Okay, what was it? and I want to say Happy thanks giving to those who celebrate... because not all Americans do. This is a fun chapter. Emjoy! ~S.K.

Twenty Eight

"What is it?" Bob craned his head to see.

Jade tilted the box to the light. Inside, a slim metal case was nestled tightly, it's surface corroded by contact with the sea. She put her penknife to good use again and inserted the tip between the edge of the box and the case and pried up.

It resisted briefly, then popped free. Tori reached inside as Jade levered the edge up an grasped the case, lifting it free of it's wooden casket and setting it on the cabinet top. "There's a catch." She touched the front side. "Like an old fashioned compact or something."

Bob leaned closer. "Are those initials in the top?" He reached timidly over and scraped a bit of debris off the container. "I think they are!"

"Wharton's?" Tori picked up a rag tucked underneath the shelf and rubbed the case top. Faint indications of a monogram appeared, thinly traced lines that were difficult to interpret. "Could be."

Jade gently picked at the rust around the catch. She set the knife down and curled her fingertips around the front of the case, pushing down firmly on it. It didn't budge, and she felt the metal digging into her skin. She tensed her hand and put more pressure on the catch, forcing it in with a soft, sodden crack.

Water spilled from the edges as she set the case down, along with grains of fine sand from the bottom. Jade lifted the top and laid it fully open on the cabinet, exposing it's contents to the light.

Not unexpectedly, the inside was full of sea bottom. A layer of sand covered something tucked inside. Tori cleared away the sand with her fingers and removed the contents, which felt hard and slick under her touch.

"What is it?" Bob asked eagerly.

Tori pulled it free and unfolded it. "Something plastic." She opened it completely and laid it on the shelf. It was a notebook sized sheet, layered in stiff laminate heavily creased where it had obviously been folded many times.

The writing on it was tiny. Even Tori, whose vision was darn near perfect, had to squint at it. Jade didn't even try. Instead she angled the light closer and turned, heading back towards the living area. "I'll get a magnifying glass."

"It's been reduced." Tori said. "It's a bunch of pages, laid out."

Bob pointed. "Is that a will?" He asked, in excitement. "That cover page looks like the one that got tossed out!"

Charlie grunted. "That's a fisherman." He said. "Knew what he was about in keeping that stuff. Bud 'n I have our important stuff done the same way, cept we got it full sized."

Jade returned with a small handheld magnifier. She handed it to Tori, who focused it on the first square of bitty lettering.

Everyone waited while the Brunette woman read.

"It's a trust." Tori murmured. "This part, and yeah, that section's a will." She pointed at a third set of pages. "That's the documents of ownership for the boat… it's all legal papers." She looked up at Jade. "And this here at the bottom looks like his float plan for the Caribbean."

Jade exhaled. "Proof he wasn't nuts." She said. "and that he was here for a reason."

"Yes! Yes!" Bob yelled in elation. "There it is! We got him! We got the damn bastard!"

Jade held the slim, metal case in one hand, and stared at it, her head shaking back and forth in patent disbelief. "I can't believe we've had this damn thing the whole freaking time." She cursed, lifting the top of the case again and shutting it.

"Damn." Charlie exhaled. "Damn, damn damn." He looked profoundly relieved.

"I'm damn glad to see this." Jade sighed. "At least we've got something to work with now"

"What?" Bob said. "Give it to me. This is Tanya's!"

Tori covered the sheet with both hands and blocked his hasty grab. "Hey!'

Jade clamped her fingers down on his wrist. "Leave it. That's our only real bargaining chip."

"You can't give that to him! No!" Bob wrenched his arm free from Jade's grip and lunged for the sheet. He yanked at Tori's shoulder, avoiding Charlie's outstretched fingers.

Jade reacted instinctively. She shifted and her left hand whipped up, tangling with his arm as she threw her weight against him. "Get away from her." Jade warned him, aware suddenly of Tori's gently bemused look.

Charlie stepped in between them and forced Bob back, shoving him against the wall. "Don't give me no excuses, you gutless git." He told Bob. "I don't give a damn about no money or what you're gonna get out of this. That there's the key to me getting my partner back."

"You can't take it!" Bob panted. "You don't understand what's at stake here!"

Tori slipped from between them and carried the sheet with her over to the couch. "No." She advised Bob. "You don't understand what's at stake here, or what's worse, you don't care. Someone's life is in danger. How can you even think about keeping this?" With a disgusted shake of her head, Tori used a cloth to pat the sheet dry. "Jade, I can't even scan this. It won't pick up these letters, even as a hi res graphic."

