Chapter Twenty Four
Karl sighed softly then looked around at the three faces left at the table after Davis had gone. "Well? You all look like you have questions."
"Yes, he mentioned bad news before and never got around to explaining what he meant. You got him worried and he left." Ely said quietly. "What was that all about?"
"Oh, both Springfield and the doctor were hurt by falling rock during the rescue."
"Not badly, I hope." Trudy blurted.
"I'm not sure about Springfield. I think he might have been hurt quite badly. I think a small section of rock fell right on him but I think all the doctor received for injuries were scraps and bruises. Now, I'm not really sure of anything because I got it about third hand. Luckily, the helicopter was right there and they flew them off to hospital, but then they'd have flown Chenkovich to a hospital immediately since he had hypothermia in any case."
"True." Ely nodded. " I sure hope Fran wasn't badly hurt. I really like her a lot."
All of them nodded their heads at that and they were quiet for a moment. Then George cleared his throat.
"Did you perchance manage to inveigle any assistance from the Navy regarding our rock slide predicament?" He said quietly. "I noticed that you never spoke of it while Commander Davis was here."
"I did ask about having the helicopter take some photos at low tide." Karl grinned. "And they made some noises about doing something more than that. The weird thing is that Don and a bunch of his sailors want to take a trip through the cut with me at the helm of some sort of boat or other. First it was the inflatable, then later Don asked me how long it would take to get the Skolka up to snuff."
"You aren't thinking about it are you?" Ely questioned.
"Actually, I am." He nodded. "I think we owe these folks something. I mean not as military people doing their jobs but just as folks who've helped us out. I'd like to thank them on a personal level. If I do it though, I'd like to have Dr. Baker and Springfield along as well and right now they might be in Esquimalt for a while."
"Oh, I hope not, Fran wanted to get Keri to have an MRI and Trudy to have an x-ray, right Trudy?" Ely glanced at Trudy.
"I don't think there's a real rush." Trudy smiled. "Not on my part anyway and from the way Keri is moving around, I think her problem is more psychological than physical."
"Well, that is indeed good news." George intoned. "However, it still leaves unanswered the question that I feel has the deepest need for an answer. Karl, do you think we could gain any assistance from the Navy in clearing the blockage in our passage through the cut? I do feel that it is almost an absolute essential for us to have relatively free access in case of emergencies."
"I don't know George." Karl sighed. "To be honest, I haven't asked. Before I ask any question like that I'd like to know more about what we're up against. I'd want to have a look at photos of the area. I'd want to go there by boat and see how much rock is exposed at a low tide. I'd want to walk along the cliffs and see if there was a chance that an explosion would make more rock break free and slide down. Hell, I can't ask that yet, not without some idea that it might be possible to do something without doing more damage."
"But the armed services are here to assist us with our difficulties and that is a major problem that we have other than the crooks." George began.
Karl held up his hand. "George, this is Canada remember? The US has the Army Corps of Engineers. Canada does too, but it's a hell of a lot smaller group and right now their probably busy trying to help a lot of people after the earthquakes. The navy may have demolition experts and great divers, but I'm not sure about that. I do plan on asking, but I want to set it up first so I at least know my ass from a hole in the ground."
"Dad, I think Karl probably wants to have a clear passage even more than you do." Ely smiled at him. "What you seem to forget is that we had limited passage even before the slide."
"Oh, I haven't forgotten. It's just that as I understand it right now, we may be forced to attempt passage only during the seasons of highest tides and that would have a severe impact upon our lifestyle. In fact with all of the helicopter services being used on emergencies, we might be in an extremely tough situation because we would be unable to hire one to haul supplies." George sighed softly. "I'm sure that even Karl would dearly love an improvement on the situation."
"Oh I'm not happy about it George, but you have to realise that the Navy came here to protect us from criminals, not help us improve our lifestyle. I'm not sure how far they'd be willing to go to help us. As the doctor said, we have it relatively lucky here."
"That being true and since they have caught the criminals, I would imagine that they will soon depart then." George said quietly.
"That could be George, I really don't know their schedule. In some ways I'm looking forward to them being out of here, even after only this short time. I'm not used to this sort of crowd around me and especially not right in my own front yard. But since it seems we're at least free to go out of the house now, I'd actually like to see if I can get some help from some of them tomorrow for a while. I'd like to get that fallen tree off of your house so we could begin to repair the damage there."
"Oh that's a good idea." Trudy grinned and winked at him.
"But isn't that also having them improve our lifestyle?" George frowned. "I am all in favour of the idea, but wouldn't they turn you down because it wasn't one of the things they were here to accomplish. It certainly has nothing to do with capturing the criminals. If they will help you there, why would they not help you with the rock slide?"
"Well George, all that's needed to get the tree off of the house is labour and a little care, that takes very little special knowledge so any grunt can do it. Getting rid of that rock slide calls for a team of underwater demolition experts. Now you don't find guys who have experience at underwater demolition just sitting around. I doubt if there happens to be one of them on the crew that's here." Karl sighed. "Besides George, that damn slide is dangerous to dive around. I'd imagine that even at the best of times the currents around it would be turbulent and perilous for anyone. So I think Don would be rather cautious about who he'd let get involved. I know damn well that I'd be bloody cautious around it, even above water."
"Hmmph." George snorted. "Well, you understand my views. I feel that we should at least ask. There is nothing worse than finding out after the fact that you let a golden opportunity pass you by because you were too cautious to seek assistance."
"Oh, I intend to ask, but I'll ask my way, George." Karl grinned at him.
"Well, I intend to retire for the evening. Goodnight everyone." George conveyed his annoyance in the way he wheeled his chair around to leave them alone.
"Gee Dad is touchy." Ely murmured after he'd left.
"He feels confined and he's out of sorts because he misses his familiar surroundings." Trudy said quietly. "To be honest, I miss my house too."
"Well, tomorrow he can go outside and if I can talk the Navy boys into helping me a bit, maybe we can get him back to your house in a few days." Karl smiled. "I'm going to go down to the Navy tents for a while, would you two like to come?"
"I think I'll stay here." Trudy replied, then she smiled. " Maybe I can go tease George into forgetting all his annoyance for a while."
"You go, Trudy-Mom." Ely grinned at her, then glanced around. "Since the kids are asleep, I think I'll go with Karl. It would be nice to just get out of the house for a bit."
"I was going upstairs, should I ask Keri and Linda?" Trudy wondered aloud. "I doubt they'd want to go though."
