"A couple of hours." I responded.
"A couple of hours?"
"If we're lucky. I know it's not as fast as your plane, but it's the only chance we've got right now."
She shifted from foot to foot and tapped her thumb against her thigh repeatedly, weighing the pros and cons of the situation. "Damnit. Let's go. This thing isn't going to sink from under me, is it?"
"She got me here, didn't she?" I replied, a little hurt by her disapproval of Paramour. "I'll crank her up, start turning us loose."
I threw the doors to the cabin open and, ignoring the stairs, swung myself into the salon. Moving the throttle up to running speed, I turned the key and listened to the ancient Volvo rumble to life. The little engine settled into its typical steady rhythm within a few seconds. While it idled, I flipped switches on the electrical panel. I heard the telltale beep of the GPS and the depth sounder as they powered up. Back on deck, I found Jaye had us ready to go. She had turned all but one line loose and she stood on the mid-deck holding it, ready to fling it off the dock cleat. I moved behind the wheel, and glanced over the gages and the GPS which was still booting up.
"Alright, let's get out of here! Turn us loose," I commanded.
Jay whipped the line out from under the dock cleat. As soon as I saw it arc free, I slammed the gear shifter into forward. The transmission let out a deep clunk as Paramour jumped forward and cut through the flat, dark waters. I tapped the throttle lever, inching it forward, increasing our speed. The entrance to the marina, and the river past it, were approaching fast. I held my breath and pushed the throttle farther forward, ignoring safety. The GPS screen flashed, finally done booting up. Now it displayed the base map of the area, and more importantly, my recorded track. A dotted line on the screen wound up the river and into the marina. Following it should take us back out safely. I zoomed the screen in all the way for maximum detail.
"Chase! Look!" Jaye yelled, breaking my concentration. I looked up from the screen to see her pointing behind us. Following her finger, my heart sank as I saw it. The covered military truck was skidding to a halt outside the gate to the marina.
"Damn." I muttered as I turned the wheel and brought the boat out of the marina and into the river. "So much for a clean getaway," I said as we slid around the corner and out of sight.
"What do you mean? I didn't see any other boats in the marina, they can't follow us," she said, confused. Despite her declaration, I noticed she was watching behind us for any sign of pursuit.
"Those soldiers might not have a boat, but we can't outrun their radio. We have to make it downriver and offshore. We have to get far enough away that Bardales can't come after us," I said, and then added, "Can you drive a boat?"
Mercury whipped her head around to face me, "That's not exactly my forte but I can try."
"Come here then," I said. She moved behind me, stooped beneath the sun-shade, and peered over my shoulder. I pointed towards the chart plotter screen. "See this little boat icon? That's us. Keep it on the dotted black line in the middle of the river. Use small corrections on the wheel and remember its kind of like a plane, it doesn't turn like a car, she will slide a little."
She nodded her head in understanding and said, "Got it."
I nodded my head towards the wheel and moved so that she could take my place. "Try to stay on the line. I don't know how deep the sides of this river are or what's under the water. If we run aground, it's going to be a very short trip."
"No pressure," she muttered as she settled in behind the big wooden wheel.
I watched her for a few seconds, making sure she could handle the task. Convinced that she was competent, I left her to it and prepared to raise the mainsail. The maneuvers were well practiced, and within a minute I had the towering white sail hoisted. Seconds later it was catching wind.
"Woah!" Mercury said, turning the wheel more into the wind as the boat heeled over on its side a little. "It's getting a little harder to keep on course."
"I forgot to tell you, it'll be harder to steer with the sails up, but we'll go faster than with the engine alone. Here, I'll take over," I said, grabbing the wheel. She moved to the side of the cockpit, tense and coiled, looking as restless as I felt.
"What next?" she asked, fidgeting and tapping her thumb against her thigh like a jackhammer. Again she was scanning the river banks with her eyes. It was clear that she was out of her element, but for the first time in days I was in mine. I relished the reassurance that gave me. For the first time since laying eyes on her, I had the upper-hand. I looked her over again and noticed that she looked rather cute. At least she was when she wasn't throwing punches or tossing me off cliffs. I had known that she was beautiful, but she had been cold and untouchable, more of a force of nature than a real woman. Now, watching her fidget, I could see the humanity under the tough shell she had erected around herself. I found I liked that. A lot.
A sudden gust of wind heeled the boat over and forced me to steer hard against it, bringing me back into the moment. I made a mental note to revisit my feelings for her later when we were out of Cuban waters. Checking the chart plotter, I noted our speed, and then ran through my mental checklist for a
