Unearthly Power (5 page)

After the initial excitement wore off, Dee was less than thrilled to be on the water. Before she left that morning, she was able to find someone to cover her classes for the day. The one drawback to it was that she finally had to agree to go out with the guy who was forever asking her. She tried her cell phone once more but there was no reception; they were too far out. When she realized their next stop was in the Bahamas, she went to her brother to find a solution to her dilemma.

“We’ll be in port tomorrow. You can call from there.” Sean s
aid as if it should have been obvious.

Dee was not in the mood for a dry recitation of facts. She was upset and expected those same feelings to be evident in the person she was sharing them with. She looked at Sean in exasperation and said, “I have obligations. I can’t wait until tomorrow.”

“Afraid you’ll have to.” He said without backing down. “You know what this means to us. It’s not as if you will lose your job, but we could lose the business if we don’t see this through. I appreciate what you did, but now you’re with us; and maybe for longer than you planned to be.”

“What do you mean by that?
” she challenged.

“I mean, dear sister, that you may be stuck with us until we’re done.”

“I’m not going to . . .” she started to say before he cut her off.

“Listen, we can use the help. If you happen to miss a few days from your mundane schedule you just might learn to lighten up. Don’t be such a bore.”

“My boring mundane life just happens to keep this business afloat. If it was up to you—
Mr. I do whatever I want
—this ship would have sunk us a long time ago,” she said no less upset than she was a minute ago and in a voice one octave higher.

He looked at his sister and smiled. “True, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still room for you to improve your disposition.”

Before she lost complete control of her temper, she stopped to realize who she was talking to. If anyone needed a lecture on responsibility and behavior it was Sean. He was impossible. He also had a smile and a manner about him that was disarming. He had used it on her before and he was doing so now. She tried to fight off her natural reaction to it, but she couldn’t. He was so impossibly difficult at times like this that she couldn’t help but smile too. When his smile grew even larger, she was mad at herself for giving in, but she didn’t have a choice.

“So what am I supposed to do?” she asked signifying defeat.

“You can be the cook,” he said cheerily.

“Cook my ass! You show me how to steer this thing and I’ll relieve you.”

Sean decided to go along with her suggestion. Dee was a terrible cook. Sean usually took care of that. He said it more in an attempt to get her mind on something other than her tendency to be fixated on one problem. Having a co-pilot, even one who could only spend short amounts of time at the wheel, was going to be a much welcome addition to their trip.

After Sean was comfortable with his sister at the helm, he retreated to the galley to put on a pot of coffee. He found the professor and his daughter sitting there eating some food they had apparently brought along.
Good
, Sean thought,
either they were used to sea travel and were smart enough to have food in their stomachs, or they were not and he would find out sooner than later
. The Cantankerous II was a large enough vessel to provide a comfortable ride through most water conditions they were likely to find themselves in. Even so, some people fell victim to motion sickness from little more than riding in a car.

“Hi, I was just about to put some coffee on,” Sean said as he entered the room.

The professor’s eyebrows rose at the statement, but he didn’t say anything. His daughter asked, “No cappuccino?” in mock surprise.

“I could pour some milk in it and maybe find a piece of chocolate or something to melt for flavor, but that’s about the best we can do.” He replied teasingly.

“Surprise me.” She challenged.             

Girls were the same everywhere,
Sean thought.
The pretty ones always craved that little bit of special attention they decided belonged to them. Probably because they were always given it; and Tori was sure to have received a lot of attention in her life.
He finished his measurements and started the machine. It might only be a cup of coffee, but he was sure they would be impressed with what was supplied on a boat such as the one they found themselves on. The Guatemalan blend he used was a special order he picked up from a local coffee roaster. He was a fanatic, but there was no arguing with his product. His guests soon found themselves sharing his sentiments.

“It smells wonderful,” she said sincerely as the aroma drifted through the room.

“I think I will try some of that,” her father agreed.

Sean set out several cups and then took a seat at the table next to the attractive young lady.

“So, you are the remote vehicle specialist?” he asked her.

“Yes. I’ve taken Bingo down on four other wrecks. He hasn’t failed me yet.”

“Bingo?”

“Yep, Bingo. It’s what you yell when you’ve won. I’ve won with him several times. Don’t you like it? The name?”

“Well, I don’t think it’s a name I would have chosen. But it’s only a name.”

“Did you choose the name for this boat?” she asked with a slight smile.

“As a matter of fact, yes. Contrary to any special achievements, I christened it based on temperament. Some would say it is more fitting to its owner, but I disagree.”

They smiled once more at each other as the professor was absorbed in some papers he was reading. Sean got up to pour their coffee, and when he sat back down the professor asked, “You said before that the underwater currents were too strong to make a dive on the wreck,” without looking at him.

Taking his eyes away from the girl Sean said, “That’s right.”

“But you agreed to take us there. Is that because you think the conditions will be different, or just because you thought you could make a few dollars ferrying us out there just to say ‘I told you so?’”

Sean realized then that while this man might be from a completely different world than his, he wasn’t a fool. That was both good and bad. He preferred to deal with people on the level, and in most cases with more candor than they would have liked. They looked each other in the eye and he said, “I agreed because I wanted to make the dive. We stayed on site for two days before we decided conditions were not safe. I have not had the opportunity to return, and based on what little information I gained while we were there, I saw no reason to make it a priority. It isn’t exactly convenient.

