riptide_asylum (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
riptide_asylum) wrote2009-10-31 08:51 am
riptide_asylum) wrote2009-10-31 08:51 am
"Lost at Sea" Part One (Horizons, 1988)
Title: Lost at Sea
Rating: NC17
Summary: A seamonster sighting leaves the Riptide detectives shaken, but when they receive a cryptic distress call they must brave the ocean and whatever beast dwells there to save Mama Jo and the grew of the Contessa.
Chapter 1
A spate of sinkings had plagued the Southern California coast in the last few months, and the tabloids were touting a seamonster.
Cody laughed and pushed away the paper. "A giant marlin," he said, grinning, "something like that. Overturns one boat down the coast somewhere, and every two-bit boatie who runs into some rocks wants to blame it on a sea serpent."
"You know, Cody, there've been some interesting studies and hypotheses made regarding the possibility of seamonsters," Murray said, rubbing his jaw. "I find the postulation of a surviving species of Basilosaurus extremely interesting, and at one time I'd read nearly every piece of literature on the subject. In fact, when Melba went to Scotland right after she graduated, she made a brief study of the Loch Ness monster, with that in mind. There really could be something there."
Murray subsided into his cornflakes, a thoughtful expression on his face, and Cody looked at Nick. "What's a basilosaurus?" he murmured.
"Sounds like something my grandmother used to put in pasta, man." Nick stood up. "But I tell you what, if there's a seamonster out there, I'm gonna get over to the hotel. There's bound to be a bunch of tourists who want to pay to fly out and look for one."
Cody nodded, grinning. "Good point, buddy. Never thought I'd see the day the tabloids made us money."
Nick was on his third charter of the day, the cash fat and satisfying in his back pocket, when the tourist he was flying started screaming. He swore under his breath, mentally calculating the distance to shore, assessing the vibrations and sounds for a sign of Mimi's latest burst of temper. But Mimi's engine throbbed as smooth and throaty as she knew how to be, thanks to the work he and Cody had put in the previous weekend, and there was no curling smoke, no telltale shudder in her frame.
"Is everything all right back there, folks?" Nick asked, and as he did so, he looked down.
They were low above the surface of the water for better monster-spotting, and only feet away, it seemed, loomed a huge reptilian head. Nick yelped himself, hands shaking on the stick as he sent the Mimi skywards, out of range of the scaly, toothed thing that swayed beneath them.
He brought the chopper back around for another pass, staying further back, the shouts of his passengers coming to him loud and clear now. The woman who'd screamed was crying now, and someone was making soothing noises.
Nick stared at the thing below him, taking in a long thin neck, the heavy, vicious looking head, the heaving in the water that spoke of something huge. With a hoarse bellow, the huge neck concertinaed on itself and sank towards the sea and as quickly as it had appeared the beast was gone, below the waves, with nothing but a gentle chop to mark its passing.
Trembling, shaken, Nick turned the chopper for home.
It was a triumphant party that leapt down from Mimi's hold, slapping Nick's back, shaking his hand. The hirer paid him double, calling it a finder's fee, and Nick watched them go, still mind-blown. He'd known since Vietnam that there were things on earth that didn't make it into science, things as old as time itself that no-one alive could name. But he'd never thought in a million years that he'd encounter an ancient monster in the warm Pacific currents scant miles from their home.
He walked home in pensive silence, to meet the Riptide coming in on the evening tide.
Nick grabbed the bowline and made her fast as Cody ushered off his very own charter, a tall black man who carried an outsize cooler. A fishing trip, Nick thought, and it left him cold. He barely managed a smile for the man, and when he started to enquire about going out tomorrow, Nick cut off Cody's cheerful assent.
"Sorry," he interrupted gruffly. "I've taken another booking in the meantime, Cody. I beg your pardon, Mister..."
"Reefson," the man told him, and went back to shaking Cody's hand. "Great charter, Mr Allen. I'll call back later in the week."
"You do that, sir." Cody waved cheerfully as the charter headed up the gangplank, turning on Nick as soon as he'd made it out of earshot.
"What the hell was that? He paid me a hundred and fifty, Nick. One fifty for a half-day, and - "
"And nothing." Nick grabbed Cody's arm and all but frogmarched him to the hatch. He pushed him down on the benchseat, and laid his hands, palm down, on the table. "Cody, that seamonster's no marlin, okay? I saw the fucking thing. Huge and silver, like a giant sea snake. Head like a... like a bulldog, only bigger - " Nick gestured " - and the body looks bigger than this boat. Cody, it'd sink the Riptide, okay? You can't take her out on the ocean with that thing out there!"
"You saw it? A seamonster?" Cody stared at his partner in disbelief. "Nick, are you sure you couldn't have been mistaken? These things usually turn out to be the carcass of a whale or something."
Nick thought of the giant snakelike head and cold, clammy fear crept up his spine. "Whatever it was," he said vehemently, "it was alive. And it was bigger than anything alive I've ever seen. I dunno if it was Murray's basilosauraus or not, but whatever it is, it's big enough to eat all three of us and the Riptide too, and never even notice."
"What's that about a basilosaurus, Nick?" Murray came up the galley stairs, looking inquiring. "How was fishing, Cody?"
"Fishing was great," Cody said slowly, rubbing his chin. "As for the basilosaurus, Nick's maybe got an address for you, Boz. I dunno, big guy," he turned to Nick and grinned. "Did you get his license plates?"
Nick dropped into the chair at the end of the table with a grunt. He supposed if their positions were reversed, he wouldn't believe Cody either.
All through dinner, Murray speculated about the seamonster, its species, genus and how it had survived since prehistoric times.
"Well, Boz," Cody said, grinning cheekily, "I guess it ate a lot of tuna."
"That's an interesting point, Cody. There's been widespread speculation about the diet of various prehistoric reptiles and early mammals, and really, it's unknown whether the basilosaurus was a carnivore or a herbivore."
Nick didn't wait to hear any more. He''d cooked their meal and then cleaned the galley in an effort to keep his mind bust with something that wasn't the giant silver beast, but he had to admit it wasn't working. And the last thing he felt like contemplating was the seamonster's diet. As Cody made a cheerful rejoinder, Nick muttered a goodnight and escaped to the stateroom.
By the time Cody came down, Nick was curled under his blanket with the pillow over his head. He made a non-committal grunt as Cody asked him if he was okay, and didn't move over when Cody perched on the edge of the bunk.
"Idiot," Cody said affectionately, and climbed under the blanket, draping himself over Nick when his partner didn't move to accommodate him. "If you think I'm leaving you alone tonight, you're crazier than I thought."
Nick sighed and moved a little, giving Cody an inch of room. Cody nestled closer, taking all that and more, and Nick moaned softly at the heat of his partner against his naked skin. With a soft chuckle, Cody removed the pillow from his lover's head, bestowing a kiss on the back of Nick's neck. "Quit thinking about that seamonster," Cody murmured in his ear, low and throaty, and Nick shivered as Cody ran a hand across his chest, teasing his nipples alert.
"You think I should?" Nick managed, turning over onto his back and sliding sideways, giving Cody room. Cody pressed the advantage, crowding close, sliding one leg between Nick's.
"I got something here waiting for your attention," Cody replied, breathlessly, and Nick reached for him hungrily.
Cody maneuvered on top of Nick as they kissed, climbing between his spread legs and using his body to pin Nick against the bed. Nick bucked happily, crying out softly as Cody bit at his shoulders and neck, cock throbbing as Cody thrust against him. "Cody!"
"Oh yeah, Nick." Cody slid a hand between them, brushing Nick's cock then moving lower, tracing down to Nick's sac. Tickling, teasing, promising.
With a heartfelt groan Nick rolled his hips back, spreading his legs further. He'd never needed Cody as bad as he did right now, the nervous tension of the day building inside him into something only Cody could release. He whined anxiously as Cody touched him at last, featherlight across his hole, sweet torment.
"I know, buddy," Cody murmured, kissing him deep and long, and Nick let go, floating in the warmth of Cody's mouth, the sweet wholeness of his kiss. He heard Cody scrabbling with something and then his fingers were back, cool and slick, teasing at his entrance until Nick thought he'd explode.
"Please," he panted, and Cody kissed him again. As his tongue delved into Nick's mouth, his finger slid inside and Nick moaned into the kiss, on fire with want.
Cody raised himself, pulling back, and Nick protested the loss, reaching hungrily for his partner. He heard Cody's low chuckle and then gasped as a slick strong hand closed over his cock, stroking him long and slow. "So good," Cody murmured, and Nick was about to reply when he felt Cody's cock, full and fat, pressing against his entrance. He moaned instead.
Cody sank into him slowly, inch by inexorable inch, and Nick bucked urgently, gasping. He never got tired of this moment, the feel of being taken, Cody filling him up, owning him. It took forever and was over too soon, the heavy fire burning inside him, crystallizing in his groin and spiralling out of control. He thrashed against the bed, against Cody, and sobbed with relief as Cody bore him down, lips hard on his. Taking him, owning him. Loving him.
"Cody," he gasped, and Cody kissed him again as he started to move, thrusting into Nick short and hard, his own breath coming fast.
"I got you, Nick. I got you," Cody whispered, and Nick pushed back to meet his thrusts, the feeling building inside him. Every stroke touched him deep, sending waves of fire rolling through his body, and as Cody sobbed his name it sent him over the edge.
Cody collapsed onto Nick's chest as Nick bucked beneath him, his fingers hard on Nick's shoulders, and as the tremors eased Nick ran a gentle hand across his lover's back. Cody drew a shaky breath and raised a hand to stroke Nick's hair. "I love you," he whispered softly, eyes alight.
Nick smiled slightly and ducked his head against Cody's shoulder, tightening his arms. "I love you too, man. I love you too."
Chapter 2
By the next morning, the seamonster sighting was all over the news. The slightly blurry pictures taken by Nick's tour party were on every news report, printed in every paper, even King Harbor's own Harbor Chronicle, which also carried a picture of Nick and the Mimi.
