by Scotty Cade
Dona had warned them that they would be using more powerful underwater explosives this go-round, and that safety was of the utmost importance. She explained that once the explosives were set, she and Dax would surface and the Lindsey C would be moved to a safe distance. The explosives would then be detonated from the surface using electronic detonation technology, or EDT. They would blow enough holes along both sides of the hull for clear access and maneuverability, but the most difficult and dangerous part of the expedition would be to navigate within the bowels of the ship. They had all reviewed the ship’s plans and realized that the commercial ship interiors built during that time period were quite small, and navigating that environment with their cumbersome diving gear would be difficult at best, very slow going and extremely dangerous, and everyone had to be on their game.
Just then, Dax opened the door and popped out of the head with just a towel thrown over his shoulder.
“Come here, and let me dry your back,” Jack said.
“Oh, no, Captain. If I get anywhere near that bed, I’m going to leave this cabin deflowered yet again, and I have my reputation to consider.”
“What reputation?” Jack asked.
“Very funny!” Dax shouted over his shoulder as he wrapped his towel around his waist and opened the cabin door.
“Damn, I was this close,” Jack said as he held up his thumb and forefinger with a small space between them. “You won’t get away so easy next time!” he shouted as he got up and headed for the shower.
IN TWENTY minutes the Lindsey C came to life, as everyone was on deck and quite busy. Dax and Dona again studied the plans of the ship, Mac and Brad checked and rechecked the dive equipment, and from the bridge, Jack used radar to continue the reconnaissance of any ships passing within a three-mile radius. Once the bleep appeared on his screen, he would use the binoculars to locate and identify the ship for later research. Currently, no ships had passed twice, and no vessel was anchored within a two-mile radius. So far, all seemed clear.
By mid-day, Dax and Dona were suiting up for the first dive. They knew they would have to make several dives because of the water temperature, but their goal was to get the entire hull marked before sunset. When Dax and Dona were ready to enter the water, Brad helped Dona on with her equipment, and she jumped in with a set of waterproof ship’s plans and a large, white wax marker. Dax had a crowbar in one hand and his mask in the other. He would use the crowbar to help clean the hull, so Dona could get a good adhesion when they attached the explosives and adequately mark the spot as well. He stood still on the swim platform while Jack helped get his tanks on and secured. When he was suited up and about to enter the water, Jack put both hands on the outside of Dax’s shoulders and whispered, “I just found you, and I’m not ready to give you up, so be careful.”
Dax smiled, “You can’t get rid of me that easy, Captain.”
Jack turned to Dona floating nearby. “Dona, you guys be careful, and take care of him for me. I’ll have the communication equipment on, and we’ll stay in touch the entire time.”
Dona nodded, and Jack stole a kiss right before Dax slipped on his mask. Dax jumped in feet first, holding his face mask, and kicked his way over to Dona. He gave Jack the okay sign, and they both raised the air hose on their BC and slowly descended.
Jack checked the radio receiver, “Radio check, Dax, do you read me?”
“Loud and clear, Captain. Visibility is about thirty feet, and the currents are mild. It should be a great dive.”
“Be… careful….”
“Will do, Jack,” Dax responded.
“Jeez, you two,” Dona whined. “It’s not like we’re going down to the Titanic or something. Give me a break.”
“You’re just jealous that no one’s on the surface patiently waiting for your return,” Jack laughed.
“Maybe I am, and maybe I’m not, but I can guarantee you that if I did have someone waiting for me up there, we wouldn’t be carrying on like you two ladies,” she screeched through her mask.
Jack conceded. “Okay, okay. Have a safe dive, both of you!”
DAX and Dona quickly fell into a familiar routine. Dona read the ship’s plans as they made their way along the hull. According to the plans, she stopped at each pre-identified location and Dax used the crowbar to clear away a small area of the one-hundred-plus years of barnacles and underwater growth. When the hull was as clean as he could get it, he marked the spot with the wax marker and moved on to the next location. The going was slow but steady, and he and Jack made small talk along the way, which helped pass the time. They’d just finished the port side when Dax’s underwater alarm indicated that he was getting low on oxygen.
“How’s your oxygen, sis?” Dax asked.
“About gone. Yours?” she responded.
“Same,” he said. “This is a good stopping point. What do you say we surface, exchange our tanks, and get back down here and get the starboard side marked?”
“Okay by me,” Dona said.
Jack chimed in. “Hey, guys, we’ll meet you on the swim platform. See you in a few.”
“Okay, baby,” Dax responded.
Dax turned in the direction of the Lindsey C and caught movement out of the corner of his eye. “Dona, did you pick up any motion over there near the reef?” he asked as he pointed over his right shoulder.
She quickly looked in that direction and scanned the reef system. “No. Why?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I think I caught some movement a second ago.”
“You want to go check it out?” she asked.
“Nah, it was probably nothing.”
“Jack, you still there?” Dax asked. “Did you copy that?”
“I’m here, and yes, I copied,” he replied.
“Any activity on the surface?”
“Mac and Brad have been on the lookout since your descent, and there’s nothing out of the ordinary to report.”
