Barracuda (18 page)

“Yes, it was a twenty-foot skiff with an
outboard motor painted an ugly pink and white. Why?”

“I think I just saw your skiff, and it confirms
a tale I heard of some small boys seeing a boat scuttled right here
the same day you disappeared. If this is in fact your boat, the
anchor line was cut and the boat sunk to explain your disappearance
and ultimate deaths. The boys recognized Disco, and saw him and
another man intentionally sink the craft. Undoubtedly, divers would
soon discover the wreckage, and it would be assumed that you sank
and drowned in the storm I heard about. Of course, the bodies would
never be found. This is enough to confirm your guess about the
Russians’ ledger. You two can’t go back to the resort without
placing yourselves in further danger.”

Ignoring the shocked looks on the scientists’
faces, Micko turned to the captain. “Mara, can some of the
villagers hide these guys until we sort this all out?”

“Sure, my people are sympathetic to the rebels,
and they know how to hide fugitives,” he replied.

“Great, let’s get to the
Saratoga
so
Steve and I can do our thing.”

***

Tanya entered Micko’s room using a pass key
card. She was quite adept at searching people’s rooms without
leaving any telltale signs. The process took her less than ten
minutes, and she didn’t find anything to suggest that the cop was
anything more than a tourist. She was concerned when she couldn’t
find his wallet, which must have been on his person. Tanya had one
more trick up her sleeve.

***

Mara tied the
Lily II
to the mooring ball
above the
Saratoga
’s bow. Micko and Steve were climbing into
their dive gear and formulating a plan. They decided that since the
cover weighed far too much to replace, even with the help of heavy
duty lift bags, they would dive down to the ship’s bridge, cut off
a large section of netting, drop down to the hatchway, and tie the
netting across the opening to prevent inquisitive divers from
entering the chamber of doom. Rescue divers could return later to
retrieve the brothers’ remains, if any were left.

The pair of divers descended down the line. The
water was still warm, and the visibility was astonishing. This
time, however, Micko did not marvel at the aquatic wonders that
were home to this magnificent shipwreck. Instead, his mind was
focused on the task at hand.

When they reached the upper parts of the bridge
masts, Steve grabbed hold of a loose piece of netting as Micko
measured down a full body length lower. Both men began cutting the
rope netting with their dive knives. Micko was surprised how easily
it gave way, as the salt water must have decayed the fiber from
within. Numerous small fish were attracted to the divers and the
silt caused by the cut rope fibers.

The pair cut a six-foot-by-six-foot section of
netting, and on Steve’s cue, they lowered the free section of
webbing to the depths of the port side of the
Saratoga
. As
rehearsed on the surface, Steve attached the upper end of webbing
to the top cleats of the hatchway while Micko attached his section
to the lower cleats. Neither man looked inside the opening at
Bill’s tomb, nor did they look at the decaying shark carcasses on
the flight deck.

Steve finished his tie-in first and lowered
himself to help trim the excess netting from Micko’s tie-in. The
trimmed net piece fell to the sand, obscuring the original hatch
cover. Steve stole a quick glance at his dive computer and signaled
Micko to ascend to the first deco stop. Micko complied, and the
decompression regimen was repeated without incident.

Mara raced the
Lily II
back to the dock
as the divers undressed from their gear. Dr. Collins and James
surprised the others when the professor announced, “Gentlemen, we
will not run and hide. We came here to do a job, and we will
continue with our research. Do not mention finding our sunken boat.
As far as anyone knows, we were marooned on that small island after
a storm blew our boat away. You accidentally found us. Now we will
get back to our project.”

As dumbfounded as Micko was, he silently praised
the men for their convictions. But he suggested that they go to the
pool bar for a drink and discuss all that had happened. This was
one suggestion that was welcomed by all.

Mara stayed behind to tend to the boat, scuba
tanks, and dive gear as the others walked to the pool bar. Flacka’s
face beamed when she saw Micko and the two scientists. They took a
table to the left of the pool, and Micko ordered four margaritas
and a few Righteous Brothers tunes from Flacka. She smiled brightly
and went to work, first on the CD, and then on the drinks.

