Jim raised his eyebrows slightly, wondering about the breakup himself. Maybe later Blair would open up more about that. Maybe he'd have to open him up. "Well, thank you for the wine. I should turn in." Jim stood, setting the now empty glass down on the table. "Blair said he'd take a dive with me tomorrow, if this weather clears up."
"Oh good. It'll be good for him to do something other than wait around for that paperwork to come back, and a pilot to take you all back. And I hear the wind should blow it all out tonight." Katie looked outside at the now visible moon. "It certainly seems to be trying."
"Well, good night."
Clive nodded, still trying to get his pipe to hold a flame and Katie said goodnight.
As Jim walked back down the hallway to the room he and Blair were sharing, he passed by the now closed doors to the students quarters, automatically opening his hearing to full.
"Don't worry about it. We've got that nicer coffin, and once the papers come through, she'll pass right through customs. It's not like they open caskets for crying out loud. It's only Canada, not some third world country."
Jim could almost believe they were discussing a simple case of nervous sorrow about having their friend shipped home in a casket. If it hadn't been Kenny doing the talking.
Part 5
* * *
Blair woke first, taking note of the sunlight pouring into the room as he climbed out of bed. Jim was still asleep, and he couldn't even remember him coming into the room last night. He'd never expected to sleep, but the combination of fresh air, stress, and three beers, had put him right out. Jim must have been quiet that night when he came back down. He pushed the hair out of his face and walked over to the windows, looking out at the partially clear sky. The sun was just clearing the horizon and shining directly into their window, lighting up the dock below. Blair scanned the pier for any sign of life, but there was no one in sight. Passing by Jim quietly, he opened the door and checked the bathroom. It was empty. Katie could be heard in the kitchen, and he saw both bunk-room doors still closed. Taking advantage of being the first one up, he took a long hot shower, then dressed quickly and was in the kitchen before the first of the students came out of their rooms.
"Hey there early bird." Katie smiled and poured a cup of coffee that she handed to Blair. "How are you feeling today?"
"Fine, thanks." He took the cup and sat down facing her. "I was fool enough to get talked into diving today."
She laughed, turning eggs in a pan as they scrambled. "I heard. Good for you. You know how I feel about cold water diving."
"Yeah, you and Jim. You two should join one of those polar clubs."
"Don't think I haven't considered it." Katie turned her head to see down the hall. "Breakfast in ten minutes!" she shouted. "Hey, could you bring up some urchins while you're there? We were talking about that last night and I got a craving."
Blair smiled, nodding. "Sure. I haven't had those in a long time."
"I think your friend wants to try them."
"Jim? You think Jim wants to eat an urchin?"
"No, I don't think so Chief." Blair turned to see Jim standing next to him. "Your cooking leaves something to be desired when it comes to the more exotic items."
"Come on Jim, you eat these raw. No cooking involved. Perfectly safe. It's an old native delicacy that is just now catching on again in some of the more cultural restaurants in the area."
Jim shook his head and accepted a cup of coffee from Katie. "No thanks Sandburg." He sat down beside Blair to drink his coffee. "Now, a lobster, maybe some shrimp?"
Katie laughed, dishing up the eggs and handing each of them a plate full. "Bring up anything you see that you'd like to eat, I'll cook it for you."
Jim smiled at her. "You're on."
Blair was laughing, then he saw the other students coming down the hall and he stopped, glancing quickly at Jim. The sight of Kenny only reminded Blair of Emily, and the way he had felt when she told him how important family was to her, and that she was going to take her mother's advice and start seeing Kenny Pritchard. Kenny ignored them both as he stepped over to the counter, helping himself to coffee, which he then diluted with so much milk, Blair wondered why he even bothered. Larry and Ross followed suit, then each took a plate of eggs and sat down at the table behind Blair, out of sight unless Blair turned around, which he had no intention of doing. Lucy came down the hall next, and just took coffee, sitting beside Ross. Amy was behind her and got a plate and a cup, smiling at Katie, then she sat next to Blair and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Hey, long time."
