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THE SUB.
Okana lay sideways in the darkness with his head and shoulder against the wall. He runs his fingers across the instrument panel, flips the switch for the emergency lights, and the interior is illuminated in red light. “Alex?”
“I’m okay. I’m glad this thing has seatbelts. Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I’ll try resetting the circuit breakers so we can find out what condition we’re in.”
Okana pushes his shoulder away from the wall and opens the panel, then flips the breakers on, one at a time. The first one clicks into place and the main lights come on, the second one clicks on and they hear a quiet whirring sound, but the third one will not reset, and the fourth one clicks, but nothing happens. He wraps his fingers around the control arm, twists the handle, and feels the sub rising off the bottom. He presses the thumb throttle forward and the sub slowly becomes level in the water. “So far, so good.”
“I expected this clay pot to shatter when we hit the ground.”
Okana reaches up and touches the knot on his head, just back from the hairline. He studies the instrument panel, and many of the indicator lights are off. “The carbon dioxide scrubbers aren’t working and only two of the batteries are still operational. She’s tougher than she appears. Okay, we have an hour of air left without the scrubbers, but the pressure is holding steady at six atmospheres.”
Okana slides his headset on and presses the button. “Can you hear me, Lisa?” His speaker is silent. “Calling the Mystic. This is the Wizard. Anybody there? Try yours, Alex.”
Alex feels around the floor, finds his set under his seat, and puts it on. “Calling Mystic. Do you read?” No one answers. “Mine’s not working, either. Can we get back to the ship?”
“Let’s find out.”
Okana pushes the control arm forward and they feel the sub moving, but he has to hold the arm slightly to the right to move in a straight line. “We’ve only got one thruster operating, but it should get us back to the surface. It’s just going to take a little longer.”
“Will we have enough air, or should I hold my breath?”
“Depends on how long you can hold it. It’s going to be close, so let’s keep the conversation to a minimum.”
“Wake me when we reach the surface.”
***
THE MYSTIC:
Lisa is pacing across the stern deck while the hoist seems to move in slow motion bringing the submarine out of the water. It’s been over an hour since they lost contact with Okana and Alex, but a few minutes ago, Harrison saw the white sub bobbing on the surface near the stern, and notified everyone over the intercom. Dieter and Harrison remain on the bridge, as the rest of the crew run out onto the stern to watch the retrieval, grateful the little craft came back to the ship. Since the sub is programed to return on its own, if possible, they don’t know if Alex and Okana are still alive.
Lisa stops pacing and steps out of the way of a trail of water dribbling across the deck as the sub swings around into the storage bracket. She smiles and waves at Okana, who is giving her a thumbs up. “They’re alive!”
Bartram quickly sets the ladder against the sub, and a moment later, the hatch opens. Alex and Okana casually climb out as if nothing has happened.
After they get down, Lisa wants to throw her arms around Alex’s neck, and sees the blood trickling down around the side of his left eye. “Oh, my gosh. What happened to your head?”
Alex reaches up, wipes the back of his hand across his forehead, and feels dry flaky substance. He looks at the back of his hand and frowns. “I guess I bumped it against something.”
Rita wraps her arms around Okana’s neck and pulls him close for a hug. “I was so worried that I’d never see you again.”
Lisa grabs Alex’s hand to pull him across the deck. “I have to clean that wound before it gets infected.”
Alex gently pulls his hand back. “I’m fine, Lisa.”
Rita lets go of Okana and steps back, then Mike reaches out and shakes his hand. “You had us worried, Okana. What happened?”
“The same thing that happened to us, Mike. The blue light flashed and the pressure wave slammed into the sub. We lost one of the thrusters and communication, and the scrubber failed. We barely made it back to the surface.”
***
Dieter stares down at the stern through the rear bridge window. “Damn. They are still alive, Sam.”
“At least we got the sub back in one piece.”