“I guess it was nothing. See you in a couple minutes, baby.”
“I can hardly wait,” Jack responded.
Dona piped up. “Oh jeez, here we go again.”
They all laughed as Dona and Dax started swimming to the boat.
THEIR observer finally gasped for air when he saw the two divers swimming in the opposite direction. Not wanting to create any air bubbles, he was almost blue from holding his breath. At one point, he felt certain that one of them had picked up on his movement, and his cover had been blown. He thought they were about to swim over and check it out, so he had bolted for cover. He’d hidden beyond the reef, froze, and held his breath. With the immediate danger now gone, he swam along the reef line, watching the two divers swim away. When they were no longer in sight, he moved over to the wreck and checked out their handiwork. He’d been watching them for ten minutes, and he saw that they were clearing the hull and marking certain locations. He was now sure they were marking locations for explosives. They appeared to have the port side finished, which meant they would be back soon to finish the starboard. He quickly moved away and swam off into the distance.
DAX and Dona surfaced within minutes and, as promised, Mac and Brad were there to help them aboard. Dona was first on deck. She released her BC, and Mac slid the BC and tanks off of her back. When Jack reached the deck, he was already yelling, “Welcome back! How was it down there?”
Dax was climbing out of the water, and Jack almost pushed Brad overboard trying to get to him.
“Look out, you crazy new homosexual,” Brad said as he sidestepped Jack’s flailing arms. “You almost pushed me overboard.”
“That’ll teach you to get between a new homosexual and his boyfriend,” Jack hissed.
Brad smiled and turned to ascend the stairs to the deck. Without really thinking, he lifted his leg and used his foot to push Jack overboard. Jack hit the water with a very ungraceful splash, and when he surfaced with a shocked and angry look on his face, he was blood-red.
“Bradford, I’ll get you for that!” he yelled as he
swam back to the swim platform. Everyone was laughing hysterically, including Dax, as Jack climbed up the swim ladder. Many years of being on the water, and the sheer fact that he was pretty damn clumsy, had taught Jack never to carry anything valuable in his pockets while on board, so nothing was lost or ruined, except his pride.
When he climbed the ladder to the platform, Jack looked at Dax, who was still bent over, laughing uncontrollably. Jack crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Dax with a hurt look. “You too?” he asked. “I expected them to enjoy this, but you?”
“I’m really sorry, Jack,” Dax said with an apologetic look as he straightened up. “I really can’t help myself. You don’t know this about me, but I lose it when people fall. Whether it’s off of a boat or bicycle or if they stumble or trip, it doesn’t really matter how they fall—if they fall, I can’t control myself. I get so tickled that I can’t stop laughing.” He looked at Dona with a sympathetic look. “Come on, sis. Help me out here, will you?” Dax pleaded.
Dona looked at Jack. “It’s true, Jack,” she said. “I can vouch for him. I once saw him get kicked off a city bus when we were kids because an old lady tripped and fell down the steps while she was getting off at her stop. Dax laughed so hard the bus driver gave him his money back, put him off of the bus, and told him to never ride his bus again.”
Jack had a questioning look on his face, which slowly turned into a smile. “Fine, but for the record, I didn’t fall. I was pushed,” he said as he glanced in Brad’s direction. “Furthermore, I’ll let you have this one, but the next time, you’re coming in after me.”
“We’ll see about that,” Dax said as he pecked Jack on the lips. “You better get into some dry clothes while we change our tanks.”
While Dax and Dona warmed in the sunshine, rehydrated, and had a quick snack, Mac and Brad retrieved new tanks from the dozen or so lined up in the tank storage compartment on the port side of the vessel. They disconnected the empty tanks from the regulators and removed the tanks from the BC’s. They immediately carried the empty tanks to the empty tank storage compartment on the starboard side of the vessel and secured them in place. They then connected the regulators to the new tanks, opened the air valves, and tested the airflow. Everything seemed to be in good working condition. Dax and Dona were again ready to go.
Jack returned to the deck wearing dry clothes, and Dax met him halfway.
“Jack, I’m sorry I laughed at you. But in all honesty, you have to admit, it was pretty funny.”
Jack started to grin, just a little, then he glanced over at Brad. Brad flashed a quick smile and said, “Am I forgiven?”
“You get a one-time pass, my friend,” he replied. “The next time, you die a horrible death.”
“We’ll see about that,” Brad said under his breath.
“What was that?” Jack asked.
“I said okay, I’m sorry,” Brad stuttered.
“I thought that’s what you said,” Jack responded.
Dax and Dona suited up again, and within minutes they were under the surface. Jack checked the receivers again to make sure they had radio contact and resumed his scanning of the nearby vessels. As he scanned the horizon, he saw a large vessel newly anchored about a mile and a half from them. The bow was facing the Lindsey C, so he couldn’t see the name or the hail port. That boat wasn’t there earlier, so it must have anchored recently, he thought. Dax thought he saw something earlier, so I’d better check it out.
Jack radioed Dax and Dona and explained the situation, told them he was going to check it out, and asked them to keep an extra sharp eye out. Jack told them he would radio when he returned, and it was Dax’s turn to be worried. “Be careful, Jack,” he said.
