curb onto a dirt landing less than thirty yards from the water.

“Keep it running,” I said. We opened all the doors. “Where are they?”

“They’re coming,” Ian said.

It was only a few more minutes before the rest of us saw the boat powering full speed into shore.

“He’s got to slow down,” McKenna said.

“I don’t think he’s going to use the dock,” Ostin said.

Ben slowed just slightly before grounding the boat completely up on the shore. Everyone jumped off the port side of the boat and sprinted toward us. Jack was carrying a little Chinese girl. We had rescued Jade Dragon.