"Ask them then if you would, we'll wait." Ely smiled.
Ely walked over to check on the two kids while Karl went to the bathroom to find a pain pill. He had a hunch that he was going to need it, especially since Don Davis had pointed out his limp to him before. By the time he was back, Trudy was coming back downstairs and shaking her head.
"Keri is sleeping and Linda doesn't want to leave her alone, just in case." Trudy offered.
"You know, that 'mother hen' bit is starting to get to me." Ely sighed. "I'm wondering if Keri isn't going to react to it pretty soon. She's pretty damn independent and Linda is nearly smothering her with attention."
"I wouldn't let it worry you." Karl grinned. "Keri will chew on her if she feels it's too much and Linda is a pretty tough chaw. In a way, it's inevitable for them to establish limits, this may just be what Keri needs and perhaps what Linda needs too."
"What?" Ely said in disbelief.
"I remember what you and Keri used to do when you had your arguments way back when you were sixteen or seventeen." He chuckled.
"Yeah, you used to sit down and grin at us." Ely snorted. "And you'd refuse to take sides, which used to piss us both off."
"I remember that." Trudy laughed. "It would start out with both girls fighting and end up with Karl walking away with both of you annoyed him. Then he'd often row out to spend some time alone on his boat. After that your dad would get annoyed with you girls because he thought you'd bothered Karl."
"And one or the other of us would have to swim out and apologise to Karl." Ely snickered. "I remember. So you think Keri and Linda are the same?"
"Oh hell no." Karl snorted. "Right now neither one of them is as stable as you or Keri was then. Both of them are doing this partly because of apprehension of what's coming and partly because of fear of what they have seen. We've all been through a lot of crap lately and it's bound to have changed us. None of us are as secure as we were."
"Even you?" Ely said quietly.
"Especially me." Karl said honestly, frowning deeply. "I'm nowhere near as stable as I thought I was and I found out that I have a side to me that I really don't like much. Karpichov taught me that I can be a mean bastard, someone who will take the law into his own hands. I wouldn't have believed that I could get that angry, not before this all happened."
"You were protecting us." Trudy protested.
"Oh I know that. I was also protecting the doctor and myself, but mainly I was killing a slimy bastard who didn't deserve to live." He paused and sighed deeply, then took a deep breath.
"Right now I want to go see what other tricks those buggers were up to. By now Don will have found out if the people in Esquimalt asked the two that are in stable condition about anything more that was going on. Coming Ely?" He said, heading for the door.
"Yeah, I am. Where's your flashlight?"
"Oh yeah, Don did say to use one didn't he?" Karl said, grabbing a small light and heading out with Ely following.
On the porch, they paused and Karl switched on the light.
"The bloody thing will kill my night vision." He muttered.
"Better to kill your night vision than you." Ely said at his elbow. "I don't suppose the guards are as keyed up now as they were last night but it's better to be safe than sorry."
"I hope they're not." Karl answered as they walked in under the first of the trees in his little orchard on their way toward the military tents.
In only a moment they had been met by the guard at the entrance to the tent and were ushered inside to find Commander Davis sitting at a table covered with loose sheets of paper.
"Well, hello Don, what's this?" Karl asked.
"This is a printout of the interview and questioning of Bonnetti and Iverson that has gone on since they arrived in Esquimalt. Our guys have been interviewing them since they came in, trying to get as much information as they can."
"Jeez, what's the big push for?"
"That trace of radioactive elements of course." Davis said shortly, gathering up several of the sheets and stacking them one under the other until he found one in particular. "Here, this section will interest you."
Karl shifted it so he could see clearly and read part of it for a second and then looked up. "I take it I-N-T stands for the interviewer, but who is B-O-N?"
"Bonetti, Georgio Bonnetti, small time crook with a taste for drugs." Davis said shortly.
Karl went back to reading
Int : "So you came out of a fog bank and almost ran into another boat?"
Bon : "Yeah, it was a lot bigger than us too and scared the hell out of me, but Vladislav started waving his hands and shouting right away like something was wrong. Dimitri cut the engine, then made like he was trying to start it again. The other boat looked like it was going to just carry on but this old lady came over to our side of the boat and threw Vlad a rope that he tied to the front cleat. He hollered out to hold on because when that rope came tight we got jerked real hard. In fact that's when I got my leg hurt, I fell down and something fell onto me."
Int : "What happened then?"
Bon : "Well, The old guy running the boat slowed down and we caught up and all six of us got on board, bringing that fucking box with us."
Int : "You brought the box on board the other boat?"
Bon : "Oh yeah, Vlad wasn't going to get parted from his gold bullion."
Int : "You're sure it was gold are you?"
Bon : "Had to be. Ain't nothing else that damn heavy. I never seen inside it of course, not since it was padlocked and had a ton of screws in the lid, but why else would he insist we took so damn many chances? Hell, we coulda stayed at the wreck and been a hell of a lot safer. Doc and me, we figured there musta been over a million bucks of smuggled gold in that box. Fuck, it took four of us just to carry the damn thing and it took all fuckin' six of us to lift it from one boat to the other."
Int : "So six of you got on the other boat?"
Bon : "Yep, we all did."
Int: "With the box?"
Bon: I tol' you so didn't I? Then Dimitri went nuts and stabbed both the old man and the old lady."
"Wait a minute." Karl spoke up. "This says someone stabbed the old couple. I thought they had been shot?"
"Read further." Don sighed. "It seems he used an ice pick or something that left a round hole and it wasn't just someone. That was Karpichov."
"Oh shit." Karl said quietly.
"Well, think about it." Davis sighed. "When bullet proof vests came out they were just Kevlar. Law enforcement found one problem, they'd stop a bullet but not a sharply pointed knife. Karpichov wore a bullet proof vest all the time. One made in Russia, probably of some imitation of the stuff used in the first vests made on this side of the Pacific. I'm betting he used that same type of weapon to kill guys who thought they were safe because they were wearing bullet proof vests."
Karl just shook his head and went back to reading.
Int : "He killed them both, with what kind of a weapon?"
Bon : "Oh, with that fancy pig sticker of his, looks like an ice pick or something but it folds up. They hardly bled at all, just jerked and staggered back when he stabbed 'em and then dropped to the deck like they'd been shot. Doc Iverson went nuts though, and started screaming blue murder about it. Well, Vlad had to call Dimitri off from killing Doc too. Doc made such a fuss though that Vlad had Dimitri toss the bodies into the boat and tie it off astern. He sent me to find some chains or something on the boat to make sure the bodies sank. Problem was that by the time I found some old rusty chain down in the hold of that old scow and dragged it up on deck, the boat was gone. I guess Dimitri didn't tie knots too good or something. Now that set Vlad off, he screamed at me and he screamed at Dimitri, then he screamed at Doc for good measure."
