Phantom Prospect

by Alex Archer

  Cole would be on his own.

  She wondered if he’d gone through all those scenarios in his head prior to embarking on this craziness. Annja sighed. She’d met a lot of men in her time that she considered a few sandwiches shy of a picnic. But Cole, as much as he seemed crazy, was also rational. He was trying to sort through this problem—the questions he had about this shark—and he was determined to do whatever it took to get the answers.

  She found that admirable.

  I’d probably like it even more if it didn’t entail him risking death to do it, she thought.

  The spotlight cut through the water in all directions. She wished that Cole had radio contact with her. It would make the wait a lot less tense. It would probably have been nice for him, as well, she thought.

  But they didn’t have the radios. And they had to wait. Annja on deck and Cole in the water.

  They could have prepared some chum for the shark. A few fish heads and assorted bloody goop in the water would draw it in nice and fast.

  She glanced down and frowned. What was Cole doing? He had one of his gloves off.

  That water looks terribly cold, Annja thought.

  She saw a flash of metal.

  Cole took his knife and cut into the palm of his hand. The ambient light from the spotlight showed an immediate cloud of dark blood mixing with the ocean water. Annja shook her head. He must have had the same idea about the chum line. And not to be too concerned, he cut his own palm and waved it around in the water trying to attract the shark.

  She wondered if it would work.

  “What the hell is going on down here?”

  Annja turned and saw Jax descending the stairs. She looked over at the winch and then at the water. “Oh, shit. Don’t tell me the nutty professor is down there trying to attract the shark.”

  “He is.”

  “You helped him?”

  Annja shrugged. “He raised some interesting questions.”

  “Like what? How he’d taste to the shark after it chews him up? Jesus, Annja, you realize this is completely nuts?”

  Annja nodded. “Yeah. I’m not crazy about it. But he would have done it, anyway, if I hadn’t helped him. Cole’s like that. At least, this way, I can be here if something goes wrong.”

  Jax shook her head. “You mean when something goes wrong. Because looking at this situation, I can already see that happening.” She took a breath and sighed. “Garin warned me that you sometimes made decisions that left him speechless.”

  “That was nice of him,” Annja said. “Are you going to stay here and tell me how bad I am for helping him?”

  “Nah, but Hunter’s going to go into a conniption fit when he hears about this.”

  “Now why would he hear about it?”

  Jax looked at her. “You want me to pretend I don’t know what’s going on? When I’m on the bridge and manning the wheelhouse? That would cost me a hell of a lot with Hunter.”

  “But it would gain you a powerful ally in me.”

  Jax shrugged. “I don’t need a powerful ally. I’ve already got one of my own and his name is Garin.”

  “Garin doesn’t have the sword.”

  “No, but he does have a lot of other stuff.” Jax smiled. “A lot of other stuff that I can certainly find a use for.”

  “So you’d sell me out for that?”

  Jax sighed. “Probably not. But if it happens, it happens. I can’t explain it, Annja. I’ve been on my own a long time and watching out for numero uno is the way I live my life.”

  “I know a lot of people like that. Most of them are incredibly selfish and lack any sort of compassion or ability to see things from another perspective,” Annja said.

  Jax frowned. “If you’re going to stand here and insult me all night, I’ll go back to the bridge.”

  “Maybe you should.”

  Jax spun and climbed the steps to the wheelhouse. Annja watched her go, trying to figure out what made Jax tick. She sighed and turned back to the cage floating in the darkness.

  She could see Cole down below. The bleeding seemed to have stopped on the cut he’d made on his palm. Annja wondered how long it would take for blood to dissipate and work its way down the current to where waiting sharks could smell it?

  Cole’s spotlight continued to move back and forth in all directions. She wondered if he was trying some sort of visual experimentation. Not being able to talk with him was a real disadvantage.

  Maybe Annja could have even helped if she knew what to do.

  She frowned. Somehow Cole would have to figure this one out for himself. And Annja hoped he wouldn’t regret his decision.

  Coming from some distance away, she thought she heard a splash. But it was a small sound compared to the wind that had suddenly whipped up around her and made her shiver despite the warm clothes she wore. I could have done with adding a sweater to my outfit, she realized.

  The waves lapped against the ship and the Seeker lolled slightly in the current. They’d stayed at anchor, Hunter not willing to move off this particular stretch because of the proximity to the Fantome.

  She wondered if their position had something to do with the shark’s interest in them. Where do sharks go when the sun sets? She knew that some sharks hunted at night, but otherwise, where did they go? Did they even sleep?

  I don’t know enough about these things to even pretend I’m stupid, she thought with a grin. She decided to ask Cole about that when he got back topside.

  Annja jerked her head around. Something else had splashed far out in the water beyond the range of Cole’s spotlight.

  She’d definitely heard something.

  She peered into the darkness. She couldn’t see a thing.

  A quick glance down told her that Cole was still okay and, judging from his body movement and the way he floated in the ocean, that nothing had drawn his attention.

  But something was out there.

  Annja felt certain of it.

  She tried getting Cole’s attention, but his mask wouldn’t give him much peripheral vision. He wouldn’t notice her unless he happened to look up and see her waving at him.