The Riptide Detective Agency had chased off three sets of reporters before they'd managed breakfast, and Cody had aborted a donut run when he'd been accosted by a group further down the pier.
"I say we put out to sea til this blows over," Cody said, jumping back aboard the Riptide, and Nick looked up sharply, dropping his paperback.
"Cody, no! I've seen that fucking thing, and trust me, it's nothing we want to tangle with." The idea of the monster anywhere near Cody brought Nick out instantly in a cold sweat. "Michael Jackson's gonna have some more plastic surgery or something soon and then they'll forget all about us. It's not worth it."
"I don't know, Nick, this might be the best chance we ever get to study one of these creatures." Murray rubbed his chin thoughtfully, carefully examining one of the newspaper photographs with a magnifying glass.
"Yeah, well, I like Basil best with about a hundred miles of ocean between me and him," Nick growled.
"Basil? Oh! That's a good one!" Murray laughed and slapped his thigh. "But you know, Nick, judging by these photos, this particular specimen is actually a species of plesiosaur. The interesting thing about that, you know, is that a plesiosaur is a reptile while the basilosauraus is an early species of mammal - of whale, to be precise."
"If that thing's a whale then the Mimi's a butterfly," Nick snapped.
"No, Nick, that's what I'm saying. It's not a - "
Cody held his hands up, standing and making a quelling gesture at Murray. Murray broke off and Cody rested a hand on Nick's shoulder. "It's okay, Nick, I guess you're right. We'll stay in port." He squeezed gently, and Nick looked up into his partner's blue eyes. Cody squeezed again and Nick sucked in a long breath, nodding.
"Thanks, man," he muttered.
Murray unrolled some charts across the table and leaned over them myopically, brandishing a pencil and muttering unintelligible incantations to the Roboz at his elbow, and Cody tugged Nick's shoulder gently, steering him away from the salon.
"C'mon," he said softly. "Let's go clean the bilges." He waggled his eyebrows, and despite himself, Nick laughed.
"Man, you say the most romantic things," he muttered.
Pumping out the bilges took most of the morning, and after the work Nick was cheerfully dirty and feeling a lot more relaxed. He was just contemplating a shower and a nap before lunch, eyes resting appreciatively on Cody's butt, when Murray's high pitched yell from above brought them both to attention.
"What is it, Boz?" Cody yelled back, and he and Nick scrambled for the stairs.
They found Murray holding the radio mike, his face white, fruitlessly twisting the channel receiver. "Mama Jo!" he cried anxiously, when he saw them. "There was a mayday from the Contessa - I answered her and then - and then - there was a terrible crash and static. And I can't get her back!" He looked as though he might burst into tears.
Cody shot Nick a glance and Nick nodded, going straight to Murray and putting his arm around him. "Easy, Murray," he soothed him, taking the mike from his hand and steering the scientist back towards the table. "What'd you get? Did Mama Jo give her location?"
Murray started transcribing the few bits of information Mama Jo had imparted before the communication link had been catastrophically broken, while behind them Nick heard Cody working the radio, trying every band, calling the Contessa. He heard the Coastguard confirm they'd copied the distress call, but no-one had a location for the missing schooner.
Eventually, Cody gave up with an angry grunt, and joined his partners at the table. "Impossible to know where she is, or even if something did go badly wrong. She might have just lost radio contact," he said helplessly.
"The crash I heard - " Murray started.
"I know, Boz, but it might have been radio interference." Cody's eyes met Nick's, even as Murray nodded doubtfully. He read his own unspoken thought in Cody's eyes. Or it might have been the monster...
"Here." Murray tapped a spot on the chart. "This is the closest estimate of the Contessa's likely location when she called, given today's tides, the time she went out, and the bearing that Mama Jo gave me before - " he swallowed hard - "we were cut off. She must be somewhere within 10 nautical miles of that point."
"Gee, Murray, that's a lot of water," Cody said doubtfully, rubbing his chin, but Nick hardly heard him. The location Murray had pinpointed was barely a mile from the place he'd seen the monster.
Slowly, he touched the map. "There," he said gruffly. "That's where it was, guys." He turned his head away, shaking.
"Let's get moving." Cody patted Nick's shoulder comfortingly and stood up. "C'mon, big guy. Come up and sight for me."
Nick followed Cody to the wheelhouse mechanically while Murray untied the Riptide, and they were halfway out of the harbor before Nick realized they should have taken the Mimi instead.
"No, Nick, no." Cody turned to him and laid a soothing hand on his arm. "You're right, we might find them faster with the Mimi, but buddy, then what? Let's face it, we don't know what shape they're in or - or anything."
Nick nodded reluctantly, still looking mutinous. Being in the air was eminently safer than the surface of the sea in his opinion, although he realized that Cody was right about the Contessa. He moved to stand close beside his partner, shoulder to shoulder, and anxiously scanned the surface of the sea.
They saw a couple of other boats but no sign of the seamonster as they cleared the coast, heading north away from the Channel Islands. The Pacific was a pleasant greeny blue, deceptively clear and gentle-looking, and Nick shuddered, turning away from the secrets he knew it hid.
Murray jumped up from his seat on the deck behind the wheelhouse, pointing excitedly. "We're approaching the zone," he said, indicating the Roboz. "I've programmed the Roboz to tell us the probability of the Contessa's location based on the information we have. See, guys? Roboz?"
Roboz turned around and his screen flashed briefly. GETTING WARMER was displayed in large letters.
"Getting warmer? Murray!" Nick exclaimed, just as Cody swung the wheel to port.
The little robot's screen flashed again. COOLER. COOLER.
Murray guffawed at Nick and Cody's startled expressions. "Well," he explained, grinning, "I wanted something it was easy for you guys to understand if I was below or something."
"You don't need to dumb it down for us, Murray," Cody declared.
Nick looked at Cody wryly, and Murray held his hands up, looking pained. "I'm not dumbing it down! It's just layman's terms, all right?"
"We're getting good at this scientific stuff, Murray," Cody said emphatically. "Aren't we, Nick?"
"If you say so, man." Nick eyed Cody then Murray, a small smile playing on his lips. "Go on, Boz, lay it on us."
Murray snorted. "Roboz! Probability mode!"
Obligingly the little robot whirred and his screen displayed an equation followed by a series of numbers and signs. Nick, blinking, recognized a square root sign and the equals sign, and gave up.
He laughed and clapped Murray on the back. "Point taken, Murray. Give us those layman's terms again, will ya?"
Murray laughed too, nodding. "See, Cody? It needed to be more readily accessible and - "
"I get it, Boz, I get it." Cody stared out the boat's window, eyes fixed on the sea, and Nick went to stand close to him as Murray gave the Roboz his new instructions.
"Haystack mode, Roboz!"
Nick leaned his shoulder against Cody's back and looked over his shoulder. Murray had sunk back down on the bench, fingers flying over his keyboard, and the Roboz, his screen blinking at intervals, was displaying WARM. Nick wondered what he'd call it if the seamonster appeared.
By nightfall, they'd crisscrossed the area Murray had pinpointed, guided by Roboz's WARMER and GETTING HOT alerts, but found no sign of the Barefoot Contessa, nor the seamonster. The only encouraging thing was that there was no wreckage or debris in the water, which Cody pointed out would have been inevitable if a boat the size of the schooner had gone down.
Nick, remembering the monster's snapping jaws, shivered and was silent.
Cody suggested dropping the sea anchor for the night and Nick, despite the chills of horror crawling up his spine at the idea, had to agree. It didn't make sense to sail the hours back to port only to come out again in the morning - it was diesel they could ill afford, and time that might mean life or death to Mama Jo and her crew. He'd gone to the bow to release the anchor chain when he heard Cody's shout.
"What, man?" He scrambled back across the deck faster than he'd moved on board a boat before, joining Cody and Murray on the rear deck.
"Look!" Cody pointed at a small dark bird, flying on a determined heading out to sea. "It's a Guillemot! At this time of year, she's heading home to feed her chick. There must be an island just over there!"
The Riptide was underway in moments, chugging in the wake of its flying leader.
"Are you sure about this, man?" Nick asked doubtfully, looking from Cody to the bird winging its way seawards.
"He's right, Nick." Murray nodded, pulling a small book on birds out of his pocket. "Since I've been living on board the Riptide, I've been doing a lot of study about the birds of the California coast. And that's a Pigeon Guillemot, and this is right in the middle of their breeding season. That specimen wont be far from its nest."
Nick shrugged and dropped to the bench seat. "I'll take the pigeon over Basil," he said with a sigh.
Chapter 3
The Riptide nosed her way cautiously into the rocky bay of an island barely large enough to be called such. Little more than a sandbar flanked by twin pinnacles of rock, it was hardly surprising that the three detectives hadn't seen the small chunk of land until they were nearly on top it.
With the Roboz letting out mournful bongs alerting them to the proximity of the floor of the bay, Cody reversed the engines and Nick clambered back to the bow to release the anchor. The small bird they'd followed had disappeared into one of the rocky pinnacles and Nick glanced up as he heard a high pitched twittering. "Don't you tell your babies bedtime stories about Basil," he grunted, and the bird's call changed in pitch to a long whistle.
Cody jumped into the zodiac and secured the stern line around a bolder on the beach, and after carefully surveying the area, Nick went below and assembled a hurried dinner. Eating was the last thing he felt like: he was frightened for Mama Jo and the Contessa, frightened for their own safety, and every time he thought of the monster he wanted to throw up, but none of them had eaten since breakfast, and that was no way to succeed on a mission.
While he worked, his attention was all on his partners abovedecks: mapping the voices as Cody and Murray made sure the Riptide was secure, listening to the splashing as the inflatable came back alongside, the soft rock of the boat as his partners moved around. Listening for any sound of alarm, anything out of place.
