The Girl Beneath the Sea (Underwater Investigation Unit #1)(89)

There’s a long pause from outside, then Landsberg responds, “Certain precautions have to be taken.”

The last page slides out of the fax machine. I push them all back into their bags but pocket the thumb drive. We need a way out of this.

I poke my head around the corner and nod to George. He makes a talking mouth with his hand, indicating that he plans to stall them.

“Mr. Solar, I just want to come inside there and see what you’ve retrieved. I’ll be unarmed.”

“That sounds like a trick,” replies George.

I feel a surge of hopefulness when I realize there may be an easy way out of this stalemate. I wave at George and motion to my wrist: Keep stalling.

I run back to the Kraken, where Dad is crouched by the boat trailer with his shotgun. I put a finger to my lips and explain using hand gestures.

Three minutes later I run back to the front, where George is demanding to talk to a lawyer. I whisper into his ear, then hurry back to the Kraken.

Run is already up in the boat with Jackie, ready to shoot. Anything to protect our daughter.

“All right,” says George. “You can check it out, but the salvage belongs to the state of Florida.”

He lets Landsberg inside, and the man enters, soaking wet from the downpour. His eyes fall on the stacks of money, which Dad and I are counting.

I glance up at the unremarkable-looking man. He’s a little shorter than average, late forties, and wearing a drenched raincoat.

“Wow,” says Landsberg, eyeing the money. “That’s impressive.”

“How do we know this guy isn’t another one of their assassins?” I ask.

“I assure you, I’m only a desk jockey,” says Landsberg. “I’m here to fix a problem.”

Although he appears to be impressed by the money, his attention’s on the Kraken. He’s studying all the parts on the floor.

“Mind if I look inside?” he asks.

“Be our guest,” George replies. “But it’s stripped clean.”

Landsberg leans into the top hatch for a moment, then hops down. “Very interesting.” A faint smile appears at the edge of his mouth. “Here’s the deal. I’m going to restore communications here and let local authorities sort out the jurisdictional matters regarding the seized money. We’re going to have to impound this vessel, because it utilizes classified technology.”

Dad stands. “I found this thing. Unless you have a title, it’s mine.”

I can tell he’s bluffing his ass off, but Landsberg doesn’t know that.

“Mr. McPherson, I’m sure we can see about some kind of salvage fee.”

“We’re not ready to turn this in,” I reply. “We’ve already seized it on behalf of the UIU.”

Landsberg pulls a letter from his pocket. “I have a signed warrant.”

I bet I can make a good guess at the name of the judge on the warrant, but I keep my mouth shut.

“This is bullshit,” says George, continuing our ruse. “We get to search it first.”

Landsberg kicks a console on the floor. “It looks like you already did a pretty thorough search. Now, I need to ask you to leave the premises. My team is about to secure this building.”

“This is bullshit!” George growls, so convincingly that I almost wonder if he understood what the hell I did.

I drop a stack of money. “George, we don’t have a choice. Just call and make sure we’re not going to get ambushed.”

“I assure you that you’re safe,” says Landsberg. “Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office is being called to the scene. Have a look.”

George peers out the window. “I guess we’re not getting ambushed . . . yet.”

I wave to Jackie and Run to climb down from the boat racks. They join me at my side. Jackie’s shaking, but Run has his hand on her shoulder. She reaches out and grabs my fingers.

“What’s going on?” whispers Run.

“We’re leaving,” I tell him.

He turns around and stares at the money, the submarine, and all the pieces. “Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

We exit the building and all climb into Run’s Expedition. Black SUVs line the road outside the marina, and men in tactical gear stand in the rain watching us.

After we’re a mile down the road and heading for I-95, George speaks up. “I think we’re good. You get the fax off?”

“Yeah. Where did it go?”

“Governor’s office. It may be too hot even for him. If so, Cindy can fix that.”

“Why did they let us go?” asks Run.

“He was the cleanup guy,” says George. “His job was to contain things. He thought they were contained.”

“We sealed the documents back in the oxygen cylinder,” I tell Run. “If Bonaventure gave up their location before K-Group killed him, then Landsberg knew exactly where to look. Hopefully he’ll assume that if we didn’t get into the oxygen tank, then we never found them.”

“Right,” says George. “He let us go because he thinks what he’s looking for is still there.”

“Jesus wept,” says Dad. “What if he knew we found them?”

“Good question,” says George. “Good question. All I know is that we should probably stay clear while this blows up. There are going to be a lot of angry people in South Florida.”