by Bobby Akart
After setting the crowbar aside, he reverently pushed aside the packing material. The flashlight instantly reflected off the shiny cylindrical canisters resting inside. A smile came over the face of Henry Jorgensen Gruber Jr., the grandson of Brit Jorgensen, who arrived in Argentina under cover of darkness in the fall of 1944 to make a home for herself.
He raised the canister into the air and whispered, “We will rise from the ashes.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Aboard the Sea Searcher II
One Hundred Seventy Miles North of Puerto Rico
North Atlantic Ocean
Once the DSC-6 had reached the surface, it was a beautiful, bright sunny morning. The Sea Searcher II crew worked quickly to pull the submersible onto the deck of the ship and secure it. As they’d been told in advance, Gunner, Cam and Bear were to be examined by the ship’s physicians in the infirmary followed by a debriefing with the head of the research team. That debriefing never happened.
After Gunner was examined and released, he excused himself to the restroom. Instead, he slipped past the escort assigned to him by the ship’s captain and made his way back to his temporary quarters while on the ship. He retrieved his phone and called the Den to speak with Ghost.
“There’s a lot more going on here besides some mysterious substance inside these canisters,” he began his explanation to Ghost, who also had Jackal on the speakerphone in his office. “On the way back to the surface, we did some cursory calculations. It would’ve taken at least two submersibles with a couple of two-man crews working together to empty the wreckage of all those canisters.
“As I now know because of my exhaustion, there’s no way it could be pulled off in that short a time frame without backup personnel supporting them from topside.”
“I can scour the NSA recon satellites for the region,” said Jackal. “Maybe I can identify a vessel or vessels in the area operating submersibles during the period prior to your arrival at the wreckage.”
“To speed this along, you might focus on activity on the surface from the last few hours. Cam and Bear chased off another submersible. They had to surface and get pulled out of the water just like we did an hour ago.”
“I’m on it,” confirmed Jackal.
“Gunner,” began Ghost, “what’s your gut telling you?”
“To be honest, sir, somebody either knew or presumed those canisters were held within that wreckage. I don’t know how they could possibly know what to go after unless there is a leak within the Sea Searcher or their bosses at Woods Hole. Either way, I’m not comfortable disclosing any information to them.”
“Why should you?” asked Ghost.
Gunner sighed. “They’re naturally curious because they wanna know what happened to their colleagues on the other ship. It was all we could do to evade their questions when we exited the submersible. The doctors stepped in and demanded to clear us physically and mentally before we engaged in any debriefing. The three of us agreed to sneak out of the infirmary without getting pinned down.”
Ghost stepped away from his desk and shouted outside his office for his assistant. He instructed her to get his liaison at the Department of Defense into his office. Because of the fast-moving nature of the operations undertaken by all the subparts of the Activity, the DOD maintained an office in the same complex as the operations centers like the Den.
“I’ll have the calls made through the proper channels. I don’t want to formally declare this a national security matter, at least not in public. The DOD can hint around the edges of such a declaration while insisting the researchers leave you guys alone.”
“Good, thanks.”
“A science team is en route to retrieve the canister for study in a secure environment,” added Ghost.
There was a gentle tap at the door. Gunner didn’t respond.
Cam whispered, “Hey, it’s us.”
Gunner rushed over to the door and waved them in. He immediately closed and locked it, checking the handle to make sure. He pointed to the phone and mouthed the word Ghost to his partners, who took up seats on Gunner’s bunk.
“Sir, there’s one another thing you might pass along to Jackal or the other analysts. The technology used by the other dive team was far superior to ours. Their submersible was larger and faster. Also, the diver’s exosuit was nimbler than mine, and it seemed like his thrusters were at least twice as fast. I’d understood that this Woods Hole group had the next-gen technology on all this stuff. Apparently, there’s somebody else out there who’s a step ahead of them.”
“Okay,” said Ghost. “Do you see any reason for you to go back down to the wreckage?”
“No.”
“All right then, I’m gonna make arrangements to pull you out of there after I get the ship’s personnel to stand down. In the meantime, before I have you ferried back to the Den, tell Cam we’ll be uploading satellite imagery and research results on everything we’ve discussed to her laptop. I’m going to make arrangements with the ship’s captain to give you access to a photo printer as well as his nautical charts. I’d like you three to put your heads together on where this mystery submersible might have come from.”
“Roger that, sir. Out.”
Gunner disconnected the phone and turned to his fellow operatives. “Ghost is gonna shield us from questioning. He’s also gonna send us data, images, etcetera. Cam, can you get into the ship’s computer system to access the recorded video from my exosuit and the DSC-6?”
“I’m already in,” she replied. “Jackal and I did it yesterday.”
“Good. I’m anxious to see the detail on our fellow deep-sea divers. Oh, and another idea. While you’re in there, can you nose around the email accounts of the ship’s crew? I’d like to know if any of these people tipped off outsiders. I’m still at a loss as to how they pulled off a salvage operation of that magnitude so quickly. I’m really pissed they got away with it.”