"I won't let you give that to him." Bob warned. "I won't. I won't, I.. urp." His eyes bugged out as Charlie got a big hand around his throat and started to squeeze.

"Shut the hell up fore I toss you overboard." The retired sailor lost his patience.

Bob glared at all of them, , but subsided. Charlie released his throat, staying close by just in case. "You can't." He muttered. "You can't."

"We will." Tori replied steadily. 'And if you try to interfere, you're going to get hurt."

"Damn straight." Charlie agreed.

Jade walked over to Tori and with her phone took apicture of the document. Then with a local app on the device attempted the scan again. "Got it."

"Shit. why didn't I think of that." Tori said leaning on Jade. Jade smiled and kissed the top of her head.

Jade sent the scans, picture, and printed a paper copy for Bob. "We hand him the originals. But you've got your proof." Then she turned her attention back to the items. "Now shut up and stay out of the way."

"Jade?" Tori tied the laces on her sneaker. "I have a question." They were in the bedroom changing, with only the dim bedside lamp on. It was quiet, and cool, and presented a last moment of peace before they went to do battle with the weather and DeSalliers.

"Mm?" Jade was fastening the top button on her jeans.

"How are we going to get to DeSalliers' boat?"

Jade's hands paused, and she looked up. "He's got a skiff, I think. I saw it hanging off a winch when we were onboard."

Tori gazed seriously at her. "What if we need to get back in a hurry? I hate to be at his mercy like that."

The boat pitched, making them both grab for balance. After it steadied, Jade put her hands on her hips and frowned thoughtfully. "We could swim." She said. "But in this weather, damn, I hope we don't have to."

Tori stepped closer, and slid her fingertips inside Jade's waistband. "You think we should dress accordingly just in case? Not that I don't love you in jeans, sweetie, because I do, but they're a bitch to swim in." She gave the waistband a tug. "especially if they are loose like these."

"You've got a point." Jade acknowledged, studying Tori's own outfit of a T-shirt tucked into shorts. "I could just go in my bathing suit with a pair of gym shorts over it." She said. "You have a suit on under that?"

"Yes I do, so that would be perfect." Tori agreed. She watched quietly as her partner changed, sliding out of the jeans and folding them neatly before she donned her bathing suit. "Jade?" In the relatively dim light, she could still see the reflections off Jade's eyes as she looked at her. "Are you scared?"

Jade adjusted the shoulder strap on her solid black suit. "Of doing this?"

Tori nodded.

"A little." The sandy haired woman sighed. "Scared something else will happen and someone, us maybe, or Bud, will get hurt. Sure I'm scared."

"I feel a lot better now, that we have this." Tori touched the plastic coated sheet on the dresser. "It's not just a bluff anymore."

Jade nodded.

"Shame he gets to win, though." Tori admitted. "Kind of frustrating, really. We get the answers at last, and now it's for nothing. Wharton wins anyway."

"I've got a theory about that." Jade pulled a light, cotton short sleeved shirt on over her suit, leaving it unbuttoned. "What goes around, comes around. He'll get his one day." She carefully stored her precious pocket watch in a drawer, tucking it into a fold of one of her spare shirts.

"Like my mother did?" Tori asked quietly.

Jade paused, and looked at her. "You could say that." She agreed slowly. "It catches up to you." Her eyes dropped thoughtfully. "Like it did to me."

Tori moved closer. "You're not seriously comparing yourself to either Wharton or my mother, are you?" Her voice rose.

"No, not exactly." Her partner replied.

"Good." Tori bumped against her. "Then what are you talking about?"

Jade circled Tori's neck with her arms and rested her forehead against her partner's. "I'm not really sure. Ask me again later." She said.

The boat swayed, and they both swayed with it. Tori took hold of Jade's waist and leaned in to kiss her. "Time to get going." She said. "I'll be glad when this is over."

Jade rubbed noses with her. "Me too." She admitted. "Because when it is, I'm gonna kick everyone off this damn boat and put a do not disturb sign on the railing."

"Right there with you." Tori agreed.

Jade tucked the plastic sheet into her back pocket and zipped it, then put her arm around Tori's shoulders and steered her towards the bedroom door. "Know what I was just thinking? The old man was a bastard. Maybe it's poetic justice the kid took everything."

