Chapter 27

Leo clung to the swaying aerial and checked the connections as Robert had proposed before the contact was lost. As far as he could tell, everything was as it should be. There had to be something else. He looked down to the seaman who held the climbing rope that secured him. The woman looked over to the islands and didn't pay attention.
"Hey, don't leave me up here high and dry. I don't think there's something wrong with the aerials. Must be something else. I'm coming back down."
Back on deck, the blonde leader wrapped up his tools and made his way back to the next hatch deep in thoughts. Something was interfering with their communication system, but what? He felt like the hare chasing a hedgehog. Every time he thought he had found out the problem, there was something else malfunctioning and the previous problem ended in smoke. Luckily not literally.
"2Dads to the bridge."
He heard the call loud and clear, so at least the ship's PA seemed to work properly again. What's next? Maybe something below deck again. Don't let me catch too much sunshine.
"It's going to be at least an other 2 hours until high tide. I know, that's not much time but what can we do else?" The CO sounded stressed.
What's happening? Leo wondered what he had missed. He didn't have to wait long. Mike Flynn addressed him the moment he saw him entering the bridge.
"2Dads, I need you to go for a dive."
What? There can't be something wrong with the ship's hull that would explain our problems, can there?

Charge and Bomber had stopped dead when they had heard the rumbling of the landslide. Not able to reach Robert nor Spider, they had contacted the ship and been filed in with the new situation.
"Go and see that you help the X and the Buffer!" Mike had ordered them. "With the cave problem, we still do have some time and the two boys aren't in imitate danger. We'll come up with a solution 'till then."
Glancing back over her shoulder several times, Rebecca had made her way west towards the beach and reached the beach tree line in no time. Charge and the young woman slowly crept closer.
"Can you see them?" Bomber whispered.
"Just one down there at the beach behind that boat. But there must be someone else." Charge answered under his breath.
Bomber risked a second glance. Slowly she moved around a palm tree and tried to spot the other assailant. A movement caught her eye.
"Over there, under the big hibiscus. See him? That's only the two of them?"
Charge nodded slowly. "I think so. Can't see someone else." He ducked back into cover when the man turned round looking suspiciously at their direction. "Let's go eliminate the one under the hibiscus. After that we can deal with the one down at the beach. If they aren't encircled any more, the X and Buffer can join the action."

Billy paced back and forth forcing Robert to squash himself at the wall.
"Spider, please. Stop wandering around. It's already cramped enough in here without you opening your own motorway. You're making me nervous."
His crew mate stopped and looked at him astonished. "I am making you nervous? We are trapped in a cave with water increase, the flood line is way over our heads, just high enough under the ceiling to leave no air left at high tide, there's no way we can dig ourselves a way out and you contend that I am making you nervous?" Spider's voice cracked. "Sometimes I really do belief you must be a robot. There's no other way to explain what you do."
The radio officer looked hurt for a second. Then he regained his composure. "All I'm saying is that they're going to find a way to get us out of here. Just stay calm and wait. It's at least two hours until high tide."
"Only?" That hadn't helped at all to calm the bosun's mate down. "Hey, think we can swim out?"
Robert looked at the small pond at his feet that was getting bigger every minute. With each incoming wave the water conquered more territory. He shook his head. "I wouldn't recommend we try that. There's no way we find our way out. I saw the sea maps, Spider. It's a labyrinth down there. Maybe we get stuck, we don't know for sure we can hold the breath long enough to reach the surface again."
"Well I do know for sure I can't hold my breath long enough to wait for the water to go back when it reaches high tide. So it seems to me it's a good idea to go and try to get out before it comes to it." Spider bent down and started to untie his shoes.
"What the hell are you doing?" Robert grabbed his arm and tried to stop him. "You are not seriously going to try that, are you? I rank above so I say we stay and wait."
Wrestling himself free of Robert's grasp, Billy answered: "I don't care where you rank, RO. I'm not going to sit down and wait until I drown. Do what you want and let me do it my way."
With that, he plunged into the water and disappeared into the waves. Robert sat down and waited. He hadn't had to wait long. Just moments later, a head reappeared.
"There's no way out." Spider sounded out of breath and coughed. "The current is too strong." He let himself fall down next to RO. "Don't you dare say a word. Let's just wait."

