Tyson nodded. "There are a couple of ways to sink a ship."
"Blow it up," Matt muttered under his breath.
"Without touching it," Damon reiterated. "All of you are obsessed with explosives and weapons."
"There's nothing more satisfying than a good explosion," Matt agreed. "But I'm listening. This is starting to intrigue me."
"Now that I have your attention." Ty scowled at him. "Try to stay with me. The easiest way to think about this is to picture a submarine. In simplest terms, it's filled with air and it stays on top of the water because it's lighter than the water, right? When it wants to sink, they remove some of the air and let in some water and down she goes, because now she's heavier than the water."
"So we're going to blow a hole in her and let in water," Jackson said.
Jonas frowned. "I suppose we could use one of the dolphins to plant the charge but Abbey might get upset and balk at that."
"Oh for God's sake," Damon burst out. "We're not blowing up the damn boat. Get over it. We're not setting charges, we're going to do this in a scientific manner and make it appear a physics anomaly, a natural phenomenon that occasionally occurs."
"In other words, shut up and listen," Ilya translated from where he was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest.
Tyson nodded. "We're not using that method of sinking the ship anyway. We're using door number two--the second method. We're going to make the water less dense than the yacht." A wide grin spread over Tyson's face, his gaze nearly reverent as he looked at Damon. "This plan is a thing of beauty. You're definitely the master, Yoda."
Jonas huffed out a breath, obviously grinding his teeth together. "Okay, Master, how do we make the water lighter than the ship?"
"We're going to break the hydrate seal over the deposit on the continental shelf. That will eject methane gas into the water. The gas will rush to the surface in a column, breaking into smaller and smaller bubbles on its way up. The key, and this is where our hidden current comes into play, is to have a very swift and contained escape of gas, providing a patch of highly agitated, tremendously fizzy water."
Ty took up the explanation, seeing the incredulous looks surrounding them. "Because the water is filled with tiny methane bubbles, it will be mainly methane gas, not air. And methane is half as dense as air. The air in the yacht is actually below sea level, allowing it to float, but now the craft is sitting on the one spot in the sea that's less dense and that baby is going to sink."
There was a stunned silence. "Are you certain?" Jonas asked. "Will they be able to get off the ship before it goes down?"
"It's going to sink like a stone, although the one drawback I can foresee is that the deposit I want to tap in to is located about halfway to the bottom. Which means when the ship goes down it will be trapped halfway, it won't sink all the way to the bottom," Damon said.
"I wouldn't worry too much," Tyson said. "Instincts will make them want to swim up to the surface using the shortest route, but they won't be able to. It's the Dead Sea in reverse."
Jackson rubbed his fingers over his eyes. "What's the Dead Sea in reverse? What are you talking about?"
Damon shrugged. "In the Dead Sea, there's such a heavy concentration of salt that the molecules are so close to one another and so dense that the water is extremely buoyant. One thing you really never want to do is dive perpendicular into that sea. If you were to dive straight down, you could get stuck, literally stuck, head down, feet up, with no way to get out. The buoyancy of the water would just trap you in that position and you'd drown."
"You're making this up," Matt said.
"Nope. It's true. And if Stavros were to realize he's in methane gas, which he won't because he'll be panicked and disoriented, he could, in theory, swim down and then away, getting clear of the localized patch of gas and back up to the surface. Of course the water is cold and if there's a storm at sea, he's not going to make it, but there's that slim possibility."
"What about other ships?" Jonas asked.
"Two things. Inez has invited every fisherman from here to hell and back to the wedding and we've created a forecast of an impending storm with warnings about the surf," Damon said.
"And I made certain it was backed with a bad feeling about going out on the water today," Ilya added.
"How long will we have to keep other ships away?" Jonas asked.
"The gas will dissipate rapidly. By that time the ship will have filled with water and it will sink to the bottom. If a trace of the gas is found, it will only add to the mystery. No other ship will be in jeopardy because it's the concentrated burst that we need to take him down and that will be over," Damon added.