  And that didn’t seem likely.

  Dammit. Annja frowned and turned back to the direction where she’d heard the noise. It’s out there, she thought. Out there and waiting. Maybe it’s just toying with Cole. Maybe it will make a surprise attack.

  I can’t let him down.

  She heard a rush of movement from behind her and turned around. Jax was coming back down the stairs.

  Fast.

  “You back to make amends?” Annja said.

  Jax shook her head. “No. That damned fish is. It’s on the scope. If Cole wants to have an encounter with that shark, he’s going to get his wish. Real soon.”

  23

  Annja looked down at Cole bobbing in the cage. She could tell that he’d seen the shark by how his body had stiffened. His spotlight was shooting straight behind the stern of the boat, tracking something in the water some distance away. Annja could just make out the slow-moving shape as it cruised in toward the cage and then broke away to the left.

  She frowned and understood why Cole was puzzled with the shark itself. He was right that it seemed to behave unlike the other sharks she’d seen when she went diving with Cole off Montauk.

  Cole tracked the shark with his light as it prowled the waters. It was still a good distance away and Annja had trouble making out any details.

  As for Cole, Annja thought he seemed more relaxed now. She could see him floating and keeping himself locked on the shark. Every now and again, the dorsal fin would break the surface of the water and then it would submerge again. The effect reminded Annja of a seesaw and it was another difference that she found vaguely disturbing.

  Jax came to stand next to Annja. “If he gets killed, Hunter is going to feed us both to the shark.”

  Annja nodded. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

  “Why in the world not? That thing’s huge. And it s
eems to be sizing him up, if I’m seeing it properly.”

  But Annja shook her head. “I can’t place it, but something is not right. Cole knew there was something strange about it and that’s why he wanted to get back in there. I hope he’s getting his answers now.”

  Jax looked at Annja. “I hope so, too, because Hunter’s on his way out here.”

  Annja turned and saw Hunter running down the steps. “Is he out there with that thing?” he shouted.

  Annja nodded. “It’s not what you think it is.”

  “Suicide? No? Then tell me what it is, Annja. And tell me why you both felt the need to go behind my back on this.”

  “Cole thinks there’s something, well, fishy, about the shark.”

  Hunter stopped. “What are you talking about? That thing killed Jock and then it killed Sheila. What the hell is left to figure out? It’s deadly and he shouldn’t be in there with it.”

  “True. I tried to talk him out of it, but you know how he is when he gets his mind on something.”

  Hunter sighed. “Yeah, I know. He’s pretty much unstoppable. Guy’s obsessed about stuff.”

  “Yeah, seems as if you both get like that,” Annja said.

  Hunter came to stand by the stern of the boat. “How’s he doing?”

  Jax pointed. “It’s still cruising around out there, maybe fifty yards to the port side. It hasn’t approached the boat beyond thirty meters. I can barely see a thing except this occasional shape in the water.”

  “Cole’s doing better under the water,” Annja said. “His spotlight’s got a bead on it.”

  “At least he can’t be surprised,” Hunter said. “That’s a positive, I suppose.”

  Annja watched Cole’s beam of light. It was just catching the dark gray shape moving through the water. The shark seemed content to merely observe right now.

  “Maybe it’s still full from earlier,” Jax said. Then she blanched. “That came out sounding a lot worse than I meant it.”

  “How did he ever attract the damned thing?” Hunter asked.

  “Cut his hand open,” Annja said. “He waved the blood in the water and a few minutes later the shark showed up.”

  Hunter groaned. “You’re joking.”

  Annja shook her head. “Nope. You know he’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish his objectives. That apparently extends to include mutilating various parts of his body.”

  “Wonderful,” Hunter said.

  “Where’d it go?” Jax’s voice held strains of tension. “I just had it and now it’s gone.”

  Annja peered into the darkness. But the shape in the water seemed to have vanished. “Is it gone?”

  Hunter shrugged. “I could barely see it to begin with.”

  Annja glanced down at Cole in the cage, but even he seemed unsure of the shark’s position. His spotlight cut back and forth through the water. He must have lost it, too, Annja thought.

  “Great,” Jax said. “How can something that big simply up and vanish?”

  “It must know these waters,” Hunter said. “That gives it an immediate advantage over us.”

  “We didn’t have an advantage, anyway,” Annja said. “After all, we’re on the boat and it’s in the water.”

  “I’m staying on the boat,” Jax said. “Things get out of hand, you can jump in the water if you want, Annja.”

  Hunter frowned. “Why on earth would she do that?”

  Jax bit her lip. “No reason. Just in case she felt like helping Cole.”

  “By sacrificing herself?” Hunter shook his head. “That’s ridiculous. No one’s worth dying for like that.”

  Annja kept scanning the waves but didn’t see anything. She frowned. This wasn’t going down the way Cole had predicted it would. Annja felt uneasy at the thought of Cole in the water. She wondered whether it was because something was wrong or just stress over the situation as a whole.