Tori sighed. "That thought had occurred to me."

They opened the door and walked out into the boat's living area. "I'm going to go start up the engines." Jade told Charlie, who was keeping a dour eye on the still glowering Bob. She picked up her rain slicker off the counter and slipped into it, fastening the catches. "Might as well get moving."

"I'll go up on there with you." Charlie got up carefully, getting his balance over his artificial leg.

"Thanks guys." Tori sent telepathically to them, as they hastened to leave her with the furious Bob. "I'm going to make a pot of soup, Jade. We missed dinner."

Soup. Jade's stomach suddenly rumbled loudly. "Great idea." She gave her partner an appreciative look. "Thanks."

"Mm." Tori let her eyes rest on Bob, then met Jade's. Her dark eyebrow quirked.

Jade returned a mildly sheepish look, and a shrug. "Call me when it's ready. I'll come get you." She said. "I mean, get it."

"I liked the first one better." Tori mouthed, before she turned and made her way into the galley.

Jade navigated carefully through the storm, edging closer and closer to the meet point. It was so dark she could barely see past the bow of the boat, and she was relying only on her radar and her depth finder to keep her out of trouble.

The rain lashed hard against them, moving almost sideways in it's intensity. Charlie was huddled in the seat next to her, also staring out into the darkness. "Nasty." Jade murmured.

"Yeah." The retired sailor replied softly. "Listen, Jade – I'm sorry about that mix up before."

Jade glanced at him. "It's all right." She said. "It's too much stress for all of us right now. I know you're worried about Bud. So am I." She watched the radar. "Looks like our friend abandoned us." She pointed at the screen. "One less complication."

Charlie nodded. "Saw that." He said. "I feel a damn sight better now about the whole thing, since you found that paperwork." He added. "Ain't that I didn't trust you to do the right thing, Jade, but…"

"But it's a hell of a lot easier when you've got something to bargain with." Jade finished for him. "I wasn't feeling any too comfortable either. There's just so much bullshit I can dish out before I run out of cards." She made a slight adjustment to their course. "I'll be glad to give him that damn paper, get Bud, and get the hell out of this god damned storm."

"Doesn't bother you that the bad guys win?" Charlie asked, watching her face.

"Bad guy's a relative term in this viper's nest." Jade muttered, turning as she heard someone coming up the ladder. "Ah." A smile crossed her face as she recognized the sturdy form in its rain slicker. Tori had a thermos jug hanging around her neck by a lanyard, and was using both hands to pull herself up the ladder this time. "Told you I'd come and get you!" Jade called out.

Tori steadied her balance, and made her way across the pitching bridge. "Let's just say there's so much petulant whininess I can take in one sitting, okay?" She thumped down into the third seat, on the other side of Jade. "Stupid little wuss bag. I almost put him through a porthole." Her voice sounded exasperated. "We almost there?"

"Almost." Jade nodded.

A crack of thunder made them jump, and the entire sky lit with lightning, brushing the heaving waves with silver incandescence for a brief instant.

"Wow." Tori exhaled. "This is getting pretty bad. What if he doesn't show?"

No one answered, or looked at each other.

"He'd better." Jade finally said. "If he doesn't, we'll go find him."

Lightning flashed again, and Tori started, grabbing Jade's arm. "Jade!" She pointed off the bow. "There's something out there!" She shouted. "Someone! I saw a person!"

"What?" Jade barked, incredulous. Immediately, she cut the throttles, slowing the big boat into a wallowing idle. "Where?"

Charlie half stood and peered. "Can't be, Tori. Not in these waters."

Tori strained her eyes. "There was." She said, with utter certainty. "I swear it."

Jade checked the time, then looked at Tori's face. "Get the spotlight." She said. "I'll circle."

Tori jumped up and started for the ladder, when she froze as a light from the darkness of the waves seemed to ignite, pinning *them* with its brilliance. "Oh.. !"

"What the hell.." Jade felt the world going out of balance. "Now what?"

"Jade." Charlie's face had a strange expression. "That there's a Navy underwater lamp."

Naval light? Jade felt a sudden possibility make her heart jump. As she idled the engines, she heard the faint echo of a much smaller one nearby. "Tori, stay up here." She held on to the railing as she edged around her partner. "I think we're okay."

Tori held onto the rail for dear life as she watched Jade scamper down the ladder. "I hope she's right."

Thunder rolled ominously overhead.