“I found your call to be, not only out of the ordinary for such an obscure and unknown wreck, but interesting. If it afforded me the opportunity to dive on someone else’s dime, then so much the better.” He said honestly.

For the first time since he came onboard, professor Kirby revealed a thin smile of his own. “Do you think we can explore the wreck with the ROV?”

At that time Alex walked in being lured by the aroma. “Depends.” He said as he helped himself to a cup of the hot liquid.

The professor looked up at him without repeating the statement.

When he sat down he continued, “I’d need to know the power of its propulsion system, its weight and its design,” he said while sippin
g his beverage and looking over the brim of his cup.

“Tori can fill you in on that.”

After she finished, Alex said, “Maybe. Those waters were unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before. We might have a good shot at it, but don’t get your hopes up.”

Sean smiled at his best friend and partner and
privately thought about taking him outside and tossing him overboard. They were being paid better than any job they had before this one. The last thing he needed was for his customers to be discouraged, even if they were hearing the truth.

“I’ve taken Bingo in some hazardous water before Mr . . .” she said dragging out the word waiting to hear his last name.

“Tate,” Sean provided, “Sebastian Alexander Tate.” He said with a grin.

Alex responded immediately with a threatening look at his friend. But before he could say anything, she continued.

“Mr. Tate, I’ve never seen water conditions Bingo couldn’t handle.”

He turned back to her, “I’m guessing Bingo is the name of your
ROV?”

Tori nodded.

“Well, then you probably haven’t experienced anything like this, with or without Bingo,” he retorted.

Before things degenerated into a fruitless debate, Se
an decided to intervene. He knew only too well that his partner couldn’t be told anything contrary to something he already believed. “It doesn’t do us any good to discuss what can and can’t be done now. We’ll find out soon enough as long as it is waiting for us when we get to Nassau.”

Professor Kirby took his cue from Sean when he too saw the looks on the faces of the other two people sitting at the table. “He’s right. We’ll see to that when the time comes. As for the craft being on site, I was assured that it was en route. If it is not there when we arrive we will wait for as long as necessary.”

That was fine with Sean. Each day in port meant a full day of pay without the work. That triggered a previous thought. “You said it wasn’t you who is financing this excursion. Who is?”

Professor Kirby looked at him through his thin rimmed glasses with a deadpan expression and said, “An anonymous benefactor.”

“Anonymous to you?” Sean questioned.

“Yes,” he said unconvincingly.

“What about the men you brought along? Are they yours or do they too work for this anonymous person?”

By now Tori and Alex had forgotten about their little exchange and paid apt attention to the conversation at hand. It was a subject that interested them as well.

“We met them on the plane ride down here. They are here to render any assistance we need,” he said, providing little in the way of explanation. “I think I would like to go lie down. It’s been a long day,” he said, excusing himself.

Sean didn’t like being on the short end of an explanation, but since there was no reason to be overly suspicious he decided to let the subject drop for now.

“I don’t like those men. I started to reach for one of their bags to help them to their room and all three of them moved next to me telling me to stay away from it. They seemed to relax after I withdrew my hand, but something isn’t right about them . . .” Alex said to the others.

“You always complain about having to handle people’s baggage. Now you complain about not doing it. You just can’t please some people,” Sean said, looking at Tori with a smile.

“You know what I mean,” Alex said defending himself even when he knew that Sean was just kidding. He looked at one, and then the other, and it dawned on him that they would rather be alone. Either that or they were challenging each other to a staring contest, which he doubted. Feeling like the third wheel he said, “I think I’ll go see how Dee’s doing.”

“Good idea,” Sean said without looking his way. “Take her a cup
of coffee while you’re at it.”

Once they were alone he asked, “So how did you end up here?”

“I work for my uncle’s company. We do contract salvage work around the world.”

“This is more of a treasure hunt than a salvage operation,” he replied.

“I know.” She smiled again showing a perfectly aligned set of white teeth.

No matter who you were, or what you did in life, the prospect of hunting for treasure was alluring. For most, it was nothing more than a passing thought. For Sean, it was a way of life. He didn’t think of it the way most people did, but he was pleased to see the child-like reaction from the woman sitting next to him.

“What about your father? He doesn’t strike me as the type that gets out much.”

“No, not really,” she said seriously. “He asked for my help when he was contacted about this a few months ago. He didn’t say much about it, but I’d do anything to help him. So here I am.”

“I’m glad you came along,” Sean found himself saying before he thought about it.

She brightened at the remark and so did Sean. The only difference was that Sean’s reaction involved a slight reddening of his face. He sat there awkwardly for a moment before continuing, “So, what do you do when you are not traveling the world looking for odd pieces of junk to bring back to the surface?”

Understanding the question for what it was, she said, “I keep an apartment in Boston. I’m an avid Bruins fan. I love to go to the symphony orchestra, but only with people who love it as much as I do. I’m a history buff, mostly because of my father’s influence, and I even like to swim for fun, not just for work.”

Seeing that he was paying close attention and enjoying the moment herself, she decided to go o
n. “I like when people give me gifts. I love chocolate, walks in the park, and candlelight dinners. And I never pass up a good cheeseburger and beer!”

“What about you?” She asked.

“Me? I
love
cheeseburgers and beer.”