"Take it easy." Nick nearly jumped out of his skin as Cody swung down the steps and grabbed him from behind. On the boat, Cody moved like a cat when he wanted to, soundless, moving with the water's rhythm. "Jesus, you're tense, pal."
Nick nodded dumbly, trembling a little and letting the spoon he was holding clatter to the bench. Thankfully he leaned back against Cody, letting his partner take his weight, and Cody tightened his arms. "This monster's got you real shook up, huh?" Cody said, softly, in his ear.
"I guess." Nick sighed. "Wish you'd seen it, man. Wish you believed me."
"I do believe you." Cody nuzzled Nick's neck gently. "I believe you saw something huge and scary, something that didn't make sense. I guess I've just heard, all my life, about seamonsters and the things they turn out to be... floating trash, huge cetacean corpses, that kind of thing."
"When you use words like that, you sound like Murray," Nick murmured.
"Who sounds like me?" Murray clattered down the steps and Nick stepped back reluctantly, turning back to the stove.
"Me, apparently." Cody left his hand on Nick's shoulder. "You hungry, Boz?"
"No, I'm going to rerun these coordinates for alternative locations. I can't understand it. The parameters are loose, admittedly, but even so - "
"Murray. Hey Murray." Nick held his hands up, shaking his head. "Eat first, all right? I know you're worried about them, so'm I, and the last thing I feel like is food, but man, we gotta keep our strength up, right? It's the same thing when I'm flying rescue for the Guard. You don't wanna stop, even for a minute, but the thing you gotta remember is you're no damn use to anyone if you don't take care of yourself first."
"You're right, Nick." Murray nodded solemnly and slipped into the booth, leaning heavily on the table. "I remember this one time, back at MIT, and we'd spent days - literally days, maybe 72 hours, I think it was, chasing a bug we had that was causing a diode to overheat - of course, that wasn't life or death, but then, that piece of technology went on to be used in a variety of regulatory applications and it easily could be involved in a life or death situation today - but anyway, the thing is, we quit. We took a day off. And the next day, just like that, we solved it in the first hour."
"That's amazing, Murray." Nick smothered a grin as he watched Cody deliberately not roll his eyes, and slid plates of food in front of his partners. "C'mon, guys. Seamonster special."
They went to bed with the sun, intending to rise at first light and continue the search, but Nick found sleep slow in coming. Cody slept in his arms, peaceful and relaxed, his warmth almost but not quite enough to lull Nick to sleep. Every time he felt himself drifting he saw the monster's swaying neck, the heaving of the sea, and jerked awake, shivering.
"Hey... gotcha..." Cody murmured to him sleepily each time, coming partly awake, and Nick whispered soft reassurances, soothing Cody back to sleep.
They came for him in the dawn, when sleep had somehow snuck in past his defenses, the fetid jungle things that slithered like so many giant nightmare snakes. This time each wore the head of the monster, and it was Cody that they chased.
"No! Cody, no!" Nick fought and thrashed, until at last the guns fell silent, the whop of the rotors dying away in the shrill peeping of the black seabird, and he heard Cody calling him, softly, over and over.
"Nick... c'mon, Nick... c'mon, babe..."
Nick breathed deep and opened his eyes, and the Riptide's familiar cabin swam slowly into focus. Cody moved beside him, tightening his arms, pulling Nick closer, and Nick curled into him with a thankful whimper. "Cody."
"I got you, baby. I got you." Cody pressed a kiss against his head, rocking him gently, and Nick breathed deep again, holding on tight. He didn't have to fight the tears, not here, and he burrowed closer, squeezing his eyes shut against them, holding Cody so tight it nearly hurt. Cody squeezed him back, tighter, until it was hard to breathe, and Nick gulped his relief against his partner's chest, fear slowly falling away.
"Okay?" Cody whispered in his ear, and Nick bit his shoulder softly in assent.
They didn't sleep again. Nick lay on Cody's chest and remembered how to breathe, his lover's hands gentle on his back as the cabin slowly filled with light. At last Cody moved, kissing Nick's temple softly and whispering "Ready?"
"No." Nick sat up and rubbed his eyes. "You got a plan, big guy?"
"Sure." Cody grinned, cockier than Nick could imagine being right now, and his heart swelled with love. Cody didn't know how to quit. "Find 'em. C'mon, babe."
But by ten am, even Cody's optimism was flagging. They'd searched the area the Roboz had identified again without any success, and Murray was shaking his head mournfully, staring at pages of printout.
"It makes no sense," he said for what Nick thought was the hundredth time that morning. "The parameters -"
"Forget the parameters, Boz." Cody's voice was sharp with tension. "Computers don't understand the sea. Nick, willya get me those old charts, the ones in the bait locker?"
Nick moved to comply, wondering what was on Cody's mind. The charts he retrieved were old and yellowed, and he remembered Cody stowing them there when they'd first got the boat. To Nick's knowledge, they'd never been pulled out since.
"What are they, man?" Nick crowded close as Cody unrolled the big maps on the table, using Murray's keyboard to anchor one side. Murray leaned forward with interest.
"My grandad's fishing charts," Cody said, and Nick understood at once why they'd spent their years on the Riptide safely hidden in the fishing locker. Cody kept his grandfather's memory close and very private. Nick rested his hand against the small of Cody's back.
Cody leaned over the charts, pointing at a block of penciled words towards the north. "See, grandad noted the best spots, his catch, that kind of thing." He cleared his throat sharply. "But what's interesting is that he's also marked every uncharted island, even every rock that's close to the surface." He traced a line across the map with his finger. "Here's the island where we spent last night."
"Wow, Cody, that's amazing," Murray said enthusiastically. "It's one of a small chain, look!"
Nick looked more closely at the chart and saw that Murray was right. Further out to sea were two more islands, drawn in pencil by Cody's grandfather. Looking again, he realized that the second one was very close to where he'd seen the monster from the Mimi. He swallowed hard.
"What is it, buddy?" Cody turned to him in concern.
"There." Nick pointed at the second island. "That's where the monster was."
"Wow, Nick, really? Did you see the island? I mean - "
"No." Nick shook his head, cutting Murray off. "I didn't see any island."
"The sea changes." Cody rubbed a hand across his forehead tiredly. "What was an island twenty-five years ago when grandad drew this might be a sandbar today, or even gone entirely. All depends on its makeup. That's why these little islands aren't on the regular charts - because they're here today, gone tomorrow."
"Gee, Cody, isn't that dangerous? I mean, for shipping and stuff?"
"These aren't shipping lanes, Murray," Cody explained patiently. "And for recreational fishing and boating... well, buddy, you just have to be careful and learn the sea."
"Could the Contessa have run aground on one of these islands?" Nick asked hopefully, pushing thoughts of the monster to one side. "And lost radio contact?"
"She could have," Cody said. "And if she did go down, it's possible the crew made it to one of these islands. Whaddaya say, guys? Shall we check it out?"
The Riptide was soon underway, accompanied by the Roboz's unhappy display of COOLER... COOLER. "Murray, shut him off, huh?" Nick said irritably.
Murray looked up, brown eyes large and sad. "Really, Nick? But at least he makes me feel like we're doing something."
Nick ruefully acknowledged that Murray was right, and patted the little orange robot on the head. "He's doing his best."
They found no islands as they sailed seawards, although several times Roboz's warning bong alerted them to shallow water. "You see what I mean about the ocean changing," Cody said, throttling the cruiser back and scanning the surface of the waves with his high-powered binoculars. "But dammit, there's still no sign of the Contessa!"
Nick pointed to the south. "Look over there, man," he requested, his mouth dry. "There's something... I see the sun glinting on something."
Cody swung the glasses around, then shrugged. "A big yacht of some kind," he said. "Prob'ly fishing or maybe sightseeing. Not the Contessa, at any rate."
Nick breathed deeply, fighting back the fear that had possessed him when he'd first caught a glimpse of something out there on the sea. Something too near them for comfort.
"Let's radio them and see if they've seen anything," Murray said excitedly, and Cody nodded, picking up the radio receiver.
They tried every channel and every call sign they could think of, but in the end the only response they got was from a harassed-sounding radio operator asking them to clear the airwaves. "You're not the only boat out there," she snapped irritably, and Cody hung the handset on its hook with a sigh.
"We weren't getting anywhere anyhow. Kind of odd." He frowned. "It's not likely someone'd be sailing a yacht like that without their radio functioning. I wonder if everything's okay?"
In a short space of time, the Riptide was slowly cresting the waves between them and the unknown cruiser, still little more than a speck against the sun. But it rapidly became clear that the unidentified boat was heading south-east at a reasonable pace, and after fruitlessly following for an hour, Cody throttled back.
"She's got more speed than us," he said in frustration, running his hand through his wind-tousled hair. "We'll never catch her, and who knows if they've seen anything anyhow? Probably just fishing."
"So where now?" Nick spoke up, voicing the concern they'd all put aside while they chased the stranger.
"I've adjusted for the tides and for a stronger wind than I considered yesterday." Murray's voice shook a little with strain or excitement, Nick couldn't tell which as the skinny scientist jumped to his feet. "If the Contessa was running under sail, it's possible she was further out to sea and further to the south than I factored for yesterday. The new location is in this area - in fact, we've headed the right way. Cody, if you take her out another mile...west, yes, head west...we'll be at the furthest boundary I've identified."
Cody looked at Murray for a long moment and then at Nick. Nick shrugged - you got a better idea? - and with a tight smile, Cody turned back to the tiller and sent the old Elco seawards. The Riptide thrummed happily, handling the gentle swell as though it wasn't there, bow aimed at the sunlit horizon. Nick watched Cody. Even on this grim search, his partner was smiling. His hands were light on the yacht's wheel, almost caressing, his eyes shining with joy of his boat and of the sea, and Nick thought, not for the first time, how beautiful he was.
Murray went below, shouting something about coordinates, and Nick sank onto the corner of the bench seat, dividing his attention between Cody and the waves. Keeping watch.
