The patrol leader sent one boat west to reconnoiter, and the others to continue their rounds. As she moved off and built speed, I heard her remark to Daniel, “Big doings down at Unca Joe, eh? You see anyone from Revelations skulking around over west?”

He leaned forward to reply, but their voices were lost in engine roar.

Doings? Revelations? Now what? I put Zephyr back in gear.

Hannah stared after them, then turned to me. “Fast as you can, den rat!”

So we were back there again.

The news about the Adders arrived before we did. First Julian, then the Empires must’ve spread the word. Downtown, Unca Joe’s rooftop outliers greeted us with whoops and raised fists as we passed below them. When we limped in, Zephyr’s engine basically running on fumes, the Lagoon was as crowded as I’d ever seen it. Had the other dens all rushed over to celebrate?

Hannah came up to the wheelhouse as I searched for space to park. “This can’t be just about Adders.”

I guessed it could be.

“Tie up by Dan. We’ll ferry the kids in from there.” She poked her head through a broken-out window. “Something else going on.”

No sign of the Empires. They’d come and gone. But out in the center of the Lagoon, a mess of small boats were rigged side by side in an open rectangle. Planks laid across their gunwales made a floating platform for a work crew to access a large, flat object being assembled inside the rectangle. I recognized bits and pieces of the former front walkway being lowered from the den’s upper entrance, down to a secondary chain of plank-topped boats that crossed the water to the work area.

I turned back to my driving, just in time to throw Zephyr into reverse so I didn’t run up Sea Sprite’s ass where she was moored to the Melville. Julian watched us come in from the book boat’s foredeck, arms folded, a quick head count his only sign of concern.

He shot Hannah a dark look as we pulled up. “So I missed the fireworks.”

“One less thing to worry about.”

“Guess that’ll show ’em.”

She looked up at him. “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“Where’s Dan?”

Julian glanced toward Unca Joe. “Debriefing the chiefs.”

“Rousseau’s like to be spitting nails,” Hannah said quietly. “Dan needs to get his ass back here or they’ll be arguing till noon.”

Wondering how Hannah knew about Rousseau, I shut down the engine and tossed Julian my bow line. My job was done. Let these Nathans rush about on their mysterious errands. Too hard to keep up with them. “Poppy get to the medics okay?”

Julian drew Zephyr farther along the Melville’s side and made us secure. “Must’ve. Dan took her in. I had to steer clear of that Empire woman.”

“Why’s that?”