Death Echo

Emma kept her head down, away from any illumination that might make her eyes light up like an animal’s along a dark road. Mac was doing the same.
    Damp air carried noise very well. Lovich’s voice came in staccato barks.
    â€œâ€”hell you talking—”
    â€œStupid son of a bitch, you’re crazy if—”
    â€œâ€”think I’m as dumb as—”
    Emma guessed he would descend to the level of chainsaw enemas real quick.
    â€œAmanar!” Lovich finally yelled. “Get over here and talk to this—”
    The rest of his words vanished beneath the sound of a cabin door slamming aboard the yacht. The stern gate leading to the swim step opened with an oil-me screech and then closed. Hard.
    Emma held her breath. A glint of gold along the boat’s side caught her eye. Warily she looked up. If there had been any doubt about the boat’s identity, the nameplate removed it.
    BLACKBIRD .
    â€œDo you believe in resurrection?” she asked very softly into her mic.
    â€œNo. Death and lies? Oh yeah. I believe.”
    Mac was glad that they didn’t need to worry much about being absolutely quiet. Amanar was thundering over the dock like a buffalo, Lovich was screaming curses, and everyone in the harbor who could hear was riveted on the mouthy newcomer at the fuel dock.
    For Mac and Emma, the black hull of the yacht provided a perfect screen from the action on the dock.
    â€œFaster,” he said and dug his paddle deep into the water.
    She tried to keep up with him, but his upper body strength was easily three times hers. By the time he reached the swim step, she was thirty feet behind.
    Mac’s kayak tenderly nudged Blackbird ’s hull. With one hand he reached out and caught the three-foot-tall chromed rail at the edge of the swim step. When he was certain of his grip, he let his paddle slide away into the water.
    Emma glided close enough to touch him.
    â€œShove my kayak toward the middle of the harbor,” he said very softly into his mic. “Send the paddle after it.”
    Before she finished dumping the excess gear, he grabbed the chrome rail and levered himself onto the swim step as easily as a gymnast mounting flying rings. But she knew that it wasn’t easy. It was a wrenching exercise in naked strength.
    No way, she thought. I can get up on the swim step by myself, but it’s going to be messy.
    â€œHey, Spiderman,” she said in quiet disgust to her mic. “You going to beam me aboard?”
    â€œYou’re mixing your superheroes.”
    â€œI figured it would take two.”
    He made a low sound that could have been laughter. Then he caught the bow of her kayak and drew it alongside the swim step, holding her steady.
    â€œSend your paddle toward the middle of the bay,” he said.
    She aimed her paddle on top of the water and shoved it off into the darkness.
    â€œNow grab my wrists,” he said.
    She locked her fingers around his wrists and felt his own hands clamp around hers. Without being told, she drew up her knees. Before she could take a breath, he lifted her clear of the kayak and steadied her on the dark swim step.
    â€œGood?” he murmured.
    â€œYes. Go.”
    With a lithe movement, he levered himself over the gunwale and its rail. Then they locked wrists again. He brought her aboard with barely a brushing sound. It was certainly a lot quieter than the squeaky gate would have been.
    Mac touched her lips and his own in a gesture asking silence.
    She nodded.
    Both of them duck-walked along the port side of Blackbird, keeping themselves out of sight of the dock.
    In the background, Amanar joined his cousin in a cussing duet. Whatever the insurance agent was telling them, they didn’t want to hear it.
    Mac reached into his small backpack and pulled out a folding knife. He thumbed it open and gave it to Emma, handle first.
    â€œStay down.” His voice was a bare thread of sound. “When I give the signal from the bow, cut us loose at the stern.”
    She looked at the knife’s serrated blade, then tested its edge very lightly with her thumb. The wicked little teeth tugged at her skin, nearly drawing blood. She nodded approvingly.
    Mac touched her elbow, then scuttled across the aft deck, keeping his head below the gunwale.
    On the dock, Amanar began repeating himself at a higher volume. Anything that wasn’t stone deaf would know what he thought about the size of the caller’s