Abby pulled the sub back into the water and began the long descent to the concealed entrance. “No can do, sexy.”
“Fine, fine,” Linton said. “Just get this egg back. We just made history.”
Abby weaved her way back to the hidden entrance to the cave. “I kinda feel like Raquel Welch in Fantastic Voyage. You know?”
Shawn cringed. “I accidentally pictured that. Just get the sub back up here so I can use the arms to gouge my own eyes out.”
At the bottom, Abby accelerated and the sub again tunneled its way out of the cave and back into the loch. She headed straight for the surface and the waiting incubator.
* * * * *
Hundreds of miles away, in the shallow regions of the Atlantic Ocean off the Spanish coast, a giant grouper chased a smaller fish with bully-like displaced emotion. The small, swift prey seemed to be away but the grouper proved surprisingly fast and agile. Living up to his reputation as a formidable predator, the two-hundred-pound hunter was soon chomping contentedly on its dinner. But all fish are both predator and prey. The grouper suddenly froze, and then tried to dart away. The move was too late as the predator fell prey to a larger carnivore of the seas. The enormous serpent-like head lunged forward with deadly speed as powerful jaws clamped down on the grouper. It was surely caught but refused to succumb to its fate. Its captor held fast but could not quite swallow the struggling fish.
On the surface, dark rocks jutted out from the seabed like tips of a great undersea mountain range. Near one rock, the surface was breached as a fifteen foot neck lifted head and prey into the air. The reptile whipped its powerful neck to one side like a bullwhip and slammed the struggling fish against the rocks. The grouper was stunned but wriggled more. Again it was bashed broadside against the rocks and this time it went limp. The fight was over and the inevitable conclusion was a meal suitable for a skilled and efficient hunter. Now fed, the giant continued north on its migration.
* * * * *
Louisa stepped into the cabin which would be her home for the next few weeks. It was vastly more opulent than anything she had ever had with Nagle’s team. The bed was a real bed. She had a laundry chute and a bathroom with a genuine stand-up shower. That was worth trying out.
Topside, Frank and Kyle were testing the equipment to see what needed replacing before setting out. The computers had mostly been replaced. One by one, they connected the sonar probes and cameras to the computers to ensure they were reading. One probe looked like a submarine sandwich with tiny wings. It was self-propelled and controllable by remote.
“I love this little guy,” Frank said.
“Hey. Careful with that. That camera alone is worth a year of your pay.”
“Oh, it’s worth way more than that. Come on. Turn it on.”
Kyle activated the probe and the monitor lit up. The image was a typical fish-eye type image. “How’s that for sharpness?”
“Yeah. It’s sharp enough. But does it have to be wide angle? Can you zoom in?”
“It’s a Pan-a-flex lens. I can zoom all right.”
“Good. Time to pay the bills.”
Louisa turned on the tap and the rain head shower poured steaming hot water down on her. It was more than the best shower she’d ever had on a research vessel. It was one of the best showers she’d ever had. She stood under the pulsating showerhead longer than she needed. Finally she stepped out and toweled off. She stopped at the full-length mirror. It was wired so as not to steam over and she saw her image as clearly as did the tiny camera suspended outside her cabin window.
“Zoom in.” Frank ordered.
“Okay,” Murphy said. “But I don’t feel right about it.”
“Well, I promised the old guy two pictures of her and I hate to go back on my word.”
“Did you actually say they would be nude pictures?”
“I think his actual terminology was nakies.”
They watched as Louisa walked across the cabin carrying her towel. “Dayum,” Frank said. “Those are two of the biggest feet I think I’ve ever seen.”
Kyle looked at the younger man in surprise. “Feet? You’re seriously looking at her feet?”
“Well no, but… I mean yeah! Look at those gunboats!”
They had all the footage they needed and then some but were reluctant to pull the plug. They had her full length front and back. They had her sitting, standing, toweling her long legs and tossing her hair. They had zoomed in for close ups of her at every angle and zone. And they had her opening her drawer and taking out a folder of CDs labeled “Nagle –14” and such.
“What the fuck is that?” Frank asked.
“I heard her say she had none of Nagle’s stuff.”
“Well that’s a funny thing to name her own stuff. Zoom in.”
As they watched and recorded, Louisa downloaded file after file of data from Loch Ness Research Project. They could zoom in on the screen tight enough to make out the names and much of the content of the files she opened. The dates covered the past four years. They saw nothing earlier and nothing with her name on it.
“We need to tell John.”
“Should we steal the stuff back?”
“Not yet. For all we know he gave it to her.”
“Yeah right. And we’re just watching her for the articles. She’s a double agent. Playing both ends against the middle.”
Kyle looked away from the monitor. “What exactly does that mean?”
“I don’t know. Bogart said it. But I know we need to tell John what she’s up to.”
Chapter Eight
Louisa sat back in the comfortable, overstuffed office chair and put her feet up on the desk. It was more than the comfy chair, the large desk or the private office Spencer’s research ship offered. It was not even the fact that she had both the time and frame of mind to relax and put her feet up. The thing that impressed her most about the moment was the brand new pair of shoes. They were stylish, moderate-heeled pumps that had absolutely nothing to do with work. She relaxed and tried to recall the last time she bought a pair of shoes which had nothing to do with work. It felt good. It was a feeling she could certainly get used to.
