Bones looked around the dingy room. “It’ll be tough to give all this up, but…” His eyes lingered on a pile of empty beer cans on the floor, a hard liquor bottle among them. “But okay, I’m in.”
Maddock gave him a hard stare. “Don’t just say ‘I’m in’. This is a serious commitment.”
“Uh oh. I’ve heard that before.”
“This is a partnership. I’ve already paid for the major stuff we’ll need up front, but I’ll need you to carry your financial weight going forward. Fuel, repairs, permits…”
“… hookers, blow. Priorities, Maddock.”
“You’ll need to give it your all. That’s all I ask.”
Bones stood, folded his arms, and frowned.” It sounds workable, but there’s one problem.”
“And that is?”
“I’m not sure I can handle you being my boss.”
“I won’t be your boss, I’ll be your partner. I can’t do this myself. I spent everything I saved up while in the Navy on the boat and startup costs. Besides, when things get heavy, there’s no one I can count on more than you. You’ve proven that time and again. That’s why I’m here. There’s no shortage of guys who would go in on this with me, but I know you can do it.”
Bones moved to the window and stared through the dirt-smudged glass. “You’ve got a better opinion of me than I do.”
“That wasn’t always the case.”
Bones chuckled. “Only because I thought you were an ass. Still do, just as not as big of one as before.”
“That’s the spirit. Seriously, though. You’re at your best when you’re under pressure or doing something that matters. This life isn’t you.”
“I said I’m in. No need to get all Sigmund Freud on me.” He turned to face Maddock. “Lucky for you, I didn’t drink all the money I earned in the service, and Charlie’s treated me okay. I’ll put in all I’ve got.”
Maddock nodded. “Hopefully we can get some of the old gang in on it at least on a part-time basis. I gave Willis a call and he said he’s game. Apparently, he hasn’t been able to find steady work in Detroit.”
“At least there’ll be somebody else on the crew who doesn’t have a stick up his butt.” Bones smiled. “I know we’re partners, but I’m going to go ahead and make an executive decision.”
Maddock raised his eyebrows expectantly.
“I know which treasure I want to hunt for first.”
Chapter 5
The prow of the Sea Foam sliced effortlessly through the choppy seas. Maddock manned the helm, alternating his gaze from the horizon to the chart plotter on the console in front of him. “Now leaving the Florida Keys behind, headed for Cuba, then on to Haiti.” It felt good to be at sea. The cool, salty air filled his nostrils, eliciting memories of his youth growing up on the Florida coast. Even better, they weren’t heading into danger on a military expedition.
Bones eyed the electronic map from his position in the co-pilot’s seat. “How about we make a quick stop in Key West for the Duval Crawl, hit the Hog’s Breath Saloon?”
Maddock frowned. “How about you stay focused, and if we score treasure we can hang out in the Keys on the way back.”
“Man, we’re gonna hold you to that, Maddock.” The gruff voice of Willis Sanders walking into the cockpit cut in to the conversation. A fellow SEAL from their shared time in the Navy, Willis had joined Dane and Bones on more than one of their globe-trotting adventures. The tall, dark-skinned man nearly matched Bones in height and bulk. The top of his shaved head fell just a couple of inches short of Bones full height. He was currently in between assignments and agreed to join Maddock and Bones on this venture.
Maddock nodded and turned to his friends. “We’ve got some open water cruising ahead of us. Let me use some of the time to brief you on what I’ve learned so far about our target, the wreck of the San Miguel.”
“I already know this crap. Do I have to listen?” Bones asked.
Maddock shot him a withering glance, and Willis and Bones gave him their attention as he began his summation. “The San Miguel was part of the legendary 1715 Treasure Fleet. A Spanish Crown flotilla consisting of a dozen ships, all but one of them were lost in a storm — a hurricane, probably — on the east coast of Florida, near present day Vero Beach.”
Maddock looked over from the wheel. His audience showed no signs of boredom yet, so he continued. “The one ship thought to escape the storm, the San Miguel, has never been found.”
“Spill the beans, Maddock, what were they carrying?” Willis wanted to know.
“Silver and gold. Lots of it,” Bones answered.
Maddock nodded. “Some treasure from this fleet has already been found. In fact, every now and then a coin, like a silver real—with the bust of the king on one side and the Crown’s shield on the other— will wash up on the beach in Florida today.”
Bones made a show of looking around the cramped quarters of the vessel, the open sea beyond. “You mean we could just lay around on the beach and wait for these things to wash up with a drink in our hand, watching the babes go by?”
Maddock smiled. “I’m hoping to speed things up by taking a more proactive approach. So back to the San Miguel… people have searched for her, but to date no trace of her has ever been found.”
Willis looked puzzled. “So what do we have to go on that no one else does?”
Bones answered him with a sly grin. “Fabiola Baptiste. You remember her?”
Willis laughed. “Fabi Babi?”
Maddock looked away from the wheel long enough to say, “I dare you to call her that to her face.”
Fabiola had been in the Navy as a database programmer during the three SEALs’ tenure
“Word is, Bones is the one who said things to her face, ain’t that right? She’s your ex?”
“She’s not an ex, she’s an occasional.”
“Damn, that’s cold. So what’s she got to do with all this?”
Maddock made a slight adjustment to the boat’s course, and then steered the conversation back on track as well. “She lives in Miami,” he said, jerking a thumb behind them, “but she’s in Haiti now because she has relatives there. She contacted Romeo, here, because she received interesting information from a priest in Haiti, one who happens to be her cousin.”
Skepticism painted Willis’ face. “Why don’t we just deal with the priest directly?” He turned to Bones. “No offense, Fabi’s great and all, but let’s cut out the middlewoman, know what I’m saying? Loose lips sink ships and all that.”
Bones shook his head. “We can’t contact the priest, David Abbe, because he’s dead.”
Willis cocked his head. “You try some voodoo stuff? It is Haiti, after all.”
Maddock addressed him with a stern look. “He was murdered a week ago. It was ugly. Vicious.”
Willis lowered his gaze. “You know I wouldn’t joke like that in front of Fabi.”
Maddock continued. “Here’s what we do know: She received some information from her cousin, the Haitian priest, which frightened and confused her to the point where she called Bones for advice.”
Willis chuckled. “Damn. She must have been scared all right. Who in their right mind calls Bones for advice?”
“Screw you, Willis. Fabi thinks she's in danger because of some information that came into her hands.”
Willis threw up his hands. “You guys keep talking about ‘some information’. What information?”
Bones leveled his gaze at Willis. “About the location of the wreck of the San Miguel.”
Chapter 6