Page 75 of Thawed Gladiator: Varro

The crew quickly help the driver load the truck, and it drives off. Some of Laura’s worry has transferred to me and I wonder if we’ll ever see the gold again. Laura calls the coast guard and reports that they found the missing helicopter and the four missing men.

Ten minutes later, many vehicles with flashing lights arrive at the dock.

What follows is a whirlwind of questions and statements. Officials from various agencies swarm the boat, documenting everything. The captain responds to their questions and gives them the coordinates where the helicopter was found. They separate Laura and me, leading us to different areas for questioning.

Laura and I discussed this before we left our hotel. We must come clean about everything—except my age—including Merrivale and his men. I do my best to recount our story—including Merrivale’s attack and show him the wound on my side made by the gun.

It’s strange, speaking of these events to strangers, trying to make them understand the desperate situation we faced. Guns and machetes against a makeshift spear and a sword I told them I found on the island. My fear for Laura’s safety comes through loud and clear.

Hours pass before Laura and I are finally reunited. She looks exhausted, but relieved to see me.

“They believe us,” she says, collapsing into my arms. “About Merrivale, about the self-defense. They grilled me hard, asked why we hadn’t reported it first thing. I kept telling them it was shame and guilt. By the look on my face and the sincerity in my voice, it was pretty believable.”

“I succeeded in playing dumb and having trouble with the language. It worked in my favor,” I tell her.

“They said if everything on the island checks out, we’re in the clear.” She breathes a sigh of relief.

I hold her tight, relief washing over me. “What happens now?”

She pulls back, a glimmer of excitement in her eyes despite her fatigue. “Now? Now we plan our next move. This dive team is good, Varro. Really good. Your gut was right. I trust them. I want to hire them for another expedition.”

“The other half of theFortuna?”

She nods.

“If you’re up for it,” she adds, searching my face.

I think about it for a moment. The idea of returning to that place, of potentially finding my comrades’ bones… makes my stomach clench. I’ve begun to hope perhaps one other might still be alive. One thing I’ve learned in life is that hope is more destructive than pain. But looking at Laura, seeing the passion in her eyes, I know my answer.

“I’m with you,” I say simply. “Always.”

As we make our way through the crowd of officials and onlookers, Laura fills me in on what she learned. “The helicopter pilot was a friend of Garrison’s,” she explains. “He left in such a hurry to retrieve us, he didn’t file a flight plan. No one knew where he’d gone, just that he and the helicopter went missing.”

I shake my head, saddened by the unnecessary loss of life. “At least now their families will have answers.”

Laura nods, then lowers her voice. “We need to move quickly with the gold. It won’t be long before word gets out and a hundred treasure seekers try to get there before we do. At least we’re the only ones who know exactly where half of it is. I was right about its location. It shouldn’t take me long to figure out where the other half ended up.”

“And what of me?” I ask, suddenly aware of how out of place I must seem in this world.

She squeezes my hand reassuringly. “For now, you’re just a mysterious stranger I met on the island. We’ll figure out how to handle the truth when the time comes.”

I’ll never tell her, but that’s exactly what I worry about. She keeps warning me that people will be upset when they find out about me. What happens when I’m more of a burden than a boon?

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Weeks Later…

Marcus Fabius Varro

The hum of the airplane engine vibrates through my body as I stare out the small window, marveling at the patchwork of land and water far below. Even after weeks in this new world, experiencing a thousand new things, both large and small, the miracle of flight qualifies as the most spectacular.

I smile quietly to myself as I imagine what might happen if this entire plane went back in time and landed in the Colosseum. Would it entertain the masses as much as witnessing the slaughter of innocent people and animals? In many ways, I’m glad that’s not my life anymore.

Pulling my thoughts to the present, I wonder how Laura’s family will accept me. How long will it take for me to give myself away and inadvertently spill my secret because I don’t know how to do something as common as turn on the television? Even though I’ve learned how to do that, what other obstacles might I face that a child of this age can easily navigate, but I can’t?

Laura’s hand squeezes mine, pulling me from my circling thoughts.

“How are you holding up?” Her eyes search mine for any sign of distress.

---