“Just fishermen.”
“Probably.” But after last night . . .
One thing that had been nagging at Sam was the proximity of their submarine to where Ted had said he’d found the punt shard. It was unlikely the two were connected, but not so unlikely that Ted’s assailant might choose to search this area of the Pocomoke.
He crouched beside one of the duffel bags, rummaged around, and came up with a pair of binoculars. With Remi on his heels, he ran back along the bank to where they’d tied off the skiff. They dropped to their knees in the high grass and Sam aimed the binoculars upriver.
A few seconds later a powerboat appeared around the bend of the river. It contained four men. One at the wheel, one on the bow, and two sitting on the afterdeck. Sam zoomed in on the driver’s face.
Scarface. “It’s him,” he muttered.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Remi replied.
“I wish I was.”
CHAPTER 8
The skiff!” Sam rasped softly. “Come on!”
He slid belly first down the bank and into the water. A quarter mile upstream Scarface had turned the powerboat into the mouth of another inlet, which the man in the bow was scanning through a pair of binoculars. Sam heard Scarface’s voice echo over the water, followed by another voice saying, “Nyet.”
Great, more Russian heavies.
Sam stroked over to where he’d secured the skiff’s painter line, quickly undid the knot, then swam back and grabbed the bow cleat. He glanced over his shoulder. Scarface was bringing the powerboat about and turning their way.
“Sam . . .”
“I see them.”
He wrapped the painter around one fist then accepted Remi’s help up the bank. “Pull,” he whispered. “Pull hard!”
Together they heaved on the painter. The skiff’s bow bumped against the bank, then began inching up the slope.
The powerboat was three hundred yards away. The men’s attention seemed focused on the opposite shore, but Sam knew that could change at any second. One stray glance and they were finished.
“Pull, Remi.”
Again they heaved back on the painter. Sam spread his legs and dug his heels into the soil, pulling until the tendons in his neck bulged. The skiff’s nose appeared over the lip of the bank, but now free of the water and subject to gravity the electric motor began fighting them. The skiff slipped backward a foot.
“One more good pull,” Sam said. “On three. One . . . two . . . three!”
The skiff arced up and over the lip and slid onto level ground. In lockstep Sam and Remi backpedaled, dragging the skiff deeper into the grass.
“Down, Sam.”
Remi dropped to her belly, followed a split second later by Sam. They went still, tried to slow their breathing.
“Think we made it?” Remi whispered.
“We’ll know shortly. If things go bad, I want you to run as fast as you can. Head for the forest and don’t look back.”
“No, Sam—”
“Shhh.”
The powerboat’s engine was growing louder by the second, seemingly headed straight for their spot.
Then, Scarface’s voice: “Anything?”