Page 28 of Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm

“Okay, so why lead us here?” Oliver wondered. “If whatever was inside is already gone, there’s nothing we can do.”

The shark circled the cabinet, bumping its nose into the sides, as if trying to push it over. Lucy looked back at Shinji, a question in her eyes.

“What does it want, Shinji?”

Shinji crossed his arms, frowning as he listened for the shark’s voice, hoping it would clarify what was happening. But there was nothing. “I…don’t know,” he admitted. “Maybe it thinks something is still in there.”

“Should I get closer?”

Shinji looked at the shark as it bashed its nose into the

cabinet again, so forcefully that a clump of seagrass came loose and drifted to the floor. “Yeah, I think it’s still trying to tell us something, but it’s not really talking anymore,” he said. “Maybe check out the cabinet before it gives itself a bloody nose.”

“Okay.” Lucy sighed and tilted the controls forward. The drone glided up to the cabinet, shining its light against the back wall and into the corners. But, though he stared at the screen till his eyes started to water, Shinji couldn’t see anything unusual.

“There’s nothing here,” Lucy said after a minute.

“No, that’s what they’d want you to think,” Roux said, making her frown. “Look under the drawers. There could be a button for a secret door or hidden panel.”

“Are you serious?” Lucy snapped.

Roux shrugged. “It’s what I would do.”

The shark suddenly whirled and sped right at the camera, looking like it was going to chomp the drone into pieces. Shinji tensed, but instead of hitting the drone, the mako slammed its muscular body into the side of the cabinet. There was no sound on-screen, but the impact rocked the cabinet to the side and caused a school of fish to flee in panic. As everything settled, the entire back of the cabinet suddenly dropped away, revealing a square hole behind it. Roux let out a crow of victory.

“Ha! I was right.”

Oliver gave him a single nod. “Good instincts, kiddo,” he said. “I was about to suggest the same, but you beat me to it. Way to think like a pirate.”

Roux shrugged, as if it was no big deal, but Shinji could tell he was proud.

Phoebe glanced down at Lucy. “Can you reach whatever is inside the hole?”

“I think so,” she answered. Gazing down at the control panel, she flipped a lever, and Shinji watched as two metal clamps uncurled from beneath the drone. They were jointed, and with the claws on the end, they reminded him of crab pincers. Carefully, Lucy guided the clamps into the hidden hole at the back of the cabinet. Shinji stared at the screen, the others crowding in a bit closer in anticipation. They all held their breath while they waited for the arms to emerge. After a few moments of the drone rummaging around, Roux let out an impatient huff.

“Come on,” he muttered. “Where’s the treasure? What’s taking so long?”

“This isn’t exactly easy,” Lucy said through gritted teeth. “If you’re so impatient, why don’t you…? Wait, I got it.”

The arms emerged, the clamps holding what looked like a small metal box in their claws. As it came into view, Shinji felt a surge of excitement. A mysterious, sealed box hidden behind a panel in the captain’s quarters? What treasure could be inside? He hoped it was something cool.

Oliver grinned and clapped a hand to Lucy’s shoulder.

“Nice job, kid,” he said as Lucy gave a triumphant smile in Roux’s direction. “You just saved this expedition from being a complete disaster. We might’ve lost the race, but looks like our instincts were right. Hightower was in too much of a hurry and missed something important.” He put a hand on Lucy’s arm as if gently urging her to scoot aside. “We’ll get back to the ship and tell Mano the good and bad news. And…” He glanced at the screen, at the mysterious box held in the drone’s claws. “We can see what exactly we’ve found down there.”

“Yes,” Phoebe agreed with an enthusiastic nod. “Although, technically, it was the shortfin mako shark that led us to the hidden panel through telepathic communication with our resident guardian.”

“Yeah.” Oliver glanced at Shinji with a wince. “Maybe we don’t tell it like that.”

Shinji, Lucy, Oliver, Phoebe, and Mano all stood around the table in the captain’s quarters, staring at the small metal box in the center. Roux was there as well, and no one had said anything about making him leave. Shinji suspected they were too focused on the box and the mission to worry about the stowaway in the room.

“Ooh, this is so exciting!” Phoebe exclaimed, literally bouncing in place. “The suspense is killing me. I wonder what it is.”

“We could open it already and find out,” Roux suggested. “It’s just a padlock, the kind the tourists use to chain up their

bikes. Gimme three minutes with a bent wire, and I could pop it for you.”

That was the most he had said with adults in the room, Shinji noticed. Either he was becoming more comfortable with all of them, or he really wanted to see what was in the box.

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