Int : "So he had a fiery temper?"
Karl looked up at Davis as he read the last line on the sheet.
"Finished?" Davis asked. At Karl's nod, he handed him another sheet. "Read this now."
Bon: "Well, Doc and me was pretty tired and we was nice and warm for the first time in days, so's it didn't take long for us to start yawning. Anyway, we fell asleep there in the cabin. I guess it was a couple of hours or more later when Vlad was shaking us awake and when I got up, we was almost rubbing up against a rock wall as we go along. I mean, I can see it's an island, but the damn thing goes straight up. I figured Vlad has steered us for the wrong place 'cause I can't see how we can land on this kinda thing. Turns out though it was the place he was looking for but it was still the wrong place in a way."
Int: "Would you care to explain how you feel it was the wrong place?"
Bon: "Well, first the two rag heads got killed, and we got wrecked. Then we got stuck down in a damn swamp with a bunch of pigs and couldn't get outta there. And then Dimitri took too much dope so's he went nuts and started chasing around all over hell and . . ."
Int: "Perhaps you should take your time? Start from where you got woken up and carry on with your story."
Bon: "Okay, well, Doc and I got up and went out on deck and stood there in the rain, right out on the bow of the boat. Vlad had told us to look for a cut in the bank inside a little bay. Well Doc was pissed right off at the rain in his face, and he kept turning around and looking back. Damned if he didn't see this notch in the cliff behind us and he hollered at Vlad and pointed. Sure as Hell, we'd gone right past what we was looking for and it took a hell of a long time to turn that damn scow around cause we had to fight the tide. Say can I have another drink of water? I'm dying of thirst."
Int: "Certainly Mr Bonetti. Able Seaman Larson, would you please get a glass of water. Now Mr Bonetti, while we're waiting, would you carry on please?"
Bon: "Damn, you're a polite bastard, but thanks. (sigh) Okay, so we get the scow turned around and we head into this little bay. I looked up at the cliffs and I was sure we was going to run right into them, but damn if there wasn't an opening and the water was pushing us into it. I mean it was just shoving that little scow to beat hell and damn if we didn't bang off of a wall at the first curve. Then we was sort of spinning and we hit another wall. I mean how could we miss those damn walls,? They was so fuckin' close and the tide was just shoving us like mad, pushing us one way and then another. One of those turban tops was standing too close to the edge and when we hit, he lost his balance and I swear, he fell right between the boat and the rocks. He didn't have a chance, I mean he was rolled along the side of the boat, just screaming like hell. Then his buddy went to grab him and he got yanked in too."
(Subject pauses and holds his hands to his head, then coughs loudly and shivers)
Bon: "There was nothing we could do. Not one damn thing. Just like that, (Subject snaps his fingers) two men was dead and gone. Well, Doc and me headed for the middle of the boat which is still spinning slowly and Vlad was screaming something and pointing ahead, so I look up. And the water is boiling, there's a hump in it, like it's being shoved up over something. The cows on the back deck are bawling, and Doc is screaming, and Vlad is yelling, then we hit whatever it was and I feel the boat tip sideways and kinda go up and over."
(Subject accepts glass of water and drinks deeply, then sighs.)
Bon: "Next thing I know, I'm in the water and swimming for my life, but I get tumbled and tossed and rolled around like I was a cork in a washin' machine. I look up and most of the boat is floating on past me and I swim for it, but then I realise it's sinking fast, so I forget about that. I turn and see Doc and he's face down in the water. So I swim to him and roll him onto his back . . . and then I don't remember nothing for a while."
Int: "You don't know how you got out of the water."
Karl had reached the end of the page, he raised his eyes and stared at Davis. "So there's a good chance that Chenkovich's box is in the bay?"
"Yes, I think so. Either in the bay, or in the cut leading into the bay, but almost certainly on this side of the rock slide." Davis said slowly. "I'm sorry."
Ely stared at him and then at Karl. "You don't think it was gold, do you?"
"Nope." Karl said quietly and calmly. He set the papers down on the table and sighed very deeply, then glanced around the room. Spotting CPO Elgin, he asked quietly "Lyle, would you have a cigarette that I could bum from you and is there any coffee?"
In seconds he had both and was stepping out under the flap at the entrance of the tent. Ely stared after him, then turned to Commander Davis.
"Now what?" She said quietly. "And don't you dare tell me that I have to leave my home because you let a bloody atomic bomb of some sort slip inside the border."
"Firstly, I doubt very much if it's a nuclear bomb, even a small one would probably be too well guarded for the likes of these people to get their hands on. It might be part of a warhead off of a rocket, or it could be contaminated material of various kinds. We won't know unless we can get Chenkovich to talk." Davis replied. "Secondly we're going to be doing everything in our power to recover it, don't ever doubt that. However I'm worried about the time that may take. I'm afraid if the box it's in is leaking radiation badly and if it takes too long to find it the whole bay might become contaminated. Then we'd have to help you relocate."
"Well, I'm personally holding you responsible for finding the damn thing since you're in charge here." She growled. "Both my father and Karl have worked their ass off to give us a wonderful place to live and if the damn military screws us out of it, I'll never forgive you."
Ely wasn't exactly a nondescript woman, in fact she was certainly exotic enough to be eye catching. As she stood there berating their commander, every eye in the tent was on her dark skinned, voluptuous figure but at the moment she wasn't just the erotic female figure that they had all been watching surreptitiously. One glance was enough to tell anyone seeing her that this was an extremely dangerous woman who was out to protect her family and friends. It was simply an elemental impression, almost an instinct. So when her gaze left him and travelled over the room, she instantly had everyone's attention. Her eyes caught the gaze of each and every individual for an instant before passing on to the next. In that brief glance, there was a plea for help and yet at the same time a warning not to cross this woman. A warning that sent a chill down the spine before settling as an uneasy feeling in the pit of the stomach. At the same time as each individual felt the danger in her, they were also reminded of the love they felt for their own mother and family. It was a strangely shaken company that watched as she slowly and majestically moved to leave.
