“The volcano. It’s dormant now, but if you hike to the top of Pohnpei, you’ll see all the way to Nan Madol and the coral reefs that your friends are swimming today.”
“Alright,” nodded Ham. “We’d like to help you and get your items back. If you have someone who knows the territory, it would be helpful for us. But either way, we’re going to make sure we stop this man.”
“It is appreciated,” said Pikut, nodding his thanks to the group. “Let’s go back to Pohnpei, and we will get you rooms for your stay. I will assign one of my men to lead you tomorrow. If you need weapons, I will get them for you, but we don’t have many on our island.”
“We’ll be fine, sir,” smiled Jalen.
“I suspected you would,” he nodded. “It rains nearly every day here. We get about three hundred inches of rain a year, so it might be wise for you to be prepared for that. Dr. Wong Bradshaw?”
“Please, it’s just May,” she smiled.
“May,” he nodded. “I would greatly appreciate your assistance in returning the stolen items that you returned to their rightful place. As you know, that requires a ceremony and cleansing of the items. I suspect you will be most helpful to our own Shaman.”
“I would be honored,” she nodded. Thomas kissed the top of his wife’s head, pride filling his chest. These people didn’t trust easily, and yet they were willing to put their faith in his wife, and for good reason.
While the team was taken to a small hotel, Christopher and Patrick were diving with their guide off the coast of Nan Madol. At first, the glimpses of the coral reefs were breathtaking. The magnificent colors of orange, blue, green, yellow, and all variations made them almost lose track of why they were even there.
Their guide tapped them to move further along the reef, and the brothers nodded. It was only a matter of moments when the magnificent colors that had mesmerized them began to fade, in their wake gray and white coral dying beneath the sea. It was as if life had ended and death had begun.
“Damn,” said Patrick. Their G.R.I.P. equipment allowed the men to speak to one another below the water.
“Something is killing it,” said Christopher. He looked at their guide, who nodded. “Have you had any unusual losses of fish in the area? Any sea life dying other than the coral?”
“None,” said the younger man.
The three men continued to swim along the reef, following the death and destruction until the young man stopped them.
“Sir?” he called. Patrick and Christopher turned as he pointed to something hanging off a piece of coral.
“Don’t touch it,” said Christopher.
They stared at the small piece of netting, at first thinking it might be just a piece of fishing net. But it was too tightly woven, too small to be for fishing. As they looked closer, Patrick removed his knife and gently lifted the netting. It had been tied to the coral.
“There was something in this,” said Patrick. “Whatever it was, it’s disintegrated and gone, but there was something inside it.”
“Let’s take some photographs and get back to the surface,” said Christopher. “Temuk? Make sure you haven’t touched anything. We need you safe.”
“Thank you, sir,” he nodded. “My brother, Altem, will be waiting for us on the boat.”
They took dozens of photographs, following the same reef line back above water to the waiting boat. As they explained what they’d found, Altem drove them around the reef and Nan Madol to the main island.
As their guides tied off the boat, two young women came running toward them, hugging their husbands. Patrick smiled, nudging Christopher.
“That’s what I want one day. A good woman who’s there, ready to welcome me home.” Christopher just shook his head at his brother.
“I’ll just take a good dog.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Pikut arranged for hotel stays for the entire team, and once settled, they decided to make their presence known. Hopefully, if anyone had seen other Americans on the island, they would approach them and tell them. The small restaurant had no air conditioning, only a dozen small fans. The rain was coming down in buckets, but it helped to cool temperatures, only to raise the humidity.
The food consisted of local fruits, fish, and vegetables, all flavorful and expertly cooked. The staff was friendly, yet still wary of the big American strangers.
“What has the team back home found on Myer and his background?” asked Chief.
“He was in the Army for eight years, left, and went to work for the government as a security consultant. Eventually, the United Nations hired him to accompany VIPs to other countries.” Sadie looked down, and Ham squeezed her hand.
“You have no shame in what happened. None.”
