Trembling, I relay the bad news to my team by telepathy and to Cam and Scarn by radio. I sense my friends’ rising fear. We’ve been hunted by the Marine Guard so many times before.
“We’re switching on all the proper nav lights and turning north as if we’re just another freighter heading for San Francisco,” Cam radios back. “If their cruisers pick us up on radar and show too much interest, you know the plan. Over.”
“Roger that,” I reply, my voice tight, and then I reach out to Mariah. :Please let us know if any of the vessels leave the convoy and head toward Cam’s ship.:
Our two tows and Thom’s zode all stop while we wait to see what the Marine Guard will do. As we float on the dark swells, the wind whips cold sea spray into our faces. In front of me, Ree fiddles with her spear gun and shifts restlessly. I chew my lip. Overhead, gray clouds scud across a black sky spattered with silver stars.
:one of the smaller ships heads away from the others toward Cam’s,: Mariah reports at last. Instantly I relay that information to my companions.
:Sokya,: I tell her, :we need a lead to that cruiser. We can’t see it yet.:
:I come.:
:’Kay, looks like we get to be decoys, people,: Janni says. :Remember our plan, and stay safe.:
:This feels way too much like the time we played fox and hounds when the smugglers chased us near San Francisco,: Ree says to me on a private send.
:At least this time we know the terrain better.: We’ve spent two days poring over charts, and there are plenty of good hiding places in the rocky walls of the San Pedro Valley and the San Pedro Escarpment directly beneath us.
Sokya and Laki arrive and announce their presence with joyful leaps. I’m terrified by what we’re about to do, but most of the dolphins think we’re playing a game.
:There’re your guides, Thom,: I say.
:Roger that,: he says and passes in front of us.
He follows Sokya and Laki, and we drive in the zode’s wake, pushing the tows as fast as they will go up and over the black swells, hoping we’ll look like a trio of smuggler vessels to the Marine Guard. Soon, each time we top a wave, I can spot the green and red navigation lights of the cruiser a quarter mile to the northwest of us.
When we’re close enough to see the ship’s markings, the cruiser’s powerful search light flicks on.
:Their radar techs must have just spotted us,: Robry says, which is what we wanted, but still I tighten my grip on the pontoon in front of me.
The bright beam of the searchlight sweeps back and forth across the water, and then it locks onto Thom and his zode.
“Stop and present your registration,” an amplified male voice orders him.
Thom ignores the command and races off to the southwest, away from the hijacked freighter, and we follow him. I flinch when the spotlight picks up our tow next. I peer back at the cruiser, wondering if they will take the bait, but all I can see is blinding white light.
:Are they turning?: Thom asks. :I can’t look and drive this sucker through the waves at the same time.:
:Yeah,: Rohan tells us from the second tow which the spotlight hasn’t found yet. :They’re taking the bait.:
“Stop or we will shoot,” the voice comes again, sounding angry.
:Here comes the part of our plan that I really don’t like,: Penn says tightly.
The spotlight continues to track our tow, even though Janni zigzags, trying to lose it. Feeling terribly exposed, I want to dive into the water. But we’re trying to look like smugglers, and smugglers wouldn’t jump off a boat into these cold, rough seas. Brilliant light flares on the ship, and we hear a boom. A shell whistles high over our heads and disappears into the dark. A second later, there’s a flash and a muffled roar as the shell explodes in a wave somewhere ahead of us.
:Thom, you okay up there?: I ask breathlessly.
:Yeah, but I’m never going to enjoy target practice after this.:
:Spread out!: Janni says. :Make it harder for them to hit us.:
Rad’s tow veers away to the south and vanishes into the black night. Another brilliant flash lights the sky, followed by the thunder of the big gun. Instinctively I duck as the shell skims just over our heads with an eerie screech. It hits the water a hundred feet ahead of our tow. Light flares, the shell roars as it explodes, and spray drenches us.
:They’re getting the range now,: Janni says grimly. :Pull the plugs on the pontoons and let’s dive. Bigfoot, don’t stay on that zode much longer.:
:Don’t worry,: he says, sounding distracted. :I won’t.:
:Densil, please stay near him,: I ask. :He may need your help when he bails out.:
:I will stay near,: Densil promises.
We pull the plugs on our pontoon, and the air rushes out. Janni angles its dive planes downward, and the tow begins to slip beneath the surface. The water is starting to slosh over our laps when the ship fires again, and the shell screams closer. I hold on tight and fight the urge to close my eyes. Suddenly, the ocean all around us turns gold, a deep roar fills my ears, and a massive wave almost flips the tow over.
