piloted us so that we reached a vertical shaft. With some effort and with the help of the cable ladder we take up a floor in the boat. The boat drops very fast and we hear how the crew using lifeboats try to save what can be saved.
We manage to get out on the deck and throw ourselves in the ocean while the boat drops below us. We swim away from the wreck while a powerful wave throws us against a cliff with Maria closest to the cliff. She takes the shock, strikes her head and loses consciousness. She has not left my side this time, and despite the darkness, I perceive what's happening and hold her over the water, as we float on land.
There are lifeboats close by, but I prefer trying to get to land on my own. But it's not that easy, it's blowing properly and I'm working hard to stay above the surface. I scratch in a couple of underwater cliffs and lose more and more of my powers. In the end when I feel I can not feel more, I feel the bottom and draw both myself and Maria up on the beach.
For a while later, others seem to be heading for our way so I get up to a few bushes that I'm going to hide behind. Carefully I go behind the bushes into the darkness. Hope it's a cave. I drag Maria into the cave, make sure she is alive, she does not seem to be injured in addition to a bump in her head.
I dare not light any light, by the way, I do not have enough on me that might burn. I think of the trails that lead here and after tied Maria with my belt, I crawl out to try to sweep the tracks in the sand again.
As I crawled into the cave and felt like Maria, I heard her staring weak. I notice she was joking and I begin to explain the situation to her.
"One-one," I explain, "you saved my life yesterday, today I have saved you. In addition, I have you backed in a cave." If life is your love, you're completely silent, otherwise ... "
Because I could not get a good continuation of the sentence, it was hanging in the air. In my education as a computer seller, I did not like to shut up people so I do not know what I would have done if she would start screaming like a siren again. She was quiet at all, she thought I was as tough as I was.
"I do not think anyone survived from the boat," I lied. What was happening with my Scottish honesty by the way. It was not in my usual honest attitude to lie to people in my face. Even though it was dark. But I already began to regret my sudden decision to hide. How would I do in the future. Certainly I had Maria, but was she worthy of hostages?
"How are you going to get out of here then?" Maria asks. She is not stupid, she has also found my dilemma. "Can you unfasten the belt that you tied me up with?"
"Unfortunately, I can not be so nice," I say. "You'd run away from me and report to your headquarters right away."
"We must come to an agreement," she claims, "you can not lock me in or tie me up in this cave without losing me in five minutes. You can not take me to Banana Bay or Basseterre against my will. , What are you going to do? "
She could not express my problem more clearly.
"What are you suggesting?" I ask nervously.
"Are you the one you're giving up to be?" She asks.
"Why?"
"It's not that you work for any intelligence or police organization from the United States or England?"
"Lord, no!" Now shame on dry land, could you take me for a secret agent or a police officer. "Never in life," I admitted very much.
"No, our investigations have not found such suspicion," she says. "But I do."
"What, you do what?"
"I work for the Mexican drug police."
"Yes," I say stupidly.
"In my capacity, I'm employed by this organization who kidnapped you and your assistants. But I'm also an information officer for the Mexican police because they suspect there are shady shops behind the facade of this company."
"You lie to let me go free," I say uncertainly. "Prove it!"
"What do you know about Mexico?"
"Not a dive other than that, it's Americans who sell computers there."
"You can call and check."
"Do you have a cell phone in your trousers?" I ask.
"No, but as soon as we get to a phone, you can call a call. The recipient pays. Until then you can let me go free."
"I'm so stupid, at least. Now we crawl into the cave." We're too close to the opening. "
"We ran into the cave. There were no bats to scare us, but I crept straight into an ashtray and something that felt like a campsite. There was also a thick root from any tree that grew outside here.
"Now I tie you to this root. For safety, I'll tie your feet together with your panties." If you're nice and quiet tonight, I'll think about what you said. Now I'm going to sleep for a couple of hours. That I sleep very easily and wake up if you try to infect. "
I wonder if she believed in the last. As she crept down into my bed in Banana Bay, I slept like a stock, just as I usually do. I was very impressed with myself and I start to lie like a professional lier. No, it was wrong, it's not a bustle that lies, they are ...
