Ocean: War of Independence Read Online Free PDF Page A

coming here every day and standing vigil outside your room, driving away evil spirits.”
    “Driving them away, or inflicting them on me? How can you tell the difference?”
    “She is a renowned kahuna healer on the island, Mr. Ellsworth. And besides, I have heard what she and her companions say, summoning the blessings of the gods on your behalf.”
    “Why would she do that for me? I am the sworn enemy of her family.”
    “I know of your dispute with the Pohakus, Mr. Ellsworth. Most everyone around Wanaao does, but I assure you, Ealani cares more about people than land. She wants you to recover.”
    Preston was stunned, watched as the nurse checked the instruments that showed his vital signs and other information.
    “I have a headache,” he said.
    She leaned over him, examined his eyes and face. “You look a little pale, but your vitals are good.”
    He grimaced. “I haven’t had a hangover in years, but that’s what my head feels like right now.”
    “At least you’re feeling something,” she said. “That’s a good sign, considering your head injury. The bullet shattered part of your skull and badly bruised the brain tissue. We’ve gotten the swelling to go down, and that’s part of the reason you’re doing better—along with help from the spirit world, of course.”
    “Can you help me sit up?”
    “Not until the doctor gives the okay. I’m sending for him now….”

    When the nurse slipped out, she saw Ealani in the corridor, and smiled. “It is a good day. Mr. Ellsworth just came out of his coma.” The nurse hardly gave Jeff a glance, so he didn’t think she recognized him. That was not a surprise, because the younger Ellsworth had not gone into Wanaao Town much, and had remained at the ranch for the most part, or on the other side of the island.
    After the woman hurried away, Jeff and Ealani entered the room. He didn’t say anything, met his grandfather’s startled gaze, and hurried over to him. They hugged for a long time, and finally the old man said, “You need to turn yourself in to the police.”
    Tears ran down their faces.
    “I can’t do that, Grandfather. I’m sorry.”
    Jeff and Ealani left the room just as the nurse returned, accompanied by the tall, dark-skinned Dr. Taj Chandrapur, her grandfather’s personal physician.

    After swimming underwater to elude detection, Gwyneth surfaced off Point San Pedro and swam south along the California coast, undulating her oddly-shaped body to gain speed. She carried the young recruit J.D. Watts on her wide back, whose expertise with bubblefish would prove useful on the next phase of the mission. Along the way, whales, whale sharks, and other large creatures joined her, trailing behind, and she saw bright blue bubblefish in the water with them as well. Whenever aircraft or watercraft came into view, she dove under to avoid being noticed, and her companions went down with her.
    They had left Jacqueline Rado behind with her locally-gathered squads of white sharks and great barracudas, ready to defend the blockade in any way she could with those predators. In addition, Gwyneth knew the whales and other large creatures in the blockade had their own defensive methods.
    In Kimo’s last molecular communication, he told Gwyneth he had threatened the government that he could shut down more ports in addition to San Francisco-Oakland, while also claiming that the Sea Warriors could do more than set up blockades—they could also disrupt other forms of commerce. In a press release he had threatened another West Coast attack today, without detailing what he intended to do. It was an action that Gwyneth had recommended to him earlier, a strike against one of the offshore oil-drilling platforms.
    This differed from anything she’d done before. With help from J.D. Watts and the bubblefish, they would have to take special precautions to prevent environmental damage. Kimo had emphasized this himself (and both of them thought the bubblefish could seal any