Outside the tent she walked over to link her arm with Karl's for a moment, simply leaning her weight against him lightly to let him know she was there. CPO Elgin, who had gone outside with Karl, felt an almost palpable surge in the respect and care he had for the couple. Karl, who had been staring off into the night, turned slightly and slipped his arms free to pull her body against his.
"We'll find the fucking thing." He said quietly. "And the bay isn't too deep to recover it either."
"I know Karl, but it has to be fairly quickly. It's doing damage already, just because it's there and leaking. Do you think anyone else can help? Daddy maybe? I mean, he knows so much and so many people."
"Not for now, maybe tomorrow." Karl's voice was a low growl.
"Well, I'm going up to the house. Will you be long?" She answered.
"Who knows? I want to find out what time and what day they tried to run the cut. Then I can figure what the tide was doing and I'll be able to get an idea where the wreck would be. I'll have to help find it. I think the 'Skolka' is the only boat that's big enough to use as a decent dive platform and still get inside the bay as well as go up and down the cut. Don't tell your dad what's going on yet, but ask him if he could get us a list of divers that handle hazardous waste, outside of the navy that is. Oh and don't get him too excited."
"And how do I manage that?"
"Well, I guess you could tell him I'm working on the slide problem and think I have a handle on things. I want to be able to pick some brains if need be, but make sure he doesn't let out anything the navy might want to be kept secret, like the fact that there might be a bomb here."
"Your friend Davis doesn't think it's a bomb."
"Yeah, I heard that, but I'm not as sure as Don is. Look, I'm sorry but now I've had a break and I'm starting to get antsy. I want to get working on this thing."
"Okay Karl, I'll leave you here, but I don't think Dad can do much tonight. Maybe I should let him sleep for now?"
"Yeah, I guess I agree. I'll see you when I get there. Lyle, would you care to escort Ely back to the house?"
"One second." CPO Elgin said instantly and turned to go inside.
When he returned a moment or two later, Karl was holding Ely tightly and he paused, waiting for them to separate before speaking.
"May I escort you, Ma'am?" He said formally, at her nod he looked at Karl. "Would you like me to remain on guard on your porch until you return, Karl?"
"Oh, I don't think you need to do that." Karl smiled almost sadly. "I just wanted you to walk with her so she'd have company and, more importantly, a light."
"I realise that I don't need to guard your house, Karl." Elgin smiled back. "The offer was made purely out of respect for both of you and it comes from the Commander as well as myself."
Karl looked at Ely, raising his eyebrows in an unspoken question. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"CPO Elgin, Lyle, I'd like your company for the walk back to the house but I think you'd do us more service by returning here and assisting in any way toward fixing this bloody mess." Ely almost whispered, then before anything else was said, she walked away and Elgin had to hurry to walk with her.
Karl watched them move off and then turned to re-enter the tent, walking directly over to the table where Davis was still seated.
"We've sent off a request to Esquimalt to have the prisoners questioned about time and date." Davis said quietly. "I'm afraid that most of the information we have gotten has been from Bonetti. Doc Iverson seems to have been either asleep, unconscious, or under the influence of drugs most of the time that they were here. For instance he said your boat was in the middle of the bay when they arrived and our men reported that from the looks of her, she hadn't been moved in weeks."
"Oh for cripes sake, she's tied close to a cedar tree, one damn storm and she'd be covered in crap." Karl said shortly. "The 'Skolka' was moored in the middle of the bay, only a couple of days ago. We towed her to the dock when we heard about the eruption at Mt. St. Helens, just in case things got rough. We felt she would be safe there and yet we could still get aboard her in case of a bad earthquake. They were here before we towed her in though, hell, it wasn't much more than two or three hours later that Keri got raped so they certainly were here before that."
"Iverson said there were noises and lights on the boat at night."
"That's possible, Ely and I have worked on it too, you know, sometimes at night. Right now I've got the burner out and I've been trying to get her back into running condition. Let me think." He paused and frowned. "The last night there was anyone aboard would have been . . . three nights ago, I think, or before that, maybe? No, that would be it, three nights ago, maybe four at the most. To be honest in all the confusion I've lost track but it would have to have been either one or the other."
"So, we have a rough date." Davis grinned in triumph. "Now, for a time. It has to be in the morning, but according to them it was late in the day."
"Why does it have to be in the morning?"
"Because that's when two of our ships damn near caught them just offshore, right on the other side of the island."
"And they couldn't have hidden from you?" Karl smiled slyly. "Was their boat made out of wood by chance?"
"Oh, I see, low profile on radar." Davis nodded. "You're thinking that they tucked in near shore and didn't move, then our radar would confuse the signal from them with background reflection. Then since it was pouring down rain and visibility was poor, we probably would miss seeing the boat if it was dark coloured. They managed to blend their boat right into the bloody island and fooled all of our high tech equipment by being low tech and sneaky. Now, why didn't we think of that? It's obvious."
"Well, I have an advantage. I have a wooden boat. All that reflects radar well on her is the stack and the shape of it confuses some radar. I have to run a radar reflector up the mast in bad weather to be sure I can be seen."
"Okay, we're not as dumb as I was trying to make us out to be." Davis sighed. "So, they could have tried to come into the bay on an afternoon or early evening tide."
"Yep, and from what Bonetti said there was an incoming tide that virtually sucked them into the cut which means it was an incoming tidal rip. Either three or four days ago there would have been a really heavy rip in the cut too. When there's a heavy rip tide and a lot of flow from the stream, there's a really weird pattern develops in the bay. That boat has to have sunk in fifty feet or less of water, especially if it went down as fast as Bonetti said it did."
"Could you explain that?"
"Well, I'd have to draw a picture of the bay. Got a pencil and paper I could use?"
"I have an overhead picture of the bay here that you can use." Dave Peacock spoke up, leafing through a pile of papers. "Here you are sir."
"Thanks Dave." Karl nodded at him as he laid the picture on the table and pointed with a pencil that had appeared at his hand. "See this little island just near the entrance to the cut? Well, it's actually part of an underwater ridge that extends out toward the lowland side of the bay and it directs the incoming current over toward that shoreline. Meanwhile, the water pouring down the stream is trying to go the other direction along the bank and almost dead against the incoming current. The two opposing flows cause waves and whirlpools, but almost everything gets washed toward the low side of the bay. Anything floating actually ends up on the mud there eventually if it isn't washed down the cut on the outgoing tide."
He paused and stood up straighter, making a small circle on the picture. "I'll bet the boat is right around here, no more than forty or fifty feet down."
Davis smiled. "Great."