He nodded, smiling back at her. "Can we talk later?"
"Definitely." she replied, smiling at Jim. "Did I hear right? You two are going down to the wreck today?"
"Yep." Blair replied. He could hear Ross behind him whisper something to Kenny and he shot Jim a quick glance, wondering if his partner was listening. Jim was looking at Amy, but Blair could tell he was picking up everything being said at the table behind them. He'd have to wait, as always, to find out what had been said.
"I'm sending Igor down today. I can follow you two with him."
"Hey, keep your eye out for lobster, would you? Jim has put in a request for dinner." Katie sat down with a cup and smiled at Amy. "If anyone can find a good lobster, it's Igor."
They laughed for a moment of shared memory, then Amy rolled her eyes and turned to Jim. "I had Igor down one day, and thought I found something from the ship. But his lens was dirty, and I could see well. So, I get all excited, thinking I've just made a wonderful find, and grab it. All the way back I'm trying to see through his lens, trying to figure out what this wonderful artifact could be. Then of course, Igor comes up, after I've announced to everyone that I had something. Turns out it was a lobster."
Blair laughed, as did Jim.
"Well, it was delicious," she added, smiling.
"So, you ready?" Jim looked at Blair expectantly.
He shivered, raising his eyebrows and reluctantly nodded. "Sure. Let's go freeze our..."
"Ah, am I the last one up again?" Clive came out from the door at the far corner of the main room where he and his wife shared a large, private suite.
"You, my dear, are always the last one up. And the last one to bed." Katie smiled at him and rose, going to the kitchen to start more eggs. "Blair, there's plenty of wetsuits down on the barge. Once you get in, the cold will be a distant memory."
He nodded and reluctantly pushed himself away from the table. He could feel eyes on his back from the next table, but he didn't turn around. Jim had stood and taken both their plates to the kitchen.
"Hey, I'll be down in a minute," Amy called to them as they both reached the door.
Blair nodded at her and grabbed his coat, looking up at Jim. "You sure about this?"
"You're not afraid of getting cold, are you Chief?" Jim teased, pulling his coat on and opening the door.
"Okay. Just checking." He followed his partner out the door. The sun was farther up in the sky as they made their way down the landing to the pier. Blair marveled at the new length of the dock, extending now more than twice what he remembered. The barge docked at the end was familiar though, and he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as they boarded it. "Man, this brings back some memories." Blair said as he hurried over to the room containing Igor.
Jim followed, "Yeah, I heard about a few of those last night."
"Oh man, that is SO not fair," Blair said, glancing back at Jim for a moment before stepping through the doorway. "When do I get to meet your old army buddies? Huh?"
Jim just laughed, shaking his head. "Relax, Sandburg. They didn't dish up any dirt. I'm beginning to doubt that there is any."
Blair rolled his eyes and stepped over to Igor, running his hands over the machine lovingly. "I can't believe they still keep it running after all it's been through."
"It hasn't been easy, believe me." Amy stepped inside then, grinning at each of them as she approached.
"
You send it down often?" Jim asked.
"Sure. Almost each time a diver goes down. It's easier to find your way to the wreck when your following a diver with the camera, especially if the water's churning up. I'm going to send him down with you two today, but it's clear water now, so I can use him to lead you down."
Jim slapped Blair on the back, pushing him towards the doorway. "Come on Chief, the water's not getting any warmer."
Blair shuddered, but let Jim push him out and towards the hatch. Once below they each found wetsuits and gear to fit and began the arduous task of pulling on the tight rubber suits. Blair hated this part. Stripping down in a freezing cold room, to a bathing suit, of which there were always plenty at the station, then pulling on the wetsuit. He beat Jim in donning the outfit, having hurried to get something on against that cold air, and started to check the tank he had chosen. The gauges on all the tanks read full, so he took the first in the row and checked the regulator. Satisfied, he picked up the tank, grabbed a mask and flippers, and climbed back up to the deck. Jim was right behind him and was already putting on the mask, following Blair over to the edge.
