Sean never flinched. A thin trickle of blood ran down his cheek. “I need them to help me get the antikythera,” he said, motioning with his head toward Adriana.
Gikas put his hands behind his back and shook his head. “No, I do not think so. You may try to escape. And while I trust my capable assistants here, I don’t want to tilt the odds in your favor in any way.”
“Fine,” Sean relinquished. “I know you won’t let me take her. To you, she’s too valuable of a bargaining chip.” Gikas nodded at the assessment. “But I do need my friend. There could be a riddle or an ancient language down there that I may not understand. He’s an expert at those things. Let him go with me, and I promise we will bring the Eye of Zeus back to you safely. When it’s in your possession, you let them go.”
Gikas leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling while taking in a long deep breath. He seemed to consider Sean’s offer for a moment before answering. “Very well, Sean. Take your little friend with you.”
“We’ll need our scuba gear,” Sean said almost as Gikas was ending his sentence. “And if your men are coming with us, they will need some too.”
“Not a problem. Our ship has enough diving equipment for several people. Since I’m letting you have your friend along, I’m going to time you. If you aren’t back within two hours, I will start cutting off your girlfriend’s toes, one for every ten minutes you are delayed. Once I’m done with those, I will go to fingers. After that, well, let’s say I won’t be doing any more cutting. I will just let my men do whatever they want. Understood?”
Sean thought about it for a second. When he responded, there was a sharp edge to his voice. “Yeah. I understand.”
Chapter 49
The guards hurriedly loaded the scuba gear and other necessities onto the boat Sean and Tommy had rented. They’d earlier tied the cabin cruiser to the yacht to keep the two boats together, so untying the ropes was the last thing the guards needed to do before setting off. When everything was ready to go, Tommy and Sean were placed in the back seat on the aft deck and watched carefully by two guards armed with submachine guns. Bourdon stood next to the guard who drove the boat, directing him which way to go as the man pulled the craft away from Gikas’s yacht.
In the pale-blue sky, a few white clouds danced along in front of the sun, blocking out the warm rays of light for a few minutes. The sea had whipped up considerably, creating deeper swells to the waves that had previously been mere ripples.
It was getting late in the afternoon. Sean glanced down at his watch to check the time. It was definitely getting late for a dive. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in an underwater cave at night. He’d been taken on just such an expedition during his dive certification. Their class was required to do a cave dive at night. He assumed it was so they would become accustomed to losing their bearings and having no surface light to guide them. It was one of those rare occasions when he’d felt extremely uncomfortable. Sean remembered how difficult it had been to know when they had entered the cave; first realizing they were no longer in open water when the roof of the underwater cavern scraped against the tank on his back. It had been a startling experience, but thanks to the class instructor, everyone did fine and received their certification.
Sean never thought he would actually have to use that part of his learning in the real world. Now he was glad he’d done it. The gears in his mind turned with ideas, some fanciful, others somewhat more practical. He was always looking for an edge in a situation like this. At present, there were two men with guns aimed at him and Tommy, plus two others backup thugs. A direct assault on the first two would end badly. His imagination played out the scenario in a matter of seconds. One move toward the men, and they would cut him down.
He hoped the driver of the boat would hit a wave awkwardly, one that would jostle everyone from their positions and give him a tiny window of opportunity. Unfortunately, even though the seas had picked up slightly, it was still relatively smooth sailing. Sean’s thoughts went to a more plausible scenario. When they arrived at the location at the rear of the island, one of the men would stay behind to watch the boat. That would level the playing field somewhat, making it three on two. If there was a way to get the odds even, Sean knew he and Tommy had a chance.
“What happens if we get there and the artifact is gone, or the cave is closed off inside?” Tommy’s question interrupted Sean’s thoughts.
Sean hadn’t realized it, but he’d been staring through the men, toward the island ahead. “I’m sorry?” he said, angling his head a little toward his friend. His movement was subtle, so as not to make the jumpy guards do anything stupid, like squeeze a trigger.
“The antikythera device. What if it isn’t there?” Tommy repeated his question. “I mean, we may not be the first people to find this place. If someone got there before us, we’re screwed.”
Sean took in a deep breath and let out a long sigh. “I hadn’t thought about that.” He shook off the thought. “No, it’s still there.”
“How do you know?” Tommy’s eyebrows stitched together.
“Not sure,” Sean shrugged. “I just do.”
Bourdon stepped between the two armed guards and cut into their conversation. “Hey! Show us where we need to go.” The order came with the brandishing of his own weapon, a black Beretta .40 caliber. “And no funny business.”
Sean held up both hands to show his intentions were purely obedient, and then he pointed a finger toward the approaching shoreline. “You’ll need to go around behind that beach right there. We believe the entrance to the cave is on the other side.”
Bourdon pivoted around and gave the instructions to the driver. The man at the control console spun the wheel to the left, and the boat veered slightly, splashing water and mist into the air, a little of it over the side of the boat. After the driver guided the boat around the sandy beach and to the side of the island that was out of the yacht’s line of sight, he throttled down the engine, slowing the cruiser to an idle.
“Pull it over a little closer to that cliff right there,” Sean said, motioning with his hand to the place he and Tommy had found an hour or so ago.
Again, Bourdon relayed the message, and the driver eased the boat to a place in the water about twenty yards from the island wall.
“This is close enough,” Sean said. “You’ll want to drop anchor here. We’ll have to swim the rest of the way.”
Bourdon said some things in a foreign language. Tommy and Sean glanced at each other for a brief moment, looking for the answer to each other’s question. How were they going to get out of this?
“He will stay with the boat,” Bourdon said, snapping at the two Americans. “We will accompany you on the dive. I don’t think I have to remind you that these weapons are still lethal underwater. So if you try anything stupid you can expect to never see the surface again. Understood?”
The two captives nodded.
“Good. Now suit up.” Bourdon stole a quick glance at the waning sunlight. “I don’t wish to be underwater after dark. And do not forget, Sean Wyatt, you are on the clock.”
Sean didn’t need the reminder. He knew he had less than a hundred and five minutes to get back to the yacht with what Gikas wanted. Had the Greek been bluffing? He doubted it. Dimitris Gikas didn’t seem like the type. He struck Sean as the kind of guy who would do everything he said. It was a rare case where being a man of one’s word was a bad thing.
Bourdon slid the tanks, masks, regulators, and other items over to Sean and Tommy, keeping his weapon trained on the two as if they were coiled snakes, ready to strike.