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“Where’s Ms. Holiday?” Duncan asked.
“Ms. Holiday is busy speaking with Captain Blancard,” Brand snarled.
“Oooooh,” said Matilda. The children shared a knowing look, which seemed to irritate the agent even more. A moment later his image vanished from the glass.
“That poor dumb moron,” Matilda said. “He’ll lose her if he doesn’t learn to talk.”
“Ms. Holiday is the bomb,” Jackson added.
After some time, Ruby alerted them that they were quickly approaching the ocean floor. Flinch flipped on the external lights and Duncan switched on the motor. He could feel the vibration of pumping engines through his body as the Ali suddenly responded to the tiniest movement of the controls. He gripped the throttle and soon the little submersible was propelled forward through the water, just above the seabed.
“See anything out there, Flinch?” Matilda asked. “Rather, see anything I can punch in the face?”
Flinch gri
Duncan brought the craft to a halt. “I don’t see a thing.”
“There,” Flinch said, pointing out the window at a green mass on the sandy floor.
“Congrats, you spotted some algae,” Jackson said. “Good job, eagle eye.”
Flinch laughed. “That’s not algae. Well, it is, but what’s underneath it isn’t algae. That’s an anchor.”
Ruby’s terminal was beeping wildly. “He’s right. This computer photographs objects and then allows me to digitally remove surface materials that may have collected on them. That’s an anchor all right.”
“Then the Bom Jesus must be around here somewhere,” Matilda said.
Duncan piloted the ship along the sandy floor. Soon they came across some ancient barrels and what looked like a rudder. It wasn’t long before they saw the stern of the ship. That’s when Matilda let out another little cry.
Duncan tapped the radio. “Agent Brand. Agent Holiday. The Muhammad Ali has found the Bom Jesus.”
Holiday’s face appeared on the screen. “Amazing! Perhaps all of you will become treasure hunters one day like Captain Blancard here. Any sign of our diamonds?”
Ruby shrugged. “Nothing yet. We’re going to have to get closer.”
Duncan steered them closer to the ancient ship. Flinch spotted a huge hole in the hull. From the look of the wreck, the Bom Jesus had sunk on its side. Duncan piloted the submersible closer, spotting several ca
Duncan eased the submersible into the ancient ship and Flinch directed the high-powered lights. Inside, nearly everything was covered in a green sludge. Little crabs scurried into crevices and a few striped fish darted away. It was both beautiful and ghostly.
“There’s one of the ca
“Matilda, I think we’re going to need those arms,” Duncan said. “If the diamonds are here, they’re in the bottom of the boat. Pull up the floorboards, but steer clear of those barrels. I suspect they’re full of gunpowder.”
Matilda gri
“I’ve broken through,” Matilda said.
They waited for the swirling fog to settle, only to find the mechanical arms had ripped a hole into a small room. Inside were tables and chairs and two bone-white skeletons that floated up and hit the submersible window. Ruby shrieked but Jackson and Flinch laughed.
“That was awesome!” Flinch cried.
“Look!” Duncan cried.
Scattered about the room were wooden chests with brass padlocks.
The NERDS cheered. It looked as if they had found the diamonds.
Captain Blancard’s face reappeared in the glass. “Very good, my friends. Now, Gluestick, there is a button just above your right knee that says TRUNK. Do you see it? Push that button.”
Duncan pushed the button and watched as a portion of the submersible rolled out from underneath the craft. Its lid opened, revealing a large storage space.
“OK, Wheezer, let’s get one of those chests into the submersible and opened. No point bringing them all up if all we’re going to find is some old clothes,” Blancard said. “But be gentle. Those chests are hundreds of years old.
Duncan watched as Matilda manipulated the arms until one of the chests was inside the trunk of the sub. Duncan pressed the button again and the trunk retracted, sealing itself tight. Now Jackson hurried to open a trapdoor in the floor of the craft. In a pool of water below them was the chest. After some fiddling with the ancient padlock, Jackson managed to pry the lid open. Inside was one of the biggest diamonds any of them had ever seen.
“The Azreal Cache!” Jackson cried.
“Also known as my early retirement!” Blancard exclaimed. Duncan could hear his men cheering in the background.
Brand reappeared. “OK, team. Let’s grab all the chests and get them to the surface on the double. You should be very proud of yourselves. You stopped Simon’s plan before it even got started!”
Suddenly, there was a tremendous jolt to the sub and the children were knocked about. Duncan slammed his head into the window.
“What was that?” Matilda said.
Jackson crawled into his harpoon gun chair and swiveled about. “Uh-oh,” he said.
Duncan spun the Ali around and came nose-to-nose with a second submersible. He could see Simon, Albert Nesbitt, an overgrown man with a hook for a hand, an older woman, and two-dozen squirrels inside.
“He’s hailing us,” Ruby said. She snarled and flipped a switch.
“Hello, old friends,” Simon’s voice said. It was filled with rage and bitterness.
“Too late, Heathcliff. The diamonds are ours,” Matilda taunted.
“My name is Simon!” the boy bellowed so loudly it shook Duncan’s eardrums. “I knew you fools would lead me to the Azreal diamonds. To be completely honest, we had no idea where they were, but considering Mr. Brand’s proactive style, I knew you fools would go hunting for them first and we could just follow you. Now get out of my way.”
“Not this time,” Flinch said. “If you want them, you’re going to have to take them.”
“Not a problem,” Simon said. “My associate can handle that.”
Simon’s goon slipped into a set of gloves identical to Matilda’s, and suddenly the mechanical arms on Simon’s craft came to life. With one punch, the Muhammad Ali was thrown backward and crashed through the side of the Bom Jesus. Everyone inside the craft was jostled about like popping corn.
“What’s going on down there?” Agent Brand cried; his face appeared in the glass again.
“Simon is here and he’s after the diamonds,” Ruby replied.
“Matilda, time to put your gloves on,” Jackson said.
“My pleasure!” Matilda said. Soon she was swinging back at Simon’s ship, which had followed theirs out the side of the Bom Jesus. The mechanical fist glanced off of Simon’s sub, but the force was enough to knock it off balance.
Once Simon’s sub had righted itself, the two submersibles traded punches. One devastating blow after another knocked the little ships around at the bottom of the sea.
“I’ve got a question,” Ruby said. “I know the ship can handle a lot of pressure, but can it take a sucker punch from an identical submersible?” Another punch answered her question. It glanced off the side of the window, leaving a tiny, hairline crack.