"We're also going to make certain there's enough psychic energy occurring to entice him. Abbey's going to put on a display in the sea. Hannah will create a show in the sky. Everything done will, later in the retelling, look as though the events led up to a true physics phenomenon. Naturally, Abbey and Hannah and every other participant in the anomaly will be on that beach watching Jackson and Elle exchange vows," Damon added. "Perfect alibis for everyone."
Ilya pushed his fingers through his hair. "There's one other small problem."
"What would that be?"
"My brother. I've tried luring him off the ship with the idea of having him arrested for trying to bribe a public official," Ilya said. "I sent word that you'd only talk to him."
Jackson stood up so fast his chair went over backward. He kicked it out of the way and advanced on Ilya. "You never said you had a brother working for Gratsos."
"No, I didn't," Ilya said. "I didn't know until we went in to get Elle out. I talked to her and asked her to keep it confidential until I could figure out what was going on."
"When?" Jackson demanded. "She's been with me every minute."
"Not this morning. I was at the Drake house when you dropped her off to get ready."
Jackson swore under his breath, furious with Ilya, even angrier with Elle. What the fuck, Elle. You don't keep something like this from me, you understand? It's my job to protect you and I'll be damned if you hold back information.
Don't say the "F" word to me on our wedding day.
Is that all you have to say to me? I'm standing here with my dick hanging out because you didn't let me know Ilya's brother was working for Gratsos. Jackson stalked out of the house, away from Ilya, tempted to punch him. He paced back and forth on his deck.
Well, put that lovely treasure back in your pants and calm down. He asked me to keep it confidential.
I don't give a damn what he asked. We don't do that. You tell me everything.
There was a short pause. I'm sorry, Jackson. I wasn't trying to keep anything from you. Ilya told me they had each other in their sights and put their guns down. He wanted to know what part his brother had played in the events on the island. His brother was a bodyguard, but he was the only one nice to me. He definitely wanted me off the yacht before Stavros took me to the island. He argued with Stavros.
But he didn't help you escape and he sure as hell knew what Stavros was doing to you.
He never came into the room until the day Stavros brought that guard in and killed him. The bodyguard was furious.
Jackson erupted into language far worse than the "F" word. He didn't give a damn if the man was Ilya's brother, he hadn't stopped the torture happening to Elle. Maybe he hadn't known everything, but he was guilty and the man could go down with the ship.
He turned at the sound of the door closing quietly. Ilya faced him. "He's undercover. He was raised the way I was, Jackson, and he's undercover. You know you don't blow months or years of work to save one person. You have to look at the bigger picture."
"I don't want to hear bullshit excuses."
Something hard flickered in the depths of Ilya's eyes but he remained calm. "You've worked undercover. I'm certain you've had to make hard decisions. If you're trying to take down the ring, do you save hundreds, maybe thousands, or one?"
"You don't know that's what he's
doing."
"I know. I can't tell you how I know, I just do." Ilya regarded Jackson steadily. "He has to live with himself and what he's done in order to get close to Gratsos, just as I had to live with very unpleasant things."
"He pulled his boss out of harm's way on the island. You can't tell me he didn't. So he'll do it again if you give him an inkling of the plan."
"Which is why I don't intend to. I've tried to lure him to shore, but if he doesn't take the bait, he'll die with Gratsos. I'm not willing to risk Joley and Hannah or any of the Drake sisters any more than you are. They're my family now, my first loyalty is to them."
"Tell me you didn't have Gratsos in your sights and let him go."
"Would you believe me?"
Jackson nodded and kept his gaze steady on Ilya. Ilya shook his head. "I didn't have a shot. I would have shot through his bodyguard to take him out."
Jackson let out his breath slowly. "Okay. Okay then. Let's just get this done. I'm sorry about your brother being involved in this."
Ilya shrugged. "It's the world we live in. The world we grew up in. We all know we take our chances. I don't have to like it, but I'll live with my decision to let him go."
Jackson? Elle's voice trembled. Do you still want to get married?
