Page 72 of An Epic Voyage

Chapter Twenty-One

Griffin froze at thesound of Benedict Van Houten’s voice.He’d arrived much quicker than expected.What were the odds that he would return right when Griffin and Indigo discovered the laptop and the nuke?Had to be astronomical, yet here they were.

He needed to figure a way out of this and get Indigo to safety.With his back to the man, he removed the latex gloves and discarded them.He faked a smile and turned.Van Houten and two of his henchmen, Herm Gordon and Whit Zisk, stood in the opening.Both bodyguards were armed and pointing their weapons at Griffin and Indigo.“Hey, boss.We were hoping someone would come back to get us.Why the guns?”

“I’ll ask again,” Van Houten ground out between clenched teeth.“How the hell did you find this room?”

Griffin tried for a nervous chuckle.“By accident.Ms.Adair and I were stranded on the island when the yacht left.We made it to the safe room and inadvertently activated the opening in the fridge.Talk about a shock.We decided to explore.Have you seen the destruction?”He shook his head.“It’s horrible.”

“No, how did you get inhere?”

Indigo spoke up.“There was an open panel on the elevator with a button.My curiosity got the best of me, and I pushed it.The back wall opened.”

Van Houten scowled at her and took a menacing step forward.“How did you know the code?”

Griffin jumped in front of him.Indigo wouldn’t appreciate it, but they couldn’t let Van Houten know who she was.“It was a guess.I used the same sequence as the others that led to the safe room.”

“We were shocked when it worked,” Indigo tacked on.

“You didn’t go looking for it?”

Griffin held out his hands.“How would we?We didn’t know it existed.”

“We don’t even know what it is,” Indigo insisted.

Van Houten wasn’t buying it.“Who are you working with?”he demanded.“Abdullahi?Are you trying to cut me out?”

“Whoa.”Griffin held up his hands.“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Who is Abdul, uh, what did you say the name was?”Indigo asked.

“We found this by accident,” Griffin repeated.“We were being nosy.Nothing else.”

“Why do you have a black eye?”

“Oh, that was my fault,” Indigo admitted.“I jerked back when the refrigerator opened and smacked my head into his face.”

Van Houten poked him in the chest.Griffin gritted his teeth to keep from grabbing his finger and breaking it in several places.

“I background-checked you myself.Your credentials were stellar.You worked for Grazer, one of the meanest bastards I’ve ever met.He vouched for you, gave you a glowing reference.”

That was because the man was in federal custody.In exchange for a reduced sentence, he backed up Griffin’s cover.

“Then you know I’m telling the truth when I say we unwittingly stumbled in here.”He glanced around.“I don’t even know what it is.I’m guessing storage space for items you don’t have room for upstairs?”