The three men bent over the sea map listening to what the navigator told them. A small finger pointed on a spot near the beach.
"I think that should be the entrance. But that's just a guess. Our maps aren't that accurate. I'm not even sure the cave system down there is fully explored. And there's now way telling from the information on that map that someone fits in there. Especially with full diving equipment." Nikki shook her head and continued. "I wouldn't do it. There had to be a way from land-side."
Now it was Mike's turn to negate. "We don't have the equipment. From what it looks, there's a lot of stones and heavy boulders. Almost the whole slope gave way. We'd fail to reach something with our shovels."
Swain just wanted to contribute to the discussion when 2Dads cleared his throat. "Aren't there any frogmen on the sub? I mean, that's some dive. Not that I'm not going to try but..." He looked at Chris. The boatswain nodded in agreement.
"That was my first thought too. With the labyrinth down there and the current, that's way over my head to be honest."
The Lieutenant Commander shook his head. "I've already asked. They do have two experienced diver aboard, but without further information, the captain thinks it's too risky to try. So if we want to help our men that way, we have to do it on our own." He looked at them seriously. "Believe me if I knew how to do it, I would try it myself but I don't. And to be clear, nobody's going to blame you if you won't try and I'm sure not going to order you." Mike sighed. "At the moment, there's just nothing else we did come up with."
Leo pushed back from the table he had leant against. "Well then I better go and check the scuba gear." Already at the staircase he looked back over his shoulder. "You coming, Swain?"
The older seaman looked at his CO then sighed. "Never dive alone. That's what teach you first, isn't it? Sure I come." Passing Nav on his way to the stairs, he added: "See that we get any information about that cave system that's available please. I don't like to go down there in my sleep."

The man under the hibiscus had had no chance. Diverted by Kate's and Pete's covering fire the two sailors sneaking up on him escaped his notice. It was when someone grabbed him from behind and he saw a young woman pointing with a gun at him that he discovered he wasn't alone at his side of the beach. After that, it wasn't hard to persuade the other man to give up.
"Thank you." Kate stood up and tried to dust herself down. Covered with sand from head to toe she felt like a camel emerging from a sand storm. "Hopefully 2Dads has fixed that shower. I'm definitely going to take one when we're back." She couldn't fail to note the shadow flashing over Andy's face. Frowning she asked: "We missed something?"
"That's fair to say." The engineer started and filled the two in with what they had missed hiding at their cover.
When he had finished, Kate decided to go and see if they could do any good from land-side.
"Wait a second." Gently touching her arm Buffer hold her back. "Our sub is to big to help, right? It's going to run aground. But what's with the small one down there?" He pointed at the water line.
"You found it?" Rebecca's voice sounded excited.
"We think it's down there somewhere." Kate pointed at some place further down the beach and nodded. "You're right. It's worth a try. Buffer, Bomber you go and see what you can do to help. Charge and I are going to check out the sub. If it is in fact there we might need an engineer.

If it hadn't meant two of his crew mates where in trouble Leo could have actually enjoyed his task. He really liked diving and from what the day had begun, what ever would follow had to be far better than crawling through the ship's innards. Checking the regulator he frowned. "You hear that?"
Swain lifted his head. He had bent over a buoyancy vest adjusting the weight. "What?"
Leo laid the regulator back at the table and slowly searched the room. "There's a humming. Don't you hear?" He neared a card box partly covered that was labeled 'Diving stuff". That alone seemed suspicious. He hadn't noticed before but 'Diving stuff' was somewhat imprecisely. Robert wouldn't never had allowed that box to enter the ship without proper designation. Carefully he opened the box. "Swain. I think we do have another problem.