Chapter Thirty-Seven
Tony entered the training area and scanned the room in search of Vaulcron. He spotted him sitting on a bench along the wall, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel.
“Hey, Vaulcron,” Tony called, weaving through the many grappling Bracadytes to reach Naura’s brother.
Vaulcron paused with the towel pressed to his chin before slowly lowering it to his lap. “You heard the news.”
Tony nodded and took a seat on the other end of the stone bench. “I did.”
“How is Abbie taking it?”
“She’s upset, but I think she’ll be all right. Hauke has been with her since she found out.”
Vaulcron nodded. “It pains me to see my brother’s mate in tears. I could not bear to stay in their room but a short time.”
“Yeah, me neither.” Tony paused. “Was it Naura that told you about Henry?”
“No. Miguel is responsible for passing on the information.”
Tony glanced down at his hands before meeting Vaulcron’s gaze once more. “How is it that you’re able to communicate with Miguel?”
“I do not know for certain. My father tells me that Miguel is tied to us. I am thinking that he carries our blood.”
“So, he’s half Bracadyte?”
Vaulcron studied Tony’s eyes for several seconds. “I do not think so, but I do believe that he is a descendent.”
“In other words, he isn’t half human like Arcanum.”
“No. And I have no knowledge of where his bloodline originates. I only know that he has some Bracadyte abilities, and the king trusts him.”
Tony stretched his legs out in front of him. “Then the king knows more than he’s telling.”
“Perhaps,” Vaulcron acknowledged. “I am sure that he has his reasons.” He took a deep breath. “There is another matter I would discuss with you.”
“I’m all ears,” Tony quipped.
At Vaulcron’s confused expression, Tony explained. “It means that I’m listening.”
“I see. Miguel tells me that the human military have many boats searching for our home. They also have underwater boats prowling the gulf in hopes of discovering evidence that we are nearby.”
Tony tilted his head. “They’re called submarines.”
“They have orders to blow us out of Aukrabah with something known as bombs.”
“What?” Tony’s entire body tensed. “They can’t do that. If it doesn’t kill us all, we’ll be buried alive.”
“I am only relaying to you what Miguel passed along to me.”
Tony instantly jumped to his feet. “I can’t let this happen.”
“Where are you going?” Vaulcron stood also, dropping the towel onto the bench.
“To stop them before it’s too late.”
Vaulcron fell into step beside him. “I have already set a plan into motion, my friend.”
Tony stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m listening.”
“Tonight, I leave for Playa Pilar. Miguel has arranged for an interview with Mallory Cahill. We are to meet shortly after the sun rises.”
“You what?” Tony couldn’t believe his ears. “Did you say Cahill? As in the Great White Shark, Cahill?”
At Vaulcron’s nod, Tony’s mouth hardened in anger. “You can’t meet with her. She’ll chew you up and spit you out. She didn’t get that nickname by cruising for fish.”
“I am very much aware of her deadly strike, Anthony Vaughn. And trust me when I say that I can take care of myself.” With that, he drifted off toward the Pool of Life, and the entrance to Aukrabah.
* * * *
Doug Jefferies sat on a sofa in President Howell’s private gym and watched as Rueben broke a sweat on the treadmill. “Do you think Abbigail Sutherland will show up at her father’s funeral, sir?”
“I’m counting on it, Doug.”
“The chances of her finding out about his death are slim to none in my opinion.”
Rueben switched off the treadmill, grabbed his bottle of water, and stepped down. “Oh, she knows. I wouldn’t doubt that Anthony Vaughn knew the minute the old man coded.” He met Doug’s gaze. “I want his head brought to me on a plate.”
Jefferies stood and handed Rueben a towel to wipe his face. “Vaughn is a ghost, sir. We can’t find him anywhere.”
“He’s getting help from someone,” Rueben pointed out. “And I want to know who that man is. Find the one assisting him, and you’ll find Vaughn.”
“Needle in a haystack, sir. But I’ve threaded difficult needles before. He’ll pop up eventually. And when he does, his head will definitely be yours.”
“Eventually isn’t going to cut it. Yesterday wasn’t soon enough.”
Doug’s anger spiked. The president expected him to perform miracles. Rueben had no idea the kind of skills Vaughn possessed. Hell, they’d have better luck finding Houdini. “Any news from Kerik?”
Rueben nodded. “He’s ordered more ships and divers to search a hundred-mile radius from the area where they found Vaughn’s boat. How the hell could he have just vanished like that?”
Jefferies cocked an eyebrow. “As I said before. Needle in a haystack. There had to have been dive equipment on board the boat, and not your average gear either. Sutherland’s suit was made to withstand the pressure of a fifteen-hundred-foot dive. Now where he acquired it is anyone’s guess.”
“How long does a tank of oxygen last when diving?”
Doug scratched his head. “I believe it’s about an hour, sir, depending on the depth. The deeper you go, the more oxygen is used.”
The president turned to stare out the window. “And Vaughn’s accomplice would have thought of that in advance. I’m sure there were backup tanks available.”
“No doubt, sir.”
“Then let’s say for the sake of argument, he had two tanks with him when he disappeared in that gulf. That gives him less than a couple of hours of dive time. He would have had to pop up at some point or drown.”
“He’s with those things that came up from the gulf to begin with, sir.”
“But how?” Rueben barked, facing him once again. “How is he with them? He can’t stay beneath the water all this time without breathing. Even the caves are underwater, Doug. Same concept.”
“I don’t know, sir, but he is. There were no other vessels in that area when the coast guard arrived only minutes behind him the night he escaped. And Doctor Sutherland was found less than a half a mile from that boat.”
“Unless Sutherland was a diversion, and Vaughn escaped by air.”
Doug chewed on the inside of his jaw in consternation. “But according to Eglin Air Force Base, there were no choppers sighted in that area, either before or after Vaughn’s disappearance.”
“He could have used a stealth chopper.”
“Son of a bitch,” Doug growled, fishing out his cell phone from his pants pocket.
“Who are you calling?”
Jefferies dialed Kerik’s number and pressed the phone to his ear. He peered at the president while waiting for the call to go through. “I’m calling the secretary of defense. If this was an inside job, he needs to be made aware.”