After a few minutes, Cody came to join him. Nick kissed him hungrily. "Who's steering the boat?"
"Jerk." Cody grinned. "You fixed the autopilot yourself."
"Don't know if I got it right, though." Nick grinned back and kissed Cody again. "Way I remember it, you kept distracting me while I was trying to do that job."
"Distracting you?" Cody pressed close. "Is that what you call my giving up a day at the beach to help you out?"
Nick licked his lips, remembering the day in question. Cody, clad only in a pair of tight shorts, bending over the toolbox, flexing his muscles in the sun. "Yeah," he said hoarsely, and Cody laughed out loud, his eyes joyful at the memory.
"Well, next time - " he began throatily.
"Guys!" Murray's high pitched yell brought them both to their feet as Murray clattered up the stairs from the salon, arms windmilling. Nick kept one hand on Cody's arm as he reached for their excited partner.
"What is it, Boz? What's the matter?"
"There's something down there below us - something big - and LOOK!" Murray pointed at the windscreen emphatically and Nick and Cody turned as one.
Nick gasped as he felt Cody's sharp intake of breath beside him. Silver and hazy, something huge loomed in the distance, something that quivered and danced like a giant snake. A wave of nausea came over Nick and he dived for the side of the boat, retching helplessly, and beneath his feet the Riptide's deck vibrated as Cody slammed the engines into reverse.
Nick pushed himself back upright, struggling to take a deep breath against the heaving in his gut. His ears buzzed, and he shook his head. "A mirage," Cody was saying urgently. "A waterspout in the heat haze."
"No," Nick rasped as Cody's hands closed on his shoulders. "I've seen that fucker up close, and it's no waterspout, trust me." He turned, letting Cody support him, and looked through the windscreen. He felt Cody's chest heave against his shoulder as in front of them the huge, silver bulk collapsed in on itself, back into the sea.
Moments later, the Riptide rocked sharply on the wave of the thing's passing.
"Plesiosaur!" Murray whispered, sounding awestruck. "Cody, can we get closer, do you think?"
"No!" Nick nearly shouted, and Cody's hands tightened on his shoulders.
"No, Boz," Cody said more gently. "Whatever that thing is, it's huge. It could swamp us."
"I've got to get a proper team together." Murray's voice rose in excitement. "I wonder if Melba has any connections who could get us a submarine - that would be so boss. Guys, imagine it!"
Nick dropped to the bench seat, knees turning to jelly. A huge snakelike monster and Murray wanted to go underneath the sea to get up close and personal with it. Cody squeezed his shoulder, not letting go, and Nick shot him a grateful glance.
"Listen, Murray, that sounds really exciting, but right now, we're too close to that thing, okay? Can Roboz track it or...or something?"
"Oh! Oh, that's the other thing, Cody! We're right over something large! I can't tell yet if it's a landmass or something temporary. Hold on, hold on." Murray grabbed for the keyboard, tapping away frantically. "There - now Roboz is accessing the sonar scan on the terminal downstairs - now he's analyzing the data - and bingo!" Murray raised a hand in triumph.
Roboz's screen read PROBABILITY BOAT: 0.3. As they watched, the letters scrolled away and the next line appeared. PROBABILITY LIFEFORM: 0.2. Roboz gave a sharp beep, and Nick jumped. PROBABILITY LANDMASS: 0.5.
Murray leaned forward. "A landmass!" he said triumphantly. "It's only a little over a yard below us! How boss is that?"
"I'm just glad it's not Basil," Nick muttered, standing up again. Cody shot him a worried glance, and Nick shrugged. I'm fine, buddy.
"It's boss as long as we don't run aground," Cody said pensively. "But you know, Nick's got a point about Basil. In water as shallow as that nothing can come below us."
Chapter 4
Anchored to the unseen landmass with Roboz on high alert for any water disturbance heralding the return of Basil, a waterspout, or anything else of interest, the three detectives retired to the rear deck of the Riptide to plan their next move.
Murray was all for diving to search for underwater evidence of the monster, and Cody tentatively agreed it would be interesting to get a better look at the floor of the sea where they were anchored. But Nick saw red at the thought of anyone in the same stretch of water as the giant monster.
Murray argued in vain about safety precautions and Cody tried to play peacemaker until Nick, with a sudden shake of his head, leapt up the wheelhouse ladder and disappeared into the salon. Behind him he heard his partners' voices, and he hurried down to the galley, needing to get away.
Fear and anger boiled in his gut. The nightmare vision he'd seen from the Mimi haunted him, the huge beast looming over the Riptide. Snatching Cody from the sea. Nick grabbed the table for support, shaking.
"Hey, buddy. Hey, it's okay." Cody arrived soundlessly behind him, hands firm and strong on his shoulders, steadying him, and Nick gulped, turning and wrapping his partner in a tight hug.
"I can't let it get you," he said raggedly. "Cody, if - "
"I know." Cody held him close. "It's okay, Nick. I'm not gonna dive, okay?"
Nick nodded against Cody's shoulder, and they stood, holding each other, for a long time.
Back in the salon, they found Murray peering at several pages of computer printout, jabbing excitedly at his keyboard. "Guys!" he exclaimed as they came up the stairs. "I was just about to come and find you! It looks like Roboz has been picking up a signal!"
"What kind of signal, Murray?" Cody hurried to his side and Nick followed, resting a hand on Cody's back as they both leaned over the table.
"Well, I've had the Roboz monitoring every incoming channel, to ensure we don't miss a distress call from the Contessa." Murray shot Nick and Cody a glance, and they nodded. "And on one of the bands, he's been picking up a clicking sound. Now, I put it down to atmospheric interference and thought nothing of it - but I just took a closer look, and it seems that it's Morse Code!"
"Morse Code? Wow, Murray!" Nick leaned closer, watching as Murray scribbled rapidly on a pad.
"Here." Murray held up the page with a flourish. "It's the same message, over and over. Mayday BC. Pirates."
"Pirates?" Nick and Cody looked at each other and back at their partner.
Murray shrugged. "That's what it says. I'm running a trace on the signal now. Roboz should have the coordinates for me - ah! there it is."
The coordinates Roboz produced were for a location to the southeast, and as Murray checked the data, it became clear that wherever the signal was coming from, it was moving. "A boat," Murray theorized, watching the numbers slowly change on Roboz's screen. "And it's heading west... getting closer to us. In another few minutes I'll have enough information to plot the heading it's on."
"Pirates BC." Nick frowned. "Barefoot Contessa?"
"Maybe." Cody sighed. "It's not her call sign, though. Not really enough information to identify anything."
"That might be the point," Nick said slowly, rubbing his chin. "If they're prisoners, and they're managing to get a signal out somehow, it might be possible for their kidnappers to pick the signal up too. They'd want it to seem anonymous."
"But then how would people be able to find them?" Murray looked up, eyes wide.
A broad grin stole over Cody's face as he looked from Nick to Murray. "That's where you come in, buddy!" he exclaimed, slapping Murray on the shoulder. "Mama Jo knows you picked up her distress call. She knows we'll be looking for her, and she knows damn well that you'll track down any signal she can send out!"
"Wow!" Murray's chest swelled with pride and he spun back to the robot. "I can't believe Mama Jo has that much faith in me!" His fingers flew on the keyboard.
"Of course she does, Murray." Nick stepped closer, putting his hand on Murray's shoulder. "She knows as well as we do that you'll always come through."
Murray gulped and kept working. "I'll do my best," he said solemnly.
At Murray's direction, Nick and Cody raised the Riptide's anchor and got the cruiser ready to get underway. Slowly they sailed south until Murray's shouts turned high pitched, and Cody swung the tiller, taking up a new heading of nearly due west.
It was evening, the sunset painting reds and golds across the sea, when Murray had them heave to. Glinting in the distance, they could see the sun reflected on the stone pillars of the island where they'd spent the previous night.
Murray ran up the steps from the salon, holding his glasses on with one hand, waving a chart in the other. "They're nearby. I think they've stopped for the night. I had the Roboz tuned in to their engine frequency and he's lost that, so they've killed the engine, definitely. The mayday signal is still coming, though, so I haven't lost the boat. They're a little further out to sea, and what's really interesting, Cody, is that they've stopped right where your grandad marked this island."
Nick and Cody looked at Murray's chart, and Cody held up the aged, yellow page that had belonged to his grandfather. Sure enough, Murray's black pencilled cross was right beside the third, most seaward of the tiny islands.
"What're we waiting for?" Nick said grimly. "I'll get the guns." He made a move to go below, and Cody grabbed him.
"Easy, big guy. We need a plan. They'll see us coming out here - there's not much cover on the ocean."
"I got a plan." Nick frowned. "We'll get over there, shoot everyone we see until we find Mama Jo and those girls, and then we'll bring 'em home."
"Nick - "
"I know, I know." Nick held up his hands moodily and Cody released him. "C'mon, guys, what are we gonna do?"
"I've already put in a call to the police," Murray said seriously. "I thought about it, and I figured we couldn't radio or the kidnappers would hear us. So I used the Roboz's satellite hookup and sent the message in electronically to police headquarters. Hopefully Quinlan's gonna get moving fast."
"Good thinking, Murray." Cody nodded approvingly, eyes still on Nick's frowning face. "Seems to me that the first thing we need to know is what's going on over there, right? What sort of boat it is, where Mama Jo and the girls are, how many of these pirates or kidnappers are on board. We need to know what we're up against."
"You're right, Cody, you're right." Murray frowned anxiously. "If only we were on dry land it'd be easy! I've been doing a lot of work on the listening devices I developed last year, and all we'd have to do would be to park on the street in front of their location and we'd hear everything that was going on!"
"How close do they need to be, Murray?" Cody said, leaning forward with interest.
"About twenty or thirty yards, I guess," Murray said.
Cody grinned, and Nick's heart sank. "No!" he said vehemently. "Oh no, Cody. You promised you wouldn't dive - "
"Who said anything about diving?" Cody's grin seemed to get even cockier. "C'mon, Nick. I know just what to do."