The four were huddled in conversation for
several hours, and even the scientists were eager to share their
findings. According to what they had discovered, the sharks had
morphed into a new species of gray reef shark. The half-century of
exposure to radiation and the mass consumption of radioactive fish
had caused the metamorphosis.

“How are these reefers different?” Micko
asked.

“They are much larger than reefers in these
waters ever were,” Dr. Collins responded. “They travel in packs
like their predecessors, but they search out their prey
individually with a great deal of confidence that almost indicates
advanced intelligence for a marine animal. They also refrain from
living on the reef or wreck on which they feed. These gray sharks
come into this lagoon only to feed and expire. Celestial told us
about the shark graveyard, where it appears the radioactivity
eventually kills them. When an older shark is suffering from
radiation poisoning, it swims to the shark cemetery to die. The
sharks leave the atoll when they finish feeding, and we have no
idea where they go, where they reproduce, or what they do. We
propose to perform a necropsy and tag sharks to get these
answers.”

“I’m glad I asked such a simple question,” Micko
said with a laugh.

The levity seemed welcome as the group joined in
and laughed heartily.

Steve added that he had also seen peculiarities
since becoming the head dive master at the Majestic. He had spotted
huge groupers the size of Volkswagens, as well as giant lobsters
big enough to ride. Micko would have normally thought that these
were the ravings of a lunatic suffering from nitrogen narcosis, but
now he believed every word. Everything in the area seemed
abnormal.

The scientists noted that they had been working
fifteen-hour days until the accidental exchange of the
money-laundering ledger that had led to their being marooned. Steve
followed with the next sequence of events. He began with the crazy
Aussie brothers who had wanted to hide bandanas in the wreck of the
USS
Saratoga
—and apparently had succeeded. Micko picked up
the details with corroboration from the Renegades that Bob and Bill
were to prepare the club’s scavenger hunt. He was also concerned as
to why the Majestic management was so leery about having an injured
cop on vacation, but the discovery of the ledger now explained the
paranoia. The boys’ disclosure to Flacka confirmed the attempt on
the scientists’ lives and the sinking of their skiff. The group was
suddenly confronted with marine and criminal anomalies with which
they were forced to contend.

The group decided that they needed to formulate
a plan of action, but needed to first compile a list to prioritize
their actions. The scientists would have to get back to the hotel
and explain their good fortune of being rescued. Micko confirmed
that the Russians would never try something so blatant again, at
least not right away. Steve would have to make a PADI report, give
it to the Majestic management, and organize a recovery team to
enter the site where the brothers had perished. Then the hole had
to be repaired so no one else could enter the bowels of the
netherworld. Micko decided that he had to forget about his fears
and start to act like a cop again.

Micko decided that he needed to investigate the
money-laundering caper while trying to be inconspicuous. He also
wanted to contact the law in Majuro and have the Micronesia police
investigate the attempt on the researchers’ lives and the missing
rebels. The scientists decided that they had to learn what had
caused the sharks to leap in fear and who was responsible for
de-finning the sharks on the
Saratoga
flight deck.

Once all that was established, they needed a
rational plan and then the execution of that plan. This would take
time, so Micko walked over to Flacka and ordered another round. She
motioned for Micko to follow her to the far side of the pool.

“Watch out for Tanya,” she warned in a low
voice.

“What happened, Flacka?”

“She was here earlier and threatened me. She
wants to know all about you and why you are here. She thinks that
you are investigating the Russians and that damn journal.” Flacka
had her eyes and head lowered in a submissive posture, and Micko
felt sorry for her.

“Don’t worry, Flacka. I can handle Tanya. She
can be both predator and prey.”

***

It swam victoriously back into Its lagoon after
routing the gray reef sharks for the second time. Taking up Its
position in the protective layers of the netting in the bridge
masts, It looked down upon Its kingdom. The huge shipwreck lay like
a beaming city below. The bodies of Its enemies were strewn about,
providing substance for citizens who would eventually become Its
meal. It felt sunlight shimmer off Its body, so It slithered under
more netting, seeking the shadows that hid his presence.

