Chapter 3
At 0600 Chip Morton strode purposefully down the spiral staircase from officer's country into the nose and made his way to the con. As he approached the chart table LT. James looked up and smiled. "Good morning, sir."
"Morning Mike," Chip replied. "Status?"
"We arrived on location at 0543 and have been at station keeping ever since. Our position is here at 300 feet," he reported as he pointed to the chart. "There have been no surface or subsurface contacts and all systems are running optimally."
"Excellent. You stand relieved Mr. James," Chip answered as he took over the conn.
"Aye sir," Mike replied, then noted the change of command in the log.
"Good job Mike, head on down to the wardroom and grab something to eat before everyone else figures out Cookie has been on a fresh baked goods binge. There are some particularly good turnovers and donuts with your name on them."
"Yes sir! Thanks, Captain." Mike replied and then exited the con heading directly for the goodies.
Chip did a quick walk through the control room reviewing each station and chatting briefly with each man. Once satisfied that all was well, he returned to the chart table and made a couple of notes in the log. Today was probably going to be a long one since they would be making their first dives, and the general excitement at conducting such technically challenging dives had most on board keyed up. As he thought that over, he again was hit by his sense of discomfort over their passengers.
The thing that got to him most was that the crew of the Seaview seemed more excited about the mission than the men who had paid for it. Based on previous missions, they usually had to keep herding the scientists out of the way, they were so excited and anxious to be about their research. Once they left the nose following their departure the day before, he hadn't seen them until dinner. The odd thing about their company is that any reference to the upcoming dives was limited and virtually no discussion was made of the corals or even their reason for the research. Most scientists had the crew looking for bilge cleaning duty to escape the endless dissertations on the research subject. This group seemed barely conversant on the topic, which bothered him.
"Damn it, Lee," he said to himself, "I've been around you too damn much, your paranoia is rubbing off on me." As he read over the log he heard the distinctive steps of the admiral coming down the staircase. "Good morning, sir," he said looking up from the log.
"Morning Chip. How are things looking?" Nelson inquired, as he scanned the chart on the table.
"We arrived on station a few minutes ago and we're holding steady at 300 feet. There were no issues last night and initial scans have the area clear of any contacts," Chip replied.
"Good to hear. That should make our visitors happy and get them out into the water as soon as possible. Have you already shooed them out of the con this morning?" Nelson asked as he scanned the control room.
"No sir, I haven't seen hide nor hair of them since dinner last night. Usually by now we're having to wash the windows because they're drooling all over them in anticipation of getting out and conducting their research. Is it just me sir, or do these guys not seem the least bit interested in what they're here to do?" Chip replied.
"Now that you mention it, you're right. I was rather looking forward to a discussion at dinner last night regarding the corals and the potential impacts of the changing environmental and climate conditions. As I recall, they only brought the topic of the mission up once and that was more logistics than anything else."
Chip nodded in agreement with the admiral's statement. "Don't you find that odd?"
"Somewhat, but I don't know Weems at all, and he may just be conducting this mission to cover for Gramsky since he was unable to come. This may not be his primary area of interest."
"But Dr. Gramsky stated that he was the co-lead on this project. If that truly is the case, then I would think he'd be a little more excited about the prospect of getting out there and laying eyes and hands on the corals they're after."
"Could be he's just very reserved," Nelson offered, but he too now had an uncomfortable feeling about the guests they had aboard. "Whatever the reason, we'll just have to keep a close eye on them. Are you up for your dive today?"
"I for one, am excited about getting out there. I'm looking forward to diving at these depths and seeing what's really down there. I suppose at least one of us should be," Chip replied with a small uneasy smile.
Nelson snorted and returned the smile. "Well hopefully they show a little more interest when it comes time to get in the water. I'm heading to the wardroom to see if our guests are up yet. Plan on a pre-dive brief at 0900."
"Aye sir."
Harri exited via the aft hatch on his way to the wardroom. The more he thought about Chip's observations the more his discomfort grew. After breakfast he would be making a call back to WHOI to get a more detailed download on Weems and his team, and ask Parker some very pointed questions about their apparent lack of enthusiasm for their work.
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Lee was roused from his light sleep as he heard the announcement over the loud speaker that they were now pulling into the main station in Moscow. He quickly stood up, stretched, then gathered up his gear and headed for the exit. He scanned the platform for any indications the authorities were looking for someone, finding no overt signs he stepped down and started walking down the platform towards the main terminal.
