Tom guessed each of the three hulls was at least thirty feet in diameter and nearly two hundred in length – making her the largest ship of her time, considering the Chinese Treasure Ships were all either destroyed or dismantled by then. Between each pair of hulls were another four tree trunks. Although a few hundred years’ worth of marine growth had covered any possible connections, Tom already imagined that the ancient carpenters had joined each of the massive structures by using reciprocal cutouts so that they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle – making them exceedingly strong.
Next to him Genevieve took several photographs of the ancient warship.
“Are you ready to get a closer look at her?” Tom asked.
“Sure.”
Tom slowly descended until he rested just above the bow of the first of the three hulls. He carefully placed his hand on the hull. She felt sturdy despite her years spent at the bottom. There were barnacles and other marine life which had now made their lives on her hull, but there was no missing the strength of the original vessel.
He squeezed Genevieve’s hand and smiled. They both recognized they were exploring something very special. “Let’s get a survey from her topside, and then we’ll see if we can dive inside.”
“Understood.”
A quick survey of the ship showed that she was all in all 220 feet in length and nearly 140 feet wide. The center hull was 260 feet long and probably more like 40 feet in diameter. At the end of each of the four side hulls were openings which could still be penetrated. Interestingly, the largest of the three hulls didn’t have any entry points to its bow or aft sections.
Tom shined his flashlight inside the starboard aft opening. It dropped nearly five feet before turning into a long tunnel. It looked like the ancient seafarers had carved the entrance and the tunnel into the old tree trunk. Without any joints or connections, the ship would have been exceedingly strong.
Genevieve followed suit and, reaching her head inside the opening, shining her flashlight down the tunnel. It looked like it could have reached the other end of the ship. Without entering further, she couldn’t tell whether or not there were more tunnels crossing the bows.
“Shall we?” she asked.
“Not yet. Let’s finish surveying the hull and then we’ll set up a guidewire, an entry and exit plan, as well as a turn back point. Then we’ll see what we find inside.”
“Okay.” She sounded like a disappointed kid.
Tom kicked his fins and headed toward the middle of the trimaran.
At the center of the middle hull an opening had been carved into the wood and a giant tiller still stood proudly.
Tom reached for the massive handle. “It must have taken five men just to steer the damn thing!”
“All this time Sam has been talking about how the simple tribe was able to beat the pirates, the European ships, and the British Man o’ Wars by use of the rogue waves. Meanwhile we have just discovered the Antiqui Nautae were probably more advanced sailors than they were at the time.”
“So does this disprove Sam’s theory about the rogue wave?”
“No, it might just weaken the strength of them however. For example, a trimaran like this would be exceedingly well built to overcome an unsteady swell. It would make for a fantastic trap. Lure their attacking ships into the area and then, as they opened up their cannon bay doors, strike them with a tide of ocean, so unsteady that they were bound to be swamped.” Tom studied the marks on the wall of the deck. “With their cannons now useless, the Antiqui Nautae could come and board them with ease.”
The rest of the center cockpit seemed almost empty.
“Where now?” she asked.
Tom checked his dive computer. “We have a bottom time of thirty-five minutes remaining. Do you want to see what’s inside those two outer hulls?”
“You bet I do.”
Tom secured the bright green guideline to the edge of the hull. On his BCD he kept a red emergency guideline to be pinned immediately if he loses contact with the primary line. “I’ll swim through first. If it’s all clear when I reach the other side, I’ll give you a call to come through. If I don’t come back out, don’t come in looking for me – you’ll only be putting both our lives at risk.”
“Understood.”
Tom shined his flashlight down the tunnel. It was completely dark inside. Like an unused railway tunnel, it had the eerie feeling of ghosts hidden inside. Those of the old sailors, their enemies, and simply the fear of what lies in wait.
But those are just the fears of fools. There’s nothing inside there except fish.
Tom entered the long tunnel, where he shined his flashlight and strained his eyes to see as much as they could.
A pale green apparition with glowing eyes stared back at him.
Chapter Forty Four
Tom shook his head trying to remove the vision from his mind. Like a child, he felt that he was letting his imagination get the better of him. At these depths, and inside a dark and narrow tunnel it was easy to let your eyes play tricks on you. His pulse raced, and he felt foolish. He kicked his fins slowly and continuously so that he moved towards the strange image.
It stood inside a small alcove. Maybe just large enough for a fully grown man to crouch inside.
Like a mirage, the apparition constantly appeared more distant the closer he got until the vision disappeared altogether. In its place was a small sword, its hilt made entirely of gold.
Tom picked it up.
It was much lighter than he expected. He examined it and found the golden hilt was hollow. Hundreds of tiny holes had been extensively made throughout the hilt. It was as though the thing had been eaten away by something.
“Holy shit!”
In his ear, Tom heard Genevieve’s voice. “Are you all right?”