Then his face changed and he looked quizzical. "Just what happens in that area when the tide is flowing outward?"
"Then the stream flows right along the shore. It actually picks up some of the easier to float items and carries them toward the cut. The rest of the bay seems to slowly develop a clockwise motion too and everything floating out in the bay ends up either being carried into the cut or floating into the middle. Then after the tide changes the flow pattern changes too, a lot of the stuff in the middle gets worked over to that same low shoreline again."
"And the heavier stuff just sinks, I suppose?"
"I don't know, I suppose so. Why?"
"It's just a matter of knowing. The problem with something on this order is that we don't know the long term effects of what has happened." Davis sighed. "Now, since you feel certain that we can find the wreck in that area, what do you think our chances of finding the crate we're seeking is?"
"Pretty damn good, I'd say." Karl grinned.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because Chenkovich would have wanted it somewhere safe and yet easy to get to. I doubt if he'd have had it put down anywhere below decks for instance. I'm willing to bet that it was either on deck and tied down, or it would have been in the corner of the cabin. It would definitely have been where he could keep an eye on it easily. Now, if he knew it was leaking radioactivity, it would have been outside but tarped over. If he didn't, it might have been inside, that's if it was easy enough to get it there. You have to remember he was dealing with crooks, not willing workers, they'd try their best to take the easiest way out."
"You think too damn much. What if it was outside and it got tossed overboard when they hit the rock slide?"
"I doubt that, but if that's what happened it could be anywhere around the high part of the rock slide but probably toward this end of the high section."
"Karl, if we find that damn box because of your help, we're going to owe you one hell of a big favour. What if we get rid of part of that rock slide for you?"
"Pardon?" Karl stared at him in surprise.
"Well, we're going to have divers here anyway to get that box up out of the water and out of here. It would probably be good exercise for them to do some underwater blasting while they were here. With the amount of water that rips through that cut, if they blast the rocks small enough, the current will shift things enough to make it a lot easier for you to get in and out."
"I have to admit, the idea did cross my mind." Karl grinned at him. "But to be honest, I hesitated to ask about it because I know how damn dangerous it is."
"Jesus H Christ, you still haven't changed." Davis said loudly. "You've made everyone's life here easier. You've saved people's lives and now you're making our search for this bloody box a hell of a lot easier. All I want to do is say thanks to you. All you have to say is yes."
"Yes Don, would you please have your men check it out but please make sure they're safe when they do it."
Davis shook his head slowly and took a deep breath, finally he sighed and held out his hand.
"Deal! Now, I have one more favour to ask. Tomorrow morning I've arranged for a shallow draft jet-boat to come for us to use as a sonar boat and dive platform. I was wondering if you could go out through the cut with me in one of our inflatables and then guide it back into the bay as the pilot."
"Only if I can be at the helm both ways." Karl grinned. "By the way, how much water does that jet boat draw?"
"Of course I want you at the helm and the boat draws under a foot of water. It should get here before high tide, about seven thirty or eight in the morning."
"Perfect. Want to meet me at the dock or out here earlier."
"I may have to change that between now and then. One way or another I'll let you know tomorrow morning in time to arrange things. Okay?"
"Fine." Karl said quietly. "That being the case, I think I'll head up to the house and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight Karl."
"Night everyone." He said as he walked out of the tent.
He had almost reached the darkest part of his hike to the house when he sensed rather than heard someone near him. He wheeled around to find himself facing Winchester.
"Hi." Winchester said very quietly. "Thought I'd let you know, Springfield'll be okay. Just a busted bone or two in his foot an' some bruises. Hardly enough to slow him down, he'll be back if he can get a cast put on quick enough. 'N the doc ain't hurt bad, just scratched 'n bruised."
"Thanks Winchester. Did you come from Esquimalt? I didn't hear the chopper."
"Nope, didn't go. Took me 'til now to hike back from the cliff."
"And I suppose Commander Davis doesn't know you stayed huh?"
"Prob'bly not." Winchester winked.
"Springfield knows?"
"Unh huh. He's my boss. It was his idea that I stayed."
"You have a reason?"
"Unh huh."
"I suppose you're being intentionally secretive are you?"
"Sorta. The bushes have got ears."
"Since you snuck back, I take it you don't want to go to the main tent for something to eat and drink. Would you like something?"
"In your house?"
"Unh huh." Karl grunted like Winchester had.
"I could eat somethin', I guess." Winchester grinned.
"Hmm, the front porch light is on and I'd better leave that for the guards. Want to come to the back door a minute or two after I get inside? That way if you want to stay hidden I can let you in without anyone seeing you."
"Sure, 'n thanks."
Karl kept on walking but Winchester simply seemed to fade away into the shadows. At the house, he went inside and smiled at Ely.
"Could you make up a quick meal? We have a visitor coming in a moment."
"A visitor, at this time? Who would. . . ?"
"Winchester, Springfield's buddy. He came by to tell us about Springfield and the doctor. He says the doctor just has a few scratches. He's not going into the camp openly either but he hasn't eaten and I offered him a meal. I thought I might get some information. Okay?"
"Sure." She frowned and shrugged her shoulders, already moving toward the fridge as Karl went to the back door to open it.
The figure that entered was dressed in a black uniform and Ely didn't think she had noticed him around the camp. He was about the same size as Karl and yet he seemed to be smaller, more nondescript somehow. It was almost like he was blending into the background, even here in the cabin. Karl waved him to a seat and sat down near him.
"Ely, this is Winchester." Karl looked up at her.
"Hi Ma'am." Winchester smiled. "Don't go to a lot of trouble over the grub."
"Hello Mr Winchester, you let me worry about how much trouble I go to, okay? Are you in a hurry?"
"No, not really Ma'am, and you can forget the Mr. You might have guessed, Winchester ain't my real name" He shrugged.
"Fine." She laughed softly. "Coffee?"
"Oh, yeah, I'd love a cup or two." He grinned.
"There." She said, pouring him a cup. "Now you two talk while I heat up something to feed a hungry man."
Karl stared at Winchester. "I'm curious, why sneak back to camp?"
"Looking for a weasel or maybe a snake, maybe both." Winchester said, sotto voce. "Some o' the things that happened here, shouldn't 'a happened. At first me an Springfield figured that L-C Greene was just screwing up but after that fuck up when you shot that mad bastard . . . Oops sorry ma'am, m' language ain't too good sometimes."
"It was a fuck-up." Ely chuckled. "And you're doing just fine. I'm understanding every word."