Part Two
Rating: NC17
Summary: A seamonster sighting leaves the Riptide detectives shaken, but when they receive a cryptic distress call they must brave the ocean and whatever beast dwells there to save Mama Jo and the grew of the Contessa.
Chapter 1
A spate of sinkings had plagued the Southern California coast in the last few months, and the tabloids were touting a seamonster.
Cody laughed and pushed away the paper. "A giant marlin," he said, grinning, "something like that. Overturns one boat down the coast somewhere, and every two-bit boatie who runs into some rocks wants to blame it on a sea serpent."
"You know, Cody, there've been some interesting studies and hypotheses made regarding the possibility of seamonsters," Murray said, rubbing his jaw. "I find the postulation of a surviving species of Basilosaurus extremely interesting, and at one time I'd read nearly every piece of literature on the subject. In fact, when Melba went to Scotland right after she graduated, she made a brief study of the Loch Ness monster, with that in mind. There really could be something there."
Murray subsided into his cornflakes, a thoughtful expression on his face, and Cody looked at Nick. "What's a basilosaurus?" he murmured.
"Sounds like something my grandmother used to put in pasta, man." Nick stood up. "But I tell you what, if there's a seamonster out there, I'm gonna get over to the hotel. There's bound to be a bunch of tourists who want to pay to fly out and look for one."
Cody nodded, grinning. "Good point, buddy. Never thought I'd see the day the tabloids made us money."
Nick was on his third charter of the day, the cash fat and satisfying in his back pocket, when the tourist he was flying started screaming. He swore under his breath, mentally calculating the distance to shore, assessing the vibrations and sounds for a sign of Mimi's latest burst of temper. But Mimi's engine throbbed as smooth and throaty as she knew how to be, thanks to the work he and Cody had put in the previous weekend, and there was no curling smoke, no telltale shudder in her frame.
"Is everything all right back there, folks?" Nick asked, and as he did so, he looked down.
They were low above the surface of the water for better monster-spotting, and only feet away, it seemed, loomed a huge reptilian head. Nick yelped himself, hands shaking on the stick as he sent the Mimi skywards, out of range of the scaly, toothed thing that swayed beneath them.
He brought the chopper back around for another pass, staying further back, the shouts of his passengers coming to him loud and clear now. The woman who'd screamed was crying now, and someone was making soothing noises.
Nick stared at the thing below him, taking in a long thin neck, the heavy, vicious looking head, the heaving in the water that spoke of something huge. With a hoarse bellow, the huge neck concertinaed on itself and sank towards the sea and as quickly as it had appeared the beast was gone, below the waves, with nothing but a gentle chop to mark its passing.
Trembling, shaken, Nick turned the chopper for home.
It was a triumphant party that leapt down from Mimi's hold, slapping Nick's back, shaking his hand. The hirer paid him double, calling it a finder's fee, and Nick watched them go, still mind-blown. He'd known since Vietnam that there were things on earth that didn't make it into science, things as old as time itself that no-one alive could name. But he'd never thought in a million years that he'd encounter an ancient monster in the warm Pacific currents scant miles from their home.
He walked home in pensive silence, to meet the Riptide coming in on the evening tide.
Nick grabbed the bowline and made her fast as Cody ushered off his very own charter, a tall black man who carried an outsize cooler. A fishing trip, Nick thought, and it left him cold. He barely managed a smile for the man, and when he started to enquire about going out tomorrow, Nick cut off Cody's cheerful assent.
"Sorry," he interrupted gruffly. "I've taken another booking in the meantime, Cody. I beg your pardon, Mister..."
"Reefson," the man told him, and went back to shaking Cody's hand. "Great charter, Mr Allen. I'll call back later in the week."
"You do that, sir." Cody waved cheerfully as the charter headed up the gangplank, turning on Nick as soon as he'd made it out of earshot.
"What the hell was that? He paid me a hundred and fifty, Nick. One fifty for a half-day, and - "
"And nothing." Nick grabbed Cody's arm and all but frogmarched him to the hatch. He pushed him down on the benchseat, and laid his hands, palm down, on the table. "Cody, that seamonster's no marlin, okay? I saw the fucking thing. Huge and silver, like a giant sea snake. Head like a... like a bulldog, only bigger - " Nick gestured " - and the body looks bigger than this boat. Cody, it'd sink the Riptide, okay? You can't take her out on the ocean with that thing out there!"
"You saw it? A seamonster?" Cody stared at his partner in disbelief. "Nick, are you sure you couldn't have been mistaken? These things usually turn out to be the carcass of a whale or something."
Nick thought of the giant snakelike head and cold, clammy fear crept up his spine. "Whatever it was," he said vehemently, "it was alive. And it was bigger than anything alive I've ever seen. I dunno if it was Murray's basilosauraus or not, but whatever it is, it's big enough to eat all three of us and the Riptide too, and never even notice."
"What's that about a basilosaurus, Nick?" Murray came up the galley stairs, looking inquiring. "How was fishing, Cody?"
"Fishing was great," Cody said slowly, rubbing his chin. "As for the basilosaurus, Nick's maybe got an address for you, Boz. I dunno, big guy," he turned to Nick and grinned. "Did you get his license plates?"
Nick dropped into the chair at the end of the table with a grunt. He supposed if their positions were reversed, he wouldn't believe Cody either.
All through dinner, Murray speculated about the seamonster, its species, genus and how it had survived since prehistoric times.
"Well, Boz," Cody said, grinning cheekily, "I guess it ate a lot of tuna."
"That's an interesting point, Cody. There's been widespread speculation about the diet of various prehistoric reptiles and early mammals, and really, it's unknown whether the basilosaurus was a carnivore or a herbivore."
Nick didn't wait to hear any more. He''d cooked their meal and then cleaned the galley in an effort to keep his mind bust with something that wasn't the giant silver beast, but he had to admit it wasn't working. And the last thing he felt like contemplating was the seamonster's diet. As Cody made a cheerful rejoinder, Nick muttered a goodnight and escaped to the stateroom.
By the time Cody came down, Nick was curled under his blanket with the pillow over his head. He made a non-committal grunt as Cody asked him if he was okay, and didn't move over when Cody perched on the edge of the bunk.
"Idiot," Cody said affectionately, and climbed under the blanket, draping himself over Nick when his partner didn't move to accommodate him. "If you think I'm leaving you alone tonight, you're crazier than I thought."
Nick sighed and moved a little, giving Cody an inch of room. Cody nestled closer, taking all that and more, and Nick moaned softly at the heat of his partner against his naked skin. With a soft chuckle, Cody removed the pillow from his lover's head, bestowing a kiss on the back of Nick's neck. "Quit thinking about that seamonster," Cody murmured in his ear, low and throaty, and Nick shivered as Cody ran a hand across his chest, teasing his nipples alert.
"You think I should?" Nick managed, turning over onto his back and sliding sideways, giving Cody room. Cody pressed the advantage, crowding close, sliding one leg between Nick's.
"I got something here waiting for your attention," Cody replied, breathlessly, and Nick reached for him hungrily.
Cody maneuvered on top of Nick as they kissed, climbing between his spread legs and using his body to pin Nick against the bed. Nick bucked happily, crying out softly as Cody bit at his shoulders and neck, cock throbbing as Cody thrust against him. "Cody!"
"Oh yeah, Nick." Cody slid a hand between them, brushing Nick's cock then moving lower, tracing down to Nick's sac. Tickling, teasing, promising.
With a heartfelt groan Nick rolled his hips back, spreading his legs further. He'd never needed Cody as bad as he did right now, the nervous tension of the day building inside him into something only Cody could release. He whined anxiously as Cody touched him at last, featherlight across his hole, sweet torment.
"I know, buddy," Cody murmured, kissing him deep and long, and Nick let go, floating in the warmth of Cody's mouth, the sweet wholeness of his kiss. He heard Cody scrabbling with something and then his fingers were back, cool and slick, teasing at his entrance until Nick thought he'd explode.
"Please," he panted, and Cody kissed him again. As his tongue delved into Nick's mouth, his finger slid inside and Nick moaned into the kiss, on fire with want.
Cody raised himself, pulling back, and Nick protested the loss, reaching hungrily for his partner. He heard Cody's low chuckle and then gasped as a slick strong hand closed over his cock, stroking him long and slow. "So good," Cody murmured, and Nick was about to reply when he felt Cody's cock, full and fat, pressing against his entrance. He moaned instead.
Cody sank into him slowly, inch by inexorable inch, and Nick bucked urgently, gasping. He never got tired of this moment, the feel of being taken, Cody filling him up, owning him. It took forever and was over too soon, the heavy fire burning inside him, crystallizing in his groin and spiralling out of control. He thrashed against the bed, against Cody, and sobbed with relief as Cody bore him down, lips hard on his. Taking him, owning him. Loving him.
"Cody," he gasped, and Cody kissed him again as he started to move, thrusting into Nick short and hard, his own breath coming fast.
"I got you, Nick. I got you," Cody whispered, and Nick pushed back to meet his thrusts, the feeling building inside him. Every stroke touched him deep, sending waves of fire rolling through his body, and as Cody sobbed his name it sent him over the edge.
Cody collapsed onto Nick's chest as Nick bucked beneath him, his fingers hard on Nick's shoulders, and as the tremors eased Nick ran a gentle hand across his lover's back. Cody drew a shaky breath and raised a hand to stroke Nick's hair. "I love you," he whispered softly, eyes alight.
Nick smiled slightly and ducked his head against Cody's shoulder, tightening his arms. "I love you too, man. I love you too."
Chapter 2
By the next morning, the seamonster sighting was all over the news. The slightly blurry pictures taken by Nick's tour party were on every news report, printed in every paper, even King Harbor's own Harbor Chronicle, which also carried a picture of Nick and the Mimi.