I woke up with a jolt. "Breakfast", says a friendly voice. It's bright outdoors and into the cave looking for a pale day. At the campsite, Maria and smile smoothly.
"Is it good with cold beans?"
She was not tied anymore, instead she held a jar of white beans.
"I found some canned cans here," she says. "Better than nothing anyway."
I sighed and found that, after all, I was probably an amateur in these circuits.
"Do I get back my belly," I say sadly. "I have to go on the musty."
The cave is quite big in here, but the small opening lies down slightly with light. I walk behind the nearest corner and start digging a pit to dig down what I was going to let go of. There is something that shines slightly in the sand so I pick it up and stop in my pocket to look at it later.
"Do you believe me now?" Maria asks.
"I do not know what to believe," I still answer badly. "You stay here, I'll reconnaissance."
"As you wish."
I see some crew men a few hundred yards away, they may be looking for several survivors.
"We'll stay for a while," I announce on returning to Maria.
"You do not trust me," she and her smile glitters through the storm. I feel incredibly stupid.
"We're waiting for the coast to finish," I say, "then we'll get to the nearest phone so I can check your identity. If you're green, I agree to cooperate in some way."
I think of Valerie and Boy and the little expedition we were on.
"What a mess," I think high on wide Scottish.
"What?"
"No, I just thought high"
Maria's wide smile illuminates the cave, and although I'm unsure of everything, I feel certain that Maria may be on my side. However, the question remains, whose side I'm really on.
17. The Escape
From Maria's behavior, I thought basically that she was what she said. At the same time I was unsure and did not want to take any unnecessary risks. Anyway, I thought to be as careful as I could. After another three cans of white beans during the day, I did not envy the cowboys in the Wild West who, according to the films, lived on white beans. We did not have to starve anyway.
In the twilight I did a reconnaissance in the cave opening and thought I could find out that there were no enemies in sight. The tide now went right into the cave so there was no risk that there would be any traces.
"Now comes the exciting game blindfold," I announce Maria. "Now you must be blind and we shall sneak out of here."
"You're stupid," she claims.
"No protests", I say, "I actually found a knife in here and if I get on you with something that makes me suspicious, I will use it. Remember that I'm used to hunting big game and I will consider you as Big game from now on. Now we tie your eyelids, I bind your hands and then we crawl out in the open. "
For some reason, I thought that the cave's location should be my trump card, and so I did as I did. We ran out and I led Maria up for the nearest hill, the snow forest made it very difficult especially for Maria who was backbone.
As soon as we had left the coast and the sea was out of sight, I unloaded the belts and eyelashes of Maria.
"If you're nice girl now, we'll have to walk north to find a phone booth," I announced.
Maria is incredible. She laughs calmly and takes me in my hand and says:
"Sure, sign Jones, let's go hand in hand to the nearest phone."
The next few hours became rippled over the top. Certainly I had known about the terrain since riding in these areas along with Valerie and Boy, but it would be hopeless to get out into the dark, I would not have thought so. But at the same time I wanted as far as possible from the beach before it became bright. After a couple of hours I would have had enough.
"Now we are raging," I decided.
"As you like, sign Jones," says Maria with a broad smile, "would you like to tie me for the night?"
"Be calm, creep up under that bush and sleep well."
Actually she could get the net she wanted. That she did not want to infect seemed to be a good sign. I was a little worried under another bush and tried to keep me awake.
The nights are hot on these islands. Even though it would be raining during the night, it would be quite pleasant after all. An overnight stay in the Highlands would not be as fun.
The next morning we were at the phone booth at Island Paradise and I got a phone number and a name in Mexico City that would verify that Maria was the one she now turned out to be. But, instead, I called the headquarters at home in Scotland and asked one of our employees to check their name and phone.
"Do you want to check with one of your friends at Scotland Yard that there are actually real cops on this issue," I asked my co-worker. For