David Leadbeater - Caribbean Gold

Russo settled back. “Really? How?”

“Easy. I stopped bloody running. You have to face what comes. That’s what makes us the people we are.”

“For good or bad.” He appeared to agree.

“Struggle gives you strength. It makes the next battle a little easier.”

“Jeez, woman, that’s a pretty dour outlook.”

Alicia punched him on the arm. “It’s my new slogan.”

They both laughed, perfectly aware of the maxim Alicia had always lived by. One life, live it. An ideal like that worked with any scenario.

The pilot announced they were a half hour away from their destination and that brought Crouch awake, shaking his head and asking for coffee. Caitlyn soon joined them along with Healey and they began to discuss the next stage. Crouch unrolled the second map and laid it out before them.

“Henry Morgan’s special place. His sanctuary. An island off Haiti called Île-à-Vache, also Isla Vaca. It was here that he felt safe and planned assaults on settlements such as Cartagena, where much of the gold the Spanish brought from Peru was held in transit. Of course, it was also the site of many accidents and deaths since it was where the pirates… um, shall we say ‘let their hair down. ’ ”

Caitlyn had also looked into Morgan’s antics. “Ah, this was the place where Morgan’s flagship, the Oxford , sent by England to protect Port Royal and then gifted to Morgan by Port Royal, was utterly destroyed. Drunken sailors accidentally ignited the ship’s explosive cache, killing many and making deserters of many more. An event like that was seen as a bad omen. But Isla Vaca itself is considered one of the most beautiful of all the Caribbean islands, with some of the best scenery. And, naturally, many shipwrecks surround its rocky, reef-lined coastline.”

“No diving for me,” Alicia put in. “Ever again.”

“Well, they do seem to have a confused image of Morgan around here,” Crouch said. “The current tourist port of Isla Vaca is named after him.”

“Romancing the pirates,” Alicia said. “Helps with the cash flow.”

“Y’know,” Russo said to her as the plane banked, “I can imagine you as a pirate. Lady Alicia and Calico Jack, plunderers of the high seas.”

“Fuck off, Russo.”

“An interesting and more pertinent fact to our mission,” Crouch then took it up, “is that in 2004 a team of researchers found another of Morgan’s vessels only four meters below the surface of the sea.”

“Like I said—” Alicia coughed “—no diving.”

“That’s hardly diving,” Healey pointed out.

“Well, it just shows how close these shipwrecks are. Anchored at shore, accidental damage. Some still unsalvaged.”

“And where to now?” Russo asked. “We can hardly start digging in Port Morgan.”

Crouch rustled the map. “We’re heading for the other side of the island. It’s pretty unclear, if I’m honest, but that, my friends, it the reason we chartered a seaplane.”

“Really?” Alicia raised both brows.

“Well, one of the reasons.”

“Ten minutes out,” the pilot informed them.

“Speaking of seaplanes and chartering,” Caitlyn said. “One day we will have to meet Mr. Sadler, our mysterious benefactor.”

Crouch nodded. “Oh, he’s not so mysterious. Rolland funds all kinds of searches and treks. At heart, he’s a kid, a treasure hunter like me. Just so happens he’s also a multi-millionaire.”

The team prepped their packs, always ready for anything. Crouch rolled up the map after explaining why they were headed for what looked like a deserted beach.

“It’s singled out in the only piece of script I could remember,” he admitted. “If this comes up blank, we could be all washed up.”

“On to map three?” Healey suggested.

“Well, there’s always that. But it would be good to get something solid behind us. Something real. Treasure-wise,” he added with a grin.

“Always the treasure.” Caitlyn laughed.

“On my mind when I wake up, on my mind when I fall asleep.”

“It amazes me how many ships they find, how many they salvage and search, and yet so little treasure,” Healey said. “I have to say—”

“Whoa,” Alicia interrupted. “Is this our deserted bay?”

The plane had been banking quite a bit as the pilot followed Crouch’s directions, flying over hills and valleys and the bluest of sparkling streams. Sunlight was the golden treasure here, and it bathed the whole beautiful land with its bright bounty. As they stared out of the window a canopy of trees ended and an arc of gilded beach began, lapped by a glittering sea. If that was all they could see, it would be a soothing vision, but Alicia had spotted something quite the opposite.

Seaplanes.

“They’re anchored just offshore,” she said. “Three of them.”

“Anchored?” Russo said. “Isn’t that like talking about an elephant’s hoof?”

“Whatever.” Alicia didn’t turn away from the window. “And what is it with you and hoofs anyway?”

“Do you see any men?” Healey was yet to make it to the window.

Alicia studied the scene below. Three white seaplanes bobbed a hundred feet away from the beach. Men sat in the floats and one sat with his legs dangling out of an open door. Two more men piloted a dinghy and, as their plane drew closer and the beach opened up, a whole bunch of figures could be seen congregated near the tree line. Tents were arrayed all around as well as a larger canopy.

“Looks like these guys have been here a while,” Alicia said. “Made themselves right at home.”

Some were stripped to the waist, others wore T-shirts and shorts, but most were at work, digging holes in the ground. Alicia imagined they almost certainly had a perimeter in place to ward off nosey neighbors and that the perimeter guards would be on the two-way right about now.

“Fly away,” she said. “Just bank clear. We can come in from the south and through the tree cover.”

Instantly, the plane banked hard, making Crouch stumble. Luckily he landed in one of the seats with nothing more than a look of embarrassment. The seaplane flew up and away, but already the men on the beach were staring at them, pointing, and arms were gesticulating back and forth.

“They recognized us. Shit,” Alicia grunted.

“How could they?” Caitlyn showed her naivety.

“Binos,” Healey said. “The perimeter team would have them, not to mention a few spotters on the beach.”

As the pilot climbed higher, Alicia saw one of the pilots scrambling into his seaplane, quickly followed by a half dozen armed men.

“Better break out your guns, boys,” she said. “It’s time to earn our keep.”

This particular model of seaplane had front and rear doors, and two long pontoons to land on. Crouch saw no profit in staying too high so the pilot brought the craft lower, trying not to complain but staring at the approaching enemy with eyes wide with fear.

“Don’t worry, Iceman,” Alicia said. “We’ll sort this in a jiffy.”

She hefted her rifle. Russo loaded his own beside her and Healey took the other side of the plane. As the other plane approached, Crouch cried: “Bank left and down!”

A jerk of the controls and a lightening of the stomach, and Alicia saw their plane dive under the other. She held onto the door handle as the plane came back up, but their enemy banked too, diving again. Caitlyn fell to the floor. Crouch held onto a seatbelt, refusing to strap in, in case he was needed. Their pilot came around in a wide loop and suddenly the planes were broadside to each other.

“I’ve seen this before,” Alicia said as she opened the door. “But it was between galleons, not planes.”