“We may not even need the sub. I would rather they did not return at all. I will be in the lounge.” He turns and walks down the inside stairs.
***
Josh shakes Okana’s hand, then Alex’s. “I’ve got the recording set up in the lounge.”
Alex gives him a nod. “I’m anxious to see it.”
Everyone follows Josh into the lounge where Dieter is casually leaning against the wall. From his expression, Alex can tell Dieter is not happy about something, and remains standing while everyone but Lisa sits down at the table.
Lisa grabs the first aid kit from the kitchen, then stands next to Alex, holding a gauze pad out in front of him. “Bend over so I can clean your wound.”
Alex wants to study Dieter and pushes her hand away. “Not now, Lisa. I’m fine.”
Lisa sits down on a chair and stares up at Alex. Did I do something wrong?
Josh holds the remote control and waits until everyone is ready, then presses play. The television screen is dark for a moment before they see the lens easily enter the discolored methane. A few moments later, the lens enters the thick black area, and it’s obvious the drill is having difficulty punching through. The black material itself seems to be slowly turning red.
“Alex and I saw red bubbles boiling out of the hole when that happened.” Okana explains. “Any idea why they were red, Lisa?”
“I don’t know, but that black material must be extremely hard.”
After several minutes, the lens enters the clear ice, and they see both sides of the crack in the seafloor as if magnified, just as Lisa mentioned. One thousand-feet below the lens, a gray cylinder is lying horizontally across the bottom of the crack.
Josh presses pause. “I finished writing a new computer program to enhance that cylinder. It’s flat on one end and pointed on the other. The picture may not be perfect, but watch as I bring it up for a closer view.”
The picture suddenly changes and they are looking at a long, pewter colored cylinder. Starting at the flat end, the round exterior of the device is covered with hundreds of dark dots along the outside before reaching the pointed end of the device.
Alex looks at Josh. “Can you estimate the dimensions?”
“It’s approximately twenty-feet-long and perhaps one-foot in diameter. Like I said, writing this program was a rush job.”
Josh presses play. A moment later, brilliant blue light fills the screen for an instant, then it’s filled with static. “That’s the last image we received from the optical lens.”
No one speaks for a moment. When Alex looks around the table, all eyes are on him. “I don’t know any more about this than the rest of you. I’m just a geologist, remember?”
Dieter remains leaning against the wall and tries to conceal his excitement when he sees the device. He’s seen one before, but not in the water. Now it is time to get rid of Cave.
“Rumor has it, you are more than a geology instructor, Professor. From what I have learned about you, it would seem you are more the tough, fighting type of geologist. Perhaps you would be more at home on dry land.”
Alex is caught off guard, and wonders how much Dieter knows about his past. “Honestly, I don’t have the answers you’re looking for. Whatever that is, it’s forcing the Cascadia fault line apart somehow.” Alex looks at each one of them. “Did any of you turn the ultrasound on while we were below?”
They all indicate they didn’t, and from their expressions, he has difficulty believing t any of them would do it on purpose. He pays close attention to Dieter’s expression, who looks directly back at him and lightly shakes his head no.
Alex doesn’t like where this is leading. “If nobody turned on the ultrasound, what made it go off?”
“Maybe it was the vibration from the drill?” Lisa offers. “Or maybe the light from the optical lens?”
Mike stands and looks at the group. “I had them bring the optical cable out of the tube. I’m taking the motorboat over to see what happened to that lens.”
Lisa immediately asks to go along, as does Rita.
Alex notices Lisa is still holding the gauze pad and disinfectant. “I’ll take that offer now.” He leans over next to Lisa.
Lisa smiles, pours the liquid on the pad, then pats the dried blood away. “It’s not as bad as it looks. You might have a little scar above your eye, but I can see you’re already used to that. Are you going with us to look at the lens?”
Right now, his only concern is what to do about the device. “No, thanks.”