:Whoa, that one was too close,: Janni says. :Everyone, dive to fifty feet now, and Rad and I will meet you down there. That’s an order.:
I let go of the deflating pontoon and kick downward into the dark sea. I’ve never before been so glad to leave the surface. Once I’m fifty feet down, I turn and watch anxiously for Janni and the tow. The dolphins gather around me, pressing close in their fear. Poor Tisi squeaks in terror.
Another flash lights up the water to the south, and the compression from the explosion presses against my eardrums.
:that hurt,: Sokya cries.
:Mariah, Sokya, please, go. These explosions are harder on you than they are on us.:
:you will hide soon?: Mariah asks.
:We go to hide now.: I can make that promise because I can see Janni’s tow diving toward us. I’m relieved when the dolphins flash away into the black sea.
:Let’s go find a sea cave or an overhang and wait this out,: Janni says. I grasp a pull loop as she drives by me, and one after the other, the rest of the riders on our tow appear out of the darkness and grab on.
:Rad, are you guys okay?: Janni calls to him.
:We’re diving down to the rocks now. Everyone but Thom is accounted for.:
:See if you can reach him,: Janni orders me. :He’s already beyond my telepathic range.:
:Thom, you okay up there?: I shout mentally.
:Yeah,: he replies, sounding distracted. :The cruiser’s still following me. If I can shake that spotlight for a sec, I’ll finish tying off the steering wheel and ditch. Whoa, that one was close,: he says, and a sound like thunder grumbles in the distance.
:’Kay, I lost their searchlight, the wheel’s tied off, and the throttle’s on full. I’m diving in…now! Densil, dude, am I glad to see you.:
:Let’s hope that cruiser will follow the zode for a few miles longer,: Janni comments.
:Let’s also hope we kept them from being too interested in Cam’s freighter,: I say.
We park both tows under a big arch in the rocky wall of the escarpment. We hear occasional rumbles as more shells hit the water, but the explosions draw further and further away. Janni swims back and forth anxiously until Densil appears out of the darkness towing Thom.
:Thank Densil for me, will you?: Thom asks me as we crowd around him in relief. :It was great to get a ride before that big ship ran me over or blew me out of the water.:
I relay Thom’s comments to Densil.
:he can give me a long rub tomorrow,: Densil says. :now we go to sleep someplace more quiet. these fighting ships fill the seas with too much noise,: he says with great disapproval in his tone before he darts away.
:That sounds like a good idea,: I call after him. :Sleep well.:
We sling our hammocks and settle in for the night, too.
:Cam will probably be fine,: I say to Robry, who looks as worried as I feel about his big brother.
I keep picturing their freighter being boarded and Cam getting hauled away to a prison camp again, or being executed. Even though I’m worn out from the excitement of hijacking a freighter and dodging Marine Guard shells, it takes me a long time to fall asleep.
~~~
Robry and I are up before dawn. The dolphins come to find us and bring the good news that there are no boats in the area. We hurry to the surface and crank up our marine radio.
“Dolphin Girl calling Fisher Boy, Dolphin Girl calling Fisher Boy, are you there?”
A long silence greets my hail. I’m just about to try again when Cam’s voice issues clearly from our radio.
“Hi Dolphin Girl. We’re here and safe. Thanks for being such excellent decoys last night. My boss says he almost thought you were smugglers.”
Robry and I both sigh in relief. “We’re glad to know you’re okay. We’ll see you soon. Over.”
“Not sure you’ll recognize this old lady by then. She’s already getting her facelift. Over.”
We sign off and grin at each other. Cam made it through, and he sounds more like his old self, too.
Two days later we travel out to Catalina to escort the repainted freighter, newly renamed the Esperanza with forged registration certificates to match, to pick up her first load of c-plankton. We leave the island just after dark. It’s a calm, starry night with only a slim silver moon lighting the skies. With the dolphins’ help, we manage to slip undetected across the busy shipping lane around 10 PM.
The freighter pulls up to a makeshift pier Scarn’s smugglers often use. Made out of cement blocks and old trucks, the pier is located in a sheltered cove at the back of Lunada Bay. As I tread water in the gentle surf, I’m surprised to see over a hundred people waiting for us. Julita and Miguel are there, along with several members of the other salvage gangs we worked with and many of the scroungers who grew the c-plankton in the warehouses. Ree exclaims under her breath and runs out of the water. She makes a beeline to La Valiente who sits in her wheelchair near the water and smiles at us.
I follow Ree more slowly. Being around this many landlivers makes me nervous now, but when I reach out telepathically, I can’t sense anyone who means us harm. They all seem excited. Up on the dry, beige bluffs surrounding the cove, Rath’s fighters are cautious and watchful, but they, too, seem pleased that the first load of c-plankton is about to head out to sea.
“Many people care about these tiny sea algae we’ve been growing for you,” La Valiente tells me.
“You’ve been growing them for all of us,” I reply with a smile.
