Storm
Grandpa used to tell me...
"Every harbor is the end of one voyage..."
"...and the beginning of another."
Tonight...
I wondered which one Hawaii would be.
The music drifted softly across the upper deck.
The dancing had slowed.
Frank and Rose sat together beneath the stars, sharing the last piece of Willow's chocolate cake.
Hazel and Ivy laughed over one of Ivy's photographs.
Calle leaned comfortably against the rail, watching moonlight dance across the Pacific.
For the first time in days...
Sea Whisper felt peaceful again.
Only the distant lights of Mariner's Crown reminded us that peace could be an illusion.
She still followed.
Always just far enough away to pretend she wasn't.
Ward stood beside the rail, quietly watching the ocean.
The breeze stirred his dark hair.
His hands rested loosely on the polished teak.
He looked peaceful.
But Storm had begun to recognize the difference.
Ward wasn't relaxing.
He was thinking.
She walked quietly beside him.
"The stars are beautiful tonight."
He smiled.
"They are."
For several moments...
Neither of them spoke.
Sometimes...
Silence said enough.
Finally...
Storm smiled.
"When we reach Hawaii..."
"...your fiancée will probably be waiting on the dock."
Ward's smile faded just slightly.
"She should be."
Storm noticed.
"You don't sound very sure."
He looked out across the dark Pacific.
"I honestly don't know anymore."
Storm didn't answer.
She wouldn't.
Whatever happened between Ward and the woman waiting in Honolulu...
Had to be his decision.
Not hers.
After a long silence...
Ward spoke again.
"I've spent most of my adult life making promises."
Storm looked at him.
"To my country."
"My team."
"My family."
He smiled sadly.
"I've always kept them."
Storm nodded.
"I believe that."
Ward looked down at the deck.
"I just don't know if I made the right one."
Before Storm could answer...
Ben stepped onto the deck carrying two fresh mugs of coffee.
"I figured you'd both need these."
Storm laughed softly.
"You've become everyone's favorite person."
Ben handed them each a mug.
"Willow made the coffee."
"I just carried it."
Scott joined them a moment later.
"The others are rotating watches."
Storm glanced toward the stern.
Piers remained stretched comfortably across a lounge chair.
John appeared completely absorbed in a paperback novel.
Mark quietly polished a pair of binoculars as though he hadn't a care in the world.
Scott smiled.
"They're enjoying themselves."
Storm grinned.
"Not fooling me."
"They're not trying to fool you."
Scott replied.
"They're trying to fool whoever's watching from out there."
He nodded toward the distant silhouette of Mariner's Crown.
Nathan stepped onto the deck carrying Grandpa's logbook.
"I've been thinking."
Ben looked up.
"Dangerous habit."
Nathan chuckled.
"So I've been told."
His smile faded.
"The people following us..."
"I don't think they're the same men."
Storm frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Nathan looked around at everyone.
"The men James and I dealt with..."
"...would be old now."
"Some are probably dead."
"But organizations..."
He looked toward the dark horizon.
"...organizations survive."
Ben nodded slowly.
"They recruit."
"They replace."
"They adapt."
Nathan pointed toward the distant ship.
"Exactly."
"The people hunting your family today..."
"...are almost certainly serving the same organization that hunted James twenty years ago."
Storm felt a chill settle over her.
"So..."
"They killed Dad."
Nathan's face filled with regret.
"I believe they did."
Hazel quietly covered her mouth.
Willow lowered her eyes.
Ivy reached for Storm's hand.
Calle stood at the rail, with her own thoughts.
Nathan continued softly.
"They believed your father knew where James had hidden something."
Storm's voice barely rose above a whisper.
"But Dad didn't know anything."
"No."
Nathan replied.
"He couldn't tell them what he never knew."
Silence settled over the deck.
Even the waves seemed quieter.
Storm stared into the darkness.
Her father...
Had died protecting a secret he never possessed.
Nathan looked at the sisters.
"After your father died..."
"James blamed himself."
Storm's eyes filled.
"He never said anything."
Nathan smiled sadly.
"He wouldn't."
"He believed the burden belonged to him."
"He thought if he could find the truth first..."
"...he could keep all of you safe."
Ben looked at the old sailor.
"And that's when he started searching again."
Nathan nodded.
"One last voyage."
"One last promise."
Frank quietly stood.
He looked around the deck.
Then out toward the endless Pacific.
"I've lived a long life."
He slipped his arm around Rose's shoulders.
Everyone turned toward him.
"I've learned something."
"Evil is patient."
He smiled gently at Storm.
"But so are good people."
Rose rested her head against his shoulder.
"And good people..."
"...usually win."
No one spoke.
They simply stood together beneath the stars.
A family.
Old friends.
New friends.
Six silent protectors.
And one determined captain.
Watching the Pacific.
Watching the enemy.
Watching tomorrow draw a little closer.
Far beyond the glow of Sea Whisper...
The silver-haired man lowered his binoculars.
"They're beginning to understand."
A younger man stood beside him.
"Should we stop them before they reach Hawaii?"
The older man thought for a long moment.
Then...
Very slowly...
He smiled.
"No."
The younger man looked surprised.
"Why not?"
The older man's eyes remained fixed on Storm's yacht.
"Because Honolulu..."
He folded his hands behind his back.
"...is exactly where I want Captain Storm Sinclair to go."
The younger man frowned.
"You've planned for this?"
The older man's smile never wavered.
"For twenty years."
He turned away from the window.
"Prepare our welcome."
As Mariner's Crown continued following through the moonlit Pacific...
The hunters are already waiting in Hawaii...
Prepared for the arrival of James Sinclair's granddaughter.
Unaware...
That she wouldn't be arriving alone.