Phantom Prospect

by Alex Archer

  No, the time for the sword would be later. If it got to that point. If this was just a shark acting like a shark, then Annja didn’t see any real need to fight it. Jock’s death notwithstanding, there was already enough shark slaughter happening elsewhere in the world and Annja didn’t want to contribute to it any further.

  She frowned. There should have been some reaction to the presence of the light by now. She glanced back at the wheelhouse, but her view from the stern of the boat was limited and she didn’t know what Hunter was up to.

  She heard him coming down the stairs a moment later. “Annja?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You okay?”

  “I’m wondering why this shark hasn’t responded to my presence or to this flashlight beam.”

  “You thought it would?”

  Annja frowned. “Hell, I don’t know what I thought. It was more of an experiment than anything else.”

  “The scope isn’t showing much. It’s still there, but its movement is as slow as it was before. It’s like it either doesn’t know or doesn’t care that you’re there.”

  Annja frowned. “I could go for a swim.”

  “Don’t you dare!” Hunter’s voice grated across the darkness. Annja smiled at the reaction.

  “Relax. I told you I wasn’t suicidal. And even if I was, I wouldn’t do it like that.”

  “All right. Don’t make me haul you back aboard against your will.”

  “Like you could.”

  Hunter started to laugh, but then they both stopped.

  Something splashed out beyond the range of the light.

  Annja’s heart started beating faster. “Did you hear that?”

  “Yeah.”

  She could tell Hunter was coming closer to her. “Annja, why don’t you get back on the boat now?”

  “Hang on a second.”

  She could hear more splashing. It sounded like something was almost on top of the water. She swept the flashlight beam as far as she could but the inexorable darkness simply swallowed it up beyond ten yards.

  “I can’t see a damned thing.”

  “Neither can I. But I think you should get back on the boat,” Hunter said.

  “Get back to the wheelhouse and tell me what you see.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone out here.”

  “I’ll be fine. Just do it, okay?”

  “Annja.”

  “Hunter. Just do it. I need to know if this thing is coming at me or not.”

  “Fine.”

  She heard him stomp away and then turned back to look out at the ocean. More wind blew up and she felt her fear rising with it. The shark might be heading right for her and she wouldn’t know it unless her flashlight beam cut across its shape in the dark. “Annja!”

  “What?”

  “It’s coming at you. But still slowly.”

  “How far?”

  “Maybe fifty yards.”

  Annja frowned. She wouldn’t see it yet. She just had to keep the beam on. She flashed the light across the waves.

  And then the glow dimmed.

  “Oh, crap.”

  The light beam vanished, plunging the area into total darkness. Annja sighed. In all of her adventures, there seemed a constant she could always count on—poorly charged batteries ruining something.

  She heard another splash and suddenly felt a lot more exposed without the aid of the flashlight.

  Time to get back on the boat.

  Annja turned and stepped back onto the rear deck. As she did so, something large slapped down against the waves far out from the boat. Annja turned and tried to see, but she couldn’t.

  “It’s gone.”

  She looked up at Hunter. “What did you say?”

  “Gone. One moment it was headed right at you. The next, it vanished.”

  10

  “Heard you had an interesting night,” Cole said to Annja as she helped herself to scrambled eggs in the galley.

  “Oh?”

  Cole smirked. “Hunter mentioned that you guys tracked the shark on the sonar around midnight.”

  Annja shook her head. “I thought he and I agreed that telling you might not be the best thing to do.”

  “Why? Because he thought I would get the ol’ wet suit on and go for a midnight swim?”

  “Something like that.” Annja bit into the eggs and chewed, appreciative of the peppers she’d added. “Hunter didn’t want you going overboard without much to go on. We were just trying to get some sort of bead on the thing last night.”

  “Which is why you felt the need to taunt it with the flashlight?”

  Annja looked at him. “Believe me, taunting was the last thing I wanted to do. But Hunter mentioned that there was research done with sharks using ambient light. I thought it might be kind of cool to see if that worked with this one.”

  Cole took a spoonful of oatmeal. “The sharks in that research were hunting seals. Do you know why?”

  “No.”

  “Because the seals had adapted themselves to hunting at night in order to avoid the sharks that prowl the waters looking for them during the day. That part of South Africa, the rocks that jut out of the ocean are home to the seals. But they’ve got to swim into deeper water to get to the fish. The sharks know this and prowl just beyond in the deepwater channels.”

  “Okay.”

  “The seals were getting picked off constantly, so one colony decided to hunt at night. For a while, it seemed to work.”

  “Until the sharks noticed the change.”

  Cole smiled. “They went from eating well to hardly at all. And so they adapted, too. What was that line that Jeff Goldblum says in Jurassic Park? ‘Life finds a way.’ She really does.”

  “So, what’s the problem with what I was doing last night?”

  Cole grinned. “No seals around here. At least, none that I’ve seen so far.”

  “Which means what?”

  “It means our shark might not have been hunting much of anything last night. It might simply have been cruising around.”