Jackson swallowed the love welling up inside of him. More than ever. We're going to fight, Elle. You know we are. It's going to be loud and I'm going to slip up and use bad language and be pissed as hell at you. But that is never going to take away how I feel about you. I prefer a fiery woman. I don't want a yes woman. I want someone who will stand up to me and argue her point when she thinks she's right. Of course in the end, you'll realize I'm right and we'll have great makeup sex.
He felt the laughter in her and it warmed him. There was a part of him that worried she was going to come to her senses and walk out on him. His mother had retreated, distancing herself further and further until she eventually was lost to him. His father couldn't resist the lure of the biker world. Although he'd wanted to stay, their lives together weren't enough for him, the bayou and home weren't what he needed. Jackson wasn't enough for him to stay. Sometimes he still felt like that boy desperately trying to hold his family together and feeling he was never quite good enough for anyone to want him.
I want you. Elle's voice was fierce. I want you with every breath I take. Can't you feel me, Jackson? Can't you feel my love for you?
Such emotion poured into him, he nearly went to his knees. I feel you, Elle, all around me. I can't wait to marry you.
He moved back into his house and turned to the waiting men. Damon had gathered up his map and burned it in the fireplace before donning his jacket. The others were straightening ties, brushing lint from their suits and making certain they were going to make Inez very happy.
"You okay?" Jonas asked, putting a hand on Jackson's shoulder.
Jackson nodded. "This is the happiest day of my life."
Jonas grinned at him. "I know what you mean."
Jackson turned to Damon. "You really think we can do this? Sink his ship?"
Damon nodded. "I do. There will be enough energy at the celebration to draw on in order to combat anything Gratsos tries. It will work. You just concentrate on getting married. Tomorrow, Elle will read about the untimely demise of Stavros Gratsos in the newspaper, unless the sharks get his body first."
"If it doesn't work, I'll have this night with her," Jackson said.
"Technically," Damon said, "this won't even be murder. We may have planned it out ahead of time, but he's going to make his try and we'll be acting in self-defense. So Jonas can still sleep at night."
"Let's do this," Aleksandr said. "Inez is coming up the dunes and she's frowning."
"DEARLY beloved, we are gathered here to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony."
The preacher began and Jackson could barely make himself listen. Mostly he heard nothing but his heart thundering in his ears from the moment Elle had stepped into view and walked toward him. Barefoot. Her gown a bikini top and sarong covered in sparkling beads. Elle took his breath away with her beauty. Her red hair was swept up in an intricate knot and she stood there looking ethereal in her white gown with the long lace veil that seemed to float around her like a cape. Her flawless skin looked so soft beneath that transparent panel of lace that it was all he could do not to slide his hand over her bare midriff.
Behind him, huge white tents were anchored in the sand with long tables of food and drink and an intricate wedding cake from one of the bakeries. The townspeople pressed all around them, standing shoulder to shoulder. Soft strains of music drifted on the light breeze and the fragrance of lavender permeated the air.
He took Elle's hand, slipped the ring on her finger and felt an answering jolt in his chest. She put the ring on his finger and he caught her hand and kissed it.
Ilya stepped forward, pulling Joley with him. "Before you pronounce them man and wife, marry us." He patted his pocket. "I have the license and our rings."
Tyson grinned and caught Libby's hand. "You can't get out of it now," he said and stood very straight, almost caging her in. He held up two rings. "Marry us, too."
"Can you do this in front of all these people, Abigail?" Aleksandr asked.
She nodded and stepped up beside him, fitting perfectly beneath his shoulder.
Kate and Matt looked at one another, laughed and stepped up beside Elle and Jackson. "We're ready as well."
"And us," Damon said. "Everyone's already here, Sarah. Let's get married." He held out his hand and she took it.
Hannah and Jonas grinned at each other. "I guess we're everyone's attendants."
Jackson slipped his arm around Elle and held her while the preacher had each couple repeat their vows. He glanced at the sky as the wind began to pick up a little. Strange, dancing lights formed overhead, almost like the aurora borealis, over the night skies in Alaska. Colors of purples and blue, pink and white were nearly luminous. Several villagers gasped and pointed.