“Gen, you have to get in here and have a look at this thing.” Tom said, forgetting dive protocol and dragging her inside the narrow tunnel before he’d reached the other side.
He saw the light from her flashlight move in the distance.
A minute later she was next to him in the confined tunnel. Tom looked up at her. She was staring at the short sword with a gleaming golden hilt.
“Is that gold?” she asked.
“Looks like it.” Tom handed it to her. “But I couldn’t tell you what made those marks in it.”
She examined the precious metal. “Are there any marine creatures that could eat away at metal like that?”
“None that I know of, but I’m not a biologist. Sam might know of something. It’s possible, let’s face it – there’s a lot of weird creatures that live in the depths of the world’s oceans.”
She handed it back to him. “Now what?”
“Now we get out of this tunnel.” Tom turned to keep moving. “I shouldn’t have brought you in until I’d reached the other side.”
The tunnel turned out to be a little under 180 feet in length, and with the exception of a small amount of marine life and the golden sword, the place was entirely empty. Tom waited for Genevieve to reach him.
“What do you think?”
“I think that’s a lot of gold.”
Tom laughed. “Forget the gold. Stay aboard the Maria Helena and you’ll discover Sam Reilly has a certain attraction to the stuff. Only in his case, the stuff seems to have a greater affinity for him than the other way round. What about the dive?”
“What about it?” She shrugged her shoulders. “It has been pretty straightforward.”
Tom checked his dive computer. “Good. We’ve got another twenty-five minutes of bottom time. Do you want to try the other hull?”
“Absolutely, maybe we’ll find more gold?”
“You never know.” Tom kicked his fins and moved toward the center of the trimaran. At the edge of the old cockpit he dropped the sword with his golden hilt.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s too heavy. I’m not taking it with me.”
“What? So you’re just leaving it there?”
“Sure. Why, are you worried someone’s going to take it?” Tom turned and swam towards the second outer hull without waiting for her answer.
He set up the dive guideline.
“Do you want to go first this time?”
“Sure.”
He checked her dive computer. She had used more Heliox than him, but still had plenty in reserve. If this hull was anything like the first, it would be a simple swim through. Nothing complex. “Okay, any trouble, just stop where you are and I’ll come get you.”
She smiled back at him. Her blue eyes, full of infinite tease. “I’ll be fine.”
And then she disappeared inside the hull.
Tom watched her light glow distant and then disappear completely.
He waited in silence.
And then her voice came reassuringly through the radio. “There’s another alcove in here.”
“Anything in it?”
“No. This one’s empty.”
More silence.
“Okay, I’m coming up to the end of the tunnel. I can see the exit.”
“All right. I’ll swim through behind you.”
Tom swam confidently through the carved tunnel. He shined his flashlight through the alcove. Confirming Gen’s assessment, there was nothing. The place was empty. He kicked his fins and within minutes reached the other side shortly behind Genevieve.
She greeted him at the exit. “Now where?”
“Now we grab our gold and return to the surface. We’re going to be out of Heliox if we play any longer.”
“All right.” She started kicking her fins vigorously, as she swam towards the center cockpit. “Race you to it.”
Tom casually kicked his legs. He looked like he was swimming slower than her, but his six foot five frame meant that he didn’t have to work nearly as hard to reach the cockpit before her.
He felt her hand on his shoulder. “Okay Tom, where is it?”
“Where’s what?”
“The gold!”
Tom shined his flashlight where he’d left the gold.
It was completely blank.
A small marking in the old wood where the golden handle had scratched at it, was the only evidence that he’d ever left it there. He carefully shined the light toward the bottom of the center cockpit. The wood was still solid and there was little marine life attached. If the gold had fallen, it would have stood out like a lighthouse. “I have no idea.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Tom. Where is it?”
A slight shiver of a ghost ran up his spine as Tom recalled the image of the green specter inside the hull which had been staring at him. “I don’t know.
Chapter Forty Five
Sam and Veyron were greeted by Donald as they approached the scrapyard.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” he said in his southern drawl.
“Morning, Don. Any news overnight?”
He shook his head. “No, were you expecting anything?”
“Not particularly. Just hoping,” Sam replied.
“What’s your plan today?”
“We won’t stay long,” Sam said. “Probably just have one last walk around. See if anything provides answers. I want to get back to the Maria Helena by this afternoon. We have other work to do. If the Global Star can’t provide us with answers, we’ll have to take our questions elsewhere.”
He slowly started the long and cumbersome climb up the nearly vertical stairs. “You still believe this wasn’t a random event?” Veyron asked.
“I’m not sure what I believe.” Sam stared up at the remains of the superstructure. “It’s not that it’s beyond my ability to believe that a rogue wave could destroy a vessel this large. I think the problem I have believing any of this is that this would be the fourth vessel destroyed in less than three months, from the same area.”
“That is some coincidence, but hopefully we won’t have any more for another fifty years?”
“I hope so.”