"Thanks ma'am." Winchester actually blushed. "I'll try to be more careful."
"Don't worry too hard about it, I've worked in places where that was how everyone spoke. Actually if I get excited I sometimes use strong language myself, perhaps too much. Now tell us more about L-C Greene." She said.
"Well Ma'am, it just didn't make any sense that he should be so mad about Springfield and me going off down the cliff to catch the crooks like we did and then later he had us running around chasing phantoms. Afterward, we figured that's when Chenkovich really got away. We was all off in the bushes near the cliff and Chenkovich was swimming out through the cut. And the capper was that Greene redid the ties on the prisoners and didn't use real handcuffs. Any fool knows that plasti-cuffs will cut if you're strong and patient, Karpikov was both and bloody dangerous too. Nobody can be that d'. . . darn dumb, so we figure Greene is a crook. "
"So you're suggesting that he may have been bribed? Or what?"
"Money will make some men do some real strange shit." Winchester intoned.
"So what are you trying to do?" Karl asked quietly.
'Well, you're buddies with the Commander and we figure he's honest as the day is long. So we figured to get you to sort of get his ear and let you warn him that he might have a rotten apple in his barrel. First off, because I ain't even supposed to be here so if I approach him, I'd be in shit and unable to do something if I needed to. Second because we know he's a bit of a softy, sometimes giving a guy a second chance when he's already screwed up badly. Besides that, if I sort of stay out of sight, I can be the ace in the hole, just in case something does go haywire."
Ely had finished cooking an omelette and set it and several slices of toast in front of Winchester. He paused to take one bite and then stared at Ely, his eyes suddenly brimming with tears as he chewed slowly and then swallowed.
"Ma'am, that's the best tasting thing I've had in a year or more." He said at last. "That's got real eggs in it and this bread is home made. It's 'most as good as my Mom's. Now that's sayin' somethin' cause nobody beats Mom's cookin'."
"Well, thank you. Now eat up, you look like you could use it." She beamed, sitting down at the table herself.
As Winchester ate, Karl explained to Ely about the things that he and the others had deduced about the whereabouts of the box. As he was chewing a last bite, Winchester suddenly paused and stared at Karl as if he only at that instant realised what Karl had been saying.
Swallowing loudly, he grunted and then asked. "This box, what do you know about it?"
"We're all assuming it holds something radioactive but that the shielding is imperfect so it leaves a trace which means it can be found underwater." Karl said quietly.
"An' you figured out where it was? Right in the main tent? Was L-C Greene there?"
"I think so but I'm not sure. Ely, did you notice if he was there when you were in the tent?"
"Yeah. I think he was sitting at another table sorting papers or something, why?"
They both turned to look at Winchester.
"Look, I hate to eat 'n run but if Greene thinks he might get caught or if he figures he might find that box hisself, he's liable to try to do somethin' tonight. I should go keep an eye on him."
"Oh sit down." Karl grinned at him. "I'd be willing to bet that Don already has the same ideas you do. He's no slouch and unlike you, I don't think he's soft-hearted man, just a truly compassionate man. I've known him since I was a kid and I know from experience that it doesn't pay to cross him. People that do that once seldom get a second chance. As for finding the box and pointing out where it is, we did that pretty well, that is if you figure that an area about a hundred yards on a side and fifty feet under murky water is close. If Greene is crooked, then unless he is one hell of a lucky diver and has enough help to lift something that weighs a good three or maybe even four hundred pounds, I'm afraid he'd be S O L. As for running away, he's already seen what happens to guys who try that. So I think you need to just sit back and relax so you're meal can settle a bit. I'm willing to bet Greene isn't going anywhere tonight."
"I can't count on that sir, and I hafta follow orders. Springfield said I should keep an eye on him so I better go. If you'll excuse me Ma'am, thanks for the supper." And ignoring Karl's protest, he rose and slipped out the back door as quietly as he had entered.
Ely stared at Karl and then sighed as she began to pick up the dishes from the table and put them in the sink.
"That's an interesting take on L-C Greene's actions." She said quietly.
"The interesting part is that it seems to tie up all the loose ends about the way he handled things. Now if I'm supposed to get up early tomorrow and pilot a strange boat in through the cut, I think we should get some sleep."
"Can we talk in bed?" She smiled at him.
"I imagine you will anyway." He grinned back "Come on woman, lets go get horizontal."
So shutting out the lights, they climbed the stairs. She looped an arm around his waist and grinned up at his face.
"Do you know something? The way you act around danger turns me on." She whispered.
"Hmm, do we dare play a bit before we go to sleep?" He grinned back at her.
"Why not?" She laughed softly.
"Well, I was wondering if it might upset either Keri or Linda?"
"Karl, we have lives to live too. I'm not about to close up shop on having sex just because Keri doesn't want any right now."
"But will it upset her?"
"Wait a minute. Stop, right here." She said, stopping them on the stairs then turning to face Karl. "Fran said we were to carry on our lives and do things we normally would, right?"
"Well, yeah."
"For me that means sex too, dammit." She grinned. "I'm still looking for number two."
"Number two?"
"David is number one." She chuckled. "Now, I want to go up the rest of these stairs, take off my clothes, get under the covers and I want you to join me in bed. Then I want you to gently, but very thoroughly, make love with me. No gymnastics, no marathons, just a nice gentle loving. I want to be spooned and have you nibble on my neck like you used to do. Okay?"
"Okay." He laughed softly. "But only if I get to play with your boobs too."
"I'd be annoyed if you didn't." She snorted, then slipped away from him to scurry up the stairs.
As she entered the bedroom, she paused and stared, stopping so fast that he almost bumped into her back. Someone had shifted the furniture and had hung sheets to separate the room into two, leaving them with a private bedroom again. She turned and grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up, then signalling quiet by putting her finger to her lips. Both of them tiptoed across the room and in a moment were slipping into bed. As Karl slid over to spoon against her back, he found that she was giggling almost silently, her body shaking gently with her amusement at the sheets that had been hung across the room.
"It is kind of funny." He whispered.
"Kinda funny? It's fucking hilarious." She snorted, her voice hardly louder than his.
"Oh shut up, bitch." Keri's voice came across the room from behind the sheets. "We were trying to be nice to you."
"That's what's so funny." Karl snorted, unable to be quiet now. "We were going to try to be as quiet as we could so we wouldn't disturb you."
"Oh." Keri said her voice almost coming out in a squeak it was so controlled.
