Hours later, the harbor lights flickered across the water as Marcus and Aaron stepped onto the dock, their legs unsteady after the long tow back. The coast guard had taken the pirates into custody, their boat impounded, evidence stacked neatly into sealed crates. But Marcus carried something else entirely.
His camera hung heavy in his hands, water droplets still clinging to the casing. Inside, the memory card brimmed with footage — the reef blooming in color, the shadow in the blue, the harpoon’s cruel bite, the blasts that ripped through coral older than history. Proof of what had been done. Aaron clapped him on the shoulder, weary but relieved.