Once they reached the deck Donald turned and said, “All right gentlemen. This is where I’m going to have to leave you. I have quite a busy day ahead of me.”
“Okay, thanks again,” Sam replied.
Veyron watched Donald leave. “What do you make of him?”
“Do I think he’s hiding something and that he’s actually behind it?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think he’s bright enough for that sort of thing. No, I think he comes to work and that’s it. But someone’s responsible for this, and I’m determined to find out who.”
His cell phone rang. He picked it up before the second ring. “Hello?”
“Sam? It’s Marcus here.”
“Yes?” Sam couldn’t think of anyone he knew by that name.
“I’m a metallurgist in Fort Lauderdale. You sent me a piece of steel from a ship to be examined.”
Sam stopped walking so he could concentrate. “Oh right. Marcus. What did you find?”
“The metal hasn’t been touched by an acid.”
“Really? What could have caused that damage then?”
“I don’t know. If I were to hazard a stupid guess, I’d say that you’ve found yourself the world’s first termites who concentrate on metal instead of wood.”
“That is crazy.”
“You should see this thing under a microscope. There are millions upon millions of tiny holes in the metal. Clean cuts too, as though ants have chewed away at it.”
Chapter Forty Six
Sam borrowed Donald’s car. A Dodge Pickup. And drove the several blocks so that he and Veyron could see the metallurgist in person. The security camera followed them as they approached the workshop. A balding man of average height and build came out to meet them.
“Hi, Marcus is it?” Sam asked offering his hand.
“Yes. You must be Sam Reilly?”
Sam nodded. “This is Veyron. He’s my chief engineer aboard the Maria Helena.”
“Come on through. And I’ll show you what we’ve got.”
The security camera followed them inside the building.
“Do you have further ideas about what could be causing this?” Sam asked.
“None, but you’re gonna love this!” Marcus handed him the honeycombed steel which he’d sent away the day before to be analyzed. “What do you think of that?”
Sam held it in his hands. Moved it around a little. “What about it? It’s the same piece I sent you.”
“Actually, it’s the identical piece you sent me – less two pounds.”
“What do you mean, less two pounds?”
“I mean I cut off a couple thin slices to examine, and then weighed the remainder. When I got in this morning I picked it up and noticed straight away that it had lost some of its weight. Naturally I put it back on the scales and confirmed the impossible. Nearly two pounds to be exact. This morning I left the entire thing inside a bucket filled with denatured alcohol. Thought I’d better kill whatever bugs it had inside, before the damn things demolished my work shed.”
That seemed like a logical step to Sam. “And? What happened?”
“Well, nothing came out. But the weight now appears to be staying the same. So that’s a start.”
Sam smiled impatiently. Everyone here seems to be superstitious. “Can I see it under a microscope?”
Marcus placed a small slice of the honeycombed steel under the microscope. “Have a look for yourself, Mr. Reilly.”
Sam leaned over. Closed his left eye, and looked through the eyepiece. Using his right hand he adjusted the focus of the lens.
“Well that’s just the strangest thing I’ve seen in a long time.” Sam motioned to Veyron to have a look. “What do you make of this?”
Veyron had a quick look and replied. “Well. What did I say? You’ve found yourself the first termite in history that eats steel.”
Chapter Forty Seven
Sam wanted answers, not more questions. “Any idea what could do this sort of damage to steel?”
Marcus
shook his head. “No. None. I’ve studied metals and corrosion for nearly thirty years. I’ve never seen anything that even remotely looks like this under a microscope.”
Veyron grabbed Sam by the shoulder and whispered. “We’ve seen enough. Someone’s been lying to us, and I just realized how we’re going to find out who.”
Sam turned to face Marcus. “Thanks for your help. I think we’ve seen enough.”
He followed them to the front of his workshop. “If you do find out what caused this. Please let me know.”
Sam promised to keep him in on the loop.
After they walked out the door and got back in the Dodge pickup Sam turned to Veyron and said, “What’s this all about?”
“You know damn well that what we just looked at wasn’t caused by any rogue wave and nor was it caused by a shipment of strong acids. Someone’s been moving something they shouldn’t have and that means they’ve been covering it up. And I think I just realized how we might find out who.”
Veyron called Donald and explained what he wanted to see. Told him that he would be back on board the wrecked Global Star within the hour.
Sam turned the corner and smiled. It was a warm day outside, and he was finally getting somewhere. He was glad to see Veyron finally coming closer to an answer. “What have you found?”
“It was the CCTV camera that followed us when we entered the workshop.”
“So what?”
“The Global Star is rigged with more than a hundred cameras specifically designed to ensure its crew aren’t stealing from your father, smuggling narcotics or transporting other contraband aboard,” Veyron explained. “I noticed a series of CCTV cameras on board the Global Star tracking us while we examined her hull yesterday.”
“You want to see the recordings of the event?”
“That’s if there even was a rogue wave.”
“You still don’t believe it?”
Rogue Wave Page 11