There was a moment's quiet and Karl managed to get one hand under Ely's side to cup one breast. He was gently stroking her thigh with the other hand when suddenly Linda giggled, then after a few seconds Keri laughed softly as well, but her laughter was much weaker.
"Are you two bitches watching us somehow?" Ely demanded with a giggle of her own.
"Oh no, no way." Linda squeaked, still on the verge of giggling.
"Unh uh, we just decided it is sort of funny, in a way." Keri added, not sounding as amused and almost apologetic.
"Oh, sorry." Ely said quietly, then sighed softly.
Karl knew what that sigh was for, he'd heard it before, somehow that magic moment had been lost. He snuggled tight though and whispered in her ear. "It sounds to me like they want to talk."
"Umm, would you mind?" She murmured back. "There's always tomorrow night."
"Whatever you want."
"Pull back and let me lay on my back." She sighed and when he did, she moved and kissed him gently. "I love you."
"Love you too."
He still lay on his side and he let his hand still roam along her smooth skin as she lifted her head.
"You guys aren't sleepy are you?" She asked.
"You mean us?" Linda asked.
"Well, yeah! Unless you snuck in a couple of the sailors or something."
"Hey, not too loud, we'll wake up the people downstairs." Keri warned.
"Oops, I forgot about Dad and Trudy." Ely answered in a stage whisper.
"Shit, that's even worse." Keri said quietly. "Would you guys be okay with us coming over there for a few minutes?"
"Unh, I guess." Karl grunted in surprise.
"Just a second." Ely said loud enough for the others to hear then whispered to Karl. "Be good now."
He looked at her in surprise, but shifted his hand, bending to kiss Ely's lips and getting a smile for his trouble.
"Okay, we're decent." She said loud enough for the others to hear.
"Huh, that'll be the day." Keri said softly as she and Linda slipped out from behind the hanging sheets.
Both of them were wearing bathrobes and what Karl thought looked like pyjamas under them. They came over and sat on the edge of the bed near Ely but Karl noticed that Keri didn't quite touch anyone.
He leaned back and relaxed as Ely began to explain to the others about the things that had happened that they wouldn't have had a chance to know about. Her voice was so gentle and relaxing that soon he found himself dozing and although he tried to stay awake, he failed.
He did awaken later but by then Ely was asleep and every thing was very quiet. After only a few moments he fell right back to sleep again.
Karl awoke to bright sunshine and glancing outside, he could see that it was still quite early. He slipped out of bed as quietly as he could, trying not to waken anyone since he guessed that it couldn't be later than six. In fact it might have been earlier than that but he could already hear a helicopter although it didn't seem to be coming up to land in the goat yard. He quickly took care of essentials and hurried downstairs, expecting to be the first person up and around but when he got to the kitchen he found Trudy already there. She was already pouring him a cup of coffee.
"Good morning Trudy and thank you for the coffee." He said quietly. "Did something wake you?"
"Hi Karl. Yes, I got woken up when the first helicopter came around, then Keri came down a few minutes ago. She's out on the front porch."
"Oh." He paused, coffee cup in hand. "Do you think she wants to be alone?"
"Actually since she's out on the porch and she knows your habits as well as anyone else, I think she's expecting you. In fact, I imagine she's out there now because she wants to talk to you while you're alone." Trudy smiled. "Since you're up, I'm going to go have a shower."
"I think I left you some hot water." Karl grinned, then headed outside.
Keri was sitting on one of the deck chairs, dressed lightly but wrapped in a light blanket. She smiled almost apologetically. "Hi." She whispered. "Sorry to break in on your quiet time this morning but I'd like to talk."
"Good morning. It's no problem. By the way, you look a lot better today."
"I do feel much better in some ways." She shrugged. "But, I know I'm still touchy and part of that is because I feel smothered."
"Linda?"
She nodded.
"So, establish limits." He sighed, then his face twisted into a grin. "Remember the first winter you lived with me?"
She stared at him for a minute and then she laughed softly. "Oh Jesus, do I ever. I know I followed you around like a puppy. Was I as bad as she is?"
"You might have been. Does she follow you into the can when you want to take a dump?" He sighed.
"I didn't do that, did I?"
"Yep, you did, once or twice." He nodded.
"So what did you do? I don't remember."
"Good, that means it wasn't too traumatic." He smiled slightly. "All I did was sit down with you and explain that if we didn't get a little time alone, we'd explode. It helped."
"I kinda tried that." She sighed deeply. "She just pouted and hung around anyway but sort of off to the side."
"Well, she is a massage therapist, if I had more time I'd ask her for a back rub, then you could go off on your own to do something else. Why don't you ask Trudy if she could stand to have her shoulders and back worked on?"
"Oh, you mean give her something else to think about too?"
"Yep, mostly though it would give her something to do. All of us have learned to share the jobs around here and she's probably feeling left out of things, like a fifth wheel. Say, remember the chickens and how she showed us how to candle eggs? Now that the Commander says we can safely go outside more perhaps she can help with the animals, after all she said she was a farm girl."
"Oh, if we're free to move around, could we clean out your old cabin and fix it up?"
"Mmm, I guess. Maybe you could talk some of the military guys into giving you a hand."
"So can we use the goat shed for storage of all your junk?"
"Yeah, I suppose they can do without a shelter for a few days since the weather is mild. At least they don't seem to mind the rain."
"You need proper barn for the animals and a shop building to store stuff as well as a place to work on things, don't you?"
"Yep, one day I'll get around to building one. Oh, oh, here comes someone to talk to me I think." He nodded his head toward a figure that was headed their way.
"Do you mind if I stay while you talk to him?" She asked quietly.
"Nope." He grinned and a second later called softly, "Good Morning Lyle."
"Good Morning, sir . . . I mean Karl."
"And what's up?"
"Well, Commander Davis would like to speak to you and . . . well, I have a personal request sir."
"So spit it out." Karl smiled. "The worst I can say is no."
"Well, Commander Davis is probably going to suggest to you that he would like you to work more closely with him for a while. Scuttlebutt has it that one or two men will be assigned to assist you with repair and restoration work while you are working with him. If he does that, I'd appreciate it if you would consider Able Seaman LeBeaux and myself."
"LeBeaux is a buddy?" Karl asked.
"You could call him that." Elgin coloured slightly. "We're both good workers and we both grew up on farms. So we know our way around most of the jobs that you're going to need to have done. We get along very well together."
"You don't need to explain." Karl chuckled softly.
"So, if he does ask you, you will?"