Blair stopped at the edge of the barge, glancing down at the clear blue water before sitting down to don the flippers and mask. Jim slapped him on the back, then jumped in, sending a cascade of ice cold water up to meet him. Blair grimaced against the cold water that hit his face, and would have shouted at Jim if he thought he would have only been heard by his Sentinel friend, and not also by Amy who was standing at the other end, lowering Igor into the water. He was shivering by the time Jim's hand came up and tugged on his foot, pulling him into the bay.
He hit the water and held his breath, waiting for that awful moment of pure shock to subside and start his heart beating again. Within seconds, the bubbles cleared away and his body adjusted to the numbness. Jim was in front of him, waiting, and he waved him on, following closely. They swam side by side when they reached the edge of the barge, and Igor joined them. After a few yards, Blair led the way deeper, following the camera as it lead the way to the wreck.
Blair had to consciously force himself to stop biting down hard on the regulator against the cold hitting his face. Once he did so, he found himself relaxing more and enjoying the dive. Igor wasn't fast, so he stayed well enough back to keep from overtaking the little machine and glanced around. They passed a large rock covered in anemones, urchins, and sea stars. Blair paused along with Jim, watching the colors dance with the current in a display of reds, purples, and oranges. Blair could almost forget his discomfort watching the show before him. The water was so clear, he could see color everywhere, and could imagine what Jim was able to see with his Sentinel sight under there. That was something he would have to remember to ask. They had never been diving together, and Blair was suddenly curious as to whether or not the water was having an affect on his partner's senses.
Jim touched his arm then and motioned for them to continue. It only took a few more minutes to reach the bow of the ship, poking up from the sand. They swam over the bow and looked out at a large section of deck still intact. Jim led the way and Blair followed, scanning the barnacle encrusted deck. There was more of the ship there than Blair had thought, but a lot of it was buried in rocks and sand. Jim continued on to the stern where part of the wheelhouse was visible and leaned inside. Blair joined him after a few more minutes of marveling at the ship that he must have swum over a hundred times before it was found. Jim pointed inside and Blair shook his head. His partner wanted to swim down into the hold, but he had never gone inside a wreck before, and knew the dangers. Jim pointed again and Blair shook his head again, waving at him. He held up three fingers and went inside, leaving Blair above.
Great, go in there and get stuck. I'm not coming in after you. He knew he would, of course, if his diving partner wasn't out in three minutes. But he didn't want to. Blair pulled the regulator gauge around and looked at it, using it as a watch like he always did while diving, judging the minutes by the drop in air pressure. He was just at the point where he was going to have to make one of those decisions he hated to have to make when Jim came back up. He tried to glare at his friend from inside the mask, but Jim just nodded and pointed back the way they had come. Blair agreed and let Jim lead the way, with Igor close behind them both. They took their time swimming back, both enjoying the scenery from under the waves. Blair could almost forget the fact that he could no longer feel his feet as they watched an octopus quickly escape their proximity. He could ignore what felt like ice crystals on his face as Jim played with a brightly colored sea slug for a few minutes. But he could not ignore the air pressure dial as it inched closer to the red. He tapped on Jim's shoulder and pointed up, ascending only after his partner nodded and set the slug down to follow. Igor was right beside Blair then and he waved at the camera lens, then pointed to a clump of urchins on a rock, watching as Amy directed the machine over to the creatures and used the clawed arm to pry one off.
They reached the surface next to the barge and Jim was first to the ladder, climbing out of the water after pulling off his flippers and tossing them up. Blair had to tread water and wait, trying to keep his teeth from chattering.
"Come on Jim, it's cold," he complained, waiting for Jim to get all the way up. Once there, his friend turned around and held out a hand.
"Toss em up." Blair obliged and tossed his flippers to Jim. "Hey, I think it wants you."
