Page 32 of Wild Tempest

Another noise startled us.

This time it came from below deck.

We all shared an uneasy glance, then filed out of the captain's quarters. The barrel of my rifle led the way. My flashlight beam cut the darkness as we pushed into an interior hallway, then took a ladderwell down to the main deck.

I told Tempest to hang back behind Jack.

This was a big boat. There were plenty of places for someone to hide. I definitely had the feeling that we weren’t alone, but it seemed impossible that anyone could survive on this boat for any length of time.

We cleared the area, then moved below deck with caution.

More dark creepy hallways.

We crept down the corridor, clearing compartments, Tempest following.

Before long, we stumbled across a cargo hold. I opened the hatch, and Jack angled the barrel of his rifle inside. His flashlight beam raked across the space. It was filled with several boxes and containers. Pallets of crates covered by tarps, lashed to the deck.

JD and I stepped into the space and cleared the corners.

There were dozens of nooks and crannies to hide.

"Hello," I shouted into the cavernous space. "Is anyone here?”

The only response I got was my voice bouncing off the bulkheads.

I shouted again in Russian for good measure. "Is anyone aboard?”

JD and I swept through the compartment, moving down the aisles between the crates and pallets, clearing the area until the hold was secured.

The crates were stenciled in Cyrillic with the words: caution, fragile, sensitive equipment.

“What do you think is in the crates?” Tempest asked.

We were all thinking the same thing.

Jack found a crowbar in the corner, leaning against the bulkhead. He used it to pry the lid off of one of the crates, squeaking and squealing. We peered inside to find packing peanuts.

I brushed them away, revealing glimmering bars of gold bullion.

The rumors were true.

They gleamed under the beam of my flashlight.

There was enough gold in this one crate for a person to live high on the hog for the rest of their life. There were dozens and dozens of these crates in the cargo hold.

The sight of it did inspire a certain thrill.

A triumphant smirk tugged Tempest’s lips. "I told you we’d find gold aboard this ship."

She reached a hand into the crate, hefted out a bar, and admired it. At 400 troy ounces, it weighed 27.4 pounds. It was not something you could just toss around. She struggled with it.

With the current spot price of gold as it were, Tempest held well over seven figures in the palm of her hand.

She couldn't help but grin. "I don't know about you, but this is life-changing money. Do you know what this means? This means taking care of my family. This means never having to put up with an annoying boss. This means never having to worry about rent. It’s enough to have everything you want and give back and do a little good in the world.”

“Don’t get too excited,” I said. “We still need to get it back to the Titan and fix the engine. It’s not going to do any of us any good if we never get out of the Devil’s Tide. Not to mention, everything aboard this ship could be contaminated.”

Tempest stuck her tongue out at me. “Don’t be such a party pooper. Let me have my moment.” She smiled. “We’re rich. Everything’s going to work out just fine. Stay positive. Whatever happened here happened a long time ago. And I have full faith that you will get that engine running in no time.”