  Annja frowned. “The batteries in the flashlight died, anyway. I never saw a thing.” She paused. “I heard some splashing, though.”

  “Splashing?”

  “Yeah.”

  Cole frowned. “Interesting.”

  “How is it interesting?”

  He took another spoonful of his oatmeal. Annja noticed that he had a large amount of maple syrup on it. He swallowed and looked at her. “It just is, that’s all.”

  “So what now? What’s our next play?”

  Cole kept eating. “I need to get out there.”

  “In the water?”

  “That’s generally where the sharks are, yeah.”

  Annja sighed. “It’s not safe. Something tells me you shouldn’t be in the water. No one should be.”

  Cole smiled. “Annja, in case you haven’t noticed, this is a huge investment we’re undertaking. And, for Hunter, it’s something of a personal quest.”

  Annja nodded. “Yeah, he mentioned that to me last night before the shark showed up.”

  “I can’t imagine what the poor guy’s been feeling ever since Brazil. God knows I’ve tried to give him his space. But this dive is important to him. The Fantome wreck is a legend in treasure-hunting circles. A lot of people—most of them, in fact—tend to think it’s a wild-goose chase. That there’s nothing much of value on the ship itself.”

  “But not Hunter.”

  “No. And I don’t believe it, either. I think she might just be the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And that would mean vindication. Hell, it would rejuvenate the guy and tell him that all his dreams weren’t just some silly notion.”

  “Vindication’s important.”

  “It’s vital,” Cole said. “When he came to me and had to ask for help, it must have broken his spirit. We’d always had a fair relationship, but you know—”

  “It was him coming to you, hat in hand. I get it.”

  “No one wants to do
that.”

  Annja finished her eggs. “Have you told Hunter you’re going into the water today?”

  “Not yet.”

  “What do you think his reaction will be?”

  “He’ll freak.”

  “Rightly so.”

  “And then I’ll explain that, by not going into the water, we’re putting this whole dive at risk. As soon as I do that, he’ll encourage me to go for a swim.”

  Annja smiled. “It’s really going to be that easy?”

  Cole nodded. “Sure. It’s the stuff that happens above the waves that I can control. Down there, though, it’s a different story. Those fish are unpredictable and they’re intelligent. Anything can happen.”

  “You ought to have a cage.”

  Cole nodded. “I will. It should arrive today.”

  “You’re certain about that?”

  “Hunter got a radio call from the shore. They’ll be transporting it out in an hour or so. Once we get it on board, we’ll assemble it and go over the side. I’ll do some reconnaissance and check what’s happening below us. See what the scene looks like. If it’s all good, then we’ll bring some divers down and keep the search on for the Fantome.”

  “And if it’s not good? If the shark shows up?”

  Cole smiled. “Well, then, obviously I’ll be very happy indeed.”

  “And what if the shark happens to have an appetite for shark cages?”

  Cole shook his head. “Not going to happen. And besides, this is the strongest shark cage designed. Even a giant megalodon would have a hard time dealing with it.”

  “You’re still on that?”

  “The meg? Sure. Why not?”

  Annja took a sip of her orange juice. “Because we haven’t seen anything to suggest this is some prehistoric shark yet, that’s why.”

  “Hope springs eternal,” Cole said with another grin. “I’m an optimist, anyway, so I’ll just keep my wishes coming.”

  “You really want this thing to be a meg?”

  “Can’t you see how amazing that would be? A giant prehistoric shark swimming off the Nova Scotia coast would mean headlines around the world. The world’s scientists would have to revisit the notion that the species died out. And if the meg has survived, then surely it might mean that other species have, as well.”

  Annja looked at him. “Something tells me that Hunter’s not the only one on a quest for the Holy Grail here.”

  “Well…”

  Annja nodded. “Just so long as you remember that people’s lives are on the line.”

  “I know,” Cole said. “I saw how badly Hunter got treated in those lawsuits. I’ve made certain, ever since I came on to help with the hunts, that we’ve always put safety first.”

  “So how will you handle Jock’s death?”

  Cole shrugged. “Doubt we’ll have to do very much. Jock apparently had very little family back in the U.K. Left home at sixteen and joined the military. He’s been on his own for so long, and on the move until he retired here. There’s probably few people who would even miss him.”

  Annja frowned. “That’s sad.”

  “Life happens,” Cole said. “How many people do you keep close to you in the course of your travels?”

  “Not many,” Annja admitted.

  “My point,” Cole said. “Jock’s not the only loner ever to go out without so much as a bang. I tend to think most of the world goes the same way. Only those with money or those who make a huge contribution to society in some fashion get recognized. You gotta buy your own coverage, even in death.”

  “Yeah?”

  “That’s what PR is for.”

  Annja laughed. “Interesting theory.”

  Cole smiled. “Hey, you think the guy who invented fire got any buzz when he kicked off this mortal coil? I doubt it. A saber-toothed tiger or something probably ate him and that was that. People sitting around after didn’t even think much of it as long as they could still keep warm.”

  “So Jock is like the guy who invented fire?”