“We’ll figure it out, big guy,” said Bear with a smile and a nod. “Why don’t you get some sleep until we’re pulled out of here.”
Gunner stretched his back and rolled his head on his shoulders to relieve the tension. He glanced toward the wall of his small cabin, hoping to catch a glimpse through a porthole, but there wasn’t one.
“I have a better idea. There were some fixed tables on the aft deck just past the chopper landing pad. I could really use some sunshine. How ’bout you guys?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” said Cam. “I feel like we’ve been floating on the ocean in a tin can for days. I’ll grab my laptop and meet you up there.”
“Bear?” asked Gunner.
“Lead the way, Aquaman.”
The two men teased one another as they exited Gunner’s cabin and found their way onto the deck. The sun warmed both of their faces as they made their way to the rear of the ship. Across the water, personnel in hazmat suits were cleaning up the Sea Searcher I after the bodies had been removed. It was a grim reminder of how important it was to get some answers to the many unanswered questions.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Aboard the Sea Searcher II
One Hundred Seventy Miles North of Puerto Rico
North Atlantic Ocean
A shirtless Gunner Fox decided to soak up the sun as he pored over the satellite images and nautical charts provided by the ship’s captain. He remained cooperative to the needs of the Gray Fox team. However, the head of the Woods Hole research operation was pretty fussy. He didn’t take kindly to the DOD personnel instructing him to leave Gunner, Cam and Bear alone.
He complained that the reason he’d allowed them on his ship was to get answers, and now they were refusing to disclose their findings. He threatened phone calls and text messages to congressmen or administration officials or anyone else he could use to put pressure on Gunner and his team. Not that it mattered. They weren’t talking.
Cam was the first to render an opinion. “I think this is our transportation ship,” she said, pointing at a satellite ph
oto. “Check this out. A similar shaped vessel appears in this photo just north of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. Also, here, southwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands.”
“Out of Cuba?” suggested Bear.
“Makes sense,” said Gunner. “The other islands in the region monitor their ports for illicit drug activity. Cuba may be democratic, but it’s a country full of corruption at the local level. It’s easy to buy closed eyes and ears when your people are broke.”
Cam continued. “I suppose the other option might be the west end of Haiti, but I don’t think there is an airstrip there. I seriously doubt these people would risk this valuable cargo on a small ship. My vote is the logical destination—Cuba.”
Gunner nodded in agreement. Once again, for what felt like the hundredth time since they’d gathered outside, he stood and arched his back. The stiffness was beginning to set in.
“You got smacked pretty hard, didn’t you?” asked Bear.
“I did. It’s a wonder the suit didn’t rupture. When the thing powered off and it went dark, I questioned whether I was still around or not. You know what I mean?”
Bear offered up his hands and brought his index finger to the tip of his thumb. “Do you need me to pinch you so you know it’s real?”
Gunner chuckled. “Very funny. I’ll be glad to get off this tub. I’ve had enough water for a while.”
In the distance, a helicopter’s rotors could be heard. It flew well south of their position and then circled the Sea Searcher I, making Gunner think it was not intended to pick them up. He squinted against the bright ocean that separated the two ships.
Gunner noticed it was heading toward them now. In a way, the small passenger helicopter looked like a huge white stork flying across the Atlantic on its ridiculously delicate legs. However, as the helicopter drew closer and the outline grew more distinct against the horizon, the legs grew sturdier. Now they resembled tubular supports of steel. The main body of the chopper grew in height and width. It was still bright white and had absolutely no identifying markings.
As it approached the landing area of their ship, the turbulence from the rotors threatened to blow all of their research, Cam’s computer, and perhaps even them over the nearby back railing. The trio scrambled to secure everything, with Bear using his wide bent-over body to smother everything on the fixed table. He cursed the turbulence, as did Cam.
After the pilot made a flawless landing, he shut off the rotors of the aircraft and exited. Gunner gave the pilot a glance. He didn’t appear to be a Woods Hole employee, but rather, he wore a naval uniform.
Gunner didn’t turn to the chopper to satisfy his curiosity. He was more annoyed at the intrusion and the interruption of their brainstorming session. And the fact the helicopter hadn’t been dispatched from the Coast Guard facility in Puerto Rico meant it wasn’t for them. Not to mention it was taking up their inbound chopper’s parking space.
He got back to business. “Okay, grand entrance complete. Let’s get back to these still photos of the other submersible.”
“Um, the passengers are headed this way,” said Bear.
Without looking up, Gunner asked, “So?”
“The chick’s pretty hot. You might wanna check her out.”
“Shut up, Bear,” said Cam as she playfully kicked him.
“I’m just sayin’. I believe in giving my buddy here first dibs, of course. But if he’s not interested …” His voice trailed off as he focused on the man and woman approaching them.
Cam shot him a look. “Stow it. She’ll hear you.”
Gunner rose from the table and shook his head at his two friends. With sweat pouring off his neck onto his chest, he turned to see the newcomers for himself. The woman was the first to introduce herself.
“Hi. I’m Dr. Harper Randolph.”
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