Portofina Caye, Belize – April 11, 2141AD – 5:08am

 "... so how do we get to this Crane guy?"    

Cindis' face appeared on Johns' screen before William could answer.

{Perimeter Breech – South shore!} She said. The emergency klaxons began to wail.

"Show me! Sorry William gotta go!" John severed the connection with his old friend as Cindi brought up a live shot of the south side of the island. 

Two black speed boats were rapidly approaching the shore. As John watched one of them made landfall skidding up onto the beach. Four men in black combat gear jumped over the sides and began unloading equipment.

"What the fuck? Get the Fish ready Cindi!"

{Of course John.}

He could hear his security team running down the corridor, their boots making the floor boards rattle. A huge security officer in dark blue power-assist combat armor opened the door.

"Mr. Sheppard we have a situation!" Blared a metallic voice through the suit speakers.

"Thanks... um..." The guards face was completely hidden behind the helmets mirrored glass.

"Flynn, sir," screeched the speakers.

John winced at the sound. "Right, sorry ..."

"We're clearing a path for you to the helicopter pad..."

John waved his hand at the guard, "no I'm headed to the SilverFish."

"Yessir,"Flynn turned and led way out and down the corridor. John grabbed his bag with the goggles and followed behind. In the armor Flynn could have run up to 80mph but was now jogging slowly to allow John to keep up. Two more turns and they were at a steel security door. John punched his code into the keypad and the door swung open on a steep metal staircase. John took the lead two stairs at a time to the bottom. This deep subbasement of the villa was purely utilitarian. The cement floor and rough red brick walls were wet with condensation. Green algae and moss were growing freely making their route treacherously slippery. Ahead of them the underground pool shimmered green in the lights from small bare bulbs on the low ceiling. The pool was connected to the ocean by a long natural passageway exiting at north end of the island. Originally used by pirates, workers had discovered the underground water course along with some small artifacts during construction and incorporated it into the design of the villa at Johns' insistence.

"I may be a coward William but I'm a smart coward..." He muttered to himself.

"Sorry, Sir?" Flynn asked.

"What... Oh, nothing..."

Sitting in the middle of the pool was The SilverFish. Of course, it wasn't an actual fish that was just the name John had given to the Quadrofoil speed boat. It was a miracle of design and he stopped for a second to appreciate its elegant lines. Sitting as it was now it looked much like any other high tech cabin cruiser but once out on the open ocean the huge jet turbines would take charge. Its' silver hull had a distinct wedge shape due to the fact that the Quadrofoil was really a cross between plane and boat. The force of the twin turbines would lift it up in the air leaving only its' four curved fins in touch with the water. This reduced its drag to almost zero and allowed it to achieve speeds in excess of 400MPH.

John ran out onto the small dock, untied the mooring ropes, pulled open the top hatch of the SilverFish and climbed inside. Cindi had already run the pre-checks and the engines were primed.

There was a clatter above and John looked up to see Flynn, huge in the combat armor, squeeze down into the confines of the ship. John considered telling the soldier to stay at the house, but decided having a body guard with him at this point seemed like a good idea.

Flynn secured the airtight hatch and took a seat towards the back of the cabin, long legs splayed out across the deck.

"Strap in... I don't want you flying around in here."

"Yessir," Flynn's speakers screamed, the noise was magnified to an excruciating level inside of the enclosed space.

"...and turn down that radio, you're gonna deafen me!"

"Yessir," Flynn replied at a more acceptable level.

John secured himself with the four point harness in the captains seat and pushed the accelerator lever forwards gingerly. The SilverFish sped forward and he turned the wheel sharply and aimed at the dark narrow space that was the tunnel leading out into the open ocean.

A sudden popping sound made him turn to look back towards the dock. Two armed men were running out onto the dock. John opened the throttle all the way and the ship lurched forwards throwing him back in his seat. He heard a hollow metal on metal sound and Flynn groaned. The men on the dock had stopped and were firing automatic riot control slugs at the SilverFish. Obviously they weren't trying to kill him, real bullets would have torn through the aluminum hull, but these just bounced off leaving ugly dents in the beautiful ship.

John eased back back the controls as they entered the tunnel, there was no way he could navigate the narrow passage at high speed. He risked a glance back at Flynn. Who was sitting slumped forward.

"You okay... you hit?" John asked.

"I'm okay... just banged my head..." Flynn sounded sheepish even through the suit speakers.

The passageway was only about half a mile long and now John could see the early morning light shining through the opening ahead. He risked pushing the ship faster knowing the guys on the dock had undoubtedly radioed their buddies in the other speed boat.

They came out of the tunnel at almost full speed and just as he figured the other boat was waiting for them. He veered left away from it and gunned the engine as more riot control slugs thudded against the SilverFish.

The speedboat wheeled around and took up chase after them rising up on its' own hydrofoils.

"Damn..." John muttered. This wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. The Silverfish was fast but not as maneuverable as the smaller speedboat. They were keeping pace and still firing. If one of those slugs hit a turbine they would be in trouble.

Just as he was formulating a plan the hatch opened and Flynn climbed out. A moment later there was a huge explosion and John looked back to see what was left of the enemy boat sinking into the ocean.

"What the fuck was that?"

"Concussion grenade, sir," Flynn replied matter of factly easing back down through the small opening.

"Oh... uh... thanks," now it was John who felt sheepish.

"Just doing my job, Mr. Sheppard." Flynn sat down and began unclipping the armor.

"Can you give me a hand, sir?"

"... oh yeah sure, just a sec, Cindi plot a course for..."

{Course is already set John}

"Great..." He undid his harness and went to help Flynn. "How do I do this?"

"Just twist the helmet to the left with both hands, sir."

John grabbed the helmet and tried to move it but it wouldn't budge.

"Its' not moving..."

"I think it got dented when I hit my head on the crossbeam..."

They both tried again but it was no use.

"We need some tools but there's none on board. Are you okay to keep it on for now?"

"I have twelve hours of air... I just can't eat or drink with it on..."

"Damn... Cindi where are we going and how long is it gonna take to get there?"

{Miami, John. At full speed we should arrive in 2.3 hours.}

"Why Miami?"

{You said you wanted to find Richard Crane, John}

"He's in Miami? Fantastic.... Get William back on the phone I need to talk to him."

{Of course, John.}