Dagger Magic

As the Lady G's engines revved in response, and Magnus shifted his Ingram to cover the sub, McLeod retrieved the loud-hailer from the deck. Adam drew Peregrine closer into cover, and Aoife withdrew to make her stealthy way up to the pilothouse with Eamonn.

"Francis Raeburn! This is Detective Chief Inspector Noel McLeod. Stop right where you are. You can consider yourself under arrest!"

The blond head turned toward them, and a maliciously well-modulated voice floated back across the water.

"Inspector McLeod, is it? So you're here as well as your chief. Nonetheless, I must thank all of you for disposing of our mutual adversary. I had no more use for him than you did. But you must forgive me if my gratitude stops short of compelling me to hand myself over to you. As it happens, I have more pressing business to attend to."

Starting down the ladder, Raeburn pulled the remaining crate toward him and disappeared behind the conning tower. Bristling, McLeod turned to Adam.

"Now what?"

Adam sighed grimly. "It appears we're going to have to do this the hard way."

Aoife glanced down from her vantage point in the pilothouse.

"Raeburn's not alone," she informed them. "You can't see it, because he's hidden behind the conning tower, but that man from the seaplane is on his way back to the sub, and he's got some kind of submachine gun. If we don't hurry, this could get really nasty."

At a sign from Adam, Eamonn nudged the Lady G throttles and began slowly easing closer toward the submarine's starboard side, deliberately keeping the conning tower between them and the gunman in the approaching raft. The distance between the two craft dwindled until they were separated by a gap of no more than twenty yards. Taking the loud-hailer from McLeod, Adam called out across the water, "We're coining aboard, Mr. Raeburn. For your own good, I would advise you to abandon whatever resistance you may be contemplating and surrender yourself without any further violence."

Raeburn had gained the deck level behind the conning tower, and poked his head out from the left to fire three rounds in their direction before ducking back into cover. Magnus and McLeod returned fire, and all aboard the Lady G took cover, well-protected by her metal hull and bulkheads.

"I'm not falling for that claptrap," Raeburn shouted. "I see no personal advantage in my making things easy for you."

Peering cautiously from behind a locker, Adam saw Raeburn stack another crate atop one of the two waiting beside a larger chest with metal fittings, just forward of the conning tower. It was the chest that abruptly drew his gaze like a magnet, and he was left with no doubt in his mind that it contained the Black Termas that Tseten had so greatly feared and abominated. Here, at last, was the reason for their presence here tonight; and whatever else might transpire, Raeburn must not be allowed to escape with the chest in his possession - or with any of the other crates, if they could help it.

Beyond the submarine, the inflatable raft from the seaplane was slowly drawing closer, Raeburn casting an anxious glance in its direction as he crouched in the shelter of the stacked crates and the conning tower, pistol still in his hand.

Beside Adam, McLeod was growing restive. Dispensing with the loud-hailer, he made a trumpet of his two hands.

"Raeburn, this is your last warning," he shouted. "Don't be stupid and add to the charges you'll be facing when we pick you up."

The response from Raeburn was a derisive laugh. "And what charges are those? Defending myself? And I think that conventional authorities would be hard-pressed to prove even that."

"I think a jury might decide otherwise, given the fact that you've been involved in quite a lot of gun-play tonight," Adam pointed out. "I don't know who shot whom, down below, but the fact that you're still alive suggests that you have at least a few questions to answer."

Raeburn drew himself up, his fine fair hair feathered by the wind as he surveyed his accuser with scorn.

"Dr. Sinclair, I believe. We've not met formally, but of course I know who you are. You've given me a great deal of trouble over the past few years, as I trust I've given you.

"Right now, however, that's neither here nor there. I don't intend to stick around while you satisfy your curiosity at my expense. Should you care to board my vessel after I've left, please feel free to investigate the shooting to which you've just referred. I believe you'll find that it was carried out by a dead man - a very dead man - not something I should care to attempt explaining to the press, especially in view of the fact that Inspector McLeod is presently out of his jurisdiction, bearing a firearm in another country."

Aoife edged closer to Adam.

"He's grasping at straws, playing for time," she murmured.

"That's all right," Adam replied. "So are we."