“Ahoy. You busy?” came the familiar voice from the open doorway. John stepped in gingerly. She gave him a lazy smile that would have been equally suited to her had she been swinging in a hammock on a Caribbean beach. There was a contented look about her John had not seen to this extent before.
“For the first time in years… no. I’ve got some free time.”
John came in and looked about the room, seemingly uncomfortable with the opulence. “Nice boat. Looks like you’re doing all right.”
“You have no idea.” She finally returned her feet to the floor and sat forward. “What’s up?”
As John opened his mouth to answer, her desk phone cut him off. She smiled without apology and took the call. “Yes? I’m booked from two until…” She glanced at her calendar. “Well, two.”
John waited patiently, feeling more out of place with each passing second than he had since he first asked Louisa to join him years ago. As she concluded her call and returned her attention to him, he felt his cell phone vibrating to alert him to an incoming text message. He took the phone out of his pocket as she spoke.
“Amazing. I’m actually looking forward to something to do. That’s how bored I am.”
“Yeah. I got a taste of inactivity myself recently. It seemed a bit weird. Did you notice that?”
She scrunched her nose over a child-like smile. “Yeah. Like we were doing something naughty. But I have to admit I’m loving it.”
John lost his smile on that note. “Well, I hope you’ve about had your fill because I need you.”
She skewed her head suspiciously. “Need me for what?”
“To come back with me.”
“Is it the calls? Because if it is, I think I can—” Her phone rang again, cutting her off. She smiled as she reached for the receiver. “Speaking of calls.”
Jo
hn waited awkwardly for her to return her attention to him. He had rehearsed the “Come away with me” speech a dozen times but it wasn’t coming out right. It felt more like a “Let me take you away from all this” speech that was doomed from the onset. As he shifted nervously in his chair, he glanced down at the phone in the palm of his hand. The incoming text message on the screen was from Kyle. It read “Don’t tell her about the glyphs or the callers until AFTER she agrees to come back with you. Trust me. Say nothing and watch what happens.” He was not sure how to proceed, as researching this new angle was his trump card. He took control of his facial expressions as she hung up the phone.
“Whew. Sorry about that.”
“Getting busy?”
“It comes and goes. Now about you.”
“Now… I’m about ready to go back. I’d really like you to come with me. You know. Put the team back together.”
Her responding expression was pained, her voice laced with trepidation. “I don’t know if it’s the best time for me. What did you find out about the callers? Was that a real nesting place?”
“Nothing. It was a red herring. That family was trying to start a local legend and corner the market on the tourist trade. We were almost duped into it. Nothing worth a boat ride thought.” He stared at her through his best poker face.
Her dejection was evident. “I still think I can do us more good here. I mean look at the resources and equipment I have… I mean we have.”
“No. You got it right the first time. Listen Lou, I can tell where your heart is at on this but I can’t stay here. If I don’t go back and at least try to get something started I’ll lose it all. I could really use your help.”
“John, I…”
“Just come back with me. Please.”
She looked at the mahogany desk, the computer, the phone and anywhere but at him. Finally she was forced to look him in the eye. Her answer was evident. “I’m sorry, John.”
He accepted the bitter defeat. “I understand.”
“I really think this is what I got into the field for. This is what we were shooting for. We just didn’t get the breaks. Stay around. I’ll convince Spencer to give you a position on the team. I mean, look at this boat. You have to admit it’s…”
“Well, the Esperanza’s not exactly a garbage scow.”
“I know that. Esperanza is a great research boat, in a utilitarian way. But we removed all the comfort to make room for the work stuff. Don’t you ever regret that?”
John stood and looked at her with a smile of acceptance borne on the poker face he still held. “Don’t get me started on regrets, Lou. Thanks anyway for the offer but I can’t stay here. Keep in touch. Okay?”
Louisa stood and hugged him like a friend or colleague or even an uncle. There was no sense of the history they had struggled for these past years to create. She had hoped the absence would be less obvious. “I’ll miss you. Let me know if you come across anything interesting. Promise?”
“Sure. You, too.” He returned her hug and ended it with a double back slap that men do when hugging other men or anyone they don’t honestly wish to hug. They released and he smiled at her. This smile allowed a bit too much honesty to show. She saw something. A hint of regret that had nothing to do with the moment. Nothing to do with research or them. It was something unspoken by either of them though felt by both.
John exited the ship across the covered gangplank and down the private dock. He made his way down the pier with a walk of obvious repressed emotions. There was a bitterness, pained and immediate showing. His stern look and determined gait told all but the very content of a meeting not gone his way. From behind a row of portable toilets, Beau studied him, trying to ascertain the true essence of John Nagle’s dejection.
* * * * *
John was barely away from the pier when he received a new text message. It was from Kyle again. It read, “Going back out to quiz the whale rider. Care to tag along? P.S. She turned you down. Didn’t she?” He responded with a brief affirmative on both counts and received instructions to meet them at his hotel.