Blair turned to see Igor next to him, handing out the urchin. He laughed and took the crustacean, handing it up to Jim. "Hey, Katie wants enough for dinner!" he shouted.
"No problem!" Amy shouted back from her control room. "I'll have to keep looking for lobster!"
Jim set the urchin aside and reached down for Blair. "Man, that was incredible. I haven't been down in these waters in a long time."
Blair let Jim pull him up, then sat down on the edge of the barge to remove his tank. "Yeah, I'd forgotten just how alive everything is down there. But God it's cold!" His hands were shaking too much to unclip the tank and Jim reached over to do it. How come he never seemed to feel the cold? "I can't believe there's so much of that ship down there, all this time."
"You should have come inside." Jim had pulled off his own tank now and was unzipping the top of his wetsuit. "It's in amazing condition considering the age and the currents here. Must be due to the temperature. And it's still full of old shipping trunks and things, in pretty good condition."
"Yeah, the temperature." Blair's teeth were chattering now and he stood, lifting his tank. "Man, I'm getting out of this and into a hot shower." He hurried down below and stowed the gear, placing his used tank at the far end of the row, then sat down and began the very difficult task of removing the wetsuit. Jim came in with his halfway down already and Blair shivered seeing his friend, standing there in that cold, seemingly unaffected. "What the hell is it with you anyway?"
Jim laughed a little and looked at Blair, questioningly. "What?"
"You aren't even shivering. Your fingernails aren't blue." Blair made a face as he pulled the wet rubber off of his chest, trying not to dislocate both shoulders as he pulled each arm loose. "I can't see you turning down your sense of touch enough not to be cold."
Jim was smiling as he pulled the rest of his wetsuit off. "I just have a higher level of tolerance, Chief. Always have."
Somehow Blair got the rest of his suit off and he quickly toweled off, rubbing hard to warm his skin. "Yeah, well, don't count on me going back down for your lobster."
"Don't worry Sandburg, I'll find someone else to go down with next time. I wouldn't mind having another look at the inside of that ship. There was a lot of room in there. Room for all sorts of supplies. I wonder what they've found?"
"You can have a look at some of it," Blair said, stuffing his arms into his sweater. "They've got a lot boxed up in the basement." He shoved the sweater on and grabbed his pants. "And Clive should have a list of what the historians expected to find on board." He zipped his jeans and looked for h
is socks, then noticed the thoughtful expression on his partner's face. "What? What are you thinking?"
Jim had been glancing at the tanks while dressing. "I was just wondering how often these tanks are replaced. Seems like a lot of equipment for just a handful of divers."
Blair was about to form a response when he heard his name called.
"Hey Blair, come help me with Igor, would you?" Amy called from above. "If Katie wants enough for dinner, I'm going to need some help."
Jim smiled and pulled on his shirt. "I'm going to go up and have a chat with Clive about that ship. Just keep your eye out for lobster, okay?"
Blair smiled and nodded. He was going to try again to convince Jim to try sea urchin, but after the little mess in the loft, he knew his partner wasn't going to be keen on anything he suggested for dinner for some time. They both climbed back up to the deck and Blair assured him it would be lobster or nothing, then entered the control room and took a seat next to Amy.
Blair took the controls while Amy went outside to attach a net to one of Igor's arms, then he sent the machine down to the rock where he had seen the bounty of urchins earlier. It felt good to be back at the controls after such a long time. Finding that native canoe in the channel had been the first time Blair used Igor. There wasn't much call for propeller driven cameras in anthropology, but he wasn't completely unfamiliar with machines, having invented most of his own for testing Jim's Sentinel abilities. There was a space heater on in the control room, so Blair quickly warmed up, then was able to enjoy himself, maneuvering Igor around the sea floor in search of lobster. He had better luck with the urchins, and after a few dropped ones and three that were crushed beyond recognition, he was able to gather a bag full and brought Igor back to Amy's waiting arms.
"This should keep you and Katie happy for the night." Amy held up the dripping bag, laughing. "I can't stand the things myself."
Legend Page 6