  “It’s gone,” Hunter said. “I can’t see it moving around anywhere out there. Maybe it got bored or sensed that there really wasn’t any food at all, but that Cole was baiting it.”

  “I wouldn’t think a shark cage would deter a forty-foot shark,” Jax said. “Especially considering that it attacked it once before.”

  “Maybe that’s why,” Hunter said. “Maybe it didn’t have such a good time ramming it.”

  “Cole has always insisted that they’re very smart creatures,” Annja said. “But I wish we’d seen it retreat or swim away rather than just vanish. I don’t like that.”

  “Hey.”

  They looked back down at the cage. Cole was poking his head out of the top.

  Annja waved. “You okay?”

  “I guess.” Cole glanced around, shining his spotlight all over the top of the water. He frowned. “I guess it’s gone.”

  “Did you get a good look?”

  He frowned. “Not really. It stayed too far away for me to see its underside.”

  Hunter sighed. “And why would you want to do a thing like that? It’s not enough to see it barreling straight at you?”

  “Genitals,” Annja said.

  “What?”

  “Cole couldn’t remember seeing any genitals on the fish earlier and that had him concerned.”

  Hunter looked at Annja and then stared at Cole. “You’re risking your life just so you can get a closer look at a shark’s ’nads? That’s a new one even for you, bro.”

  Cole waved him off. “I’m not sure what I saw. I didn’t see anything this time around, though. It seemed to stay deliberately far away. It was frustrating as hell. I wanted it to come in closer.”

  Annja nodded at the winch. “You planning on staying in there and getting hypothermia or do you want me to winch you out?”

  Cole frowned. “Guess I’ll come out. It must have gone someplace else that I couldn’t see.”

  Annja nodded and walked to the winch. “Probably better this way. That water’s awfully cold.”

  “Fish ’nads,” Hunter said. “That’s almost unbelievable.”

  “That’s why we couldn’t tell you ahead of time,” Annja said. “He knew you’d laugh at the idea and then not let him go out.”

  “Yeah, like I could ever stop him. One thing about Cole, he doesn’t take no for an answer,” Hunter said.

  “I’ve seen that,” Annja said.

  Hunter nodded at the winch. “You want some help?”

  Annja frowned and pressed the button to start the winch. But nothing happened. “That’s weird. It doesn’t seem to have any power.”

  The lights on the boat went out.

  “Shit!” Hunter bumped into Annja. “We lost power.”

  “How did that happen?”

  “I don’t know, but I’d better get the backup generator online. I don’t want Cole left out there.”

  “What’s going on?” Cole’s voice floated back to them.

  Annja felt her way to the back railing. “Power’s out. Hunter’s gone to fix it. Can you hold on?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Not really.”

  Cole’s spotlight cut through the darkness and illuminated the back of the boat. Annja could see him almost sitting on top of the cage. She frowned. “Are you sure you want to be positioned like that?”

  Cole nodded. “I just checked again. The shark’s gone. No idea where.” He sighed. “I didn’t get what I needed, Annja.”

  “I guess that means you’ll be going back out tomorrow, huh?”

  “Yep.”

  Jax looked at Annja. “I’d better get back to the wheelhouse.”

  “Can you find your way there in the dark?”

  Jax frowned. “Good point.” She turned toward Cole. “Can you shine that thing on the stairs so I don’t kill myself?”

  The spotlight beam suddenly illuminated the back steps and Jax walked off, making her way carefully up and then disappearing beyond.

  Annja turned back to the ocean. “Nothing moving out there, huh?”

  Cole shook his head. “Just bobbi
ng along here. How long do you think it’ll take Hunter to fix the lights?”

  “No idea, why?”

  “I need to go to the bathroom.”

  “Can you hold it?”

  “Water’s cold,” Cole said. “I might just go in my wet suit. At least it’ll warm me up a little.”

  “That’s gross,” Annja said. “Try to hold it.”

  “I’m trying.”

  The lights on the back of the boat flickered and then went out again. Annja frowned and wondered if this was more sabotage that Sheila had set up or if it was a genuine problem with the Seeker’s electrical system. “Hey, Annja?”

  She turned back toward Cole. “Yeah?”

  “I was thinking about something relating to what we were discussing earlier at dinner.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “Remember when I was talking about the way the shark seemed to attack? How it didn’t come up from below but made a more horizontal-style ramming attack?”

  “Yes?”

  “Well, I think I have it figured out.”

  “Figured what out? Why it attacks like that?”

  “Yeah.”

  Annja spread her arms. “Well, go ahead and explain it to me. I’d be very interested to hear why.”

  “I think the shark is—”

  Annja had just enough time to catch her breath as a massive shape suddenly blotted out her view of Cole and the cage. She heard a terrible sound of crunching metal and splashing water as the shark thundered into the cage.

  “Cole!”

  There was another explosion of water jetting into the air, spraying the back deck of the Seeker and Annja as it came back down.

  And then everything was silent.

  “Cole!” Annja screamed.

  The lights returned to the Seeker a moment later. Annja scanned the ocean, her eyes coming to rest on the dented and battered shark cage still floating lopsided in the water.

  But there was no trace of Cole.

  24