The Riptide Detective Agency had chased off three sets of reporters before they'd managed breakfast, and Cody had aborted a donut run when he'd been accosted by a group further down the pier.
"I say we put out to sea til this blows over," Cody said, jumping back aboard the Riptide, and Nick looked up sharply, dropping his paperback.
"Cody, no! I've seen that fucking thing, and trust me, it's nothing we want to tangle with." The idea of the monster anywhere near Cody brought Nick out instantly in a cold sweat. "Michael Jackson's gonna have some more plastic surgery or something soon and then they'll forget all about us. It's not worth it."
"I don't know, Nick, this might be the best chance we ever get to study one of these creatures." Murray rubbed his chin thoughtfully, carefully examining one of the newspaper photographs with a magnifying glass.
"Yeah, well, I like Basil best with about a hundred miles of ocean between me and him," Nick growled.
"Basil? Oh! That's a good one!" Murray laughed and slapped his thigh. "But you know, Nick, judging by these photos, this particular specimen is actually a species of plesiosaur. The interesting thing about that, you know, is that a plesiosaur is a reptile while the basilosauraus is an early species of mammal - of whale, to be precise."
"If that thing's a whale then the Mimi's a butterfly," Nick snapped.
"No, Nick, that's what I'm saying. It's not a - "
Cody held his hands up, standing and making a quelling gesture at Murray. Murray broke off and Cody rested a hand on Nick's shoulder. "It's okay, Nick, I guess you're right. We'll stay in port." He squeezed gently, and Nick looked up into his partner's blue eyes. Cody squeezed again and Nick sucked in a long breath, nodding.
"Thanks, man," he muttered.
Murray unrolled some charts across the table and leaned over them myopically, brandishing a pencil and muttering unintelligible incantations to the Roboz at his elbow, and Cody tugged Nick's shoulder gently, steering him away from the salon.
"C'mon," he said softly. "Let's go clean the bilges." He waggled his eyebrows, and despite himself, Nick laughed.
"Man, you say the most romantic things," he muttered.
Pumping out the bilges took most of the morning, and after the work Nick was cheerfully dirty and feeling a lot more relaxed. He was just contemplating a shower and a nap before lunch, eyes resting appreciatively on Cody's butt, when Murray's high pitched yell from above brought them both to attention.
"What is it, Boz?" Cody yelled back, and he and Nick scrambled for the stairs.
They found Murray holding the radio mike, his face white, fruitlessly twisting the channel receiver. "Mama Jo!" he cried anxiously, when he saw them. "There was a mayday from the Contessa - I answered her and then - and then - there was a terrible crash and static. And I can't get her back!" He looked as though he might burst into tears.
Cody shot Nick a glance and Nick nodded, going straight to Murray and putting his arm around him. "Easy, Murray," he soothed him, taking the mike from his hand and steering the scientist back towards the table. "What'd you get? Did Mama Jo give her location?"
Murray started transcribing the few bits of information Mama Jo had imparted before the communication link had been catastrophically broken, while behind them Nick heard Cody working the radio, trying every band, calling the Contessa. He heard the Coastguard confirm they'd copied the distress call, but no-one had a location for the missing schooner.
Eventually, Cody gave up with an angry grunt, and joined his partners at the table. "Impossible to know where she is, or even if something did go badly wrong. She might have just lost radio contact," he said helplessly.
"The crash I heard - " Murray started.
"I know, Boz, but it might have been radio interference." Cody's eyes met Nick's, even as Murray nodded doubtfully. He read his own unspoken thought in Cody's eyes. Or it might have been the monster...
"Here." Murray tapped a spot on the chart. "This is the closest estimate of the Contessa's likely location when she called, given today's tides, the time she went out, and the bearing that Mama Jo gave me before - " he swallowed hard - "we were cut off. She must be somewhere within 10 nautical miles of that point."
"Gee, Murray, that's a lot of water," Cody said doubtfully, rubbing his chin, but Nick hardly heard him. The location Murray had pinpointed was barely a mile from the place he'd seen the monster.
Slowly, he touched the map. "There," he said gruffly. "That's where it was, guys." He turned his head away, shaking.
"Let's get moving." Cody patted Nick's shoulder comfortingly and stood up. "C'mon, big guy. Come up and sight for me."
Nick followed Cody to the wheelhouse mechanically while Murray untied the Riptide, and they were halfway out of the harbor before Nick realized they should have taken the Mimi instead.
"No, Nick, no." Cody turned to him and laid a soothing hand on his arm. "You're right, we might find them faster with the Mimi, but buddy, then what? Let's face it, we don't know what shape they're in or - or anything."
Nick nodded reluctantly, still looking mutinous. Being in the air was eminently safer than the surface of the sea in his opinion, although he realized that Cody was right about the Contessa. He moved to stand close beside his partner, shoulder to shoulder, and anxiously scanned the surface of the sea.
They saw a couple of other boats but no sign of the seamonster as they cleared the coast, heading north away from the Channel Islands. The Pacific was a pleasant greeny blue, deceptively clear and gentle-looking, and Nick shuddered, turning away from the secrets he knew it hid.
Murray jumped up from his seat on the deck behind the wheelhouse, pointing excitedly. "We're approaching the zone," he said, indicating the Roboz. "I've programmed the Roboz to tell us the probability of the Contessa's location based on the information we have. See, guys? Roboz?"
Roboz turned around and his screen flashed briefly. GETTING WARMER was displayed in large letters.
"Getting warmer? Murray!" Nick exclaimed, just as Cody swung the wheel to port.
The little robot's screen flashed again. COOLER. COOLER.
Murray guffawed at Nick and Cody's startled expressions. "Well," he explained, grinning, "I wanted something it was easy for you guys to understand if I was below or something."
"You don't need to dumb it down for us, Murray," Cody declared.
Nick looked at Cody wryly, and Murray held his hands up, looking pained. "I'm not dumbing it down! It's just layman's terms, all right?"
"We're getting good at this scientific stuff, Murray," Cody said emphatically. "Aren't we, Nick?"
"If you say so, man." Nick eyed Cody then Murray, a small smile playing on his lips. "Go on, Boz, lay it on us."
Murray snorted. "Roboz! Probability mode!"
Obligingly the little robot whirred and his screen displayed an equation followed by a series of numbers and signs. Nick, blinking, recognized a square root sign and the equals sign, and gave up.
He laughed and clapped Murray on the back. "Point taken, Murray. Give us those layman's terms again, will ya?"
Murray laughed too, nodding. "See, Cody? It needed to be more readily accessible and - "
"I get it, Boz, I get it." Cody stared out the boat's window, eyes fixed on the sea, and Nick went to stand close to him as Murray gave the Roboz his new instructions.
"Haystack mode, Roboz!"
Nick leaned his shoulder against Cody's back and looked over his shoulder. Murray had sunk back down on the bench, fingers flying over his keyboard, and the Roboz, his screen blinking at intervals, was displaying WARM. Nick wondered what he'd call it if the seamonster appeared.
By nightfall, they'd crisscrossed the area Murray had pinpointed, guided by Roboz's WARMER and GETTING HOT alerts, but found no sign of the Barefoot Contessa, nor the seamonster. The only encouraging thing was that there was no wreckage or debris in the water, which Cody pointed out would have been inevitable if a boat the size of the schooner had gone down.
Nick, remembering the monster's snapping jaws, shivered and was silent.
Cody suggested dropping the sea anchor for the night and Nick, despite the chills of horror crawling up his spine at the idea, had to agree. It didn't make sense to sail the hours back to port only to come out again in the morning - it was diesel they could ill afford, and time that might mean life or death to Mama Jo and her crew. He'd gone to the bow to release the anchor chain when he heard Cody's shout.
"What, man?" He scrambled back across the deck faster than he'd moved on board a boat before, joining Cody and Murray on the rear deck.
"Look!" Cody pointed at a small dark bird, flying on a determined heading out to sea. "It's a Guillemot! At this time of year, she's heading home to feed her chick. There must be an island just over there!"
The Riptide was underway in moments, chugging in the wake of its flying leader.
"Are you sure about this, man?" Nick asked doubtfully, looking from Cody to the bird winging its way seawards.
"He's right, Nick." Murray nodded, pulling a small book on birds out of his pocket. "Since I've been living on board the Riptide, I've been doing a lot of study about the birds of the California coast. And that's a Pigeon Guillemot, and this is right in the middle of their breeding season. That specimen wont be far from its nest."
Nick shrugged and dropped to the bench seat. "I'll take the pigeon over Basil," he said with a sigh.
Chapter 3
The Riptide nosed her way cautiously into the rocky bay of an island barely large enough to be called such. Little more than a sandbar flanked by twin pinnacles of rock, it was hardly surprising that the three detectives hadn't seen the small chunk of land until they were nearly on top it.
With the Roboz letting out mournful bongs alerting them to the proximity of the floor of the bay, Cody reversed the engines and Nick clambered back to the bow to release the anchor. The small bird they'd followed had disappeared into one of the rocky pinnacles and Nick glanced up as he heard a high pitched twittering. "Don't you tell your babies bedtime stories about Basil," he grunted, and the bird's call changed in pitch to a long whistle.
Cody jumped into the zodiac and secured the stern line around a bolder on the beach, and after carefully surveying the area, Nick went below and assembled a hurried dinner. Eating was the last thing he felt like: he was frightened for Mama Jo and the Contessa, frightened for their own safety, and every time he thought of the monster he wanted to throw up, but none of them had eaten since breakfast, and that was no way to succeed on a mission.
While he worked, his attention was all on his partners abovedecks: mapping the voices as Cody and Murray made sure the Riptide was secure, listening to the splashing as the inflatable came back alongside, the soft rock of the boat as his partners moved around. Listening for any sound of alarm, anything out of place.
"Take it easy." Nick nearly jumped out of his skin as Cody swung down the steps and grabbed him from behind. On the boat, Cody moved like a cat when he wanted to, soundless, moving with the water's rhythm. "Jesus, you're tense, pal."
