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Chapter Twenty-Five
Coop
Nik and I spent the morning running the underwater drone over the wreckage site. We’d propped the computer on the padded captain’s chair of the tender as it was the only way to shade the screen for decent viewing. Evaluating the findings, we’d be able to identify any debris paths and determine the yacht’s final position. The technology wasn’t sophisticated enough to get a full internal layout of the ship, but Zee had spared no expense and the imagery and mapping we were getting back on the laptop was better than expected and more than adequate for our needs.
“I don’t like this,” Nik said as he rapped the display with his knuckle. “Looks like it’s ready to cave in right here, and that’s if this section doesn’t slide right off into an abyss.”
I agreed. The bulk of the yacht’s starboard aft leaned perilously off a ledge along the reef wall, beyond which the seafloor dropped completely away. It was a perfect day for diving, though. The waters were calm with no major currents, so risks were mitigated. While below the surface things were perfect, the way the sun had started to beat down from above, I wouldn’t have minded a nice stiff breeze.
“Let’s insert here.” I pointed to the ship’s bow, which appeared to have lodged itself into the coral, making it slightly more stable. “The Esmeralda was a luxury vessel, not a cargo ship. Between the favela gangs, the Commando Vermelho, and the corrupt police, it wouldn’t have been safe to transport the emerald to any cargo port or marina in Brazil. So I’m guessing they conducted the transfer at a private dock or canal, most likely used the yacht’s toy cranes to load the safe. The ones on the bow make the most sense.”
“Agreed.” Nik swiped his forehead and resettled his ballcap. “And it’s not likely they relocated it once it was onboard.”
“On our way back to the ship, let’s drag the sonar over this area in case the safe detached when the ship capsized.”
“Roger that.” Nik whipped the boat around as I prepared to redeploy the sonar.
We silently trolled westward, letting the draft our movement created cool us off.
Before I could reminisce on last night with Zee, Nik asked, “How are you and Leo doing? Is he okay?”
“He’s…” I couldn’t in good conscience say Leo was fine. I couldn’t even say he wouldbe fine. This situation was only going to get worse, and now I’d selfishly dragged Zee deeper into it with me.
“I thought I heard him crying last night.”
“That was me. I always cry after sex,” I joked. Then I tamped down the guilt of making light. My brother was scared for me.
“Yeah, I heard that too, asshole. Seriously, I’ve never seen Leo like this.” Nik wasn’t going to let me play it off. If he was, he’d have at least tried to mine my sex comment for more details.
Not that I was about to share those amazing memories with him. Shit. Zee and I both should be ashamed…and proud of ourselves. Definitely worth the wait. But now that I knew what I’d been missing, I was eager to get back to her.
“Leo’s been edgy about this whole trip.” Nik flipped his baseball cap backward and popped the top on the Outbreak energy drink he’d fished from the small cooler Kai had loaded for us. “Something is off between you.”
I took a page from Aziza’s playbook and went with as much honesty and information as I could, without giving him anything he didn’t already know.
“Leo’s all weirded out about the Bermuda Triangle stuff…and sharks. But mostly he’s concerned about my diving given the number of concussions I’ve had. A couple months ago, I told him I was taking part in a TBI study. I didn’t think he’d understand about the Ibogaine protocol. And I get it, I thought it sounded like some hippie excuse to get fucked-up while hiking through the rainforest, too. But there’s something to it.”
“Is there? Something to it? Did it help?”
“With some things…yes.” After going through the guided process of tapping into my past relationships, it had felt like the bullets had been removed, the infection purged, and the wounds healed. I no longer feared I’d make the same mistakes with Zee, nor did I feel I was doomed to make new ones. Truth was, Zee and I had already had the friendship and the partnership, the attraction and the respect, the love and the bond. All we’d waited on was the physical, and if last night was any indication, we certainly didn’t have issues there.
“And other things?”
“Not so much.” But my having a tumor wasn’t the fault of the therapy. “I will say this, there was a part of the experience where I felt like I was in a movie of my life. It was so vivid. I wasn’t just watching the past, I was reliving it.”
“Reliving it?”
“You know how in dreams, you’re you, but sometimes you’re also watching you? Under the psychedelic, I saw past events as they really were, like without the bias remembering has. And I’ll say, it was not all fun. But it helped unpack the memories and resolve things, which is why I brought it up for Thea. Given everything we know about her childhood, a triggered recollection of any of those events may be overwhelming. Ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT might lessen the trauma of her going home again.”
My mind flashed back to Zee’s recounting of the shipwreck. I was grateful I’d been with her and that she’d trusted me to hold her through it. I was also thankful to help her complete this job, which would have more emotional impact on her than I’d realized.
“If it wasn’t a scam and you think it helped, why didn’t you tell Leo after the fact?”
I grimaced. “You saw his reaction. Actually, it was worse than I’d expected.”
“Tell me about it. I had no idea Thea felt so strongly, either.”
“She okay now?” I asked, nabbing the opportunity to move the conversation away from Leo.
