Abduction

CHAPTER FOUR

“No contact,” Suza

Donald took the VHF radio mike and established contact with Larry Nelson in the diving van. “We’re clear of the ship. Oxygen is on, scrubbers are on, hatch is closed, underwater phone is on, grounds are normal, and the echo sounder is clear. Request permission to dive.”

“Is your tracking beacon activated?” Larry’s voice questioned over the radio.

“That’s affirmative,” Donald said.

“You have permission to dive,” Larry said with a small amount of static. “Depth to the well head is nine hundred ninety-four feet. Have a nice dive.”

“Roger!” Donald said.

Donald was about to hang up the mike when Larry added, “The DDC is nearing depth so the bell will be starting down ASAP. I’d estimate the divers will be at the site in half an hour.”

“We’ll be waiting,” Donald said. “Over and out.” He hung up the mike. Then to his fellow submariners he added, “Dive! Dive! Vent the main ballast tanks!”

Suza

There was a sound like a shower in a neighboring room as the cold Atlantic water rushed into the Oceanus ’s ballast tanks. Within moments the craft’s buoyancy plummeted, and once negative she silently slipped beneath the surface.

For the next few minutes both Donald and Suza

Perry occupied his time by looking out the view port. The color went from its initial greenish blue to rapidly advancing indigo. In five minutes all he could see was a blue glow when he looked upward. Downward it was dark purple fading into blackness. In stark contrast, the interior of the Oceanus was bathed in a cool electronic luminosity from the myriad monitors and readout devices.

“I believe we’re a little front heavy,” Suza

“I agree,” Donald said. “Go ahead and compensate for Mr. Bergman!”

Suza

Perry leaned forward between the two pilots. “What do you mean, ‘compensate’ for me?” His voice sounded fu

“We have a variable ballast system,” Suza

“Oh!” Perry said simply. He leaned back. As an engineer he understood the physics. He was also relieved they weren’t referring to his timidity, which his self-consciousness had irrationally suggested.

Suza

Adding to Suza

“Comfortable?” Suza

“I’ve never been more comfortable in my life,” Perry averred.

Suza

For a moment Suza

Sea Mount Olympus had been Suza

To Suza

Knowing that the oldest rocks ever found on earth’s surface or on the ocean floor were significantly less ancient than this figure, Suza

With painstaking care she spent hours recalibrating the equipment, and then ru

“We have hot coffee in a Thermos aft if you’d like some,” Suza

“I think I’d be happier if you stay at the controls,” Perry said.