James walks up to me. “I don’t like that there are so many people here,” he mutters. “Crowds attract too much attention.”
Electric trucks loaded with barrels of c-plankton drive quietly down a steep road that leads to the cove. The strongest salvies and scroungers roll the barrels off the trucks and onto the pier. Cam is there, assigning people to load the barrels into nets and boxes that his crew winches aboard the freighter. He takes the very first barrel and rolls it to the end of the pier.
“It starts with one barrel of c-plankton,” he calls out to the crowd, “but barrel by barrel, we will seed the oceans and reclaim our planet!” He pries open the barrel and dumps its contents into the water with a flourish. While the crowd claps and people hug each other, he smiles and waves to Robry and me.
The night is hot, so I retreat to the water with my friends and we watch the loading as we float on top of the waves. The process goes smoothly for about an hour until the radio on James’ zode crackles.
“This is Sentry Two. We have a problem. An armored carrier full of soldiers is heading this way. Looks like they may have followed the last truck from the Torrance warehouse.”
I glance at the pier in panic. Barely a third of the c-plankton is loaded. Plus, there are over a hundred people down in this cove who have risked their lives to help us.
James straightens, his expression grim. “Guess this is a job for me.”
“James, it’s too risky,” I protest.
“If Rath’s people get into a firefight with those soldiers, we’ll have gunships down on us within minutes, they’ll slaughter these people, and the Marine Guard will take the freighter.” He drives the zode through the surf to the beach, and I kick after him. He jumps out and races for the road up the bluff.
Ripping off my dive fins, I sprint up the road after him. I don’t want the soldiers to see our ship, but I also desperately don’t want anyone to find out that James is a Controller.
We pound up the hot, winding dirt road past the line of trucks waiting to unload their barrels. When we reach the top of the sandy bluff surrounding the cove, I can see down the shadowy road that runs between abandoned houses and stores into the old city. Along that road, a black armored personnel carrier roars toward us. My mouth goes dry when I spot a dozen armed soldiers riding in the back.
“Hide over there.” James pushes me toward a wrecked car lying abandoned beside the road.
I dash over to the car and kneel behind it. I bite back a protest when James strides out into the middle of the road. He looks so alone and vulnerable standing there. Soon he’s silhouetted in the carrier’s bright lights as the big vehicle rumbles closer and closer. He raises his hands to show he’s unarmed. I hold my breath. Will they run him over? When the armored car pulls to a stop, I let go my breath, but my heart still gallops inside my chest.
With his hands still over his head, James walks slowly toward the driver’s window. He needs to be close to someone to be able to alter his or her thoughts, and I don’t know if he’s ever tried to control so many people at once.
Suddenly, Nid and another of Rath’s fighters appear beside me.
“Is that guy crazy?” Nid whispers to me as he raises a solar rifle to his shoulder.
“I think he’s trying to talk to them,” I whisper back.
“Like that will do any good,” the second fighter hisses as she raises a big, wide-barreled weapon to her shoulder and takes aim at the carrier. She’s a lean, middle-aged woman who reminds me of Vival. I tremble when I realize she’s holding some sort of energy mortar.
“Don’t fire that yet,” I whisper, glad now that I followed James. “Give him a chance.”
“If they drive forward another inch, I have orders to blow them sky high,” the woman says grimly.
James speaks to the driver and his passenger, his voice low and calm. Then he’s quiet, and I sense he’s reaching out to each of the soldiers riding in the back.
“This is too weird,” the woman mutters. “Why are they all just sitting there?”
“Maybe the driver’s thinking about what that guy told him,” I offer lamely.
Both fighters stare at me and then at my brother. I don’t like the look of comprehension dawning on Nid’s face. An endless minute later, James waves at the soldiers and says goodnight to them politely. As the carrier backs up and turns around, James walks over to us.
“You don’t need to fire that,” James tells the woman. “They’re going and they won’t be back.”
“I don’t believe it,” Rath’s fighter says as she watches the carrier drive away. “What did you say to them?”
“Mebbe instead you should ask, what did he do to them,” Nid says.
“You don’t want to know,” James says and rubs his face wearily. “You’d better get word to the folks at the Torrance facility that they need to evacuate. I think it’s been compromised.”
Nid keeps his gaze fixed on James as he speaks rapidly into the radio strapped to his arm. When he finishes, he shakes his head.
“You know, I seen somethin’ like this happen before. A Controller I knew once stopped a whole platoon of soldiers from wiping us out. He was a handy guy to have around. But then the government got hold of him, and we never saw the poor sud again.”
“The Controllers are all gone now,” James says shortly, “and that’s better for everyone.”
“You’re probably right. Leastways, we won’t be claiming anything different,” Nid says, and I let go a sigh of relief as he and the woman step back into the darkness. “I’m just glad you’re on our side, whoever you are.”