Alex left his jacket on the back of a lounge chair before going down in the sub, and he hears his phone beeping from the pocket. He grabs his coat and walks out of the room to the stern. He enters the code and listens to the urgent message from Wesley to call him. Undoubtedly, Wesley recorded the event, and he needs to see the information to find out how big it was. Now that he’s seen the device, he needs to verify his suspicions. He turns when he hears Okana’s voice.
“You have that faraway look in your eyes, Alex. What are you thinking about?”
“Can I get a ride back to shore?”
“I’m sure Mike will have the helicopter take you back. I think he’s just as worried as we are.”
“Thanks. What about you?”
“I’ll do what I can from here and be your contact on the ship.”
“Could you call your contact in the agency and find out more about Dieter? I want to know how he found out about my past.”
“My thoughts exactly. I’ll call Carl and let him know you’re coming over for a ride. Do you think Dieter turned on the ultrasound?”
“No, and that’s what worries me. I doubt it was the drill, either. If that thing is going off by itself, we’re in big trouble.”
Alex walks into the ship to grab his bag, then returns to the stern while Bartram and Harrison set the motorboat into the water. He stands off to the side and calls Wesley. “What happened?”
“That last disturbance did some major damage, Alex. It caused a lot of landslides.”
“Damn. Okay, I’ll fill you in when I get to your cabin.”
Alex turns off the phone and joins Okana waiting near the motorboat. “Make sure that thing doesn’t go off again.”
“I know. I have a feeling you’ll be back, Alex.”
Alex shakes Okana’s hand and climbs into the boat. Mike is sitting behind the steering wheel, and Lisa and Rita are sitting behind him. Alex sits in the empty seat next to Mike.
Mike starts the engine. “I didn’t think you were interested, Alex.”
“I need a ride back to shore. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Let me know what you find out.”
“I will. Thanks, Mike.”
When they reach the stern of the Discovery, Alex steps onto the deck where Carl is waiting. He reaches down and helps Lisa and Rita out of the boat. “It was nice meeting all of you.”
“Will you be coming back?” Lisa asks.
“I’m not sure. Be careful with that ultrasound.”
Lisa watches Alex and Carl climb the stairs to the top deck and disappear. Mike is suddenly standing beside her and she looks at him. “Do you think he’ll come back?”
“Hard to say. Let’s go see what happened to that lens.”
Alex and Carl walk up to the helicopter on the top deck where they climb inside and Carl immediately flips some switches. The turbine engine begins to whine, and a few moments later, the helicopter leaps off the deck.
“I appreciate this, Carl. Can we detour down to Whidbey Island on the way?”
“Mike’s instructions are to do whatever you need, Alex. Let’s take a look.”
Thirty minutes later, Alex stares out the window at the destruction to Whidbey Island. Several large portions of the bluffs have slid into the water, and dozens of crumpled homes, furniture, and personal belongings now clog the waterways, hindering shipping traffic from going in or out of Seattle. He sees several people clinging to anything that will float while waiting for the Coast Guard boats to work their way through the debris.
“I’ve seen enough, Carl. Thanks.”
“Do you think it will reach Seattle next time, Alex?”
Alex stares out the front window as the mainland sweeps by beneath them. “The events are working their way east, so with any luck, it won’t reach that far south. I think the biggest concern is what will happen with the volcanos. If they erupt because of the earthquakes, they will kill thousands of people here in Washington, and affect millions of lives across the United States, just like Mount Saint Helens did in 1980.”
***
Okana knows he has to be discreet with his inquiries about Dieter and looks around to make sure he’s alone before he calls his contact at the CIA. For now, Lisa and Mike are the only ones on the ship trusts. He gives his contact the fax number for Lisa’s laboratory, then turns off the phone and slips it into his pocket. When he turns to walk back inside, he notices Dieter standing at the railing up behind the bridge, and for some unknown reason, he looks happy. Whatever his agenda, Dieter does not like having Alex onboard.