As he walked towards the main building he spotted a large board displaying all the trains currently arriving and departing. He immediately spotted a train scheduled to depart in 45 minutes for Warsaw, Poland. He quickened his stride and headed for the ticketing station ahead. He purchased a ticket and then aimed for a small coffee and food kiosk to grab a much needed caffeine blast and a little sustenance. He was starved having not eaten since the day before.
Once he purchased his breakfast, he located the platform his train would depart from and sat down to eat. He played the part of disinterested people watcher as the crowds came and went with each train. Even as the Moscow police walked the platform he merely acknowledged them with a quick nod and returned to his observations.
When his train arrived there was the usually rush of passengers getting on and off the train and he fell in easily with the group getting aboard. This time there was no inclusive review of the passengers heading west or scrutiny of their tickets and travel credentials. Feeling one step closer to his goal, Lee settled back into his seat and waited for the train to be on its way. With the call from the conductor for everyone to get aboard, the train was set in motion five minutes later.
Lee smiled at the young couple he shared the compartment with, then scooched down further in his seat, pulled the hood on his jacket over his eyes and drifted off to sleep. He smiled and thought to himself, "Two steps down, two more to go."
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At precisely 0900 Nelson came down the staircase into the nose to meet with Dr. Weems, his dive teams, and his officers and men, to lay out how things were going to progress for the first dive. As he descended Morton, O'Brien, Sharkey, Kowalski, and Patterson rose from their seats.
"Be seated gentlemen," Harri said as he made his way to the head of the table. "Well Dr. Weems we are on location, are you and your team ready to dive?"
"Oh, very much so Admiral. It's all I can do to contain myself, I'm really quite anxious to get out there to take a look at things and begin our survey and collection," Weems enthused. The other two men with him nodded their heads in agreement.
Harri regarded the scientist closely. His words rang of enthusiasm for the dive but the emotion didn't quite seem to touch his eyes. He regarded the rest of the WHOI team and came away with the same disconcerting feeling. His attempts to get in touch with Parker Gramsky had failed, so he had no opportunity to get a better download on the man. Chip was definitely right, there was something off about them.
"Excellent," Nelson replied. "Captain Morton will be with your team, Dr. Weems. Seaman Kowalski will accompany the second team, and Seaman Patterson will be with the third. As I stated when you came aboard, they will be there as overall team leads to ensure that the dives proceed safely, that there is constant vigilance for potential threats, and that you adhere to our dive protocols and make it back to the boat in one piece. If they for whatever reason decide to terminate the dive early, you will follow their instructions to the letter. Failure to do so will end any future dives. Are we of a joint understanding on those requirements?"
"Of course Admiral. And as I said, we welcome the oversight and the extra set of eyes keeping us safe. We will adhere to all your rules." Weems answered with what seemed a forced smile.
"Fine. Chip, would you please layout the parameters for the dives?"
"Of course, sir," Chip responded. "Rule one is we all remain within each other's line of sight. No one is to venture off on their own. I'm sure you're all aware of the dangers of diving at this depth so we need to keep an eye on each other. If someone by chance moves out of sight, I'll call them back and expect an immediate return. If you've made a discovery you can't leave, call out, wave your light and we will as a group move to your location. Should a potential threat arise, it is imperative that whoever notices it alert the rest of the team without delay. I will evaluate the risk and if I'm not comfortable with the situation the dive will end. The first team member to reach 500 pounds of air in their tanks will notify me and we will begin our return to the boat. My goals are to allow you the freedom to conduct your survey but keep you safe, and ensure that you return to the boat in the same condition you left," he finished with a smile.
"Understood Captain," Weems replied. "Those are reasonable and prudent procedures and we will comply. Our intentions for this first dive is to get a good general awareness of the location and determine if it will yield the animals we're looking for. If we find the corals we're after we will document them and possibly collect a couple of samples. In the past these dives have lasted around 90 minutes. The first one usually runs a little shorter because we are all so keyed up and excited about investigating a new area we don't school our breathing as we should."
The Seaview men nodded and smiled, fully recognizing a similar response during their research efforts. There was a quick round of questions from both sides and once all were satisfied, the meeting drew to an end.
"Very well," concluded Nelson. "Dr. Weems, you and your team need to be suited up and ready to dive in 45 minutes. Is that acceptable?" He was met with a sea of nodding heads. "All right gentlemen, I'll let you get to your tasks."
The WHOI team quickly rose and exited the nose. As Chip turned to leave, Nelson called him over. "Chip, a word please."