They were waiting for him in the lobby looking like anything but a professional research team. Kyle had a rubber glove rolled up into a ball. He held it behind his back and faced Frank like a major league baseball pitcher. Frank stood in the makeshift batter’s box next to the live potted palm tree wielding an enormous femur. He held the thirty-two inch bone like a bat and awaited the next pitch while Mac squatted behind him in the catcher’s position. John came as close as he dared, stopping several feet behind Kyle.
Frank glanced off the pitcher long enough to acknowledge him. “She had all your files on disc.” He returned his attention to the game just as Kyle threw the glove. It whizzed unheeded past the batsman and into Mac’s waiting hands.
“Steeeeeeeeerike One!” Mac called, tossing the ball back to Kyle.
“How do you know it was mine? It might have been her own stuff.”
“It had your name all over it.”
“And why would she hide her own stuff in a secret compartment in her bag?” Mac posed. “If it was legitimately hers, she wouldn’t have to hide it.”
“How closely did you see it? I mean, she’s bound to have some files of her own.”
“So you gave her your research? Any of it?” Frank asked just in time to swing hard at the next pitch, missing.
“Steeeeeeeeeeerike Two!” Mac called, returning the ball to Kyle.
“Well no. But there still has to be an explanation. It might have been her stuff that she just downloaded onto one of our CDs.”
“Would her stuff include sediment depths, densities, composition and carbon dating on twenty-two miles of basin?”
John was clearly uncomfortable with this revelation. “Well… that was an ongoing study we’d been working on, looking for hidden tunnels and pockets.”
“So that’s a no. How about an inventory of bone and tissue samples?”
“You saw that?”
“Saw it right there with the calls and marine sound records. She has it all on disc. My question to you is, was she supposed to have it and should she be sharing it? And if you’re going to play second base, how ‘bout a little chatter?”
John was forced to accept the obvious. “The answer to both would have to be no. No she wasn’t and no she shouldn’t. That detail was the sum total of two and a half years of research. It was never supposed to leave my drawer.”
Kyle raised eyebrows at him in expectation. John took the cue and reluctantly responded by rolling his eyes as he chanted, “Heyyyyyyy battabattabattabattabatta.”
“Was it on your computer?” Kyle asked as he wound up for the next pitch.
“Almost none of it. I didn’t trust the Internet or technology. I keep a habit of copying all my data to disc at regular intervals for safety. Swing!”
Frank swung the bone and the rubber glove-ball went flying across the lobby. As if driven by a base instinct instilled from American boyhood, John turned and ran for the ball. Kyle and Mac called directions to him as he faded back under the pop fly. A gentleman in a crisp, blue suit approached the designated playing field from Kyle’s right. Kyle suddenly shouted at him to run, waving him in. The gentleman quickened his pace though he had no idea why.
John made a spectacular one-handed catch well across the lobby but Kyle was immediately shouting at him. “Get it in! He’s stealing home! C’mon! C’mon!”
John fired a bullet and Mac made the catch just as the gentleman hurried into his path. Mac tagged him with the rubber glove and shouted, “YerrrrrrOutaThere!”
“Indeed,” said the gentleman as he composed himself. Adjusting his designer tie, he looked at John. “Sir? Are these gentlemen friends of yours?”
John hesitated. “Never saw them before in my life.”
Frank shook his head. “Do you still have the discs? I mean your copies. Do you still have them?”
“They’re all stored away, but yes. I still have them.”
The
gentleman in the blue suit looked at Frank. “I’m afraid you people will have to leave the premises immediately.” With that, he made a gallant, exaggerated arm gesture toward the front door. “You’re outahere.”
They all started moving toward the door without argument. John got the distinct impression that this was not the first time they had been asked to leave an establishment. He tried to pay due attention to Kyle who spoke continuously during their exodus.
“So she knew where you kept all the private files. She refused to go to America with you. She went to work for your competitor and took copies of your private files with her. Copies she had to deliberately make behind your back. Uh huh. That about sums it up.”
Mac seemed the most sympathetic to the emotional blow John had been dealt with this revelation. He came up beside him and put a friendly hand on his shoulder. “I know this is all pretty tough to take. But you’ve got a decision to make.”
“Do I?”
“Yes you do, my friend. You can noodle on it while we drive back out to the fairgrounds to talk to Dances With Wolves.”
“You mean Whale Rider?” John corrected.
“I never really cared for that movie. All those grown men sticking their tongues out at each other.”
“It’s a different culture,” Kyle said. “They have different customs.”
“So do cannibals. And ex-girlfriends, apparently.”
“Ahhhh. Thus my decision,” John said as the group walked out onto the parking lot. Ahead of them, he saw Spencer’s big SUV sitting in a shaded spot awaiting them.
“Thus your decision indeed,” Frank said. “Hire a hit man or do it yourself.”
“Well, if you want it done right,” Kyle added.
Mac stilled them with a hand gesture and continued in a sincere, soothing tone. “What I mean is, do you stay down here and try to win her back or do you do the smart thing and go on without her?”
“Take it from us. You need to keep your options open. Always know where you’re going.”
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