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“I know, babe. But at least we’ve got a lead.” Mike felt pressure against his leg and glanced down to see that both Axe and Saber had joined them. Both dogs seemed to be gazing at the cove where the logging camp was located.

“Are you going to take them with you?” Ali asked.

Mike nodded. “If the pups have been in that van, they’ll know.” As Mike spoke, the boat shuddered, and both engines stalled.

“What was that?” asked Ali.

The SEAL operator left the flybridge and almost collided with Rick, who’d stepped out of the cockpit. “We’ve snagged something,” he stated as they both stood at the stern.

A second later, Charlie appeared holding a gaff. He lanced the hooked pole into the water and hauled in a bundle of heavy nylon netting. “God damn trawlers, they’re always dumping their nets. They snag a log or an outcrop, and they cut the blasted things away. Both our props are wrapped in this crap.”

“Have you got a mask on board?” asked Rick.

“Yeah, got a wetsuit too. Although I don’t think your arms are going to fit in it. I’ll have to go over, boys. My boat, my responsibility.”

Rick laughed. “Bud, we’re divers. Just get us a knife and a mask.”

Chapter Eighteen

Taking turns in the water, Mike and Rick spent almost three hours clearing the nylon wrapped around both shafts. Working without SCUBA gear in freezing water meant they couldn’t stay in for long. The women defrosted one SEAL with hot drinks and blankets while the other worked at the rear of the boat.

The sun had set, and light was fading when they finally finished, and Charlie was able to start the engines. “Well done, lads,” he said as he raised the anchor and they got underway.

Rick and Mike were wrapped in blankets in the saloon, sipping hot tea. Jenny and Ali were downstairs in one of the cabins resting, and Maria was in the kitchen reheating some of the food from lunch.

“We could wait out here and get Charlie to drop us on that wharf around midnight,” said Rick as he nursed a mug of tea.

“Yeah, but where do we go after that? This old girl isn’t fast enough for a getaway, and we still don’t know if they’ve got boats of their own,” responded Mike.

“So, we run with the original plan,” stated Rick.

“Yeah, we’ve got four hours till we’re back at the marina to get some rest. It’s only an hour’s drive back and then a couple of hours to get in and recce the site. If the dogs are there, Saber and Axe will find them. Then we sow a little chaos and get back across the border.”

“How do we get a van filled with puppies across the border?” asked Rick.

Mike shrugged. “We tell them the truth. They’ll probably hold us until TJ and Deb can sort it out.”

“Lads,” interrupted Charlie. “I’ve got a contact coming in fast from our starboard side. Can one of you jump up on the flybridge and glass it?” Despite her age, the Okanagan had a modern maritime radar.

Mike dumped his blanket and grabbed the binoculars the skipper was holding. He took them and headed for the bridge as Rick opened the backpack with the drone, removed a compact night-vision device, and followed his teammate upstairs.

“Can’t see any navigation lights,” said Mike as he scanned the darkness. The Okanagan’s lights were shining brightly.

Rick stood alongside him with the imager held to his eye. “I can see it. Looks like a workboat, and it’s moving fast. It’s coming right for us.”

“Surely he can see the lights?”

Rick grabbed the voice pipe linking the flybridge to the cockpit. “Charlie, that boat’s heading right for us. Turn away to port, turn away to port.”

The experienced skipper responded immediately, but with limited power, the Okanagan responded slowly. With a roar of engines, a powerful workboat, usually used to move rafts of logs, descended upon them.

“It’s going to hit us!” screamed Rick as he grabbed the rail.

His warning and Charlie’s fast action saved them from a devastating accident as the high-powered craft blasted past, glancing off the side of the hull. A wall of water broke over the side of the boat and flooded into the cockpit. The bow pitched down and took on more water as the engines stalled and the boat rolled, almost flinging Mike and Rick over the side. More waves swamped the boat as it rocked back and forth, and the SEALs heard shouting from below as well as the manic barking of Saber and Axe. The men jumped from the flybridge onto the already swamped rear deck.

Lights flickered as they entered the cockpit, securing the hatch behind them. Maria, Jenny, and Ali were there, drenched and terrified as Charlie handed them lifejackets from an overhead locker. “Get these on,” he ordered before turning his attention back to the boat’s controls.

“Damage report, Skipper,” snapped Rick.