He went down to the deck and filled Brad and Mac in as well. He turned the reconnaissance over to them and started the process of launching the twelve-foot tender with the outboard motor. The dinghy was stored on the bow and utilized the same winch system they had used to lower and raise the submersible. He attached the support straps to the winch and lowered the dinghy over the side.
He didn’t make a beeline to the vessel, as he didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention, so he went in the opposite direction and made a large circle around the vessel until he could get a clear view of the stern. It was difficult trying to focus the binoculars on the bouncing surf, but he finally managed it. He recognized the name right away, “.” I’ll be damned! What are you Russkies up to?
He didn’t want to head right back to the Lindsey C for the same reason he didn’t head right to the ship in question, so he kept the little boat moving while he continued his loop. After about thirty minutes of bouncing around, he pulled up along the port side of the Lindsey C, away from the eyes of the other boat. He decided to leave the dinghy in the water, just in case. He didn’t know what just in case might mean, but he was following his instincts and felt better knowing they had a quick escape.
Jack signaled for Brad and Mac to follow him up to the bridge while he radioed Dax and Dona. “All is fine here, how close are you to being done?” Jack asked.
“We’re marking our last location and will surface in about ten minutes,” Dax said. “How’d your mission go?”
“Roger that,” Jack responded. “Good, I’ll fill you in when you surface.”
He told Mac and Brad about the Russian ship.
“Why didn’t you tell Dax and Dona?” Mac asked.
“I’m not sure our radio frequencies aren’t being monitored, and if they are, I didn’t want anyone to know we’re on to them. Besides, all we really know at this point is that a Russian ship has cruised by here, God only knows how many times, and is now anchored a little over a mile away.”
Dax and Dona surfaced right on time, and all three men were there to meet them.
Dax and Dona looked at the expressions on their faces and back at each other. “What’s happened?” Dax asked.
“You guys get unsuited and dry, and we’ll meet in the salon in ten.”
In just under ten minutes, everyone gave Jack their undivided attention as he explained his excursion and what he’d discovered. He also explained why he hadn’t told them over the radio, and they both nodded with understanding.
“The more I think about it, the more certain I feel that I saw something or someone along the reef line during our earlier dive,” Dax said. “I wanted to talk to you about it when we surfaced, but with all the commotion and Jack ‘in the drink’ and all, it just slipped my mind.”
“Give us every detail you can remember,” Jack said.
“We were about to surface, and over my right shoulder, some movement caught my eye. I instinctively glanced in that direction, but saw nothing. I brushed it off as a fish or something, but it really didn’t sit right with me. The more I think about it, to catch my attention as it did, it was probably too big to be a fish.”
“Could it have been a diver?” Jack asked. “I think it’s perfectly reasonable to assume that a good diver could swim a mile or so underwater with no problems. Do you agree, Dax?”
“Without a doubt,” Dax said.
They all sat in silence for a moment.
Dona was the one to speak first. “So,” she said. “If someone is watching us and they know anything about salvage, they probably have a pretty good idea about our plan of attack. They watched us clean and mark the hull. I’m sure they know that the explosives come next. What if they’re sitting back, allowing us to do the work, and once we find the gold, they plan on claiming it?”
“Wait!” Dax said. “For starters, we have no real proof that we’re being watched. And if it turns out that we are being watched, we really don’t know what they are watching us for, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Jack caught Dax’s gaze and searched for some reassurance. Was he just saying that to make Dona feel better or did he really believe it? He wasn’t sure, but Jack thought he saw a hell of a lot of worry hiding just beyond those gorgeous hazel eyes. He decided it was time to
speak up. “I agree with Dax,” he said. “Let’s not jump to conclusions. Tomorrow we tighten up our operation and go about our business as planned. The only difference is that we keep a very close eye out for any strange activity.”
Mac whistled and looked at Brad. “Well, Bradford, we wanted a little adventure and we certainly got it.”
“This is so, James Bond,” Brad replied.
“If you two want to call it quits, we’ll certainly understand,” Dona said. “We realize this is not what you bargained for.”
Brad and Mac looked at each other. “No way,” they said simultaneously. “We’re in for the long haul,” Mac said.
“Yeah, this is really cool,” Brad added.
Dona smiled. “Okay then, it appears that we’re all in,” she concluded.
“Jack,” Dax said. “What about you? You and the guys have the most to lose. It’s your boat, and you and Brad and Mac have invested all the capital up front. No one would blame you if you decided to abort this expedition.”
“Not on your life,” Jack responded. “I’m here because I want to be. Sure, I love my boat, and it’s no secret that I did this for the money, but I love you more. I got you out of this deal, and I’m not going to allow anything to happen to you. The only way I bolt is if you bolt, and I know that’s not going to happen.”
Brad and Mac looked at each other and smiled. Dona reached over and squeezed Dax’s hand with a show of support. Jack rose from his seat and walked over and stood in front of Dax. He took Dax’s two hands in his and pulled him to his feet. He watched Dax’s face as the stress melted away and was replaced with the warmest smile he’d ever received.