As rings were exchanged the sky changed again adding in more colors, green, oranges and reds dancing through the luminous colors, giving off the impression of flames in the skies. Jackson glanced out toward the horizon. He didn't have a visual on the yacht, but he knew it was out there. He felt the man now, felt him close. He glanced at Bomber. The dog was uneasy and had turned his body to face the sea.
Waves slapped the shore and poured over the rocks. Far out, the water appeared a dark green surrounded by the deeper blue. And then it foamed white. A cheer went up as the preacher pronounced them man and wife and each couple kissed and was presented to the crowd. It sounded a little strange to hear "Jackson and Elle Deveau-Drake."
Dolphins burst out of the water, somersaulted and dove, disappearing back under the foaming sea. Whales breached and birds flew overhead as if in salute. Several seals bobbed heads in the waves, looking toward the beach.
Applause broke out as the couples moved through the crowd, down the beach toward the white tents. Jackson kept Elle's hand firmly in his.
"I've never seen the sky like that," Elle said, uneasiness in her voice.
"Damon had some weird-ass explanation for it. Something to do with humidity and the barometric pressure. I don't know. I don't understand half of what he says." He shook hands with several people and kissed Inez, who kept wiping tears from her face.
"Look beyond the dancing lights, out on the horizon, Jackson." She squeezed his hand. "The fog is building and it's thick and dark. His fog. He's here."
He bent to brush a kiss on top of her head. "Not here, baby. He's out there somewhere on the ocean."
"And he's going to do something. He's going to be angry that I married you." Her voice trembled. "And I did turn two of his attacks around on him. His pride won't take that."
"Don't think about him right now." The band started up and Jackson pulled Elle into his arms, sweeping her over the sand, her bare feet sliding between his as he kept her close to him, his body warming hers.
"Have I told you how beautiful you look? Honestly, Elle, I don't deserve you."
She pressed her face into his shoulder for a moment, but was too worried to stay there long, looking back out toward the sea. Her breath caught in her throat as he whirled her around, forcing her to look at the tents and people who had gathered to help her celebrate. "Look at all the people who love you, baby. Everyone is here."
"Everyone I love, Jackson." Her voice choked now. "He's going to attack us."
"I know." He said it quietly. "He'll try--and you'll stop him."
Elle looked up at his face, saw the resolve there and spun around looking for her sisters. Their husbands danced with them, yet they formed a line between the ocean and the townspeople, as if they were guardians.
"Feel the energy, Elle," Jackson whispered. "It's all around us. These people care about us, and they're dancing and singing and celebrating out of love for us. The beat of the music, the laughter, the energy here is tremendous and it's all positive."
She drew in a breath and looked out to sea again. Lightning flashed in the sky, far out, tearing through the dark fog. Thunder rumbled, and beneath them, the ground vibrated. No one noticed as they danced and sang. Elle stepped away from Jackson and joined her sisters as they turned and faced the roiling water.
"Send the animals away, tell them to swim along the coast up toward Point Arena," Damon suggested to Abbey, "just to be safe."
Abigail did so, and the dolphins and seals dove deep and were gone, leaving the water churning and restless.
"He's here," Elle whispered. "Look at the kelp."
To either side of a fifty foot strip, the kelp stood up in the water, bobbing and floating as it should, but along that fifty foot stretch in the middle, the kelp stretched flat, as the water on the surface ran in a current, a river racing through the sea. A wave burst over the sand, riding up toward Elle, stopping inches from her bare feet when Hannah stepped forward and waved her hand. In the water was a mass of reaching kelp, moving as if alive, seeking prey.
Jackson contemptuously kicked driftwood onto the greedy vines and the current receded fast, heading back toward the ship anchored somewhere beyond the dancing lights. The fog deepened to a darker hue, spinning now. Lightning blazed along the edges of the darker clouds and thunder cracked. Again the ground beneath their feet shivered.