Carolyn Keene - Greek Odyssey

Fortunately, the beach was deserted as Nancy waded ashore and ran behind a clump of rocks. Turning, she saw the boat with her friends disappear beyond the jagged coastline. Momentarily she felt deserted. But then she concentrated on the task at hand.

Nancy looked at her watch. Ten minutes until the deadline, she thought. As she watched the minutes tick away on her watch, she mapped out her next move.

Five minutes later she decided that Mick and Theo were probably ready. Gritting her teeth, Nancy raced across the sandy dunes to the mouth of the tunnel.

Her progress was slowed as she plunged into darkness, but she inched forward, trying to remember the cave’s layout from the day she and Mick had explored it. Her thundering heartbeat filled her ears as she moved on. Finally she turned a corner and saw the sunlit entrance of the inner chamber.

Holding her breath, she flattened herself against the stone wall and peered inside. George and Kevin were sitting against a huge boulder, bound together with rope. The three terrorists were sitting in a circle nearby, talking.

Nancy backed away and took out the flare gun. It’s now or never, she thought. Bracing herself, she aimed the gun into the air and fired.

A red-tailed rocket whooshed through the darkness and shot into the rocky chamber. Confused shouts came from the cave as Nancy quickly reloaded the flare gun and fired again. Then she spun around and hurried through the dark tunnel toward the beach. She could hear the voices of the terrorists behind her—they were chasing her! She only hoped that she could lure all three of them out, leaving George and Kevin alone and unguarded for the rescue.

She stumbled, her arm scraping against the rough wall of the tunnel. Keep going! she urged herself on, just as she heard a loud pop and saw sparks fly off the cave wall ahead of her.

That’s a ricocheting bullet! Nancy’s feet pounded on the path. When she reached the mouth of the cave, she raced across the beach and dived behind a nearby pile of boulders. Her heart was pounding, but there was no time to catch her breath. She crouched on her knees in the sand, reloaded, and shot another flare toward the cave.

The shot was answered by a loud scream. Nancy peered over the top of the rock to see Mashti and Shara lingering at the mouth of the cave.

But where was the third terrorist—Rashid? She had to lure him out of the cave! Otherwise, Mick and Theo would receive a violent reception when they emerged from Lake Kea.

Just then Mashti aimed his gun in her direction and fired. Nancy ducked, her head hitting the sand as the bullet zinged overhead.

She was still taking cover when she felt the sand shift beside her. She had company. A hand closed over her shoulder, chilling her to the bone.

Chapter Seventeen

Strong fingers gripped Nancy’s shoulder, pulling her up to a sitting position. Rashid! her mind screamed.

Nancy glared at the man—then let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t Rashid after all. She was staring into the surprised face of Officer Rossolatos. He didn’t look at all pleased to see her.

“Nancy Drew!” he said, crouching beside her. “What are you doing here?”

“Trying to lure the terrorists out of the cave,” she said desperately. They both pressed against a boulder as two more bullets flew overhead. Quickly she explained the plan she and her friends had put into action when it seemed that the police wouldn’t arrive in time.

“We were held up waiting for the female agent,” the officer explained.

Peering over the top of the huge rock, Nancy frowned. “I’ve got to get the other man out of the cave—or my friends will be in big trouble!”

“Say no more,” Rossolatos said, kneeling beside her. He drew a gun from the holster at his waist and fired. Nancy cringed at the noise, but the barrage of shots sent Mashti and Shara scrambling behind the Sea Star .

But what about Rashid? Nancy thought frantically. It was a long shot, but she decided to shoot off one more flare. Quickly she reloaded the gun, stepped beside the boulder, and shot a flare toward the mouth of the cave.

The flare made it inside the entrance, and an echoing blast followed. A moment later Nancy saw Rashid crawl out of the cave entrance. He was firing a machine gun!

Nancy dived for cover, silently praying that the plan had worked. Behind her, half a dozen boats closed in on the shoreline. Rossolatos was speaking into a walkie-talkie, updating the other police and Interpol officers.

A shower of gunfire tore along the beach, chasing Rashid and ripping holes into the hull of the boat where Shara and Mashti were hiding. The terrorists were clearly outnumbered.

Within minutes the threesome surrendered, marching onto the open beach with their hands over their heads. Nancy watched as they were handcuffed and loaded onto a police boat.

Weak with relief, Nancy dropped the flare gun in the sand. “I need to find out if my friends made it out,” she told Officer Rossolatos, anxiously pointing toward the rocky ridge. “Can one of the police boats give me a lift?”

Nancy was escorted onto a launch, which sped over the water, circling the point. Immediately she spotted the borrowed fishing boat anchored in the cove. Zoe and Bess were pacing along the beach.

“Still no sign of them,” Zoe reported as Nancy waded ashore. “What was all that gunfire?”

When Nancy told them what had happened, Bess widened her eyes in terror. “Oh, Nancy, what if they don’t make it!”

“They will ,” Nancy said, hugging Bess. She only hoped she was right!

The three girls waited in silence, staring into the clear pond that disappeared into the tunnel. Minutes dragged on, and Nancy thought the waiting would never end. Then, at last, she saw the silhouettes of swimmers coming through the dark mouth of the rock tunnel.

“It’s George!” Bess squealed. “And Kevin! They’re back!” She raced into the pond.

A moment later George and Kevin emerged from the water, pushing back their snorkel masks. Their clothes were clinging to them, but to Nancy, it was the best sight she had seen in her life.

“You had me scared sick!” Bess said, throwing her arms around her cousin.

Nancy was right behind Bess. “Thank goodness you’re safe!” she said, hugging George and Kevin. Then she turned to Mick and Theo, who were just emerging from the water and taking off their masks.

“You guys are true heroes,” Nancy said. She squeezed Theo’s arm and gave Mick a big kiss.

“We can’t take all the glory,” Mick said, gazing down into Nancy’s eyes. “We wouldn’t have been able to get them out if you hadn’t had the guts to go into the cave with that flare gun.”

“That was amazing,” George agreed. “One minute we were sitting there, doomed. The next minute there were rockets zipping through the cave.”

“Thanks for saving us, guys,” Kevin told the group. “After this I’ll be happy to get back to the tame world of a TV sports announcer.”

“After this week we’ll all be ready for something tame,” Bess said.

“Well,” Theo said, folding his arms, “is anyone interested in some snorkeling lessons?”

Officer Rossolatos had asked the teens to remain on the scene until the police report was complete. Relieved that the terrorists had been captured, the group didn’t mind hanging around.

At one point Nancy noticed George and Kevin stealing off for a private moment. A few minutes later they hugged, then separated. Kevin joined Mick and Theo, who were talking with Officer Rossolatos. George came over and sat next to Nancy on a boulder in the shade.

“Looks like you two were having a heart-to-heart,” Nancy told her friend.

“About our relationship,” George admitted, sitting down beside Nancy.