Nick nodded dumbly, trembling a little and letting the spoon he was holding clatter to the bench. Thankfully he leaned back against Cody, letting his partner take his weight, and Cody tightened his arms. "This monster's got you real shook up, huh?" Cody said, softly, in his ear.
"I guess." Nick sighed. "Wish you'd seen it, man. Wish you believed me."
"I do believe you." Cody nuzzled Nick's neck gently. "I believe you saw something huge and scary, something that didn't make sense. I guess I've just heard, all my life, about seamonsters and the things they turn out to be... floating trash, huge cetacean corpses, that kind of thing."
"When you use words like that, you sound like Murray," Nick murmured.
"Who sounds like me?" Murray clattered down the steps and Nick stepped back reluctantly, turning back to the stove.
"Me, apparently." Cody left his hand on Nick's shoulder. "You hungry, Boz?"
"No, I'm going to rerun these coordinates for alternative locations. I can't understand it. The parameters are loose, admittedly, but even so - "
"Murray. Hey Murray." Nick held his hands up, shaking his head. "Eat first, all right? I know you're worried about them, so'm I, and the last thing I feel like is food, but man, we gotta keep our strength up, right? It's the same thing when I'm flying rescue for the Guard. You don't wanna stop, even for a minute, but the thing you gotta remember is you're no damn use to anyone if you don't take care of yourself first."
"You're right, Nick." Murray nodded solemnly and slipped into the booth, leaning heavily on the table. "I remember this one time, back at MIT, and we'd spent days - literally days, maybe 72 hours, I think it was, chasing a bug we had that was causing a diode to overheat - of course, that wasn't life or death, but then, that piece of technology went on to be used in a variety of regulatory applications and it easily could be involved in a life or death situation today - but anyway, the thing is, we quit. We took a day off. And the next day, just like that, we solved it in the first hour."
"That's amazing, Murray." Nick smothered a grin as he watched Cody deliberately not roll his eyes, and slid plates of food in front of his partners. "C'mon, guys. Seamonster special."
They went to bed with the sun, intending to rise at first light and continue the search, but Nick found sleep slow in coming. Cody slept in his arms, peaceful and relaxed, his warmth almost but not quite enough to lull Nick to sleep. Every time he felt himself drifting he saw the monster's swaying neck, the heaving of the sea, and jerked awake, shivering.
"Hey... gotcha..." Cody murmured to him sleepily each time, coming partly awake, and Nick whispered soft reassurances, soothing Cody back to sleep.
They came for him in the dawn, when sleep had somehow snuck in past his defenses, the fetid jungle things that slithered like so many giant nightmare snakes. This time each wore the head of the monster, and it was Cody that they chased.
"No! Cody, no!" Nick fought and thrashed, until at last the guns fell silent, the whop of the rotors dying away in the shrill peeping of the black seabird, and he heard Cody calling him, softly, over and over.
"Nick... c'mon, Nick... c'mon, babe..."
Nick breathed deep and opened his eyes, and the Riptide's familiar cabin swam slowly into focus. Cody moved beside him, tightening his arms, pulling Nick closer, and Nick curled into him with a thankful whimper. "Cody."
"I got you, baby. I got you." Cody pressed a kiss against his head, rocking him gently, and Nick breathed deep again, holding on tight. He didn't have to fight the tears, not here, and he burrowed closer, squeezing his eyes shut against them, holding Cody so tight it nearly hurt. Cody squeezed him back, tighter, until it was hard to breathe, and Nick gulped his relief against his partner's chest, fear slowly falling away.
"Okay?" Cody whispered in his ear, and Nick bit his shoulder softly in assent.
They didn't sleep again. Nick lay on Cody's chest and remembered how to breathe, his lover's hands gentle on his back as the cabin slowly filled with light. At last Cody moved, kissing Nick's temple softly and whispering "Ready?"
"No." Nick sat up and rubbed his eyes. "You got a plan, big guy?"
"Sure." Cody grinned, cockier than Nick could imagine being right now, and his heart swelled with love. Cody didn't know how to quit. "Find 'em. C'mon, babe."
But by ten am, even Cody's optimism was flagging. They'd searched the area the Roboz had identified again without any success, and Murray was shaking his head mournfully, staring at pages of printout.
"It makes no sense," he said for what Nick thought was the hundredth time that morning. "The parameters -"
"Forget the parameters, Boz." Cody's voice was sharp with tension. "Computers don't understand the sea. Nick, willya get me those old charts, the ones in the bait locker?"
Nick moved to comply, wondering what was on Cody's mind. The charts he retrieved were old and yellowed, and he remembered Cody stowing them there when they'd first got the boat. To Nick's knowledge, they'd never been pulled out since.
"What are they, man?" Nick crowded close as Cody unrolled the big maps on the table, using Murray's keyboard to anchor one side. Murray leaned forward with interest.
"My grandad's fishing charts," Cody said, and Nick understood at once why they'd spent their years on the Riptide safely hidden in the fishing locker. Cody kept his grandfather's memory close and very private. Nick rested his hand against the small of Cody's back.
Cody leaned over the charts, pointing at a block of penciled words towards the north. "See, grandad noted the best spots, his catch, that kind of thing." He cleared his throat sharply. "But what's interesting is that he's also marked every uncharted island, even every rock that's close to the surface." He traced a line across the map with his finger. "Here's the island where we spent last night."
"Wow, Cody, that's amazing," Murray said enthusiastically. "It's one of a small chain, look!"
Nick looked more closely at the chart and saw that Murray was right. Further out to sea were two more islands, drawn in pencil by Cody's grandfather. Looking again, he realized that the second one was very close to where he'd seen the monster from the Mimi. He swallowed hard.
"What is it, buddy?" Cody turned to him in concern.
"There." Nick pointed at the second island. "That's where the monster was."
"Wow, Nick, really? Did you see the island? I mean - "
"No." Nick shook his head, cutting Murray off. "I didn't see any island."
"The sea changes." Cody rubbed a hand across his forehead tiredly. "What was an island twenty-five years ago when grandad drew this might be a sandbar today, or even gone entirely. All depends on its makeup. That's why these little islands aren't on the regular charts - because they're here today, gone tomorrow."
"Gee, Cody, isn't that dangerous? I mean, for shipping and stuff?"
"These aren't shipping lanes, Murray," Cody explained patiently. "And for recreational fishing and boating... well, buddy, you just have to be careful and learn the sea."
"Could the Contessa have run aground on one of these islands?" Nick asked hopefully, pushing thoughts of the monster to one side. "And lost radio contact?"
"She could have," Cody said. "And if she did go down, it's possible the crew made it to one of these islands. Whaddaya say, guys? Shall we check it out?"
The Riptide was soon underway, accompanied by the Roboz's unhappy display of COOLER... COOLER. "Murray, shut him off, huh?" Nick said irritably.
Murray looked up, brown eyes large and sad. "Really, Nick? But at least he makes me feel like we're doing something."
Nick ruefully acknowledged that Murray was right, and patted the little orange robot on the head. "He's doing his best."
They found no islands as they sailed seawards, although several times Roboz's warning bong alerted them to shallow water. "You see what I mean about the ocean changing," Cody said, throttling the cruiser back and scanning the surface of the waves with his high-powered binoculars. "But dammit, there's still no sign of the Contessa!"
Nick pointed to the south. "Look over there, man," he requested, his mouth dry. "There's something... I see the sun glinting on something."
Cody swung the glasses around, then shrugged. "A big yacht of some kind," he said. "Prob'ly fishing or maybe sightseeing. Not the Contessa, at any rate."
Nick breathed deeply, fighting back the fear that had possessed him when he'd first caught a glimpse of something out there on the sea. Something too near them for comfort.
"Let's radio them and see if they've seen anything," Murray said excitedly, and Cody nodded, picking up the radio receiver.
They tried every channel and every call sign they could think of, but in the end the only response they got was from a harassed-sounding radio operator asking them to clear the airwaves. "You're not the only boat out there," she snapped irritably, and Cody hung the handset on its hook with a sigh.
"We weren't getting anywhere anyhow. Kind of odd." He frowned. "It's not likely someone'd be sailing a yacht like that without their radio functioning. I wonder if everything's okay?"
In a short space of time, the Riptide was slowly cresting the waves between them and the unknown cruiser, still little more than a speck against the sun. But it rapidly became clear that the unidentified boat was heading south-east at a reasonable pace, and after fruitlessly following for an hour, Cody throttled back.
"She's got more speed than us," he said in frustration, running his hand through his wind-tousled hair. "We'll never catch her, and who knows if they've seen anything anyhow? Probably just fishing."
"So where now?" Nick spoke up, voicing the concern they'd all put aside while they chased the stranger.
"I've adjusted for the tides and for a stronger wind than I considered yesterday." Murray's voice shook a little with strain or excitement, Nick couldn't tell which as the skinny scientist jumped to his feet. "If the Contessa was running under sail, it's possible she was further out to sea and further to the south than I factored for yesterday. The new location is in this area - in fact, we've headed the right way. Cody, if you take her out another mile...west, yes, head west...we'll be at the furthest boundary I've identified."
Cody looked at Murray for a long moment and then at Nick. Nick shrugged - you got a better idea? - and with a tight smile, Cody turned back to the tiller and sent the old Elco seawards. The Riptide thrummed happily, handling the gentle swell as though it wasn't there, bow aimed at the sunlit horizon. Nick watched Cody. Even on this grim search, his partner was smiling. His hands were light on the yacht's wheel, almost caressing, his eyes shining with joy of his boat and of the sea, and Nick thought, not for the first time, how beautiful he was.
Murray went below, shouting something about coordinates, and Nick sank onto the corner of the bench seat, dividing his attention between Cody and the waves. Keeping watch.
After a few minutes, Cody came to join him. Nick kissed him hungrily. "Who's steering the boat?"