Then It felt that something was amiss. There was
less netting, and It suddenly noticed small fragments of rope
floating in the water. It swam out of the protection of the shadows
and made a cursory reconnaissance of Its kingdom below. Something
was wrong, and It had to find out if it could be perilous to him.
Soon It noticed the lower strands of rope concealing the entrance
to Its den flailing in the current. It became enraged and attacked
the webbing with the same viciousness that It had attacked the
reefers. Before long, the rope was removed, and It once again found
solace in Its den.

***

Once Micko had assured Flacka that everything
would be all right, he returned to the table with the round of
margaritas. The scientists were talking excitedly, and Micko asked,
“Hey, what’s all the commotion about?”

“Our underwater surveillance camera in the
passageway!” James shouted.

“What about it?”

“It should have recorded the sharks’ leaping
frenzy and the cause,” Dr. Collins explained. “We can download the
video from a satellite, and then play it back on our computer
screen in our room. Let’s go, gentlemen!”

“What about the drinks?” Steve asked, a little
plaintively.

Dr. Collins grabbed his glass, gulped down his
drink, and asked, “What drinks?”

The rest downed their frosty drinks and walked
to the hotel to powwow in the researchers’ room. When they entered
the lobby, they ran into Hiroshi, who stood aghast with his pudgy
little mouth wide open. Micko smiled and though to himself that he
could probably lob a full orange into it.

“What happened? Where have you been, Dr.
Collins?” Hiroshi asked. “We have not seen you at dinner for
days.”

“We were just conducting elaborate experiments,
Mr. Hiroshi. Never worry about us.” The professor smiled as he
walked by.

The group took the elevator up to the
researchers’ rooms, and James went straight for the satellite
uplink. Micko and Steve were marveling at how nice the suite was
when James cursed, “Damn! The camera won’t download! I’ll have to
go out to Enidrik tomorrow and bring it back here.”

“I’ll go with you,” Dr. Collins said.

“No, we’ll all go, except Steve,” Micko said.
“He has a recovery of his own to work on.”

***

Rat was holding court in the Pegasus Lounge at
the Bikini resort. “Are you Renegades ready for tomorrow morning’s
scavenger hunt?” he asked.

The crowd roared its readiness and approval.

“The Renegade that recovers the most bandanas
wins a free scuba trip to Cairns to dive off the Tusa dive boat on
the Great Barrier Reef. Second place wins a Dacor regulator, third
place wins a Henderson wet suit, and the rest will go to the bar in
search of solace.”

Again, the crowd roared its approval. The beer
and booze appeased their anger at arriving a day late. This gang of
extreme divers would make up for the lost time with reckless diving
and partying.

“Bulldog, did you charter the boat for our crew
only?” Rat asked.

“Yes, Rat, the entire boat is ours for the
morning, and we will be the only ones diving on the
Saratoga
. The
Thor
will take the Californians to the
HIJMS
Nagato
in the afternoon,” Bulldog replied.

“Has anyone seen Billy or Bobby yet?”

“I checked with the front desk, and they’d
already checked in from the Majestic. Maybe they had to go back to
get some of their gear,” Skinny Hal answered.

“Well, look up their room number at the Majestic
and find out what’s up. We scavenger tomorrow—with or without
them!” Rat declared.

He looked over his group, pleased. They were all
hardcore drinkers and divers, and a great week was in store for
them—with or without the B and B brothers.

“Party hearty, brothers and sisters, but be on
the dock at seven a.m.—and leave your hangovers and complaints in
your room.”

***

Micko and Steve left the scientists to continue
their shark research.

“Steve, go ahead and plan your recovery and
containment of the hatch,” Micko said. “I’ll go see the resort
liaison officer and let her know what’s going on.”

Steve walked back across the hotel lobby toward
the dock and scuba shop while Micko took the elevator to Andrej’s
penthouse office. When he neared the door, he could hear angry
voices from within. He was unable to make out their words, but he
heard part of one sentence.