Chapter 2

Frustrated, Myka can't help but turn to H.G. Watching the boat get further away by the minute, she imagines getting the Coast Guard involved, as there is a base just a mile down the street. Yet she can't dismiss the expert help standing right in front of her, whether authorized or not. With a loud sigh, she exclaims,

"What do you have in mind?"

Helena smiles subtly and leads them to her waiting car. Screeching northward, Helena deflects the stares and gaping jaws surrounding her. The only way to reach the opposite side of the sound was to go south, then north.

"You think he's going to just run? He has to have an out strategy, and the boat is a rental. It had the owner's name advertised on the back."

Claudia nods and continues where HG left off.

"And that's where we are heading. Genius! Um…how did you find us? If you don't mind us asking, that is?"

Helena whips the car west out of the Battery Street Tunnel and leads them north while avoiding Claudia's inquiries.

Dodging traffic and running numerous traffic lights with only inches to spare from being struck, Helena gets onto the Pacific Highway and continues her run north. Taking a left west towards the city of Edmonds, she accelerates in driving Claudia's fingertips into the cushion of the back seat. Myka seizes the opportunity to grill their driver.

"Okay, I get that you want to help us recover an artifact, but why? Do you know what we are recovering or something?"

Helena just shakes her head. "I have…been keeping an eye out. And if you keep a sizeable amount of money in a bank and let it multiply over a hundred years with compounded interest…you have a bit of resources at your disposal."

Myka bites her lower lip skeptically. "Keeping an eye out on whom?"

Helena dodges the question by bringing the car to a screeching halt as a helicopter lifts off from the street in front of them and flies north. The frustration in Myka's voice makes Claudia cringe.

"JUST FREAKING GREAT! How in the hell are we supposed to follow them now! Do you have a helicopter up that sleeve of yours?"

Helena shakes her head. "No, but I do have a way to track them, but you'll have to trust me. Can you get us a helicopter? It's not likely they are going too far, as they have to get the artifact out of the country fast, but everything is too complicated to have already arranged a flight out of country this afternoon back to Russia."

Claudia opens up her laptop and nods in agreement.

"She's dead on! That last flight for the day just left 15 minutes ago. The next one isn't until 6:20 in the morning."

Helena continues.

"It's not likely that they would chance us reacquiring the artifact by taking a slow boat to China…so to speak."

Claudia checks every possible way to get to Russia, and after a few minutes confirms her suspicions.

"There's no way these guys are getting out of the country to their motherland tonight. So that gives us at least 16 hours to find and recover our stolen artifact…which only Myka knows exactly what it is."

Helena raises an eyebrow towards the beautiful brunette next to her.

"You're not sharing that information with us?"

Myka shakes her head no.

"And I won't budge on that point. It was made crystal clear that for no reason can I reveal what the artifact is, despite the fact that the bad guys already know about it, and now possess it."

Helena turns the car back towards the highway and in the general direction the helicopter flew.

"Well, we seem to be in an impasse, don't we?"

Myka stares at her intently and tells her, "Looks like YOU need to trust ME, now."

With a hint of frustration, Helena nods and extracts a small box from her coat pocket. Pulling over to the side of the road she sets it in Myka's hand. The wooden box, old and painstakingly preserved, could barely be held in one hand. On the top of the box was a black dome, seemingly painted with and detracts from the aesthetics of the box.

Myka doesn't move as Helena unbuckles her seatbelt and slowly opens the top to reveal a small sailing compass spinning sporadically. She gets closer and eases her lips to Myka's ear.

"Empty your mind, and fill it with what you truly desire."

The compass sins for a few more seconds and stops with the arm pointing to Myka's immediate left.

Helena smiles.

"Fill your mind with only the artifact you seek. This item will find the thing which your heart desires most."

Slowly the compass arm twitches away from Helena and points due north. Helena smiles at Myka.

"Now, just keep your mind on the artifact, and I'll drive us right to it."

Getting situated in her seat, she pulls back into traffic and follows Myka's direction changes. After checking in with Artie, letting him know how handoff had flopped, they leave off the particulars of their driver.

After two hours of direction changes and fighting traffic, the famous skyline of Seattle is history and the waterside city of Everett. Tired from their trek, they push on and begin driving large circles around the city zeroing-in on their stolen artifact. The compass twitches sporadically as Myka's attention wavers occasionally, but the directions it provides seems to deliver them at the entrance of a sleepy bed and breakfast called Bountiful Burrows. Driving down the path brings them to a quaint and charming set of cottages, each of which having a magnificent view of Puget Sound. Taken back everyone stares confused at the spectacle before them. Claudia is the first to state the obvious.

"Was I the only one who was expecting some skanky warehouse or motel?"

Myka can only blink repeatedly with her mouth hanging agape before replying.

"No. I had had even imagined some high class hotel that was four or five figures a night or an obvious mob hangout, but not a sleepy bed and breakfast."

Helena reserves judgment.

"Perhaps we should just go in and see if we can get a room for the night. It's obviously around here, so let's just play like we're on holiday or something?"

Myka reluctantly nods.