Deep Fathom

He closed his eyes, sighed, and after a few moments opened them again. The pain was still there, but it was not all-consuming anymore. She saw a glimmer of the Jack she had met in the Okinawa airport. “Maybe you’re right,” he said. “There’s too much at stake. David needs to be brought down, but the only way to do it is to discover the truth about Air Force One. I won’t let him win.”

“We’ll do it together.”

Jack nodded, almost reluctantly.

Karen sensed a critical moment had passed between them…. that the ex-SEAL seldom allowed anyone to share his grief or his guilt.

Turning in his seat, Jack took her hand from his knee and raised it to his lips. The brief touch on her skin sent an electric thrill through her. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Shocked at the sudden intimacy, Karen could not move.

Jack lowered her hand. In his eyes, she saw a twinge of bewilderment, as if the impulsive act had surprised him as much as it had her.

Miyuki called from the doorway with a wave, “We need to go.”

The two stared at each other for a silent moment.

“Let’s go,” Karen finally said. “We have a lot to plan.”

David stood near the stern of the research vessel. Behind him the last of his team’s gear was being loaded into the helicopter. The journey to Pohnpei Island would take seven hours. With Ruzickov’s help, the U.S. embassy on the island had been alerted and expected his arrival.

“Commander Spangler.”

David swung around. He had been so lost in his own plans that he hadn’t heard the approach of the paunchy Mexican leader of the research group. “What is it, Cortez?”

“You asked that I inform you when we were ready to evacuate the water from Neptune base.”

David cleared his throat. “Of course. Are you prepared?”

“Yes, sir. If you’ll join us in the command center, you can oversee the process.”

David gestured the man to lead. Cortez crossed to the ship’s superstructure and wound toward the main monitoring station on the second level. The ex-wardroom was now a jumble of computers, monitors, and other equipment. Four other scientists were crowded into the small room but they made space for David, moving out of his way with nervous glances.

Cortez motioned David to join him before a console of monitors. He tapped two of the screens. “Here we have feeds from the two ROV robots. As you can see, Neptune is ready for the second stage.”

David studied the assembled base. It was a stack of three doughnuts, one atop the other, sitting on a four-legged frame. Power cables and other lines wound from its top shell toward the surface. He watched as one of the robots positioned another of the site’s “lamp poles.” Each illumination pole was six meters, surmounted by a sealed halogen spotlight. Twelve in all, the poles were positioned around the base. The dark seabed had become a well-lit parking lot.

In the bright lights, David watched the Perseus, piloted by Lieutenant Brentley, slowly circle the large sea base. Now assembled, the structure contained almost four thousand square feet of living space.

Cortez sat down at the console. “Watch the three center monitors; I’m going to bring up the i

Murky images appeared on the screens, watery views of dim rooms. Little detail could be discerned. The only light filtered through tiny portholes along the curved walls.

“What am I looking at?” David asked.

Cortez tapped the first monitor. “The lowest level is solely for docking the submersibles. The middle level houses the labs; the top level, living quarters.” He glanced over his shoulder at David. “We chose this arrangement so, in case of emergency, the top level could be freed manually and rise to the surface on its own. There are multiple redundant safety features built throughout the complex.”

David sighed, not bothering to hide his exasperation. “Fine. Are you ready to drain the complex or not?”

“Certainly. We’ve triple-checked everything.”

“Then let’s get this done. I’m due to leave within the hour.” Off to the side, David caught the relieved smile pass between the two technicians. It seemed his team’s absence would not be missed.

“We were just awaiting your arrival.” Cortez busied himself at one of the computers. He spoke into a microphone. “Perseus, this is Topside. Clear for blowout. I repeat, clear for blowout.”

On one of the monitors the torpedo-shaped submersible banked sharply and glided away from the sea base. Lieutenant Brentley’s voice scratched from a set of speakers. “Roger that. Clearing out.”

“Here we go,” Cortez said. He tapped a series of buttons on his keyboard. “Level 1…blowing. Level 2…blowing. Level 3…blowing.”

On the screens the view of the deep-sea station vanished in an explosion of bubbles, the visibility obscured by the roiling waters.

“Look.” Cortez pointed to the center monitors.

The interior views were clearing as the water lines dropped below the level of the camera lenses. Within a few minutes the water drained away, leaving the rooms wet but habitable. Interior lights flickered, then blazed.

“Bringing the pressure down to one atmosphere,” Cortez said. “Checking hull integrity.” He smiled up at David. “Green lights all around, Commander. Neptune is ready for company.”

David clapped the Mexican on the shoulder. As much as he hated to admit it, the man knew his job. “Good work, Cortez.”

“We can take it from here, Commander.” The research leader stood up from his console. “I know you’ve been ordered away for a few days, but there’s no need to worry. My team won’t let you down.”

“It had better not,” David said as he turned to leave, but he could not give his statement much heat. Cortez ran a tight ship.

Leaving the command center, David climbed down to the deck. As soon as he pushed out of the air-conditioned superstructure and into the heat, he was met by his second-in-command.

Rolfe was dressed in a black flight jacket. “We’re loaded and ready, sir,” he said. “Jeffreys just heard from our contacts on Pohnpei. Jack Kirkland and the woman landed an hour ago. They’re under surveillance as we speak.”

“Good.” Everything was going well. First the base, now this. It was as if Kirkland were trying to make his job easier, David thought. To extract the scientist and her crystal from the growing war zone around Okinawa would have been complicated. But out in the backwaters of Micronesia, on an island sympathetic to American concerns, it shouldn’t be a problem. Everything was falling into perfect place.

“Sir, Jeffreys also reports that the woman has been making inquiries about hiring a boat to take them all to some ruins on the southeast side of the island.”

David nodded. Overnight he had studied topographic maps of Pohnpei. He knew the island’s entire terrain by heart. “When are they pla

“Late afternoon.”

David thought a moment and nodded. There should just be enough time. “Get me Jeffreys. I want a boat arranged.” He zipped up his jacket. “We’re going to prepare a little welcome for Mr. Kirkland and his friends.”

Jack’s headache still pounded behind his eyes. And the bumpy ride along the jungle road in an old rusted Jeep Cherokee wasn’t helping. Karen sat behind the wheel, squinting through the grimy window for landmarks.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Miyuki asked from the rear seat. A particularly large bump sent the small woman flying for the roof. She swore at Karen in her native language.

“This is the right way,” Mwahu said, also in the backseat. “Bridge to Temwen Island is not far.”

“So you’ve been to Nan Madol before?” Karen asked, trying to glean more information from the man.