  Cole frowned. “Maybe that’s a bad comparison.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Anyway, the cage will be here and I’ll go for a swim.” He eyed her. “You’re welcome to join me.”

  “Why would I want to do that?”

  Cole’s eyes narrowed. “Because you almost did last night. Without the benefit of the cage, I might add.”

  “It was just an idea,” Annja said. “And not my most lucid moment at that.”

  “But you had the urge, didn’t you?”

  Annja shook her head. “I was terrified.” She leaned across the table. “Look, I’ve confronted scores of people before in combat. It happens with me a lot. I know how to stare death in the face provided that face is human. But a shark?” She leaned back. “That’s not something I’ve ever had to deal with. Not sure I could.”

  Cole nodded. “I understand. But when you went into the cage off Montauk, you felt empowered, right?”

  “I felt scared,” Annja said. “But, yeah, it felt good confronting that particular demon.”

  “So come in with me and test your limits again.” He looked at her intently. “Hunter thinks I’m scum for asking you to come along, but I know what you’re going through.”

  “How’s that?”

  Cole smiled. “What—you think I just woke up one day and decided to go swimming with sharks?”

  “I don’t know, did you?”

  “It wasn’t like that at all. I was scared to death of them. I saw Jaws when I was a kid like everyone else. For several years I wouldn’t go anywhere near the ocean. If I couldn’t see the bottom, I wanted no part of it. I stuck with pools and lakes, thinking they were safer.”

  “Well, they are.”

  Cole nodded. “Yeah, but at the same time, I used to marvel at the sharks themselves. There’s something incredible about them.”

  “We discussed this.”

  Cole pushed his bowl away. “Can you imagine that nature gifted you with so many millions of years as to make you the perfect hunting machine? Your body is streamlined for flying through the water. You have the agility to twist and turn and maneuver like a jet in a dogfight. Your weapons are savage and beautiful at the same time. You’re perfectly adapted for your environment and rule it without question.”

  Annja smiled. Maybe she did understand some of that.

  Cole kept going. “That’s what eventually won out over my fear. It took a long time, true. But the more I studied, the more intrigued I was. And when I went to the aquarium, it was always the sharks that swam in the huge tanks that drew my attention the most.”

  “And that was it?”

  Cole shrugged. “Sometimes that’s all it takes. I saw them for what they were, rather than what my fear wanted them to be.”

  “You can’t deny the records of attacks on humans, though.”

  “Like any other animal,” Cole said. “Sharks just get a bad rap. What humans need to remember is really very simple.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “That as soon as we step into the water, we’re no longer the dominant species. We’re in their world. And all the rules change.”

  “Are you going to be able to remember that later today when you go down there?”

  Cole smiled. “If I don’t, I’m dead.”

  11

  By ten o’clock, Annja heard the telltale sound of an approaching motor. She went out on deck and saw a smaller boat powering up to the Seeker. Strapped down on the bow was a large cage, not entirely unlike what she had used back on Montauk when she and Cole had dived with the great whites.

  Cole joined her on deck. “Ah, there it is now. Looks great, doesn’t it?”

  “I guess. You sure something like that will protect you from that giant cruising down there?”

  “Only one way to find out,” Cole said. “And that’s to actually get it into the water.”

  “With the shark.”

  Cole looked at her. “Well, obviously.”


  The boat came alongside the Seeker and cut the throttle on its engines down to a low purr. A grizzled old salt dog came out of the wheelhouse. “Hey, there.”

  Cole waved. “I see you got the package.”

  “This for you, then?”

  Cole nodded. “Yep. All for me.” He glanced at Annja. “Possibly one other, if she’s up for it.”

  The salt dog shook his head. “Wasting your time, mate. There haven’t been any sharks in these waters for years and years. Nothing worth eating up here. The seals even avoid the area for some reason.”

  Annja stared at the scars running down the man’s face into the turtleneck he wore. “Why is that?” she asked.

  “Locals claim the waters are haunted.”

  “Haunted?”

  “Lot of wrecks down below there. None that have ever really been found, mind you. Pretty much everyone that goes out looking for them winds up struck by tragedy.”

  “Like what?”

  “Some of the ships go aground themselves. Others, well, a storm blows up and, when it’s over, no ship.”

  “Great.”

  Cole shook his head. “And the locals think that the wrecks of the ships have something to do with that?”

  “Everything to do with it, actually,” the captain said. “They say the souls of those who died out here have never gone over to the other side and continue to haunt these waters. If their burial grounds get defiled, it’s said they’ll take their revenge.”

  Cole looked at Annja. “And here you thought this was just about the shark.”

  “Imagine that.”

  Cole waved the captain over. “If you can get the boat closer, I can unstrap the cage and transfer it over.”

  “You’ll need some help, there, mate,” the captain said. “It’s a bit heavier than other cages.”

  “Is it?”

  “No 12 mm on this one. They went a few more thick. Said something about needing it stronger than the usual ones. Know anything about that?”

  Cole seemed to feel Annja staring at him but he only shook his head. “Can’t say as I do.”

  “Liar,” Annja said quietly.