"Jerk." Cody grinned. "You fixed the autopilot yourself."
"Don't know if I got it right, though." Nick grinned back and kissed Cody again. "Way I remember it, you kept distracting me while I was trying to do that job."
"Distracting you?" Cody pressed close. "Is that what you call my giving up a day at the beach to help you out?"
Nick licked his lips, remembering the day in question. Cody, clad only in a pair of tight shorts, bending over the toolbox, flexing his muscles in the sun. "Yeah," he said hoarsely, and Cody laughed out loud, his eyes joyful at the memory.
"Well, next time - " he began throatily.
"Guys!" Murray's high pitched yell brought them both to their feet as Murray clattered up the stairs from the salon, arms windmilling. Nick kept one hand on Cody's arm as he reached for their excited partner.
"What is it, Boz? What's the matter?"
"There's something down there below us - something big - and LOOK!" Murray pointed at the windscreen emphatically and Nick and Cody turned as one.
Nick gasped as he felt Cody's sharp intake of breath beside him. Silver and hazy, something huge loomed in the distance, something that quivered and danced like a giant snake. A wave of nausea came over Nick and he dived for the side of the boat, retching helplessly, and beneath his feet the Riptide's deck vibrated as Cody slammed the engines into reverse.
Nick pushed himself back upright, struggling to take a deep breath against the heaving in his gut. His ears buzzed, and he shook his head. "A mirage," Cody was saying urgently. "A waterspout in the heat haze."
"No," Nick rasped as Cody's hands closed on his shoulders. "I've seen that fucker up close, and it's no waterspout, trust me." He turned, letting Cody support him, and looked through the windscreen. He felt Cody's chest heave against his shoulder as in front of them the huge, silver bulk collapsed in on itself, back into the sea.
Moments later, the Riptide rocked sharply on the wave of the thing's passing.
"Plesiosaur!" Murray whispered, sounding awestruck. "Cody, can we get closer, do you think?"
"No!" Nick nearly shouted, and Cody's hands tightened on his shoulders.
"No, Boz," Cody said more gently. "Whatever that thing is, it's huge. It could swamp us."
"I've got to get a proper team together." Murray's voice rose in excitement. "I wonder if Melba has any connections who could get us a submarine - that would be so boss. Guys, imagine it!"
Nick dropped to the bench seat, knees turning to jelly. A huge snakelike monster and Murray wanted to go underneath the sea to get up close and personal with it. Cody squeezed his shoulder, not letting go, and Nick shot him a grateful glance.
"Listen, Murray, that sounds really exciting, but right now, we're too close to that thing, okay? Can Roboz track it or...or something?"
"Oh! Oh, that's the other thing, Cody! We're right over something large! I can't tell yet if it's a landmass or something temporary. Hold on, hold on." Murray grabbed for the keyboard, tapping away frantically. "There - now Roboz is accessing the sonar scan on the terminal downstairs - now he's analyzing the data - and bingo!" Murray raised a hand in triumph.
Roboz's screen read PROBABILITY BOAT: 0.3. As they watched, the letters scrolled away and the next line appeared. PROBABILITY LIFEFORM: 0.2. Roboz gave a sharp beep, and Nick jumped. PROBABILITY LANDMASS: 0.5.
Murray leaned forward. "A landmass!" he said triumphantly. "It's only a little over a yard below us! How boss is that?"
"I'm just glad it's not Basil," Nick muttered, standing up again. Cody shot him a worried glance, and Nick shrugged. I'm fine, buddy.
"It's boss as long as we don't run aground," Cody said pensively. "But you know, Nick's got a point about Basil. In water as shallow as that nothing can come below us."
Chapter 4
Anchored to the unseen landmass with Roboz on high alert for any water disturbance heralding the return of Basil, a waterspout, or anything else of interest, the three detectives retired to the rear deck of the Riptide to plan their next move.
Murray was all for diving to search for underwater evidence of the monster, and Cody tentatively agreed it would be interesting to get a better look at the floor of the sea where they were anchored. But Nick saw red at the thought of anyone in the same stretch of water as the giant monster.
Murray argued in vain about safety precautions and Cody tried to play peacemaker until Nick, with a sudden shake of his head, leapt up the wheelhouse ladder and disappeared into the salon. Behind him he heard his partners' voices, and he hurried down to the galley, needing to get away.
Fear and anger boiled in his gut. The nightmare vision he'd seen from the Mimi haunted him, the huge beast looming over the Riptide. Snatching Cody from the sea. Nick grabbed the table for support, shaking.
"Hey, buddy. Hey, it's okay." Cody arrived soundlessly behind him, hands firm and strong on his shoulders, steadying him, and Nick gulped, turning and wrapping his partner in a tight hug.
"I can't let it get you," he said raggedly. "Cody, if - "
"I know." Cody held him close. "It's okay, Nick. I'm not gonna dive, okay?"
Nick nodded against Cody's shoulder, and they stood, holding each other, for a long time.
Back in the salon, they found Murray peering at several pages of computer printout, jabbing excitedly at his keyboard. "Guys!" he exclaimed as they came up the stairs. "I was just about to come and find you! It looks like Roboz has been picking up a signal!"
"What kind of signal, Murray?" Cody hurried to his side and Nick followed, resting a hand on Cody's back as they both leaned over the table.
"Well, I've had the Roboz monitoring every incoming channel, to ensure we don't miss a distress call from the Contessa." Murray shot Nick and Cody a glance, and they nodded. "And on one of the bands, he's been picking up a clicking sound. Now, I put it down to atmospheric interference and thought nothing of it - but I just took a closer look, and it seems that it's Morse Code!"
"Morse Code? Wow, Murray!" Nick leaned closer, watching as Murray scribbled rapidly on a pad.
"Here." Murray held up the page with a flourish. "It's the same message, over and over. Mayday BC. Pirates."
"Pirates?" Nick and Cody looked at each other and back at their partner.
Murray shrugged. "That's what it says. I'm running a trace on the signal now. Roboz should have the coordinates for me - ah! there it is."
The coordinates Roboz produced were for a location to the southeast, and as Murray checked the data, it became clear that wherever the signal was coming from, it was moving. "A boat," Murray theorized, watching the numbers slowly change on Roboz's screen. "And it's heading west... getting closer to us. In another few minutes I'll have enough information to plot the heading it's on."
"Pirates BC." Nick frowned. "Barefoot Contessa?"
"Maybe." Cody sighed. "It's not her call sign, though. Not really enough information to identify anything."
"That might be the point," Nick said slowly, rubbing his chin. "If they're prisoners, and they're managing to get a signal out somehow, it might be possible for their kidnappers to pick the signal up too. They'd want it to seem anonymous."
"But then how would people be able to find them?" Murray looked up, eyes wide.
A broad grin stole over Cody's face as he looked from Nick to Murray. "That's where you come in, buddy!" he exclaimed, slapping Murray on the shoulder. "Mama Jo knows you picked up her distress call. She knows we'll be looking for her, and she knows damn well that you'll track down any signal she can send out!"
"Wow!" Murray's chest swelled with pride and he spun back to the robot. "I can't believe Mama Jo has that much faith in me!" His fingers flew on the keyboard.
"Of course she does, Murray." Nick stepped closer, putting his hand on Murray's shoulder. "She knows as well as we do that you'll always come through."
Murray gulped and kept working. "I'll do my best," he said solemnly.
At Murray's direction, Nick and Cody raised the Riptide's anchor and got the cruiser ready to get underway. Slowly they sailed south until Murray's shouts turned high pitched, and Cody swung the tiller, taking up a new heading of nearly due west.
It was evening, the sunset painting reds and golds across the sea, when Murray had them heave to. Glinting in the distance, they could see the sun reflected on the stone pillars of the island where they'd spent the previous night.
Murray ran up the steps from the salon, holding his glasses on with one hand, waving a chart in the other. "They're nearby. I think they've stopped for the night. I had the Roboz tuned in to their engine frequency and he's lost that, so they've killed the engine, definitely. The mayday signal is still coming, though, so I haven't lost the boat. They're a little further out to sea, and what's really interesting, Cody, is that they've stopped right where your grandad marked this island."
Nick and Cody looked at Murray's chart, and Cody held up the aged, yellow page that had belonged to his grandfather. Sure enough, Murray's black pencilled cross was right beside the third, most seaward of the tiny islands.
"What're we waiting for?" Nick said grimly. "I'll get the guns." He made a move to go below, and Cody grabbed him.
"Easy, big guy. We need a plan. They'll see us coming out here - there's not much cover on the ocean."
"I got a plan." Nick frowned. "We'll get over there, shoot everyone we see until we find Mama Jo and those girls, and then we'll bring 'em home."
"Nick - "
"I know, I know." Nick held up his hands moodily and Cody released him. "C'mon, guys, what are we gonna do?"
"I've already put in a call to the police," Murray said seriously. "I thought about it, and I figured we couldn't radio or the kidnappers would hear us. So I used the Roboz's satellite hookup and sent the message in electronically to police headquarters. Hopefully Quinlan's gonna get moving fast."
"Good thinking, Murray." Cody nodded approvingly, eyes still on Nick's frowning face. "Seems to me that the first thing we need to know is what's going on over there, right? What sort of boat it is, where Mama Jo and the girls are, how many of these pirates or kidnappers are on board. We need to know what we're up against."
"You're right, Cody, you're right." Murray frowned anxiously. "If only we were on dry land it'd be easy! I've been doing a lot of work on the listening devices I developed last year, and all we'd have to do would be to park on the street in front of their location and we'd hear everything that was going on!"
"How close do they need to be, Murray?" Cody said, leaning forward with interest.
"About twenty or thirty yards, I guess," Murray said.
Cody grinned, and Nick's heart sank. "No!" he said vehemently. "Oh no, Cody. You promised you wouldn't dive - "
"Who said anything about diving?" Cody's grin seemed to get even cockier. "C'mon, Nick. I know just what to do."
Part Two