Страница 15 из 88
A
“The clarity is quite remarkable.”
“The technology’s improved to where you can almost see a carbuncle on a clamshell,” Giordino said.
The seas were empty, save a large powerboat flying a Mexican flag a mile or two away, its occupants busy fishing. Gu
After four hours of surveying, they drew near the Mexican powerboat, which held its position with a pair of unma
“Looks like we’ll have to skip a lane to get around those guys,” Gu
Pitt looked out the bridge window at the craft a quarter mile ahead, then turned back to the monitor. He smiled as a triangular object appeared at the top of the screen.
“Won’t be necessary, Rudi. I think we just found her.”
A
“Looks to be right at forty feet. I’d say that’s our missing boat.”
Gu
“Nice work, Dirk. I’ll call the lift barge and get them headed our way.”
A
“It looks intact,” Gu
“So we’re just going to wait here until the barge arrives?”
“Not exactly,” Pitt said, giving A
11
THE SUBMERSIBLE DANGLED FROM A SUSPENSION crane, rotating lazily in the air before Gu
Giordino glanced over his shoulder and noticed her fascination with the green murk beyond the view ports. “Ever been diving before?”
“Lots,” A
The submersible settled into a slow descent. Beyond the range of the exterior spotlights, the sea quickly turned black.
“I was never one to voluntarily throw myself off high objects,” Giordino said. “How’d you go from jumping off diving boards to chasing bad guys?”
“I was a Marine brat growing up, so I joined ROTC in college. Took my commission with the Navy at graduation and finagled them into paying for law school. I worked at a JAG unit in Bahrain, then spent a few months at Guantánamo, where I made a number of Washington contacts. My military marriage failed about that time, so I decided to try something different. A friend referred me to the NCIS two years ago and I landed in their counterintelligence directorate.”
“You sound like a regular Perry Mason.”
“Used to be. In the JAG’s office I enjoyed the investigations but not the prosecutions. That’s what I like about my current assignment. Most of my work is strictly investigative, which allows me to spend a lot of time in the field. I was assigned the Eberson case to determine if he or the boat had been a target of espionage.”
“We’ll know more shortly,” Pitt said. “The bottom’s coming up.”
Giordino neutralized their ballast as a sandy seabed appeared. Pitt eyed a lobster scurrying across the bottom, which reminded him of his lost meal in Chile. He engaged the thrusters and propelled the submersible forward. They traveled only a short distance before a large white object appeared to their left. Pitt swung the submersible to port and closed on the sunken boat.
In its underwater world, the Cuttlefish appeared like a lost alien. Still pristine and gleaming under the submersible’s lights, it appeared in stark contrast to the dark, lifeless bottom. Pitt brought the submersible in tight, slowly circling the boat’s perimeter. Sitting perfectly upright, she showed no signs of major damage.
“I think she might be breached underneath,” Pitt said, noticing a hairline crack in the hull.
“We’ll see when we raise her,” Giordino replied. “Looks like there’ll be no problem sliding under a pair of slings fore and aft. We should be able to get her up in a jiffy.”
Pitt guided the submersible to the Cuttlefish’s stern, then ascended to peer over the side.
A
“Joe Eberson?” Pitt asked in a low tone.
A
Pitt took a closer look. Monofilament line was tangled around Eberson’s feet and ankles. The line had looped around a deck cleat, securing the body to the boat when it sank. No wounds or burn marks were readily apparent on the DARPA scientist, but then Pitt saw Eberson’s hands.
They were bloated to nearly double their normal size, the skin discolored with charcoal blotches. It was just as Pitt had seen in Chile.
Like the dead crewman on the Tasmanian Star, Joe Eberson had died a horrific and unexplained death.
12
IT TOOK TWO MORE DIVES FOR THE SUBMERSIBLE TO remove Eberson’s body. A large canvas tarp, hastily sewn into an oversized body bag, was carried to the sunken boat. Using a pair of articulated arms that protruded from the base of the submersible, Pitt slid the bag over Eberson’s head and torso. The monofilament line was cut and the bag brought gently to the surface. A
A
“Is that your man?” Giordino asked.
A
“A week underwater won’t make that an easy job,” Pitt said.
“At least it appears that his death was accidental. Perhaps they had trouble with the boat and simply drowned.”
Pitt kept silent about Eberson’s hands as he locked one of the slings into the submersible’s steel claws.
A
“We can’t really tell the extent of any structural damage, so the answer is yes. There’s a chance she could collapse on us—but I suspect she’ll pop up without a hitch.”
“Just in case,” A
“We’re about set to make the next dive, so hop aboard.”