"Look, we have Navuh and Areana. Even if someone checks the camera feeds and discovers that the clan was involved inliberating the harem, it doesn't matter anymore. Who's going to stop us? Who's even going to know what to do?" She could see in his eyes that he was acknowledging her points. "Even if they piece the story together and realize what happened, no one will come after the clan. They will be too busy killing each other."
Yamanu cursed under his breath, something long and creative from the sound of it.
"How many do we need to take?" he finally asked.
Relief flooded through her so fast she almost lost her balance. "Eight. Tony, Elias, Tamira, Sarah, Beulah, Liliat, Raviki, and Rolenna."
"Eight. You want me to geteightmore people."
"Us. You and me. You can't go alone. They don't know you. They won't come willingly. They trust me. They'll follow me."
Another string of curses. "Wonder is going to kill me. Actually kill me, with her own bare hands." He looked at Tula and then Areana. "You are about the same size. Take off your scuba gear and give it to Areana."
Tula didn't need to be told twice. She was wearing a swimsuit underneath her scuba gear, and the nightgown she'd worn over it was floating in the water somewhere. The swimsuit wasn't practical for rope climbing, but it would have to do. She didn't have anything else.
After peeling the wetsuit off her body, Tula handed it to Areana, who, without hesitation, braced herself against one of the jutting rocks and removed her dress, leaving only a pair of flimsy knickers and a camisole to cover her while she donned the suit.
In the meantime, Yamanu conveyed the plan to the standby team, updating them on what had transpired so far and on the additional personnel they would need to extract, as well as the necessary equipment.
"I'll need to carry you up," Yamanu said. "You're not trained for this kind of climb, you don't have gloves, and you don't have shoes or pants either."
Part of her wanted to argue, but she knew he was right. "Okay."
He turned to Anandur. "I hope the harness wasn't lost."
"I've got it." The Guardian pulled it out of his pack. "It helps to be a miser. I never waste anything."
She eyed the contraption with a grimace. "That didn't work so well on the way down. I hope it will work on the way up."
"It has to." Yamanu put the straps on. "We don't have another one, which means that all of your friends will have to come down using this."
"Then I'd better make sure that it's safe."
"Try not to move too much, and whatever you do, don't grab the rope. Let me handle everything."
Next to them, Anandur was showing Areana how to use the scuba gear.
As Ryan helped her into the harness, Tula watched Anandur show Areana how to use the regulator.
"I'm off with Areana," Anandur declared once he was sure that she knew what to do. "Ryan, Okidu, and Mason. You stay to guard the bottom. Nathan, you are with me."
The other diver, the one who had volunteered to tow the Zodiac with Navuh's broken body, had left some time ago, and she wondered whether Anandur would try to catch up to him.
"Okay?" Ryan asked when he was done strapping her in.
"Yes." She was secured to Yamanu's back like an oversized backpack, but it wasn't terribly uncomfortable. Only humiliating.
"Ready?" Yamanu asked as he gripped the rope.
"Ready."
He tested it once, then began to climb.
The first twenty feet were the worst. Water still streamed from his wetsuit, making everything slippery, and every movement sent them swaying. Tula pressed her face against Yamanu's shoulder and closed her eyes, trying not to think about the drop below.
"I'm still tired from going up and down for you," he grumbled.
"I'm sorry," she said, even though she wasn't sorry at all. This needed to be done.