"Before you jump at that, you should know that he can be a slave driver." Keri said softly. "Just ask me, I know."
"Miss?"
"Oh. Sorry Lyle, this is Keri. Keri, meet Chief Petty Officer Lyle Elgin."
Elgin reached out to shake hands and Keri hesitated, then reached out to touch his hand reluctantly before quickly pulling it back.
"You don't mind working with a couple of broads do you?" She asked bluntly.
"Huh?" Lyle stared at her in surprise.
"Well, do you? I do have a, well, I guess she's sort of a partner myself."
"Unh, no of course not, we wouldn't mind." He stammered, "But are you . . .?"
"I don't know." Keri shook her head. "She and I just got together and, well, we're still sorting things out."
"But I thought you were the one who was pregnant with Karl's child and the woman who had been . . . attacked."
"I am and I was. So on top of everything else, my emotions are on a roller coaster. Linda's aren't much better right now and sometimes sparks fly. Still want to work with us?"
"Yeah, if you do still want to work with them, stay out of the cross fire." Karl warned.
Elgin broke into a wide grin as he took a step back.
"Of course." He snorted, then started to laugh.
"What's so damn funny?" Keri demanded.
"I'm sorry but it's this whole frigging setup." He chuckled. "You guys are so full of surprises and you've been two steps ahead of our best minds since we came here. Now you reveal that you and another woman are together and . . . aww, just the whole thing. Every time we turn around there's another surprise waiting for us and every time we get ourselves in a jam, Karl arranges to haul our ass out of the fire."
"I haven't done much really." Karl said quietly as he stood up. "Now, before you make an ass of yourself, do you want to go see Davis with me?"
"Absolutely." Elgin grinned. "See you later, Keri."
"Okay Lyle." She smiled, going inside as Karl and Lyle began to walk toward the tents.
Don Davis was sitting at a smaller table this morning. It was off to one side from the rest and although the table was loaded with paper, he still greeted Karl with a smile.
"Good morning Karl, you slept well, I hope?"
"Fine, and you?"
"No problems. Now, I have an offer for you. I know you'd like to get to work and do a lot of repairs and such after the earthquake, however I'd like to keep you available for advice and assistance. Instead I was wondering if you'd consider having two servicemen take your place and do some of your repairs while you assisted me?"
"Elgin mentioned that." Karl grinned.
"Hmm, asking if he could be one of the men assigned to you, I suppose?"
"Yep, he'd do too. I think my family could get along with him and his buddy."
Davis looked at him somewhat strangely. "You do know what that . . . entails?"
"Yep." Karl held up a hand as he interrupted. "I'm pretty sure I do but it's not my business. If they do the job, that's all that matters."
"All right, that's Elgin and LeBeaux then?"
"Yep, but they're going to have to be busy little beavers, there's a lot to do. They can start out by helping the gals clean out the goat shed, then move the supplies into there from my old cabin. After that they can help with getting the cabin fixed up so someone can live in it. If they still have time, maybe they can get that damn tree off of the top of George's house and get the roof patched. On top of that George and the women folks might have other little jobs for them to do along the way too."
"You catch that CPO Elgin?"
"Yes sir." Karl could almost hear Lyle's salute even though he was behind Karl's line of sight.
"No funny business." Don said sharply.
"No Sir."
"Very well, I'll let you advise LeBeaux. Carry on then." Davis dismissed him shortly.
That taken care of, Davis began to talk about tides, currents, the dive boat that was coming, the 'Skolka' and several other subjects. Karl found that he was provided with a cup of coffee and was expected to fill in answers for several dozen questions while Davis made cryptic notes on the papers in front of him. Their conversation carried on for quite a while, and was finally interrupted by the arrival of a helicopter in the goat pasture.
"That's for us." Don said sharply. "Let's go."
Karl found himself being escorted to the chopper. He wasn't surprised to see Dr Baker climbing out but he was surprised to see her turn and help Springfield down as well, carefully protecting the cast on his right foot. Both of them managed to say hello to him but Davis insisted he get aboard the chopper so they never had time to talk about anything.
"Where are we off to?" Karl shouted as they seated themselves inside the helicopter.
"We're just being ferried down to the dive camp area, we want to set that up on the lowland, with your permission that is."
"Sure, go ahead, but it's damn swampy down there isn't it?" Karl asked.
"Not bad in a few places. You'll see." Davis grinned. "We came prepared."
"I've noticed you people do that." Karl nodded. "Say, how come Springfield is back so soon. I'd have expected him to be kept off the job for a few days."
"He insisted." Davis shook his head. "Since he's in charge of that group and they were assigned to me, there's nothing I can do to stop him either. I just hope he doesn't hurt himself. I imagine he's in pain but he's a good man."
"I've got to agree there. Now what's going on down there?" He waved toward several people moving around down on the flats.
"Be patient Karl." Davis grinned. "You'll get to see it all."
It wasn't long before Karl did see. They landed on a small hillock that had been covered by an interlocking mat of some sort of interlocking plastic matting material and they'd hardly gotten out of the chopper when it took off again.
"Jeez, you guys are in a hurry." Karl said when he could be heard again.
"That chopper is on ferry service." Don answered. "He's heading back up top now to pick up personnel that includes the doctor and two of your women folk. I understand she wants to take them to a clinic or hospital in town for tests or something."
"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that. So, what are you and I up to right now?"
"Oh, we're taking an inflatable out. You're taking a couple of servicemen and me for a ride, remember?"
"Oh, you mean down the cut." Karl grinned. "I take it that the servicemen are along to learn the twists and turns huh?"
"You got it. We're going out to meet the dive boat and I'd like you to pilot it back. The inflatable will be following us back in, that way as you avoid hazards in the dive boat, they'll be able to see where to steer the inflatable. Basically what I'm doing is assuring that I have at least two men who have some knowledge of the currents and hazards of your bloody white water ride in case you aren't available at some point and we need to traverse it."
"One trip isn't going to teach them much. I think it changes with every stage of the tide."
"Perhaps." Davis sighed, then shrugged his shoulders. "Some experience is better than none though. Now let's get going."
In only moments they were all in life jackets and aboard an inflatable that had a pair of small outboards rigged in tandem on the stern and a steering station amidships. Once they had pushed off, Karl started the engines and told everyone to hang on, then he put the little boat through a series of turns at various speeds to get used to the way the little boat handled. After that he headed for the cut at nearly top speed, only slowing as they passed the little island near its mouth.