"Yes sir," Chip replied and walked over to the windows to speak with the admiral.
"You take care out there and keep your eyes open. If something doesn't feel right, terminate the dive and we'll take care of any objections later."
"Aye sir," Chip answered. He quickly shot a glance around the nose and into the control room making sure he wouldn't be overheard. "I don't know about you, sir, but I'm still not getting a 'warm and fuzzy' from these guys. They say all the right things, and I don't doubt that they're competent divers at these depths, but something still isn't sitting right with me."
"I keep getting the same feeling too. I wish I could have gotten in touch with Gramsky, but he was unavailable. You be careful out there, okay. The last thing I want to do is explain to Lee how I broke his XO," Nelson joked and patted Chip on the shoulder. "Have a good dive."
"Thank you, sir. I will definitely be on my guard," Chip replied then turned and exited up the stairs to get ready for his dive.
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The first dive proceeded like clockwork. The WHOI teams complied perfectly with the procedures outlined during the meeting. The divers moved quickly over a portion of the canyon walls in search of their quarry. Much to Chip's surprise, he was actually the first one to reach the minimum air levels and called the end of the dive at 90 minutes. The team quickly returned to Morton and they all returned to Seaview in an orderly fashion.
"How was the dive?" Nelson asked as Chip pulled off his dive helmet.
"Very nice, sir. Although it does tend to get a wee bit chilly out there. Next time I'm putting on another pair of thermals," Chip replied. The other divers nodded in agreement as they divested themselves of their gear.
"Good to hear," Nelson replied. "Cookie has hot drinks and meals waiting for you all in the wardroom. Why don't you all get cleaned up and we can meet there for lunch and a recap of what you found."
"That sounds amenable," Weems replied for his team. "We'll see you there in 30 minutes if that's acceptable, Admiral."
"Sounds like a plan."
The WHOI team quickly finished up and exited the missile room to return to their quarters. Chip continued to dry off until he was sure they had left.
"Well Chip, what do you really think?" Nelson asked having recognized the look of consternation on his acting captain's face.
"They're sure as hell not looking for coral, sir," Chip stated. "There were quite a few colonies located near the boat and they swam right by them. I pointed a couple of them out to Roberts and he looked rather startled. He said, "Wow good eyes Captain," snapped a picture of it and swam off. Sir, a blind diver with a cane would have been able to find them."
"Any indication what they are looking for?" Harri inquired.
"I have no idea. They didn't seem to spend any real time inspecting anything, or taking photographs, and they didn't collect a single sample. It was as though they were out there just killing time until we had to go back in. Sir, I can think of any number of more pleasurable ways of spending an hour and a half than freezing my ass off in the dark."
"I think we need to pose your questions at lunch, Chip. If we don't get a satisfactory answer, I'm giving serious thought to terminating this mission," Nelson responded. Chip nodded in complete agreement. "Head on up to your quarters Chip and get cleaned up."
"Aye sir," Chip replied and headed out the missile room door.
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He could no longer contain himself. Things were now irreversibly in motion and his team was moving closer to taking control of Seaview. He was sure Nelson and Crane would be totally taken off guard, stunned that their boat was so easily captured.
Planning this coup had been an arduous and protracted process, made nearly impossible by his keeper's efforts to ensure he had no access to the outside world. Only through his access to his attorneys was he able to initiate the actions needed to bring him to this point. He should have been out years ago, but given the number of hurdles he had to overcome just to get his orders to his minions, it was amazing this would occur at all. He would have much preferred to oversee preparation for this personally but that was beyond even his scope of influence.
He paced more rapidly back and forth across his cell. He found himself chuckling and smiling uncontrollably as everything moved towards the next step in gaining his freedom. The thought of exacting his retribution was making him absolutely giddy with anticipation. They would pay, they would all pay, and he would be free once again and richer than ever.
As he laughed aloud his jailor look quizzically into his cell. He was usually so stoic and put forth an image of an unperturbed and unaffected man. The years of the loss of control over his life and the mind-numbing drudgery had greatly eroded the veneer of banal civility he worked hard to show the world. He had lost his ability to maintain that façade any longer and flashed an unnerving and slightly demented smile, sending the man walking hurriedly down the corridor to report what he had just seen.
Hard as they had tried, here in the Marion Federal Penitentiary, Communications Management Unit, they had failed horribly to block his plans to capture Seaview and secure his freedom. He laughed out loud again. They were ALL in for one hell of a surprise.
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